Thank you all so much for watching! With the advent of a community tab, you'll be able to hear about future updates to the channel directly from KZfaq. Stay tuned for more and tell me what games you'd want me to cover! I'd also be willing to talk about more Zelda games if that suits your fancy.

A big thing to remember about information scarcity in Zelda 1, is that the design assumes that you've read the manual. Doing so makes things, if not clear, at least significantly less obtuse.

One thing that you're overlooking in this analysis is that this game is from back in the days when instruction booklets were considered vital to playing a game. Most games' stories existed almost entirely within the instruction booklet, (this game being one of the few exceptions that had some minor story within the game itself) PC games of the time were still using the instruction manuals for old school DRM, and not that long ago, in the Atari era, game design was often so limited that you needed the instructions to even have some clue how to play at all, never mind beat the game. There was also no used game market to speak of, so developers never imagined that somebody might own a copy of the game WITHOUT the instruction manual. If you had the manual, you would know very well that Ganon's fortress was in Death Mountain, and you would have a map of the overworld, for example, addressing a couple of the complaints you bring up.

Funny, but I love the Spectacle Rock clue. Giving the player the opportunity to realize, "Oh, those two big rocks look like a pair of spectacles!" is basically giving them an opportunity to feel like a real adventurer/explorer using their wits to find the path. Indiana Jones type stuff, really.

“Too ambiguous if you aren’t familiar with the Zelda series” I reckon not too many players were familiar with the Zelda series when Zelda 1 came out 😅

23:00 The arrow one-shots Pols Voice, which are everywhere in this dungeon

I share a birthday with this game and I think that's really neat.

Watching this video is really making me realize how heavily The Binding of Isaac is inspired by this game. The rooms with the two fires next to the guy in the center, the ladder and boomerang items, having bombs and keys (with bombs being able to blast open doors), the enemies largely being designed around avoidance and movement, being cryptic as all hell, the general control scheme and level design (I think it undoubtedly has rooms that are copies of rooms from this game), etc. It's basically just a roguelike version of this game with more items and no overworld, just dungeon after dungeon.

My first video was also a review of this game; in fact, it was only uploaded a month before yours! And I must say, I can't understand for the life of me how it has just as many views as yours does. Your production quality and flow just blow mine out of the water, and while you didn't go as in depth into the dungeon designs as I would have liked, everything else about this review was completely on point. I especially loved your section on combat - you covered the way it works so comprehensively and in a way that manages to discredit much of the surface level complaints I've seen thrown at it from other KZfaqrs. I like Scott the Woz, but his "review" was so bare bones and uncaring that it's frankly laughable how many views it has compared to this video - I hope the algorithm picks this video up and gives it the attention it deserves. I hope you keep making great reviews like this one.

A lot of your dificulties with the tips the games give you can be solved if you read the manual. At that time, games came with manuals that in some cases were almost vital to the understanding of the games. It would tell you a lot of secrets, better tips to reach the final dungeons, where the Spectacle Rocks and Death Mountain are, that there's an item food and that the Goriya blocking your passage is hungry, etc. Manuals are gone now because the devs simply make ingame tutorials.

What a great review! Had to play it again to show my wife who loved playing this game with our son. Brought back great memories!

There's an overworld map in the manual, and in a fold-out poster that comes in the box.

One of the things that you may not be aware of is that there were a whole series of documents that were given to you when you bought the game. There was a manual, a map that gave you some clues about locations of the first few dungeons..:it left a lot of the exploration to you and give you ways to document it so you look back to it later.

I’ve been watching through your videos and this has gotta be my favourite. It’s a great analysis, and your editing really captures that Zelda feeling of adventure. Keep it up!

The production value is so high man

saving this for later and leaving a comment to help out a little since your content is sick, im excited to watch this when i get the time!

One of if not the best video I've seen on this amazing game. A+ review.

Its quite interesting to see how your view on it has changed in such a way, as my view of the game has become the reverse. I adored this game when I first played it for many reasons, but now I look back on and acknowledge it for its great concepts but less than adequate execution. I have never thought of how the game handles its combat though, but now that I think back upon with your words in mind I certainly see the design of it. I think another problem with the information based puzzles are interpretation. I know for myself and many of my childhood friends, we interpreted the "grumble grumble..." as it being frustrated, not hungry. We would always say someone is grumbling when they were venting to themselves.

