GuestLog in

In both quests, you begin without a sword. You are only given four bombs and you have to finish a dark dungeon in its entirety, both swordless and candleless (bombs only). At least in the first quest, you can buy the sword after Level-1 to make the game easier, but the 2nd Quest goes a step further and forces you to finish two dark dungeons, both swordless and candleless, before you finally get a sword, in the cemetery dungeon (Level-3). Until then, you will have to hunt for bombs and rupees, and then buy a large shield to defend yourself and to make up for the lack of a sword.

Swordless and candleless playthroughs aside, there are other questionable, nonsensical designs. For example, the waterfall dungeon is Level-7 but you can't access it without the Raft, which is found in the Desert Temple (Level-8), thus forcing you to go out of numerical order. The old man in the waterfall dungeon LITERALLY tells you to do this, and it doesn't make sense.

The overall design of this game is borderline Kaizo and does not belong in ANY Zelda game, much less the first Zelda. Unless the author is willing to release a new version for newbies and casual players, which would mean removing all dark rooms in Level-1 and making the wooden sword available on the starting screen, I can NOT recommend this hack to anyone.

First off, absolutely loved this game. So much so, I joined this forum just leave a review. I played thru blind recently and this shows that Nintendo needs to go back and create some new LoZ versions. Countless possibilities.

For this review I want to break it down into a few categories.

1.Mechanics/Playability

2.Graphics/Sprites

3.Overall

So for Mechanics/Playability, this game is difficult in some areas and other areas it seems relatively easy with respect to playing the original LoZ without the internet or that infamous issue of Nintendo Power. I think the functionality of the weapons and items seemed to be very polished. I didn't think it ruined its playability like other ROM Hacks that can't get the simple combat cleaned to create fun, this game was fun because the combat wasn't dragged down by poor mechanics, well done. Also, the playability stood out because the progression was somewhat difficult playing blind but, did have all the pieces in the game to find the progression path, some just took a little while to find but, its all there. Definitely a fun and playable game.

The Graphics/Sprites are a very interesting use in its own regard. This is probably the only part that I struggled to enjoy the most even though its still pretty well done. Example, the background color of the overworld mapping was filled in compared to the original where it was just a solid color, the creator tried to give the impression of let's say "grass". I would say it does create an imaginary "grass" area to create depth but, the issue that roasted me was the fact that the arrow projectiles from enemy sprites would just disappear and would frustrate me as I couldn't see them as compared to the original LoZ. I love how some sprites were redone and made to be more realistic like the Lynel. Still even though there was a slight problem seeing arrows in the overworld, I do like the look of this game.

The Story/Lore of this game was awesome, I loved this version and the overall gameplay and all its glory was a joy. I would and will be recommending this to anyone who is a serious LoZ fan. I wouldn't recommend this to the weak hearted players who cannot overcome a troubling adventure. Good luck to those trying to traverse the desert without the path hint or looking for items in dungeons that can't fathom push blocks out of the ordinary. But if you want a challenge to spark your creative LoZ senses and actually recapture the feel of the original LoZ difficulty before the internet....this is your game.

Thanks to the creator. The3Dude....it was a blast!

Hemi

I've now since played through both quests and I can only say WOW! This truly was an excellent experience and I enjoyed every minute of it (even when I was tempted to rage quit). The game looks and plays beautifully. The overworld and dungeons are well designed. The progression is very linear, but its so well-thought out its a plus in this case. I managed to find everything on my own (save for the desert puzzle, more on that below) without looking up hints. I made my own maps which really made the experience enjoyable.

The3Dude really understands what is so wonderful about the OG Zelda experience (especially the more devious 2nd Quest) and was able to expand on it so wonderfully. Definitely inspired by Outlands, it matches or exceeds Outlands in its vision. While playing I almost felt a strange communion with the 3Dude, understanding their design process and sometimes anticipating what they had in store next.

I absolutely loved the early game sword-less challenge. I enjoyed having to conserve arrows and bombs to make due for at least 2 dungeons. Thankfully bombs are available free at some shops (though having a bigger bag early would have been a little relieving). Progression seems to follow a logical pathway and I never felt lost for long. When in doubt after beating a dungeon. Play the flute to see what new area is warped too.

1st Quest overall is very tough but fair. 3Dude never expects too much of you. One dungeon early on (3?) felt too much with the wooden sword, but I got the flute, left the dungeon, played the flute and warped to somewhere which made the white sword available! Which made that dungeon manageable. Most players though wouldn't have necessarily thought to do that, but 3Dude was very clever making that an option.

