The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition

"One disc to rule them all"

The revival of several classic games is never something to pass up, even if you just get it for nostalgia purposes. Like Super Mario Allstars and Ninja Gaiden Trilogy on the SNES this is a collection of several old games. But unlike those two, these games happen to be Zelda games. The Zelda series is considered by many, myself included, to be the greatest series of video games in existence. Enough of my glorifying of the series, lets get to the review.

As you know this disc contains four of the Zelda games:
The Legend of Zelda, (Famicom Disc System 1984)
The Legend of Zelda II: Adventures of Link (Famicom Disc System 1987)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64 1998)
The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask (Nintendo 64 2000)
This review will speak about each one in context and give ratings accordingly. Judging them on a hole would create a skewed review because both the original and Ocarina of Time have touted high honors.

The Legend of Zelda:
Described by one newswriter as the ''Citizen Kane of Video Games,'' this game defined the genre. A phenomenal story about an evil villain who kidnaps a beautiful princess and you the young hero must gather your armaments and defeat this vile threat. From its top down perspective you journeyed the now legendary land of Hyrule in search for Ganon. The amount of dungeons and the variety of enemies keep players busy for hours on end. To say this game is good would be an understatement. The graphics and sounds are intact from the original version. The gameplay does not suffer to much from the change of controllers, but sometimes I long for my original NES controller. A beautiful port of a perfect game, but what of the other games? How did they make the translation to the Cube?

The Legend of Zelda II: Adventures of Link:
Following the success of the original game, this sequel surprised gamers completely. Doing a complete 180 from its predecessor, this game provided a older link in a sidescrolling adventure. The elements of both swords and sorcery were still present, but the new perspective aggravated many fans of the first game, myself included. Even with the new perspective the game provided the same classic experience that the first gave. The translation, like that of the original, only lacks in the control department. Mainly the fact that these games were not made to be played with a joystick, but you can get use to it very quickly. It still seems alittle awkward though.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:
Considered by many to be the greatest game of all time, and many awards to back up that accusation, this game is fantastic. Taking the leap from the limiting 2d style to a free roaming 3d style had many fans on pins and needles. But once the game came out, many Americans spent the entire Thanksgiving holidays playing it. From what I've played of this it is the same port as the version you got when you preordered Windwaker. Same graphics, just now in progressive scan, and gameplay. Still the same epic story of good and evil, same diabolical villain, same amazing musical score. Simply put, its the same amazing game that came out in 1998 but now in progressive scan. The best way to describe this game is one word: Amazing.

The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask
Riding on the tails of the beautiful Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask debut. This game takes the same hero as all the others, and puts a completely new twist on the story and game in general. How do you make a fantasy story twisted you might ask. Well take the hero of a fantasy story, and have him follow a crazy thief through a portal into another fantasy world where the world ends in three days. Couple that with the fact that you can obtain four mask that change you from Link into a Goron, Zora, Deku Shrub, and a hidden character, completely changing the way you play the game, you get a unique experience. Like Ocarina of Time, the only difference in this game from the N64 version is the progressive scan mode. The controls and such are just like the Ocarina of Time port. Not my personal favorite of the series, but still a fun romp through a unique world.

Overall:
This disc provides gamers, both young and old, with four distinctive and classic games. These games are relics and can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone who takes the time to play them. Four games from three different decades, all of which have stood the test of time and still provide some of the most enjoyable experiences out of all video games.

The only rating I could give such a selection is a 10/10. I think my thoughts on this disc are best summed up by Czewe in his BS Zelda review: ''Like all Zelda games, BS Zelda is perfect.'' Just modify it so it says the Zelda disc instead of BS Zelda, and youve got my opinion right there. So what are you doing reading this review. Go get your copy of this today. Wether its by buying two games, getting a subscription to Nintendo Power, buying a new gamecube bundle of it, or purchasing it off Ebay. Its worth the money, whatever you must pay for it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/03