Zelda 1 for the NES

[joe]

I never really got into this game until recently when I bought it on the Wii U. The combat is really fun and I was enjoying the exploration, but damn does this game have some obscure puzzles. It's not worse than a lot of other NES games, but I have no idea how people completed this without the internet. I walked all around the world doing everything I possibly could to find castle 7. Finally gave in and looked at the internet. No idea how I was supposed to figure out to use the flute to drain that pond. lol. Sick game though

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

i wasn't really into zelda, but Nintendo had their own magazine back in the day. Pretty sure they had maps, etc in them.

[-p.tiddy-]

That's when I was in my prime video game playing days. I can remember having to call friends up to get info... I didn't know you could push squares to the side until a buddy told me.

There was also Nintendo Power...a magazine that have you secrets.



I feel bad for kids today that can just look at everything on YouTube... That can't be nearly as fulfilling.

[Jackass18]

That's when I was in my prime video game playing days. I can remember having to call friends up to get info

I remember those days. The problem was some people would make up lies so you'd waste time trying their bullshit.

[DeuceWallaces]

You had to have or know somebody who had Nintendo Power to get through games like Zelda, Wizards and Warriors, Dragon Warrior, etc.

[bdreason]

Magazines and word of mouth. Made talking about games at school with friends a lot more fun though.

[-p.tiddy-]

I still know the code to get 99 men in Contra :oldlol:

I probably spent a full year of my life trying to beat Mike Tyson....never did it:(

Getting to Tyson became easy, beating him was another story.

[DukeDelonte13]

extremely innovative game, extremely difficult IMO. I could only get by two or three dungeons as a kid. Never beat the game myself.

[Thorpesaurous]

One of my 3 or 4 favorite games of all time. I'd call it my favorite on a lot of days.

The original NES is the only Nintendo I owned. I went Genesis to Playstation after that. And like a lot of people my age, my fondness of the original NES is greater than the others, which coincidentally seems to coincide with my hitting puberty, only to have my gaming interest pick back up in college mostly for group games, and then I kept playing as an adult.

So my favorites list is a weird chunk of super old Nintendo games, then doesn't really pick back up until somewhere around Resident Evil. And then ramps back up again around PS3. But it skips all the Nintendo stuff past the first gen, but includes this and Metroid.


I remember playing this as a kid. I had a friend who's parents had set up their basement as a playroom with this crappy old TV. When you opened the back door to get in the glare would like wipe out the TV for a stretch. And there'd be this panic to pause it. We had a glitch or two with saves that at one point had us pausing the game for a night at a time so we wouldn't lose our spot.

I don't remember really cheating to beat it. It didn't take long to figure out the bombing and burning, and once we did it felt like we bombed and burnt every reasonable possibility we could find. The forest puzzles were trickier. One you had to go right five times. The other was up left down left. There was always one direction where you'd get spit back out, so it always felt like there were only so many ways one could try. But I say that not knowing if one of us got that info from some other source or not.


My only real memory of cheating at a game prior to the advent of the internet (which I do now more often than I care to admit, but still not a ton), was the original Resident Evil. I believe I was in HS, and a friend and I had rented it repeatedly from blockbuster. He'd come to my house and we'd play every night. I remember we got to a point where we had no ammo left, and had wiped the mansion clean, but couldn't figure out where to go. There was one crazy jumping green guy we couldn't kill, and we figured our answer had to be behind him, and we'd take turns trying to manuever past him to unlock a door. Finally we got by it and it just took us to the other side of a place we'd already been.

We sifted through our inventory repeatedly. We had a few miscellaneous items. The two we had were books, one red and one blue, with a symbol on each. We found matching symbols on the fountain outside, but couldnt' figure it out. We wound up calling a 1-900 number hint line, that ... very slowly ... told us to view the books from the page sides, and hit the action button. They opened up to reveal round symbols, which went into the fountain, and opened it up to reveal the lab. It blew our minds.

