The Legend of Zelda continues to delight players decades after its release, not only thanks to its appearance on numerous Nintendo hardware platforms, but thanks to emulation and ROM hacks like one released this week that allows players to experience the classic game with changes to make it feel like an entirely new experience. The assets are the same, but a little ingenuity and rearrangement clearly go a long way toward ensuring The Legend of Zelda remains vital in 2022 and beyond.
Originally released on the Famicom Disk System in Japan on February 21, 1986, then brought to the NES in the United States on August 22, 1987, The Legend of Zelda has been delighting fans for more than 35 years. It also has influenced numerous developers during that time; the list of games that memorably parody The Legend of Zelda (or borrow other inspiration from it) is a lengthy one indeed.
In the ROM hack community, a contributor named arnpoly this week released a new hack titled The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Dungeon that re-imagines the game as a roguelike. It promises virtually limitless play, thanks to randomly generated dungeons, battles, and item drops that will keep players on their toes as they strive for longer runs. It could get a lot of play alongside other such hacks, such as the many Super Mario World ROM hacks produced over the years.
According to the ROM hack's descriptions, features besides randomized enemies and dungeon layouts include dynamic enemy layout that draws from both dungeons and the overworld. Certain items are excluded from the hack, while others take on new abilities. Vaguely, the notes also promise "other secrets" that players can discover on their own. Long-time players can probably already imagine some of the those secrets, proof of a sort that The Legend of Zelda needs a modern remake.
Games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild demonstrate the continued appeal of Zelda's classic approach, and even the Link's Awakening remaster highlighted the charm of classic Zelda. New fan projects such as the Ancient Dungeon ROM demonstrate well the untapped potential even the original entry in the series possesses. Hopefully, Nintendo will continue to explore that in the near future. Even if it doesn't, the ROM hack community is clearly capable of picking up the slack and providing the new experiences old fans crave.