Do you consider Zelda a link to the past a difficult game?

[Majora Fi]

Yep. He's still from the age when games came with a guide in box.

 

[BigTony]

The only thing I've ever had difficulty with in zelda were the puzzles it's not that they're that hard most of the time I'm just pretty absent mindes I usually just miss a big red button your supposed to push or something stupid like that.

 

[tht009]

Not overly difficult, but I ran into a little trouble near the end. I remember the last dungeon making me quit and come back to it later my first time through. Nothing insurmountable though; just a tolerable amount of challenge.

 

[dkpopman]

I'd say it's probably the easiest 2D Zelda game overall as far as moment to moment gameplay is concerned, puzzles and combat wise. However, there are some things done between and leading up to dungeons, and a few secrets, that are blisteringly cryptic, which could probably be frustrating to players who are used to the more linear, hand holdey games that followed. (ie. Minish Cap, ALBW, DS Zeldas, all 3D games between WW and SS)

It's easily my most replayed Zelda game even though it's not my top favorite. It's a breezy game with a lot of fun moments, and some of those dungeons are super fun. A total joy to play for practically anyone, unless you're a real difficulty hound.

One note I have about this game is it's legacy. I am so tired of seeing this overworld get reused. Three times is way more than enough... Link Between Worlds was somewhat novel when it dropped, and the games concept played with the fact that it was the same Hyrule as Link to the Past, but Echoes of Wisdom.. I like that game more than most. It's gameplay was fresh and had lots of open fun, and I liked playing as Zelda. But there was zero reason for the map to be so similar to LttP. It felt like straight up pandering. They definitely did a lot more to change up the map, and what fills it compared to LBW, but even then, what was even the point of following the same layout? It hurts that games identity that it has so many fresh ideas stuck on a super old idea canvas.

Anyways, rant over. Link to the Past is a bona fide classic. Can't reccomend it enough. Regardless of it's difficulty, it's an absolute must-play for the SNES.

Also that soundtrack! So good...

 

[Ikagura]

Not at all.

However it had many b*llsh*t moments.

One note I have about this game is it's legacy. I am so tired of seeing this overworld get reused. Three times is way more than enough... Link Between Worlds was somewhat novel when it dropped, and the games concept played with the fact that it was the same Hyrule as Link to the Past, but Echoes of Wisdom.. I like that game more than most. It's gameplay was fresh and had lots of open fun, and I liked playing as Zelda. But there was zero reason for the map to be so similar to LttP. It felt like straight up pandering. They definitely did a lot more to change up the map, and what fills it compared to LBW, but even then, what was even the point of following the same layout? It hurts that games identity that it has so many fresh ideas stuck on a super old idea canvas.

I understand your complain but it expanded on the map and you could see new areas (that are a staple since Ocarina of Time, almost as if those regions were rediscovered after being forgotten) but I agree that we don't need to see the same map (like TotK recycling BotW's Hyrule) but we got to see a similar recycling with where the areas of Twilight Princess were similar to OoT.

Post automatically merged: Jul 6, 2026

However it had many b*llsh*t moments.

I just remembered that one:

And in the same dungeon:

Thankfully they changed it in the GBA port

 

[dkpopman]

but I agree that we don't need to see the same map (like TotK recycling BotW's Hyrule)

TOTK being a direct sequel I think justifies itself well to use the same map again. Many areas are changed and many more are added completely new. The best revised area has to he the desert. The whole area is filled with new stuff to do, as opposed to being the typical flat plane that most games have as a desert area, BOTW included.

To be honest, I think TOTK needs to be re-evaluated in the next decade or so once we have a new 3D title out. The negativity that game receives really bothers me in a way I don't have the time to go over right now. Especially the negativity from people who like BOTW. I get not liking either game, but liking BOTW and not TOTK is maddeningly confusing to me.

we got to see a similar recycling with where the areas of Twilight Princess were similar to OoT.

I have a decent amount of issues with TP, but that's a whole other thread that could be made. One issue I dont have with it though is it's map. While it's clearly using OOT as a reference point, I'd say its almost fully indistinguishable. It's radically diferent, and I think its a pretty great overworld based off my distant memory of it.

 

[Dyne]

Kind of?
Its harder than some other Zeldas but certainly not the hardest.
I thought it was hard when I was 10, but I've played it so many times now that it feels easier than it probably is.

 

[lestagio]

Not really. It could be because I've played it so many times, but I don't think it's particularly hard to beat. I'm pretty sure I did it without the strategy guide or Nintendo Power my first time around, I just missed a lot of heart pieces and secrets. I might be forgetting something, but nothing really strikes me as extremely cryptic that is required to beat the game. The most confusing thing I can think of would maybe be getting the quake medallion, but it is hinted at by signs around the area.

The map is pretty clear, combat is fair, and dungeons are well designed (okay fuck the Ice Palace though).
There's certainly easier Zelda games, but ALTTP was intended to be beaten and feels good to play, and I think that's why it holds up so well. Don't get me wrong, I love something like Zelda 2, but it's not talked about as highly because it is extremely difficult and has some bullshit spots.

 

[naka_michi]

Yeah

 

[Ikagura]

Yeah

View attachment 212476

It's no surprise why Link's Awakening has it as the first boss.

 

[Haizujard]

In the normal world: no, It's easier than other Zelda games I've played.
In the dark world: yes, fuck this shit....

 

[soulsas]

I consider it a really challenging game. Nowadays, with the internet, it’s a breeze to look up tips in a review to get past a tough spot, but back in the 90s and especially here in Brazil, where you’d have to hunt down a specific magazine I spent months with Link transformed into a rabbit, completely clueless.

 

[cups]

I played it for the first time few years back, I didn't find it too difficult in general, but some secrets definitely are very obscure. I think I had to resort to walk-through once or twice when I was lost too. (I also might use savestates for some bosses, so I don't have to restart the fight from far-away which considerably lowered the frustration, but I created the savestate at the start of the fight)

 

[Zerpina]

Not even when I originally played it...

Maybe finding some of the heart pieces is kind of hard if you haven't played it or has been over a decade since. But gameplay wise itself, no.
ALttP is about the easiest Zelda game in the series, I would say.

 

[Ikagura]

ALttP is about the easiest Zelda game in the series, I would say.

I think that Minish Cap and ALBW are easier than ALTTP (which had some challenging parts, namely in the Dark World dungeons).