MAX PLAYS: The Legend of Zelda NES...for the 1ST TIME, Completely BLIND! - Part 1

[@Rareware0192]

Honestly I really hope Max does more of these retro playthroughs. They’ve been some of the most enjoyable videos on KZbin as of late, getting to see him experience these childhood classics feels like I’m experiencing it again for the first time.

[@JamMac2023]

These retro games have such a chill vibe. That plus Max’s personality make them some of the only playthroughs I can actually work to

[@alternateA]

Very much this! I don't know how many blind games he has left but these dedication to play blind and with limited lifelines really works

[@FiendMatadorSlayerOfNoobs]

@@JamMac2023 What makes his playthroughs especially good is that while they are relaxing, they are also hilarious. So you can have his playthroughs on in the background while doing your own stuff and you immediatly hear when things go poorly so you can go back and see what exactly what's got Max shouting.

[@Dracobyte]

Please give Tunic a try! It is an indie tilke inspired by Zelda with tons of secrets, as well as secrets within secrets.

[@Muz__27]

A Link to the Past has gotta be the next game he plays. If he had fun playing this one then I’m sure he will love it.

[@matttyree1002]

So glad you took time to read the instruction manual. A lot of people forget that reading the manual was an integral part of the whole experience, since the games had limited space for in game tutorial information. You have to get it from the manual to have full context for items, as well as the backstory. And they were often full of amazing full color artwork! Such a lost fun thing...

[@meteorain2940]

I miss them, it's such a pity modern games did away with them because most games these days are already too hand holdy. That and it's like they wanted to cut the production cost in any way possible. As if they just want to get rid of physical copies in general while you still pay full price.

[@rob_i208]

I really like that he played with the manual. However I have to say a genuine 1987 experience also involves the fold out map that was included with the game which has the locations of the first 4 dungeons along with question marks (?) and places to search. Only the last dungeon or two did you have to find with no assistance. The idea that NES Zelda didn't hold your hand is a bit of a ruse. Nintendo very much held your hand through much of the game. However like you said they simply didn't have the technology to do it through software; instead they needed physical maps and manuals to do it. This is after all how table top adventure games did it before video games existed. Nintendo was bringing that table top adventure to your TV screen the best way they knew how to do it.

[@matttyree1002]

@Rob_i208 true, I was thinking that when he opened it and it wasn't there. Nice that a portion of it was in the manual tho

[@dunfeeja1]

You should play Tunic. It is an amazingly good game with the manual torn up and retrievable in-game. As you find pages, you learn more mechanics of the game and uncover new secrets. It's like a modern day NES classic!

[@matttyree1002]

@@dunfeeja1 hah, that so cool

[@quinnman89]

im enjoying this "let's play" era max is going through.

[@cthulhu888]

I agree! His dad arc has been progressing nicely so far 😆👍

[@shawnmohare]

I def watched 10 hours of Mario 64 that I never intended to

[@ihaveaplan.ijustneedmoney.9777]

The "emulate the 80s" way of looking for help is honestly a funny gimmick. 😂 Im also convinced that he's just doing this to flex his Retromancy

[@Dracobyte]

Please give Tunic a try! It is an indie tilke inspired by Zelda with tons of secrets, as well as secrets within secrets.

[@Gr00t]

​@@ihaveaplan.ijustneedmoney.9777 Please explain wtf retromancy is

[@lew526]

At 28:37, he accidentally discovers a major glitch that speedrunners use and has no idea what happened, before he has even found the first dungeon, while trying (and failing) to follow the directions to it in the game's instructions. I love it! 😄

[@sparkykid79]

Max has been on a roll with all these retro playtrough

[@DennisTheZZZ]

He still has to play the original Metroid, or at least Metroid: Zero Mission.

[@luisguillermogarcia3724]

@@DragonHeart613 even though i like legends of dragoon, that game is tooooo long for a casual playthrough

[@15kalas15]

as someone who doesnt really play fighting games but likes watching max this has been great for me

[@darealmephiles]

Yes he has man honestly a well needed change in atmosphere then the competitive games

[@Dracobyte]

Please give Tunic a try! It is an indie tilke inspired by Zelda with tons of secrets, as well as secrets within secrets.