The 2nd Quest was a lesson in pain but I know 3Dude was going all out on difficulty, so I enjoyed slogging through and seeing what tricks they thought of. I used Save States a lot (sorry 3Dude) because it was just a little too insane at times. Some parts of the game were actually fine, but there was an early level 4(?) after you finally get the sword that requires you to fight blue darknuts in narrow mazes that took me maybe a hundred tries. Then some later levels weren't so bad. The difficulty curve felt a little off at times. If anything the early game was harder than the end game, not that it was ever easy. I'm glad I played the whole thing even if I wimped out with save states. Seeing the game through was a pleasure.

____SPOILER BELOW On Desert Maze (I wouldn't be surprised if someone wants this spoiled)_____

I have few real complaints but one does stick out at me which was the desert maze which is hinted at in Dungeon 6 "Guess the Desert Path Head to the NW". This was leaving the player to guess the right permutation of 3 directions in an unknown number of screen changes. I wrongly guessed that the Maze would only consist of N and W (as the hint would have me believe) and that I would only need to change screens 4 times (as in the forest maze). So I tried every permutation i.e. NWNW, NNNW, WWWN, NWNN... etc. Actually it turns out that the answer is EWENN, so 5 screen changes and involving East despite the hint (If found on one of the few Youtube videos) which I don't think was hinted at properly so 3Dude I guess expected us to just try every permutation possible... anyway whatever. Even so the hint could have at least specified how many screen changes and ignored direction having the player guess. I was just annoyed I actually had to look something up.

I love the protagonist's upgraded sprite. On the harder side, but you've been told that by creator prior to playing. Game plays well, and looks feels amazing. Thank you!

Lately there have been a number of really great mods for LOZ1. This is no exception! Link's Shadow offers an experience in ways that will call to your nostalgia. The fun of exploration without the game feeling tedious, the thrill of the challenge and the new additions that add that little touch that make it a great experience. If you've never played the original Legend Of Zelda, what are you waiting for?!? Go play it!! Then come back here and enjoy this wonderful effort! Highly Recommended!!

Incredibly satisfying gameplay. Every Overworld has been modified to make the experience totally new! All dungeons have been redesigned and with very challenging new puzzles I didn't find any bugs, I completed the game with 100% of the items (today). Congratulations to those who created this Hack! Thanks Dude!

Spoilers Ahead:

First off I'd like to start with the game not having a sword, It's OK and I'm fine with that, but having to go through the other side of this map in Lynel territory with no up-graded shield and 3 hearts is not fun, plus it's not even free! You have to know where secrets are to get money and buy it! Yes, Outlands did some crazy stuff in its 2nd quest without a sword but for a 1st quest this is a no.

My main complaint with this "Hack" is level 3. Getting there I only had 7 hearts, Wooden sword, no potions, and no blue ring. Having to fight blue dark nuts in short spaces and having a Patra for the mini boss, and no less the main boss in small room with snake shooters? Big no, even if I had potions this is too much.

The player shouldn't have to pay for sword up-grades with the Wooden and White sword, something I don't approve of, and potions being ridiculous prices too (But later dungeons did have free potions to give). Even if the secret Moblins give you good money, but also too many "pay me for the door repair" old mans even when you just walk into an open secret that was already open.

Couldn't get the blue ring until after completing a somewhat difficult level 4. But after getting your up-grades levels 5-9 were better. Was generous with bombs being cheap in shops but after levels 3 & 4 I didn't even want to try and 100% this game (Just missed a couple Heart Containers)

I will give The3Dude credit for a new overworld map and custom level designs Not going to even try the 2nd quest after the first because I was so frustrated with some of the things be pulled in the mid dungeons. I like what he did with "Hyrules Doom" and going to try "Trial of Courage" sometime, But this hack wasn't for me, and maybe some others liked the challenge, but not the type of Zelda 1 I would recommend.

5/10

I was looking forward to trying this hack based on the positive reviews, likening it to Zelda Challenge: Outlands, one of my favorite hacks ever. I was disappointed with Link's Shadow. The difficulty level is way above that of Outlands. Q1 requires you to navigate one full dungeon with many dark rooms both swordless and lampless, and then explore much of the overworld trying to find a shop to buy your sword from, but is otherwise decent. Q2 is ridiculously difficult, with the first sword not available until the third dungeon, the second not available until the seventh, no third sword at all, and a maximum of only 8 heart containers. There are also several points in the flow of gameplay which make no sense. In the first quest, for example, you cannot even enter Dungeon 7 without the Raft, which is contained in Dungeon 8! (There's an advice room telling you to complete D8 before D7...within the D7 that you can't enter without already figuring out that you need to explore D8 first!) And the second quest offers you the Letter but (as far as I can tell) no old woman to ever show it to!

