BS Zelda no Densetsu

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BS Zelda no Densetsu

Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	St. GIGA
Release date(s)	1995, 1996 (~MAP 2~)
Genre(s)	Action Adventure
Mode(s)	time-restricted single player with multiplayer scoreboards
Rating(s)	(not rated)
Platform(s)	Satellaview
Media	pseudo-streaming download via satellite network, saved to either the Satellaview base unit’s flash-RAM or to a BS-X flash-cart

BS Zelda no Densetsu (BSゼルダの伝説, Bīesu Zeruda no Densetsu^?, 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 Satellaview (commonly referred to as the BS-X). Using this add-on gamers could download the game from the satellite and save it onto either the base unit’s memory or onto a BS-X Special Broadcast Cassette.

1 Gameplay
2 Emulation
3 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay was identical to its predecessor, but the maximum Rupees was increased to allow you more than a thousand (rather than 255 as in The Legend of Zelda), the overworld was altered, and dungeons were 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 is also referred to as the Fourth Quest.

BS Zelda Screenshot

[edit] 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.

[edit] Presentation

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

[edit] Character selection

The player could configure their name and gender in the Satellaview game-selection interface. This then carried across to the game. This was the third time a female character had been a playable protagonist in a Zelda game--the previous two occurrences having been in Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure (two of the three Zelda titles released for the Philips CD-i, wherein Princess Zelda herself was the playable character). The characters themselves are nameless in-game. In actuality, they’re Satellaview’s mascots, and “come from another world” in this game. These two characters would later reappear in BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban, known as the Heroes of Light.

[edit] Live voice

BS Zelda’s implementation of Live Voice was significantly different to that in BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban. When the clock hit certain times the game would pause and display Japanese writing onscreen (that apparently reads “listen”), and the player would hear a narrator (apparently playing the part of the Old Man, and allegedly the same voice actor as Sahasrahla) give a hint or suggestion. It is unknown as to how long these tips were, but under emulation the pauses are about two to three minutes long. After that time the text disappears and gameplay resumes as before.

[edit] Free gifts

In one issue of Nintendo Online Magazine, there is some allusion to players with good scores receiving free gifts (see [1]). 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, and its full extent might never be known.

[edit] Broadcast dates

Date	Chapter Title
09 Aug 1995	BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 1 Hanashi
16 Aug 1995	BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 2 Hanashi
23 Aug 1995	BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 3 Hanashi
30 Aug 1995	BS Zelda no Densetsu: Dai 4 Hanashi

(taken from The Nintendo Database (Waybacked, page no longer exists)

From...	To...	Chapter Title
30 Dec 1995	31 Dec 1995	BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 1 Hanashi
01 Jan 1996	02 Jan 1996	BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 2 Hanashi
03 Jan 1996	04 Jan 1996	BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 3 Hanashi
05 Jan 1996	06 Jan 1996	BS Zelda no Densetsu ~MAP 2~: Dai 4 Hanashi

(taken from The Nintendo Database (Waybacked, page no longer exists)

[edit] 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 original 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.