[@kingdomcomesuperman3669]

Watching Max experience these classics for the 1st time is one of my favourite streams he does alongside FG/character legacies.

[@macuser7048]

Think he could beat Legacy of The Wizard, Battle of Olympus, or Crystalis?

[@BigHailFan]

Max's understanding of directions is......astounding.

[@cardinmalone4974]

Simmons once mentioned about Max: "I know Max is terrible at geography."

[@CarbonNut]

Max is the Zoro of One Piece.

[@BigHailFan]

@@CarbonNut "Go east and then north." "Okay I'll keep going east..... *Five minutes later.* But I never went east!"

[@KantiDono]

Instructions: Go North, East, North, North, North Max: I went 'North, East, East, East, East' and I didn't find anything! These instructions are stupid!

[@selay333]

Navigationally challenged, it's what my friend would call me when I got lost with directions.

[@ksops]

This was incredibly entertaining content. Hope you enjoyed your journey as much as I enjoyed watching!

[@Maximilian_Dood]

Thanks very much!

[@GonKillua85]

The Legend of Zelda: "Beaches in the Breeze" is a cute way of describing Link's Awakening 😂

[@nedlog05]

I thought he was referring to Wind Waker. Lol

[@Dracobyte]

Please give Tunic a try! It is an indie tilke inspired by Zelda with tons of secrets, as well as secrets within secrets.

[@umang6771]

This was my 1st Legend of Zelda title at age 5 back when this released. I was in Yakima at a mall when my older brother went with my mother to a Kaybee Toy Store to purchase it as I was at the foodcourt with my grandmother. He came back and pulled it out the bag to show me. I was simply awestruck to first see the gold art box, to the gold cartridge, the instruction manual, unfolding the map, to later the game itself. I'm 40yrs old now so there is so much nostalgia packed from every sound I hear to every pixel I see on-screen. Still love beating this game & it's 2nd quest every year or so.

[@Turnabout]

My condolences for being in Yakima

[@umang6771]

@Turnabout Lol, I vaguely remember it. I grew up in Richland so we used to go through there on the way to Vancouver.

[@Dang3rMouSe]

Holy shit... I totally forget about the existence of Kaybee Toy Stores lol

[@KillYounglings]

Yo, Kaybee Toys! That was the only place that stocked April O'Neil in my area, if you could find her!

[@NickMK]

I beat this for the first time 2 weeks ago. I have been thinking about the game a lot since. It really is a game made for it's time. A time where kids got 1 game and it had to last them. The secrets serve a great purpose. It is to trade tips and stories with your friends and to discover the game as a community and collectively figure out how to finish it. Your friend might randomly burn some bush and tell you what he found the next day. Everyone would have their own LEGEND to tell and their individual experience about what order they may have beaten it in. We can never relive that, we are just ... getting to try it out and imagine what it could have been like. But it is still a great game today and in the series, I would put it in the top 5 easily.

[@gamerkingdom1442]

Just that intro alone tells me this one is going to be INCREDIBLE. 🤣

[@Dracobyte]

Please give Tunic a try! It is an indie tilke inspired by Zelda with tons of secrets, as well as secrets within secrets.

[@PerilousParadigm]

I just wanna say youre living my dad goals rn Max, just chilling and doing playthroughs of things adjacent to your childhood and era, just in an easy lighthearted completionist type way, its clear its for you more than us but its bonus that we are enjoying you, but I guess thats the fruits of all your hard work. When Ripley is old enough to be playing videogames, youre gonna be like Gandalf or Cave Wizard to her, love to see it❤

[@Minister596]

True and he should start her off with these old classics and then move up through the generations. She would be way better then any other kids her age that started with modern gen games. lol

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

So funny people in chat being like "he finally gets it" when max is continuing to go the wrong way haha. Very entertaining, i loved this playthrough

[@esmooth919]

Yeah. Blind playthrus be like dat

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

@@esmooth919 nah Its just that chat clearly as clueless as max XD

[@adamlorenz4748]

This is simultaneously the most frustrating and yet joyfully nostalgic thing I have ever seen.

[@ZrowFoxGivn]

Agreed. I was yelling at the screen wanting to tell him what he was missing. Trying to help him. Haha. But was a great watch. Hopefully he does the rest soon.

