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showing 33 games

name	publisher(developer)	year	description
Fragments of Power	author	?	Almost a straight-up Zelda game. Complete 9 dungeons to save the girl. Does contain an optional bonus dungeon. Graphic improvement of course. Game mechanics are updated a bit; you push multiple blocks to solve puzzles for instance. Also, game path is not nearly as open as the original Legend of Zelda (like later Zelda games).
Half-Life 2	Valve;Valve Corporation (Valve)	?
The Fallen One	author	?
The Legend of Zelda: A Time to Triumph	author	?
The Legend of Zelda: Navi's Quest	author	?
The Legend of Zelda: Oni-Link Begins	author	?
Wolfstyle	author	?
1st Quest Revamp	author	2002	Collect useful items guarded by secret puzzles and enemies to gain access to 8 dungeons with more useful items guarded by bosses to gain access to the last dungeon to defeat Ganon and rescue Princess Zelda. This is a remake of the original Legend of Zelda. The graphic overhaul is immediately apparent but there are a few other subtle changes. Most changes make the game not necessarily easier, just a bit less frustrating. Save or Continue, and Link's hearts remain unchanged or filled to three if they were below that. Boss fireballs not deflectable and Stone Statue fireballs deflectable looked identical in the original, now players can see the difference. Dungeon rooms are rarely so square as they were. Blocks are often replaced by walls where appropriate. And rooms that used to be a pattern of blocks are not a more organically shaped area with various obstacles to maneuver around. The new room shapes and smoothed out terrain means there are less places that look like bombable walls, so bombable walls are easier to find. Most notable it the changes in dungeon layout, where are not so much changing the rooms as it is replacing the room-to-room tunnels with a simple stairway (instant arrival at the other end). New pathways have been added. And dead ends and pointless treks into obscure corners of the dungeons are virtually eliminated by adding something useful or even necessary to them. A good example of this is in the first dungeon. In the original, Link can go left and get a key by defeating enemies. Or, Link can go right and get a key by defeating enemies. Or, both, if the player choses not to or does not knows where bomb to avoid using keys. In this remake, Link can only go left. When enemies are defeated, the staircase must be opened and this leads to the right room where the enemies must be defeated to open the exit back to the entry room. Another trick is make dead-end paths useful by having pots in the rooms. This way, players can now grind for hearts and money on a path that was just a waste of time in the original. Also there's more completely optional secrets to discover. Certain room based puzzles in the dungeons have completely new solutions. Player will find themselves using items in ways they are used in other Zelda games and in unique ways. These are usually easy and nearly intuitive. Along the lines of encountering something new in a room in a dungeon on the way to the boss; using the item collected in the same dungeon in a on the new thing to solve the puzzle. These are not just an added step, these teach the player. These new tricks learned in the dungeon can be used elsewhere to find a whole new set of secrets that have been added to the game. Also, use old tricks in new places to find the some of new secrets. This aptly named 1st quest is but only the 1st, no 2nd quest follows on defeating Ganon (to the best of my knowledge).
Return to Castle Wolfenstein	author (Gray Matter Interactive Studios;Nerve Software;id Software)	2002
Geepa's First Quest	author	2003	The usual classic LoZ formula but with updated graphics and game mechanics. Gather 4 shards of the Triforce, defeat Ganon, rescue the damsel.
Ganon's Claim	author	2005	Cerulia is a once peaceful land north of Hyrule. It sits between Nevachrea and Galhaldia, two nations at war, and remains strictly neutral. But, retreating from another defeat, Ganon encamped there and is causing havoc, so Link pursues him. Collect 8 pieces of the Golden Power. Collect items from mini dungeons, dungeons, shops, and hidden corners of Cerulia. Find Ganon, defeat him. Along the way, there are no simple caves, only multi-screen complex mini dungeons. There are actual mini dungeons and regular dungeons. Mini games and if you can find it, a master dome to test the skills of the best players.
Monster	Nooskewl	2007
ORiGiN	author	2007	An extremely hard extensive three quest graphics and gameplay remake of the original Legend of Zelda. Collect the weapons needed to defeat Ganon three times. Rescue three princess. Extensive puzzle elements and maze like areas with enemies on practically all screens.
