Legend of Zelda: Complete Animated Series [DVD] [2005] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

First of all, I want to say that it is truely awesome to finally have this on DVD. I was a huge fan of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show when I was a kid, and I always looked forward to Frisdays for the Zelda episodes.

The Zelda cartoons, themselves, are a lot of fun. Granted, they are a little silly and could even be considered 'cheesey' from a certain point of view, but they are what they are. They may not come across as serious as some of the video games (i.e. Ocarania of Time), but this is perfect for something targeted at kids. I was 9 when this show came out, and I loved it. And I love looking back on it now.

If I were rating just the cartoons, in-and-of themselves, and not the DVD as a whole, I would give it 5 stars.

But, as you've probably noticed, I only gave it three stars. And I have reasoning behind this.

I just picked this DVD up earlier this week as well as the recently released boxed set of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

The SMBSS set is the first in a series of box sets that will collect all of the non-Zelda episodes of the series. There are 24 episodes on that 4-disc set, complete with all live action segments and all cartoons (it even has the previews for the Zelda episodes).

Having bought that at the same time, I found it very disapointing that all of the complete live-action segments were not included on this Zelda release (only a handful of episodes include them). Being that I am kind of a 'completist' and wanted to have the whole 'Super Show' series in as complete of a manner as possible, I found this to be a let down.

Personally, I would have much prefered if the SMBSS set had also included the Zelda episodes complete with live-action degments, and this particular Zelda set had just been a separate release for people who only want the Zelda series, and don't care about the live action stuff or the Mario cartoons. I would have liked to have all of the episodes in order, but could have dealt with separate releases if all the live action stuff had remained intact.

If you are someone who is only interested in the Zelda cartoon, and don't care about the rest, then this will be right up your alley.

If you are a completist like me, you will be at least somewhat disapointed.

However, even after taking acceptance of what content is included on this set, it still seems silly that the thing is 3 discs and costs as much as it does. During the Super Show episodes, the cartoon segements only accounted for about half of the running time, with the live action stuff being the other half. Since this only mostly includes the cartoons parts with only a few exceptions, there is no reason that this shouldn't be a 2-disc set and about 5 to 10 dollars cheaper.

It costs about the same as the SMBSS set, which is 24 complete episodes on 4 discs. This is only 13 (mostly) partial episodes when taking the live-action stuff into account. They seem to be trying to give it the appearance that you are getting more than you truely are. And it is extra disapointing since both releases are put out by the same distributor.

So, its up to each individual to decide if it is worth their money. I just wanted to put the info out there of what exactly is included in this set to not give anyone false hopes (particularly anyone who may have already bought the SMBSS set and not this one). It's certainly not a bad buy, and I do not regret buying it, but it won't fully satisfy the completists out there.

This is the DIC produced cartoon that ran in the 80's that was originaly part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! There were only 13 episodes of this cartoon which aired every Friday and the mario cartoon ran monday-thursday! All in all a very good cartoon and well animated! Look for extras on this set because two discs are all that needed for the episodes! Now here are the episodes included:

- The Ringer

- Cold Spells

- The White Knight

- Kiss'N Tell

- Sing for the Unicorn

- That Sinking Feeling

- Doppelganger

- Underworld Connectons

- Stinging a Stinger

- A Hitch In The Works

- Fairies In The Spring

- The Missing Link

- The Moblins are Revolting

The Legend of Zelda: Complete Animated Series sits high up on the forgotten mountain of what children's cartoon should be, right there with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Street Sharks," and "Recess." The Legend of Zelda was (and still is) such an exceptional video game series for all ages, and the TV show followed in its footsteps. It combined pleasantly cartoony action and adventure with cheesy one-liners, and some jokes that still today make me laugh. "Lookin' good, Princess! 'Specially from THIS angle!" As children we see Link yell that to Zelda on a balcony below him and brush it off as the banter in between those amazing battle sequences. But later, that comment makes us young adults convulse with glee, and wonder how we ever missed it before.

But the series is most enjoyable for those of us who faithfully stuck to the actual video game series. The implimentation of original 8-bit sound effects into the cartoon is an added bonus that draws us back for more. And waiting to see which classic Zelda enemy will cause Link and Zelda trouble next is just that much more fun (especially if you can name them).

But by far the most fun thing about this show is waiting and praying for the day when Link can coax a kiss out of the lovely Princess. And they've come so close it almost made me angry when they got interrupted. Link tries so hard, and makes such an idiot out of himself trying, that you'd think he deserves a little action once in a while. but every time, no matter how he tries, he either messes up or is interrupted by Ganon's non-stop attempts to steal the Triforce.

All in all, if you grew up with te Super Mario Super Show, and you're a Nintendo fan, you'll appreciate this show as much as you love to watch it.