When I started college, I had thought to leave video games behind (though I hedged my bets by bringing my Super Nintendo with me for some retro fun every now and then). Instead, with the GameCube out, I found myself sucked back in thanks to living in a dorm room hall filled with fellow Nintendo fans, and soon I had my own little box to play Metroid, Zelda, and Super Smash Bros. on.
However, that gray-and-purple SNES drew attention from my friends, so I didn’t entirely neglect it, especially when, after finishing The Wind Waker, we all found ourselves a bit antsy for another dose of Zelda magic.
My friend John started it, as I recall. A lover of the original Legend of Zelda, he downloaded the game onto his computer and played via an emulator with the idea of playing through the game as quickly as possible.
His roommate, Austin, took up the challenge, but in his own way. Turns out his particular Zelda passion was dedicated to the series’ black sheep, Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, which he decided to start and blitz through at the same time.
Naturally, I decided as the resident Zelda super-fan, I should join in on the fun. But while I like and admire the NES Zeldas, I came to them later, never developing the fiery dedication to them those who played them in childhood did. So, I dusted off the SNES and started my own Zelda love affair once more with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
I’ll ruin the suspense right away: I did not win. All three of us had essentially memorized our Zelda favorites years earlier, which meant I was at an immediate disadvantage. The SNES Zelda is simply longer than the NES titles, at least if you know where you’re going in the latter games.
John won by virtue of having the shortest game, honestly: he finished The Legend of Zelda in almost exactly 24 hours. Austin took another day or so to finish Zelda II, which is still absurdly impressive given the impossible difficulty curve in that game.
Given my extensive experience in the Hyrule of A Link to the Past through multiple playthroughs, I could have tried to match their speed if I’d simply stopped going to class. Or meals. Or to sleep.
Instead, I fit in my game sessions around my schedule and, with only a brief hiccup at the Dark World Ice Palace (where I always get lost at least once trying to land on the right side of the void when seeking the final boss), beat my game of choice in around four days. Not too shabby for a game that, on the first go-around, took me nearly a year to complete.
There was no prize for this non-competition. There weren’t even really bragging rights unless you count the ability of Austin to finish Zelda II without extensive use of a save state function, which is certainly worth celebrating. No, the games were too different to ever have made this an actual race. Rather, it was just an excuse to play more Zelda, and at that, it was a whopping success.
