 Yeah, yeah, I know I said more than once I wouldn't ever do a link to the past review because what else is there to say about this game? It's friggin Zelda, it's one of the greatest blah blahs of blah blah blah. But after thinking about it, I wanted to make sure I eventually have a video for every pertinent Super Nintendo game. It's just one of those completest things, I guess. Besides, I always see it as kind of a challenge to give an honest critique to a game like this. Now, I know I'm walking a tightrope by offering criticism to Link to the Past. If you dare say you don't like a certain aspect of the game, many people just dismiss anything you say off-hand, and happily shove their fingers into their ears while shouting, I can't hear you, la la la la la la. So let's get all the mushy stuff out of the way right now. All the stuff that just goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. I'll start by saying that this is objectively a top five game on the Super Nintendo. It's up there with Chrono Trigger, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Mega Man X2 for me personally. All the fundamentals are perfect, and because of this, the game has aged remarkably well. The hit detection is dead on, the controls are tight, the art style still looks fantastic, everything looks really sharp. Really, the game looks, plays, and sounds like it could have come out yesterday. Overall, it's like the first Legend of Zelda, but more, bigger, and faster. Bigger map, bigger dungeons, more items, you get the idea. The music, especially the awesome Dark World theme, goes a long way to creating a world that you just want to hang out in, a precursor to games like Super Metroid. The only thing that hasn't really aged well is the story, because I have to read like, three flowcharts, consult a Ouija board, and call the president of Nintendo to find out where the hell this game places on the overall Zelda timeline these days. And even then, the story on its own is just, save the princess. There's one big twist, obviously, that everyone knows about already, but not much else happens, and no characters change or learn anything, but that's okay, the story and most Zelda games is secondary for a reason. Going back to the control real quick, one thing I really like about it, in particular, is that it feels complete. B attacks, A dashes or picks up stuff, Y uses an item, X brings up the map, start as your item menu, and select allows you to save or quit. I know that sounds stupidly basic, but it seems like a bunch of games back then really tried to be unique by reinventing the wheel and over-complicating things, like hold up and press Y to jump or whatever. So I really appreciate how simple and straightforward everything is here. It's just really nice to have everything right there at your fingertips. I will say switching items can be a little bit annoying at times, and that would have been a nice use of the L and R buttons, but the way it's done is fine. Now, my minor criticism of the game boils down to how the game handles its open-world aspect. This is where I think the game is a little trapped in its time. I think the developers are eager to demonstrate open-world exploring on the next level. Like if you thought wandering around on the original Zelda was fun, then check out this huge map that's like five times its size. In retrospect, it was fun, but nowadays it feels like kind of a bait-and-switch. Like, oh, you can go exploring, and yeah, you'll find heart pieces and random stuff once in a while. But to advance the story, it's still point A to point B. And the game tells you exactly where to go, as opposed to the first game where you really did have to stumble around until you found the next dungeon. And all that open-world stuff is just out the window. It feels like it's just there for the sake of being there. As opposed to a game like Link's Awakening, that's a game that embraced its limitations and kept the game almost entirely linear. And I know linear is a bad word to some people, but Link's Awakening was structured in such a clever way and did a remarkable job keeping things interesting. With item combinations like the running jump and bomb arrows, a weird story that eventually takes a dark turn, and all sorts of fun stuff. Again, I want to stress the open-world criticism for Link to the Past is very minor. The game makes up for it because, well, it's just so much fun to kill enemies with all sorts of different weapons. Link to the Past is almost like a beat-em-up in that way, and it's so much fun. But honestly, it makes the game a little too easy at times. Don't get me wrong, it's super satisfying to just zoom right through this game. It's fun to get the three pendants in no time flat, but the game is very much on the easy side and that includes the puzzles. In a way, it seems like a reaction to the first Zelda, which could be pretty damn brutal at times. But like I said, that's no big deal at all. For instance, hmm, what should I use to kill these guys? How about this? And yeah, as much as I appreciate the variety of items, I do have to say some of the items are pretty lame. And the game requires them to be used only a couple times. Like the cane that creates blocks? Okay, sure. I know I'm gonna get shit for saying that weapon is lame, but seriously, I hardly ever used it. Compare this to Link's Awakening, where you earn only about 10 items, but you use several of them in each dungeon, many times in combinations. Have I made it obvious enough that I like Link's Awakening better? Kinda weird too, since Link to the Past was what I played in my childhood, and I didn't even play Link's Awakening until my late 20s. Go figure. So here's where I finally ask, does Link to the Past live up to the hype? As if you need me to tell you, of course it does. In a very small way, it does seem trapped in its time, and personally, I like the first Zelda and Link's Awakening a bit more, but whatever, it's still immensely satisfying to run around and kill stuff, get the pendants, get the crystals, and save the princess.