A few years back, a storm knocked down some powerlines in my area, and my apartment was left without power for four days. This happened to be toward the tail end of a long falling-out I was experiencing with my friend groups, so I found myself alone for four days with nothing to do (except go to work; annoyingly, my office still had power, despite being at best a mile down the road). Poking around my apartment, I found an old copy of the NES Game Atlas my mother found at a thrift store years ago, leafed through it, and was inspired to play the original Legend of Zelda - a game I'd tried and failed to get through numerous times over the years. I had a decent amount of battery in my Switch, so I spent a couple days in a powerless apartment playing Zelda, bringing my Switch into work so I could recharge its battery, reading my Atlas with waterpowered flashlights as I tried to navigate Hyrule and put an end to Ganon's reign of terror.

This, I think, is probably the type of experience you have to have to get the intended effect of Zelda 1 these days (well, maybe not the "losing your friends" part). Zelda 1 is a game about discovery, born from Shigeru Miyamoto's childhood nostalgia of exploring the countryside. There's an aimless, directionless design to it; the player is naturally guided along to things like getting the Sword right away and entering the Eagle dungeon right away, but there's no reason they have to. It's a really cool and unique design that the Legend of Zelda series didn't really revisit until Breath of the Wild, but it does mean that unless you have some sort of external aid guiding you along, like a map or friends, you're likely to just flail about aimlessly until you lose steam. At the same time, for me personally, it's such a fine line between "I'm getting help to direct my playthrough" and "I'm experiencing a game vicariously because I followed a step-by-step guide" that I tend to struggle with - so having an official guide to cross-reference, not rely upon, made for the happy medium I needed.

One thing I don't see discussed a lot is the original game's title theme. Like, yes, it's largely an arrangement of the overworld theme, thrown together at the last minute in place of Koji Kondo's original plan, a cover of the not-actually-in-the-public-domain "Boléro". But I've always been entranced by its slow cadence, playing over that shot of a bubbling waterfall, then over the text crawl as the main theme slowly kicks in. It's sort of a majestic first impression the game gives (as much as anything describing 'PRINCE DARKNESS "GANNON"' can be called majestic, anyway), and while I've read testimonials from 80s kids crediting the golden Game Pak and boxart for conveying this, I definitely think the title and opening crawl contribute to this, too.

In some ways, Zelda 1 feels like Gen 1 of Pokémon. The game is extremely janky; everyone knows it's extremely janky; a huge part of the game's reception is around what a moonshot miracle the game represents for its era, in spite or even because of this jank. Like, there's so much to the game that a person just knows and takes for granted through pop culture osmosis, like bombing and burning stuff or shoving blocks around. If you're at all familiar with the original Japanese release, it's interesting just how much stuff is left vestigial in the localization, like how you fight Pols Voices (screaming into the Famicom's second controller's microphone) or certain pivotal late-game hints being completely exorcised. And it's fun to rib it for how weird the translations are - "DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE", "DIGDOGGER HATES CERTAIN KIND OF SOUND", "ONES WHO DOES NOT HAVE TRIFORCE CAN'T GO IN", etc - but so much of that is also considered to be part of the experience, a sort-of gamer's Shibboleth. It's a rite of passage to be told that EASTMOST PENNINSULA IS THE SECRET, a hint that you likely will not act upon because it's so isoteric (it's referring to the top-right screen in the overworld - there's an invisible passage at the top).

Actually, I appreciate that Zelda 1 is in on its own joke. When so much of the game is bombing and burning random stuff, it's really funny that the game takes the time to riff on it. Everyone knows IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY, ironically, but PAY ME FOR THE DOOR REPAIR CHARGE is also really funny the first time you run into it. I'm also fond of I'D BET YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE MORE BOMBS, delivered immediately after you spent a bomb to open the way into the guy's room. I tend to fall into the trap of seeing things I wasn't around to experience fresh as being these great monolithic statements, where Popular Thing X was this great Thing that came unto and forever changed the face of the world, when in reality it was just a thing that a couple of guys went through a creative process and made. People think about the things they make, and they often try to have fun with it. It's important to remember that, too, and actually experiencing self-aware jokes a creator makes within the same body of work helps with that humanization process.

