Random: Spare A Thought For The Kid Whose Dad Returned Zelda: A Link To The Past

It’s just accepted wisdom these days that Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the best entries in the entire Zelda canon.

This 16-bit classic updated the Zelda formula in amazing ways, offering a large and expansive game world packed with unique enemies and tricky dungeons. Later ported to the GBA, it remains one of the best video games in Nintendo’s locker – but, like any game, it stands to reason that it wasn’t going to be to everybody’s tastes.

Long-time readers of Nintendo Life will remember that we’ve covered the YouTube channel My Retro Life several times in the past. Channel founder Tyler creates gloriously nostalgic videos about his own gaming past, and many of these revolve around the person who got him into the hobby: his late father.

In most cases, Tyler’s dad was an overwhelmingly positive influence on his son and introduced him to countless experiences he wouldn’t have had otherwise – but in the case of Link to the Past, it seems that Pop wasn’t as on the ball as he usually was.

Tyler traces this back to his father’s typical indifference to RPGs, but within a day of purchasing the game, Link’s 16-bit debut was returned to the store – an amazing turnaround when you consider the universal acclaim it received at the time of release.

Thankfully, Tyler reveals that he later was able to appreciate Link to the Past whilst playing it at a family member’s home, and even his dad would eventually warm to the delights of the Zelda series via Majora’s Mask on N64.

Perhaps Tyler and his father weren’t alone in their initial assessment of the game – did you bounce off it as well? Let us know with a comment below, and don’t forget to check out our review of Link to the Past.