While I intend to get Fire Red, I’m gonna wait for first impressions in case there’s issues. For example if we can’t choose scaling of the image I might have to skip.

Born in 87’. Some of my youngest memories maybe age 3/4 years old are laying in front of the tv watching my Dad play LoZ on the NES. I grew up on the original Zelda and Super Mario, and have played and beat every Zelda game since (Except ToTK(about 50% done) and Age of Imprisonment(own it, haven’t started it, YET), have never played the infamous ROM games on PC though lol.
Have 100% Ocarina(All hearts and gold skulltulas), Majoras Mask(All hearts, masks, gold skulltulas), and Breath of the Wild (All shrines, 900 Korok seeds, maxed out all armor) so far… slowly chipping away at Totk, stopped about half way through to play other games coming out here and there, will definitely kick it back into high gear when the next mainline game is announced.

How is there not even a tweet celebrating this..? Nintendo is weird sometimes.

Zelda on NES was the first video game I ever laid eyes on. My cousins were playing it at my grandmother's house and it was the first time I ever saw a game. They let me control it for a few seconds before taking the controller back. It left an impression on me because after that I thought "Nintendo" meant the game with the hearts in the corner of the TV. I found out later that there were other games you can play on the Nintendo.

I think it was Feb of ‘87 when I took a chance (based on the weird TV commercials I’d recently seen) and used some spending money during a family trip to buy this unknown NES game with the gold cartridge. After getting home and slotting into my Nintendo, the game was amazing! It imprinted hard on my early teen brain and really opened my eyes to the potential of home video games. I was burning bushes and dropping bombs on every flat surface, looking for secrets - the original Zelda must be my most-played NES game.

Happy 40th to a true masterpiece and progenitor of one of gaming’s greatest legacies! 💕🎂🎉

Guys you've missed N64 from the poll list!

Crazy that this isn’t on NSO+E, which is a good reminder to cancel my subscription - the drip-feed is beyond comprehension…

First time i played it was on the NES back in the late 1980s. I did not own this game at all back then so I probably borrowed it from a friend. I remember i wasn't that impressed by the game back then. It was much later, specifically when I bought and played A Link to the Past on the SNES that I really fell in love with a Zelda game. Nowadays I can see what an amazing game Zelda for the NES is. I guess i wasn't receptive for it the first time around. 😅

I still playing Fantasian NEO Dimension. If anyone loves classic Final Fantasy and wants another one, this has been a really fantastic game.

My kids are playing Sonic Advance (Game Boy Advance), Pokemon Blue (Game Boy), Pokemon Silver (Game Boy Color), and Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (Switch).

We're super excited about Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green coming to Switch, and it's awesome that we can buy them instead of them being stuck on the subscription. I had wanted to get the real cartridges for a long time, but they're so expensive. I'm planning on Fire Red for my kids and Leaf Green for me so we can trade the exclusive Pokemon in each

Still mostly Fallout 4 and Pokemon Red on the virtual console

$20 for an old rom is just greed

@Trikeboy I’m not much of a piracy defender, though I do believe it is defensible when someone has already purchased the game, which I did in 2004.

Maybe you think $20 is a fair price (I’m sure many do, though I disagree). That’s fine, and you should buy the game if you want to, and Nintendo will make nearly a $20 profit from it. But what if they were charging $80 per game? Would you still say they’re “making it available?” What about $200 per game? $40? $30?

You see what I’m saying? When a game is — ethically or not — easily available for free, and the company that made it over 20 years ago rereleases it with no meaningful changes — a simple ROM, in other words — the reality is that many people will only pay so much for that rerelease. Everyone’s price is different, but the fact that a free version is accessible is absolutely a factor in that decision for a significant number of people.

@Blast16 Yet they still wish Blockbuster would come back

My first time was as a six year old kid at my friend's home. They had a NES and I had a SEGA Master System at home. Playing Zelda was really something else back in those days. The feeling of adventure was so big! There really wasn't anything close to it.

Ocarina of Time was my first and I played it on GameCube. Remains as my favourite today. Everything about it was perfect. Could replay it 100 times and still loved it like it’s the first

Played wind waker after and I didn’t like it much. Felt like a letdown compared to OoT. I’d be interested to try again today as my taste has changed since then.

Twilight Princess is my second favourite. I want an anniversary physical editions of those for the Switch.

Link’s awakening was my first. Loved it every bit!

Then Ocarina of Time on the Gamecube. The collection that you could get for free if you got enough points at my nintendo. Absolutely hooked me to the series.

The first entry I played either on the virtual console on the wii, or on the NES mini. Can’t tell…. And the second one I beat two weeks ago, on NSO. That game is just the first dark souls, liked it quite a bit even though it has flaws!

I started Clair Obscure yesterday. I don't know if I'll play much 'cause I'm sick and not feeling like playing

Why was the N64 left off the poll? And why hasn’t Nintendo announced anything acknowledging the 40th anniversary of one of its biggest franchises?

NSO was my first experience with this game.

I can only think of Mr Krabs saying he likes money when reading the statement from Nintendo XD

Happy 40th anniversary The Legend of Zelda.🎉🎂

@MathByThePixel : That would be nice but I feel like they're just gonna let today be like any other 'normal' day and not highlight the anniversary in some way, sadly.