Happy to see a review that wasn't 4 hours long.....

J.basham I grew up playing this game . Now I 43 years I still love to play. One of the best games of all time . I hope over the Generations games like this will not be forgotten. 🤔😁

zelda 1 is my 2nd favorite zelda game. it just feels like the quintessential fantasy game. the beginning of it all, so much is left to the imagination

Loved this format. Please do one for all zelda!

I will also mention that discovery also includes knowing which weapon to use or not to use to better defeat enemies. In example arrows will one shot the bunnies , and magic has no effect on the wizards so the wand is not useful. Further the slimes can be killed with a single shot and only drop items if they are otherwise they divide into their weaker form that drop nothing.

another great video! i personally still agree with your younger self when it comes to zelda 1 😅, but this did a great job of explaining why someone with no nostalgia could still fall in love with it :). also, the editing was really great! felt like a big step up with the animated text and such, so good job!

The game is alright, but damn, bombing every tile of rock or having to burn every bush.... one bush at a time before leaving the screen and walking back... we could have done with out that nonsense.

Having played nothing but intellevision, colecovision and Atari, when the NES came out there was just nothing like it. Especially Zelda. I think that’s the reason the game is so cryptic. Playing it at the time, people explored every part of the map bombing, burning and trying to push everything and since it was a brand new amazing experience people didn’t think twice about it. Glad people are now getting a new appreciation for the way it’s made. It’s the game that has hooked me onto fantasy action/rpg games and I’ll always be nostalgic for it with zero complaints 😂

Awesome video! Just subbed. I’ve always enjoyed this game but I struggle with the combat.

I loved your breakdown of the combat. Would love to see something similar for some of the other Zelda’s

Great video

The “Power is in the tip of the arrow” hint can also apply to the Pols Voice enemies that die in one hit from an arrow and first appear on that level. Perhaps that’s why it’s there, to cover both situations.

keep making videos these are good

Zelda 1 is an interesting game. It's pretty tough! I never got far as a kid that's for sure. I played it relatively recently in MESEN with "Zelda: Remastered" HD pack, it was a GREAT experience! Now, it has some changes which definitely make the game easier, like hints for which screens have secrets and other small things, but it was lovely. Ever thought of making a video like this for Zelda 2? I can say that I really liked that one too, I played that with "Zelda 2 Redux", which has a bunch of improvements, including a better translation for hints, was able to get through that entire game without a guide... *except* for the final temple, I did not know how to get further, turns out I needed to break a couple of blocks and fall down an invisible hole. Highly recommend!

I found that moblin when I was fighting the peahats there and got bumped into the secret passage. Mind blown.

Zelda is Dungeons & Dragons. I'm getting Nintendo online to check this game out.

Only thing i hate in this game are darknuts and Wizrobes

I can't freaking believe its been 35 years, would I would give to go back.

Dman boi that intro was just mmmmwha perfextionnn

As a kid back then, i gotta say this is my personal favorite of all time. I have 3 games, super mario, zelda and street fighter that i follow ever since i been a gamer. Sometimes throw doom in there as well, but nothing matches playing zelda for the first time as a kid. It was and still is one of the best memories i have.

everyone says zelda 1 is peak until you run into a room full of blue dark nuts or that one room with the wizrobes and the moving sparks.

Eastmost Peninsula was pretty clear to me since it led me to the letter for buying potions and the shops near the coast which I believe has meat as well. And there's the dock launch point for you to keep in mind for later and you're rewarded a heart piece Also Spectacle Rock is literally just to mean the rocks that look like eyewear. Not only did it lead me to Level 9 before even finding Level 7, it also let me find one of the two heart containers that you need a bomb for since it was in a big ass rock that reminded me of a monacle 😅

I have the easiest time handling darknuts when there's blocks in the room. I can kinda hunker down behind one, and when one of the darknuts passes by, I can flank him. Also, your sword has just enough reach that when attacking while facing upward, it can extend past the block's tile and still register as a hit.

