By far, one of the greatest games I will EVER play...
I am committing Video Game sacrilege. However, it must be done. I am going to analyze The Legend of Zelda for the NES and expose its very few game design flaws.
Some will say that I shouldn't question the great Miyamoto's design skills. Some will say that the game was released in 1987 and I should cut it some slack. Both sides are dead wrong. No game is perfect, although this one comes very close.
Problem 1 – The Silver Arrows and Red Ring
You absolutely have to have the Silver Arrows to beat Ganon. Without them, your battle against him is doomed from the start. Also, (unless you're really good) you need to have the Red Ring too, just to survive Death Mountain. Both of these items are notoriously difficult to acquire and find.
How to solve it...
Don't put them in Death Mountain. Put them somewhere else instead. Or, at the very least, don't make it so hard to get to them. Do you really need to kill 300 Wizzrobes and Like Likes to get to these items? I don't believe you should have to go through that much trouble.
Problem 2 – The Hungry Goriya on Level 7
On Level 7, there's a hungry Goriya that blocks you're progress through the level. You can't kill him or get around him. You have to go buy food from a merchant in the Overworld and bring it back to him. The problem here is that this is the only time you will ever need the food item. Plus, it's not immediately obvious that he's hungry, despite the onscreen text that appears when you meet him saying 'Grumble, Grumble, Grumble.'
How to solve it...
It would have made a little less work for the programmer if there was a different solution, like paying the Goriya off. There are numerous instances in the game where Link gives Rupees to people for things. Why not include this little monster in that bunch?
I talked about this in my blog on MySpace last summer. A friend of mine from Colorado had his own unique solution to this problem:
I like your idea, it serves its purpose pretty well. I think, in the interest of expedited programming, that that's how I would program it. But, in the interests of both facetiousness and adventure, I propose something else.
Set an NPC wizard in the previous dungeon that lets Link know that "Goriya likes food." Adjust for figurative language, but get the message across. Then put a store in a relatively obvious location (an indent in a rock wall, for instance) that sells the food for a relatively cheap price.
That isn't a bad idea at all. It fits in quite nicely with the Zelda mystique. However, I'm still sticking with my solution. It does a better job of adhering to Occam's Razor.
Problem 3 – The way you get the White Sword and Magical Sword
I have only one problem with these swords. That problem is that they are really difficult to find. There are old people around Hyrule who give you hints about the locations of these swords. Finding them can be a pain but, exploration is called for in Adventure games.
How to solve it...
Put them in a few easier to reach places than a waterfall or under a movable headstone in a graveyard.
There you have it folks. Some young turk game designer from New Orleans just exposed 3 potential mistakes in one of the greatest works of Shigeru Miyamoto. This might hurt my chances of getting a job at one of Nintendo's North American operations. Of course, Miyamoto-san may like how I 'up-ended the tea table' on him and hire me on the spot. The world may never know...
This concludes the first in my new series of articles pointing out the flaws in otherwise great games. It won't be the last.
Comments
Ah, to be quoted in a game designer blog. Truly this is my first step to realizing my dream.
Awesome article. :D
I am a little confused with your arguments against The Legend of Zelda. It seems that you would be better suited not playing video games with much difficulty to them. I think your arguments against the game is the reason most of us love it. I love the challenge, no matter how difficult at the time. I understand that you dont mind some difficulty and you think that they should just tone it down, but I think that is poor excuse if you were to call yourself a true legend of zelda fan or gamer.
Well, Mr. Gamer, I do indeed like challenges and puzzles in my games. However, I didn't like being stumped for several weeks on how to get past that Goriya. It was detracting from my enjoyment of the game.
Tim, I always give credit where credit is due.
I can understand the frustration of being stuck and having no clue on what to do or where to go. Perhaps you may enjoy nintendos strategy guide for this game. It is a cardinal sin, but if you feel as if the game is not worth it, you will get the satisfaction without all of the anger and frustration.
Complaints like these are the reason Japan's Mario 2 was considered too difficult for US gamers. It took us another 7 years to get the game, and even then in the form of Super Mario All-Stars (going off the release of Mario 2 in Japan(1986) to All-Stars in the US(1993).
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