#21: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the second of three Zelda games on my list.  Yes, in my opinion, it's better than Ocarina.  Sue me (please don't, I'm poor).

Link to the Past set some standards that virtually every Zelda game is now known for.  It also featured an extremely lengthy quest for a simple cartridge.

Link to the Past's main point was its separate-but-connected worlds. It was the first Zelda to do so and has since been copied by games such as Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time.  The dungeons in LttP were varied, and challenging, but never too difficult that you'd throw a controller or need a guide.  I'm looking at you Ocarina's Water Temple and Awakening's Sky Temple.  It was the first in the series to have dungeons based on different settings (fire, ice, desert).

Link to the Past was the first Zelda game that used puzzles.  Please, think about a Zelda without puzzles.

There's one simple addition to Link to the Past that's been used and reused in every game in the Zelda series yet.  It was the first game where you'd go into a dungeon, get an item, and use that item to solve puzzles and beat monsters that were specifically weak to that item.  Can you imagine playing a Zelda without that feature now?

The bosses were the first in any Zelda game that I'd truly call excellent.  There were no pushovers.  They were interesting and challenging.  You'd more than likely take some damage from each boss, which is something I definitely can't say for most other Zelda's.

The combat in Link to the Past was timing based (which if you've been reading, would know is important to me).  There were enemies that could be hack and slashed, but most difficult enemies had to be isolated and carefully picked at.

To list a few other key creations, it was the first Zelda to have:

• Bottles to capture things
• THE MASTER SWORD
• The sword hidden in the Lost Woods
• The upgrading of most pieces of equipment
• Pieces of Heart
• Minigames
• Death by Cucco's (if you beat too many birds, they fight back)
• An broad story line that actually serves a purpose.
• Pegasus Boots
• Swimming
• Red, Blue, and Green Potions
• The Hammer
• The freaking Hookshot

Link to the Past is the most important game in the series.  Its additions are now the most known mechanics in the entire Zelda universe.  It's an excellent game that revolutionized the franchise.

It's still, 19 years later, one of the best in the series.