This wasn't my first Zelda. A Link to the Past was one of the 2 games we got with our SNES, which is when I was first allowed to play at around age 3-4. I played Link's Awakening, and Ocarina of Time. Then, I got a PC. I didn't know about emulators, but I found a full remake of Zelda 1 for PC called Zelda Classic. That's how I first experienced the game. Being stuck to moving a 16x16 character on an 8x8 grid, stabbing instead of swinging the sword, it felt janky, but being a kid that hoovered up every NES game I could find at yard sales, I wasn't expecting something as smooth or user friendly as later games. I beat it, felt accomplished, but it wasn't my favorite. It was still a standout in the NES library. But Zelda Classic had a quest editor. The engine was Zelda 1 with very few additions, such as having super powered versions of the Octorock and Darknut that could be used as super bosses, and toggling whether you take damage from you bombs and fire, as well as the Master Sword and Gold Ring, another higher level of armor and ring people could put into their quests. There was also a BS Zelda mode that added some graphical flourishes from the SNES BS Zelda, and halved the width of the world map, and the option to reduce the number of triforce pieces from 8 to 3. These new quests could also have custom midi music, customized graphics coming with 8 bit Zelda 1 and 16 bit BS Zelda, as well as the ability to draw/import your own, and full control over editing the world, dungeons, lost wood/hills style puzzles, NPC dialog, etc. I played so many custom quests. Some were amateurish, or silly. Some were well made, and often more difficult than the base game. They were often split between resembling the 8 bit style even if they had many custom graphics, and many different 16 bit style interpretations beyond using BS Zelda or ALttP graphics. It was amazing seeing all of these 16 bit tilesets used in custom quests that played like an NES game. I played so many custom Zelda quests, and even a few based on other things like Metroid, Mega Man, and even Cheech and Chong. I came to love this game and its mechanics, warts and all. I got so used to grid snapping that it never bothered me. I learned the rather wonky way bomb damage against darknuts is calculated, as well as how to safely fight them by attacking from below through a block or obstacle, or safespotting on the step ladder, in rooms that allowed this. Because of Zelda Classic offering me a nearly endless supply of free Zelda adventures back when I was like 12 on into my teens, it greatly increased my appreciation for this first entry and I replay it often. One brilliant example of a puzzle from a quest I had to sleep on was the entrance to a dungeon. The door was a locked puzzle door. In one corner behind low blocks (can be shot over but not walked over) was a torch. The candle couldn't reach, and I had the magic rod and book but it would overshoot the torch and spawn the fire against the wall. Killing all of the keese didn't do anything. I scoured previous areas looking for something I may have missed, but as I slept on it that night I got an idea. I shot one of the keese with the magic rod as it flew over the torch, spawning the fire right on top of the torch and opening the door. It was such a brilliant puzzle made in a very limited engine that it has stuck with me as my favorite Zelda puzzle. Since I stopped playing around 2002-ish, Zelda Classic has received a lot of updates. You can edit the stats of all enemies and items, as well as Link's starting stats. You can Slash the swords instead of just poking, or even learn that ability as an upgrade. You can have multiple conjoined overworld maps to have a larger game world. There are rings that can be collected a la the Oracle games, as well as the spells from Ocarina of Time reimagined in a top down 8 bit style. There's a hookshot and Longshot, conveyor and spike/damage tiles, animated tiles (could previously only simulate animation through palette swapping which is good for basic water/wave effects), being able to pull up the whole explored overworld map with the map key, dialog boxes that scroll and are no longer limited to the amount of text the NES game could display, and so much more. You can still have a faithful recreation of NES Zelda or a game in that style, but now there is so much more freedom when making custom games, and I'd love to go back and see what kinds of quests have been made in the last 10 years.

The "Grumble, Grumble" puzzle actually stumped me for a good while when I first played this. For whatever reason I didn't associate grumbling with food. It just seemed like grumpy griping. Ganon stumped me too for a while before I started straining my brain to think of stuff to try. I almost solved it sooner by shooting the silver arrow, but failed to think of shooting it AFTER stunning Ganon! I felt quite happy when I finally did it.

The second quest will blow your mind! Type in your name as Zelda is the easy way.

Darknuts can only turn when they are dead center of a tile. Link can walk on the lines on the floor. This means with good timing you can attack the darknuts when they are off center allowing you a brief second of free attack where you know you are safe from a crazy Ivan (complete turn on a dime).

The secret power is in the arrow hint tells you how to easily kill the monsters that look like bouncing cat heads. Those enemies first appear in level 5. The game came with a map, so saying "it didn't come with an in game map isn't a good gripe. They show all the items you can get at the beginning of the game, one of those is food. It is also sold in multiple stores as well. I don't think the hints are too hard. I figured out everything when I was 12 years old except how to kill Ganon at the end of the game.

