How I finally saved Zelda in A Link to the Past – 30 years late

No other game drove a teenage me to despair like the endless search for that annoying princess Zelda. In the guise of Link, a 12-year-old Anika wandered through Hyrule and found everything just awful. The map was too confusing (help, where do I have to go? And what is that Kakariko?), controls too fiddly and imprecise, dungeons too hard, and puzzles generally overwhelming. Maybe it was because I was only used to platformers up to that point. Either way, my Link was dead more often than not. The game advisor from Nintendo was helpful, but remained rather cryptic at crucial points. I didn’t know about the internet yet, so googling was out of the question.

I still remember my teenage self getting ticked off at some point just listening to the theme music from Zelda. That’s how much this game stressed me out. I struggled until the sixth dungeon in the Dark World, the Ice Palace, and then gave up.

That was and is a bitter memory, both 30 years ago and today. Because if there’s one thing I’m really good at, it’s finding a solution to tricky gaming problems. I set track records on Rainbow Road in Super Mario Kart and played my way through all the Loren levels in Donkey Kong Country. True, you really need more luck than brains to do this,

But Zelda… no, thank you. I hadn’t touched the game since the Ice Palace scandal in the mid-1990s. Then I had a chat about Zelda with my colleague Debbie during a lunch break. «What an impressive game! I have such fond memories of it. How can you not like it?» She looked at me puzzled – and I started to doubt myself. Was Debbie right? Did I miss anything? I wanted to find out. And so it is that, at the age of 42, I sat down at my Nintendo Switch and gave A Link to the Past one last chance. Read on to find out how things went.

The start and the Light World

Alright, here we go. The Switch is on, launching The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. And there it is again: that menacing theme music. The hairs on the back of my neck instinctively stand up, no joke. I have a quick sip of coffee and take a deep breath. Looks like I’m Link again. A small pixelated adventurer, equipped with a mini shield and an equally small sword. I take a look at the map and head off in the direction of Hyrule Castle to look for Zelda.

Once there, I remember I have to stand in front of enemies to hit them properly. A challenge with the clunky controls of the virtual SNES. I either end up standing in the middle of the enemy (death), too close to the enemy (also death) or I turn my back on them and am attacked (believe it or not, death). It takes me a few attempts to get used to the controls, but then it works surprisingly well. I free Zelda and take her to the priest, who tells me to get three pendants from the dungeons of the Light World.

After a short detour to Kakariko Village, I make my way to the East Palace. There, I finally get some more equipment – a bow – and before I know it, I’m already standing in front of the dungeon boss. Or rather all six dungeon bosses, the Armos Knights. It’s six guys in armour, jumping around in circles trying to flatten me. I remember struggling with them. The top-down perspective on the action was confusing, and I really struggled steering Link so that he didn’t get trampled by the knights. This time it works on the first try. I aim with my bow and arrow, miss a few times, hit more often than not – and that’s it. First pendant acquired.

Things go about as well with the two other dungeons in the Light World. I march through the Desert Palace and Tower of Hera as if I knew it by heart. Every now and then, a smile even flits across my face. I slowly ask myself: «Anika, how come this game is suddenly so easy and fun for you?» Maybe since my adolescent stress hormones have left me, I’m more relaxed than I used to be. Another option: I played a lot of World of Warcraft about 10 years ago – a much more complex game. Just comparing the world map of WoW with that of 1991’s Zelda, they couldn’t be more different. Compared to Azeroth, Hyrule is a village. In this respect, my frustration threshold for video games has probably been raised way higher.

Either way, in the Light World, all I’m missing is the master sword, which I pull out of a stone like King Arthur, and the final boss. Agahnim has entrenched himself in the tower of Hyrule Castle. Naturally, the wizard escapes at the last second and abducts Zelda to the Dark World, but I knew that already.

Tips and tricks

Before we continue to the Dark World, I’ll make a few confessions. You’ve probably wondered whether I’m using any tricks to make it easier for myself to come to terms with my little Zelda trauma.

Anika, do you savescum?

You betcha! I’ve done it, and will do it again and again. I’m very grateful for the achievements of modern technology and the fact that I can rewind and rescue failed gaming moments on Nintendo Online. This saves time and nerves. And as you know, I used to be a very stressed individual. No need to make life unnecessarily difficult for myself.

Do you use online help?

Once again, yes! A very kind individual scanned and e-mailed me the original game advisor so that I always have it ready on my iPad. I also discovered the website zeldachronicles.de, which provides step-by-step instructions for all dungeons and for finding equipment. I didn’t use the website much in the Light World, but I’m sure I’ll love it in the Dark World.

Aren’t you ashamed of that?

Not one bit.

How do you calm your nerves?

With coffee, Franzbrötchen (a Hamburg delicacy), beer and pizza. I also reassure myself with the presence of my cousin, who’s as big a Nintendo fan as I am. And unlike me, she played through The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as a kid – without YouTube, just with the game guide. She knows what to do. At least I hope so.

The Dark World and the Ice Palace

So there I am, standing on the pyramid in the Dark World. And suddenly it dawns on me: this is where the game gets really complicated. Bad memories of frustrated evenings in my childhood bedroom arise – including absolutely blattering my controller against the wall. Gulp. This time I want to do better, so I open the game advisor as a precaution. Aha, I’m supposed to get the Pendants of Power and Wisdom first. Okay, will do. On my first trip through the new lands, I quickly realise this won’t be a cakewalk any more. Enemies are even more aggressive than in the castle tower. One hit and I lose two hearts! Oh boy.

