Going further back in time, here’s the first Zelda game ever:
I remember back them getting confused about the title and the gender of the main character… isn’t Zelda a female name? But this green leprechaun-like creature looks male in the manual. What the heck?
Anyways, comparing the first 3 Legend of Zelda games, we can see a game that has changed through time.
I already posted Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link as being the black sheep of the collection.
But anyways, I liked this game a lot. It was hard and all, and it started the tradition of Zelda engrish -> “Dodongo Dislikes Smoke” (Zelda I), “I am Error” (Zelda II), but it was fun with tons of screens to navigate, items to find out, and the tons of castle maps with that suspense music.
Dunno what else to say… as I’d have to go more than 10 years back in time to remember, since I only played it when I still had a NES. But yes, like on Zelda 2 and 3, I also played this one ‘till I got all the itens, all hearts and everything else… 😛
XSp.
Curiosity amused the cat.
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XSp. 
“I am Error” ha ha I completely forgot about that. I do remember being confused about the same things as you were, but I’m sorry, when comparing the original Legend of Zelda to some of the games now, I still think it was one of the greatest games ever made. And Zelda II was DEFINITELY the black sheep, but I did enjoy it anyway and will still play it on occasion, thanks to the Retro 4-pack Nintendo came out with a few years ago.