Say what you will about the original The Legend of Zelda, you have to admit it has the most famous and iconic quote out of all the Zelda games: "It's dangerous to go alone, take this."

only 35 minutes is this a youtube short

I disagree on darknuts being the most complx. I had a much harder time with wizrobes. Their attacks are so deadly. It doesn't take long for a group to take significant chunks of hearts are lost.

Thank you. This was a really good video. Just one thing that troubles me. Aside from regional translations, how many versions of this game were there? - same game, not sequels. I first played this game when I was six years old (that's a bit of a guess/estimate). Most of it is familiar, but some aspects of the footage in this seemed alien to me. I don't really have much more information. I played it in '86. it was PAL region. I'm just curious as to if there was a version/revision 1.001, 1.002, etc. Anyway, good video all the same :)

Would love some JRPG reviews or Zelda 2!

I started with Zelda II - The Adventure of Link and had a strong bias to toward it. I really enjoy the side scrolling action segments. It also has its fair share of cryptic elements mind you such as where to use the boots and whistle or getting through the Grand Palace and what to do once you reach the boss.

Secret in the tip of the arrow refers to a power bracket thing where you find a stone arrow in the field and you can push the tip which reveals a staircase

Someone needs to do a speedrun of all the zeldas.

How dare miyamoto make me talk to my friends, I'm still mad at little joey fisher, he broke my Rick astley cassette.i wanted to fight him but Dad made us shake hands instead

Yes. The answer is yes. It's amazing.

I always assumed the grumble guy wanted candy. Looked like candy to me. Before the interwebs, we talked to each other. And yeah, Nintendo Power for hints. The arrow hint? As a kid, I didn't know arrows could kill the cats easily. Might be referring to that. I love Ocarina, but GOSH is it easy. Easy to beat with three hearts. Beating the original, let alone Zelda II? Good luck with that.

The arrow one shots the Pols Voice because the U.S. version lacked a mic channel in the second remote. In the Japanese version , speaking into the mic kills pols voice instantly

The arrow hint is telling you how to kill Gohma

I think the "Go to the next room" hint in Level 9 could mean the room directly to the right (red ring), not the room to the left. The left way was meant to trick you into thinking that's the way he meant, when really it's a clue to hidden red ring room maybe?

Best thing about level design is quest 2 level 5 where u either get the triforce and reenter or go thru tge triforce room wall to get the Mandatory item. I swear u r allowed to walk thru walls because theres too much data that it meeds to save bomb animations so ot lets u wall thru

I think the grumble grumble thing is weirdly confusing I’ve heard “my stomach is rumbling” a bunch of times, grumble makes it seem like he’s just grumpy about something… Well that’s how I see it anyway

I just played this game last week. I may have enjoyed it more than when i finished it 35 years ago. It was much easier this time. I think it took me a month to find Labyrinth 7. 😂 Great game, and amazing for its time.

When you bought the game new it came with an over world map with a few names on it.

I still can't figure out if the game informs you how to get the bracelet. You walk down into the armos u won't even know you obtained it unless your smart enough to touch and run. I always thought it just showed up after time realizing I obtained it and didn't know why. I also think Patra hits your third cake layer

Maybe check out Rodea: The Sky Soldier on the Wii (WiiU release bundle), Batman Arkham Asylum on ps3, Dark Cloud on ps2, Soul Blazer on SNES?

Hey, what's the song you used in the introduction from 0:42 to 1:11? I don't think I've heard this rendition of the Zelda theme before.

Played Zelda 1 the first time a few years ago after BotW. I spent years avoiding it because everyone made Zelda 1 sound like this cryptic and borderline unplayable game without a detailed guide, otherwise you would spend hours bombing every tile in the game. In my experience the game was incredibly fun, and I loved the exploration like a super early alpha BotW, and for all the supposed difficulty I only got stuck once during my play through playing the game completely blind.

Still love this game for what it is. It's not a perfect game but I love to play trough it every once in a while. Level-9 is still one of my all time favorite dungeons and the New Game + takes the difficulty to a whole new level. Remarkably the most influental game of all time since it spawned everything after it. Breath of the Wild is basically this game in 3D+ a little structure + less difficult albeit still challenging.

