Welcome to the definitive guide for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past! A landmark title in the legendary Zelda franchise, this Super Nintendo classic set the gold standard for action-adventure games and continues to captivate players decades later. This comprehensive guide is tailored for the original Super NES release in North America, acknowledging potential regional variations and differences from the Game Boy Advance remake. Whether you’re a newcomer venturing into Hyrule for the first time or a seasoned hero seeking to uncover every hidden secret, this walkthrough will be your trusted companion.
Our mission is to provide the most thorough and complete guide possible. We aim to leave no stone unturned, detailing every item, Piece of Heart, and treasure chest you can discover. Beyond the main questline, we’ll guide you to every hidden entrance in both the overworld and dungeons, revealing secret passages accessible with Bombs, and ensuring you meticulously chart every room on your dungeon maps. Completionists, rejoice! This guide is crafted with you in mind, offering a truly exhaustive exploration of the game. However, if your focus is on the core adventure – acquiring essential items and conquering each dungeon – this guide remains an invaluable resource, streamlining your path to victory.
Before each dungeon expedition, we’ll provide a comprehensive overview of your expected inventory and capabilities, ensuring you’re fully prepared for the challenges ahead. Then, we’ll embark on detailed, room-by-room walkthroughs, leaving no corner unexplored. For quick reference and focused exploration, we’ve included an appendix at the end, pinpointing the locations of key points of interest like shops and hidden grottos. Furthermore, for veteran adventurers who prefer a streamlined approach, a quick version of this guide is available, outlining the optimal order for tackling the adventure and providing a concise checklist of essential tasks.
Understanding Saving and Continuing Your Adventure
Before diving into the heart of Hyrule, let’s clarify the crucial mechanics of saving and continuing your progress in Zelda: A Link to the Past. Link’s vitality is represented by hearts, and depleting your heart meter through enemy attacks or treacherous traps results in a game over – unless you possess a life-saving Fairy in a Bottle, which we’ll elaborate on later. Upon encountering a game over screen, you’ll be presented with these options:
-
Save And Continue: This option saves your current progress and restarts Link’s journey. The respawn point varies depending on where Link fell:
- Light World Overworld: Choose to restart at Link’s House, the Sanctuary, or the Mountain Cave.
- Dark World Overworld: Automatically restarts at the summit of the Pyramid of Power.
- Dungeon: Automatically restarts at the dungeon entrance.
-
Save And Quit: This saves your game and returns you to the title screen. Upon reloading your file, you’ll need to select a Light World respawn point (if you quit in the Light World) or the Pyramid of Power (Dark World), even if you were previously within a dungeon. Dungeon restarts are not available after quitting and reloading.
-
Do Not Save And Continue: This option restarts Link from one of the respawn locations without saving your current progress.
At any point during your gameplay, pressing the SELECT button brings up the in-game menu with two key options:
- Continue Game: Simply unpauses the game, allowing you to resume your adventure seamlessly.
- Save And Quit: Saves your progress and returns you to the title screen.
Interestingly, Zelda: A Link to the Past meticulously tracks various gameplay statistics, including the number of game overs and save actions. This “games played” counter, representing each save initiated either from the SELECT menu or the game over screen, becomes visible after the ending credits roll. Dedicated players can even strive for a perfect “000” count, signifying a flawless playthrough completed without a single save or death – a testament to true Zelda mastery!
With these essential preliminaries covered, it’s time to embark on our grand adventure. Let’s begin our journey into the world of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and delve into the prologue!