The Legend of Zelda: Return of the Hylian	author	2008	This is such high quality for a fan game, I find it difficult to criticize. But such a great effort earns a comparison to the series its based on. There were a few additions not from the official games that make this fan game a stand out. Such as deflecting fireballs and freezing surface water. I found myself satisfied at completing each challenge and looking forward to the next. There's a surprising amount to do and see for a fan game. Records and speedrun tools provide some replay value. But official Zelda games will last longer. This is worth a few weeks enjoyment. Graphically, its like A Link to the Past or perhaps Link's Awakening (in color). But, its lacking in the visual diversity of those games and merely manages to top the original Legend of Zelda. The story sounds fine but the result is Ganon is raised from the dead and all the bosses persist as ghosts. Perhaps if the details were perused in the game though story or gameplay it would be passable or perhaps even good. As the game actually does reveal a small amount of backstory, I'll say its a step up from the original Zelda. But more importantly, the look and feel and quality of some parts of the game had me expecting a presentation at least equitable with LttP. But, its a step down from Link to the Past. The sound effects are comparable to LttP. In fact they are from it. Music is remixes taken from the official series and Star Ocean. Of course the graphics, sound and music is used without the permission of the original artists nor copyright holders. My biggest complaint is some seemingly arbitrary game design the requires the player to figure out they must abandon the current primary objective and return to it later. No reasons or clues are given to aid in this realization. The NPC characters don't provide enough help here. This is different from official Zelda games. Also, many essential paths are blocked by multiple layers of tricky secrets, while once again, no clues are provided for solving these puzzles. The player can make their way to the final battle while lacking several required items that must be retrieve from the other side of the game world. There is no indication where to get these items, nor that they are even needed, nor that they even exist. The player simply fails without them, no lesson given. Effectively the difficulty of the game is increased by these flaws. The player in these cases ends up fighting the game design rather that evil characters, their minions, their traps, or their fortresses. Not much freely explorable area is provided compared to most official games in the series. RotH has about the same player freedom as Adventure of Link. Of course the RoTH world is much smaller than AoL. Acquiring object provides ways to explore new areas. But with so little area, everything seems densely packed. With a new skill/object, one can suddenly find 4 heart pieces within 20 seconds. A lot of gain from getting a new object is simply a different way to move through the same areas, this time moving through more nooks and crannies to find extras, The controls are bad. There is no gamepad or mouse control options. Its keyboard only and not configurable. Talk, lift, continue dialog, and attack are all separate keys. There are 3 map/status screens each with there own key. LoZ has better objective progression. RotH objective progression is worse than any of the official games. AI is a matter of the enemies simply move toward Link in a straight line. Dumb. I wish there was a rating worse than bad. There's some variation in the bosses but most of them do the same straight-line charge. This is really the game's weakest point. Saving can be done virtually anytime. Completing a primary objective offers a save also. It takes between 15 and 30 minutes at a non-speedrun pace to complete a primary objective. This doesn't feel like a Zelda game. Like the original LOZ, Link doesn't recoil when striking enemies. Since recoil happens in all subsequent official games, I expected it here. Pixel perfect terrain from LttP had me expecting I could interact with it the same way. But it functions much more simply, and objects react in different ways. I would rate this game better were it a stand-alone original rather than a 'Zelda game'. But as a self proclaimed sequel of of the third game in the series, it fails short of a good game. UPDATE: On viewing the source code, it seems [i]a few[/i] the needed clues do exist. But triggering these clues is not intuitive and essential clues are still absent. As this is an open source game. I would hope someone would take on the following features: Varied enemy behavior/AI. So different enemies, especially bosses, don't feel like continually fighting the same enemy in different numbers and with different hit-points. Control improvement and Gamepad support. The control design is clearly has more to do with the author's design choice rather than a lack of skill. But it is just no good. There's just too many buttons for every action. A 'Zelda' game needs contextual controls for actions. It is acceptable to associate actions to using items only if buttons are general use/assignable as they are in LA & TP. But note that these still use contextual actions. Just a little more guidance for essential gameplay. There needs to be environmental or NPC hints when a player needs to stop mid-dungeon, or whatever tasks they are in the middle of because they were told to do it or given the means too with no further instruction. Use dumb-luck/trial-and-error gameplay for side-quests and extras, not the main quest.***At the end of Link to the Past, Link's wish (whatever it was) united the Light World and Dark World (formally the Golden Land) into one and resurrected the 7 ancient sages. Other side effects unfortunately also occurred. Mainly, Gannon and his minions were brought back to life. Gannon not only wants 'his' triforce back,he also desires revenge. Story and gameplay start right where LttP left off.
