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I've always wanted a "Play as Zelda" hack, so discovering this one was a treat. I consider the implementation of Link and Zelda's role-swap slightly awkward narratively (for example, the escape dialogue should be changed more since Zelda is still the princess; it would work better if it was changed so she's still the one telling Link, or maybe one is reminding the other about the passage), but there are some good ideas all the same. Lord Link's movement sprites during the escape seem a bit off, as though his legs are shortened. Still, it's a fun hack now that I've got it to work.

Which brings me to the most important point: IN ORDER FOR THE PATCH TO WORK, THE ROM NEEDS A HEADER. Download the utility "TUSH" from the utilities section of this site to check the ROM's header status, and add one if needed. At the time of writing, the information on checking header status in the FAQs is out of date.

I always thought Zelda was a cool character, and I just thought, why can't I control her as a main protagonist in any official Nintendo-made game ?!

Well, I looked for hacks, and this hacks allows to do exactly that ! Also, they changed some dialogue to make it possible for the story with the role-swap. Contrary to what another review is saying, I'm fine with the sprites used for princess Zelda as a playable protagonist.

Now the only bad thing is, the script wasn't edited enough. Soldiers still call you "kid" instead of "your highness", and wanted signs, displaying Link and calling him a criminal in the original game, are broken.

I really hope this patch will see a 1.1 version with those flaws fixed, but nevertheless it's really worth playing, finally you can control Zelda.

Who doesn't like the idea of playing Zelda for a change? It beats playing the CDI games. I like how Zelda's dress is a different color than the original ALttP one. It provides distinction. The switching of other color palettes adds to the feel of not being in a new game.

I find trying to work editing software tedious at best, so having someone post something like this is cool.

This hack is brilliant and shows off what a real hacker can do. The idea of switching link with Zelda has never had such an appeal until now. The hack was so impressive that it makes it into my top 5 Zelda hack and is surely better than Puzzle Dudes IQ test.

Despite the fact that the idea is interesting, nothing but the main sprite is changed in this game, as well as some minor text changes. This, however, might still be interesting to play, specially since the character is now Zelda herself. Sounds great, but the execution is not.

The sprite is quite clumsy drawn and you clearly see it was drawn manually and has a lot of aesthetic issues, specially when walking. There also is no effect on the clothes when receiving blue and red armor. Furthermore, when receiving power glove and titan glove the false gray and gold colour is blinking on the hands when pushing upwards. These are all known issues and can/could be solved.

Zelda's sprite had a lot less gfx frames (when she was following Link) in the original game. Making this into the main sprite can thus be problematic, and in this case the author was not fully up to the task.

The person to be rescued from prison is now Link. He is decently drawn and the palettes also changed accordingly, but as a side effect a lot of other palettes are now false, making a lot of sprites (or parts of them) green, which simply does not fit. Again the author did not realize, that only one sprite pals should be changed (which is obviously doable), he instead changed global pals, which is not how things are done.

This hack preserves the original integrity of the classic Link to the Past but essentially adds the option of playing through from a different perspective. Zelda embarks with the uncle's sword and shield and her very cool cape to save her own kingdom.

The sprite used for her sequence in the Hyrule Castle works well for this and she looks and feels like a true fantasy warrior princess. What she lacks in bouncy green hat, she makes up with a flowing white cape.

The gender swapped characters, roles, and dialogue mostly work seamlessly. She's still referred to as Princess Zelda so I don't totally get why she's in the cottage, but after the beginning it completely makes sense.

In spite of having played this game through about a dozen times, just playing a different character made this a very fresh experience.

Highly recommended

Kenna W did a nice job wondering what Zelda would look like if she became playable in this Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past romhack. Zelda replaces Link as playable hero and Link is the bachelor in a bind. Very creative hack! Good job!

The premise is very good. In fact, I was looking for a similar hack to this a while back and couldn't find one. And I was plain old too lazy to make it myself. :D

The left and right walking sprites look kind of janky, but other than that it's pretty good.

I really like role-swap hacks, and this is on one of my favorite games. Interesting green/blue palette swap on the enemies, too. There are still some kinks to iron out, though.

• Sahasrahla and the Bottle Salesman still call Zelda a young man.
• You still get Link's telepathic cry for help while he's with you.
• Multiple dialogue boxes have graphical glitches from text wrapping around. (Mean ladies in Kakariko, the wise lady in Kakariko, Wanted signs, Saha's speech entering the dark world "as male members of")
• In Agahnim's first scene, Link is white/purple.

All in all, very fun to play! I can't wait to see the next version! Maybe you can raise the pitch on the "hurt" sfx so it sounds more feminine?