Game #14: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Redux ROM Hack)

Release Year: 1992

System: PC

Date Finished: March 31st

Status: Completed


(As a heads-up, the romhack I used to play the game mainly just added a few QoL features, like item quick swap or making the Ice Palace more manageable. The latter of which being the only real major change, otherwise it’s the SNES classic. Just cleaned up a tad)

So glad to have finally played through ALTTP in its entirety. Back in 2018 I got a little into the Dark World and stopped cause Smash Ultimate came out, and I just never went back until now. The visuals have aged beautifully, the sprite work and general style is timeless. And a lot of the music has since become iconic for good reason between the intro jingle, the main theme, the Dark World, Ganon’s theme, and some of the smaller tunes that still stick in my mind. The gameplay loop is classic Zelda and I never tire of it.


The dungeons are fun, but for the most part I found them and the bosses to be a let down. I’m sure it’s just due to being the second go at this structure of Zelda, but the puzzles, item use, and general feel of the dungeons weren’t nearly as engaging as later games came to be. Really doesn’t help that so many of the dungeons share the same music, so they kinda blend together outside of different color palettes. Skull Woods had a neat gimmick of going through different entrances outside, but otherwise the inside is very simple. And shoutouts to the boss of Misery Mire or “Level 6” being the easiest one in the game lmao. The boss fights were generally fun and intense, but I don’t like that some of them just rely on an overwhelming amount of shit to avoid. The difficulty curve with them was a bit wonky, and not enough imo take full advantage of your gear to make something really clever and unique. Surely there’s *some* way you could involve the Power Gloves for a boss fight, but instead it’s just 3 big worms you whack on their heads.

Outside of dungeons though, I love the amount of secrets there are to uncover in the overworlds. It’s an absolute joy to get a new tool and immediately think of all the things you can do now with it. And with things like hidden fairy fountains or the Mysterious Ponds, I can totally see how fun it might’ve been at the time to trade secrets with friends.


Overall, while I wouldn’t say it’s a new favorite, I ended up really enjoying A Link to the Past. It’s the quintessential 2D Zelda, even if I personally prefer A Link Between Worlds for its more engaging dungeons and free movement. Absolutely recommend the game to anyone who hasn’t played through it yet like me.

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