[@Melonposting]

*guide says north east north* “I’m going north east east, why isn’t it here” _it says go north, what are you doing_ “oh wait, I’m reading it wrong” _yes, just go north-_ “I’m supposed to go east more” _NOOOOOOO_

[@Sotswba17]

This video could also be titled 'Max Forgets How Boomerang Works Every 5 Minutes' and it wouldn't change a thing. This was wholesome af

[@d.j.8059]

Max- I just want to say that making it that far into Level 6, which is, IMO, the second-hardest dungeon in the game, with five hearts, the white sword, no blue ring and no potions, is one of the most amazing gaming feats I've seen. That was hella-impressive.

[@MrLeoZombie]

What's funny is that the manual is telling you exactly how to get to the first dungeon. North one screen, east one screen, north again and one more time. Max is just interpreting it to mean as far north and as far east as possible, which maybe is a result of modern games forcing you to go certain distances until you can't because they are on rails. This is the first truly open world game and they hadn't developed the modern conventions of player guidance.

[@superluigiac]

I love how Max found Level 3 and still went back to Level 6, lol

[@mdlovejoy]

I'm loving reliving this with you. Also having fun yelling "NO DUDE! IT'S OVER THEEEERREEEE!" I hope you had fun with one of my favorite games Max.

[@KingofJacks86]

The fact that Max had a literal guide in front of him and still couldn't figure out where to go convinces me that there are just some people in this world that read in between the lines, then ignore the lines.

[@brandon-butler]

It’s kind of bizarre how he would read the directions, out loud, and then NOT do what they said.

[@GAHAHAHH]

It was like watching Zoro from One Piece immediately get lost despite the simplicity of the directions he has been given and then after hours he finally stumbles his way into the correct place and then proceeds to complain about the directs he was given as "being bad" and claiming it would have been better directions if they had just said...and then he proceeds to give the exact instructions he was given. Like I have the manual opened and it seems pretty clear to me, for some reason Max is reading go east twice despite the fact that the first time should obviously be considered a title or bulletin point because from the prior step he knew that it only meant go north once because he ran into a wall. Also it literally shows all 7 screens from start to entering the dungeon. Honestly if I hadn't seen people in real life situations do this exact thing I would assume he is doing this deliberately.

[@dustinwainwright6429]

I just want to say, as a classic gamer myself, I truly appreciate your dedication to doing this game justice by doing the following: 1: You are playing on original hardware. 2: You are using the same resources that we all had on our first time playing through the game such as the instruction booklet and “word of mouth” 3: you refuse to rely on internet tips and chat for critical hints. For me, this allows gamers the privilege to re-experience the feel of playing the game for the first time. It’s not the same though. Outside of a few hard blocks, the game allows you to create your own path towards the end goal. With games from publisher From Software you really see and feel the spirit taken from this beloved classic. Thank you so very much for giving us the feeling of sitting by our good friend’s side as we introduce them to this masterpiece.

[@OmegaDL50]

I'm glad Max realized the value of the boomerang being able to stun enemies, stopping their movement to setup free hits with the Sword. For a fighting game minded player not to spot this connection immediately, I find it a bit incredible. Just because it doesn't do direct damage doesn't make it worthless. It's the utility of being able to do free damage with minimal risk is what makes it great.

[@ellagage1256]

This Boomerang can fit so many dropped items 🪃

[@darkultra9605]

One of the reason Max is the only KZbinr that I watch play games is because of these extremely long playthroughs. I even watched the entire 10hr Mario playthrough in about a day and a half. I really hope he continues to post these extremely long playthroughs for a long time. Even watched Def Jam playthrough multiple times because I found it so entertaining lol

[@DrewSwenson]

LOZ is quite literally my first game. We have footage of me at 2 sitting with my brother playing this on our NES. It was also in my room as an infant so this whole game has been deeply ingrained in my head.

[@mat_max]

What a goated way to get into videogames

[@grandimations7309]

I hope he plays a Link to the Past next, love that game!

[@solosaga9360]

Max is a Twilight Princess Enjoyer. Damn, only good takes from my favorite FGC personality

[@masterjoda999]

You mean Dogs of the Earth

[@ShintaTakama]

Never played Dogs of the Earth, but it is one of the best Link and Zelda designs.

