Product Info
Title:
Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy
Developer:
Nintendo
Publisher:
Nintendo
Genre:
RPG
Price:
2600.00
Description:
The Legend of Zelda was the killer app of the Famicom Disk System. Its
big draw – the large world and the ability to save progress – marked a
huge advance over the comparatively simple, arcade-like games that
made up most of the Famicom's early library. Zelda’s influence can be
felt on many of the later titles on the platform, particularly the name
entry/save game screen, which was re-used in many subsequent titles,
including non-Nintendo releases. This is still a fantastic game, too – it
can be vague at times, and later action-RPGs like Crystalis have better
controls – but it's still a ton of fun to explore the Hyrule overworld, and
the dungeons are still challenging without being frustrating. Just make
sure to look up a FAQ for the few instances where necessary items are
too obscure to find on your own, unless you want to burn every bush or
blow up/push every rock you find.
There actually aren't too many differences between the Japanese
FDS release and the English cart version. The FDS game has load times,
of course, though not many. You don't actually hit the Start button at
the title screen, either – the opening demo simply rolls until you flip the
disk over. The font is also different. The NES version changed to the
typical font seen in games like Super Mario Bros., and the introduction
text is still in English in both versions, even though it's awkwardly
written. The title screen music sounds different due to the extra
wavetable channel on the FDS, but most of the rest is the same. The
major differences come with the sound effects. There are a few minor
map and graphical alterations, but the only major gameplay one has to
do with the enemy Pols Voice. The manual indicates that these enemies
hate loud noises. This is a hint on how to beat them, at least in the
Japanese version – you're supposed to yell into the built-in microphone
on the second Famicom controller. Since this was missing from the NES
hardware, you just bomb them instead. The "bible" item was also
changed to a "book of magic."
There’s also a special edition released as a contest prize by
Charumera, a ramen company, which exists in extremely low quantities.
While it hasn’t been verified, it’s believed that the actual game contents
weren’t changed.
The Japanese title translates directly to The Legend of Zelda, but
includes an extra subtitle: The Hyrule Fantasy. It was re-released in
cartridge format in 1994, alongside the A/V Famicom, with an added
numeral "1" on the title screen and packaging. This version is basically
the same as the NES cartridge release, though with Japanese text.