Satellaview games from The Legend of Zelda series

BS Zelda no Densetsu is an action-adventure game first broadcast to Satellaview owners in August 1995. It is the fifth game developed by Nintendo belonging to The Legend of Zelda series, but it does not feature Link, the protagonist of the prior four games. Instead it features the same main character that the player selects in the Satellaview game, BS-X, and indeed the games are linked functionally and roughly through plot. As such BS Zelda no Densetsu, together with BS Zelda no Densetsu: MAP2 and BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban, is generally considered to be a spin-off title from the main Zelda series. Stylistically similar to the original top-down The Legend of Zelda for the NES, but utilizing the 16-bit graphical capabilities of the SNES, BS Zelda no Densetsu is also occasionally regarded as an enhanced remake of the original game. The game's title derives the "BS" portion of its name from the Broadcast Satellite system through which the game was transmitted by the distributor, St.GIGA, to Satellaview owners between the date of the first broadcast (in August 1995) and the last broadcast (in January 1997). As the Satellaview's first SoundLink Game, broadcasts for BS Zelda no Densetsu were composed of both a discretely quantifiable portion of game code and a continually streaming vocal track. Employing the voices of voice actors, BS Zelda no Densetsu became the world's first integrated radio-game As luck would have it, on a Sunday a few days later, a youth from the far away entered a fabulous portal in a fortune teller's tent and emerged in the dark of a distant land. Following the stars, the child traveled until at last arriving in the land of Hyrule. Entering a nearby cave the child met an Old Man who armed the youth with a sword and explained the predicament in which Hyrule found itself. The child set out to recover the 8 fragments of Triforce hidden deep in dangerous dungeons. After collecting them and reconstructing the Triforce, the child recovered the holy Master Sword, fought Ganon, and slew him to recover another segment of the Triforce. The child then rescued Princess Zelda and returned to the Town Whose Name Has Been Stolen. At the end of the hour the hero would be whisked away back to the City Whose Name Has Been Stolen and the portal would not regain its magical ability to transport the child to Hyrule until the following Sunday.) grant the player magical abilities or warn of events occurring elsewhere in the Land of Hyrule. During other periods of paused gameplay such as during the introduction and end sequences, fully voiced plot details relating to Princess Zelda (voiced by Naomi Fujisawa) and Ganon (voiced by Seizō Katō) were also broadcast. In order to allow the proper pacing of plot elements revealed in vocal files, the game progresses according to a strict time-based system. An onscreen clock displaying "Zelda Time" can be seen at all times and because the game is played in real-time, the time cannot be paused even if the game is paused. At various points in "Zelda Time" certain pre-set plot events occur. The game was divided in fourths and broadcast in episodic installments (with the only subtitle being the standard Satellaview suffix, where X was a number between 1 and 4). Each episode limited players to a certain restricted playing area either by withholding necessary items or by using obstacles on the overworld map that would be removed in later episodes. This ensured that players would experience a paced gameplay experience and allowed for a closer tailoring of SoundLink plot details to the events unfolding in new areas of the overworld map. The overworld in BS Zelda was altered from the 8 by 16 map used in the original The Legend of Zelda to an 8 by 8 grid, Consequently, BS Zelda is sometimes referred to as a "Third Quest" in reference to The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest. BS Zelda: MAP2 could thus be considered the "Fourth Quest". Carrying on the tradition initiated in the Second Quest where the dungeon map layouts spelled "ZELDA", Third Quest layout spells "St.GIGA" This initial selection then carried across to the game. While the earliest broadcasts for the Satellaview included solo-play games and strictly time-linked SoundLink Magazines that gave a sense of the player's direct temporal connection to the broadcasting center, St.GIGA, Nintendo's goal of simultaneous involvement between and amongst players was thought to be lacking. The result of this networking project was the world's first integrated radio-game (or SoundLink Game) - BS Zelda. On final release the game was divided into 4 episodes each of which would be available for download only during a narrow 1-hour window. Simultaneously streaming "SoundLink" vocal files would be broadcast to players to provide an expanded fully orchestrated musical score as well as plot narration. These vocal tracks were far too large for the 8M ROM capacity of the Satellaview, however as streaming files they were only temporarily stored as RAM which was then over-written as the game progressed. Although players would not be able to play a true multiplayer game as only 1 player could be displayed in the overworld at one time, the goal of a sense of inter-player community was achieved by linking all BS Zelda players to a common real-world time-frame, by making in-game references to the idea of other players, and by including a game score and password system that allowed the publishing of ranking tables and the competition of players against one another for prizes awarded by St.GIGA. The serialized structure together with the strength of the Zelda franchise was intended to encourage Satellaview sales and viewership and to establish fan loyalty. the official BS Zelda pre-release party was hosted by Hikari Ōta and took place during the August 3, 1995 SoundLink Magazine broadcast of Bakushō Mondai, and the first episode of BS Zelda was released on Sunday August 6, 1995 with new episodes broadcast every subsequent Sunday through the 27th. The game was re-broadcast on at least 4 subsequent occasions as reruns throughout the lifetime of the Satellaview. Broadcast dates Reception and legacy By all accounts, the popular reaction to BS Zelda no Densetsu was overwhelmingly