I know that this is stupid but at 12:12 you said one if the first i mean yeah you are right but why not just say the first

If you're starting with a negative vibe, it's gonna affect the outcome. Like getting a fair trial...no way

Secret is said to be in the like button

Gannon is cool because he's the only bad guy you will have to use two weapons to kill. If you don't know the legend he's invincible.

Watching the gameplay during this video and how bad the player is at combat was pretty brutal. Haha

Dude blowing the whistle after a bubble hits u doesn't give u a sword back it just wastes 3 seconds like normal

I made a gui to map an Xbox controller to use every weapon as fast as I can hit the button with the shoulder button allowing screen scroll from the sides left and right only. However I cannot get more than three weapons to appear at once. Not sure if that due to the NES emulation speed or the sprite limits due to slow old integrated circuits. Nice vid it's time for skyward sword...btw check out displaced gamers videos on stories and input logic. Darknuts are predictable and pseudo controllable if that don't explain it bismuths lack attacks run explains it good too

I was like 6 when this came out and had no trouble figuring it out. You had info in the manual and the clues aren’t THAT cryptic.

I have to disagree with your statement at 1:42. Invisible walls really aren't good game design. There can be invisible walls that work, Wind Waker's barrier as an example (even though it can be seen), but just having an invisible wall is not good design.

Everytime you shoot an arrow, it costs you 1 rupee, which is what the japanese hint is referring to. It has nothing to do with the Moblin (which is why it seems asinine to you)

Great vídeo, I'm preparing my self to watch the Xenoblade video. 😂

Love the video, but a lot of the critique is invalidated by the game coming packed with both a manual and a map of the overworld. Zelda is much *less* cryptic than a lot of games released in the 80s and 90s.

Naw man. The Atari 2600 joystick was simple. Hahaha!

Zelda 1 remains the only LoZ game I've played and liked. I never liked the other entries in the series, like Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Windwaker. I always felt like those games "held your hand" too often. It's nice to see an analysis of this game instead.

The Darknuts don’t give a visual clue when they are about to make a turn because that would ruin their entire purpose. They are very difficult to kill and are deadly. That’s the point. Why make them easier? This game is too easy as it is. In my opinion the only tough enemies in the entire game are the Darknuts and the Wizards. I wish there were more tough enemies than just those two.

This was pushing the hardware at the time.

Your argument doesn't hold up if you speak in high regard based on the basis that it improved on the former and made rememberable gameplay. Why this is true if your argument doesn't conclude the game does hold up, I'd suggest checking out bismuth's lack attack Zelda analysis. An hour of Zelda knowledge you didn't know existed. Still a very stimulating and informative video...your darknut movement analysis needs work check out the video

It’s no Adventure of Link, but it was pretty good

no offense but whoever was playing link in the video isnt very good

Hating. The items are iconic and unique for the time. They made the game way more entertaining

This video made me realize that Dark Souls is probably the most faithful successor to the spirit of Zelda 1, far more than BotW or any other Zelda game for that matter (save maybe for Zelda 2)

Complaining about the game not having a map when the game came with a map...should have done more research.

I don't think todays kids will fully grasp what Zelda was, not this one.

Also this game made rupees necessary. Buy meat, rupee rings,bomb and arrow upgrades, replacing your magic shield when some hamburger looking mo fo eats it halfway through level 6.

Zelda 1 while good, is flawed and lacking nowadays when removed from it's original context and you're not as likely to have the manual

This video has too much word salad going on

It really doesnt hold up, a remake would be welcome.

Personally, I hate this game. The sword hitbox is so small and puny it’s almost impossible for me to hit an enemy without hitting back if I don’t have the sword beam. You also only attack in the direction you were last moving, which is especially bad in this game, with such clunky controls. If you miss an enemy even slightly, you will have to back up, line yourself back up, and attack with incredible precision again, and most of the time an enemy will hit me many times before I get the chance to kill it. I can’t even get to the first dungeon, even if I have a map, because each room has more enemies spammed randomly than a bad Super Mario Maker level, and if you accidentally leave the room with the bad controls, they all respawn. If they gave link the Slash from any of the future games, this would be more bearable, I think A Link to the Past works fine, but as it is, it’s terrible, at least in my opinion.

Judging a 35 year old game by current gaming standards... Peak KZfaq content & lack of context. Tldr - Game bad, it no do thing game do now

Dude it was one of those Landmark Games.

Awesome video! Just subbed. I’ve always enjoyed this game but I struggle with the combat.