Things you may not know about The Legend of Zelda A Link To The Past (facts and secrets)

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Published 2024-05-07
The Legend of Zelda A Link To The Past is arguably one of the best games in the series, this is where the The Legend of Zelda really got into it’s stride in the transition from NES to SNES. Today I’m going to go through some lesser known facts and secrets about The Legend of Zelda A Link To The Past.

00:00 Introduction
01:05 Fish Surprise
01:28 Japanese title
01:54 Catfish Legend
02:20 Multiple worlds
03:07 Party system
03:35 Chris Houlihan Room
04:11 Agahnim bug net
04:39 Cuccos
05:00 Master Sword
05:27 Mario
05:44 Futuristic
06:15 Cucco Lady
06:51 Logo
07:20 Many Dungeons
07:34 Heart pieces
07:48 Links Family
08:25 Delay
08:55 Musical firsts
09:14 Excalibur
09:30 Early Master Sword
09:55 Reggie
10:08 Ganondorf Dragmire

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All Comments (21)
  • This is the game that cemented the formula for Legend of Zelda for decades to come
  • @MidnightWonko
    A few interesting oddities for you: Blind, the boss of Thieves Town, has loads of HP, but the HP doesn't matter, because the fight is 100% scripted. Blind drops to the ground and detaches his head after being hit 3 times and then again at 6 times, and dies after being hit 9 times. It doesn't matter how much damage each hit does to him, so long as it does damage. Blind takes damage from any sword, the hammer, and the canes of Somaria and Byrna. During the Ganon fight, if one lights the left torch before the right torch ever goes out, the right torch will never go out. Additionally, the Silver arrows are not required to defeat him at all (though they do speed things up a LOT); after Ganon is stunned, the split second after he recovers, he can be legit damaged by a sword attack. The timing on this strike is very narrow, but can be made trivial by charging up and releasing a spin attack just as Ganon is about to recover from being stunned. It's possible to beat Link to the Past in under 15 minutes by walking through walls. To do so. after speaking with your uncle, go inside the castle and climb up the stairs in the foyer. Jump off the ledge, but save with Select before you land on the ground. If done correctly, this will confuse the game as to which layer you're on. You can then climb back upstairs, get damaged by a guard to glitch under the upper layer, and then simply walk to the Triforce room to win. Throwing rupees into the Fountain of Happiness results in getting a weird message that tells you what kind of luck you will have today. This actually has an influence on the game: if you get "big trouble," the next ten enemies will not drop anything at all, whereas if you get "great luck," the next ten enemies are forced to drop something for you.
  • @CapOlimar
    I play through A Link to the Past every so often, and it still holds up. Just an incredible game.
  • @PowerPandaMods
    Here's some trivia The game has a fully-working 1/4 magic meter upgrade, but it's never unlocked in the game. Also, it's possible to use the knockback from the Pegasus Boots to jump some of the hookshot gaps, like in the first room of Misery Mire.
  • It took me ages to properly interpret Agahnim's sprite correctly. As a kid I always saw his crown like a jaw and the red jewel like a tiny :O mouth. I know I'm not the only one either.
  • @Mike__P
    I would have liked to see the Master Sword not there, and the glitched enemy you mention. There are no videos anywhere showing this.
  • A combination of different dimensions and different party members could have led to some insanely complex puzzles. Something like the light/dark worlds switch for the 2nd crystal, times 10, just to start dungeons. Getting to turtle rock would have taken hours on its own haha
  • A few things I know: In the Japanese manual the Master sword was forged to prevent an ancient evil from kidnapping the Triforce by divine command while in the American manual it was translated as "the Master sword was forged as an answer to Ganondorf obtaining the Triforce", the Japanese manual is more consistent with the later Master sword Lore in the series where the one that commanded the creation of the Master sword turned out to be Hylia while the ancient evil was the demon king known as the person/one/avatar of demise, TP established the ancient sages' role in the creation of the Master sword and while SS doesn't have the sages appear as part of the Master sword story their symbols appear on the island of Hylia and Sealed temple/temple of Hylia. We also learn that the sages and the knights of Hyrule didn't have enough time to find the Master sword or a hero due to Ganondorf's approaching miasma. The manual establishes that the human inhabitants of Hyrule are called Hyruleans but their ancestors who had a close connection to the gods and used magic were called Hylians because the blood of Hylians have faded over time. The pointy ears of Hylians symbolizes a connection to the gods. TP's Japanese text later showed that the Oocca are the ancestors of the Hylians(originally human in appearance) and creators of Hyrule kingdom(left the kingdom and their artifacts in the hands of their descendants when they decided to settle on their new sky city, in SS the name Hylian doesn't appear because the culture hadn't been born yet) and closer to the gods than the Hylians were. The Zonai are similar and likely also closer to the gods than the Hylians are. In Japanese the word used for wise men can also be translated to wise ones and sages. Ganondorf calls Agahnim his Bunshin in Japanese. The word has been used to describe Meg the poe sister's copies in OOT, Ciela in PH who is a bunshin of Oshus the ocean king and the Blight Ganons in BOTW who are bunshins of