Often overlooked by many, The Legend of Zelda II – The Adventure of Link (hencefore “Zelda II”) is a fabulous game in it’s own right, and a worthy addition to the Zelda series, but why was it overlooked by many? More importantly – why should you play it?

Well first a bit about the game, Zelda has not been kidnapped this time, but instead has been put into an eternal sleep, and it’s upto you to awaken her before Ganon is himself awaken and takes over the world. Nasty eh? The game – rather than being an overworld, top down adventure, instead is a side scrolling game – not really a platformer, more of a scrolling fighter with RPG elements. It’s tricky to define, but it’s definitely a “Zelda game.

Unlike the first one, the game is more spell orientated, with less objects (including no bow and arrow nor boomerang, mainstays of the first game & most other Zelda games). Each castle hides an object, and each town there is a mystical man with a spell for you to learn, though finding either is half the battle. These spells & items are needed to complete the game, though some items you will use only once. Furthermore, you can also level up your skills by killing monsters, an idea not usually portrayed in Zelda games, more akin to the Final Fantasy series.

Anyway, the game itself does take a little bit of getting used to – the fact that your character’s sword and super sword (the beam weapon you get when you have full health) are both pretty pathetic (though you do have a up and a down thrust as well), and that monsters are a complete ballache to kill. Those who are familiar with the original Zelda game may not take to this game, but give it time, as there’s a fascinating game underneath the surface.

Yes, it’s as hard as hell, there’s a lot of times where you’ll tear your hair out, and you’ll hate swamps with a passion. However, there’s a huge amount of love for this game, and rightfully so. It’s remarkably addictive all things considered, and I’m not really sure why. It’s a fantastic side scrolling RPG, and has a lot of charm.

I will make a special point – the music in this game is classic Nintendo 8 bit ditties, that alas doesn’t get played as much as it should. The temple and town themes are great Zelda tunes, that alas do not get as much remixing nor playing as the other Nintendo gems. But try the Temple theme, classic Nintendo stuff!

Zelda II doesn't exactly go out of its way to explain itself from the outset. What's obvious is that you've once again donned the green garb of Link to save Princess Zelda (who is pulling a Sleeping Beauty inside a temple) and prevent the return of the vile Gannon.

Once you walk out of the temple that houses Zelda's sleeping self, you're presented with an overworld that Link can wander around. There are towns, caves, forests, deserts, and the like everywhere, but where you're supposed to go and what you're supposed to explore isn't explained at all within the game--not even by the various townspeople you meet. Of course, a few cursory Internet searches will get you all the details you need to proceed.

But if you don't happen to have a walkthrough or otherwise detailed instructions on where exactly you're supposed to go to make that happen, Zelda II might prove a confusing experience, especially the final area of the game--a ridiculously hard, monster-filled labyrinth in which getting lost is a little too easy. It's just interesting to note how such a completely opaque world design could fly back in the day.

Playing Zelda II is an interesting mix of platforming and combat. Caves and dungeons are littered with both perilous traps and angry enemies, often at the same time. Link's primary weapons are a rather piddly sword, a shield, and some magic abilities that upgrade over time.

Leveling up in the game can be kind of a strange process, but you do get plenty of health and magic bonuses, which you'll certainly need to survive. The game is fairly challenging, tossing a number of enemies at you in every situation, including some exceedingly tough bosses at the end of each of the game's palaces.

The game even dabbles in random encounters as you explore the overworld. Enemy icons will just pop up on the map, and if you happen to run into one of them, you're forced to either fight or hightail it out of the area. The whole random encounter thing was annoying, but if you stuck to the roads, you could mostly avoid them.

The emulation of Zelda II on the Virtual Console is spot-on. The graphics were impressive for their time on the NES, and they retain a reasonable amount of aesthetic value now. The game has some great music that maybe isn't quite as catchy as in other Zelda games, but it is pleasing enough.

The original save system also happens to be intact, however obnoxious it is to use. Essentially, you get three lives--and three lives only--in each game. When you die, you can save your progress, but you have to start from the beginning spot every single time. You'll still have your inventory, but you'll have to trek back to wherever you were when you started. It was annoying then and is even more so now.

It's entirely understandable why someone might not like Zelda II. It's such a wild departure from the original Zelda, and there are certainly some foibles and questionable design decisions floating around within the game. But with that said, Zelda II doesn't deserve nearly the level of derision it gets nowadays.

It's an interesting adventure that, in some respects, paved the way for concepts and mechanics found in the modern Zelda games. More than anything, Zelda II as a downloadable game serves as a way to educate fans who weren't old enough to play it back in the '80s. The game doesn't hold up especially well, but it's worth a look for those curious about the roots of the series--just be prepared to go FAQ hunting before embarking on this journey.

Link has had a lot of adventures over the years, though none have inspired such wildly varied reactions as Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The Nintendo Entertainment System sequel to the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II eschewed the top-down dungeon crawling nature of the first game and went sideways, essentially turning the game into an action role-playing game/platformer hybrid. Some people loved the new direction of the series, and some reviled it.

The truth was probably somewhere in the middle. Now the debate over Zelda II's place within the series can be fought all over again because the game has come to the Wii Virtual Console. Its unusual design and sometimes clunky mechanics don't hold up nearly as well as any of the other Zelda games re-released for the Virtual Console. But Zelda II still makes for an interesting history lesson, and the game itself is decent enough to make it worth its $5 price.