Nevertheless, I make my way to the first palace in the Dark World: the Dark Palace. Very original, Nintendo. After an initial quick visit, it’s clear that things won’t turn out well here. The palace is big, confusing and I start to wonder whether it was such a clever idea to enter. Who am I trying to prove something to? Oh yeah, myself. Thanks, Anika. Great stuff. Luckily, my cousin is visiting again today. She holds a fresh Franzbrötchen under my nose to calm me down. I promptly devour it, that helps. She takes on the role of co-pilot from here on. In other words, she navigates me through the Dark Palace so that I only have to concentrate on enemies and don’t have to stare at the map, YouTube, the game advisor and online tips at the same time. Lo and behold, the strategy works.

Within a day and a half, we play our way through two thirds of the Dark World in a good mood working together. We collect rubies, crystals and experience. Sure, things go wrong here and there. For example, we wander around the waterfalls for ages until we find the fishlike Zora king to pick up the Flippers. And we don’t get all the heart containers in the Dark World either. Simply because a) we don’t feel like digging up the treasure garden at the Village of Thieves 17 times, for example, or because b) we can rewind when Link dies. Hehe.

My personal boss

This approach saves an enormous amount of time, and suddenly I’m standing in front of my personal final boss, the Ice Palace. My mood changes from sunny to frosty. This is where I finally gave up as a teenager. As soon as I hear the cold background dungeon theme, it literally sends shivers down my spine. But here, too, my co-pilot saves me with her logical approach. «Anika, look, the palace isn’t that big. It only has that many floors. And the boss isn’t that difficult either,» she reassures. «Would you like another French roll for your nerves, just in case?» Well, of course! At this point, I don’t need to emphasise that the Ice Palace still isn’t my friend even 30 years later. Even my cool and experienced cousin has trouble finding her way around and reading the game guide correctly. «The map here is printed so small. I can’t read it that well. Can we go back again? There has to be a switch somewhere,» she asks me after an hour of unsuccessful orienteering in this frosty hell. No, I can’t and don’t want to go back. I. WANT. TO. LEAVE.

At some point, frostbitten, I encounter the final boss. After killing him, the game feels like it’s over for me. My feared enemy has been vanquished. The thought that I could just stop now is running through my head. «I’ve come further than ever before. Why even put myself through all this stress now?» my brain questions. My cousin and I order a pizza first. After that, we postpone continuing A Link to the Past indefinitely.

The last dungeons and the final boss

OK, here’s what I’ll admit. After the Ice Palace, I find it hard to motivate myself to play the rest of the game. Sure, overall it’s more fun than I expected. But the challenge is gone. The fact my cousin doesn’t have much time doesn’t make things any better. And so we need a whole two months before we meet up for the final Zelda rescue mission. Two dungeons and the final boss in the Dark World are still left.

The last two palaces of the Dark World, Misery Mire and Turtle Rock, aren’t worth mentioning. My cousin and I are a well-rehearsed team. She navigates, I fight my way through the dungeons. Unless, of course, torches have to be lit in a certain order within a short space of time to open doors. Then I hand over the controller to my relative. I’m just too impatient for that, whereas my cousin manages it easily every time. Heavenly division of labour.

All that remains is the final boss fight, or rather the journey there. As a warm-up, I watch YouTube videos on how to defeat Ganon. The fight seems uninspired. First, I have to hit Ganon on the head with my sword, then shoot him a few times with my silver arrows. Nothing new then. Semi-motivated, I set off on the last part of my personal Zelda saga…

And my co-pilot also seems to be running out of steam. Although Ganon’s Tower is a pure labyrinth, she sighs: «You’ll have to continue on your own for now. Even I can’t figure it out, sorry», she says, disappearing into the kitchen to make us coffee. Don’t worry. I now have enough experience to manage myself. At some point, my cousin returns with two steaming cups of caffeine and accompanies me through the last few rooms before I face Ganon. He should really be a piece of cake. In theory, at least.

Then… SURPRISE. YouTube lied. I don’t know how the person in this video managed to kill Ganon in under three minutes. I only know that they either practised a lot or that they have a passion for video editing. Ganon really ticks me off! It’s not just that the guy keeps teleporting back and forth. No, I also have to keep changing my equipment to damage him. That means I’m more concerned with pressing the X button on my controller than beating the boss. To make matters worse, my greatest weakness rears its ugly head. The lights go out and I have to light torches so that I can see Ganon at all. Unfortunately, I can’t hand over the controller to my cousin in the middle of a boss fight, so I’m forced to act myself. The struggle is real. From next to me on the sofa, I hear a cautious: «Should I try?» That’s sweet, but just before my last virtual heart breaks, I hit Ganon with a final silver arrow.

Motionless, I stare first at my TV, then at my cousin. She stares back with wide eyes. We did it! Ganon is defeated, Zelda is saved and Hyrule is liberated. I too am free – from my Zelda trauma. And my beloved cousin? I owe her quite a few XXL pizzas.

What now?

I’m cured. I haven’t touched A Link to the Past since then, and I’m not going to. The game is over and done with for me. There’s nothing left to do.

What is new: I’m a Zelda fan! I like the way the game rewards strategy, skill and perseverance. I don’t «just» have to run and jump like in Super Mario Bros. That’s probably why I’m trying out the new Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. But more on that in another article.

The end.

Video games

EUR59,43

Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Switch, Multilingual

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Video games

EUR59,43

Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Switch, Multilingual

61