If you asked this meerkat to define gaming perfection, I would show you a picture from A Link to the Past. Whilst my top 10 games is often shifting, A Link to the Past remains firmly cemented to the top spot. I will grant that for a brief moment, it lost that honour – to another Zelda game no less – but after due consideration and reflection, it was restored to where it belongs.
Why do I hold A Link to the Past in such high esteem? It is a textbook case of how to design and build an adventure game. There is tremendous attention to detail. There are mysteries around every corner. It rewards exploration. It grants you the freedom – to a point – to complete the game on your own terms. The dungeons are detailed, varied and require you to think. There is a compelling story, passionate lore, and fearsome bosses (well, mostly). The musical score gets into your soul. The only, tiniest fault I can find is that some of the bosses are a little underwhelming, though others are epically challenging, to the point where to this day, I get a nervous rush of excitement when facing them.
There are several dungeons to overcome, making for a deep, lengthy experience. In fact, depending upon what you count as a dungeon, there are 13 of them altogether, so there can be accusations that Nintendo were not providing a detailed game, yet it never feels like a slog to complete them all. Indeed, one of the reasons I rate A Link to the Past so highly is because it offers amazing replay value, even today. Not too bad for a game that first came out in 1991!
10/10