BS Legend Of Zelda: The Third and Fourth Quest

I’ve been messing around with older Legend of Zelda games and was delighted to discover BS The Legend of Zelda for Super Famicom, which was originally available via Stellaview. At first I thought this was a remake of LOZ with LTTP graphics, which was something I didn’t realize I wanted until I thought I had it, but BS Zelda is actually more than that.

First I should explain the Stellaview because I’d never even heard of this thing before. The Stellaview was a satellite uplink unit that attached to the base of the SFC. The service broadcast three hours in the evenings. This chonky boi allowed users to download games, demos, cheats, etc. to a BS-X cassette (think Super Gameboy) that could also hold a memory cart. Some games couldn’t be played outside broadcast time.

BS The Legend of Zelda was such a game. It was an expanded remake of the original with a time system that allowed different events to happen. Each map was only available to play for one hour once a week, so it had to be completed in one sitting. Map 1 included the first 3 dungons, and Map 2 contained the next 3, and these were broadcast at regular weekly intervals. There was also a Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past remix called The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets.

These BS games were never released as cartridges, so fans and hackers have worked to collect game data from memory carts and piece it together. The result is a full game called BS The Legend of Zelda - The Third Quest and BS The Legend of Zelda - The Fourth Quest, based on Map 1 and Map 2 respectively. In this version of the game the timer is disabled and you can play as either Zelda or Link.

I’m still digging into this stuff but IDK I just think it’s neat.🥔