The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) review "Who is Link, and why is Zelda?"

Can you imagine the sort of pressure that had to exist for the developers of this title? Consider it: The predecessor was an open world juggernaut of a title on the NES, and somehow its sequel on the brand-spanking-new Super NES had to be all that and more. Naturally, Nintendo knew better: The fresh cookie didn’t have to have more ingredients, but rather, more of the same with enough changes to distinguish itself from the past, which could be the very reason for the title. From the very outset we’re being told to reset our expectations.

Pretty clever.

My experience was on the ground floor with this title, back in 1992, though it might have been a little later, since I tried it out on a friend’s console, first. I’ve never been particularly good at Zelda games. The NES Legend of Zelda was a black box to me, and I would stare in amazement at the maps that adult players would make as they played it.

Maps were too much work for me as a young player, though, and the developers seemed aware of that. Sure, a full screen map showed off the fancy new features of their latest hardware, but when you’re embroiled in trying to save anyone, functional components of a game have to be orderly, accessible and uncomplicated. Limits, even artificial ones, can solve problems as a matter of necessity.

Okay, okay, so who are we saving and why? What is a Zelda? What is a Link? Why are three triangles so important? Let’s break it down. Link to the Past knows its audience as primarily arcade oriented, so wait long enough and the story will be laid out for you as a series of attract screens. For the rest of us, there’s a snazzy 3D animation that puts three great golden triangles on display, connected to form a larger one.

That was impressive, but more 3D like it was many years away. In the interim, let’s assume you want to get playing. You’ll be greeted by a file select screen wherein you enter a name. Once you choose start, you’re off to the races—or, off to bed. You’re greeted by a dark and rainy scene that has you following a guy out of your house. Having skipped the manual you have no idea who he is, but he doesn’t last long.

Not so great for him, but his duty is now squarely on your shoulders. You know that someone is asking for help, and now you’re the only one who can get the job done. All you’ve got is a lamp, sword and shield to your name, and everyone is out to get you.

The familiar open world experience is your playground, though gated by story elements like grumpy and dangerous guards, walls and more. In kind, your path into the castle is hidden, but not difficult to discover, and introduces lifting and throwing tidily. This is Nintendo’s way of teaching you how to play: The holistic tutorial. Oh, right...who is Link, and why is Zelda?

You’ll learn that you, as the player, are Link, though your chosen name will be substituted whenever it appears in game. Zelda is a princess, and needs rescuing, which is going to be tricky as the castle is swarming with armoured baddies. What were you thinking chasing your uncle in your jammies?

Not all is lost, thankfully. Health restoratives are hidden under pots, which you’ve learned how to throw, recently. You’ll need them to restore hearts when you blunder into an enemy. Fortunately, as you explore the seemingly vast building, you’ll learn its layout and what you need to progress. Players of the NES Legend of Zelda may be impatient to explore the world, but the tale being told is quite different, this time. There’s a lot more text to fill you in on story events, drop puzzle hints and scroll annoyingly slow especially when you’ve accidentally told them you didn’t understand and have to sit through it all a second time.

Meanwhile, as you pursue the goal of rescuing Zelda, you’ll discover that things are moving more quickly and dangerously than you know. That sword you recovered isn’t going to be enough for the task of defeating the foe seeking the Golden Power (the triangles in the opening), so that will be your first task. Doing so opens up a vast adventure of exploration between Hyrule and the Dark World, which mirror each other in mechanically significant ways.

There’s no question that the technological leap from the NES made this two world adventure possible. Nintendo accomplished the goal of expanding the limits of gameplay on a home console. Not for a moment do you need a manual to understand how the tools and equipment work, or how you might apply them to further your quest. Link to the Past is a puzzle on a world scale that asks you to consider how unlikely pieces might fit together.

How have I gotten this far without mentioning the iconic musical themes composed by the legendary Koji Kondo? That’s easy: This game is easily as compelling without the music! Of course, most of the themes are doing some heavy lifting infusing your adventure with a clear sense of excitement, but that wouldn’t last very long if it didn’t set you up with puzzles you could overcome with your own ingenuity. The music isn’t beside the point, but it is your cheering section, not the key to solving the puzzles that lay ahead of you.

The fact is that each puzzle element in the game requires you to be creative with what you have, or discover a new one for the latest problem you’ve identified. The first of these you’ll receive after the sword, which is the blue boomerang. This can be used to stun enemies, block arrows and activate certain switches. You’ll also realize that you can’t swim, and that there’s a solution to this that is going to take some work. Accomplishing that feat will open the way to equipment and weapon upgrades that will make your journey that much easier as well.

Many of these items, pieces of equipment are, in fact, completely optional. Many are only necessary for the completion of the dungeons, and some are almost totally useless outside of them. They shall remain nameless, for your personal exploration and disappointment. Even an apple has its poisonous seeds.

Naturally, this begs the question, why have optional items at all? A bit of foresight, perhaps? It certainly is a smart way to ramp up the difficulty of a game with no software controlled option to do so. Enemies will always be the same in each run through the game, and so the only thing that can change is you. Skip those upgrades and necessary items and the endgame is going to be much more challenging.

Nintendo knew exactly how to improve on their NES classic, and there’s no facet of this game that fails to do so. Not only are the game mechanics more varied and interesting, as discussed; the music grander with sampled orchestral presentation; the graphics are more lush and detailed as well with atmospheric style effects not previously possible. This is a complete world with compelling story and flawless execution that will have you returning for more. Certain developers of a limitless style of cavernous play would agree, and I’m sure you will as well.

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Community review by hastypixels (August 13, 2025) Wisdom comes from effort and mistakes.