Review by: Tuxxer

Rating: 9 out of 10

Since the dawn of Nintendo in the early 1980's, three titles (more than any others, anyway) have readily supplied at least one game for every console they've dreamed up. Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, and the Legend of Zelda.

I've played all three. Hell, thanks to the wonderful world of eBay, I managed to get the famous trio and a console (in a lovely purple) for a great price. But enough about that magnificent online establishment; their check has yet to clear. Zelda is visually stunning, like walking through a cartoon. The sound effects are great (characters talk in monosyllabic grunts and giggles... for some reason), and just like at least one other installment of the saga, there are plenty of side quests and mini-games to occupy your time.

The game starts off great. The player gets a mythic history lesson in the last game, Ocarina of Time (Majora's Mask is being ignored for some reason, or just wasn't important enough to mention), and an update as to what has followed. Generations after Link did his hero thing, the forces of evil arose and the good people of Hyrule figured that since Link had traveled through time in his last adventure, he'd do it now to save them. They figured wrong.

Now, the entire planet is covered in one giant ocean, except for a handful of sparse islands. Think Waterworld, only there is a map, and Dennis Hopper and Kevin Costner are thankfully long gone. You can name the little blond kid anything you like, although for the sake of argument let's call him Link. Link has just had a birthday, and as such is given a special outfit to wear for the day, to prove himself a hero. Before long, a monstrous bird swoops down and kidnaps your sister, who is also blond. It turns out the big bad birdie has been picking off blond girls left and right, and towing them off to an impregnable fortress for some dark purpose.

Fast as you can say It is your destiny, you're off to the fortress to see if you can save your dear sister. And the master of the house is a very familiar, very recognizable villain whose name rhymes with Ganondorf.

From there, you can go pretty much anywhere in the entire sea. Your guide is a talking boat, and you'll find other contacts as you go along. The rest of the news is good, especially for fans of the previous games.

There is plenty to do, several new weapons and pieces of equipment to collect from dungeon to dungeon, and dozens of characters to talk to. Those familiar with the traditional Zelda quests know that this game won't be beaten in just a few hours, but that's fine. Also, there are little nods to the previous games, other than the blatantly obvious ones directly mentioned in the plot. My favorite is running into a Goron (think big, rocky mountain) in disguise. Yes, I am a dork for knowing this stuff. And we're moving on.

The graphics are incredibly smooth, and there's a certain Disney-Hercules feel for things, at least as far as the architecture and special smoke effects are concerned. Next to the great game play, the best feature of the whole package has to be the music. It plays an important part of the story, and there are all the old tunes one remembers from previous games as well. The classic Dah-dah-dah-DAAAAAHHH when you open a new treasure chest is happily found here.

All in all, I have very little negative to say about the game. It keeps up the legend, so to speak, of the previous incarnations, with a few new twists as well. It does get a little long some times between necessary tasks, but that's about par for a Zelda game. You can take any camera angle for control of Link, which is also very good news. Plus, the annoying fairy guide of the last game is gratefully absent. Tips are few and far between, and you don't really need them. I give the game a 9 out of 10, for having everything that made the first Zelda great, and having enough new material to keep me interested. I wonder if there'll be a sequel...

You can order this game directly from Amazon.com

All images property of IGN. Article copyright 2003 MillionairePlayboy.com. The Legend of Zelda and all related properties are property of Nintendo.