The Legend of Zelda

The 1989 "Legend of Zelda" animated series lasted for 13 episodes, and aired as part of "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show". As a huge fan of the video-game series, I was aware of the infamy that this series holds, but I figured I'd give it a shot- I was able to get the entire DVD set online for about $10, it arrived a few days later, I gathered some friends who also knew about the show and how bad it apparently was... and we popped it in!

This was bad. Really bad. Uwe Boll-bad. "Super Mario Brox. The Movie" bad. Just really, truly bad.

You know your cartoon based on a reasonably serious and well-loved game is going to suck when the most compelling episode revolves around our hero Link having to save a water-park. Yup. Whereas the games had Link saving the world, and featured deep plot lines about loss, power and corruption... in this cartoon, Link protects a water-park. I must give credit where credit is due, unlike the Mario series, at least this cartoon didn't have a bad rap song to start out with.

This series follows Link and Zelda, as they struggle against the evil Wizard Ganon. Whereas Link was a noble, good person in the video games, here, he is turned into a snobby, perpetually-randy teen-aged jerk. (With one of the most aggravating, irritating catch-phrases since Scrappy Doo showed up... "Hey!!!! Exc-uuussseee me, PRINCESS!" Makes me want to punch myself in the head.) And Zelda, always the damsel in distress in the games, is actually a capable heroine who more often than not saves Link. The evil Ganon, whom at the point of this cartoons release was just a stock villain, well... he's still just a stock villain. He shows up, cackles and threatens our heroes, is defeated, and flees. Rinse, wash and repeat in the next episode.

I will say a few things to this shows credit. For one, the animation was actually halfway decent, and was much better than Nintendo's other cartoons. The music was also a step-up, and featured some good orchestral covers of the themes from the game. And despite my complaints, some of the gags in the series did work, and I could see a 6-year-old loving this show.

But the writing is just so bad. It really feels like a phoned-in cash grab. It reeks of Nintendo selling the rights just to make a quick buck. None of the writers really seem to be trying with this show. At least the Mario show had puns... This show has one lame catchphrase that it falls back on constantly.

This is a pretty pathetic show. I give it a 4 out of 10, just for the unintentional laughs it will give you if you watch it ironically. But it's not worth buying, even for fans.

I see a few reviews here criticizing this series because it isn't "FaItHfUl tO tHe sToRy oF aLl tHe zEldA gAmEs," but these individuals aren't too bright. You need to keep in mind that when this was aired on TV, there were only two Zelda games in existence: The Legend of Zelda, and Zelda: Link's Adventure. Both of those games contained the most simplistic of plots and little to no story whatsoever. So for the creators of this series to take a couple of 8-bit games and create this animated series, it deserves some applause. Now granted, when you look in hindsight, the writing is pretty bad, the cheesy catchphrases are used way too often to the point that it becomes hilarious, and the trope of Link wanting to kiss Zelda only to have it interrupted each episode does get annoying; however, the sound effects pulled from the game give it an excellent nostalgic feeling. Plus this is a kids show and you can't say that you wouldn't have loved watching this when you were 4 or 5 years old. I mean damn, I remember watching Pokemon every morning before school and loving it, but when I look back at it now I can see all kinds of flaws.

Next to The Super Mario Bros. Super Show is The Legend of Zelda, Altough not lasting long on it's run. It's still a can't miss!

There are two types of bad in television. Cringe-bad and Fun-bad. The Legend of Zelda (1989) definitely fits into the second category. It is based on the Nintendo video game of the same name (1984). While watching this absolute mockery of Zelda lore, I would constantly find myself laughing at the atrocities of the dialogue and plot. The animation and music are both ok, but not as good as some '80s classics. If you somehow don't know this already, Link's catchphrase is "Well, excuse ME princess!" This catchphrase is basically everything wrong with the show. It turns Link into the most unlikable a$$hole in history and he is one of the worst parts of all of this.

But, as I said before, it's ok because this show is fun to watch. Fun-bad but fun.

If it were unironically bad this would be 3.5/10 but because it is fun-bad I rank it as 7.2/10

If you are a Zelda player then this will appeal to you for how bad it is, but if you are not you will be completely miserable.

The Legend of Zelda is a cartoon contained within the much more successful Super Mario Bros. Super Show based on the game of the same name.

This cartoon is obviously a big screwup. It does no justice for the awesome game series it is based on, and anyone can you tell that.

Yet still, there's something about it that is extremely funny. Maybe it's how they turned Link into a cocky jerk, or the nightmarish acting, but it manages to be so funny you just have to keep watching.

In closing, the show is horrible, but it's hysterical. It's a guilty pleasure. Too bad it only lasted 13 episodes.