The internet really wiped out the entire 1-900 industry.

[Thorpesaurous]

I also would recall the original Metroid as being harder to figure out than that first Zelda. I don't remember it as well, but I know some of the false walls, and especially the false cieling thing, seeming like they were all but impossible to have figured out on my own.

[Bandito]

Never played this game but I played the Snes game and remember it was hard. I beat the game without any guides too, but Indidnt completed it 100% though as I never got all the heart containers. But I did save zelda though. i remember that b1tch was all over my c0ck.

[-p.tiddy-]

Yep Metroid and Kid Icarus were both awesome and both very difficult.

And I forgot about the Nintendo Hot Line :oldlol: I used that several times

[DukeDelonte13]

Yep Metroid and Kid Icarus were both awesome and both very difficult.

And I forgot about the Nintendo Hot Line :oldlol: I used that several times


please elaborate and tell us what that was like. I never knew anybody that called the hotline.

Do they just straight up tell you the secrets?

[JohnnySic]

I called the hotline a few times. :oldlol: They would tell you what to do.

[-p.tiddy-]

please elaborate and tell us what that was like. I never knew anybody that called the hotline.

Do they just straight up tell you the secrets?
You would call the Nintendo Hot Line and tell them what game you are playing and what part you are stuck at, and they would talk you through it

I can't remember if there was a fee or not, but there probably was, I am thinking each call was $1.99 or something.

http://i.imgur.com/yxJE8tA.gif

[DeuceWallaces]

Kid Icarus is one of the hardest games ever. That was my favorite. Just getting out from under ground was an accomplishment.

Ikari Warriors was another ****ing impossible classic.

[-p.tiddy-]

Top 100 NES Games of All Time
***as voted by the GameFAQs NES Board 2001-09***

TRIPLE PLATINUM
1. Super Mario Bros. 3 ( 3802 )
2. Legend of Zelda, The ( 3336 )

PLATINUM
3. Super Mario Bros. ( 1791 )
4. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! ( 1520 )
5. Mega Man 2 ( 1486 )
6. Contra ( 1432 )
7. Final Fantasy ( 1404 )
8. Metroid ( 1383 )
9. Super Mario Bros. 2 ( 1065 )
10. Tecmo Super Bowl ( 1055 )

GOLD
11. River City Ransom ( 846 )
12. Mega Man 3 ( 829 )
13. Zelda II: The Adventures of Link ( 802 )
14. Kirby's Adventure ( 638 )
15. Tetris ( 606 )
16. Ninja Gaiden ( 601 )
17. Castlevania ( 536 )
18. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse ( 531 )

SILVER
19. Crystalis ( 478 )
20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game ( 463 )
21. Bubble Bobble ( 451 )
22. Dragon Warrior ( 425 )
23. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest ( 417 )
24. Dragon Warrior IV ( 397 )
25. Bionic Commando ( 390 )
26. Duck Hunt ( 377 )
27. StarTropics ( 371 )
28. Baseball Stars ( 354 )
29. Excitebike ( 352 )
30. Blaster Master ( 350 )
31. Dragon Warrior III ( 344 )
32. Metal Gear ( 336 )
33. Super Dodge Ball ( 334 )
34. Kid Icarus ( 325 )
35. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos ( 307 )
36. Mega Man ( 298 )
37. Maniac Mansion ( 288 )
38. Battletoads ( 287 )
39. Dr. Mario ( 279 )
40. Super C ( 261 )
41. Guardian Legend, The ( 257 )
42. Double Dragon II ( 253 )

