The Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past


The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the third installment in the famous series, released on Super Famicom on November 21, 1991, under the name ゼルダの伝説 神々のトライフォース (pronounced "Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce"). It would later be released on Super Nintendo in the USA on April 13, 1992, as well as in Europe on September 24, 1992, almost a year after the Japanese release!

The Japanese title 神々のトライフォース (Kamigami no Triforce) means "The Triforce of Goddesses." The term 神々 alone indicates that the word is plural, but does not specify whether it is masculine or feminine. Consequently, the game has often been mistakenly translated as "The Triforce of the Gods." We will have the opportunity to revisit this common translation mistake among fans on the page dedicated to censorship and differences with the Japanese version.

This installment is not a sequel to the previous two, and is closer to a reboot of the first. Thus, while the action still takes place in the world of Hyrule, various elements, be it gameplay or story elements, is totally different from what we've already seen in the NES episodes. It can be said that the series took a major turn from this episode. If, in 1991, the foundations were already established, ALTTP completely transformed them.

This entire section and most of the non-speedrun pages you'll find in this part of the site were actually already written by me in June 2013, before I myself became a speedrunner of the game, in a very dense topic on the Hooper.fr forum (French only). What you can see here is therefore an update, 10 years later, of this long document, to which I had continued to add content for several years, making it the most complete document on A Link to the Past I have seen in the French-speaking world.

Being a forum post, it was originally meant to fit on a single page, but now having my own website, I am able to completely restructure it into multiple pages to make it more digest. Another thing to note if you browse the original version: many links, and especially images, have expired, because on that forum you cannot upload images, and I therefore had to find them elsewhere on the Internet. With this new version, we will no longer have this problem. Enjoy!

The beginning of my (very) long post on Hooper.fr

Table of Contents

Click on one of the cards below to go to the relevant page.

Game Overview

Lore Translation

The synopsis of the game, and the foundational text of the lore of the entire Zelda series, taken directly from the Japanese manual and faithfully retranslated by myself, accompanied by an in-depth textual analysis.

Western manuals abound with nonsense and approximations, which is why I am offering you a version as close as possible to the author's original vision from 1991.

Gameplay

Details of the game's controls and a brief analysis of the game's design.

ALTTP was a revolution upon its release, here's why!

Story

The complete scenario of the game; the whole adventure is narrated on this page.

World of Hyrule

Presentation of the world (or should I say worlds) of ALTTP, its iconic locations, its dungeons, and more.

Database

Items and Equipment

The exhaustive list of in-game items. I mention "inventory and equipment" but in reality it goes far beyond that!

Characters

The exhaustive list of all characters you can interact in-game with. Characters exclusive to the GBA version are also present.

Complete Bestiary

The complete bestiary of the game, as well as all statistics for ALL enemies, bosses, traps, attacks, and more!

I think this is the most complete database on ALTTP that you will find on the entire Internet. Even Zelda Wiki doesn't contain as much information!

Heart Pieces

The list of the 24 Heart Pieces in the game and how to find them. Because at linkoran.ge, we also do walkthroughs.

Speedrun

My PBs

A list of my Personal Bests in different speedrun categories of the game.

Blue Balls Statistics

The mechanics behind Blue Balls fully explained, with stats, references, and mathematical formulas.

The bottom of the page offers a mathematical modeling of blue balls for the nerdiest among you.

Anecdotes

Japanese Version and Censorship

The Japanese version differs in many ways from the versions we knew in the West. Early 90s' Nintendo America came through and heavily censored the game to spare us many references... which I reveal on this page.

The Truth About Chris Houlihan

I've heard countless crazy things about Chris Houlihan, and that's why I'm dedicating a page to him to separate fact from fiction.

On this page, you'll find everything there is to know about the topic!

Mario in Zelda

Mario and Zelda are both Miyamoto's creations, and they regularly wink at each other from both sides. Obviously, ALTTP is no exception, and I detail these easter eggs in the slightest detail.

Other Anecdotes

If you thought I had covered all the anecdotes about ALTTP with the previous three pages, you don't know me well 😜. Here's yet another batch!

Miscellaneous

Music and OST

ALTTP's music is foundational for the series. With a very special OST and a series of symphonic concerts, there's a lot to say, and I'll go into detail about all of it.

GBA Version

Presentation of this somewhat controversial version of ALTTP. The differences with the original version, the additions, and of course, we'll talk about Four Swords since it comes with it!

Zelda Parallel Worlds

Probably the most famous hack, notably due to its atrocious difficulty. I've completed it extensively, and I revisit this traumatic experience on this page.

A Link Between Worlds

The "sequel" to ALTTP, or a semi-remake? Let's talk a little about it.

I've also adaptated my opinion at the time that I wrote right after finishing the game, back to 2013!

Manga / Comics

Almost all games in the Zelda series have had their manga version. For ALTTP, it's no less than 3 mangas, a comic... and an animated series...?

Ocarina of Time - a mere 3D remake?

This page will probably not be to everyone's taste, but if OOT is the masterpiece it is today, it is notably because it borrows almost all of its content from its 7-year older sibling, ALTTP.

On this page, I revisit many points of OOT and show their equivalent in ALTTP and how they were adapted in 3D.