With the possible exception of Grand Theft Auto, no videogame franchise evokes nearly as much anticipation and high expectations than The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo's most famous (perhaps second only to Mario) and popular franchise ever. When Nintendo even hints - either intentionally or accidentally - that a new Zelda game may or may not be in the works, the Internet becomes abuzz with rumours, speculation and excitement, this effect increasing a hundred fold once the trailer makes its debut. And rightly so, because with Zelda you know exactly what you're going to get and yet you know that within the game you will almost certainly be surprised and astonished at any given time. How many of you expected a fishing mini-game in The Ocarina of Time? I certainly didn't.

Put simply, The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition is symbolic. It consists of four astounding games that symbolise and embody everything that makes Nintendo so great, while also providing a somewhat educational look at how the series has stayed consistently high in quality since its debut and subsequent evolution - not shying away from trying new things and yielding excellent results every time - almost without exception throughout the twenty or so years since the first game was released. And the debut outing of Link and company is indeed right on the disc for you to experience. Released in 1987 (in Europe anyway) on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, The Legend of Zelda was set in the land of Hyrule and saw you playing as a young Hyrulian named Link, in a quest to save the princess Zelda from the clutches of the villainous Ganon by collecting eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom (itself a smaller piece of the Triforce).

The original Legend of Zelda game appears extremely primitive by comparison to the games on today's market. Visually and aurally, the game really cannot impress with its limited colour palette and assortment of beeps; however, all the elements that make the Zelda games of today so brilliant - exploration, puzzle-solving, combat and earth-trembling boss bouts - are all present and correct, undeniably laying the foundations for the action adventure genre we appreciate nowadays. Perhaps the only thing this game lacks is an involving and interesting storyline, something that Nintendo remedied further down the line.

1988 saw the arrival of Zelda II: Adventure of Link - the second game on this collector's disc - which had Link trying to revive an unconscious Zelda by finding six enchanted crystals in order to retrieve the Triforce of Courage, all the while having Ganon's underlings trying to kill him and use his blood to revive their fallen master. Zelda II took a radically different approach to the original, a fact that has resulted in countless heated debates regarding the game's overall quality. The overhead view was for the most part replaced with side-scrolling areas, allowing less scope for exploration. However, Nintendo upped the ante with more RPG elements this time around, such as magic spells, a larger involvement of the non-playable characters that Link would encounter and an experience system (Zelda II is the only game in the series to date to allow Link to increase his experience and build levels). While the side-scrolling perspective can be somewhat off-putting to newcomers of the Zelda experience, Zelda II is still a highly entertaining game and in some ways the deepest in the series even to this day. Naturally - as is the case with the original - the presentation isn't that impressive, what with this being present and correct in all its 1988 glory.

And now we're getting to the big guns. While Nintendo released two new Zelda games between Zelda II (A Link to the Past on the SNES and Link's Awakening on the Game Boy), the 1998 instalment, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time is what inarguably launched the series into the superstar status it enjoys today and is universally considered as one of the - if not the - greatest games ever made. It was a milestone in many ways - most notably in that was the first Zelda game to be realised in full 3D. But another way this game astonished the gaming masses was that is was such a colossal experience, offering so many different side-quests, activities, challenges and ways to improve your inventory beyond the main storyline, something that only Grand Theft Auto can compete with (when you think about it, ranting on and on and comparing the two series is an easy tangent to unconsciously slip off into). Horseback exploration and combat, fishing, rounding up lost animals for owners, along with delivering messages and items for the various people you meet are just a few examples of the myriad of non-essential but for the most part sufficiently beneficial endeavours you can pursue. I'll now hand over to Geoff to give you a more in-depth look at just what makes the game so special.

Thank's Mark! Well, for starters, the storyline is an enduringly classic tale - the young boy, Link, lives in the forest with the other forest folk, but he's different to them and is yet to receive his fairy. Then one day he finally gets one, a fairy named Navi, and before long he's exploring the first of many dungeons - which takes place inside of a gigantic tree, as he strives to vanquish the evil that has sunk its claws into this most noble of plants. The Great Deku Tree charges you with a quest and you set off on the path of fantastic adventure, travelling the land of Hyrule in search of the three parts of the Tri-Force, in order to keep them safe from the evil Ganondorf, who wishes to use their power to rule all the world.