BRONZE
43. DuckTales ( 242 )
44. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ( 206 )
45. Ice Hockey ( 197 )
46. Faxanadu ( 196 )
47. Tecmo Bowl ( 193 )
48. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project ( 192 )
49. Double Dragon ( 182 )
50. Mega Man 4 ( 177 )
51. Life Force ( 168 )
52. Dragon Warrior II ( 164 )
53. Blades of Steel ( 146 )
54. Mega Man 5 ( 134 )
55. Adventures of Lolo ( 121 )
56. RC Pro Am ( 121 )
57. Marble Madness ( 110 )
58. Mega Man 6 ( 109 )
58. Metal Storm ( 109 )
60. M.C. Kids ( 108 )
61. Rescue Rangers ( 107 )
62. Ghosts 'n Goblins ( 105 )
63. RBI Baseball ( 101 )
64. Jackal ( 100 )

HONORABLE MENTION
65. Nintendo World Cup ( 99 )
66. Micro Machines ( 96 )
67. Battle of Olympus, The ( 95 )
68. Goonies II ( 94 )
69. Willow ( 91 )
70. Baseball Simulator 1.000 ( 89 )
71. Kickle Cubicle ( 84 )
72. Snake, Rattle & Roll ( 83 )
73. Little Samson ( 82 )
74. Little Nemo the Dream Master ( 81 )
75. Shadowgate ( 78 )
75. Paperboy ( 78 )
77. Wizards & Warriors ( 77 )
78. Donkey Kong ( 76 )
79. 1943 ( 73 )
80. Superspike V'Ball ( 72 )
81. Bucky O'Hare ( 71 )
81. Balloon Fight ( 71 )
81. Punch-Out!! ( 71 )
84. Batman ( 70 )
85. Mario Bros. ( 69 )
86. Rygar ( 67 )
87. Legacy of the Wizard ( 65 )
88. Pirates! ( 63 )
88. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball ( 63 )
90. Ice Climber ( 61 )
91. Deja Vu ( 60 )
91. Clash at Demonhead ( 60 )
93. North and South ( 59 )
93. Guerilla War ( 59 )
95. NES Open Tournament Golf ( 56 )
96. Gradius ( 54 )
97. Destiny of an Emperor ( 53 )
97. Adventure Island II ( 53 )
97. Monster Party ( 53 )
100. Solstice ( 52 )

I'm not even familiar with River City Ransom, and it is #11 on this list...:/

[DeuceWallaces]

River City is Double Dragon with the guys from Super Dodge Ball (one of my favorites).

[kentatm]

I'm pretty sure the original hard copies of Zelda came with a world map that gave hints to help you on your way.


You want to know one of the dirtiest tricks in a video game ever?

X-Men on the Sega Genesis required you to 'soft reset' your system after level 5, or else you couldn't continue on to the final level and beat the game. You had to half press the reset button on the system. I literally owned the game for 12 years before finding that out. :oldlol:


even worse was the subsequent redesigns of the Genesis took out the reset button which makes it impossible to finish.



I also would recall the original Metroid as being harder to figure out than that first Zelda. I don't remember it as well, but I know some of the false walls, and especially the false cieling thing, seeming like they were all but impossible to have figured out on my own.


you needed damn graphing paper to make your own map of the game. :lol

[joe]

Super Mario Bros 3 is NOT better than the original. It is a huge fail by gamers in general for feeding that myth. The original had better challenge, better platforming, better game design, etc. The 3rd one was better at the time, because the graphical improvement and some innovations. But in retrospect, just as a game, the original is better. And Lost Levels is better than both. Booya.

[-p.tiddy-]

Super Mario Bros 3 is NOT better than the original. It is a huge fail by gamers in general for feeding that myth. The original had better challenge, better platforming, better game design, etc. The 3rd one was better at the time, because the graphical improvement and some innovations. But in retrospect, just as a game, the original is better. And Lost Levels is better than both. Booya.
Super Mario Bros (NES) Speed Run World Record 4:57 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boq3ghiTKHA)

[joe]

I think Super Mario 3 is a far better game than the original (and the original was the first game I ever played).

The Lost Levels is a challenge. That's the original Mario but with smaller platforms and shit.

