Genre: Action
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

Zelda 3 features some amazing stage art, particularly the cave tile set, which is astonishingly detailed. But why is everything drawn from such a bizarre perspective? Is every building and natural structure in this world pyramid-shaped? The dungeons are a bit too drab and "samey", but they are populated by enemies that have loads of charm, and even seem to project a sort of personality. The art focuses a bit too much on pastels, giving the experience a sort of lethargic, subdued quality.

Koji Kondo excels at creating catchy, simple melodies, but is only average at crafting ambient, hair-raising music. This comes to the fore in Zelda 3, where despite his best attempts at using unnerving chords and scales, the game's songs never really create much of a mood. The title's sound effects are similar-- quiet, and not really remarkable. Interestingly, the game's whole aural package sounds somewhat muted, or muffled-- a problem the Super Nintendo's 32 kHz output has in general (versus 52 kHz sampling from the much clearer sounding Mega Drive), but which is especially pronounced in this game. All of that said, the music does at least utilize the hardware's DSP well from a technical standpoint, with a wide range of sounds and effects (like clucking chickens).

Zelda 3 involves traversing large overworld maps while exploring dungeons, all from an (incorrectly drawn) three-quarters overhead perspective. The player physics are phenomenal, really making the player character feel both lithe but also substantial, like a real person. While the game superficially looks like an RPG, it's actually more like a contemporary Bethesda release, where the mechanics have either been totally removed, or substantially watered down: in Zelda 3 there is no inventory; one can't buy new swords, or pieces of armor; there is no experience, no levels, and no stats. There are no skill trees, character classes, or party mechanics. There is no cool loot, or any sort of quest system. The game is excellently paced, with overworld areas that are just the right size, yet overall Zelda 3 is to Ys what Fallout 4 is to Baldur's Gate; people who can't or won't deal with actual RPG mechanics will adore it, while hardcore RPG fans will feel unsatisfied.

The biggest problem with Zelda 3 is that it sorely lacks a positive feedback loop; it has a large world to explore, but there is generally nothing interesting to find except more rupees, for which the player always has the maximum amount-- because there is nothing compelling to spend them on. Similarly, there are lots of interesting enemies to fight, but no point in actually risking to fight them, since there is no experience or levelling mechanics. The game's dungeons clearly present themselves as puzzle-like, but just devolve into using key (item) X on keyhole (object) Y. The lack of positive, motivational feedback combined with the game's muted aesthetic lends the experience a sort of sedative quality-- probably not what the title's designers had intended. At least the overworld and dungeon layouts make a reasonably efficient use of space. At the same time, it's difficult for this reviewer to recommend this game over Nihon Falcom's similar but much more meaty "Ys" series, or even the more substantial Wonderboy titles.