Zelda 1 doesn't have a ton of music, something you really become aware of when you look at surrounding material (there's a reason the Super Show always reaches for covers of the Overworld/Underworld themes). But I do appreciate that Death Mountain is given its own theme. It's harsh, droning, and oppressive - perfectly in cadence with the massive final dungeon, the sanctum of Ganon's power, and a place friggin' called "Death Mountain". Clearly, I think the music the game does have is well-used; mostly I appreciate that there are legs to it beyond the Overworld theme being (rightfully) iconic.

I did collect all power-ups and hearts during this playthrough. But I did not play the Second Quest, so I'm not marking this as Mastered. Still on the hook for a second playthrough, some ol' day.

First game syndrome am i right or am i right

I really don't got a lot to say or add to what's already been said by a lot of people so uh man where do i start. I guess there's no better way to start other than the gameplay wit this one and man is it rough which makes sense since it's the first zeldo game made so to give a quick run down it's a top down adventure it's quite simple ya press B to use whatever item you currently have equipped an A to swing your sword like that one tobuscus song now what your probably thinking is damn this bum has a massive skill issue if the games that simple and he's calling rough well ya see the thing is thag this game is way to fuckin cryptic i swear without a guide in the palm of your right hand you'll just be going around the land of bum fuck hyrule by trial and error which why ended up using a guide throughout the entirety of the first game i will say tho it i guess it's cool to see how basically one of nintendo 2nd biggest franchise started idk man kinda running out of things to say already so I'll the review here by sayin i feel like everyone should atleast try this game out once especially wit a series as big as zelda it's always nice to take a look at the humble beginnings of a big game franchise and seein how it all started


Small lil side tangent mostly about guides but i think guides or looking up info online is pretty great a lot of the times it can enhance your experience with whatever game you're playing since you're engaging with said game outside of just the realm of electronic vidja games Y'know know :)

The one that started it all. The Backloggd-buddies @QuentTheSlayer @Phantasm and @Ptcremisi and I are partaking in a Zelda marathon organized by @NOWITSREYNTIME17.We are going through each mainline game in The Legend of Zelda franchise one by one and at the end of our playthrough we'll write a review on the game. I've always wanted to participate in a 'bookclub-esque' activity but with videogames and this is the perfect way to do it. If you are interested in reading in reading their reviews, here are the links to their pages:
Quent's review of The Legend of Zelda
NOWITSREYNTIME's review of The Legend of Zelda
I will be adding the other reviews once they become available.

Allow me to reminisce a bit first.
I first played a version of this game on my brother's PC sometime in the 90's probably. Much later I found out that I played the SatellaView version. I played a bit of this game as part of the Zelda Collection for GameCube. After that I bought the GBA version. I never got remotely far in any of my playthroughs but I did have a good time with trying to progress. But in all of my playthroughs, the cryptic nature of the game got the better of me. I almost never want to make use of guides for videogames because 'getting stuck' in a videogame is part of the fun for me.

The game starts and we're greeted by a pretty spiffy title screen. The logo is bright and colorful and beneath there's a waterfall going down, very cool. It's accompanied by the first rendition of the Legend of Zelda theme, of course the most iconic piece of music in the entire franchise. There's a title crawl that explains the story, really helpful. We're basically out to save the princess from the big bad.
Fun fact, Nintendo originally wanted to use Maurice Ravel's Bolero for the title screen but found out rather late in development that this music piece was not in the public domain yet. If they wanted to include it they had to wait an entire month to release the game and that wasn't happening so the composer basically pulled an all-nighter and churned out this gem of a theme song.

So we push start, pick a save file, name our character and we're off to the races. We're thrust into the land of Hyrule. We can go left, right or up but there's also a cave we can enter. Of course we enter the cave. We get the sword from the old man but we have to keep it a secret.

And now we go! The game begins! Go save the princess! Just do it! Where do we go? Figure it out!

So unless you know what you're doing or are playing this game with the help of a guide, you're lost. You have a big open world to explore, in the top left corner there's a map that basically tells you nothing except where you precisely are in the world. There are 8 dungeons, called levels in this game, all of them have a number so there's a way to tackle them chronologically. There are plentiful secrets in this game, a select few Heart Containers to find to expand your health, Warp Points, rupee stashes etc. But alas unless you have a guide you'll probably won't be able to find these goodies. Most of these collectables are hidden in walls that you have to bomb or underneath bushes (or are they trees?) that you have to burn but there are little to no contextual clues in the game as to which bushes or walls you have to burn or bomb respectively.