positive. During the lead-up to its August 6 release, Nintendo described the games as being the "biggest buzz of the summer", Due to the game's "amazing popularity", discussion during the SoundLink Magazine broadcasts was dominated by the subject throughout the month of August. With the "whirlpool of excitement across the country" To satisfy continued interest in the game, it was decided that a second rerun would be broadcast during the month of October due to popular demand A third rerun was again broadcast during the month of November, The development goal of creating a communal sense of simultaneous game-play was considered to have been met and magazines such as Digital Magazine Busters announced that the game had set records for the greatest number of people simultaneously playing a single game. Due to the great successes of the game Nintendo undertook the development of a remixed version of BS Zelda no Densetsu that would be entitled BS Zelda no Densetsu: MAP2. Featuring all-new dungeon layouts and altered positions of items and locations in the overworld, BS Zelda: MAP2 represented the functional equivalent of the "Second Quest" portion of the original The Legend of Zelda. The first two BS Zelda games would also serve as the direct forerunners of the later-broadcast BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban. Emulation Due to the short-lived nature of the game and the fact that the gameplay is intimately connected to the vocal SoundLink files that were broadcast into RAM and were thus incapable of digital preservation by receiving Satellaview-owners, the game cannot currently be played in its original form. ==BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban==

BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban is an action-adventure video game first broadcast to Satellaview owners, in March–April 1997 and rebroadcast as reruns at least 3 times. It is the third game in the BS Zelda series and as with the two previously broadcast BS Zelda spin-off games, BS Zelda no Densetsu and BS Zelda no Densetsu: MAP2, it also does not feature Link as the protagonist but instead utilizes the player's avatar from the inter-related Satellaview game, BS-X. For this reason it is also generally considered to be a spin-off title from the main Zelda series. Stylistically similar to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES, BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban is also occasionally regarded as an enhanced remake of this title. This conception most likely arises from the stylistic similarities of the games and the fact that the game is no longer playable in its original form and thus the differing plot of the game is more or less unknown to the general gaming public. The game's title derives the "BS" portion of its name from the Broadcast Satellite system through which the game was transmitted by the distributor, St.GIGA, to Satellaview owners between the date of first broadcast in March 1997 and the last broadcast in May 1999. As a Satellaview SoundLink Game, broadcasts for BS Zelda: Inishie no Sekiban were composed of both a discretely quantifiable portion of game code and, as with the earlier BS Zelda games, a continually streaming vocal track employing the voices of voice actors. This would be the last SoundLink Game to be broadcast via Satellaview marking the end of a 4-year period of SoundLink broadcasts, and it was one of the last Satellaview games to be broadcast under Nintendo's direct control. Plot Set six years after the events in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the story of Inishie no Sekiban begins when the character avatar from the distant enters a mysterious-looking that has appeared in the town. Finding only a magical golden bee, the avatar follows after it and enters the back of the house where strong magic whisks the youth off to the Land of Hyrule where Princess Zelda's dreams have been troubled. Discovering the youth collapsed on the ground, Zelda and her aged companion (a character from A Link to the Past - brother of the more memorable Sahasrala) revive the child and discuss the recent and troubling premonitions they have felt concerning Ganon's return. A few moments later a soldier arrives and announces that Ganon's evil forces have returned. Aginah and Zelda explain that Link has left the country and they ask the child to help obtain the eight "Ancient Stone Tablets". It is believed that if the hero/heroine can obtain these tablets, the message in them will reveal an ancient secret capable of defending Hyrule from Ganon and his army. the Hero of Light, along with Zelda, climbs to the summit of Death Mountain to an ancient monument. Zelda translates the tablets using the Book of Mudora discovered in the basement of Link's House and the monument then cracks, revealing the Silver Arrow and Sacred Bow. This, Zelda says, is what the Hero of Light needs to defeat Ganon. Finally, a red portal opens up and reveals the way into the Dark World, where Ganon resides. Rather than displaying a "Listen Closely" sign and pausing gameplay, the player could continue to move about during voice messages in Inishie no Sekiban. The plot that was developed through vocal files was also considerably more intricate, with important plot details revealed in dialogue only spoken during playthrough. The voice cast also grew in number from three people in BS Zelda to a cast of five, and fully voiced side-quest events and cut-scenes were also added at the beginning and end. The game again renewed its use of the in-game 1-hour-long "Zelda Time" clock as previously employed in earlier BS Zelda games. At various pre-set points in Zelda Time special events would occur such as the appearance of fairies, the casting of magical attacks such as Bombos or Ether, and the granting of unlimited munitions to the Hero of Light for a limited duration. As with the earlier BS Zelda titles, Inishie no Sekiban was divided into four weekly episodes broadcast in episodic installments. Once again episodes were named using the basic Satellaview suffixes described above, and broadcast only during a narrow 1-hour window. In addition, each episode once again limited players to a certain restricted playing area by withholding necessary items to ensure a paced gameplay experience and to