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Legend Of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The
Universal acclaim
Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 73 votes
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Game Info
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo / Capcom
Genre(s): Adventure
Players: 4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Release Date: December 2, 2002
Summary
[Metacritic's 2002 Game Boy Advance Game of the Year] Two Legendary games in one Pak. In the one-player mode, A Link to the Past, Link receives a telepathic message from Zelda, imploring him to help. He must find the Master Sword, then travel to the Dark World to defeat Ganon and restore peace to the land of Hyrule. In the multiplayer game, Four Swords, between two to four players take on the roles of young adventurers who answer a challenge from the Triforce. They must brave the dangers of multiple dungeons in a quest to find the Master Sword. Their strength will be tested by fierce monsters, their wisdom tested by complex puzzles, and their courage tested by having to cooperate with each other to overcome obstacles.
Also On Metacritic
GAMES: Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Classic NES Series)
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central GamePro IGN IGN Insider Guide
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
G4 TV
A long, challenging quest that holds up well to repeated play. Younger players who never had a SNES will find this game an excellent warm-up for the soon-to-be-released "Legend of Zelda: The Wind Walker" for the GameCube.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
An indispensable game, combining arguably the finest RPG/adventure the 16-bit era ever produced (even compared to the likes of Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy VI) with an expertly realised multiplayer rendition of Zelda.
Read Full Review >NintendoWorldReport
A flawless masterpiece, Link to the Past drastically improved upon its predecessors by introducing a more linear framework for the player to explore (rather than the vast open-endedness of the two previous games), a better interface and controls, and dungeon puzzles and layouts designed in such a manner that can only be called perfect.
Read Full Review >Play Magazine
A Link to the Past is one of the best SNES games ever made, and it's found a new home on GBA, losing absolutely nothing in the translation. [Dec 2002, p.93]
Nintendophiles
"Four Swords" is the perfect multiplayer Zelda game. It combines amazing cooperative gameplay with competitive gameplay at the same time. The end result is a multiplayer game like no other.
Read Full Review >GameNow
The puzzles are still clever, the dungeons are still brilliantly laid out, the control is spot-on, and the graphics still look sweet. [Jan 2003, p.64]
GBA Central
The adventure is long, involving, challenging and presented to perfection with beautiful graphics and a stunning soundtrack.
Read Full Review >Nintendo Insider
Four Swords is the perfect multiplayer Zelda game. It combines amazing cooperative gameplay with competitive gameplay at the same time. The end result is a multiplayer game like no other. You’ll be up with your friends late into the night trying to save the Princess in this four-player frenzy.
Read Full Review >Nintendo Power
Incredible level design. [Dec 2002, p.222]
GamerWeb Nintendo
While Zelda Advance is really two games on one cartridge, each is brilliant and very solid in its own right.
Read Full Review >IGN
Four Swords is Nintendo's way of giving gamers something completely new and different in the Zelda environment, and it's one heck of a good time in each play through.
Read Full Review >GameBiz
There are certain games that come along, a few very generation, and they are the pinnacle of a genre, or an ideal. Such is A Link to the Past. The game is as close to flawless as is humanly possible.
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
"Four Swords" is the most fun I've ever had with a four-player GBA game. [Jan 2003, p.212]
GamingWorld X
This is a great opportunity for old schoolers to enjoy some excellent nostalgia (while kicking friends around in Four Swords) and new schoolers to partake in one of the greatest adventures of all time (er, while kicking friends around in Four Swords).
Read Full Review >Pocket Games
So much fun that you'll play 'til the batteries run out. You simply cannot miss this game. [Spring 2003, p.28]
GameSpy
By coupling one of the memorable SNES games ever released with an incredibly novel and addictive multiplayer mode, this version of A Link to the Past is an extraordinary game with awesome replay value.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
This title is the definition of perfect pacing. [Jan 2003, p.121]
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
A huge 30 hours-plus adventure but it never feels intimidatingly big. Whether you're a games novice or geriatric you'll be able to play it. [NGC]
Read Full Review >GameSpot
A great handheld port of one of the greatest games ever released for Nintendo's 16-bit system.
Read Full Review >GameCritics
To the untrained eye, the Link To The Past cartridge may well appear to be nothing more than another videogame for kids and others who refuse to grow out of childhood. However, it is much more than that, being as worthy a narrative as many popular books out there can be.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
But the most amazing feature is that an entirely new game has been added. It's a multi-player game that is worth the price of admission alone. It's more than Gauntlet and it's not just another Deathmatch, it's a stand-alone game that makes this one of the best GBA buys in history.
Gamestyle
Although A Link to the Past represents some of the most fabulous game designs you're ever likely to see, it also suffers from some criminally unforgiving sections that today's gamer-on-the-go is likely to scoff at. Not quite the vision of perfection that it once seemed to be.
Read Full Review >GamingTrend
From finding all the unique items to helping a boy stuck between the worlds to rescuing all the maidens to finding out who is behind everything, the game has tons of adventure to spare. This is simply one of the must-haves for the GBA.
Read Full Review >GMR Magazine
Not having to dig out the SNES and clean out the cartridge port is nice enough, but to play this classic game on the bus? Pure Nirvana. [Feb 2003, p.74]
My Gamer
This new type of multiplayer is worth the purchase of the game itself but the only down fall is trying to find another player (or three) that owns a copy of the game.
Read Full Review >All Game Guide
A must-have title that, if nothing else, represents the missing "link" of Nintendo classics destined to appear on the color handheld.
Read Full Review >Gamer's Pulse
While Mario has aged well, A Link to the Past feels a little old. Unlike other GBA ports, the game definitely shows its age graphically, especially when compared to Four Swords.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 73 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jesse R gave it a10:
Out of all of the pre-Ocarina Zelda games, A Link to the Past is definitely the best. The depth of the game, including both its Light and Dark world, as well as the many secrets and items found, make it one of the best Zelda titles there is. The sheer number of dungeons and difficulty of the game make it one of the longer Zelda games I’ve played, and while some parts could get frustratingly hard, a little patience and some logic will always get you through. Four Swords is a good co-op adventure in itself, with one of its few downsides being that if you don’t have a friend to play it with you can’t play it at all.
Jordan G gave it a9:
A challenging adventure. This game is 2D adventuring at it's finest. One of the best Zelda titles ever, definately the best 2D one.
Jack C. gave it a9:
A link to the past is only second to ocarina of time in my opinion. To those criticizing the dated graphics and sound you obviously haven't played the original zelda(It kicks ass even though it's old). But I agree that some items are useless (wtf icerod?) To Steve P.: If you found it too hard you probably shouldn't be playing videogames.
Anon Y. Mous gave it a6:
Okay, this is an overrated, but still pretty good, game. It was probably the best thing out there in the SNES era, but let's face it: it doesn't hold up well enough to be considered a timeless classic. These days, there are games that do the same thing, but better, which nobody seems to understand due to nostalgia. A remake should have fixed this by adding major gameplay changes and not just parroting the original, and that's where it truly falls: it needs more added to keep up with the rest of the gaming world.
Neo smith gave it a10:
To Steve P. this game is not t hard you just suck at playing games you will use the items you get a lot if you play the game to Baby doll what are you talking about "mario cart has better graphics" no its just a different type of game this is a remake of the SNES game Legend of Zelda Link to the past its not a new game its a remake for the people who didn't play this game now to everyone else the story is solid if you pay attention to enjoy this game you must have a long attention span.
l. v gave it a9:
IT is a great game, but no one has another copy where i live. I cant paly 4 swords. :( Some sound effects are annoying, but other than that, it rules.
Nathan H. gave it an8:
It's Zelda!! But the graphics are old, the bosses are boring, dungeons easy and short... But it's Zelda!!
