Zelda (Game & Watch)

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Zelda is a handheld LCD game in The Legend of Zelda franchise, developed and published by Nintendo in 1989. Released as part of the Multi Screen series, it is the last Game & Watch release prior to the launch of the Game Boy and the second to last entry in the original Game & Watch run, with the last being Mario the Juggler in 1991. The game has since been rereleased as part of the Nintendo Mini Classics line of keychain LCD games in 1998 and an adapted version appears as a secret unlockable game in Game & Watch Gallery 4 on Game Boy Advance.

Overview

The game features an original, non-canon story. Eight dragons wreak havoc upon Hyrule and capture princess Zelda and seal her in a prison. It is up to the hero Link to defeat the dragons and rescue the princess. The only way to break the seal is to collect the eight pieces of the Triforce. Link gets a piece after each dragon in their respective dungeon. After defeating all eight dragons, Zelda is rescued, the final score is recorded, and the game starts over from the beginning.

Gameplay is reminiscant of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, in that it is side scrolling action game where player goes through several dungeons and fights enemies to save the princess. The enemies found in this game are Poes, Stalfos, and Moblin-like Goblin creatures. There are usually several Poes and Stalfos and a Goblin mini boss in a room Most of these rooms take place on the bottom screen, which also include remaining Hearts and Enemy's energy, which goes down as the Goblin takes damage. Poes and Stalfos cannot be attacked directly, and instead need to be dodged and blocked with the Shield respectively. When the goblin is defeated, the current score goes up in points and a staircase appears above Link, which goes to the next room. This traveling is reflected on the map on the left side of the top screen. Sometimes two staircases appear, both leading to different rooms. Link also collects items along the way, including a Map, Water of Life, and the game-exclusive Tomahawk. All of these items appear on the left side of the top screen. Link eventually finds a special staircase made of bones that takes him to the dragon room, which is on the right side of the top screen. Link must dodge fireballs while hitting the dragon with the Tomahawk. A Triforce piece is rewarded after defeating the dragon, which is reflected on the left side of the top screen. This process repeats until all dragons are defeated or Link runs out of hearts. When either of these conditions are met, the final score is recorded on a leaderboard and the game resets. However, the game features a Continue button that allows the player to restart at the beginning of the dungeon they were killed in with all progress up to that point intact.

Trivia

The original Game & Watch version of this game only released in North America.