Calamity Ganon who is in turn a bunshin of TOTK’s Ganondorf, a manifestation/incarnation of his emotions and desires. Bunshin means split soul/part of oneself/other self/offshoot/copy/clone/alter-ego. In the battle with Agahnim at Hyrule castle when the priest of darkness is defeated a spirit of Ganondorf rises from his body. In Ancient stone tablets Agahnim is explained to have been someone who got possessed by a part of Ganondorf's soul, Ancient stone tablets takes place six years after ALTTP and Ganondorf's being in that game is sustained by his miasma/malice/evil energy after his body was sealed away, this likely means that a part of Ganondorf's soul left entered Hyrule alongside his miasma before the events of ALTTP. ALTTP and LA's Japanese manuals are the only times in the series where the word for Ganondorf's main title isn't Maō(king of evil or demon king), instead a word that translates to king of evil but not demon king is used. ALTTP is the first time the name of the demon tribe appears, during the encounter at Hyrule castle Agahnim says "so in the end even the legendary "hero" is no match for us of the demon tribe who hold the golden power". In the American localization tribe of evil/evil tribe is used instead of demon tribe. The demon tribe's name would later appear in TWW where Ganondorf says that his demon tribe and demon magic was sealed by the Master sword, the name appeared again in Skyward sword where Ghirahim and Demise's titles are chieftain of the demon tribe and Fi says that certain demons like the dark enemies(or blue bubbles in some games) can unleash the hatred/curse of the demon tribe, Demise also uses the name of the curse of the demon tribe which in the context of his speech is a descriptive curse that already exists(Three Buddhist poisons, a single lifeform, God, spirit or demon's eternal attachment to Saṃsāra, Saṃsāra itself, evil always existing in the world no matter what happens, no matter how many times it is overcome, the state of demons) and not a prescriptive curse. Demise was explaining the reality of the situation, every evil in the world is represents the curse of the demon tribe and anyone who has the same amount of malice in their heart as Demise had can become a demon king like him if they so desire. The name of the demon tribe has recently appeared in BOTW and TOTK. In some of these games the name of the demon tribe was removed by the American localization. ALTTP is the game that establishes that Ganondorf's demon beast form is a mirror reflection of his heart, soul and character just like how Link’s bunny form is a mirror reflection of the hero's pure heart or how other characters in the dark world were transformed into mirror reflections of their hearts. And because Ganondorf's original human form and full name was first established in ALTTP the name Ganon was established to be his nickname and the common name that is used to refer to him and his bunshins, realms and headquarters etc. ALTTP established Ganondorf's demon magic, his miasma entered Hyrule and caused disasters and made some people fall ill, this concept was reused in TOTK where a woman in Kakariko has fallen ill because of Ganondorf's miasma. ALTTP is the first time a demon villain in the series is associated with a great calamity. The one of demise is associated with a great calamity by Fi's prophecy in SS, other demon villains have caused disasters that can be described as calamities. The name of the seal war/imprisoning war can be used to describe similar events where a war lead to a seal upon a demon king like the war against the person of demise in SS's backstory or the war against Ganondorf in TWW's backstory for example. Other games like OOT have a conflict that can better be described as a seal/imprisoning battle. In ALTTP's manual Ganondorf slaughtered his own followers to get the Triforce for himself, Ganondorf also was balanced enough to obtain the entire Triforce without causing it to split apart. In the backstory Ganondorf couldn't figure out how to leave the Sacred realm because he stumbled upon it by accident. In the GBA version of ALTTP it is established that every Link is born from the knight's family/knight's clan, the two lumberjacks who live near the lost woods also know a sword technique meaning they too are members of the knight's family. Death mountain's name is a bit confusing in the Japanese version of ALTTP. In the light world it's called Hebra mountain while in the dark world it's called Death mountain. ALTTP touched showed the ultimate goals of the demon kings: Turn a world into a world of darkness/world of demons resembling the original demon world/hell and rule over it. Later games showed why villains like Ganondorf wants this:war, violence, greed, survival of the fittest, might makes right and no peace or harmony meaning less weaklings in the world in his eyes. ALTTP was the game that introduced eye symbols but the eye symbol in ALTTP represents the demon tribe, some fans have called it the evil eye/the unblinking eye of malice/the demon tribe eye. This eye symbol appears on Agahnim's robe and outside Hyrule castle's tower(if I'm not wrong it also appear outside Agahnim's boss arenas). This eye symbol has made appearances in later games in the series:The palace of twilight's throne, a variation in Ganondorf's tower(TWW), temple of the ocean king(PH), Some of Cole's traps in ST, a variation on Veran's clothes(OOA), Vaati's demon god/devil forms is basically a physical version of the eye symbol, in AOC Astor has the eye symbol on his circlet and Sooga has it on his swords, some villains, enemies and bosses like Majora/Majora's mask temple bosses(3DS), Ganondorf in OOT, BOTW and TOTK(plus bosses in TOTK) have eyes that are the type of eyes the eye symbol represents. The Sheikah eye(which represents