That is not to say that the developers didn't at least try. Sometimes rocks or statues with staircases beneath them that are conspicuously placed in a way that beg you to explore a bit.
Sure there are lot of instances of "how the hell was I supposed to figure that out by myself". But it's important to not get lost in these feelings of frustration. The first Legend of Zelda has a lot more to offer the player than simply granting them a glimpse of a bygone era in gaming or being viewed as a crusty old time capsule of a popular franchise. For a game that is so old, difficult and to be frank, obtuse, it still offers a sense of childlike wonder and curiosity. It's also the introduction of classic Zelda's addictive gameplay, something we'll discuss further in a bit.

It's important to mention that the developers were onto something here with this level of exploration but it would take a couple of years and a brand new console before these ideas would come into fruition in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo.

So by now I think I've made it clear that you need a guide in order to progress and finish this game. It's a "guide game" but not necessarily in the derogatory sense. Back when this game came out, they had old-fashioned guides and manuals to help players with this game. It's basically a part of the experience so there's no shame in using a guide. The videogame 'Tunic' tries to drive this point home by being a game that's clearly being inspired by The Legend of Zelda and you have to collect pieces of a manual in order to make sense of the game's rather cryptic nature.

If we're talking about gameplay, it's the first time we're introduced to the Zelda-formula. Explore the land, tackle dungeons, collect items which you can use for combat and/or explore. The whole world is basically at your feet but the more upgrades you collect, the more the world opens up to you. It's a really fun gameplay-loop and it remains incredibly satisfying to progress despite the fact that the game is showing its age.

Of course we have enemies to fight. The main attack you have is a forward stab, enemies are sometimes quick, nimble and unpredictable so be careful when and how you attack. There's quite a bit of delay between attacks so every sword stab matters more than you think. You can acquire a lot of upgrades like extra Hearts so you can take more hits, better armor, deadlier swords and health potions. Even though these are optional, you're going to need these, trust me.
You really need to prepare for the journey or else, get ready to get your shit kicked in. By the time you've reached Level 6 the game doesn't fuck around anymore. Enemies begin to swarm you in large numbers and hit like trucks. The game starts nice and easy before becoming absolutely relentless in its difficulty. Maybe I'm not a True Gamer™ but these difficulty spikes really threw me for a loop for some reason. It's to be expected of course, it's a game from 1987 and videogames were extremely difficult back then, be it for the sake of padding the game for home consoles or for gobbling up your quarters in the arcade. Anyways, read the guide and get these upgrades as soon as they become available.

As for the music, what's there to say, it's all so iconic. We got the title theme, the overworld theme, the treasure jingle, sound effects and compositions that are still being used to this day in Zelda games. Yeah it's archaic, sure, but it still manages to set itself apart from other NES soundtracks and you really get the feeling that you're setting off on a grand ol' adventure.

Would I recommend this game to any? Not necessarily, unless you have an interest in the Zelda-franchise and want to discover its history. Maybe you have an interest in game design and you want to know how things worked back in the day. Maybe you like the idea of working through a game with a guide or maybe by other means, like playing this game with friends and working through it thanks to each other's help.

For me personally, I always wanted to finish the first game of a franchise that I absolutely adore. And this marathon gave me plenty of reason to finally do it. And I'm glad I did but I'm also content that it's finally over. Now unto another game I tried multiple times but never finished: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link!

(I'm going to be so fucking relieved when we get to Link to the Past.)

Before I start this review, I want to say that myself, NOWITSREYNTIME17, Phantasm, Steinco, & Ptcremisi are doing a Zelda marathon. Basically, we’re gonna be playing every mainline Zelda game and doing reviews for them! There are a few others who will be joining us during specific Zelda games, and I will mention them as those games come, please check everyone out I mention in these reviews! With that out of the way, onto the review!

The original Legend of Zelda was not only a phenomenal game for the time, but was also revolutionary in how games could be made. An entirely open-world to explore at your own discretion, no levels, no platforming, just you, your sword, and a vast world to see. I have always been rather fond of this title even as a kid, and I think it’s due to that unwavering wonder of the secrets that you have yet to uncover, the progression, and the general gameplay just being pretty decent, especially for an NES game. While I may not be the most fond of most NES games, Zelda 1 I actually do like, but it certainly has faults that hold it back, let’s get into it.

