The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition

"Amazing... Awesome... Glitched..."

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Introduction
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The Legend of Zelda started on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with the original game (LOZ). Well, after it turned out to be one of the best games ever, Nintendo rushed out a sequel, which took quite a different path than the original. And then, it was time to take advantage of the Gameboy (and give people a reason to own one) and they shipped out Link's Awakening. Then when the N64 came by, well, what better thing to do than bring the LOZ series to the third dimension. Soon after a SNES version gets ported to the GBA and Wind Waker comes out, there's the Oracle of Ages/Seasons bit and Four Swords. Plenty of Zelda games. Are all of them fun? In one way or another, yes. Anyway, Nintendo wisely chose 4 Zelda games (in my opinion the best ones, though 'A link to the Past' could have been in for LOZ 2 in my opinion) and put them all on one GCN disk, and decided to bundle it with Gamecubes, give it to people who register certain games and give it to Nintendo Subscribers. So you either had to be a Zelda fan to get this, or you had to like Nintendo Power or be buying your first Gamecube (if you were buying another chances are it was for the disk). Anyway, there's no surprise I'm a Zelda fan. But I am in no way going to let that show. If something's wrong with a game, I'll let you know about it. Anyway, I actually only played Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past before I got this game. I had never tried The Adventure of Link (LOZ 2) before. Anyway, I was really excited about trying it and reliving my N64 experiences (and playing Loz on the big screen with a GCN controller rather than a NES one). Are there faults? Yes, indeed. Is it still the thing you should have gotten? Yes, it is. It's a shame because it's now impossible to obtain these disks (the offer expired January 1st of 2004) but, if you managed to get one, awesome. Chances are you can find them at Ebay and stuff so don't let all hopes down. Anyway, let us get to the games.

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The Legend of Zelda - Nintendo Entertainment System
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This game was an amazing addition to the NES hardware. I was stunned when I gave my first go at it. I was thinking 'How on earth could I be enjoying a game like this, presented this way, top-down, a game about swords and an evil pig thing, and be ENJOYING it?!?!'. And the truth was, I was enjoying it. At that point I knew what my favorite NES game ever was - The Legend of Zelda. Anyway, it would have been foolish on Nintendo's part to leave this game out of the Collector's Edition. Luckily, it's here for all to enjoy. If you've been on this ride before, well, the only difference you'll notice is the controls. Otherwise, prepare to make this your favorite retro game.

The graphics here are, of coarse, terrible for the Gamecube. But come on, it's a NES port, what exactly did you expect? Well, I can't guess. True though that it does look a *little* worse, but the only reason for that is because this is running of an emulator and not the original hardware, so of coarse some things won't be the same. The only difference you'll notice is slightly different shades of a particular color, or slight blurs. Other than that the graphics are pretty perfect (compared to the NES original) and I really have no complaints. 9/10 would be fair, just don't expect GBA graphics.

This game has AMAZING sound. Simply stunning. I loved it to no end, and sometimes booted up the game only to hear some particular music. It contains the original Zelda theme, which I love so much, and it, well, has some awesome dungeon sounds. On the NES this would have been state of the art, and even now it's awesome. I didn't get my NES until only a few years ago, and back then (when I picked up this game) I thought it rocked. And that's more than a decade after it's initial release! It rocks, simply put. You'll be blown away. Words can't describe it, you MUST experience it. 10/10.

The Gameplay, of coarse, is what'll lure you in. I think this is the best gameplay ever to cross the NES. Yes, better than Metroid's exploration, better than that awesome Mario platforming, better than the challenging Contra, better than the addictive Balloon Fight. This is an adventure, an action game, a puzzle game. It's 3 of the best genres put together to make an amazing mix. As a matter of fact, all it needs is a little RPG and it'd be perfect (Nintendo tries to add some RPG to the sequel, but as you'll see later, it doesn't turn out too well). Anyway, think Ocarina of Time, minus the maps, minus the ocarina, made into 2-d and with more adventure (there's going to be A LOT of traveling here). Now you have the basic picture of LOZ. Awesome. 10/10.

