Replaying the game just recently, these moments are still full of power and purpose, as if you and Link are driven forward through intuition and muscle memory rather than any type of deliberate choice. You follow your uncle towards the Hyrule Castle and gain entry through a shortcut hidden under a bush. As the rain beats down outside, Zelda speaks to you telepathically and spurs you to action. The opening is atmospheric and full of tension.
I’ll also give credit to Nintendo Power and assorted flyers tucked inside Super Nintendo game boxes for making me even more excited for A Link to the Past. I had also played Ghosts ‘N Goblins at some point prior to this, but its punishing difficulty may have also swayed me towards another trip to Hyrule. While I would be tempted by and eventually own both, it was the third Zelda title that I couldn’t help but gravitate towards after spending so many hours enjoying the first two games on my NES. As it so happened, just a few doors down from my house, a neighbour was selling what I believe were sealed copies of Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, in that unmistakable gold box. What did interest me, however, was checking out each yard sale for electronics, video games in particular. I guess you could say they were spring cleaning, but such a phrase wouldn’t have a ton of significance to seven-year-old me. As the weather began to warm up in the middle months of my westcoast Canadian home, the families in my neighbourhood would have garage sales every couple weekends. The story of how I acquired this particular cartridge is an odd one, which I’ll share with brevity. An almost 30-year-old entry in one of gaming’s most storied franchises, A Link to the Past might not be everyone’s first or favourite Zelda game, but without a doubt it remains a timeless classic. Every 2D Zelda title that came before and has come since is compared to this 16-bit masterpiece, one that is every bit as entertaining now as it was in April of 1992, a mere eight months after the launch of the SNES. The Super Nintendo would be home to many quintessential entries, from Super Mario World to Super Metroid, but A Link to the Past didn’t need “Super” in its name to be much more superlative than that adjective could convey. It alludes to time travel in a delicious pun on its plucky protagonist, but what’s even better than its supremely effective title is the game behind it.
In terms of titles, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is an all-timer.
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