I don’t really have memories of the original NES release of The Legend of Zelda. I was a Nintendo 64 kid growing up, and a late one at that. My parents finally caved and got us our first system from an uncle in 2000 or 2001, around the time I was eight years old. Of course, that means I got to benefit from the heyday of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, which still remain some of my favorite games of all time.
But for many people my age, we wouldn’t be exposed to the older games in the series until Nintendo started re-releasing them on newer systems. I, in particular, got to benefit from the first time Nintendo decided to join the words “NES” and “Classic” together: The Classic NES Series on the Game Boy Advance.
It would have been Christmas 2004. I was in seventh grade. My dad was in between jobs and my parents had sold our house, so we were looking for a new place to live. In the meantime, we were living with our grandparents. Both sets of grandparents were living in the same area as us at the time, but my maternal grandparents had the larger house — with a pool even — so that’s where we stayed for the majority of this interim period. We did still go out to my dad’s parents every once in a while, though. Family get-togethers were (and still are) frequent events on my dad’s side of the family. That Christmas was one such event.
I don’t remember too much from that Christmas, but I do have a core memory of me and my two younger brothers all seated on the couch in front of the Christmas tree receiving the highlight of our gifts for that year: three Glacier model Game Boy Advances, one for each of us, and some games to go with them. I’m fairly certain we got Tetris Worlds, the first Frogger’s Adventures game (which is actually pretty good if I do say so myself), and the Classic NES Series versions of Dr. Mario and, of course, The Legend of Zelda.
I don’t think I’ve ever actually beaten the original Zelda, even after all this time and ample opportunity to do so. But I do have fond memories playing my GBA outside, under the light of a lamp or anywhere with good lighting, getting hopelessly lost in Old Hyrule and dying a ton.
The manual wasn’t nearly as helpful or in-depth as its NES counterpart, but it did have instructions on how to get to the Level-1 dungeon. I’ve memorized the path at this point because that’s usually as far as I get in a given play session. (For those curious, it’s up then right (or right then up), up two more screens, cross the bridge to the left, and enter the tree.) Perhaps I’ll get around to actually beating it one day, but I have a similar story for several games, so who knows when that will happen.
That time was an interesting one in my life. Within a year my grandpa would pass away and that house where I first got my GBA was sold to land developers. My dad would find work across the state, meaning we would have to move away from our childhood home. I’m grateful for my GBA for being there for me in this time of change. That copy of The Legend of Zelda may have gotten lost in the shuffle of siblings and moves, but it still remains near and dear to my heart.
As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original release this week, let’s take some time to also remember the various re-releases over the years that kept it accessible to new and old fans alike. Whether it was the Classic NES series like myself, or part of the Collector’s Edition compilation on the GameCube, the various Virtual Console releases, all the way up to the NES Classic Mini and Nintendo Switch Online offerings, there’s no wrong way to play this classic. Even if it’s dying to the first dungeon because you can’t see the screen very well.
The Legend of Zelda series is 35 this week, and we’re celebrating with the game that started it all! Be sure to check out more articles from Classic Zelda Week 2021.
