It's dangerous to go alone. Take friends! (Hyrule Fantasy)

Long ago, the Demon King Ganon stole part the Tri-force of Power.  Princess Zelda divided the Tri-force of Wisdom into 8 pieces to keep it from Ganon.  Link, a brave young man, is tasked to gather and re-unite the Tri-force of Wisdom.  Will he succeed and restore Hyrule to its former glory, or will Ganon's minions defeat our hero and keep Hyrule enslaved forever?  Find out in The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Fantasy!



GAME DESCRIPTION:  Hyrule Fantasy was made in 1986 in Japan, and was published by Bandai for 1-4 players.  Players take the role of Link and follow the map from the original Legend of Zelda video game to improve themselves and gather the Tri-force, and ultimately fight and defeat Ganon.

SET-UP:  Each player takes a personal Character Sub-board and places it in front of them.  Then, each player takes a colored Link and places them on the start.  Each player begins with 5 Hearts and a Sword.  Shuffle the Labyrinth, Showdown, and Money Making Cards and put them off to the side.  Finally, each player get's all 8 Tri-force Pieces and places them off to the side.

MOVEMENT:  Players move spaces equal to the number of hearts they currently have, and only along pathways that make sense.  Players cannot climb mountain sides, go through bushes, or climb over boulders.



BATTLE:  If you land on any space that doesn't have text, you can engage in a Battle.  Flip the top Showdown Card, and roll the included die twice.  If your total roll is higher than the enemy's, you win, and if it matches or is lower, you lose.  If the case of winning, you can choose to either gain the indicated Rupees OR heal the indicated number, up to a max of 5 hearts.  If you lose, remove the number of Hearts off your Sub-board as indicated.  Then, shuffle the card back into the deck.

PITFALLS:  Some Showdown Cards don't have battles, but have other effects.  These are known as Pitfall cards.  If a Pitfall card is drawn, apply its effect, then shuffle it back into the deck.  All Pitfall cards are self explanatory except for the Money Making Game.  If you play the Money Making Game, take the Money Making Cards and draw one.  Then, the next player draws a Money Making Card.  If any player draws the Moblin or Old Man, they no longer play the Money Making Game this round.  Once both the Moblin and Old Man are drawn, deal out and take the appropriate Rupees, and shuffle the cards back together.

LABYRINTH:  The objective is for players to land on the Labyrinth tiles (indicated by Level) and get the pieces of Tri-force from there.  Players must land in order, from 1 to 8, to gather the pieces.  Once a player lands on a Labyrinth tile, flip over a Labyrinth Battle card.  Roll the die the number of times indicated on the card.  If you win, take the Tri-force piece that matches the number of the Labyrinth, and place it on the board.  Then, shuffle the Labyrinth Battle card back into the deck, and heal back up to 5 hearts  If you lose, you can spend a Blue Potion, or flip the Red Potion over and stay at the Labyrinth.  Otherwise, return to any Fairy Fountain and keep the Labyrinth Battle card for the next fight.

ITEMS:  There are other Items that can help in your adventure.  Some are required, but all are limited to 1 per player, and can only be obtained on the correct tile.

• White Sword:  Obtainable only once you have Tri-force 2.  Allows you to enter Dungeon 3.  Place on top of the Sword card.
• Magical Sword: Obtainable only once you have Tri-force 6.  Allows you to enter Dungeon 7.  Place on top of the White Sword card.
• Power Bracelet:  Allows you to move from a Warp space to any other Warp space.
• Letter:  Allows you to buy Potions.
• Potions:  Can only be bought with the Letter.  Blue Potion (50 Rupees) and Red Potion (100 Rupees) both keep you at the same spot, but the Red Potion can be used twice.
• Blue Ring:  Gives you +2 Hearts for 250 Rupees.
• Food:  Buy for 50 Rupees to prevent the Surrounded by Enemies Pitfall card.
• Magical Shield:  Can be bought for 100 Rupees.  Effective against certain enemies.

GANON:  Once you have the Magical Sword and all 8 Tri-force Pieces, you can enter Death Mountain and fight Ganon.  First, engage in a Battle at the Entrance of Death Mountain.  On the next turn, you can enter Death Mountain and fight Ganon.  Roll the die 4 times.  You win if you roll both the Sword and Silver Arrows.  If you do not roll both of these, return to any Fairy Fountain and head back up to Death Mountain to fight him again.  The first player to defeat Ganon is the True Hero

CONCLUSION:  Hyrule Fantasy starts out as a fascinating game, but tends to drag on towards the end.  It stays with its theme all the way through, but that is also its detriment, with the length of the game hindering it in the end game.  But even though it's long, that doesn't make it complicated.  Anyone can pick up and learn it easily.  This is a game that is meant for fans of The Legend of Zelda, especially the original.  Others, however, are likely to be put off by the games length and fetch quest mechanics.

AFTERTHOUGHTS:  A fun feature is that the board for Hyrule Fantasy also acts as a 1:1 map for the original Legend of Zelda for the NES.  Hyrule Fantasy was a Japanese exclusive, but was translated by dedicated fans, and is now available in a Print and Play form <https://www.mediafire.com/folder/8gclwa3kgylai/Print_and_Play>, or on Tabletop Simulator.  Thanks to Saintscrub for the link, and Alberto Vitali for access to this wonderful, massive project.