truth and knowledge) in BOTW is used in Kakariko village to ward off evil. Moldorm and big Moldorm aren't called Moldorm in Japanese but are instead called Tail and Big tail(there are a few different tail enemies in the series like the sky tail in SS), this is the reason why tail cave in LA has it's name. Swamola is an enemy in the dark world which in Japanese is called Moldorm, this enemy resembles Twinmold in MM. Ancient stone tablets is a less known sequel to ALTTP that was developed for the Satellaview, episodes of the game were broadcast in Japan a few times during 1997 and 1998 so not many people got to play it but some fans have managed to translate the game and make it playable in the west. Ancient stone tablets features a playable character who isn't Link, this character is an avatar that represent the player more than Link. If magic powder is sprinkled on one of the Cukemen they will tell the player that Link can't leave the dream(a reference to Link’s awakening which according to AST takes place around the same time, six years after ALTTP). AST was included in a movie chronicling every mainline game from Zelda 1 to The wind waker. AST has a bit of lore that can explain a few things in the oracle games and ALBW and while the Zelda team hasn't talked about it for years there is no reason for why it can't be considered a canon prequel to ALBW and a sequel to ALTTP. The final word on the timeline has after all been left to the player's imagination and not every part of the timeline is set in stone (like some of the official timeline's placements that aren't suggested by the games or contradicts the games), both the Zelda devs and the writers of HH and HE have tried to emphasize that the official timeline is not the be all end all of Zelda canon and don't want people to only use it. What the games say is more important but there are some stuff from the books and the official timeline that can be used for a timeline theory. It's just that they aren't gospel, only interpretations that could possibly or possibly not be correct so there are always things that can be questioned.
  • @pattiwarren5531
    My favorite Zelda game for decades until BoTW took its place. My favorite Easter egg is finding a sleeping dude under the bridge who gives you an extra bottle.
  • @sinjull2256
    Using the bug net against Aghanim, that is how i used to kill him when i was younger
  • @enragedgecko
    Also Link to the past is the first game to debut the spin attack which is used to this day as well
  • @planetdee3587
    The Master Sword was first named here, the truth is this is the same sword from the first and second game based on the mechanics. In this game they just make you work for it than starting with it from the beginning and also giving it a back story. Only the Master Sword allows Link to shoot energy when he is at full health.
  • @Leishtek
    One of the most iconic games of all time, and a monument to my childhood. In 50 years when I can't remember my family's name or where I'm at, I will be able to hum the dark world theme.
  • @user-fj8ok8ze5m
    N64 Majoras mask only has 4 dungeons. It makes ocarina of time looking similar to a link to the past knowing you have more dungeons in ocarina of time than majors mask.
  • @Fr0zenNightmare
    For Agahnims Bug net thing: I thought this was how you should fight him? I honestly never fought him any other way and didn't even know you can use the sword
  • @Sly88Frye
    I'm surprised that your channel has only over 4,000 subscribers because this is so professionally done and so well made. I've subscribed after watching this video. Really awesome video! The only one I definitely do about was at the Chris houlihan room required the game not recognizing or Link is to send him there. I love that they make references to so many things in this and so much folklore
  • @taemien9219
    I'm surprised many of these videos about LttP with the emphasis on facts you may not know are usually things found in Nintendo Power or other magazine articles. And not some more obscure things such as tricks like 'Fake Flippers' where if you jump into the water without flippers and immediately swim forward to a screen transition you can continue swimming. This allows you to get the bottle from the hobo before getting flippers. And can only be done on the Japanese version of the game (as it was patched out of the English one). Also if you are in the Dark World without the Moon Pearl and enter a building on the frame you get struck by an enemy or use the mirror (but enter the building before the mirror transports you) you will be able to use your sword, items, and open chests, which you can't normally do as a bunny. Can also dash with the hammer (other items work too) by pressing Y + A at the same time. This lets you hammer the stake puzzle really quickly by simply dashing through rows and they get knocked down as Link runs through them. This one also requires the Japanese version. Quite a few other things like this, but these are the ones I can reliably do myself.
  • One little known fact I never saw pop up in videos like this is about the map that came with the game. It has the light world on one side and the first 3 dungeons on the other side. On the Desert Palace map, they included the key that is on a fire pillar that you need to run into. The maps are hand drawn versions so it's cool that they even did the little key. The reason I know this is because I got stuck on that dungeon and had a friend point me on the map where the key is and we both saw that it's drawn on there too.
  • @LalalaKirby
    Wondered if you were going to bring up that you can stun Zoras and pick them up/throw them in Zora's River. I know that still catches people off-guard.
  • Heart containers were in both the first and second Zelda games.