It's not all bad, though. The overworld is pretty well built, and would have been a lot of fun to navigate through were it not for the frustration of not having a sword! I especially enjoyed the reveal-as-you-explore overworld map, a feature I haven't encountered in any other LOZ hack I've played thus far. The dungeons were not phenomenal, but decent, and challenges like navigating a dark room without a lamp or a sword could have been interesting if used in moderation. But I don't expect to come back and replay this particular hack because I find it more frustrating than fun.

I Lets Played this on my Youtube channel (Tytanium Joopy), and I enjoyed the crap out of it. Granted it felt overly difficult and impossible at times but that is not always a bad thing. I have been playing Zelda Classic for years and this is the first custom zelda that is an actual rom hack and it is now getting me into more rom hacks. Thank you for making this the3dude!!

Very fun hack of LoZ here. One of my favorites, and I've tried quite a few.

For the first quest, you should enjoy it regardless of your skill level. It wasn't very difficult, though it could be if you have little experience with the game. I still would've recommended it as a fun hack on the first quest alone, but it wasn't what made the hack stand out to me as much as it did.

The second quest was absolutely brutal, though only too brutal for my tastes at the end. I did use a couple of save states to get through level 1, but I've spoken with the creator and I know that he changed it up some for 1.5, so I imagine it plays much better now. The rest of the game was still really tough up until level 9, but never to the point that I had to touch save states again. Level 6 came really close to breaking me, though.

As for level 9 in Q2, if your skill level is high enough, I'm sure you can rock it, but I did have to resort to save states to finish it. I'm pretty decent at the game, but far from a really high level of play. Still, it being too hard is the closest thing I have to a complaint for this hack, but it could speak more to my skill level than the game itself, and I 100 percent applaud the creator for not holding back at all. Very strong recommendation, you should try it out if you haven't!

I was ready to pull hairs out of my bald head with the way some of these items were hidden, enemy placement and item placement of some of the items. I also wasn't a fan of no Magical Sword in the 2nd quest. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience. I enjoyed the layout, graphics, level design, etc. The only thing I would have liked to be different since this hack was meant to be challenging and have to go some time w/o a sword and then a long time w/ the Wooden Sword would be to include more bomb upgrades and change some of the item placement such as the Tunics, Bow, Wand and Silver Arrows to different locations. Again, still a solid hack, and I would play it again.

Wow, Googie, you're so right: this Legend of Zelda hack's truly a masterpiece! I'm not even halfway through the first quest yet, but that's because most of the dungeons are very well hidden or completely out of reach, but when you do find one, they're no joke! Big hint: watch out for some rooms within level three, they're a doozy! Definitely come as prepared as possible for that dungeon. Hold up, I can't imagine how hard dungeons five through nine and then the following nine in quest two will be, yikes!

Even with the stepped-up game difficulty, I'm in love with this beautifully and richly redesigned world. It really brings Link back to life again because each screen and all of the elements within each one have been worked on in great detail, so you're definitely in a completely new quest.

This hack easily rivals the brilliant and outstanding 'Outlands' and is in league with both it as well as another fantastic hack, the 'Legend of Zelda: Awakening of Onyx'! And if you haven't played either of those two, what are you waiting for? But if you already have, you already know how good this hack's going to be. Seriously guys, I cannot recommend this one enough. It'll have you hunting for treasures all over new lands and fighting for your life and princess in the process!

By all means play it, savor it, and then review it like I did. I promise you won't be disappointed with its phenomenal feel and gameplay! When I reviewed the author's previous hack, I did say I'd look forward to more good hacks from that author and boy, I am so not disappointed, kudos. I never ever expected something so well detailed and unexpectedly challenging!

I must admit that I haven't been as excited about playing Zelda since 'Outlands' and 'Awakening of Onyx': all three of these hacks are as fabulous as the original and even more. After this, I think I'm going to end up a Zelda addict for life; oh wait, I already am! All I can say to the author is 'Excellent work man!' as well as, 'Are you kidding me? You designed all of this on a Chromebook??? Unbelievable!!!' But most of all, 'Thank you for reviving my warrior spirit with your latest LoZ hack..keep 'em coming, 'cause I'll definitely keep on playing and rating 'em for sure!'

It's not everyday we get a LOZ hack, so after playing it for about 15 minutes I already like what I'm playing.

I can tell that The3Dude poured his heart into this hack, and it shows. I hope I get to see more from him... :D