After you beat the game once there's a second quest open. It's pretty much the same as the first quest, only harder. Think Master Quest as it was to Ocarina of Time, and you'll have a basic image of what the second quest is to the first one. And if you've mastered the NES version, the GCN allows for a way to start off the second quest from the get-go. I won't spoil anything, but you can find out how to do this in the Codes section (on GameFAQs, under Collector's Edition, duh). So you can play through twice. After that, it's fun to go just once more, but then it starts wearing off. But a year or two later, it'll be fresh and you'll want in again. 9/10.

Closing Comments - The original may be the best. This is a matter of opinion, but it is definitely worth it's place on this disk. I'd recommend choosing this game to start with. It's very well done.

Verdict - 9/10, only two VERY minor faults hold this down from the big 10. Regardless, it is a masterpiece and CAN'T be missed. Be sure to check this one out.

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Adventure of Link - Nintendo Entertainment System
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Well, Nintendo realized that only one element was missing from turning this into the best game series ever. So they added the RPG bits. Well, it sounded good at first, I'm sure, but it turns out RPG just doesn't fit in the Zelda series. I can find many complaints with this particular game, and it may be the worst Zelda game Nintendo has made. But, for the worst one, it still does a darn good job of giving a fun experience. Just read on and see what I have to say.

The graphics are better than they were on the original, but that's mostly because half the game is set in a 2-d side-scroller view. You can now tell one enemy from another more easily, and the over world looks like, well, what an over world for the NES era should look like. I don't have many complaints here. One complaint is how Link looks. I hate it. It's almost cartoony (and NOT like in Wind Waker, I'm talking about some cheesy cartoon looks). And there could be a little more detail to the backgrounds in the side-scroller view. But other than that I can't complain. 9/10.

The sound is very different than it's original in the series. Here, it's a little more medieval (though this really has nothing to do with the medieval times, the game that is) and some of the sounds, well, they don't fit (like the side-scroller music, it's like the standard RPG music, but LOZ wasn't meant to be an RPG so it doesn't fit well). The sound is quite a let down. You won't recognize a beat at all (and judging from the quality, you probably won't want to recognize it). IT's pretty poor, a step down from LOZ for sure. 6/10.

The gameplay is where Nintendo REALLY messed up. Adding the RPG elements seemed like the perfect way to go. Well, after I've tried this game, I can say that RPG does NOT work at all here. The side-scrolling was a HUGE mistake, it does not work at all. It makes battles with random monsters limited and not wanted. And when you need the rupees, well, too bad. The difficult caves (where everything is black and you can't see a thing) is difficult in the beginning when you have no light source. I don't think any of this works at all. Chances are you'll dis-like this quite a bit, but someone has a petition for a re-creation of this game for GBA going around, so some people enjoyed this. Chances are you won't like it, but the possibility is there. Think the CD-I Zelda games, but quite better. There you go, that's Adventure of Link for you. 5/10.

Well, I only played through this once because I hated it so much. And there isn't a second quest (like in the original). So really, unless you loved it, you'll only go through once. Not much replay value. 4/10.

Closing Comments - Nintendo's attempt didn't turn out too successful. I can see some playability if somehow RPG elements were added and that game kept it's top-down view through the whole game. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

Verdict - This is easily the worst Zelda game. It's a little fun, and I can't make the score un-fair, so I'll have to give this a 6/10. It's OK, but you won't have the best time. Not the smartest move, on Nintendo's part.

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Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64
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Well, here we go. My favorite Zelda game of all time. This was the first one I ever played. It is (in my opinion) the funnest of all of them. It's so good that it's already been re-worked for the Gamecube (on the OOT/MQ disk). It's so good Nintendo went through the trouble to re-make it in Master Quest. It is a very good game. As a matter of fact, If this review were on the N64 version, it'd get a 10/10, easy. However, many years after the initial release, I can no longer give it that score. The system has changed, some graphics have changed, some sounds have changed, and some slowness has been added. It's still probably the best game on this disk, but it's still a step down from the N64 original. Let's look into this.

The graphics are at a higher resolution. That's great. But now, the graphics also seem more blurred than ever before. You really notice the blur this time around, and, well, it's difficult to get past. Also, just like in the OOT/MQ port, it takes longer than normal to load the pause screen. That is not wanted. Why, might you ask? Graphics are probably behind this. This is an N64 port, it's running off an emulator. Of coarse some things will be blured and un-normal for the GCN. Well, it's nothing that actually effects the gameplay, so I can't complain. 9/10.

