Not only was the first game the start of a fantastic series, but The Legend of Zelda is also a good game on its own.
User Rating: 7.3 | The Legend of Zelda NES
The Legend of Zelda series started with this game right here. Over 20 years ago on the NES. It's fun to go back and play the game that started it all and think about how much the series has evolved throughout the years. The Zelda series in general is a thinking man's game. Challenging maze-like dungeons and puzzles are part of the serie's reputation. This was the first time I really played the first Legend of Zelda, and I was surprised at how fast paced this game is. It's a fast paced game mainly because the first game in the series is more about combat and not puzzles. You start the game with a plain sword you get from an elderly man inside a cave. You'll be able to get more powerful swords and different kind of weapons such as bow & arrows, boomerang, and bombs. Each weapon is good for combat, but some are also used to access new areas in the game. The combat in Zelda is extremely simple yet satisfying. Link will attack with his sword in a stabbing motion in whatever direction you have him facing. When you defeat some enemies they may drop a goodie. Goodies such as a heart, which restores health, ruppees, which is money in the Zelda series, or even weapons. There are a total of 9 dungeons to be conquered in The Legend of Zelda. Each dungeon has a boss waiting at the end of it. To get to that boss you must find however many keys needed to unlock certain doors to reach him. You have to work your butt off nowadays in Zelda games to get a key, but in the first one it was usually as simple as defeating a few enemies inside of a room in the dungeon. There are really no challenging puzzles throughout the entire game. Which is good if you enjoy fast paced games like I do. And if you're having a hard time finding a key that you need in a dungeon you can simply use the ruppees that you have to buy one from one of the many shops spread throughout Hyrule. Hyrule is a big place especially for an 8-bit game. And the map of Hyrule that you have in the top left corner of your screen isn't very helpful. It's really nothing more than a big gray grid with a little green dot representing the location of Link. If you don't like using walkthroughs then you may have a little trouble. Legend of Zelda is a "think for yourself" kinda game. Ocassionally you'll run into a character that will give you a small hint, but figuring out where to go and what to do is all up to you. The age bug has come up and bit this game in the tail when it comes to graphics. The overall look of Zelda is very creative and for its age the huge land of Hyrule is pretty impressive. It does lack detail, but it is a 20 year old game. The sounds of Zelda are very good. Quality wise not so much. You'll hear some familiar sound effects and surprisingly some of the best music in the series right here. Once you complete the first quest you can play through the game's second quest. Which is really no different than the first except it's more challenging, and some items and areas have been switched around. It helps the game's value however. So if you never had the chance to play this game before, or wanted to play it, but didn't want to pay so much for a compilation or over-priced rehash, then this $5 virtual console download, which is a perfect emulation of the original, is worth your money. 
