The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Nintendo SNES - 1992

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the third game in the Zelda series and the second to feature on my blog.  I wasn't keen on Zelda II: The Adventure of Link with its side-scrolling levels.  A Link to the Past reverts back to the strange overhead view from the original Legend of Zelda from 1987, albeit with much improved sound and graphics.

I can forgive this viewpoint in something like Atic Atac, but shouldn't we be seeing the hero's back here?

The manual sets the scene for the game describing the history of the world to the present day.  The world of Hyrule was created by three gods.  They left behind them a powerful artefact called the Triforce which they placed in the hidden "Golden Land" hoping it would be found by someone worthy enough to wield its power.  Unfortunately the Gates to the Golden Land and the Triforce itself were discovered by the evil king of thieves, Ganondorf Dragmire.

A dark power began to emanate from the Golden Land and evil beings were drawn to join forces with Ganondorf.  After disasters started to befall Hyrule, the ruler ordered the Seven Wise Men and the Knights of Hyrule to seal the gates to the Golden Land.  The people of Hyrule also forged the Master Sword to counter the power of the Triforce, but it could only be wielded by a person of pure heart.  While the Wise Men were searching for this hero, the Knights were lost in a battle with the dark forces, but in the end the Golden Land was sealed off with Ganondorf trapped inside.

After centuries of peace, Hyrule was hit by disease and drought.  A Wizard appeared by the name of Agahnim who restored the land using a powerful magic.  The king installed him as chief advisor and heir to the Wise Men.  Lately, rumours have begun spreading that Agahnim is ruling the country with his magic and is carrying out strange experiments in Hyrule Castle...


You begin the game by naming your character with no more than 6 letters, which unfortunately 'Wingnut' exceeds.  In his sleep he sees a vision of Princess Zelda asking for help, saying she has been locked in the dungeon of Hyrule castle.  She also says Agahnim has kidnapped six other maidens, all descendants of the Seven Wise Men, and is using them to break open the seal to the Golden Land.  Zelda says she is the only one left.  On waking you find your uncle getting ready for battle.  He heads out telling you to remain in the house.

Of course it would be a pretty short game if you did as instructed so you head out into the rain.  The voice of Zelda says there is a secret entrance to the castle.  This is the only place you can head anyway as the main entrance to the castle and roads leading elsewhere are blocked by guards.  At this stage the only power you have is to uproot shrubs.  Occasionally you may find rupees (the local currency) under them.  The shrubs can be used as missile weapons.  Likewise, pots can be picked up and thrown in the same manner.  Later on other items may be revealed such as bombs, arrows, magic potions and hearts.

The secret entrance to Hyrule castle can be found under a bush.  You soon find your mortally wounded uncle who hands over his sword and shield and says you must rescue Zelda.  The shield can block some missiles while the sword can be used to attack enemies in front.  Holding down the B button charges a whirling attack that damages all enemies within range. Extra weapons such as a boomerang and bow can be found further into the game.

Getting hit by an enemy runs down your life meter.  The life meter is initially made of three heart containers.  Getting injured reduces the life meter and once it's empty you have the option of restarting the game at a previous point.  The heart containers can be partially recharged by picking up small hearts.  These can be found by searching in jars or under bushes and are sometimes dropped by dead opponents.  The meter can be fully recharged at certain points by finding faeries.  More heart containers can be found during the game.

After rescuing Zelda she takes you through a secret passage to Sanctuary.  You are advised to speak to the Village Elder who says you need the Master Sword to defeat Agahnim.  Before you can retrieve the sword you must find three pendants.  All quest objectives are marked on an overworld map that can be bought up outside of dungeons.

The map is shown in two scales.

The overworld is not too big and can be traversed quite quickly if you avoid combats.  All the items you are looking for, however, are normally hidden in dungeons and are guarded by a boss.  Some of the dungeons can be quite complex, making the world more expansive than it seems.

Once I had obtained the Master Sword, I was informed that Princess Zelda had once again been captured by Agahnim and was again being held in Hyrule Castle.  I got there just as Agahnim had used her to break the seal of the Seven Wise Men.  Of course, I had to kick his arse.

I was then banished to the Golden Land.  It had been corrupted by the evil Ganondorf and had now become the Dark World.  I had been here before to get past an obstacle in the Light World, but lacking the Moon Pool at the time I was turned into a rabbit.  I also now had a mirror that could be used as a portal between the two worlds.  The Dark World has a similar map to the Light World.

The first task here was to go about rescuing the seven maidens.  I did put some more time into the game but didn't complete it as I would never get this blog entry done.  I may well continue from this save in the future.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past  has often been lauded as one of the best games on the SNES.  It reminds me a lot of the best Ultimate Play the Game Spectrum titles where brains as well as manual dexterity are required to win.  It has some good puzzles and the two interconnected worlds work well.  The graphics are good and don't look dated.  The only issue I have is where the perspective of the rooms and the 2D sprite are sometimes out of kilter which I found a bit jarring.  Sound is good and some of the music is recognisable from the first Zelda game.  All in all an excellent title and much, much better than its immediate predecessor.

Llamatron: 2112 - Atari ST (1991) & Commodore Amiga (1992)

Back in the early to mid eighties, every notable (and not so notable) arcade game seemed to be converted to home computer formats.  Even before this there were unlicensed clones going by barely disguised names such as Skramble!, Defenda and Pheenix.  One title that got overlooked was Robotron: 2084.  It was released in 1982 and designed by Eugene Jarvis who had already created the classic side scroller Defender.  It featured unusual twin-stick controls, where one joystick was used for moving your character and the other was used to control the direction of fire.