While Zelda 1 has some information in-game to help the player figure stuff out, there’s really no tutorials or any semblance of guidance within this game whatsoever. Granted, this is very common with NES games as most important information akin to tutorials were found within the instruction booklet, as well as the premise and story of the game. Zelda 1 is rather intuitive to figure out though, and the HUD of the game displays everything nice and neatly to not make it confusing. I rather like this aspect of NES games going straight into the game without tutorials or cutscenes to bog it down. Something that later Zelda games, such as Twilight Princess would become rather contentious for, having a long introduction before the game actually begins, likely leading to some becoming disinterested and dropping the game. While Zelda 1 doesn’t need to worry about this particular issue, it does have another rather specific problem.

Zelda 1 is far too cryptic for its own good. Now granted, this is indeed an old game, though how anyone could have figured this out back then or even now is beyond me. One specific example a lot of people like to bring up is the “bait” item you need for Level 7 to progress. There’s no indication you ever need this item, though every item in the shop does have a purpose and use, so perhaps more inquisitive players could figure it out, but it’s not likely. A better example I like to bring up is what you can interact with in the environment. In the Overworld, there’s plenty of walls you can bomb, and many bushes to burn, yet there is no indication you can do this, nor does the game provide a specific scenario to teach this to players. Again, this is an NES game, I don’t expect nor hold this game to a modern standard, however when the game begins to depend on the player to use this very method in later dungeons to progress, it can become rather frustrating for the player to figure out, which will lead them to looking up a guide or simply dropping the game entirely.

I’ve always labeled Zelda 1 as a “guide game”. Essentially, a game you need a guide for to actually enjoy playing it, or at the very least understand what to do, and where to go. While I can appreciate how cryptic the game can be, the age simply doesn’t allow for it to be fair, which isn’t really the game’s own fault, though I do wonder if the developers made certain interactable objects and walls more obvious, how much would that improve the experience? I’d argue a lot, since many Zelda games after this use a plethora of visual cues and tricks to ensure the player knows, or at least could reliably figure out something was destructible, or could be interacted with. Zelda 1 does not have this luxury, so I find using a guide is not shameful or a bad thing for Zelda 1, or really any game really, it’s up to the player to make that decision. Though with this particular game it’s almost necessary for a first-time player no matter what, which is a negative. With that said, I actually did not use a guide for this playthrough because I’ve played the game so many times and know where everything is. In that regard, the game is actually rather fun to play, though for a first-time player it might feel too much like a checklist of things to do that aren’t exactly varied in their execution to make it that interesting unlike later Zelda games, but not an inherent negative again because it is the first.

Now for some other thoughts I had on the game while playing it. I originally remembered the controls being a lot better than they were, but in this playthrough it definitely felt worse. While I was attacking or trying to place bombs, Link would sometimes just face a random direction, causing me to miss my attack or bomb placement and get hit or waste a bomb, which is an issue because bomb drops aren’t exactly common and very valuable to have in dungeons. Another issue I noticed is the knockback and lack of invulnerability frames. Once you get hit by an enemy, you will be knocked back, which is an issue in more crowded rooms in dungeons since you’ll continue being knocked into enemies, and there’s not much you can do about it except try and get to a safe spot as quickly as possible. While most enemies don’t do much damage overall, it really adds up overtime, and the fact heart and fairy drops are a luxury in this game, and you have a game that is not only difficult, but harrowing. Other issues with the game I had is some rooms in dungeons are too crowded, bubbles preventing you from attacking is annoying rather than challenging and just kills the flow of the game, a lot of the items you get in this game don’t feel overly useful except the wand, which is actually the best item you get in the game to me, especially when you upgrade it later with the book. The difficulty curve is rather steep past the third dungeon, and yet the difficulty in the seventh dungeon almost feels a bit easier due to the enemy’s as well as the boss being the same as the boss from the first dungeon, Aquamentus, which is odd. There’s no denying Dungeon seven is certainly harder in layout, but in enemy variety, not so much. Another issue I had is when dungeons start requiring you to use bombs to get to specific rooms. Now, again, there is no obvious tell which walls you can bomb, though the maps you get can be a good way to identify that, so it’s not too bad in the dungeons, the issue really is the bombs themselves. Bombs are finite, and they don’t drop often as I’ve said before, because of this, if you need a bomb to progress, you might just have to grind enemies for a while to do so. Now to the game’s credit, a lot of the time you need bombs to progress or complete the dungeon, the game is generous enough to provide them for you as long as you clear out the right room of enemies.

