"The Legend of Zelda" by Brendan Dixon.
Beginning & Ending sequence by Travis Mays (Foqx).
First Published January, 1997 on,
Foqx's Rip Roarin 82/85 Page.
http://members.aol.com/Foqx/FoqxPage.html
Foqx@aol.com

The Legend:
Long ago and far away there lived a magical people called the
Hyleans.  Their magic lit up the land with wonders, but they
were doomed to dwindle over the years.  In time, only a few
people in the land of Hyrule could be called Hyleans, and their
magic was only a shadow of what it had once been.  In that
weaker age, an object called the triforce held much of the
land's power.  When the king of thieves, Gannondorf, stole the
triforce, a new dark world was opened.

Although few true Hyleans lived in Hyrule in later days, their
great works remained--soaring towers, cunning mazes, and magical
weapons and tools, which were scattered, fought over, and
eventually lost from knowledge.  The simple Hyrulians, who
now peopled the land, had no magic of their own, and so, in
times of need, they waited for heroes of Hylean blood to
step forth.

After the downfall of Gannon, Hyrule experienced a brief Golden
Age, then it declined into a rustic place of forests and fields.
Many years passed and then evil creatures began to roam the woods.
Soon they grew bold.  Princess Zelda, whose ancestor had helped
destroy Gannon long ago, tried to take action, but she was
captured and taken to Death Mountain.  Impa, Zelda's lady in
waiting, went in search of a hero to save the kingdom...

So begins the story.

(Exert from The "Legend of Zelda: Link's awakening, player's guide")


**Instructions**

You are Link, a decendant of the Hyleans who is sent to defeat
Gannon and retrieve the triforce and Princess to restore peace
to the lands.  The Triforce is hidden in pieces in 8 different
levels.  You must find them and then face Gannon in Death
Mountain.

Buttons:
^, v, <, > - move Link on the screen. (While in fight mode, only
             <, and > are available.

2nd - While in fight mode, press 2nd to slash your sword.

mode - Uses potion automatically while fighting.
       Displays status while  wondering the map.

DEL - Uses the Flute once you have acquired it.

ALPHA - Uses your bow and arrows while in fight mode.

Graph - Displays the map of the overworld (will not display
        underworld map).

CLEAR - Save and quit.  (Does not work in fight mode or
        underworld

Enter - Pauses while in battle.

Foqx@aol.com
The Legend of Zelda

**This is a portion of a letter sent to me by Brendan Dixon (the creator)
for tips on The Legend of Zelda as well as a little bit of how
he made it;**

It took me about 5 days including a weekend of using almost all of my 
free time (copying map screens pixel by pixel takes quite a while).
I'm glad you are interested 'cuz most of my friends at school don't care.
I got the idea a long time ago but realized it could work after 
downloading and playing a maze type rpg game called Influx, by "Godfly".
I stole, modified, and integrated the battle prgm from Influx, then used 
the idea of using pictures as maps to make the overworld as big as it is. 
The program tests pixels on the pics and corresponds them to "O" or " "
outputs. 

Here is some useful info:

-First, make sure you get the sword on the first screen or you won't find 
any enemies (I actually had this problem with lots of other people.)

-On the screen directly to the left of the start, there is a betting 
cave.  You can maximize rupies by going to it over and over and saving 
only when you win.

-There are 25 heart containers possible, each corresponding to 5 HP. You 
start with 3, and 8 are in levels, so there are 14 more hidden.  Quite a 
few of those require a special item. 
  
-There are also sword powerups (corresponding to the white and magic 
swords) hidden in the overworld in addition to those in the levels.

-There is a lost forest.

-About the absense of wiewable maps in the underworld: they would make it 
too easy, plus they would have to show the map for every level at once, 
so I left them out.