Massive Link to the Past hack released
by Kyle Orland 
{ Jan 9th 2007 at 12:25PM }
Those of you lucky enough to get a Wii on launch day have probably already blazed through Twilight Princess and are clamoring for more Zelda goodness. Well, if you don't mind going through back to two dimensions and undertaking some light ROM hacking, Parallel Worlds means more Zelda, less waiting.
This massive hack to the SNES' Link to the Past, released on Dec. 30, was the product of four years work by dozens of contributors, and the results are pretty astounding. A completely new story, new overworld and dungeon maps, new items, new characters and a new interface make this more like a full-on sequel than a simple sprite hack. Download it now before the Nintendo lawyers inevitably swoop in and ruin the fun.
[Thanks CLShortFuse]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Engg Matt @ Jan 9th 2007 1:29PM
Well about time somebody has created a decent zelda offering, considering hacks have been around for 10 years, some1 finally got a completed version finished.
Flit @ Jan 9th 2007 12:51PM
As one of my favorite games of all times, I hope this hack is decent. Each time one of these get released, they never really hold up over the level design (see the numerous smb3 hacks and redesigns)
quazi @ Jan 9th 2007 1:18PM
here ya go ppl for the lazy =)
http://quazi56.googlepages.com/TheLegendofZeldaParallelWorlds.zip
scooterbaga @ Jan 9th 2007 1:31PM
My god, why don't the just release a snes rom? What they're doing is already illegal right? Why not go full tilt?
Derbeste @ Jan 9th 2007 1:38PM
Quazi...
As a lazy person let me just say...
I love you. :)
Shlomo @ Jan 9th 2007 1:33PM
quazi, thank you times a million! I'm on a my Mac laptop and my PC is out of commision right now so I couldn't patch it myself (or at least I didn't know how to do it on a Mac).
Thanks again!
shirizaki @ Jan 9th 2007 1:38PM
"hacks" aren't illegal. ROMS are.
RDX @ Jan 9th 2007 1:44PM
Does this even work on a Mac? Anybody want help me out here?
vidGuy @ Jan 9th 2007 1:52PM
You need a SNES emulator to play. I think there's some of those out there for Mac. As far as I remember, emulators themselves are legal.
Scaven @ Jan 9th 2007 2:07PM
you'll get a .ips file that you have to combine with the rom file itself (find that file on the interwebs, shouldn't take more than a few seconds of googling) then go here: http://www.zophar.net/utilities/patchutil.html and select your favourite program (note there ARE some for us Mac users ^_^) in order to fuuuuuuuuuse the .ips and the .rom files
(thus you get a brand new game! woo!)
Jelda @ Jan 9th 2007 2:13PM
Kind of impressive, except for the horrible English!
jc @ Jan 9th 2007 2:30PM
I have never seen a company respond to a rom hack of this nature with legal action.
Parallel Worlds is a little hard to resist if you're fond of Zelda 3, but you can probably give it a miss. It lacks the ingenuity displayed in better hacks (http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/11/ Super Demo World, for example) and mostly relies on creating the most irritating situations possible--like throwing a dungeon end-boss in the middle of a new dungeon as a miniboss that you have to fight in the dark with additional fireballs shooting at you. This isn't Link's Awakening, either--if you die later in the dungeon you'll have to go back and fight the miniboss again. Many small tasks require an unbearable number of savestates to get past. There's an entire intro that pits you, swordless, against a maze of enemies, some of which can outrun you. There's no saving; if you die here, you have to start the entire game over.
The story is a slight re-dressing of the story elements from Zelda 3. Errors are everywhere. It hasn't been proofread or spell-checked. It definitely won't compel you to push past the annoying level designs to see the rest of the rom.
Better luck to whoever attempts the next Zelda 3 hack.
RDX @ Jan 9th 2007 2:18PM
Thanks for the help. The game is pretty sweet. But damn, Armos nearly right out of the gate? Rough.
Tao @ Jan 9th 2007 2:27PM
quazi my hero!
FSK405K @ Jan 9th 2007 4:33PM
This has always been my favorite Zelda game.
Slaziman @ Jan 9th 2007 5:15PM
I agree with jc, at first I thought I had patched the game wrong and that was the reason it couldn't save, but apparently it's just the way it is. So save states are almost obligatory seeing as how annoyingly difficult some dungeons are, not in the form of hard puzzles, but of stupid enemy placement.
Jezreel @ Jan 9th 2007 7:06PM
The dialogue was written by 4th graders.
whosmav @ Jan 9th 2007 4:53PM
www.zeldaclassic.com
There is a ton of custom zelda's. Some are actually decent, most blow. But this program is awesome. I'd love to one using the FF VI and CT engines.
fhornmikey @ Jan 9th 2007 5:32PM
This is definitely not a Zelda tale for the faint of heart, or the faint of skills. If you find this game hard, try playing the original again, and honing your skills. It currently takes me around 10hours to play through Zelda: Link to the Past... I'm relatively familiar with enemy patterns and no stranger to the d-pad. It still took me some patience to master the very first sequence of the hack, the difficulty and skill with a d-pad required is staggering.
Still, it's fun... if you're narcissistic ;)
artist-illustrator @ Jan 9th 2007 5:35PM
loads of emulators for Mac available here
http://www.bannister.org/software/emu.htm
Shadowsithe @ Jan 11th 2007 3:30PM
I've been playing this since the 30th, it's nice to see the rom hacking scene get this attention. The hack is hard as nails, and the script isn't the best but for something fresh, it's a great thing. There is a program to help aspiring young fellows to make something like this over their own. Google "Hyrule Magic" for the utility to fiddle the rom to your liking.
fhornmikey @ Jan 9th 2007 5:40PM
masochistic... oops lol
Rob Accomando @ Jan 9th 2007 6:31PM
omg, this is sweet.
If you have ZSNES and the IPS, it will auto patch it as long as the rom file name is the same as the IPS file name.
lwelyk @ Jan 10th 2007 10:13AM
Pssst. Jostiq. The big N didn't shut down oot2d.
http://www.zfgc.com/forum/index.php?topic=11742.0
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIT. This is the 10th site to be a moron about this.
Twinkie @ Jan 10th 2007 5:07PM
props for spending 4 years of your life recoding every piece of script in a link to the past but......
this game sucks....
Nick @ Jan 10th 2007 12:16AM
No, the 2 creators of this hack do not speak English natively, which is why it is riddled with errors. Supposedly a v2.0 will come in the future to fix this and possibly curb the inconsistencies in difficulty.
CLShortFuse @ Jan 10th 2007 1:05AM
thanks for the nod.
this game is definitely worth it. it's really hard. as a zelda veteran, i found twilight princess too easy and this is exactly what i was hoping for. this is a zelda game for zelda fanatics. sure it's hard and that's what makes it so addictive