The Legend of Zelda: The Legend of Zelda 2021

My goal in this hack was to answer the question: if Zelda 1 was released today,
what would it look like? There may have been gameplay improvements, but I'll
leave those for much more talented programmers. I've set out to fix the parts of
the localization and presentation that are likely to have 21st century gamers
scratching their heads.

Changes include:
- As of version 1.1, a completely new font that better fits the setting
- Re-localized text to better reflect the original intent in elegant English
- A re-vamped intro story and treasure scroll
- One-rupee pickups are now yellow instead of flashing blue
- Some sprites (Link's shields, gravestones, and Darknuts) were updated to better match the designs in modern Zelda games
- The Zelda logo and sword on the title screen are redone

As of version 1.1, this patch also includes "https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5953/" by gzip and snarfblam, which replaces the nearly useless grey map square in the overworld HUD with a detailed map that is updated as you explore.

The Legend of Zelda 2021
by eyevandy

Many people have set out to improve The Legend of Zelda on NES. Some feel that
this game is perfect. Some feel that it has many gameplay and presentation flaws.
I feel that this is a great game that has a few rough edges, especially when it
comes to localization.

My goal in this hack was to answer the question: if Zelda 1 was released today,
what would it look like? There may have been gameplay improvements, but I'll
leave those for much more talented programmers. I've set out to fix the parts of
the localization and presentation that are likely to have 21st century gamers
scratching their heads.

If you're interested in the background to my romhack, and some insight into how
romhacking works, please visit http://chris.vandenheuvel.me/zelda/2021 for more
information.

Instructions:
If you want to apply the full patch, first track down a ROM. You'll want the
"PRGO" version (probably called "Legend of Zelda, The (U) (PRG 0).nes"). Use an
IPS patching utility to apply the "The Legend of Zelda 2021.ips" patch. All of
the various components of this patch have been broken out into smaller patches if
you want to mix-and-match. See below for descriptions.

I'm a big believer in owning the software that you emulate. If you don't already
own a copy of The Legend of Zelda for NES, please track down a cartridge, or
purchase a software copy on one of several consoles on which it is offered.


Changelog:

v1.1 (2021-08-05): Switched to completely new font based on the serif font used in
Zelda branding. Added multiplication character to HUD in story scroll patch.
Modified title screen to make small caps font less stylized. Incorporated
"Heartless Automap" by snarfblam and gzip.

v1.0 (2021-02-21): Initial patch.

Notes:

All of my patches are modular in that they keep everything in its original place
in the ROM, so they should generally be compatible with any other hacks. If you
like any one of these components and want to include them in your own hack, I'd
be honored to have my work included with yours.

Patch Descriptions:

"The Legend of Zelda 2021"
Contains all patches listed below. Either use this full patch, or combine the
individual ones to get the changes you want.

"FDS Font"
This patch replaces the original Duck Hunt font with the custom one that appeared
on the Famicom Disk System version. This is no longer included in the full patch,
but the option is here for you.

"New Font"
Having the original FDS font is cool, but after actually playing the game with
it subbed in, I think I understand why they didn't keep it in the English
version. It's very flimsy and much harder to read, and I don't think it's any
better at selling the game setting than the Duck Hunt font.

I created a completely new font based on the one often used for "THE LEGEND OF"
in Zelda title logotypes (which is probably Adobe's Charlemagne font). I finally
feel like the text fits the game world, even though it's not likely Nintendo
would have used the font in this way considering every other Zelda game uses a
sans font.

This is the one patch that doesn't stand well on its own, as the "X" character
in this font no longer works well as a multiplication symbol the way the
original ROM uses it. The fix is in the "Story" patch.

"Game Text"
A re-localization of most in-game text. The goal was to convey the original
intent of every message, not necessarily to translate word-for-word from
Japanese. Some hints were changed completely between Japanese and English, so
I've changed those back.

"Heartless Automap"
This is included in the full patch, but if you are applying one-by-one you'll
need to grab your own copy of this one. This hack of a hack by gzip takes
snarfblam's classic Automap hack and removes the modified heart display
behavior. I didn't feel that the original game's heart display was broken
in the first place, but the Automap itself is a must-have for those of us
that don't have the paper map that came with the original game. We also get
the faster heart refill.

"Intro Hint"
A small change that updates Link's message in the intro, from "Look up the
manual for details" to "Look for treasures in the dungeons." It's unlikely a new
player has the manual, and this hint gives you a nudge in terms of what you
should do first.

"Rupee"
In the original game, 1 rupee flashes between blue and yellow, while 5 rupees are
solid blue. This bothers the heck out of me. Now 1 rupee is solid yellow. In case
you're wondering, green rupees would require massive changes to the game because
none of the palettes available in the game would work well.

"Sprites"
Nintendo has a history of removing religious references from Zelda games (see
Ocarina of Time). I don't care much about being politically correct, but I always
found it weird that this magical fantasy game had Christian crosses all over the
place. I've replaced them with artwork that reflects the same items in later
Zelda games. In all, the patch replaces Link's shields, the Darknut shields, the
Book of Magic, and the gravestones. Some people will hate this patch and I
understand completely.

"Story"
A completely new rewrite of the opening story scroll. There's no Japanese version
to work from so I just made my best guess at how it would have been written
today. This patch also replaces the "X" character used as a multiplication symbol
throughout the game, with a new dedicated multiplication symbol. This looks nice
on its own but becomes more important when you switch to a font that is less
blocky than the original (like my font patch). Why include these two items
together? Because the new symbol needed to take the place of an existing tile,
and the best candidate was the weird two-dot quotation mark that this patch makes
unnecessary.

"Title Screen"
I've replaced the Microsoft WordArt-style ZELDA logo with the modern one. I've
also removed the rapier-style sword, which does not fit with Link's fighting
style or with the general time period we are working with AT ALL. Instead I
recreated the White Sword, based on the artwork from Hyrule Warriors which is
in turn (very loosely) based on the manual artwork.

"Treasure List"
I've fixed text and formatting errors in the opening treasure list.

Acknowledgements:
Thank you to Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin for the comprehensive breakdown of Zelda 1's
localization. Most of us reworking the text of this game use Mato's work as a
starting point. He's written an excellent book on this subject - "Legends of
Localization Book 1: The Legend of Zelda" - I recommend purchasing it if you love
this game.

Thank you to Trax for finding the code that sets the 1 Rupee flash.

Thank you to snarfblam for the amazing automap hack which has to be one of the
best NES hacks ever created.

Thank you to gzip for removing the one thing that kept me from using snarfblam's
automap hack.

Thank you to ShadowOne333 and the team behind The Legend of Zelda Redux; even
though I prefer a less comprehensive set of changes to LOZ, the work you did
and the source you've given us makes many things easier for the rest of us.

Database match: Legend of Zelda, The (USA)
Database: No-Intro: Nintendo Entertainment System (v. 20180803-121122)
File SHA-1: DAB79C84934F9AA5DB4E7DAD390E5D0C12443FA2
File CRC32: D7AE93DF
ROM SHA-1: A12D74C73A0481599A5D832361D168F4737BBCF6
ROM CRC32: 3FE272FB