It's a journey that will see you exploring huge temples of various themes, packed full with unique puzzles to solve using items that you find along the way. You have a trusty boomerang to flick switches and attack enemies, while your grappling hook and bow also double as weapons and ways of getting into new areas, with the fire, ice and light arrows all having many uses in puzzles and against enemies. Then there are boots that allow you to sink down and walk underwater (once you've gained the ability to breathe indefinitely beneath the surface), a spyglass that reveals false walls and hidden ways (essential for navigating a couple of the more fiendish dungeons), a shield that reflects sunlight and so much more - each of the many huge, multi-levelled dungeons is packed full with unique puzzles, challenges and enemies, meaning that there is no repetition of gameplay throughout this grand adventure.

As well as all this, the world is brimming with intriguing and memorable characters, almost all of whom you can either help in some way, or who have something useful, or even just interesting to tell you when you talk to them. As well as the humans, there are the rock people known as Gorons who live up on the mountain, and their domain has also been infected by a powerful evil that you must vanquish if you are to help these noble people, and the amphibious Zora, who live in a watery kingdom that has been entirely frozen over, leading you into a network of icy caves in order to remedy that particular problem, as well as a multi-level underwater dungeon that you can only progress through by adjusting water levels to move floating platforms. There's even one dungeon mission that takes place inside the belly of a gigantic whale-like creature! It's all so ingeniously designed that Ocarina of Time is arguably the greatest game of its type ever invented, and while Majora's Mask did make many excellent enhancements and improvements, there is so much to Ocarina that it simply blows your mind. You can hunt and capture ghosts, take part in a shooting gallery or a bomb blast fairground game, search for skulltulas (spiders) to kill in order to relieve the curse of a household of boys transformed into hideous half-spiders, locate the one person in the land who is interested in buying each of a selection of masks, race on horseback, uncover hidden heart pieces to increase your health… the list is almost endless.

Did I mention as well that the titular Ocarina is used to play songs that can warp you to key locations, change day to night (there are many differences in each area between night and day), make it rain, summon your horse, summon a travelling scarecrow when you need him to help you reach hidden locations and more. Plus, in one of the greatest innovations ever in any game, Ocarina of Time takes place in the present and the future - half of the game sees you warping forward seven years to the time when you're a young adult, to a very different Hyrule that has been decimated by Ganondorf's regime. Seeing all the locations in the future and how they've been changed for the worse is just so cool and there are areas that you can only access as the adult Link, specifically those places that require you to wear adult-sized clothing that protects you from extreme heat, allows you to breathe underwater indefinitely and so on.

The way you have to make changes in both the present and the future to get through the game is simply incredible, and the addition of some of the most epic and freaky boss battles you've ever seen just adds to the adventure and excitement - indeed, the final level and boss encounter is very challenging and goes on far longer than you expect. Even the end of game sequence and closing credits is one of the most memorable and enjoyable ever to feature in a game. Yes indeed, Ocarina of Time really has it all and until Halo came out it was my favourite game of all-time (if pushed, at gunpoint, I'm still not certain I could really choose between the two of them, to be honest!) I replayed Ocarina last year (on this very disc) and absolutely loved every minute of it, something I very rarely do with previous generation games - Ecco the Dolphin is the other exception, but that's another 'tail' for another time (although it's very much like Zelda but with dolphins!) Anyway, back to you, Mark!

Cheers! Graphically, while of course looking quite primitive by today's very high standards, Ocarina of Time does stand the test of time, never failing to really charm you with its imaginative characterisation and beautiful, epic presentation. Sure, the textures are basic and the lines are often full of polygons, but the essence of what makes this game world so endearing is still as strong as ever, while the sound effects are perfectly realised and the orchestral style soundtrack is packed with some of the most memorable, catchy and outright amazing themes you've ever come across. Combined with one of the most involving, compelling and emotional storylines ever to take place in a videogame, it's not hard to see why The Ocarina of Time lives up to its title and has taken its place in videogame history as a truly timeless classic.

This is also the case with Majora's Mask, which came along two years later in 2000 and while the game is somewhat shorter and smaller than its predecessor, it boasts almost as many side quests, mini-games and the like, as well as - in my opinion anyway - a more interesting atmosphere. This is down to the game being set in the land of Termina, basically Hyrule in an alternate reality. You'll run into many of the same people and civilisations that are commonplace in the Zelda series, but more often than not with a warped twist. The biggest change in Majora's Mask is its new time-travelling element. While Ocarina of Time utilised time travel somewhat (travelling back and forth between the past and present as younger and older versions of Link), Majora's Mask kicks it up a notch by injecting a sense of urgency.

