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Content review for this game:
Pertaining to the ESRB rating and My age rating.
Mild animated violence: Like most Zelda games, the story follows the main character, Link, as he tries to save the princess Zelda from the Evil Ganondorf. The overall violence consists of combat, and results in very cartoony animations and reactions when you or enemies are hit. Link has access to many devices throughout the game that function as partial weapons, but his main weapon of choice is his sword, with a shield to protect him from incoming blows. You use the B button to swipe, and continue to do so, which results in simple combos until you defeat the enemy. The downed enemies then fall to the ground and disappear. The only visible damage is when you or an enemy are hit, which results in you or the enemy's body flashing bright red for a split second each time. However, This game is very outdated graphics-wise, and looks more like a kids internet flash game, so the violence isn't really offensive in any way.
Content-wise: As I said, it looks like a colorful flash game, so the visual style is appealing to younger kids. Although it's perfectly suitable content-wise, there is no way it's going to keep their attention in gameplay. They could maybe run in circles in the very few areas that enemies aren't present, but other than that this game is for an older more patient audience.
Difficulty-wise: This game is very deep, with a large overworld, non-linear gameplay, hard bosses, and complex dungeons. The main pattern of the game is set somewhat like an RPG, and early on has your character gain his equipment, and then set out for the main quest. You then traverse the overworld, locate each dungeon and make your way to its core, while fighting enemies and solving puzzles. When you come to the end you fight the boss and receive your reward. That's pretty much the core structure of every Zelda game. Many of these dungeons and bosses are quite hard, and even the game mechanics are pretty complex, an example being, the button interface is completely customizable, which means you have to go into a menu and assign the wanted item to a button every time. All these issues can and will frustrate and stump a younger audience.
Fun for: This game is really best suited to adults, is extremely time consuming, and very, very difficult. They truly don't make them like they used to (in difficulty). I could see some very advanced 10 year-olds completing early parts of it. But, even adults could get stuck on some bosses or need to use a guide for some of the later dungeons. So, though some kids could have fun with this game, it's mostly aimed at adults.
Closing comment: This is a true classic, and surprisingly plays just like the new ones. It has some great, deep gameplay, and takes a while to complete. Content-wise, it has virtually no objectional content, and is visually kid-friendly. Kids 7+ can watch it, but will get frustrated and/or bored with it quick if they try to play. Considering that many kids 10+ may not even be able to complete half of it, I recommend this game for ages 10+.
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