"4 games to suit all your Zelda needs"

More or less, the "Zelda" Franchise is one of the most influential icons in gaming history. There is a game for any kind of person, and most people have took a liking to this young, blonde haired fellow. His name is Link. He has been saving the princess Zelda since the old NES days. The games have only gotten better from there, and this collection brings some of the best in the series. The original came out in 1987. This was the first game to use the save feature, which was a huge thing back then. The second game wasn't really received well with the audience, but it's a pretty solid game. Ocorina of Time was one of the best games ever, and Majora'a Mask, well, the rest of them are great. This is a almost perfect collection and will keep you satisfied for many times to come.

There are different things to choose from straight form the main menu. You can either pick one of the main games, or you can pick from some special features. There is a video anthology of the Zelda series which is actually pretty interesting, seeing from where the game started from, to where it is now. There is a movie about the newest game: "The Wind Waker". There is also a twenty minute playable demo of "The Wind Waker" which is a very good mix to the batch. Overall, there are a good amount of things to do in the game.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA 8/10

There are many good things to say about this game, but before I do that, I want to say some thing that I didn't like. You can't jump. This just annoys me. I would of rather had it so that you could jump, because there are parts in the game where you are completely stuck or surrounded by a massive group of enemies, and it would of been a lot less tedious if you could of jumped. One other thing that kind of made me mad, was the fact that you never really knew exactly where to go. They just sent you out there, and you just hoped that you find something. That was about it for the negative comments though, the rest of the game is spectacular!!!!

The soundtrack are great and add a really adventurous feel to the game. I really got into the game right when I started to hear the music. There are many different tracks and the Dungeon music is classic. I remember listening to this when I was a kid. There are a couple boss tracks, but not many. The ones that are there though, are awesome! Overall, the music is epic and they did nothing wrong here.

The graphics are NES like, and are cool if you like old school game like myself. Link looks very small... but size doesn't matter right!? Anyway, there are some pretty neat effects in the game like planting bombs and watching them explode. The bosses look really detailed, given that they were made way back in '87. The graphics are quite good for that time period, and won't leave you disappointed.

There isn't much of a story, you are out to save the princess Zelda from the evil guy Gannon. That's mostly it. The game lacks on story, but the gameplay more than makes up for it. You click the A button to swing your sword, and click the B button to use the special items that you pick up. This is very simple, but very entertaining. You can collect many different special items like bombs and a boomerang. You basically go from dungeon to dungeon, beating the bosses and picking up pieces of the triforse. The dungeons are really detailed, so going through them is fun and challenging, so you wont get bored.

Overall, The Legend Of Zelda is an amazing start the he series and will keep even the newest to games, interested. The old schoolers wont have much to complain about here either.

8/10

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE ADVENTURE OF LINK 7/10

This game came out just a little bit after the first one. It had mixed reviews and comments about it. The only reason that people didn't like this game was because it was different. For this one they forgot much of the original's gameplay and replaced it with a more RPG approach. This is an above average game that took a chance.

The graphics in "The Adventure Of Link" are sooo much better than the first game. They added a whole bunch more color and detail. Link is bigger now, so you can actually see some of his features. The sword and magics that he uses look a lot cooler this time around, and the enemies are more exotic. There was basically nothing to complain about here.

The music... well they turned in a different direction here. Instead of the epic score from the last game, they used very wired sounds for music. It actually doesn't really sound like music at all. Nothing really to say here but that the music was lacking a lot.

So, you have to get this crystal right? You then bring it back to the castle.

The story is almost not there, and will not intersect you very much. There is a good thing about this though, it gives you more time to enjoy the gameplay! You are thrown into battles, (that's the best way that I can say it). Think of an action RPG where you get into a battle, and you have a confined place to fight your enemy. That is basically it. You can get many different spells, and stuff by leveling up. You level up like in every other RPG and this happens when you get enough experience. When you level up you can raise either your attack, your magic, or your life. This gives you a good variety of options, so it keeps the game more interesting. Overall, the gameplay was very new and fun. They experimented with this game, and in my opinion, they made a pretty good game.