When you start the game, you'll find you have three days to stop the moon from crashing down and wiping Termina off the map forever. The timer ticks down and if you haven't saved the world by the three-day mark, the moon obliterates the land and you've failed. What you can do, however, is rewind time, as it would be impossible to carry out the task of awakening the 'four who are there' in the three days it would take the moon to squash Termina into a pancake. Also at your disposal are the abilities to fast forward and slow down time, along with the usual plethora of weapons and items you'd expect from a Zelda game. Over to you again Geoff for the full story!

So then, Majora's Mask. Where to begin? Well, this second classic tale, which is arguably on an even more epic scale than Ocarina of Time, begins with a seemingly very innocuous character from the previous game - the travelling mask salesman. An impish fellow known as the Skull Kid has stolen the most powerful of all masks from the salesman, namely Majora's Mask, and it is this he is using to bring the moon down upon Termina. You're the only one with a chance to stop him, but there's one problem - you've been transformed by your impish nemesis into a Deku, a plant-like creature that spits seeds and can glide with the whirling leaves above its head. Once back into your human form, you begin the process of working around Termina, finding out how to awaken the god-like beings that can prevent the moon crushing the land. As Mark said, you're against the clock the whole time, but thanks to your trusty Ocarina you can play melodies that (among many other things) slow the passage of time to half-speed, jump ahead to the next evening or morning, or return to the beginning of Day One and save.

The only downside to this mechanic is that when completing dungeons you're against the clock, meaning that you really have to get a move on, as the hours tick by very fast, and when you go back to Day One, everything you've done will be undone (the only difference being that you keep whatever artefacts you've gained and any of the four you awake remain ready for your call at the finale). It's frustrating that you have to rush through the dungeons, which are noticeably smaller than their Ocarina counterparts to make their completion over the three days possible, but what's really gutting is when you run out of time just before getting to the end and have to start over from scratch. Still, it adds to the challenge and is certainly a unique idea.

All the characters from Ocarina are here in one form or another, as are most of the items you used from the previous games. The big addition though is that of the masks - twenty-four to collect in total, each of which helps you in some way, mostly in the side quests, although some are useful generally, like the Bunny Hood, which makes you run faster and jump further. However, the key masks are those of the Deku, Goron and Zora - which actually transform you into a member of each of these three races, bestowing you with new abilities that are essential to use when completing the increasingly challenging dungeons and puzzles. Glide around as a Deku, roll around at high speed in a ball of rock as a Goron, or swim like a dolphin as a Zora, there is so much packed into this game that you'll easily clock up fifty hours or more completing all the side quests without a guide, and as with Ocarina of Time, that's a conservative estimate!

You'll want to solve all the puzzles, suss out how to use the different masks, track down all the items, masks, fairies and gold skulltulas (the cursed spiders) too! Utterly compelling and just as lovely to look at and listen to, if not more so, than its predecessor, Majora's Mask is right up there with Ocarina of Time as one of the greatest games ever, and it's just as timeless and playable today as it ever was, this unbeatable duo putting most modern adventure games to shame, even in 2006. The only game that really comes close (for now), is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which while a massive departure for the series is still indisputably one of the greatest games ever made, and suffice to say I have been awaiting The Twilight Princess with baited breath for a long, long time… see our post-E3 preview from 2005 to see why I believe this game will be worth the extra year we've had to wait for it! Anyway, enough gushing, that's it from me, so back to Mark for the final word…

Thanks, Geoff! In addition to the four gluttonise main helpings of gaming gold, the collector's disc also includes a playable demo of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (for the frankly obtuse Gamecube owners who still haven't splashed the cash on what is one of the finest games ever made) as well as The Legend of Zelda: Retrospective, a short movie that simply chronicles the series from the original Legend of Zelda all the way through to The Wind Waker. Unfortunately (and rather anti-climatically), this impressive and frankly must-have disc was never made available as a standard purchase, available only as a promotional offer a few years back and therefore it's extremely difficult to get hold of. But that should in no way dissuade you from trying your damn hardest to track this down. [I've seen it on occasion on the pre-owned shelves of GAME, so phone round your local stores. Amazon.co.uk often has it in stock through their marketplace too. It really, really really is an essential purchase and anyone who would part with their copy is not worthy of being called a true gamer! Ed] If you're even remotely interested in The Legend of Zelda, or even action adventure games in general [Or indeed, just truly great games of any type. Ed], then you owe it to yourself to get your backside on eBay and pay whatever it takes to get your hands on a certain eight centimetre disc that represents the pinnacle of gaming, both past and present. Excluding Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy (there I go again), this is the essential collection of interactive entertainment. If games were Norse gods, this would be Odin. Get it now. Thank me later.

Reviewed by Mark Reece & Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).