"Best. Collection. Ever... Probably."

Zelda. With that said, you know this has got to be be good. Every Nintendo Zelda game I have played is absolute genius. I love them all, even the unpopular Zelda II is brilliant. So, you see why this game would be something I would immeadiatly attempt to obtain. It took a while, but I managed to get a copy.

I'm going to review each game separately as they all differ so very much.

NOTE: I will be reviewing graphics in comparison to other games from their original system.

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The Legend of Zelda
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This is game that started it all, the original Zelda. This game, though not up to the standard of the rest of the games (except Legend of Zelda II), is still superb.

GRAPHICS
The graphics are very good for a NES game, nice clear pictures with very complex sprites for a NES game. Easy to make out enemies and simple to navigate dungeons.

8/10 - Good for a NES game.

SOUND
Not much can be said for sound effects but the music is very memorable and catchy and lays the foundation for some of the stunning music further on in the series.

9/10 - Cost of sound effects: £10, Cost of music: Priceless.

STORY
Princess Zelda has been kidnapped and it's up to you to save her! Classic Nintendo stuff here but hey, this is for the time when games didn't have stories!

8/10 - Nintendo did okay...

GAMEPLAY
Excellent! A top scrolling Adventure game that'll last you quite a while! There is so many secrets in this game you will not believe it! Also when you finish the game you get 'Second Quest' a whole new version! Basically you go around slaying monsters and defeating dungions packed with puzzles, creatures and secrets such as caves, hidden items, all kinds!

10/10 - It would even go so far as to call it 'Fun-da-ful'.

REPLAY
You WILL want to play it again. Also the 'Second Quest' adds quite a bit to the replay value.

9/10 - Good. Play. Now.

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Adventure of Link (Zelda II)
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The engine shifts to a side on, more 'platformer' look, in this highly underrated game.

GRAPHICS
The textures have improved and there are a lot of NPC sprites in the game. However, a lot of people in different towns share the same graphics, but, hey, it doesn't effect the gameplay!

8/10 - Good, but could have been better.

SOUND
Okay, but nothing really memorable. There's a couple of good tracks in there but nothing that stands out.

6/10 - Meh.

STORY
When a mark appears on his hand, Link seeks Impa, who explains he must awaken the sleeping princess (Zelda). Hmmm... A bit 'done before', but it is still an okay plot.

6/10 - It's okay, as the story isn't that important in Zelda II. At all.

GAMEPLAY
Very different from the rest of the series, kind of a 'Side-Scrolling RPG', you defeat enemies in a side-scrolling field, also, introduced in this game, is the magic system, this allows you to gain magic and use it in either battle or the field. This magic can be anything from healing to turning you into a fairy.

9/10 - Good platform-RPG type fun.

REPLAY
You may want to play it through once more, but that'll be it.

3/10 - Fun while it lasts...

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Zelda: Ocarina of Time
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Many have said it was the 'Best Game Of All Time'. They may well have been right.

GRAPHICS
Most excellent. The graphics are consistently brilliant, the textures may not be great, but you have to love the character & monster design. The graphics are very good and live up to the high standard the rest of the game sets. Man, this game rocks.

10/10 - How can you not love it?

SOUND

Stunning. In fact I'm listening to the OST (Official Sound Track) right now. The ocarina songs are all catchy, the dungeon music is all atmospheric and the Gerudo song... Koji Kondo... Best... Music... Guy...

10/10 - How can you not love it!?

STORY

Let's just say it's epic and I don't want to ruin it for you.

10/10 - HOW can you not love it!?

GAMEPLAY

All done in a third person perspective, and 3D, this game is rather different from the previous two. The game has 9 dungeons if you include Ganon's Castle, all of them will bend your mind trying to work out puzzles (Well, maybe not the first three), test you combat skills against huge enemies and bosses and there are many side quests to do if you are temporarily stuck on the main quest.

10/10 - Fishing is good.

REPLAY

You can play this forever and never get bored. 'Nuff said.

10/10 - How... ah... forget it.

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Zelda: Majora's Mask
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GRAPHICS
Same as Ocarina of Time. A little better, but not much, a few textures have been improved but not much. Oh and pretty much all of the character models were reused from Ocarina of Time.

10/10 - What? They're still brillient!

SOUND
Great music once more, all good tracks and, hooray, we hear the Zelda Theme once more in Termina Field! Huzzar!

9/10 - Doo do DOO doo do DOO do doo do do... Very much hum-able!

STORY
Because of the Skull Kid, the Moon is going to crash into the world and it's up to you to stop it by conquering various (4) dungeons. Original.

8/10 - ...

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay all revolves around masks which give Link certain powers such as turning him to a Goron or a Zora or making his face explode...

Also a new thing is you have to complete the game in three 'days', these day last about 24 minutes, but you can slow down or speed up the passage of time. Also, you can start at the beginning of the three days, but you'll have to do everything again (You will still have beaten the dungeons and have all the items you gained).

10/10 - Good. Man, am I sick of these summarys.

REPLAY
You'll play again.

10/10 - No... more... summarys!

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All in all Zelda Collector's Edition is up there for the best collection with Mario All-Stars.

Get it. Now.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/04/04