As part of
this Zelda Quest, I really wanted to try one of the Satellaview Zelda
games. If you’re not familiar, the
Satellaview was an add-on for the Super Famicom in Japan.
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| The Satellaview |
It was a service run by the satellite company
St.GIGA. The games, some exclusive
and some standard games, were broadcast like a TV program for download (the B
in BS stands for broadcast). There were
two Zelda games available for the service, BS Legend of Zelda being one of them. This game is often called a 16-bit remake of
the original Zelda game but I don’t think this is accurate. It’s much more like a spin-off.
Because of the downloadable nature of the games, many on
the Satellaview have been lost to time.. Thankfully, people are working to change
that. I played an English translation on
a repro cart. During the actual
broadcasts, there was spoken dialogue helping guide the players. That hasn’t been fully reproduced (but people are getting close).
 |
| The same (but different) |
The game takes place over 4, one hour broadcasts. One was played each week. As such, there are some changes from the
original Zelda game. The map is more
condensed. In addition, the difficulty
is lowered to make sure you can get through in enough time. Despite that, you always feel kind of rushed;
almost as if conducting a speed run.
Pressing select brings up a list of all of your goals for the week, you
can only get two triforce pieces each week.
 |
| Your goal for the week |
In addition, there are timed events that take place. At a certain time, you will get unlimited
bombs for a few minutes. Near the end,
there is a limited 10 minute window which is your only chance to get the most
powerful sword and ring. I believe the
original vocal tracks would alert you to some of this.
 |
| On Zelda time |
SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE GAME FOLLOW
At the end of the game, you enter the cave where the old
man gives you the sword in the first Zelda game. Gannon comes in and breaks up the fun leading
to the final boss fight. It’s a neat
subversion for longtime Zelda fans.
I’m very
happy I played this and it’s a very unique take on Zelda.
Here’s my latest ranking…
1.
The
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
2.
The
Legend of Zelda
3.
The
Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
4.
Zelda
II: The Adventure of Link
5.
BS
Legend of Zelda
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