S.C.O.U.R.G.E.: Heroes of Lesser Renown	scourgeweb.org	2012
Loren the Amazon Princess	Winterwolves	2012
King Quest the 2nd	author	2012
Anodyne	Anodyne Games	2013
The Real Texas	kittylambda games	2013	Well, you've come a long, long way for this vacation. England just isn't like Texas; you're findin' it a bit hard to relax, to be right honest. But you'll need the time off, come Calfin' season, and two weeks ain't too long to be away from the range. Today, you've driven yourself up to some place called "Chateau Rockingham". Sort of a museum that serves food, and with a little park to relax in. Well, the drive sure was relaxin' although you found yourself more than once on the wrong side of the road up the curvy mountain pass. As it turns out, things are gonna start to get a bit strange for you pretty quick, like when the castle decides to lock you in... The Main Idea Texas is a nonlinear action/adventure game***The Real Texas is an action adventure game that plays like a mashup of Zelda: Link to the Past and Ultima VI.
Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria	Muteki Corporation (Choice Provisions)	2013	Experience an all-new old adventure! Fight your way through hordes of strange, silly, and scary monsters! Explore the caves, castles, and dungeons of an ancient evil! Meet warriors, princes, pirates, zombies, and crazy old woodsmen in huge world of epic retro adventure! Authentic 8-bit artwork and an original soundtrack by renowned Bay Area 8-bit musician, Crashfaster keeps the game true to its retro roots. Ch.1: Join Ogden, a hero who's been written off as past his prime as he goes on a new adventure to reclaim his past glory... Ch.2: Prince Anders of Wester discovers the secrets beneath Castle Wester. Team up with Lt. Chester 'Chest' Manstrong of the Westerian Army and unravel the mysteries behind King Wester's disappearance. But beware the mysterious mercenary, Serpent Diablo. Is he friend or foe? Ch.3: Help Jerald, an adventurous thief, and his niece Ramona escape from the increasingly dangerous desert empire of Sandheim. A mysterious amulet will change their lives forever.
Ittle Dew	Ludosity	2013
Ultima VI: The False Prophet	author	2014	In the introduction sequence there is a commercial playing on the TV that flashes the number 512-328-0282. This was in fact origin's number. Compiling for Ubuntu [WIP]: [code]$ sudo apt-get install build-essential checkinstall libsdl1.2-dev $ ./configure $ make $ checkinstall[/code]
Sword of the Stars: The Pit	Kerberos Productions	2014
Super Win The Game	Minor Key Games;IndieBox (Minor Key Games)	2014	Zelda II, Metroid, and Super Mario without swords or any weapons, epic music, extra lives, boss battles, life meter, destroyable enemies, cutting edge 8-bit graphics, or magic. What does it add for the things it lacks? Optionally, it can be experienced in CRT mode. CRT mode is everything bad about playing on old style TVs. Fuzzy moire hexagonal screen pixels, color bleeding, curved screen distortion, invisible overscan and rounded off image corners, motion blur/phosphor burn, reflections on the CRT frame. Even rolling screen, RF interference, and static make an appearance. But it's nostalgic... I think this might well be the only Linux game that has "action safe" and "title safe" design (google it). CRT mode is also tunable to better match the old TV players used when they had no other choice. Personally, I found CRT mode to be worth 15 seconds of enjoyment, then I switched it off. But, that's just my personal preference. Turning off CRT mode does not result in 'modern' graphics. Without the CRT mode, this game is about gameplay only. It also ads some sort of quasi-bonus, playable dream segments. Same gameplay but confusing transdimensional level design and dialog I cannot make any sense of. The author admits that the dream segments are about something deeply personal. With that, I expect few would understand. This is OK, the dream segments don't require the player do do anything except progress through them and the author hasn't decided to leave the gaming industry or threaten to (like some others have after their deeply personal game designing when uninterpreted). All sorts of game mechanics make up the game. Double-jumping, wall clinging, wall jumping, invisible structures, switch-on platforms, etc... Each one needs to be earned. Each new ability opens more areas to explore and more places to discover when revisiting. And to make 100% completion, full expert use of each mechanic will be required. There are no map spoilers. The in-game mapping falls somewhere between Metroid and Super Metroid. There is no in-game map item to reveal areas you've missed. Get out your oldskol grid paper and start making checklists if you want to do a 100% completion of the game. Once again, this seems a deliberate feature to invoke nostalgia. Speedruns are also added to the mix. Complete with online leader boards. Finally, death is instant, likley frequet, but not costly. Everything kills the player without HP, shield, or mercy. The player cannot eliminate enemies at all, only earn better methods to avoid them. In contrast, pretty much every door is a retry point. In short, I you like(d) NES games, SWTG is for you. If you've never played NES games and are curious, SWTG is for you.
