I agree with you about playing games the way they were meant to be played. I am a purist in that way too. I extend this purism to films, hence my fondness for this site.

I remember waiting anxiously for A Link to the Past, and being disappointed when I couldn't go around Hyrule and see everything in its new fixed and normal state once I beat the game. When I first got sent into the Dark World and found out that the game was twice as big as I was expecting it to be and found myself to be a little pink bunny, I stood up then and there and declared it my favorite game of all time. It is a game that never disappoints (well, expect for the whole not being able to talk to people after you save them and there world for certain doom). The first Zelda game was my all time favorite for the NES. It is funny to think that I bought it at a used game store because of its shiny gold cartridge and the name "Zelda" sounded really cool. Oh, and it had a cool looking shield on the cover. I still love playing that game. That is why the less than perfect (but very close) port/remake for the PC (called "Zelda Classic" if you want it google it, it is easy to find and completely free) is always one of the very first programs to be installed every time I reformat or get a new PC. It even has an option to use the SNES style BS Zelda graphics (speaking of games not in their original form). One of the best parts is its level editor so you can design your own world and dungeons.