Very nice review. I personally liked the game myself. I only thing I didn't like was the difficulty. Perhaps if somebody had the time and smarts, they could create a homebrew of a more evenly-balanced game.

the_casualty : "Very nice review. I personally liked the game myself. I only thing I didn't like was the difficulty. Perhaps if somebody had the time and smarts, they could create a homebrew of a more evenly-balanced game."

Thank you for your feedback the game is difficult but once you play it once you know were to go and how to get to all the dungeons even find the secret places and there is alot in the game.

Yeah. I think that it had alot of content for the time it was released.

the_casualty : "Yeah. I think that it had alot of content for the time it was released."

True my own memories of Zelda II aren’t going to be erased anytime soon. I’ll never forget the fantastic, catchy music the game boasted—most of all, the amazing Parapa Palace theme, which remains one of my all-time favorite to this day. I’ll never forget the way I cursed Gannon as he laughed maniacally when I landed repeatedly on the Red Game Over Screen of Death. And who could ever mistake the unexplained “I AM ERROR” man? One day I will sit back down and finish what I started back in my childhood, and when I do, my evil shadow better watch out.

Maybe that was his name: error. Or maybe it was just an easter egg. The latter seems more likely.

True am sure that the one guys name in the village was Error played Adventures Of Link so much it makes me laugh every time the guy says my name is Error I mean wonder if the video game editor got lazy trying to make names but using Error it be better if they changed it to the name Eric.

Red game over screen of death with Ganon laughing was another thing that made me laugh he had that stupid deep laugh but after awhile when I died several times it did get annoying after awhile and I had to mute it I wish I had my zapper I like to shoot that ugly mug of Ganon's.

I hate that screen. It's so...unsettling.

the_casualty: "I hate that screen. It's so...unsettling."

I was like seriously Ganon shut your ugly face up am going to shoot you with my nes zapper he as worse as the Duck Hunt dog you wanted to shoot just as bad to taunt you if you miss any of the duck.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaHFOpN5ifE&feature=related

Thank you for rekindeling all those dreaded nightmares with that touching video.

the_casualty : Your very welcome though there were many games with annoying game over screen alot of the monsters from zelda I didn't like that would attack you in the dungeons that would drain your heath or magic so you could'nt use it.

Like Like - Like Likes range from being yellow to a pinkish color. Their bodies consist of circular, gelatinous layers. The most notable feature of these creatures is that they have a taste for Shields, a trait similar to that of the Pickit Plant. Unique to Ocarina of Time, Like Likes may also steal Goron and Zora Tunics if Link happens to be wearing whichever one when ingested.

The enemy in japanese versions are called Raiku Raiku but there annoying as heck I hope they get heartburn when they swallow me whole and eat my shield

Wallmasters -are monstrous hands that hang from the walls[1] and ceilings of dank areas and dungeons, attempting to grab Link. If they grab him, he is taken back to the beginning of the dungeon or the specific room making them one of the most infuriating, not to mention creepy, enemies in the series.

Remember in Ocarina of Time is the game in which Wallmasters meet their greatest acclaim - the growing shadow they create upon dropping, the rushing, eerie sound before the ambush, and their extended vitality makes this enemy one of the most fearsome in the series, after just one title. Navi even warns Link upon entering an area with Wallmasters, stating "watch for the shadows of monsters hanging from the ceiling".

I was wondering if i should get this and this makes me believe that i should get it.

billythekidmonster : "I was wondering if i should get this and this makes me believe that i should get it."

That's up to you cause you could play it on vizzed or go to another website I have alot of great websites you can play free retro games but anyways the difficulty is still there with this game but in my eyes it's a classic to others they though was the black sheep of the Zelda game series but to me I think different.

Another enemy is the Digdogger makes its first appearance in The Legend of Zelda. Digdogger is a large sea urchin that shrivels up after a sound attack.To defeat the creature, Link must play the recorder to shrink the creature into a much smaller version of itself. From there, Link can easily defeat Digdogger and reclaim the piece of the Triforce guarded in the Lizard Labyrinth. A larger version appears in the Demon Labyrinth as a mini-boss. In the Second Quest, it guards the Triforce fragment found in the Lizard Labyrinth.

I know but i like to play it on either the original or the nes. So i will porbably get it.

billythekidmonster : "I know but i like to play it on either the original or the nes. So i will probably get it."

Hey go for it all the power to you cause it's a great game it might take you awhile to get though and beat also be careful of the false floors there a real pain in the butt when you get to later palaces I actually went though one missed were I was suppose to land and right into the lava. *facepalms*

billythekidmonster : Good luck getting a legit copy of it. Extremely unpopular, it might be hard to find someone who still owns one.

LunaRoseAngel : I got past some of that stuff and it is not fun i hated it.

the_casualty : I got a legit copy really not hard to find now i have a legit copy of that and nintendo world championchips. I am the man.

billythekidmonster : How did you get ahold of a World Championships cartridge? Ebay?

the_casualty : MY brother got one for some place way back when they were going on and then he left it when he moved out.

billythekidmonster : Dude, you're freaking lucky. Okay, I better stop sandwiching otherwise I'll get in trouble. But good for you.