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.

Grandad and the Quest for the Holey Vest - Atari ST - 1992

Grandad and the Quest for the Holey Vest is a graphical adventure game release exclusively for the Atari ST in 1992.  I thought this quite unusual as by this time the Commodore Amiga was the more popular home computer, but as it's shareware instead of a commercial release I guess it's not so strange.  I just don't have the mindset for adventure games and unless they are relatively easy I quickly lose interest.  Most of the puzzles in Grandad are pretty straightforward so it's just my cup of tea.

As you can tell from the title Grandad is a game that doesn't take itself too seriously....

The controls are simple - Grandad can be moved around in his electric wheelchair with a joystick or the cursor keys.  Fire button or the space bar brings up the command menu.  There are few commands but enough to solve the puzzles.  LOOK describes nearby objects or the room if no objects are close by.  GET puts objects in your inventory and INVENTORY lists them.  USE allows you to use any object you are carrying.  You can also SAVE and LOAD the game.

For the most part the puzzles are logical and not particularly difficult which is fine by me.  Unwinnable 'dead man walking' situations can mostly be avoided.  At the beginning of the game it is possible to give away an item that is needed to solve a puzzle.  If you take the option to keep the item you are rewarded with a 'ping' and some points.  If you give the item away points are deducted so you know where you went wrong.  The only place you can really get stuck is if your wheelchair runs out of power.  There is a spare battery that can be found.

I remember seeing this one on some film.

Grandad contains the obligatory maze.  All rooms look similar but it is mappable if rather large.  This was where I used the SAVE and LOAD commands most so the wheelchair didn't run out of juice.

The Basement

What really appeals to me is the mundane setting and the humour.  There can't be many adventures set in a fairly ordinary house with a grumpy old codger as the 'hero'.  The game really is laugh out loud funny in places although some of the humour can be near the knuckle.

Now, tell me who wouldn't have chosen that option first?

The graphics are good considering the 16-colour display of the Atari ST.  Sound is limited to a few pings and bleeps. The only real annoyance is the pause of a couple of seconds between screens - but that is very minor.

Grandad and the Quest for the Holey Vest may not appeal to die-hard fans of Sierra games, but for someone like me who doesn't like obscure puzzles, it's a pleasant way to while away a few hours.  I did have to look at hints twice which is good for my non-adventure gaming mind (if I have to look up clues more than four or five times I junk a game).

Thank you Google

As I said, the game is a shareware title and Ian Scott would send the code to access the whole game to those who registered.  I'm pretty sure he would have moved on from the address on the title screen but if he is still around I would gladly send him a fiver.

The End

Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou - NEC PC Engine Super CD-ROM - 1992

Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou is a conversion of the second title in the Gradius series of arcade games.  It was released on the CD-ROM format some four years after the arcade game.  I have already featured the NES version of Gradius II on my blog.  Where the NES conversion thematically follows the arcade original in terms of graphics, the level layout is completely different.  The PC Engine is a much more faithful conversion with the exception that it contains an exclusive bonus level.

From the options screen you can choose the Game Level from Easy, Normal, Hard and Professional.  Normal is fine for me.  Easy is possibly too easy, but is okay for training (it is the level I did my gameplay video on).  Professional has bullets flying everywhere.  There is a different ending for each difficulty level.

As before, it's just you and your Vic Viper starfighter pitted against the evil Bacterion Empire and it's leader, Gofer.  When you start a game you can choose what weapons your ship is capable of carrying.

Each selection contains Speedup and Option.  Personally I prefer the fourth choice with 2-way missiles and a Ripple laser, which gives a better spread of firepower than the normal laser.  You also have a choice of defensive upgrades.  The Shield from the original Gradius can absorb the most damage but only protects the front of the Vic Viper.  The Force Field takes less hits before it disappears but covers the whole ship.

Gameplay is the same as the first game in the series.  The screen mostly scrolls right to left although there are some areas where it wraps around in the vertical plane.  Certain enemy formations and individual enemies drop capsules (for want of a better word) when they are destroyed.  Blue capsules act a smart bomb when touched and clear any enemies and bullets on the screen.  Orange capsules add to your power meter.  When the the power meter highlights an item you wish to equip, you can select it and the meter resets.

The green bacterion is a new enemy.  It has just stolen three of my options.  Bastard.

Music and sound are excellent with the soundtrack streaming direct from the CD.  Where the CD format can't help is with the graphics.  There are flickering sprites in places and massive slowdown when the screen gets busy.  Ironically, the slowdown actually makes avoiding damage that much easier.  

This stage really slowed down with the Moai head spewing out hundreds of colour changing bullets.

The games stages are also varied with some of the enemies and certain areas looking familiar.  

It's obvious which film this part is based on.  I have just lost all my power ups so will soon die.

My only real criticism is one of the stages features a high speed run which I couldn't get past.  It will take a lot of time and and a lot of practice (or a quick look on YouTube) to work out the optimal route and even then it is all too easy to lose a life.  Which brings up another issue - Gradius II (like Gradius) is a one life game - lose a life and you lose all your power-ups after which it is very difficult to get going again.  Nevertheless, it is a great game and a welcome addition to the ever growing list of Gradius games on my blog.

Example gameplay....