August 2016 Community Playthrough - Legend of Zelda & Jaws (NES)

[singlebanana]

For those of you having a tough go at The Legend of Zelda, here's a bit of a guide to get you started to make the game the least frustrating as possible.  So here's a Beginner's Guide to Least Frustration:

1. Get bombs and a blue candle early - You should pick up some bombs on your way through the first dungeon, but the blue candle will need to be purchased from a shopkeeper.  In the outworld, there are several bushes that can be burned by the candle that reveal stairs and some rocky formations that can be bombed to reveal shops and people who will give you gems. However, be careful, since going down some stairs will cost you rupees (door fee). However, there are a few heart containers in some of these spots and having more life goes a long way, especially early.  You will need to find these hidden heart containers if you want to max out your hearts (but it's not necessary). If you get super frustrated, maps to these treasures are readily available online.
  
2. Get the blue ring early - one of the best, but most expensive items in the game is the blue ring. This ring reduces the damage you take by half.  It can only be found in one place in the outworld (in an easy to access location), but costs 250 rupees!!  Collecting this many rupees when they typically appear 1 to 5 at a time seems tasking, but there are at least two places where you can quickly get 100 rupees each.

Spoiler (hover to show)

A. Go to the farthest northeast you can go. There should be many peahats and a tree there that you can enter where you can play the money-making game. Don't play it!  Instead of going in the tree, go to the very center, top of the screen and push up (try different spots); one spot is an invisible path that will lead up to the next screen. The guy there will give you 100 rupees.

B. Another 100 rupees can be found close to the start. From the beginning screen go up and then east. On one of the screens with all of the green bushes and octoroks, you can burn a bush with a candle and that will lead to another 100 rupees. But be careful, one bush in that area is a door fee...  After getting these two sets of rupees, you can simply grind a little for the remaining 50.

The blue ring is located from the start, go north, two screens left to the screen with the cave with the old lady, and north 3 screens to the dead end with the statues. Tap on the back of the top center statue. It will come alive and reveal stairs to the shopkeeper that sells the ring.

3. Acquire the Letter to the Lady to get medicine - For newer players, it's important to get the medicine early.  Blue medicine fills all of your life upon use, and red medicine fills all of your life as well and turns blue after the first use (essentially, red is two fills). However, in order to get medicine, you have to find the letter to give to the lady first.  The letter can be found...

Spoiler (hover to show)

In a cave at the top of some stairs in the very upper northwest. I typically grab this on the way to the 100 rupees in the northwest mentioned above. After you get it, go back down to the starting area. Go north one screen, and continue west (three screens I believe (you'll cross a small bridge on your way). There will be a cave with an old lady in it who does not speak. Equip the letter and press B to show it to her and she will now sell you medicine.

4. Upgrade your sword ASAP - Doing mas damage is always important in LoZ. Being able to dispatch many enemies quicker will help you clear rooms in dungeons faster and help you maintain hearts.  It's important to note that being able to acquire a new sword is not based on how many dungeons you complete (though you get a new container for beating the last dungeon boss in each), but by how many heart containers you have. You need 5 containers total for the white sword and 12 for the magical sword. This means acquiring the hidden outworld containers early is great because it means you can get your swords much earlier, even upgrading to the white sword before the first dungeon!  

5. NPCs give good advice - Unlike many early games, the NPCs in LoZ give good advice and it's typically not too cryptic so that you can figure it out. Pay for it when needed or consult a walkthrough. Just don't get discouraged.

Hope this helps some of you.  If you have any questions, need advice, or feel stuck, please ask for help or send a PM.  Good luck!

[singlebanana]

Added some achievements for fun!  If any of you experienced players can think of any I missed or want to add some, let me know.

[JerryGreenwood]

Here's a tip for beginners. Never, ever, ever, EVER pick the Red Potion over the Heart Container.

[singlebanana]

Here's a tip for beginners. Never, ever, ever, EVER pick the Red Potion over the Heart Container.

YES!!!!  Read my mind.  I neglected to add this, but thought about it when doing the write-up.  Thanks for the mention!

[shaggy]

Jaws reminds me so much of Friday the 13th, as it should seeing both were developed by LJN.  In both games you meet the final boss randomly throughout the game and must power up enough to defeat them.

[singlebanana]

Jaws reminds me so much of Friday the 13th, as it should seeing both were developed by LJN.  In both games you meet the final boss randomly throughout the game and must power up enough to defeat them.

That's a good point. One is a shooter and the other is a bit "shooterish".  However the final boss encounter isn't so random in Jaws as it is in F13.  You can park your boat at any time and just wait on him to attack you. Still, I like the comparison.

[shaggy]

Jaws reminds me so much of Friday the 13th, as it should seeing both were developed by LJN.  In both games you meet the final boss randomly throughout the game and must power up enough to defeat them.

That's a good point. One is a shooter and the other is a bit "shooterish".  However the final boss encounter isn't so random in Jaws as it is in F13.  You can park your boat at any time and just wait on him to attack you. Still, I like the comparison.

True, Friday the 13th was truly random but in Jaws it was more like an RPG random but I see a similar styles between the two games, which is believable seeing they were both made by LJN.

[MaterialHandlerMike]

Friday the 13th and Jaws, only shared LJN as a publisher. Fun Fact: Friday the 13th was actually developed by Atlus.

[shaggy]

Friday the 13th and Jaws, only shared LJN as a publisher. Fun Fact: Friday the 13th was actually developed by Atlus.

Doh, you're right.  The games are still similar.

[MetalFRO]

Okay, I'm going to tackle TLoZ.  I didn't get that far in LttP, but I have more of a feel for the gameplay style now, so I want to go back to the original and see what all the fuss is about.  I'm in!

[singlebanana]

Cool!

[Addicted]

Completed all of these: (Next stop Star Ocean 4)

ZELDA
1. Acquire the blue ring
2. Acquire the white sword
3. Acquire the magical sword
4. Acquire the Power Bracelet
5. Summon a tornado and dodge it
6. Use the raft and ladder to acquire two outland heart containers
7. Find the proper use for the Enemy Bait
8. Acquire all of the heart containers
9. Finish the 1st quest
10. Finish the 2nd quest

JAWS
2. Reach Power Level 5
3. Acquire the mini-sub
4. Defeat Jaws
5. Defeat Jaws by using only one strobe

1st Quest:

Spoiler (hover to show)

 

[img width=700 height=525]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/cisco678/RF/1stquest_2_zpsz0dqzq6f.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=525]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/cisco678/RF/1stquest_1_zpsufmmadfq.jpg[/img]

2nd Quest:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=700 height=525]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/cisco678/RF/2ndquest_1_zpsi5r94lng.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=525]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/cisco678/RF/2ndquest_2_zpsggyrydhk.jpg[/img]

[img width=700 height=525]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/cisco678/RF/2nd_qust3_zps8jfyai3h.jpg[/img]

[douglie007]

For the achievements I have done 1 thru 6, I don't know what the tornado did so I dodged it how many heart can you get? I also used my note to get a red medicine, after I used it the notes back and the old lady doesn't want it... what can I do to get more red medicine with the note in the way?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Addicted]

@douglie007: There are a total of 16 hearts.

You should be able to buy medicine from any old lady. You only need to show the note once to any of the old ladies.

[singlebanana]

Correct and correct.

Congrats Addicted!  Im currently through dungeon 4 in the 2nd quest. Frustrating at times, but fun!