Not just any Hyrule Castle, mind you the series has revisited this iconic location several times, but the opening of Link to the Past is a superbly-crafted introduction to everything that the SNES classic has to offer. While Links lantern would be familiar inventory to Zelda aficionados, everything else was brand new to the series. The rumblings of the thunderstorm that blanketed Hyrule could be heard indoors if the player was above ground, enemies both gave chase and lost sight of the player and decorative pots could be used as impromptu weapons if the going got tough. The player would move seamlessly from opulent hallways and into an imposing dungeon, before leading Zelda into the treacherous darkness of a sewer system. Compared to the NES games, where dungeons looked identical in all but colouring, this wasnt just having an adventure this was living a story. Emerging from Sanctuary into the bright light of a new day was like coming up for air. This was a truly next-gen experience decades before that term would be even be conceived it wasnt just Zelda with a lick of paint, it was the painstaking realisation all the craft and history wed had to imagine before now.
