HomeReviewsThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Graphic Novel Review

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Graphic Novel Review

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Graphic Novel
Author: Shotaro Ishinomori
Artist: Shotaro Ishinomori
Publisher: Viz Media / Madman Entertainment
Release Date: June 10, 2015
Price: $19.99 USD Available HereĀ / $29.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

The Legend of Zelda is one of the most famous video game franchises of all time. Nintendo hasĀ been producing games in the series for almost three decades now. Even though they shareĀ many of the same gameplay elements and arrangements of much of the same music, each new entry featuresĀ something that makes that gameĀ unique and stand out from the rest.

Video games and graphic novelsĀ are obviously two different mediums. On the one hand, an adaptation of a Legend of Zelda game in comic-book format could be quite interesting because it might expand on the plot of aĀ game and add some emotional depth to it. On the other hand, such an adaptation could take away some of the uniqueness and fun that The Legend ofĀ ZeldaĀ games have. Which hand is holding Shotaro Ishinomori’s adaptation ofĀ The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past?

Story

Link is sleepingĀ in his bed when he is awoken by a voice calling out to him. This voice, belonging to Princess Zelda, has already called Link’s uncle for help, but now, both Zelda and Link’s uncleĀ are in mortal danger. Listening to the voice, Link puts on his iconic green tunic and Phrygian cap and follows Zelda’s voice to the castle, where the evil wizard Agahnim is posing as the king. Link discovers a room in which his uncle is fighting against Agahnim. Defeated, Link’s nameless uncle bequeaths his sword and shield to Link. Zelda telepathically informs Link that Agahnim plans to use the life force of seven maidens to open the seven wise men’s seal. Link then finds Zelda and rescues her from two soldiers, and togetherĀ they escape from the castle. They then make their way to the Sanctuary. Here it is revealed that Link is actually the legendary hero who only appears in Hyrule once every one hundred years. Link is told that he must now find the Master Sword, the only sword that can defeat Agahnim.

Link learns that he must find Sahasrahla the Elder, a descendant of the seven wise men, in order to discover the location of the Master Sword. At Sahasrahla’s house, Link meets Sahasrahla’s nameless wife, who informs him that the Master Sword is located deep within the Lost Woods. Link makes his way to the Eastern Palace, where Sahasrahla tells Link that heĀ must obtain the legendary Pendants of Virtue in order to be able to retrieve the Master Sword. He gives Link the Pendant of Courage, and afterwards, Link sets off to find the other two Pendants. Along his journey, he obtains more useful and importantĀ objects that help him on his adventure. Meanwhile, Agahnim isĀ preparing to cast his final incantation on Zelda when Ganon appears.

This adaptation does not appear to be entirely faithful to the original story, but it is interesting. ItĀ fundamentally cannot provide the same experience thatĀ actually playing the game it is based on can, but it is a pleasantĀ change to be able to finish a story from The Legend of Zelda series in less than a couple of hours instead of 30. It may alternatively seem unfair to some readers that Link can accomplish a task in just a fewĀ frames of a comic whenĀ that task would take playersĀ multiple hours to complete in the game. Without the somewhat immersive experience that the games offer, it is harder to have the suspension of disbelief that is necessary to enjoy theĀ games. Nonetheless, the new elementsĀ that are introduced in this adaptationĀ add a new level of depth to the story.Ā The conclusion, albeit not exactly original, ends the story on a relatively high note.

Artwork

The full-colour presentation of the graphic novelĀ is great, but Shotaro Ishinomori’sĀ artwork itself is a mixed-bag. The backgrounds are well-detailed, and in particular, the various locations inĀ both Hyrule and the Dark World are very well-drawn, making the designs featured inĀ the graphic novelĀ look better than the designs featuredĀ in A Link Between Worlds, the 3DS successor to A Link to the Past. The design of the monsters areĀ faithful to the designs from the original game, but itĀ is withĀ the design of the main characters that the quality of Ishinomori’s drawings decreases significantly. Link’s character designs in the games have always been basic, but this factor has never detracted from the quality of any of the games. In this case, however, the drawingsĀ of Link are inconsistent and frequently reminiscent of an unusually dopey teenager going through puberty.

At the beginning of the story, Link has the appearance of an eight-year-old child. As the story progresses, Link appearsĀ more and more dopey. He ages ratherĀ quickly and is noticeably taller by the end of the story. This Link seems like an audience-insert character aimed solely at a North American audience from the 1990s, especially based onĀ the way he talks. However, at least he talks with actual words instead of just making noises when he swings his sword or gets hurt. Princess Zelda’s design is more detailed than Link’s, although that unfortunately is not saying much. She has a more plain appearance here thanĀ in the games, and it is quite rare but certainly very niceĀ to see her notĀ wearing any makeup.Ā TheĀ anatomyĀ of her face is inconsistent; her eyes keep changing shape and size and herĀ irisesĀ keep moving from where they should be, which can be quite distracting along with all of the other design flaws.

Aside from the detailed background art and the drawings of items such as the Master Sword, which looks impressive, where Ishinomori succeeds is in drawing the enemiesĀ and the people of the Dark World. Ganon does not lookĀ as evil as he does in other games, even if his appearance is interpretedĀ symbolically. However, the monstrous appearances of the Dark World’s inhabitants areĀ effective at evoking aĀ sense of the negative emotions, such as greed, that exist within their hearts. As forĀ the presentation of the graphic novel, some of theĀ text at the beginning of certain chapters isĀ set directly against the artwork and as a result isĀ difficult to read due to the clashing colours. Otherwise, there are no major issues with Viz’s reprint.

Overall

This graphic novelĀ will appeal mainly to peopleĀ with nostalgia forĀ A Link to the Past. TheĀ experience of reading the graphic novelĀ instead of playing the original game or the Game Boy Advance port has both positive and negative elements that individual readers may weigh up differently, so both of the hands mentioned at the beginning are holding a copy of the same graphic novel.Ā The extremely short length of this adaptation makes it difficult to become immersed in the world and the story as one mightĀ with any of the games, and the outdated dialogue belongs in the ’90s. This book can be read in aĀ fractionĀ of the time that it takes to finish theĀ game, further diminishing any chance of truly engaging with the story. There is no need to spend large amounts of time traversing Death Mountain or any ofĀ the other various locations in the game, but that is the only benefit. The graphic novel does not allow the opportunityĀ to discover a key item for oneself orĀ the ability to defeat a boss with one’s gaming skills.Ā If you played the game when you were younger and are looking for a quick nostalgia-fix, this graphic novelĀ might be the thing for you. After reading it, you may want to go findĀ your copy of the original game or the Game Boy Advance port, or perhaps purchase a copy of the game if it is not in your collection.

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K. Roberts
K. Robertshttps://www.capsulecomputers.com.au/
From November 2014 to September 2017, this author covered as much anime news as possible, and published several dozen reviews of anime and Cartoon Network titles thanks primarily to Madman and Hanabee.