I haven't heard such good sound since LOZ (I actually played this before LOZ, but after I played LOZ and then this again, I was stunned once again). Each temple's music is wonderful, each song, each noise. I can't get over it, and like in LOZ, I will sometimes boot this game up only to hear the music. I loved it. And well, there isn't much else to say here, except you'll probably like it to. 10/10.

The gameplay is probably the best of all Zelda games. A total of 8 dungeons will keep you working for a long time. A huge Hyrule feild to explore. many places to visit like the Zora Domain and Hyrule Castle. This game is huge and fun. I have played through this game 3 times now (on the N64, on the first GCN port and on this disk) and I can see myself playing through again. It is that fun. IT has so many weapons (Slingshot, Bow, Sword, many magical powers like Din's Fire). There is so much here it is unbelivable. You will not put this game down anytime soon. 10/10.

Like I said before, this game is so fun you'll play through it multiple times. It doesn't last forever, but you will get quite a kick out of it. Very well done. 9/10.

Closing Comments - Years later this is still the best. It's the original transition to 3-D, and it's well done. Very, very nice. I couldn't have asked for more.

Verdict - 9/10. Slight hold-backs like the Replay Value and Graphics keep this back, but that's all. Play this game in some shape or form, for sure. Wonderful.

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Majora's Mask - Nintendo 64
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This game brings back the fun that was Ocarina of time, ups the challenge, and gives it to you in hope it'll be awesome.
Well, it is pretty good, and it was a 8/10 game back on the N64. But here, with the many glitches and slow-downs and choppyness, well, it's quite worse. Yes, it IS because it's running off an emulator. Problem is, Nintendo could have easily fixed these problems, they just never bothered much. Well, it's not the safest game to play (it could freeze at any time) but regardless, it's there for you to play and it's a pretty good option. Let's look into it.

The graphics are that of the N64. Exactily that. Everything except the new enemies anf items etc in Clock town are re-used. Even a particular boss (I won't say which) is re-used. While this is sad, it's acceptable. You won't notice that the people and etc are re-used (but you will notice the boss). It's OK, and I can't complain much. IT is a little more choppy. 8/10.

The sound here is worse than in Ocarina of Time. The temple tunes and the different songs you learn on the ocarina are way worse, they just don't sound good. And they even re-used an ocarina song (The song of time). It's not a good thing, you'll almost want to mute the TV while you're playing or using the ocarina. I hated it. It is poor. It doesn't work. 5/10.

Here we go, all the greatness and all the problems. First, the greatness. It's Ocarina of Time made more difficult (by adding in the whole time thing) and it's played nearly the same. There, that's the good. Now the bad. This game could freeze at any time. While it doesn't happen to often, it DOES happen. So you could lose all your data easily. Also, sometimes songs etc skips. Not acceptable. Also, as good as the whole time thing works, it's very annoying. I do NOT like it. Poor. So there's the good, and the bad. This can only get a 7/10.

Replay value? No, you won't play this more than once (unless you REALLY loved it). It doesn't have the same level of fun that Ocarina of time had. This game is what Adventure of Link was to LOZ. The worse alternative. 3/10.

Closing Comments - Well, it's still OK... just not up there with Ocarina of Time. It tryed, and it gets point for that, but put simply this just isn't as much fun.

Verdict - 7/10. It seems fai, and you'll think it's about that after you play as well. Give it a shot, but be prepared for something a little worse.

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Wind Waker Demo - Gamecube
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I won't spend much time here, and won't give it a full review either, because this is a demo. I'll jsut quickly tell you that you pick one of three senarios (Dungeon, Stealth and Island) and you have 20 minutes to do whatever you want. It gives you a short look at what Wind Waker is like.

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Collecter's Edition - Gamecube
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And now, Collecter's Edition as a whole. This game has four Zelda games (and a Wind Waker demo). It has two videos (each pretty short). It's a quick collection of some Zelda stuff. A fan should not miss out on it, and a new player of the Zelda series should for sure get this, it's the best deal anyone could have. Here it is, the CE, it's amazing, awesome, fun and glitched. Regardless all faults, this is THE package to own. If you don't already have it, get it. As a whole, this gets 9/10. VERY well done. Bravo Nintendo, bravo.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/04