7/10

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE OCARINA OF TIME 9/10

This game came out in 1998, and left everyone who played it in awe. This was a beautiful game, with lush graphics, a perfect score, and a whole world to explore. With a new look, do you think that this game is good? Well, didn't you read the score? This is one of the best games ever created, and gives you enough reason alone to pick up a copy of this collection of games.

The music in this game is wonderful. They even give you a new look on the old classic tunes. The music flows gracefully within the game and the sound effects are superb. Every sword swing, every yelp from Link when he gets beaten to a bloody pulp (okay, maybe not bloody) sounds perfect. You can really get into this game from just the music, and I will not doubt that a lot of you will.

The graphics.. oh, the look of OoT. Today, the blocky N64 graphics are horrible, but back in the day when the system reigned supreme, this was the cream of the crop. You could go anywhere, and explore anything, so there was a whole bunch to look at. The trees sway gracefully, birds fly, and the huge owl is very detailed. Huge Owl..... Anyway, Link looks even better than before, and looks a little bit more human like. Overall, the graphics are mesmerizing and will leave you breathless.

The Story is pretty much the same as usual. That evil Bastard Gannon has kidnapped the princess Zelda, and you are off on a mighty quest to save her, and all of Hyrile. Yeah, actually, I over did that a little bit, but you're not playing this game for a story right? The gameplay has changed a bunch since the last game, but mostly because they have changed the game to fully 3-D. You can now run around freely, and it's actually really cool just to run around in the fields, and beat all of the baddies. The bosses are very imaginative, and will have you thinking because the only gripe that I have about this game relates to that. This game is extremely hard! The difficulty level has risen a huge amount since the last installment of the series. Overall, the felling of being free in the game is surprisingly fun, but the difficulty level might turn some people off.

At the end of the day, The Legend Of Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time is a spectacular game. It is a little hard, but it's fun nether less. One of the best in the series.

9/10

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: MAJORA'S MASK 7/10

The new sequel came out in 2000. More hype then you can ever think of. When the game came out, there was mixed views on it, and it was named the most different of the Zelda titles. Majora's Mask did not live up to the hype, even though it is a decent game.

The music in this game is basically the same as the last game, but they remixed it a little bit. The sound effects are a bit better this time around, and who doesn't love that masked dude's laugh? I mean, come on people? Anyway, The music is exceptional. They didn't do anything to different, they just kept it mostly the same. If it's not broke, don't fix it. That's what I always say.

The graphics, though, have been improved a bunch. The environments are a lot more detailed than before, and the enemies look a lot cooler this time around. The characters are not so blocky this time around, so you will have a little relief there. The night and day scenes are great, and the bosses look even more extreme and wonderful. Overall, they did an extraordinary job with the graphics.

Here's another really good part of the game. The storyline. There is more of a story in Majora's Mask, then in any other Zelda game. This makes the game unique. There is a big crater like thing coming down to the earth, and if it hits the ground, it will destroy the earth. It is your job to stop the crater by finding, and defeating the thing that summoned it. This is a very deep story and I really got into it. But the gameplay, it's a little different. You basically have the same moves as in the Ocarina Of Time, but there is one thing that separates it. You have a time limit to beat the game... wait, WTF? Yeah, you have 72 hours until the crater hits the earth and destroys everything, so you have to beat the game fast. No, actually you can set the time back sometimes with new songs that you learn. This makes the game quite challenging, almost more challenging g than the last one. Overall, the story is great, but the gameplay is definitely lacking.

6/10

Here is the crucial question. "Should I really go out of my way to find this game so that I can buy it? The answer is: If you can find this game, definitely pick it up. It's pretty rare, so it will not be found very often. If you already have all of these game, and don't really feel like hunting for this, then no. This is a fine collection and will leave you very satisfied.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/15/05