#31

This is it folks. Time to wrap this shiznit up!

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Originally released in 1992 on the SNES.)

Oh come now, you don't think I could really make this list and leave out any Zelda game did you? I grew up with these games, and I don't care what anyone says, they are considered rpgs in my eyes. You collect items, monsters have a set number of hits to die, you gain health as you progress throughout the game, and the game is set in a fantasy world where all those rpg cliches exist in full form.

A Link to the Past was the first Zelda game on the SNES and turned out to be the only game of the series to make it to that console. After the first two Zelda games, the fans wanted something bigger and better from Nintendo, and they delivered. This game offers everyone the fans loved about the first Zelda game with a boost of awesomeness. The same top-down perspective from the original with enhanced graphics, obviously.

This game is just delivered in a way that makes you want to never put your controller down and keep exploring and discovering all the new and interesting items and worlds. ALttP has iconic music, and all the characters from the series you have or will grow to love. Link, the staple in every Zelda game is a young lad who is stuck at home while his uncle goes out and explores. Sitting at home was never any of the Link's strong points, so soon after he leaves, Link decides to follow him. He finds his uncle wounded, and his uncle offers up his sword and shield. This is where Link's adventure truly begins. He soon meets and rescues the princess of Hyrule, Zelda. From there he must go out and collect pendants in order to break the seal of the master sword. The master sword is the only weapon that is capable of defeating the evil wizard Agahnim.

As you journey around Hyrule, you meet many friends and foes. You also start every game with only three hearts which serve as a life bar to Link. To get stronger and live through tough situations you have to find the hidden heart containers. Collecting four of them will grant you an extra heart in your life bar. Also, when you beat the boss of a dungeon you will get a full heart container and that will grant you one heart automatically.Every dungeon also hides a new item for Link to use. These items are pivotal for completing the game, and most are new ideas that have since shown up in every game since. Items such as the hookshot, flippers, and the power gloves can all be found in the later games.

Link's adventures seem as though they will never end. I can smell it in the air that one day they will reverse the roles and have a game where Zelda has to go out and find a captured Link. But until then, we get a game that has survived every consoles trial and continues to produce great games for each system it comes out on. ALttP still remains my favorite of the series, but that's not to say that there are many games that are close to my heart and serve as classics in their own accord.

There's just something about the setting in a LttP. The music sets the tone very well, the characters are all so familiar, the dungeons are classics, the items are fun to play around with. Like my brother, this is a game I could and do play a lot. I think he has eclipsed me as far as number of times replaying this game, but we both enjoy it that much. It is, in all forms of the definition: a timeless classic.