The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo Template:Infobox/designer
Release date	1992 for SNES, 2002 for GBA
Genre	Action/Adventure/RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Age rating(s)	N/A (SNES), (ESRB: Everyone (GBA)
Platform(s)	SNES, later ported to GBA Template:Infobox/media
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is officially the third game in the highly regarded Legend of Zelda series. Link returns to original form after the unorthodox side-scrolling Zelda 2 on the SNES, in one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time [1]. The influence of aLttP is so great that it's core gameplay echoes through out the rest of the series, such as the Nintendo 64 classic, Ocarina of Time.

On December 2, 2002, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance port of A Link to the Past. Combined with the Capcom-developed Legend of Zelda: Four Swords on one cartridge, it had a few minor changes from the original version.

Story

The game starts like many Zelda games after it would start, with an old Hyrulian legend, which was later the basis of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Stories are told in Hyrule about a Golden Land (known as the Sacred Realm in Ocarina) that houses an incredible power known as the Triforce, which can grant wishes. An evil man known as Ganon entered this Golden Land, taking the Triforce for himself and turning the Golden Land into the "Dark World". But to lock Ganon there, seven wise men known as the Seven Sages created a seal on the entrance to the Dark World, which can only be broken by the Seven Sages or their descendants. (The Seven Sages were called the Seven Wise Men in the original SNES release of A Link to the Past, but this was changed in the GBA port since Ocarina of Time illustrates that the Seven Sages were obviously not all men.)

Now, hundreds of years later, an evil wizard named Agahnim is looking for seven maidens descended from the Seven Sages. After sending them all to the Dark World, he plans to break the seal and release Ganon and the Triforce's power.

One night, while a storm raged outside, Link was sound asleep in his bed when he heard a voice out of nowhere. It is a telepathic cry for help from the trapped Princess Zelda. Link goes out to rescue her, making his way into the castle, and finds his dying Uncle, attacked by the soldiers who had taken control of Hyrule Castle, imprisoned the princess, and slayed the king. Taking up his sword and shield, Link manages to save Zelda from Agahnim and brings her to a safe house to hide. He then sets off to collect Three Pendants, sacred items needed to release the "sword of evil's bane", the Master Sword.

Trivia

• Unlike previous games in the Zelda series, this game was not manufactured in a gold-coloured case.
• There is a secret room called the Chris Houlihan room. It is the result of a Nintendo Power contest, where the winner would get a secret room named after them.
• In The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2003, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was the only Zelda home console game not included. This was likely due to the game already having a port on the GBA and would be accessable on the Gamecube via Game Boy Player.
• The game innovates on dungeon design of previous installments by adding the concept of multiple floors & layers, including basements.

External Links

• A Link to the Past official website
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past wiki guide at StrategyWiki