40 Years Later, This 10/10 NES Masterpiece Still Has One Of Gaming’s Best Secrets

The Nintendo Entertainment System still hides one of gaming's best kept secrets, and no one talks about it today. First released in 1986, it's hard to believe that all of the NES' launch titles and year-one releases are celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year. Titles like Dragon Quest, Metroid, and Castlevania are now firmly within middle age.

Many classic NES titles are remembered for the decades-spanning franchises they spawned, sometimes at the cost of their original, game-changing features. One such NES game is the original Legend of Zelda, which included a hidden, secret second main story quest that's rarely discussed 40 years later.

Zelda's Second Quest Is The NES' Best Kept Secret

The Legend of Zelda, first released in 1986, is best known for its top-down 2D adventure gameplay and the still smash-hit series that followed after it. It's less known, however, for its secret second quest, which ramps up the difficulty significantly. The first five dungeons are rearranged in the shape of letters that spell "ZELDA."

The map is near-totally rearranged, with dungeons, shops, and heart containers appearing in different places. The enemies are stronger, and, since dungeons and the overworld map have been rearranged, puzzles often have different solutions. It's effectively an entirely different game; although the items and mechanics are near identical, the campaign and progression are entirely distinct. It was an early example of a console game including a cheat code to unlock secret content, although in this case, it actually made the game harder.

You can access the second quest in the original Zelda in one of two ways: either complete the main quest and attempt to load your save file, or type in the name "Zelda" on the new game creation screen, and you'll start the game in a much harder mode. This is, of course, designed for seasoned Zelda players to add an extra bit of challenge, but you can try it on your first playthrough if you really want to.

The second quest mechanic wound up recurring in two later Zelda games: The Adventure of Link, which requires you to finish the game on normal mode first; and The Wind Waker, of all things. Wind Waker's second quest isn't much more difficult, although it does rearrange all the sunken treasure, change Link and Aryll's outfits, and give Link the Deluxe Picto Box from the very start.

How The Legacy Zelda's Second Quest Lives On

Since then, no Zelda title has included a second quest hidden in the base game, at least not quite in the same way. However, the series has since introduced an alternative mechanic, often called the Master Quest or Master Mode.

The concept of Master Quest debuted alongside The Wind Waker, certain editions of which included a bonus disc containing the GameCube port of Ocarina of Time. Alongside that, though, was Ocarina of Time Master Quest, a much harder reimagining of the OOT campaign where harder monsters appear earlier and more frequently. This was also included in the 3DS remaster of Ocarina, but, in a nod to the original second quest, is only accessible after completing the main story at least once.

The mechanic recurred again in Breath of the Wild, introduced as Master Mode alongside The Master Trials DLC. It features stronger enemies across the board, and also removes a restriction that ordinarily prevents Link from being killed in a single hit under certain conditions. This mechanic does not recur in Tears of the Kingdom.

So, while the second quest has been largely forgotten in the Zelda continuity, it's been succeeded by a pair of similar mechanics that fill a similar niche. It's just one of many ways in which the series continues to call back to its Nintendo Entertainment System origins.