BS Zelda	author	2015	A faithful recreation of BS Zelda. It's classic Zelda in four segments with time limits. In each segment, the player is given a goal to collect the items shown in the second subscreen. When the time is up, the checklist is compared to see how well the player did. Game is saved, then ends. Through the magic of remakes, and Zelda Classic, the player can then restart the game in the next segment. Two dungeons and triforces per segment. 8 levels only to defeat Ganon. Choose from 1 or 4 characters to play as. This game strays far for technical feats within the Zelda Classic framework. First, it's a recreation of a Super Nintendo game. The time lime, saves between segments (automatically, there's no option to save when you want), re-purposing of maps.
Daggerfall Unity	author	2015
The Legend of Zelda: Return of the Hylian Solarus Edition	Solarus Team	2015
Dragon Fantasy: The Black Tome of Ice	Muteki Corporation (Choice Provisions)	2016
Ittle Dew 2	Nicalis (Ludosity)	2016
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues	Portalarium	2018	The game includes an offline mode. A classic Ultima style story by Tracy Hickman (no involvement by EA). 5 guaranteed episodes (there probably be more eventually) Online modes are "open", "friends", and interestingly, "solo". It seems one can experience the online world version populated only by AI players and opponents or with only a select group of friends (together or verses, it would seem). It seems to be shaping up to be a [s]direct competitor[/s] superior replacement to Ultima Online, period[s]by offering all the UO features plus many more[/s]. Also, I've been playing beta content and seeing some content that seems vaguely familiar. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that among the vast amount of worlds and content a small subset of it is [game=#38049]Ultima IX[/game] done right. "Vendors sell vendors.. Its obscene" -redfish***[media=youtube]gSZLrF657yo[/media]
Lurking I: Immortui	oklabsoft	2020	A retro style RPG in look and feel. No hand-holding, no hint system, no metaprotection, and no step-by-step instructions. Talk to NPCs most information required. Permadeath is an option. Also, the rate at which the player can expect encounters has three levels to choose from. There is bare minimal (and skippable) story provided before the party is tossed into the wide open world. The player must speak to people to advance the plot and find the clues to discover the path to victory over evil. The evil that needs defeating must also be discovered. Games of this type from the early 1980s often came with maps, an instruction book, and one way or another had charts, monster lists, spell lists as such. Lurking provides equivalent information, but it is all provided by NPCs in-game and must be sought out by the player. Lurking began as an Apple ][ game in 1986. It was inspired by Ultima III. It later became a Windows game written in Visual Basic. The version of this game entry comes from a C language rewrite. It has some helpful modern features, such as a BACK option to see previous dialog in conversations and auto mapping, but nothing to make the game as easy as most modern CRPGs. Character creation is a matter of distributing 20 points to attributes and skills with no other restriction except 20 points. Some stats are derived from these with a random addition of up to 10% (it seems). The player can create a roster of 12 characters and play with [spoiler=one to five characters;hide DROP and ADD] one to five characters at any time by finding a particular NPC and asking said NPC to DROP or ADD them.[/spoiler]. Skills and attributes each have their own upgrade system [spoiler=that;hide upgrade hint] that a particular NPC will explain[/spoiler]. Experience points and levels will be needed. There is a README provided with the game that suggests the first NPC to talk to but also says to talk to everyone everywhere. Some NPCs seem to be present at first only for world-building but it is implied in the README that every NPC will (eventually) provide important information. "Immortui" is Latin for Undead(Zombies). But don't worry, this not a Zombie game. "Lurking" is English.
The Legend Of Zelda: Mercuris’ Chest	author	TBA
The Legend of Zelda: Oni-Link Begins SE	author	TBA

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