The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition

"An absolutely amazing collection of games."

The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition disk was released as a free bonus to be acquired in three possible different ways. The first is that it was bundled with Gamecubes for sale in stores, the second was buying two games from a selected group and registering them online along with your gamecube, and the third was subscribing or resubscribing to Nintendo Power over the internet and choosing this disc as your free gift. I waited three weeks for it to come in the mail, and when it finally did, I was ecstatic.

This disc includes The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Along with those four complete games, it has a short video with clips of all of the Zelda games (aside from the 3 Phillips CD-i games), it has a short Wind Waker video, and a 20 minute demo version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Graphics 10/10

This disc obviously has 4 full games on it from two different systems, so it’s going to have different graphical styles. The transfer from the NES or N64 to the gamecube was excellent, and it even includes a few graphical touch ups. For example, a gleam on the sword at the title screen of Adventure of Link and some color changes in guys like the second to final boss. Ocarina of Time, like in the bonus disc with Master Quest also has slightly sharper graphics. These games look just the way they should, but better.

Sound 10/10

The translation of sound was also good. As they wanted to keep the games as original as possible, they did not touch up the music much or make any of the soundtracks more interesting than they would have been on the original NES or N64, but they transfer was clean and precise.

Plot 10/10

Four games, two with excellent stories. Those would be Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. But we can't rip apart the other two for not having much of a storyline. They began the series because of their excellent gameplay and dungeon/overworld designs. The stories came later and simply added to the excellent Zelda experience.

Gameplay 9/10

The excellent gameplay of all four games was kept superbly intact compared to the originals. No changes were made (not that any were needed), and the controls usually serve well for the purpose and needs of the point in the game that you are at. The controls are excellent for Ocarina of Time and for Majora's Mask, but for The Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link, you'll sometimes wish you had that old rectangle control from the NES back in your hands. You can use either the control stick or the D-pad, but both can sometimes be difficult to use. They don't allow for as quick of turning or moving as you used to be able to with the NES pad, but they get the job done all the same. If you have difficulty, you could always go out and buy a different pad for the gamecube as this game did come as a free gift, or you could just switch back and forth between the Control stick and the pad.

Replay Value 10/10

As many times as I’ve played these games, they never get old. The only Zelda I'd never beaten was Adventure of Link because I'd never had a chance to play it all the way through. But with this disc, my chance game and I’ll play it over again when I’m through with it. Though I’ve beaten the original Zelda, I’m replaying through that one too, and I’m sure I’ll return to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask as well. These games will keep coming back for more and more fun throughout the years to come.

Overall 10/10

This disc has everything a Zelda fan's ever wanted (aside from maybe Link to the Past -*wink wink* Nintendo). This disc's only downfall is its sometimes troublesome controls in the two NES games, though that can be dealt with or completely solved by buying a different kind of controller.

Rent or Buy?

Well, since you can't really rent it...Buy it while you still can!! If by the time you read this review the offer's already ended, don't give up hope! There are still used and new copies on Ebay, but this disc's definitely worth the effort to get it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/03