Would it kill them, though? There’s only a few games in the expansion tier that I’m actively interested in; offering an option to buy them outright would be much appreciated

First love since I played it for the first time in 1993/94: Link's awakening on GB

I really don't understand why some people are okay with being taken advantage of by certain companies. Of course some people will always say, "You're not forced to buy it!" That's true but it's the principle of certain things. Nintendo and others will constantly push the limits as long as enough whales/diehards buy whatever they put out. Greed is insatiable

Virtual console's not coming back, but you better believe that once these games murder the charts, there will eventually be more. And I'm not saying this as a bad thing. It's just what it is. People get so upset about this kind of stuff. Gaming is a business. It's a hobby. It's not your right or privilege. You don't need it to live. They'll charge what they want for it & that's fine. If I'm interested enough, I'll buy & if I'm not, I won't. Pretty simple.

My first Zelda was Link to the Past on the SNES. Such fond memories of it. The series remains a favourite to this day.

@Lofoten What are yours?

Wind Waker was my very first which then led me to Animal Crossing's in-game NES titles.

@JimNorman

Would you consider adding two more polls?

• "What was the first (mainline) Zelda game you played?"
• "What is your favorite Zelda game?"

I got tired of grinding out to end game monsters in Final Fantasy X HD and took it to its conclusion, rolling over the main story bosses with little resistance. I like extras, but I felt like it was really starting to disrespect my time with the minigames...

I moved on to Dragon Quest III 2D-HD Remake for a bit of that comfort food type experience. It's been a stressful month and going back to simpler times (with QoL to smooth over the irritating bits we forgot). It's nice so far, bot heavens to Murgatroyd that text font is tiny.

Also some Dorfromantik for a calmer time as needed.

Happy gaming everyone!

Why don’t they offer both - a sub service and purchase option.

I know they want the recurring revenue of the subs but if individual games were priced high enough surely that’d make up the margins?

A 16MiB rom file downloads in around one to two seconds.

The Legend of Zelda: Collectors Edition on GameCube for me.

The VC was a scam, and I feel like an idiot for buying the same games on different systems.

If they had started the VC on Switch I would have expected the games I purchased to flow over into one account.

The NSO is a fine alternative.

I'd love the return of the Virtual Console

More big snow on the way Sunday night (I am so done with this winter) so I'll be distracted somewhat, but I’ll play a little more Tennis Fever and no doubt a few more puzzles in Sega Picross.

I should probably add that last weekend I thrifted and found a retro rattan TV stand upon which to put my retro CRT TV and retro top-loader NES to play some retro NES games. Yes, I’ve decided to try and rebuild some of my long-lost 8- and 16-bit collection from the 80s/90s, starting with the ‘ol Nintendo. I’m planning to play some Jackal this weekend, that old “desert rat” style, top-down jeep shooter from Konami. It’s a nostalgia trip plugging in that big chunky cartridge and hearing that box TV hum. Just change it to channel 3 and away we go!

Wishing all NL friends a fun weekend with your favorite pursuits! 🕹️👾🛻

Late to Zelda but it was the change to 3d on the N64 LOZOT that got me hooked.
And the rest is history.

Favourite Zelda TOTK just ahead of BOTW.

I might be in the minority but want another one open world like this but not the same
Areas or totally different to BOTW and TOTK.

Great classics among them

Here’s to hoping we get some sort of official celebration from Nintendo!

@TimeLordBurrito Yeah that's why didn't sell my Switch 1! Being able to trade with yourself for Pokémon games is a godsend

Unfortunately gen 10 would require another Switch 2...

The first one I played was Ocarina of Time, which still is the most "perfect", in my book: story, narrative, characters, gameplay, music, atmosphere, content... The other two I love are Majora's Mask (original) and Twilight Princess HD. The first (and only) time I beat the first entry was on 3DS via Virtual Console. I find 3DS a perfect system for NES games because of the screen size and resolution.

I’m not criticizing those who pre-order but preload? It’s 40mb. Common now. Unless you’re on a 56k modem in the middle nowhere, that download will take seconds. This webpage alone with ads is probably more than 40mbs.

@DollyrotsFan1 The reason they can't do that was cause the Wii U and Switch are different hardware so it would be difficult to keep all the Wii U eShop digital games for Switch. Consoles are unlike PC, for them to keep the Wii U eShop and its games the Switch will have to keep all the same hardware from the Wii U and doing that would add to the cost of the hardware too.

Hello fellow Nintendo Lifers! I won't have as much time to play this weekend, but I have made some nice progress with what I played. This is what I'm currently up to:

• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Fire Emblem Path of Radiance
• Tears of the Kingdom (70% overall completion)

More of the same for me! Meaning I’ll keep chipping away at wild zones and quests in Legends ZA, which I’m having fun with but also going slowly through. I’ll also probably do some ranked matches in Fever, and maybe a post game mission or two in Age of Imprisonment. Happy gaming all!

On the one hand, they are offering a purchase option. On the other hand, it's an overpriced GBA re-release of two separated and similar versions, with no option to play if you are already subscribed. Where is the "fun" in that? It sounds sarcastic in this context.

@Raccoonius thanks. I never played TSR so not sure how different Crossworlds is, but it's really fun.