Classic NES Series - The Legend of Zelda (USA / Europe)
Game Boy Advance
🇬🇧
Reviewed in 2004
80
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✪ Reviewed on September 28, 2024
72
Original NES Legend of Zelda on GBA. The adventure that laid the foundations of the genre, with its mysteries and free exploration. Essential to understanding video game history.
Your verdict
Category
Compilation1 player7+
Description
GBA version of the original Legend of Zelda released on NES, published by Nintendo in the USA and Europe in June 2004. Link traverses the nine dungeons of Hyrule to gather the nine Triforce of Wisdom fragments and face Ganon. Open-world exploration from the start, sword, shield, boomerang, bombs and Power Bracelet to find, labyrinthine dungeons and formidable bosses. Three save files available. Part of the Classic NES Series.
Classic NES Series - The Legend of Zelda review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
A pure port of the foundational Zelda, the game preserves the 8-bit iconography intact: a mosaic Hyrule, labyrinthine dungeons and sprites that became legendary. This graphic simplicity, readable and evocative, defined a whole genre. Seeing these tableaux resurface recalls the strength of a design built to last.
The overworld theme, composed by Koji Kondo, has become a true anthem to adventure, recognisable from the first bar. Heroic and inviting, it drives you to explore and has lost none of its splendour in over thirty years. This founding melody still feeds the entire imagination of the adventure game.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Rediscovering the very first Hyrule on a handheld dilutes nothing of its exploration loop: burning a bush, uncovering a secret cave and then cracking a dungeon endlessly reignites your curiosity. Every item found reopens the map and new passages. The lack of guidance can disorient, but this magnetism of discovery stays intact even in this faithful re-release.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Long"
Technical info
💾0,99 MB📅07/06/2004
Published by Nintendo
Classic NES Series - The Legend of Zelda (GBA) price, value & rarity
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Is Classic NES Series - The Legend of Zelda still worth playing in 2026?
A faithful re-release of the very first Legend of Zelda, this Classic NES Series sends Link across Hyrule to gather the Triforce shards and defeat Ganon. The freedom of exploration, the sense of discovery and the secret-filled dungeons stay surprisingly modern and rewarding, founders of the adventure genre. The lack of guidance and a raw difficulty demand self-reliance. A monument of video games still captivating today, essential for anyone tracing the source of Zelda-style adventure.