[@Countdownsmiles]

Yeah it's funny, TP was always my favorite as a kid but everyone at the time only ever talked shit on it, now it's more common to hear people love it. Except for Arin Hanson of course, he still talks shit that doesn't even make sense lol

[@masterjoda999]

@@Countdownsmiles Fortunately, Arin's opinion is one that can be safely ignored and nothing of value will be lost.

[@technounionrepresentative4274]

​@@Countdownsmileshow? Everyone I ever talked to was obsessed with that game (They also hated wind waker for being too cartoonish)

[@JynnTheFox]

"This lake is MASSIVE!" Max, that's the ocean. LOL

[@twinkpeaks9993]

These recent retro game playthroughs have honestly been some of my favourite videos from you Max, please keep doing these

[@lew526]

It must be brutal for chat to bite their tongues for the whole stream. I can tell the player is a gamer (beating so many bosses on the first try), but the lack of clues and the wasted "life lines" hurt to watch. So many nearly discovered but barely missed secrets, so many wasted rupees, and then he somehow manages to figure enough things out by luck and experimentation to keep making progress. When he finishes this run, he should go look at a guide on the web to see it all. This was an enormously entertaining video to watch, but I don't think I could stand to watch it live. 😅

[@ihatestairs9034]

I loooooove Max’s retro game play throughs especially with ones he’s never tried before. Cool to see insight from someone experienced with gaming but new to a game style/genre

[@VZAAGE]

A Link to the Past is my favorite. It takes everything that's great about the original and fine tunes it. It's the Super Metroid of Zelda games. You owe yourself to play it.

[@robertbouley7697]

Truth.

[@celuiquipeut6527]

Link to the past was the best Zelda hame and sadly was not replicated. The xp and leveling up was so good.

[@dzilo]

This is worth to see it if you couldn't watch it live. is really good how he progress, and remember my childhood back in 1993 when I played first time

[@siSixEight]

Max not using the boomerang to stun enemies is more annoying than when Oroboro was smashing treasure chests for rubbish in his DS2 run that sob!!!!!

[@oromain]

dude im so used to other games and videos making the "its dangerous to go alone" bit in Zelda a troll that when I watch Max play it and he literally just gets the sword with no caveats it actually surprises me

[@theghostatlevel6507]

the directions in the manual to get to Level 1 are perfectly accurate. It says go up, go right, go up until a bridge. step by step, screen by screen. whatever possessed you to keep heading east? It said east once, then go up. Good thing there was a printed map the entire time

[@GameGameHeaven]

"This boomerang sucks!" Actually it's one of the best items in the game IMO.

[@brandonvaughn3139]

This!

[@raptros]

These Retro Let's Plays are gems, Max. Pure entertainment, keep em coming man 😂

[@BigDaddyCola]

I have to say this has been a blast to watch. Totally brought back great memories of playing this as a kid in the 80s. Watching a fresh set of eyes play through is a treat.

[@_black_bird]

That chatter got mad at Max for reading the manual, little did they know that he would forget everything he read past the sword and end up lost and dead in the desert

[@blessingneat1up]

One of the most, if not the most important video game in the history of gaming.

[@WoWisdeadtome]

Max, you are an absolute master of wandering aimlessly until you are one screen from your next progression then turning around and heading the exact opposite direction.

[@sumthinorother9615]

1:25:00

[@Feelin_DanDy]

I'm proud of you Max for playing old classics, much respect.

[@FifthOfNovember_Original]

I love that Max is going through the same gamer's arc that Day9 did a few years ago. If you remember, Day9 used to be "the guy" to watch in Starcraft 2 content, after which he went to casual gaming and started playing various retro games as well. It's really entertaining and exciting to see!

[@Masamatt90]

49:19 Max fighting wall master: "thats freaky, kinda lame though" Wall Master: "and i took that personally"

[@pitongus]

Max playing old Nintendo games is my new favorite thing and I hope he plays more Zelda. Still waiting on that Metroid Fusion playthrough.

[@StormSnakeMG]

Max not cross referencing his mini-map with his explored map on the pause screen when looking for hidden rooms is like Cell noticing the one green tile. It doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me, IT BOTHERS ME IT BOTHERS ME A LOT

[@ninjatanuki]

Wind Waker is unironically one of the best by far, people complained about it when it came out but now that the dust has long settled it ended up being one of the best. Playing it in 2023 it still feels fresh.