The problem with 3 is they took out the platforming. You die in 3 because an enemy got in your way. It's not really a platforming game in the sense of jumping from landing pad to landing pad. Ever since 3 all the new Mario games have shared that trait, and it's just inferior IMO.

[joe]

The problem with 3 is they took out the platforming. You die in 3 because an enemy got in your way. It's not really a platforming game in the sense of jumping from landing pad to landing pad. Ever since 3 all the new Mario games have shared that trait, and it's just inferior IMO.

And don't be a smartass and just say "well that's just YOUR opinion and that may not be right for everyone!" I am reading your mind and I know you are considering saying that. Dispute my claims like a mannnn :D

[Crystallas]

No idea how I was supposed to figure out to use the flute to drain that pond. lol. Sick game though

One of the oldmen tell you.

[Crystallas]

Super Mario Bros 3 is NOT better than the original. It is a huge fail by gamers in general for feeding that myth. The original had better challenge, better platforming, better game design, etc. The 3rd one was better at the time, because the graphical improvement and some innovations. But in retrospect, just as a game, the original is better. And Lost Levels is better than both. Booya.


No way. SMB3 was MUCH better. By the time Super Mario 2 came out, I was beating SMB in like 15 minutes without Nintendo Power strats back in the 80s before you had TAS(tool assisted) tricks. I wasn't even pro at the game, as some people did it under 10 minutes. SMB3 is one of the greatest games of all time. The only real fault is how easy Bowser is.

[joe]

No way. SMB3 was MUCH better. By the time Super Mario 2 came out, I was beating SMB in like 15 minutes without Nintendo Power strats back in the 80s before you had TAS(tool assisted) tricks. I wasn't even pro at the game, as some people did it under 10 minutes. SMB3 is one of the greatest games of all time. The only real fault is how easy Bowser is.

How about lost levels?

[joe]

No way. SMB3 was MUCH better. By the time Super Mario 2 came out, I was beating SMB in like 15 minutes without Nintendo Power strats back in the 80s before you had TAS(tool assisted) tricks. I wasn't even pro at the game, as some people did it under 10 minutes. SMB3 is one of the greatest games of all time. The only real fault is how easy Bowser is.

And I can't argue with you, I'll still love you forever for helping me learn about e-cigs so much. Haven't smoked a cigarette since :).

[DeuceWallaces]

SMB 1 was nothing compared to 3 and if you think otherwise you obviously weren't around when both came out.

[Megabox!]

I f*cking hate this piece of crap game. the mini map sucks, the overworld and dungeons are cryptic as hell, its pretty damn easy to get lostnif you dont know what you're doing and they throw a crap ton of enemies at you towards the end of the game in small ass rooms(those damn Wizzrobes). Link to the Past, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker are my fav Zelda games

[Lamar Doom]

f*ck yeah 30 somethings. grew up with an atari 2600 when I was really little but the NES was some mind blowing shit. Zelda is an all time favorite of mine, River City Ransom is phenomenal, there weren't a lot of good co-op games back then but River City was unreal. So many memories of sitting in my parents basement listening to different tapes on the DUAL tape deck and record player my brother left me when he went to college and playing Ikari Warriors with my friend in the neighborhood. All the super marios were special. You guys ever play Golgo 13? That shit was impossible. Ikari Warriors and Metroid were elite. Duck Tales (which has been re-released now with souped up graphics), Track and Field (was comically easy once the controllers with turbo came out), Dragon Warrior, castlevania

[Crystallas]

How about lost levels?


I didn't play SMB2j until I got a FDS in 2002. And I never bought Super Mario All-Stars, because I liked the NES better for those games(which I already owned, and knew nothing about Lost Levels) lol.

But SMB2j is also very easy if you actually grind it the way a player would grind the original back in the day. I can beat SMB2j fairly quick too. But it's nowhere near as fun. Just a retread on SMB with tiny differences. So the same SMB1 music gets old.