Well, for the first time in two years, I can finally say I'm a happy Nintendo 64 owner. Back around this time in 1996, Nintendo's next generation system slammed into the market and while the sales were strong, they didn't overcome the empire that Sony had built up with its Playstation. Since that time, Nintendo and their 3rd parties have really dropped the ball. Firstly, they've had practically no games for their system, and the ones they did end up releasing were often mediocre titles. These games were either available on the Playstation, or just so stinking short, they weren't worth the lovely $60-$70 price tag. So we come into the Christmas of 1998, and Sony has been the odds on favorite to dominate yet another holiday system. Well, that's about to change. Zelda hath cometh, and she's packin' heat.

Unfortunately, the 5th game in this wonderful series had been given that over hyped brand "Best Game Ever Created." Needless to say, the last game to harness this "honor" was Super Mario 64, which many, including myself, were sadly disappointed in. (It's not a good sign when you get bored playing the "Best Game Ever Created" while standing in Best Buy 3 days before the 64's release.) However, Zelda delivers more of a punch that the pudgy little plumber ever thought of. While I won't brand it with that so called honor I talked about before, I will say it'll be an all time classic. A legend, if you'll excuse the pun.

The graphics are near perfection. Fluid, extremely well done, little to no mistakes at all. You can almost hear your drool hitting the floor as you see it in action for the very first time. Character faces and expressions are lovely, not just flat like your favorite WCW/NWO Superstar, or James Bond. They have well defined noses, eyes, mouths and they move rather well. How the hell did they get this on a cart? The character designs could have been better though. I mean, Link is fine. He always looks the same, no problems there. Zelda though could have used some work. I thought she looked more like a wandering gypsy than a Princess (I want the Link and Zelda from the old cartoon series, now THAT would be something!) And poor poor Ganon. For some reason Nintendo decided that he should look like Paula Jones. Don't ask me why, she just does. While I would have redone the characters a bit more, I don't really call it a draw back. They still look better than most anything I've ever seen.

In the music department, Zelda offers a very good score. It sports some new tunes that most Zelda fans will enjoy, and keeps some of the older themes, remixed of course, to bring out the best of the older games. The music does fit the game well, and was done very well. They did redo the Death Mountain track from the Dark World, which is used in Ganon's tower, which is a kick ass track.

Storyline wise, you have one of Zelda's biggest (which still isn't that big) flaw. Like Capcom's Breath of Fire series, Zelda consistently seems to rehash the old storyline, and just tell it a different way. Plot twists do happen, but unless you've been in a Zelda coma for the past 11 years (damn I feel old), you'll see them coming a mile away. Granted, the Zelda storyline, and what they do with it is pretty good, but they need to change it up. I thought we might see something totally 100% new after Zelda 4 (Link's Awakening) took place. Ganon was no longer the bad guy, and the storyline kept you guessing. I'll give Ganon his just due, in the very first Zelda game, he didn't get his props. He was a cool bad guy, and all that was known about him was that he was a big blue pig. So they rehashed him in "A Link to the Past," which was fine. He had his storyline, and style of personality, and was much better developed. That's peachy, and he had his day in the sun. I thought it was about time for someone new. I'd personally like Zelda to be playable. (That *doesn't* suck. I know there's a CDi Zelda game staring Zelda..) Perhaps make it a dual quest with both Link and Zelda, where you could switch between the characters when you needed to. Maybe Zelda 6, right?! (No, I'm not marking off because I think it'd be a great idea!)

This game is challenging. Some of the puzzles and expectations the game sets for you are just so small, you won't even realize you missed it. There are 3 introductory dungeons when Link is "young." These are stiff, but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. Then after you become adult Link, you're presented with 5 more dungeons (not the traditional 8..I guess you can't get everything onto a cart after all...). These are the hard ones. They ain't easy, and there are some parts where you'll rip your hair out for a strategy guide (which just happen to be the hardest publications to find at the moment...). Don't give up though, remember that it's hard, but not impossible!

The biggest markdown, however, will come from the game's learning curve. The play control is precise, but it's very very hard to learn. It's not something you're going to sit down and understand fully your first time playing. It's innovative, yes, but it's hard to learn. There is really no jump button. There is no grab button either. All special functions, other than sticking it to some shmuck with your sword, are controlled by one button, and depending on what Link is next to or what he can do, will determine what the button does. Again, this will confuse the daylights out of many. Jumping is done rather interestingly, instead of jumping on your command, Link does so automatically when he needs to (even if he can't make the jump.) While not as hard to learn as the mysterious "everything" button, it still takes some getting used to. I did like the "Z Targeting" system though. It consists of Link using Navi, his fairy companion, to zoom in and target certain enemies when he is around them. Link will automatically target this monster by pressing the Z (trigger) button. From here, Link can attack with his sword, or have good targeting with his fairy slingshot, fairy bow, hookshot, bombs, whatever you can use. Another neat feature is that if Navi knows the monster's weakness, she will tell link by pressing the C Up button. This is very helpful! Remember it! The only bad thing is that it's a little tough to use when you're surrounded by more than 2 monsters (and it will happen, too). And I know that all games have a learning curve, and need to be played some before the player knows everything about the controls, but Zelda took me a lot more time to get the hang of than most *strategy* games. This isn't a super hideous thing, because it's not impossible, it's just time consuming.

The game's presentation is near perfect. The Limited Edition Gold Cart people also got a special packaging as well. A gold foil, metalic stamped cover that just sends adrenaline through your veins as you look at it. And of course, I'm an old school Zelda fan, so I feel that *all* Zelda games are supposed to be gold carts, so I couldn't own this game any other way! So I applaud Nintendo for returning Zelda to its roots. The Big N knew full well what they were doing when they did it. Sales-wise, if this game doesn't win this Christmas for Nintendo, then they should just pack it up. Sony backed them into a corner, and when the chips were all down, Nintendo played their trump card, Zelda. Zelda has always been the choice of Nintendo fans everywhere, and this one will be no exception. Namco had best wave bye-bye to Tekken 3's sales records, because Nintendo just broke ‘em.

Overall, I found the game to be excellent. More than excellent. Words can't describe how good this game really his. Whether it deserves the title "Greatest Game of All Time," though, remains to be seen. Something like that is decided over time, not as soon as a game is released.. It just can't be done. I think this title has classic material written all over it. I thought Zelda had her work cut out for her with the Game of the Year award, because Metal Gear Solid is just so awesome. She delivered though, and she delivered in a big way. Maybe we'll get lucky and Shigeru Miyamoto will give us another chapter in the Zelda series before another platform is released! If you own a Nintendo 64, you own this game. If you don't own a Nintendo 64, you might wanna start entertaining thoughts about getting one. While you may play as Link to save the Princess, Zelda single handedly saved Nintendo.