The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
Distributor	Nintendo
Platforms	SNES, GBA, Wii, New Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, SNES Classic Edition
Released	Super NES/Super Famicom JP: November 21, 1991 NA: April 13, 1992 EU: September 24, 1992 Game Boy Advance NA: December 2, 2002 JP: March 14, 2003 AU/EU: March 28, 2003 Wii Virtual Console JP: December 2, 2006 NA:January 22, 2007 AU/EU: March 23, 2007 Wii U Virtual Console AU/EU: December 12, 2013 NA: January 30, 2014 JP:February 12, 2014 New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console JP: March 4, 2016 AU/EU: March 10, 2016 NA: April 14, 2016 SNES Classic/Super Famicom Mini NA/EU: September 29, 2017 AU: September 30, 2017 JP: October 5, 2017 Nintendo Switch Online WW: September 5, 2019
Added to Museum	Super Famicom Mini: October 31, 2017 SNES Classic Edition: March 16, 2018

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, known as The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods in Japan, was first released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by Nintendo in 1991. As part of one of Nintendo's most popular series, The Legend of Zelda series, it was brought to most of Nintendo's subsequent systems, either as ports or through emulation.

Story

A young man, Link, watches his father go off to save the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda. However, his father is mortally wounded, and Zelda contacts Link telepathically.

Link goes to the castle himself, gets his father's sword, and rescues Zelda. However, Zelda is captured again, and before Link can save her he is transported to the Dark World by Ganondorf, the human form of the evil Ganon.

Now Link must travel between the Dark World and the Light World to rescue the seven maidens who are trapped in crystals. Their powers will help Link defeat Ganon and free the Light World from the Dark World's corruption.

Development

The Legend of Zelda was directed by Takashi Tezuka. Shigeru Miyamoto produced the game. Kensuke Tanabe and Yoshiaki Koizumi wrote the story and script.

Versions of the game

As one of Nintendo's most popular titles, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past has been brought to many different systems, both through traditional game ports and through emulation.

It was first released for the Super Famicom in 1991. It then was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was ported to the Game Boy Advance in North America in 2002 and to Australia, Europe, and Japan in 2003.

An emulated version of the SNES version was released for the Virtual Console on Wii in 2006 in Japan and in Australia, Europe, and North America in 2007. It was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Australia and Europe in 2013 and in Japan and North America in 2014. It was released on the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2016.

The Legend of Zelda was also included as one of the 30 games in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition miniature video game console, that emulated SNES games and resembled a miniature SNES, in 2017.

It was included in 2019 as part of the SNES games for the Switch Online service.