enable a close tailoring of SoundLink plot details to the events unfolding in new areas of the overworld map. The overworld in Inishie no Sekiban is roughly identical to that in A Link to the Past or simply "child"/"youth". The appearance of the Satellaview avatar has been updated for Inishie no Sekiban from the smaller version used in the earlier BS Zelda games in a manner consistent with A Link to the Past's differences from the original The Legend of Zelda. Several recurring features unique to Inishie no Sekiban were introduced to the game including the addition of thieves that sell the Hero of Light munition upgrades, rental shops that rent shovels and sword upgrades, and to move between rooms and screens without automatically stopping as in A Link to the Past. The dungeon items were also modified so that instead of pendants and crystals the player now collected the eight titular Ancient Stone Tablets. Slight game-dynamics alterations were made for Inishie no Sekiban as well, including the removal of cracked bombable walls and their replacement with walls that could be tested for weaknesses by sounding them with the sword as first used in ''Link's Awakening''. As in the previous BS Zelda games, players received a score for successful completion of in-game objectives. Factors weighing into the score included the opening of treasure chests, completion of the side-quest event, talking to the Mole, and the collection of rupees, small keys, pieces of heart, dungeon items, heart containers, special items, and tablets. Negative factors included the passage of each minute of "Zelda Time" prior to the collection of the 2 weekly tablets, the loss of hearts, and game-overs. The Korean Game Developer's Conference would later cite Inishie no Sekiban as one of the Satellaview titles primarily responsible for fostering a sense of collegial competition between Japanese players through St.GIGA's publishing of score ranking tables. The successes of the game among the gaming public prompted Nintendo and St.GIGA's rebroadcasting it again for three additional reruns. Reruns were broadcast in June 1997, in December 1998, and to mark the dissolution of the partnership between St.GIGA and Nintendo as the final SoundLink Game ever broadcast via Satellaview in May 1999. Emulation Because the game could only be played during certain predetermined hours due to constraints imposed by the use of SoundLink content, game data was saved to 8M Memory Packs as temporary files that were originally intended to be deleted and over-written with later game data. In addition, SoundLink data itself was streamed to players and thus only saved as volatile RAM which was overwritten during gameplay and ultimately lost as soon as the Satellaview was turned off. For these reasons and the fact that the game has never been re-released in hard-copy, Inishie no Sekiban cannot currently be played in its original form. Despite these setbacks, however, a small subculture of collectors and enthusiasts devoted to the restoration of Satellaview and Zelda games have managed to create ROM emulations from dumped materials stored on 8M Memory Packs that were not over-written by their owners. A 4-week version has been completed from dumped material and is currently playable as four separate ROMs, however several alternate versions of the game (as defined by weekly positioning of the Mole character) have not been yet been recovered and may be lost forever. The emulated versions of the BS Zelda games that exist online fall into a legal grey area as they contain proprietary material (such as the use of Zelda and Ganon graphics designed by Nintendo) but do not have a substantial effect upon the work's value considering that Nintendo has ceased support for the games and has never released them in hard-copy. In addition, emulated versions that exist today commonly contain thorough attribution giving credit to Nintendo, St.GIGA, and all original production staff. Whatever the legal status of the games, Nintendo has turned a blind eye to the existence of Satellaview emulations. ==Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce==

Between March 2, 1997 and May 29, 2000, St.GIGA frequently broadcast a ported version of the original Super Famicom The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, called in Japan. Unlike the BS Zelda broadcasts and Inishie no Sekiban, the Satellaview version of Kamigami no Triforce was not a SoundLink Game, did not feature the BS-X avatars as main characters (but rather used Link as in the original), and it was not divided into episodes. More importantly, it was not limited to play-through during a 1-hour block of "Zelda Time" but could instead be downloaded and played at the player's convenience. Whereas the BS Zelda games and Inishie no Sekiban were strictly limited to this 1-hour block and would be rendered unplayable after the time block had expired, the Satellaview version of Kamigami no Triforce (like a large number of other non-SoundLink titles for the Satellaview) instead utilized an internal play-through counter that would tick down from 5 to 0 for each time the game was played. On reaching 0, the game would be locked and would need to be re-downloaded in order to continue playing. Apart from the play-through limit and the fact that the game took a purely digital form, the differences between the Satellaview version and the original Super Famicom version of Kamigami no Triforce were exceptionally minor. Such differences include the addition of "header" info to the Satellaview version and the use of slightly different code for the start menu. Although these differences are minor, emulated versions of the Satellaview version of Kamigami no Triforce have been dumped and can be found online. Due to Nintendo's original partnership agreement with St.GIGA and because the Satellaview version of Kamigami no Triforce was not a SoundLink title, broadcasts of the game continued for several months after the dissolution of the partnership until St.GIGA finally ceased broadcasts in June 2000. Although the downloadable data was in fact material directly produced by Nintendo, this would mark the only time since Nintendo's deal with Philips in 1993 that Zelda video games would be distributed without the direct control of Nintendo. Broadcast dates ==Notes==