Zelda: Remastered (Mesen HD Pack)

[Aclectico]

**A new pack version (V 1.3) is available as of 12/31/2020**

A Mesen HD Pack is now available for the NES game, The Legend of Zelda. This pack replaces graphics, sound effects, and music. It is a hack that builds upon other prior hacks and it uses Zelda 1 Redux as a base (available at: https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=29403.0). Credit should go to the original gameplay improvement authors for work done on prior hacks. Also, credit should go to the various artists who created content that was crucial in completing the final pack (artistic and programming sources are detailed in the credits section of the README).

This was a group effort!! Also, make sure to support Nintendo by purchasing official Nintendo products.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhp0ySFnB5g
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSIHuZKFhQM&t=6s
How To Customize Sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-OVMl9IHfg&feature=youtu.be

-How to Create an HD Pack for Any Game Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwVH4y46Bbg
-How to Create an HD Pack for Any Game Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADJ_DnSSGv0
-How to Create an HD Pack for Any Game Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJKJuHHpqy8
-How to Create an HD Pack for Any Game Part 4: https://youtu.be/k4QqniKHzUg

Install Tutorial: https://youtu.be/x4_Z206pryw  (YouTube decided to age restrict this video for some reason)
Required Emulator: https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2/

The pack includes, but it not limited to, some of the features detailed below. Many of these features are carryover from prior hacks that have previously been developed for Zelda.  Items denoted with an asterisk are brand new features that have been created exclusively for the Mesen pack.

•   Increased resolution**
•   Increased frame count for running**
•   Updated sound effects and music**
•   New title and game select screen**
•   Animated environments**
•   Save manually with Up+A when in the items subscreen
•   Re-localization of the game script
•   Increased bomb max
•   Increased bomb upgrade amount
•   Faster text printing
•   Change the Red and Blue rings to Red and Blue tunics
•   Breakable tile hints
•   Press the "Select" button to toggle the item assigned to the "B" button
•   Faster health refills
•   Partial heart pieces in HUD

Please note, many sprites were referenced from other entries in the series (such as Cadence of Hyrule) and from other artists who are fans of the series. The README details the work performed by each person below that helped make Zelda: Remastered possible.
Aclectico, KYA, Sour, ShadowOne333, Snarfblam, Pepeztyle, MadBatter, Altar, ADilla, Farian, Arne, Fool, ChaosMiles07, and MattriOST.

Also, special thanks to Paul Veer for creating the awesome spritework found in Cadence of Hyrule that served as an artistic foundation for Zelda: Remastered.

-Version 1.3
   -Added 8-Bit Music in the Alternate Sound Folder.
   -Various Bug Fixes.

Google Drive Download Links:
***HD Full Pack Download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mYMLbmR4gLIS-IRXM7P1GaGQnmoF1rsa/view?usp=sharing
****HD Pack Download for low end CPUs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hM3EYvvBPMKY2uzev90_6eTK26fEAqqN/view?usp=sharing

Mega Download Links:
***HD Full Pack Download: https://mega.nz/file/B5JGVZ5L#L8yk95auXBQD6mSI_sXQ6omz65DAL7QEFDDegWqYl-Q
****HD Pack Download for low end CPUs: https://mega.nz/file/htRWnL4T#jZD95RMVVcW98tCZPgzsV9yCE-TSbEnHHXeqFoP9Pmc

-Note 1: Mesen is relatively CPU intensive and this pack is also quite demanding. If you are experiencing slowdowns with scratchy sound, it may be because your CPU isn't keeping up. Trying the "Low CPU" version may help with this. However, please be aware that this version is missing certain features like ocean waves and fog effects.

-Note 2: This pack requires the Mesen 2 NES emulator. It is available at: https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2/

-Note 3: This is merely a resource pack and the download will not work all by itself. The pack must be used with a USA Zelda ROM (PRG0) that has a SHA-1 checksum of DAB79C84934F9AA5DB4E7DAD390E5D0C12443FA2 or it will not operate correctly.

-Note 4: Keep in mind there is another version of Zelda for NES (PRG1) which is not compatible with this pack. The continue screen of PRG1 has the following warning at the continue screen. If your game has this warning at the continue screen, it is not the correct version: "CAUTION  TO AVOID DAMAGING GAME INFO SAVED, HOLD IN RESET BUTTON AS YOU TURN POWER OFF."

-Note 5: This is optional, but I recommend turning on integer scaling for the best look. In Mesen, navigate to "options," "general," then make sure there is a check mark next to "Use integer scale values when entering fullscreen mode."

[Supergamerguy]

Me: Good Lord! What is happening in there?
Aclectico: Possibly one of the best Zelda projects I have ever seen in my life.
Me: One of the best Zelda Projects? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within Mesen HD?
Aclectico: Yes.
Me: May I see it?
Aclectico: Yes!

[Aclectico]

Me: Good Lord! What is happening in there?
Aclectico: Possibly one of the best Zelda projects I have ever seen in my life.
Me: One of the best Zelda Projects? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within Mesen HD?
Aclectico: Yes.
Me: May I see it?
Aclectico: Yes!

Thanks - and the Simpsons reference is hilarious 

[ultimaweapon]

I must say that I am thoroughly impressed. This truly looks fantastic. I am extremely eager to check this out. Awesome work indeed Aclectico.

[lyonhrt]

Awesome stuff Aclectico, i can see a lot of polish and use of advanced features here. How long did it take?


I still have a unfinished toki on hdd 

[Aclectico]

Awesome stuff Aclectico, i can see a lot of polish and use of advanced features here. How long did it take?


I still have a unfinished toki on hdd 

Thanks! And, I sympathize - I have a couple of unfinished projects myself. It can be fairly overwhelming to complete an entire game. This one took about a year and a half (on and off).

[lyonhrt]

yeah, life gets in the way for me i never have time to finish stuff, all i have to my name is the original mario hdnes pack, this might give me the incentive to finish it (working out a decent method for parallax using the dev version, which i guess is the final version?!)
Great stuff as always, looking forward to your next pack!

[Shadic]

This is just unreal. Outstanding work!

[ShadowOne333]

Really glad to finally see the Mesen HD Pack resleased, Aclectico!
Looks and sounds absolutely fantastic! A true passion project and a must play for sure

BS Zelda feels envy now lol

[darthvaderx]

Excellent work, it was great, but could it also incorporate the automap plus hack?

http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/796/

[Aclectico]

Really glad to finally see the Mesen HD Pack resleased, Aclectico!
Looks and sounds absolutely fantastic! A true passion project and a must play for sure

BS Zelda feels envy now lol

Thanks ShadowOne! And thanks again for your assistance in incorporating some aspects of Zelda 1 Redux!

Excellent work, it was great, but could it also incorporate the automap plus hack?

http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/796/

That was actually the original intent. However, plans to incorporate this were scrapped when trying to enhance the resolution of the map. Instead of using 8x8 tiles, the automap plus hack somehow uses tiles that are 4x4 and they change on the fly as the map is generated. Since Mesen graphic replacement relies on 8x8 tile replacement, I would need to predict every possible combination. It didn't seem feasible, so the idea was scrapped. I suppose you could try to enable Mesen to show original tiles in addition to the replaced tiles, and leave the map unchanged. However, the aesthetic may not really work.

In any case, since the map is now much less repetitive than the original map, I'm hoping it won't be quite as easy to get lost. As a result, the automap would probably help, but it may not be as critical as it is without a remastered Overworld.

[lexluthermiester]

It seems like those download links are not working.

[Aclectico]

It seems like those download links are not working.

Weird - is anyone else having trouble with the links? I've noticed on my end, Google Chrome is doing something funny when I try to download the files, but Internet Explorer works fine. I'm not really sure the cause.

[lexluthermiester]

Weird - is anyone else having trouble with the links? I've noticed on my end, Google Chrome is doing something funny when I try to download the files, but Internet Explorer works fine. I'm not really sure the cause.

I'm on Firefox. I click through everything and click the final download and it does nothing.

[CoolCatBomberMan]

Ooh! Pretty! But.....why is the Master Sword on the title screen? It doesn't appear in-game at all. And the Magical Sword in the game, according to Hyrule Warriors, is a different sword entirely from the Master Sword.

[Aclectico]

Ooh! Pretty! But.....why is the Master Sword on the title screen? It doesn't appear in-game at all. And the Magical Sword in the game, according to Hyrule Warriors, is a different sword entirely from the Master Sword.

It's the White Sword and it just looks like the Master Sword

But seriously, I suppose it's up for debate. BS The Legend of Zelda has the Master Sword, but I'm sure many would say that's not "Cannon" anyway (Zelda Wiki has it classified as "Ambiguously Canon"). Also, the original game doesn't seem to be consistent anyway as the title screen has a sword that looks almost like a fencing sword (not really at all like the swords seen during gameplay). To be honest, it was more of an aesthetic choice than anything.
October 10, 2020, 07:56:49 PM - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)

I'm on Firefox. I click through everything and click the final download and it does nothing.

That's what Chrome is doing for me and I'm not sure why. Have you tried Internet Explorer? It may be a Google Drive issue.

[Special]

Those screens are blowing my mind! How on earth can something like this look that good?

Seriously, great job!

[lexluthermiester]

That's what Chrome is doing for me and I'm not sure why. Have you tried Internet Explorer? It may be a Google Drive issue.

For security reasons I do not use IE/Edge, nor allow them to be present on my PCs. Google drive does seem to have an issue.

[Ray572]

Awesome. I'm already testing it and for the moment it works perfect. Remastering Hit of the Year
Thank you

[pocket]

Good lord almighty this is amazing.
I don't really mess around with MESEN but Zelda 1 is so dear to me and this is so polished that I might have to finally make an exception.