jeremy1456's Full Review: The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition for GameC...
The Legend of Zelda, is one of Nintendo's most celebrated and longest running franchises. What began back in the 80s as a simple game, expanded into a franchise, which in turn, sprouted into a commodity. If you have never heard of the name The Legend of Zelda before, than it's likely that you have never played video games/been around games in your entire life. The only other franchise character which I would say is more popular than The Legend of Zelda series' own main character Link, is Nintendo's system mascot, Mario. This is all beside the point though. In it's later years, Nintendo has been notorious at specifically not giving players what they want. Cel shaded Zelda, and no Mario launch title are key examples of this. Just when you think that Nintendo will never change, they surprised us all last holiday season by offering a bonus to those who purchase Gamecube. This bonus came in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition.
So what exactly is this "Collector's Edition"? Basically Nintendo emulated all of it's console Zelda games (except for Link to the Past). What this means is that this collector's edition disc includes the games The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, and Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask all playable on Gamecube. This is the ultimate zelda collection; never before has Nintendo released such a comprehensive suite featuring everyone's favorite master sword wielding, green tunic wearing guy. This collection, along with the Gameboy Player makes the Nintendo Gamecube into the ultimate Zelda console, and can play every Zelda game ever created now (Nintendo developed, that is).
This game could be gained in numerous ways when it was first release, though Nintendo isn't giving it away anymore. You were given it free for registering a Gamecube console along with two Nintendo games, and it also came with a free system. I've heard you could have also recieved this compilation for free by simply subscribing to Nintendo Power which is definitely worth it if you pay no attention to the poor magazine. This compilation works well because I no longer am forced to play on the original two Zelda games on the NES controller (my thumb will never recover from that d-pad), and this was a great way for the more recent gamers to get a fix of classic gaming from a series that screams of the golden era of gaming. The N64 Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were also good additions, though the porting job for Majora's Mask was terrible, but enough chit chat. It's time to get on to the games.
Legend of Zelda
Complete with the original too much action on screen slowdown, The Legend of Zelda is reason alone to get this collection. Never mind that this game was re-released on the GBA under the Classic NES Series but this is the better deal. This game opened up new worlds and ideas for game developers of the time, and is one of the most remembered titles worldwide from the eighties. Despite the fact that I'm used to large amounts of on screen polygons, I still have no trouble playing this game after about twenty years. Few classics hold up in the world of gaming, but this is certainly one of them.
The game is very simple when compared to more recent Zelda offerings, and just about every modern game nowadays. You control Link as you travel from dungeon to dungeon solving very simple little puzzles as you gather the pieces of a magical triangle called the tri-force. As with every other Zelda game, this is a hack and slash affair, but differentiates in gameplay when new strategies are required involving the use of different items which will be found throughout the various dungeons. Though simplistic, I find this game to be infinitely more entertaining than most modern action RPGs, but then again I'm a classic gamer at heart.
The emulation is nearly spot on for this game, with the only difference being that I noticed were some ever so slight issues with the on screen colors. Nintendo could have done worlds better if they had fixed the slow down problems that have carried over. Let's face it, Nintendo could have put some more work into this release to deal with the slowdown problem, as there is really no excuse for not taking even the slightest bit advantage of the Gamecube's hardware.
Zelda II: The Adventures of Link
I'd like to go on record by saying that this game is the worst Zelda game, but it's still a very fun experience. I've never quite understood why people dislike this title, maybe it's the Metroid-ish implements or the side scrolling sections of the game. I however could be considered weird in saying that this game easily finds a snug spot on my top one hundred list of games. I do say that Nintendo should have not made Zelda II as it is, and could have kept everyone happy if this had been a more traditional release for the NES rather than trying something new with a formula that certainly wasn't broken.
Most modern fans of Zelda who missed out on this installment most likely wouldn't enjoy it. Unlike Nintendo's usual fare, this game is much more oriented as a sequel to the original, with Link setting out to save Princess Zelda from her deep sleep, and to prevent Ganon from being reborn. The world map was much in the vain of an RPG, with little monsters running around waiting for an encounter with Link. Encounters and dungeons are handled in side scrolling form, with Link facing off against an enemies with his sword slashing skills.