[@hylianro]

It's weird people complained about the three best Zelda games (ww, tp, mm)

[@-Devy-]

That's a hot take if I ever saw one. Guessing that you're a millennial. Wind Waker is boring as shit.

[@FingerPuppetSarcasm]

He didn't have to set up these rules and whatnot but i'm so glad he did. Really adds to the immersion and experience since i never played the game either.

[@bbdeffect]

This is still the best Zelda game. No silly melodramatic prologue, best music, spooky atmosphere, picking up an item has a one second animation instead of a 30 second one.

[@whereswarren3719]

I remember playing / beating this game for the first time on a 3ds while traveling around japan in 2012. Seeing this footage takes me back :')

[@LazarusTRP]

This video is an absolute treat, really wish I got to see this when he was live. I love how he's doing this just some kid would in the 80's, calling his friends and checking gaming magazines for help.

[@MariusBoss11458]

Bruh while the video was loading I was like "Sure I'll watch this. This video is probably 4 years old right?" *8 min ago*

[@jonerik1987]

That opening with the scream is the best 😂

[@MikeNYPE]

That intro is so relatable to when I played it lmao! Can't wait to watch the rest

[@tyler_keeble]

As someone who's played through this game multiple times, watching someone play through it completely blind is magical. Makes me wish I could re-experience games for the first time again.

[@furrybproductions]

When dealing with the lake enemies, Max sounds like a driller: Spin the block, we outchea! 🤣💥🔫

[@rna151]

"blue candles are good for one screen only but red ones can light up rooms for several screens." It's amazing how much misinformation used to be in instruction booklets.

[@benzost920]

For me this is a nostalgia trip back to December 25, 1987! Unfortunately, as a 3rd grader, I wasn't as talented at naming my Link during name registration.

[@salvadorpacheco523]

Happy to see you coming to the Zelda series!

[@Eight155th]

Being born on George Washington's birthday in 1985, I have watched my brother and his friends play this and it would have been fame of the year for its time. With you being born in the decade of Reganomics, I hope at the end of your playthrough you may see it. Same with Ocarina of Time, you had to be there to play it when it first released. Skyward Sword being the very first story in the timeline was epic especially when you fight Demise (I say Ganons daddy). I still haven't played some of the other titles, they all are good in their on right. We will make you a fan out of you yet, lol. Also, I VERY recommend Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity even thought it's not canon...

[@williamhardee8863]

I love seeing people in chat who are seeing all the stuff The Binding of Issac took from the first Zelda for the first time.

[@Shan_Verified]

I have these playing continuously Max. This series are absolute gems.

[@kinhashiranewgameplus]

watching this really does make me admire(despite me being born in the year 2000) on how cool the old school graphics looked! Games now are definitely stars higher but the old school graphics always look cool to me! I just love pixels and colors!

[@MegaTomPlays]

The let's play retro stuff is exactly what I've been missing in my life. Cool to see someone get a first play on something I grew up playing 😁

[@danielsinnott2343]

Watching him continue to try level 6 before doing level 4, 5, or 6 is maddening.

[@waynesmiley2207]

I see why this game was a big deal when it came out, a great deal packed into a game of its time. Fun play through.

[@GreyWithCreamium]

I sure hope Max plays more classics like this, very fun playthrough especially with the helplines. I think like 100 people mentioned ALTTP in the chat, so maybe he'll play that eventually. Seeing as he really enjoys the original, it's very likely he'll love ALTTP. Also interesting how in both Metroid and Zelda Max is seemingly more on board for the 2D than 3D games. Also: Tunic is pretty much an inspired love letter to this game.

[@Donsanity]

I remember beating this several times as a kid. Still archaic by today’s standards but it’s still one of my favorite out of pure nostalgia.

[@dannyboylan5926]

Moree Long Form Content on KZbin! Yes Please! Full streams!! Love it Max.

[@germ187]

Max is the complete flip side of the coin of DSP

[@mr.awesome6011]

Why do we have to bring him up?