This oversight was put right in 1991 when Jeff Minter released his take on the game - Llamatron: 2112.  It initially came out on the Atari ST with Amiga and PC (DOS) conversions appearing the following year.  And coming from the creator of Attack of the Mutant Camels, Sheep in Space and Space Giraffe, it was bound to feature various ruminants.  All versions look and sound more or less the same, but the Amiga and ST feature a superior control method.

Like Robotron, Llamatron is played out on a single screen.  You control the titular laser-spitting robotic Llama.  Your primary objective is to destroy all the 'grunts' while  optionally rescuing the various 'beasties'.  The 'beasties' are small goats, sheep, llamas and camels that wander around the play area and garner bonus points when collected.  The 'grunts' mindlessly head towards you and are made up of a wide variety of objects - cutlery, space invaders, cigarette packets - things like that.

As well as the grunts there is plethora of other enemies.  These include 'brains' which turn the beasties into zombeasts that then hunt you down.  The 'screamer' relentlessly heads for you, takes a lot of punishment and fires missiles.  There is also deadly rain that can only be stopped by touching the umbrella(s) that bounce around the screen.

To help you out there are plenty of power ups including reflect shots, love hearts (attracts the beasties), temporary invincibility and smart bombs.

Basic control comprises a joystick.  The Llamatron fires automatically in the direction you are heading although you can hold down the fire button to lock the direction it shoots.  In single player mode you can also choose to have a robot helper that fires automatically and collects the beasties.  For the full Robotron experience, ST and Amiga owners have the option to plug a second joystick into the mouse port and play the game in all its twin stick goodness.  In this mode you move your llama with the left joystick and control the direction of fire with the right.  It takes a little getting used to but is by far the best way to play the game.

The purple robot doubles your fire power and helps collect the 'beasties'

Like Robotron, the graphics in Llamatron are kept simple, as are the sound effects which consist of a mix of chip and digitised effects.  In a way, Llamatron reminds me of Satellite Attack from a decade earlier - it's not much to look at or listen to, but sit down for quick blast and before you know it, a couple of hours have gone by.  It's very addictive and the gameplay is spot on.  There aren't many Jeff Minter games I really like, but this is a classic.


Example gameplay Atari ST....

 

Lemmings - Commodore Amiga - 1991

Along with Tetris, Lemmings has to be one of the most ported games out there.  Originally released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga, it has been ported to 30+ devices ranging from the Nintendo Gameboy to the Playstation 3 and Mobile Phones.

For me, the game is best controlled with a mouse which leaves us with the initial versions from 1991 for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS.  Although all three versions play the same, the original Amiga game has the best graphics and sound in my opinion.

The concept of the game is simple - guide a specified percentage of Lemmings through the exit portal within the time limit.  

There are 120 levels split across four difficulty settings.  FUN is the easiest and is mainly there to get you used to the controls.  The game gets progressively more difficult through TRICKY and TAXING, with MAYHEM being the most demanding.  There is a password system so you don't need to repeat completed levels.  

One of the TAXING levels.  Note the lack of available skills.

Each level starts with the Lemmings dropping out of a trap door.  Their release rate is shown at the bottom left of the screen.  This can be increased or decreased using the + and - icons, but cannot be set lower than the initial rate.  Left to their own devices the Lemmings will move in a certain direction until they reach an obstacle, at which point they will turn around and walk the other way.  If they encounter a long drop, water, lava, a trap or anything else lethal to them, they will walk mindlessly to their deaths like, er, lemmings.

You do not control the Lemmings directly but give them actions by using the skill icons.  The Climber icon allows the Lemming to scale a vertical surface.  Using Floater on a Lemming allows it to survive a high fall. The Bomb causes the selected Lemming to self destruct taking a chunk of the landscape with it.  Blocker stops other Lemmings passing and sends them in the opposite direction.  A Bridge Builder constructs a set of twelve steps to cross chasms or climb to higher platforms. The Basher icon orders the chosen Lemming to dig horizontally if in front of a suitable surface.  Use the Miner or Digger skills and the Lemming will respectively tunnel diagonally or vertically down.

Building a stairway to heaven.

The final two icons are 'Paws' and Nuke 'Em.  Paws obviously pauses the game.  You can still scroll around the level to plan a route or quickly get to a Lemming that's about to die, and becomes invaluable in later levels with the tight time limit.  Nuke 'Em causes all your Lemmings to explode if a level is obviously lost.

Some parts of a level can be made of metal and can't be dug through, blown up or damaged in any way.  Some walls can only be tunneled through from a certain direction.

This obstacle can only be tunnelled through in the direction of the arrows.  The metal floor prevents digging under.

When Lemmings was released in 1991 it was a totally original concept - there was nothing else like it.  In 2016 it is still fun to play.  The graphics are still acceptable and the tiny Lemmings are well animated despite being only 8 pixels high.  The soundtrack is good for the most part, mixing some original songs with music from other Psygnosis games and some well known tunes (March of the Mods on the intro, the Can Can and the like in game).  Sound effects are limited in number but are effective.  The learning curve is pretty good too, ranging from very simple on the lower levels to practically impossible in the MAYHEM stages.  Like Tetris it's a game the that stands the test of time.

A couple of FUN levels....