I consider The Legend of Zelda one of the most overrated series of all time. People speak of it's greatness and charm and wonderous worlds, where all I see most of the time is hollow, bland, and uninteresting. There are a choice few in the series I love, and I play every game in the series, because I one day hope Nintendo can reach it's former heights. In order to articulate my specific feelings, and perhaps catch some gems I've looked over in the past, I've chosen to write a series retrospective on Zelda, and review each main entry in the series. (Sorry, no CD-i games because no.) To kick it off, why not start with Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System?

Forming the basis for just about every plot to come in the Zelda series, Princess Zelda of Hyrule is kidnapped, and it is up to you to slay her kidnapper Gannon, collect the triforce, and save the world! The Legend of Zelda starts off with you in an open field with nothing but the mediocre shield in your hand and the clothes on your back. You claim your sword with one of the most iconic lines in the medium's history, and go on your merry way.

The game primarily consists of two things. Navigating an overworld and finding secrets, and dungeon crawling. I found the overworld exploration very interesting. Finding secrets, figuring out how things work, and learning the lay of the land were all very fun experiences, I only wish there was some form of full overworld map. I don't desire fast travel or markers or anything, just some conveyance of where things are without total reliance on your memory. The dungeons, though, are a little less interesting. There isn't a lot of variance to the puzzles, and frequently there aren't enough cues to tell you what to do. Finding out where to bomb things is incredibly frustrating, as you have a limited supply and there is nothing to show where to bomb. This is an NES game, so I guess it's a bit unrealistic to expect terrible levels of complexity, but I can ask for the smallest bit of direction. I also found the game unfairly difficult, and I git hit by several cheap deaths I couldn't avoid.

The best part of just about any Zelda game is the music, and this first entry delivers in it's iconic theme and atmosphere-building dungeon track. I wish there was a bit more variety to the music, and that the sound effects were less grating, though.

From a visual standpoint, I think this game is among my favorite on the system. The various areas of Hyrule are distinct and varied, and each have their own fun atmosphere, despite the music never changing. There's so much interesting iconism in the graphical stylings that will show up in just about every Zelda here, and it's fun to go back and see the origins of it all.

The Legend of Zelda is a fascinating game, regardless of your opinion on it. This game is one of the most iconic on the NES, one of the most important for the industry and a fun experience, despite its shortcomings. Though this isn't among the best in the series, this game definitely earns it's place in gaming history (at least for the time it came out.) 8 out of 10