Now onto some positives! The overworld is beautifully woven together and has tons of different environments that break apart the map nicely and can allow you to memorize it. Another aspect of the Overworld I enjoy is how easy it is to get to places. It may seem a bit tedious at first, but with the warp points that are thoughtfully placed, as well as Link becoming more capable to explore the Overworld felt really satisfying and fun, plus the actual World design is quite good! A lot of the items you get in this game do feel pretty useful, if a bit situational. I enjoy the raft and stepladder, they’re nice additions, though I think the Stepladder is far better of an item than the raft of course. The enemy variety is outstanding for an NES game, tons of baddies to fight with unique designs and behaviors. While some can be a bit annoying like Darknuts and Wizzrobes, I felt like every enemy was genuinely well designed and fun to fight, though I do also think Like-Like’s are a bit too punishing, especially if you don’t understand what they can do, but that is the outlier. The sprite work is great, I ran into no glitches, the translation is awful which contributes to this game being too cryptic, but it does have a charm to it even if it’s a negative. The soundtrack despite only being four to five songs is great, never really grated on my ears for my three hour journey, and was happy to see the final dungeon get a unique song, helps it stand apart and make it feel more significant. I do like how each dungeon is in a specific shape, I also appreciate how they tried their best to make each dungeon stand out with a different color palette, it does help them distinguish themselves, even if the gameplay is very similar in each one for the most part.

The Legend of Zelda for its first outing is pretty impressive, I have to say. While it’s not anywhere near my favorite game, and I think the flaws are too heavy for me to rate it higher, I can recommend it to others easier than I could the first Metroid for example. For the first game in the Zelda marathon, not a bad start! I urge you all to read Reyn’s review, and Steinco's review for The Legend of Zelda, as well as everyone else’s in the marathon when they post theirs. I’ll be sure to edit my review to include them, so look out for that! Thank you all for reading my review! Still working hard on the VA-11 Hall-A review, so please look forward to that, as well as other reviews I have in the pipeline. For the Zelda marathon, up next is Zelda 2, last time I played it, I dropped it and never went back to it, so we’ll see how it goes this time. See you guys next review.

I know I'm still in the middle of another marathon (Kirby) but I've decided to also go through every Zelda game I own and can emulate because I've been in a big Zelda mood lately. Not only that, some other Backloggd members have also decided to join this marathon as well. Namely QuentTheSlayer, Ptcremisi,Steinco,Phantasm and a couple others. The four I mentioned plan on playing pretty much every game like I am, while the others plan on picking and choosing games they want to play. Either way, be sure to check out their accounts because they plan on putting out reviews for all the games too!

Anyways, The Legend of Zelda. I first played this game years ago on my brother's 3DS XL. He randomly bought this off the eShop and when he wasn't using his 3DS, I decided to actually try the first Zelda game out. I don't think I got far, and I didn't love it but it was neat finally trying this game out. Fast forward to 2020, I was trying to beat some games I started but never finished. Since I still had NSO, and I knew this game was on it, I decided to finally beat it once and for all. I did, and yeah I didn't like it all too much. I think I had to use save states, and definitely had to use a guide for most of it and that hampered my experience a lot. Coming back to it today tho, I say I still don't really like it all too much but it has its merits.

I guess I'll first go into the story of this game. Most future Zelda games also go by this same story structure as well, so get used to what I'm about to say. You play as Link, a young boy from the kingdom of Hyrule. You must rescue the princess of Hyrule, Zelda, from the big bad of this series, Ganon. You must collect the pieces of Triforce, which are used to stop Ganon, and they are split into 8 shards and are all found at the end of dungeons. The three pieces are the Triforce of Courage, Wisdom and Power. The specific pieces don't really come into play until later games, because that's if. That's the entire story of the first Zelda game. It's incredibly simple but it works, and these story details are the backbone of the entire Zelda series.

