The Legend of Zeldais a series that’s no stranger to remakes. From the 3DS remakes ofOcarina of TimeandMajora’s Mask, to the Switch version ofLink’s Awakening, theZeldaseries has consistently managed to revitalize its most popular titles, while maintaining what made those games so beloved to begin with. As such, demand has only grown for other signature titles in theZeldaseries to receive a remake of their own, includingOracle of Seasons & Ages.
Despite the wealth of rereleases that have been produced for the series,fans may be surprised to learn that the originalLegend of Zeldahas received a remake of its own. It may certainly come as a shock, especially considering Nintendo’s reluctance to rejuvenate theZeldaseries' oldest entries, preserving the original experience through the likes of the Virtual Console service. Yet, this 16-bit remake of the original NES classic went far beyond whatmore recentZeldarereleaseshave achieved,adding a wealth of changes and additional content that alters the entire game as a result.
BS Zelda No Densetsu Is An Unusual Remake
The Remake Has Major Differences To The Original NES Game
BS Zelda no Densetsuis an unusual remake of the originalZeldatitle. Originally released on the Satellaview add-on for the SNES in 1995,BS Zeldais simply not content with being a faithful recreation of theNES classic game, contrasting it to more popularZeldarereleases. This is most evident when the player first starts up the game,as the beloved hero Link is swapped out for one of two avatar characters from the BS-X broadcasting system featured on the Satellaview.
Two follow-up titles toBS Zelda No Densetsuwere also made for the Satellaview add-on, subtitledKamigami no TriforceandInishie no Sekibanrespectively. Both games resembledA Link to the Pastin terms of gameplay and layout instead of the original NES title.
BS Zelda’s differences to the original NES game only become more apparent as the player progresses through the adventure. For example, fans of the original title will likely be thrown off by the altered dungeon layouts inBS Zelda, changing both enemy and item locations as a result.BS Zeldaconsistently plays on fans' familiarity with the original game, adding a level of unpredictability and discovery that wouldn’t have been present if the remake was a simple recreation of the NES classic.
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That being said,BS Zelda’s most impressive feature was its utilization of the Satellaview hardware. As the Satellaview would stream its games during certain times of the week,BS Zeldaused this to introduce a wealth of timed events that altered the gameplay. As detailed on the websiteZelda Dungeon, players are met with sudden item upgrades, temporary changes to rewards dropped by enemies or a new selection at the Merchant’s shop,adding a greater sense of variety to the experience than what the original NES game offered.
BS Zelda Is One Of The Rarest Zelda Games
The Game Was Only Made Playable At A Certain Time Each Week
The multiple changes made toBS Zeldaare likely going to pique many fans' interest in exploring the remake, and for good reason. The altered dungeon layouts and timed events help to makeBS Zeldafeel like a fresh adventure, offering players a unique take on one of the most important games in the series. Unfortunately,fans who choose to search for a playable version of the remake will be left disappointed, asBS Zeldais no longer playable in its original state.
There are a few reasons as to why this is the case. Firstly, bothBS Zeldaand the Satellaview add-on that the game was made for were not made available outside of Japan. This restricted availability already makesBS Zeldaone of the rarer gamesin the franchise,while limiting the title’s chances of preservation due to a small outreach.
While emulations have been made in an attempt to restoreBS Zelda, they still lack crucial features, such as the voice acting that was present in the original version.
This is further compounded by the fact that players in Japan had limited accessibility toBS Zelda. During the Satellaview’s broadcast,players were only able to accessBS Zeldafor a certain period of time each week, and the game was only broadcast a handful of times. As such, there are no physical copies ofBS Zeldathat are available to purchase, meaningthe end of Satellaview’s broadcasting in 2000 resulted in the original version of the game becoming completely lost to time, contributing to the title’s rarity and lack of awareness.
BS Zelda Deserved More Recognition
It Is One Of The More Unique Zelda Games
BS Zelda’s inaccessibility and seemingly insignificant status is disappointing to see, as it is a remake deserving of more recognition. The multiple new ideas introduced byBS Zeldadon’t simply enhance the original NES game, but add a huge sense of replayability.The altered dungeon layouts offer a new challenge to anyZeldaplayer, regardless of their familiarity with the NES classic, making the remake an original experience in its own right.
BS Zelda’s timed events provide the game with a greater level of interactivity.
That’s not even mentioning howBS Zelda’s additions showcase the huge potential that the franchise could take advantage of.BS Zelda’s timed events provide the game with a greater level of interactivity as players are forced to adapt to the constantly changing environment around them.The unpredictability that comes from playingBS Zeldahelps to maintain an element of surprisethat makes the series so exciting to play, laying the groundwork for future titles to potentially take advantage of.
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The Master Quest for Ocarina of Time helped to offer a new experience for returning players, and should be a part of Zelda games moving forward.
BS Zeldaserves as one of the more disappointing aspects of the series' history. While the remake went above and beyond to elevate the original experience offered by the NES classic,BS Zelda’s limited accessibility has resulted in the title becoming lost to time, while also becoming one of the least recognisable games in the series' catalog.BS Zeldadeserves far more recognition, not only as the beginning of a long line ofZeldaremakes, but as one of the more unique titles that the series has to offer.