The emulation is pretty spot on, I haven't been able to spot any differences in the game. Though this game definitely isn't for everyone, it's still worth a look just to settle any curiosities you may have. It's a pretty difficult game. I doubt many people got this compilation just for this game alone, but I honestly wouldn't blame anyone who would. At least Nintendo realized that you cannot have a Zelda compilation without the stepchild sequel of this series.
Note:
Okay you may have noticed that Nintendo completely passed on including A Link to the Past in this compilation. You may be wondering why, and that's why I'm here. I'm guessing that Nintendo realized the inclusion of it would mess with the sales of the GBA port of the game. If you really wanna play the game on your Gamecube, than you're going to need the Gameboy Player, and a copy of the GBA version. Moving on...
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Once touted as Zelda 64, this game became one of the most hyped in the history of gaming for Nintendo's second place console the N64. This game seemed to be the answer to all problems Nintendo had with their 64-bit console, and even though it fixed no problems, it's still my favorite Zelda game ever. It was a landmark not only because of what it brought to the action RPG genre, but also because it was the first Zelda game to plunge into the realms of 3-D. This game was offered on another Zelda bonus disc (which I own), but the other disc came with a version called ura Zelda, which featured remixed dungeons which are worth getting the other disc for.
This is the most famous Zelda title amongst those most recently introduced to the medium, and it seems that Nintendo is not going to stop until every single person has played it at least once. This game marked the introduction of a new Link character who is a mere elven child in the beginning of the game. With the help of Princess Zelda and the Ocarina of Time, Link becomes the hero of time shortly into the storyline where he has become a full adult. From here, Link must fight off Ganon with his own hidden power and with a little help from a mysterious character named Sheik. With this game, Nintendo invented the targetting system which is becoming increasingly popular in gaming.
The emulation seems to be nearly the same job done on the earlier re-release for this title. The problem is that it hasn't been improved from the N64 release, and there are still a few slight problems Nintendo never worked through. All in all, this version of the game is totally playable, and has gotten the most playtime from myself because gameplay is pretty deep as far as action RPGs are concerned, and it's still one of my favorite games of all time.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
This Zelda game came out too late in the N64's lifetime to sell on par with Ocarina of Time, as it was released on the same day of the PS2's launch. Just from looking at this game it's easy to tell that it was based directly off the Ocarina of Time engine. What's more is that the storyline takes a rare path and is actually a direct sequel of the previous Zelda title. This game didn't recieve nearly the amount of attention that it deserved, and this is why you owe it to yourself to get this (even though the emulation job for this title is extremely buggy).
This version of the game pales in comparison to the original release because of how buggy it is, with crashing, and a messed up audio track. It's still playable, but more than a little on the annoying side of the spectrum. Majora's Mask picks up right after Ocarina of Time, with Link on a journey through foggy woods looking for a lost friend. From here, the Ocarina of Time given to him by Princess Zelda is stolen, and he's changed into the lowest of forms, a Deku scrub. After his transformation, Link is transported to the mysterious world of Termina which needs saving from a giant meteor. This is a unique Zelda game, and is a pretty dark game.
Like I already mentioned, Nintendo did a crappy job on the emulation of this title with bugs all over the place. I've heard that this is because of the fact that the original required use of the N64 expansion pack, and it's understandable that this would be a little difficult to emulate unless the developer spent some real time with this compilation like they should have. I would have been much happier with this had the bugs in this game been fixed, and a better framerate for all the games certainly wouldn't have hurt anything. Though all the bugs, if you have patience you can still play this game.
Special Features
This compilation comes with a demo and video for Wind Waker which I haven't tried because I already own the game. Nintendo did include a history of Zelda feature, which I enjoyed, and it was nice because I've been around since Zelda was first released.
Final Recommendation
If you are buying this compilation off of Ebay (I wouldn't pay more than $50) than make sure that it's not just for Majora's Mask because of the bad emulation job. This compilation is any Zelda fan's dream come true, and if you have the Gameboy Player you can play any Zelda you dream of on the Gamecube console (let's not count the CD-i games, please) by purchasing the GBA and Gameboy Color titles. This has been an entry into Rock_on's Nintendo write-off, please check his profile page for the other participants.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA COLLECTORS EDITION 4 GAMES - Nintendo GameCube DescriptionBonus Disc with complete emulated versions of The Legend of Zelda Ze...More at BradianGames.com
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