The Legend of Zelda 35th Anniversary Game & Watch Unboxing & Review

In this episode we unbox and test out the 35th-anniversary Legend of Zelda Game & Watch from Nintendo.

Released in 1986, 2021 marks the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. First of All, let that sink in, you old. But secondly, it means time to celebrate one of the most epic adventures & series ever to grace any video game. To commemorate the event, Nintendo has launched a special Game & Watch featuring The Legend of Zelda, Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Game Boy, and several other features.

Nintendo has done a good job, first with the Mario 35th Game & Watch and now with this one, closely mimicking the look and feel of the originals from the early 1980s. They are true to scale, including the screen size, d-pad, and face buttons. One thing that has vastly improved over the '80s has been the display, however. The stop motion style graphics and animation have been replaced with full-motion, color LCD. This display is bright, vibrant, and a pleasure to look at.

The games are all very authentic versions of the originals, with some Easter Eggs mixed in here. For both the original Zelda and Zelda. 2, Nintendo has taken the extra step of not just having multiple language options, but different sound options as well. For both, you can listen to either the original NES soundtrack or the one from the Famicom with its enhanced audio. If you have never heard the Famicom version of Zelda or Zelda 2, you are in for a treat. One disappointment was that they lock the language to the audio, so you can't play the enhanced audio versions and have English subtitles. That's a huge miss in my book.

Unlike the original Game & Watch handhelds, this version includes a rechargeable lithium battery. The charge port is along the right-hand side, right next to the power button. No power supply is included, however, Nintendo does include a ridiculously short USB-A to USB-C cable. Seriously, it's like 2 in Long. I understand they were cramped for space inside the box but this kind of has a" why bother" feel to it. I won't even bother taking this out of the packaging.

Nintendo received a lot of feedback after the Super Mario Brothers 35th Anniversary Game & Watch that collectors wanted a way to display their unit. Nintendo has incorporated a stand into the back of the inner box, which places it at an angle if you so desire. I was not very impressed with the design of the stand, it just felt weak and flimsy to me, so I found a stand on Thingiverse and 3D printed a stand for myself.

Why it RoX:
- Accurate to the original Game & Watch dimensions
- Enhanced audio versions of Zelda and Adventures of Link
- Great feeling d-pad and face buttons
- Vibrant display
- Great sounding speaker
- USB-C for charging

What could be improved:
- Enhanced audio is only available with Japanese language
- Is it really worth $50?
- Included USB-C cable is practically worthless
- included display Stand is nice, but not really up to the task

Should you buy one?
If you are a fan of the original Legend of Zelda games or Link's Awakening, this is something that you pretty much a must-have. The games look terrific, they play wonderfully, and they sound amazing. I can't underscore my disappointment in the fact that the enhanced audio is only available with the Japanese language. That's quite a miss in my opinion, and something I wish that Nintendo would have provided for English-speaking game players. As it is, this is a beautiful piece to have in any collection, and something I will proudly have on display.

#GameAndWatch #Zelda #Zelda35th #Nintendo #LegendOfZelda

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)