The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Developer	Nintendo
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Super Nintendo Gameboy Advance Virtual Console
Release Date	SNES JP November 21, 1991 US April 4, 1992 EU November 24, 1992 GBA US December 2, 2002 JP March 14, 2003 EU March 28, 2003 Virtual Console JP December 2, 2006 US January 22, 2007 EU/AU March 23, 2007
Genre	Adventure
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, released in Japan as Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (which translates to The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods) is the third game in the Legend of Zelda series. The game marked a return to the overhead questing from the original The Legend of Zelda, as opposed to the side scrolling used in The Adventure of Link. This game introduced many mainstays of the series, such as the Master Sword, Hookshot, and the duality of two parallel worlds.

Story

In times spoke only in legend, the gods descended upon the world, creating the land of Hyrule. In their wake they left behind the mystical golden triangles known as the Triforce. Many sought to claim this mystic emblem, until a man of great evil claimed it. Killing his own followers, Ganondorf claimed it as his own. But the Knights of Hyrule resisted and thus the Imprisoning War began. At last he was sealed in the Golden Land, awaiting the day he would have his revenge.

Years later, the land became stricken by disasters. No one could stop them until a mysterious wizard quelled the evil. Recognizing his power, the King appointed Agahnim as his Chief Advisor. He soon began performing strange magical experiments in the castle. All traces of the King vanished and it was rumored that the wizard himself ruled the kingdom. It was that point that Link, a young boy living with his uncle, received a telepathic plea for help from Princess Zelda which drew him to Hyrule Castle and the beginning of a new adventure.

Gameplay

This game returns the series to an overhead adventure. The player controls Link on a quest to retrieve three pendants in Hyrule to unlock the Master Sword, and afterwards the player must clear the seven dungeons of the Dark World in order to rescue the lost maidens. It features many improvements and expansions from the gameplay of the original The Legend of Zelda while also adding some features inspired by Zelda II such as the usage of a magic meter. Some certain items require magic to use.

The game is also filled with various bonus items and pieces of heart that could be obtained through optional sidequests. One addition is hidden fairy fountains containing Great Fairies that can upgrade items. Another is the empty bottle system, as up to four bottles can be found within the game and can be filled with potions or creatures such as fairies that are caught using the bug-catching net, replacing the one-time use potions from the first game.

Continuity Notes

• This game's official timeline placement is in the branch of the timeline following a version of Ocarina of Time where the Hero of Time was defeated by Ganon. This timeline branch seems to have been created purely to reconcile the differences between the Imprisoning War described in A Link to the Past and the actual events of Ocarina of Time (which was originally intended as the prequel to A Link to the Past). It is the first game to take place in this branch and is followed by Oracle of Seasons. The Hyrule Historia has also established that A Link to the Past, the Oracle games and Link's Awakening all feature the same Link.
• This game is notable as the first Zelda game without any clear continuity ties to a pre-existing one. At the same time, it sets the foundation of the Zelda canon by establishing Hyrule's creation myth and the origin of the Triforce, introducing the Golden Goddesses, the Sacred Realm and the sages and setting up the apparent origin of Ganon. Many of these installments would be fleshed out by later games.

Legacy

A Link to the Past was the most acclaimed game in the series until the release of Ocarina of Time, and the formula for this game set many precedents for the following installments of the series.

Ports and Remakes

• The game received a port on the Gameboy Advance with different content added in. This version was done by Capcom, who had already made other Zelda titles. Most notable was the inclusion of Four Swords, a completely independent game from A Link to the Past. The game also included an extra dungeon, a completely rewritten translation, the addition of a few other characters and other minor changes.
• It was also added to the Virtual Console on the Wii in 2007, unchanged from its Super Nintendo version.

Sequels

The next game to be released was The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which appears to act as a direct follow-up in terms of storyline and similar gamplay. The next major console Zelda game would be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1997.

See Also

• Enemies in A Link to the Past
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords