The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, known in Japan as  is an action-adventure video game made by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo game console. It's the third game of The Legend of Zelda series, though it is a prequel to The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It's about a young boy named Link who has to save Princess Zelda and six other maidens from Ganon using the Master Sword to save them. It got great reviews and it's one of the best-selling Super Nintendo games of all time.

Plot

Setting
A Link to the Past is in Hyrule, the main area of The Legend of Zelda series. The Light World has many areas from other The Legend of Zelda games, like Hyrule Castle, Death Mountain, the Lost Woods, Lake Hylia, and Kakariko Village. Most of Hyrule is grass-land, with deserts, forests, and villages. The Dark World, a dark version of Hyrule, has very little grass-land and has a large pyramid in the middle. When people enter the Dark World, they get turned into what's in their hearts (for example, Link turns into a pink bunny).

Characters
Link - The star of the game. Link and his Uncle are both is messaged telepathically by Princess Zelda to come save her at Hyrule Castle.
Princess Zelda - Princess Zelda is held prisoner by Agahnim, an evil wizard who killed the king.
Ganon - The enemy of the game. He's a large pig monster known as the King of Evil, but used to be a man called Ganondorf and was called the King of Thieves. He turned Golden Land evil, and it became the Dark World, and used Agahnim to try to take over the Light World too.
Agahnim - Ganon's top minion. He was made in charge of taking over the Light World by Ganon, and has to seal away the seven maidens, which includes Princess Zelda.
The Seven Maidens - There are seven maidens - one of them being Princess Zelda - who were put into crystals and held prisoner in the Dark World by Agahnim. Agahnim left them in the hands of seven of Ganon's minions.
Sahasrahla - An old man who helps Link throughout the game.
Link's Uncle - Link's Uncle goes to save Princess Zelda but is killed by soldiers at Hyrule Castle. But just before his death, he gives his sword and shield to Link to go save her.

Summary
The story starts with Link in bed when a voice calls out to him. The voice is Princess Zelda's, and she asks for help escaping from Hyrule Castle before the evil wizard Agahnim can seal her away like the other maidens before her. Link's Uncle hears it too, and goes to save her. When Link follows him into the sewer, he finds his Uncle half-alive, and his Uncle gives Link his sword and shield before he dies. Link breaks Zelda out of her cell and takes her through a secret path to a sanctuary where she stays and hides. Link is told by an old man called Sahasrahla that he has to find the pendants of power, wisdom, and courage in three dungeons so he can break the seal on the ancient weapon, the Master Sword. Link finds the pendants in the Eastern Palace, the Desert Palace, and the Tower of Hera, and brings them to the Lost Woods, where he pulls the Master Sword out of its pedestal. Zelda gets kidnapped before he can get to her, and Link fights Agahnim. He and Agahnim go to the Dark World, and Link appears on top of a large pyramid. He has to find the seven crystals that have seven maidens in them, including Zelda, so he can get to Ganon's Tower. After he gets them all, he goes to the top of the tower and battles Agahnim again. He kills him, and Ganon in a bat form flies out of the corpse and into the Pyramid of Power. Link battles Ganon using the Master Sword and Silver Arrows, and eventually kills him. He finds the Triforce that Ganon used to corrupt the Golden Land, and uses it to wish everything back to normal, and Link puts the Master Sword back in the pedestal.

Gameplay
A Link to the Past plays like The Legend of Zelda for the NES with a bird's eye view view instead of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link's sidescrolling view, and stars a boy named Link. He has a sword and shield, and many other items from older games including a bow, a boomerang, and bombs. He always has a sword and shield out when he has them, and can have one other item equipped. Link uses them to explore Hyrule, battle enemies, and solve puzzles. It adds onto the gameplay of The Legend of Zelda, with better controls and new items, like the hookshot and Pegasus Boots which have appeared in many The Legend of Zelda games after it. It also adds a feature used in many games after it, which is going back and forth between two worlds. This was first used again after A Link to the Past in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where Link travels back and forth in time. Link also has a magic meter like in Zelda II, which he needs to use items like the Lantern and Ice Rod. Throughout Hyrule, there are many items to find and Heart Pieces too that add to Link's health.

Link has to go around Hyrule and battle enemies, find items, and find the dungeons that he has to go to. There are many kinds of items, some of them being too strong for a sword. There are a lot of puzzles that require Link to use his many items to complete in the dungeons. In every dungeon, there is almost always these items - a Compass, a Dungeon Map, several Keys, a Big Key, a special dungeon item usually used to beat the dungeon, and a magical item after the boss. The boss at the end of the dungeon is always different, and are much more powerful than regular enemies in the game.

Music
Kōji Kondō, a famous Nintendo musician, was in charge of the soundtrack for this game. Several songs in this game were remixed in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, including the Dark Woods theme.

Development

Reception
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is considered to be one of the best Super Nintendo game ever made and one of the best video games ever made too. It was praised for how good the controls were, and how entertaining it was to explore the world and dungeons.

Re-releases
This game has been re-released several times, including a Satellaview remake, Game Boy Advance remake, and a port to the Wii's Virtual Console.

BS The Legend of Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban
A Link to the Past was remade for the Satellaview, a Super Nintendo Entertainment System add-on, and was called BS The Legend of Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban. It has a different plot and a slightly changed world. It had voice acting, and it lasted for four weeks. Each week, you have to do something, and when the next week comes, there's a new quest to do.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & The Four Swords
A Link to the Past was re-released on the Game Boy Advance as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & The Four Swords. It came with a modified port of A Link to the Past along with the multiplayer-only game Four Swords. The port added a new dungeon to the game called The Palace of the Four Sword. Four Swords's graphical style is similar to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

On September 28, 2011, an updated version of Four Swords called The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition was released. It is available on Nintendo's DSiWare service. It includes a single player mode and more areas.

References

1991 video games
Flagship games
Game Boy Advance games
Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development games
Nintendo Research & Development 2 games
Link to the Past
Virtual Console games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games