Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki

We're looking to revitalize this wiki! For more information, click here.

READ MORE

Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki
Advertisement

BS Zelda no Densetsu
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D2
Publisher(s)St.GIGA
Designer(s)Shigeru Miyamoto
Takashi Tezuka
SeriesThe Legend of Zelda
Platform(s)Satellaview
Release1995 (MAP1 & MAP2)
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Time-restricted single player with multiplayer scoreboards

BS Zelda no Densetsu (BSゼルダの伝説, lit. BS The Legend of Zelda) was a game released for the Satellaview attachment for the Super Famicom in Japan. It was based on the original The Legend of Zelda for the NES. Unlike the original Zelda game, this version had a different direct sequel called BS Zelda no Densetsu Kodai no Sekiban (which was based on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past).

BS stands for Broadcast Satellite. Using this add-on gamers could download the game from Japan's BS Satellite system and save it onto either the base unit’s memory or onto a BS-X Special Broadcast Cassette.

Gameplay[]

The gameplay was largely unchanged from the original game,[1] but a few differences exist which make the experience distinctly different. One of these differences is that the maximum number of rupees allowed to a player was increased to more than a thousand (rather than 255 as in The Legend of Zelda). The overworld was altered from an 8 by 16 map to an 8 by 8, although an effort to make Map 1 relatively comparable in terms of general landscape features to the overworld in The Legend of Zelda is apparent. As in the The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest, dungeons are again completely different. This game is sometimes referred to as a "Third Quest", in reference to The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest. The Map 2 version could thus be considered the "Fourth Quest". Carrying on the tradition initiated in the Second Quest where the dungeon map layouts spelled "ZELDA", Third Quest layout spells "St.GIGA" and the Fourth Quest spells "NiNtENDO".

File:Bs zelda.png

BS Zelda Screenshot

The clock[]

The game was played in real-time. An onscreen clock showed the current time, and at various times on the clock certain events would happen. The game pauses for a moment before making a change. Sometimes the enemies are killed or stunned, sometimes a fairy appears, and occasionally the player is granted unlimited quantities of one of their items for a limited time. Bombs, boomerangs and candles can all be auto-upgraded this way, and will never run out of ammunition until the clock reaches the ending value, at which point the player’s bombs are returned to the amount they had before the unlimited amount was activated, or the boomerang will downgrade, or the candle will turn from red back to blue.

Presentation[]

The game was divided into four weekly episodes. These episodes were played live, at the same time as a video game tips show was running on the satellite network (it probably contained ads and such to promote the games currently being played). The download time for each episode was typically around seven minutes.

Character selection[]

The player could configure their name and gender in the Satellaview game-selection interface. This then carried across to the game. The characters themselves are nameless in-game. In actuality, they are Satellaview's mascots, and "come from another world" in this game. These two characters would later reappear in BS Zelda no Densetsu Kodai no Sekiban, known as the Heroes of Light.

SoundLink[]

BS Zelda's implementation of SoundLink was significantly different from that in BS Zelda no Densetsu Kodai no Sekiban. When the clock hit certain times the game would pause to display a message reading "Listen closely" (耳をすませ), and the player would hear the voice of the narrator (Kiyoshi Kobayashi - apparently playing the part of the Old Man) grant the player a superpower or give a hint or suggestion. These paused periods of narration are about thirty seconds long. After that time the text disappears and gameplay resumes as before. Voice talent was also used for the characters Princess Zelda (Naomi Fujisawa) and Ganon (Seizō Katō).

Due to the fact that the original SoundLink recordings no longer exist in public circulation, modern emulation-based restoration projects display the text of the narration that originally accompanies the "Listen closely" sign. As a result, modern emulated versions notably lack this sign as well as any of the original SoundLink features.

Free gifts[]

In one issue of Nintendo Online Magazine, there is some allusion to players with good scores receiving free gifts.[2] The article states that players received a password that recorded the degree of completion of that day's featured dungeon. Players would then submit this password to the company, with players who completed the most receiving prizes. Due to costs involved, it is assumed that the prizes were Gashapon-style trinkets; many Zelda-themed merchandise items with unknown origins do exist, and some of these may originate from here. As a player had to be subscribed to the St.GIGA network to play, their mailing addresses would be known, and it is quite possible that these gifts were mailed. Still, information on this program has been very difficult to obtain.

Broadcast dates[]

Date Chapter Title
August 9,1995 BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 1 go
August 16, 1995 BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 2 go
August 23, 1995 BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 3 go
August 30, 1995 BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 4 go

[3]

From... To... Chapter Title
30 December 1995 31 December 1995 BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 1 go
1 January 1996 02 Jan 1996 BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 2 go
3 January 1996 04 Jan 1996 BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 3 go
5 January 1996 06 Jan 1996 BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 4 go

[3]

Emulation[]

Due to the live nature of the game in its original incarnation, the game's ROM could not be played properly on emulators. Many hackers have since created patches that removed the game's download pauses and time limits, pieced together all four episodes and given the game a title screen and file selection screen (both of which are reminiscent of the title screen and file selection screen from The Legend of Zelda), all of which has ultimately allowed BS Zelda to be played as like a traditional, non-Satellaview game. Some patches have even replaced the game's protagonist with Link himself, or allow the player to select Link or one of the game's original characters via the file selection screen.

References[]

  1. "Zelda from space?". Nintendo Power 94:  94. March 1997. 
  2. www.nintendo.co.jp Page-3
  3. 3.0 3.1 From NinDB

External links[]

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).
Advertisement