The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, known as Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (ゼルダの伝説 神々のトライフォース Zeruda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Toraifōsu?, lit. "The Legend of Zelda: The Divine Triforce") in Japan, is an action-adventure video game, the third in the series, developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console in 1992. The game focuses on Link as he receives a telepathic message to rescue princess Zelda from Agahnim, a wizard who has usurped the throne, going on a journey across Hyrule and into a dark other world to free imprisoned maidens descended of sages and prevent the return of Ganon.

Dialogue

• Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble... Making mushroom brew, I am... ~Witch
• Take some Rupees, but don't tell anyone I gave them to you. Keep it between us, OK? ~Thieves
• Link, Zelda is your... ~Link's Uncle
• Oh, ho?... You would like to be totally destroyed? Well, I can't make that wish come true! ~Aghanim
• You are doing well, lad. But can you break through this secret technique of Darkness? En Garde! ~ Ganon

Instruction booklet

• Every culture has such myths and theories about the creation of their worlds, and it can be beneficial and entertaining to examine them in detail, for they often affect the present day social structure.
• According to the Hylian scrolls, the mythical gods descended from a distant Nebula to the world that was and created life. The God of Power dyed the mountains red with fire and created land. The God of Wisdom created science and wizardry and brought order to nature. And the God of Courage, through justice and vigor, created life - the animals that crawl the land and the birds that soar in the sky. After the gods finished their work, they left the world, but not before creating a symbol of their strength, a golden triangle known as the Triforce. A small but powerful portion of the essence of the gods was held in this mighty artifact, which was to guide the intelligent life on the world of Hyrule.
  • Ibid, "The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past Instruction Booklet" Nintendo, (1992), p.3
• Many aggressively searched for the wish-granting Triforce, but no one, not even the Hylian sages, was sure of its location; the knowledge has been lost over time. Some said the Triforce lay under the desert, others said it was in the cemetery in the shadow of Death Mountain. but no one ever found it. That yearning for the Triforce soon turned to lust for power, which in turn led to the spilling of blood.
  • Ibid p.4-5
• One day, quite by accident, a gate to the Golden Land of the Triforce was opened by a gang of thieves skilled in the black arts. This land was like no other. In the gathering twilight, the Triforce shone from its resting place high above the world. In a long running battle, the leader of the thieves fought his way past his followers in lust for the Golden Power. After vanquishing his own followers, the leader stood triumphant over the Triforce and grasped it with his blood-stained hands. He heard a whispered voice: "If thou hast a strong desire or dream, wish for it..." And in reply, the roaring laughter of the brigand leader echoed across time and space and even reached the far-off land of Hyrule.
  • Ibid, p.5
• I do not know what Ganon wished for from the Triforce. However, in time evil power began to flow from the Golden Land and greedy men were drawn there to become members of Ganon's army. Black clouds permanently darkened the sky, and many disasters beset Hyrule. The lord of Hyrule sent for the Seven Wise Men and the Knights of Hyrule, and ordered them to seal the entrance to the Golden Land.
  • Ibid, p.5
• The triforce, being an inanimate object, cannot judge between good and evil. Therefore, it could not know that Ganon's wishes were evil; it merely granted them. Suspecting that Ganon's power was based on the Triforce's magic, the people of Hyrule forged a sword resistant to magic which could repulse even powers granted by the Triforce. This mighty weapon became known as the blade of evil's bane, or the Master Sword. It was so powerful that only one who was pure of heart and strong of body could wield it. As the Seven Wise Men searched for a valiant person to take up the Master Sword, Ganon's evil army swarmed from the tainted Golden Land into Hyrule and attacked the castle. The wise men and the Knights of Hyrule combined forces to wage war on this evil horde.
  • p.5-6
• The Knights took the full brunt of the fierce attack, and although they fought courageously, many a brave soul was lost that day. However, their lives were not lost in vain, for they bought precious time for the Seven Wise Men to magically seal Ganon in the Golden Land. All of Hyrule rejoiced at the victory that upheld peace and order over Ganon's evil and chaos. This war, which had claimed many lives, became known as the Imprisoning War in stories told in later centuries.
  Many centuries have passed since the Imprisoning War. The land of Hyrule healed its wounds and the people lived in peace for a long time. Memories of the vicious Imprisoning War faded over the generations...
  So it is no surprise that no one was prepared for the new disasters that have recently struck Hyrule. Pestilence and drought, uncontrollable even by magic, ravaged the land. The king of Hyrule, after council with his sages, ordered an investigation of the Imprisoned Dark World (as the Golden Land has come to be known) but the wise men's seal was apparently intact. He offered rewards for anyone who could find the source of these troubles. In answer to these summons a stranger named Agahnim came and quelled the disasters with a previously unseen form of magic. As a reward, the king gave him a new position as chief adviser and heir to the Seven Wise Men. The masses proclaimed him their hero. Peace had returned to Hyrule...or had it?
  • Ibid, p.6-7
• One night, a girl's voice awakens you from your sleep.
  "Help me...
  My name is Zelda...
  I am in the castle dungeon".
  She telepathically pleads.
  You jump out of bed not knowing whether the voice was part of a dream or reality. Upon leaving your bed, you find your uncle, who should be fast asleep at this time, preparing to go out, girded for battle.
  "I'll be back by morning", he says as he departs. "Don't leave the house".
  You watch him leave with the family sword in hand and shield on arm. This is a night like no other...Who is Zelda? Where had your uncle gone and for what reason?
  And so, on an ill-fated night, a new chapter in the legend of Hyrule's hero begins - a new chapter in The Legend of Zelda!
  • Ibid, p.7