NES Game Reviews #18 – Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
Super Mario Bros 2 (western edition) and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was my favourite NES games as a kid. They also both happen to be considered the black sheep of their respective series, sighted by many as being either a step too far left-field or simply too hard. In the case of Zelda 2, many fans thought both these things, but it is a real shame to not give this game the time it deserves, as like it or not, there’s no denying this set a benchmark for some of the highest standards on the NES.
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As a kid the open world exploration was magic to me, back then i’d never played anything like it, bar the first Zelda (which i’m also a huge fan of) while it does differ from the original with no overworld combat, just random encounters (which you can at least see, unlike the FF series), the action stages, which switch perspective to side scrolling, are engaging, challenging, rich in design and bring a new dimension to Hyrule that wasn’t seen in the first game.
Perhaps the biggest change to Zelda 2 was the inclusion of an EXP system, similar to other Japanese RPG’s of the time. I think any kind of stats appearing in a Zelda game immediately got lot of fans backs up, though its hardly the most tactical system ever used, simply Life, Magic and Sword. The key to the game is the SKIP function, allowing to skip an upgrade in favour of storing the EXP for more expensive upgrades. This allows you to upgrade the sword earlier which is essential. As a kid I literally had no idea what these stats meant. No wonder I never managed to complete this!
This is a long game, while some townsfolk can be helpful with their cryptic text bubbles (why always with the riddles? what arseholes!) inevitably there’s going to be a lot of trial and error to find all the secrets the game has hidden. Still it’s Zelda so what do you expect?
For me, this game is NES at it’s best. Yes it is hard, but its the good kind of hard. The kind that makes you hold you breath in tough parts, and feel distraught when you die. But you never feel cheated, and that’s what makes the difference. Great game, will always be very special to me. And no I didn’t beat Shadow Link fairly
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