When you first start the actual game, the first thing you see on the first screen you're on, is an empty cave. You meet an old man, and he utters the now famous dialogue "It's dangerous to go alone, take this!". He hands you a sword and with that, you're free to explore the world of Hyrule. Exploring Hyrule can be pretty fun and frustrating on your first playthrough. On one hand, you'll be exploring everywhere trying to find each dungeon and trying to find any secrets you can. That can be very fun for people that just love to explore with almost zero direction, this is a game from 1986 so the best direction you'd get back then were vague hints or using an issue of Nintendo Power for help. This is 2024 tho, and you've been able to just look up a guide online for a while now, so that's what most players will do. And honestly, that's what I did and it's the best way to get through the overworld portions at least. See, this game's overworld relies on you finding random secrets you would only find by randomly guessing their locations or by using a guide. This game loves random bombable walls or random bushes you can burn, and while this only affects actually dungeons near the end, this is used for required items and also several rupee locations (that you WILL need) and so I think this is an unfun part of the overworld. If there was any indication the walls or bushes had secrets, it would be fine, but there isn't unless you find some very vague dialogue in game. That, plus just bombing a wall or burning a bush isn't really puzzle-like, which I would prefer in my Zelda overworlds. This is something future Zelda games improved on, but here, you might as well just use a guide to get most of the overworld stuff done first and then move onto the dungeons (that's what I did). I can see why some other people might find it more fun to constantly replay this game and actually memorize all the secrets, however I just don't think that's good game design and so I decided to do the whole overworld with a guide.

The dungeons themselves, while not great, are definitely the best part of this game. They are way less cryptic than the overworld, and thus are more fun. They can get pretty brutal near the end of the game, and also more confusing (they start to rely on bombable walls too) so I had to use a guide for the last couple as well. But in general, despite the simplicity, the dungeons are pretty fun. The bosses at the end of each dungeon are pretty easy but with this type of game, I'm fine with that since the bulk of the game is exploration. Something I didn't like, and I'm mentioning it here because it happens mostly in dungeons, is the fact you start with 3 health when you die. No matter how many heart containers you have, you'll always just start the game with 3 health and it's my biggest issue in the game because it's tedious having to get more health to have a fighting chance (since it's so easy to get hit in this game). Luckily, there are a couple fairy fountains that restore your health fully throughout the world, and there are caves that give you potions (believe me you will need these) so they make that whole health system a bit more tolerable. Going back to "since it's so easy to get hit in this game" whenever you get hid, there enemy pushes you back a bunch and because the invincibility frames are relatively short, it's not hard to get comboed by enemies and die. Now this didn't happen too much in my playthrough, but it can still be annoying. Outside of getting hit tho, Link plays well otherwise.

Inside the dungeons, and also outside in caves, you can collect different items that aid you in your adventure. You have some iconic items like the boomerang, bombs, a bow and arrows and ofc the iconic Rupees. You also have heart containers in this game, that you will want to find in all the caves and after each dungeon boss. There aren't heart pieces in this game, only containers, so each of them is super valuable. I won't get into all the main dungeon items, just know they're all pretty solid, but I will get into the clock. Sometimes when you kill an enemy, it drops a clock. When you pick up the clock, it stops every enemy in place if they're on the same screen you collected it on. This can be SO helpful in later encounters if you somehow are able to get one, it's very random tho so you better hope you get lucky. I also will say, one time during my playthrough, I killed three of these boomerang enemies and got three fairies at once from them. Idk how lucky that is but it seemed pretty insane.

The music in this game is simply iconic. The Title Theme(yes I shared the Famicom version, it's the best version) is probably my favorite song in the game and is the main theme of the entire franchise which makes sense since it's amazing. The overworld also uses a version of these theme and it's also very good. Picking up items and finding secrets also play jingles and they've been in pretty much every Zelda game since this one as well. If this game does anything super well, it's the sound design. There's a reason so much of it was reused for future titles lol.

While I don't care for the first Legend of Zelda all too much, due to the exploration secrets not being great and the 3 heart after death thing, I can't deny it's an iconic game and was very important in the grand scheme of things for the Zelda series. I don't love playing it, but I can certainly appreciate it for what it is.

Now that Zelda 1 is done, Zelda 2 is next. I actually have never played that one, and I haven't heard great things, so I'm worried I won't like it much but I guess we'll see. Look forward to that next.

Also, when I get to the 3D Zelda titles, I'll try to sprinkle in some smaller games in between but more importantly, I'll try to mix some Kirby games in between. Basically, I'll be doing a mix of Kirby and Zelda eventually. Just letting you know now since you'll eventually notice, I'm sure.