[@germ187]

@@mr.awesome6011 DSP is always talking shit on Max. It’s only fair to point out the pig roach is trash. If you don’t like it block me and you won’t see my comments anymore :)

[@PackZTerrible]

Man there is really not much 2d games i consider you to play but i think a link to the past is a must. Expanding on all elements from zelda nes. Nice to see you go through this retro games

[@cesargarcia8397]

I just started playing the legend of zelda on the nes and it is definetly ahead of it’s time with level design

[@ace94d]

Max's inability to understand you go north instead of going east is hilarious.

[@BodieB]

18:27 Just remembered how bad the hints were in the English version of this game Edit - When he gets the boomerang he doesn't realize it's purpose is to stop enemies from moving... and he immediately writes it off and says it sucks

[@thetinpin]

I fucking love seeing you play through these old titles! I seriously just watched that entire video in my car in the parking lot of my work after hours! I really hope you are daring enough to move on to LoZ2: Links Adventure!

[@doomzilla3568]

Max plays the first Zelda!!! This was so fun to watch!!!! 🤣

[@cardinmalone4974]

Time and time again, as Simmons said at one point that is true: Max is very terrible at geography!

[@Razamaniac]

The piling up of nostalgia in this video cannot be described

[@djones8260]

This is one of the funniest run throughs of this game I have ever seen. Watching Max play is like watching my little brother play this game

[@prismaticowl]

I like how every time Max thinks he understands something, he doesn't actually understand it. Bravo to all of you who can watch things like this live. I definitely needed to skip a bit now and then... Wonder if he ever learned he can burn bushes and bomb open caves...

[@Muz__27]

So now I believe it's pretty much a requirement for Max to play A Link to the Past. Can't wait to watch him play it!

[@jonriver1540]

I am a serial lurker but need to say how much I enjoyed this content. More More!

[@lucasiglesias3742]

this was sutch a treat to watch honestly, i hope max does more of this retro checking stuff. it's incredibly fun. espessualy if you know the answers to the things he is having trouble with LOL.

[@Biggi87]

Dang! This was impressive progress for a blinf play through. Kinda speaks of how well designed the game actually is. Level 6 is BRUTAL tbh. I usually clear Level 7 before Level 6 when I replay the game.

[@BuggyBum26]

These retro playthroighs are brilliantly hilarious!

[@NaughtyJuri]

Finally no stupid Twitch ads every 5 minutes it’s a good thing max has a youtube channel

[@juliansanchezharris5773]

I hate i missed this stream.... i hope he does more zelda games ❤

[@littleguystar]

Zelda 1 is a really fun game with an old game guide. On your own though, it’s pretty fun to discover regions or that next secret dungeon location

[@macuser7048]

yeah i did them out of order

[@mat_max]

@@macuser7048 i honestly recommend doing 6th dungeon or 7 before 5 if you didn't get the secret heart pieces hidden in the overworld because that shit is hard af

[@macuser7048]

@@mat_max There's a few extra heart containers you can nab by then too. It helps.

[@ElChicoBush]

1:26:06 I love how impressed Max was that it actually worked. Even he didn't believe what he was saying 😆

[@daMuffinMan007]

I've always thought the original Zelda was boring to play and even watch, but as always, you made it entertaining and I can actually appreciate this game for what it is. Good job Max!

[@Islam4Europeans]

Pretty impressive that you spent an entire half-hour in level 6 and didn't lose your big shield.

[@DarkEyesOX]

Dat bois scream at losing money touched my SOUL

[@deewolf1903]

2:04:00 Al absolutely looked up the answer. He had it so wrong at first then was suddenly like "hold on... here's the answer.. i ThInK"

[@nickmorris521]

Totally 😭

[@GuiItyUniverse]

Level 3's shape is actually a Manji. It means peace and prosperity. That shape doesn't mean the same thing in the East as it does in the West.

[@AxleMyths]

As a zelda fan, who has had knowledge of the first game since they were a kid-- This is very fascinating... probably the closest thing I will get to zelda back in 87

[@MugiwarasNakama]

Imagine looking out into the ocean and shouting "How do I get to the other side of this lake?!" LMFAO

[@Steeldragon493]

I love that Max isnt a big Zelda fan, yet has cute nicknames for like half the games lol

[@boomerangsniper1682]

The look on Max's Face after getting grabbed by the Wall master is fuck'n Hilarious.