I actually pictured the old lady as fixing him a meal, and the young one providing some green herbs. I should mention that I didn't get a chance to play this game until after Resident Evil.
The downward thrust was the salvation of this game. It single-handedly lowered the difficulty to the standard "NES hard". Zelda 2 without the downthrust would have been in that hard-core difficulty level, sitting next to Ninja Gaiden and Battletoads. And to think, most people think of it as a pretty decent move from Smash Bros.
@@AndSaveAsManyAsYouCan nah, Battletoads is not that hard, Zelda 2 is fairly easy. On the other hand, I agree with Ninja Gaiden; 1 and 3 at least but none of them compares to Ghosts and Goblins, NOW that's difficult.
If Ganon's minions want Link's blood, what happens if he dies in lava? Can they get his blood out of lava? Would they just dump the lava on Ganon's ashes? Is this a classic video game where a certain level of suspension of disbelief is necessary? I HAVE TO KNOW!
The enemies in the overworld are minions of Ganon, while the enemies in palaces are guardians created by the king as a test for the hero. However, there are a few overworld enemies that make their way into the palaces, in particular the slimes (bots and myus) and the zombie cheep cheeps. If Link dies in a palace, my headcanon tells me these are the enemies that retrieve his blood, being small and slimy or undead enough to infiltrate the palaces. I think it must be the zombie cheep cheeps. Being undead, they can survive in the lava themselves. They must also have some ability to filter out the blood from the lava.
whatever your imagination can conjure, just believe that. Some things especially in films and games cannot be explained, even we don't know the answers so you'll have to make some random shit up lol.
One small correction if it hasn't been pointed out to you yet: you can actually do the second palace _before_ Death Mountain. You don't need the hammer to gain access to it, but getting the downward thrust as early as possible is definitely a good reason to slog through Death Mountain right after the first palace. Aside from that, wonderful review. Of all the Zelda games out there when I first encountered the series, this one was the one that piqued my interest the most, and the first one I ever played, so it'll always hold a special place in my heart, and I'm thankful for voices like yours that give it the justice it deserves.
Loved this game as a kid, and I still hold it in high regard. The only thing I would change is to restart at the beginning of a palace when getting a game over, same as they did for the Great Palace. Even the trek through Death Mountain seemed like a trial rather than an inconvenience. On a fun side note, the Spell spell can also be used on most minor enemies and it turns them into slimes.
Zelda 2 was the first one I played, and I was always really confused by people who said the first one was better. The first one felt slow and awkward to me. The controls are so fast and tight in the sequel. I never beat either as a kid, but with the first one, I got bored and couldn't figure out where to go. With the sequel, I got frustrated and gave up due to difficulty several times, but I always kept coming back to it and finally beat it when I was in my early 20s. Plus, it has the best music of any Zelda game. Fight me on that.
I love this game. In my opinion its a way better game than the original zelda. The first zelda game world felt empty and lifeless. Zelda 2's world feels much more alive and real with towns to visit and people to talk to. Ive always thought this was a good game since playing it as a young kid. I was unaware till i got older that so many people thought it was a bad game or the worst one in the zelda series. When i found out how many people didnt like it i was kind of shocked. I was like what the hell are they talking about its a great game. Nowadays i think many people automaticly label it as a bad game because of the negative stigma it has gained over the years. I think if many people would set aside the bad game badge it somehow got stuck with and just play the game they may realize they have been missing out on an all time classic simply from unwarented negative bias from many in the video game community.
For real about the "bad game badge". So many games I thought stood out as enjoyable and memorable only to later find out the community has collectively decided to hate them. Likewise a bunch of games are "the best one" because that's just what was sorta decided by the hive mind. So everyone hates FF2 and FF8 and they love FF6 and FF10. Everyone hates DQ2 and DQ6 and they love DQ5 and DQ11. Everyone hates Zelda 2 and they love OOT and LTTP. These are the consensus because we pick up the opinions we're told to have to be part of the group. 🤷
At 10:30 it takes 128 hits to kill a bubble with a level 1 sword while at 10:50 it takes 32 hits because you have a sword level of 5. At sword level 8 it takes less than 10 hits. The up and down thrusts don't do any extra damage, they just give you more options to attack. Did i miss you explaining how the levels work? Also, if you cast REFLECT tour shield can block more powerful attacks.
A Link to the Past makes Zelda 2 look bad, which isn't really fair to Zelda 2. Link to the Past set up a lot of the ground rules for the franchise going forward, and in doing so it washes over most of what Zelda 2 did. The only major aspect it kept was magic, and it made that mechanic better. To be fair, Link to the Past made plenty of games look bad. More on that next time.
If you played this as a kid when it came out, like I did, you probably still have fond memories and like it. Yeah, it’s very hard, but games then needed to be to extend the play time and be worth spending $50. And all Zelda games have flaws. That’s why every Zelda remake/remaster includes quality of life improvements.
Omg the palace music in this video is amazing. I remember hearing the palace music on our 14 speaker system (there were 14 speakers built into the walls and ceiling of our house) and the atmosphere was just down right creepy. The music really added atmosphere to the already moody game.
Suris made a short about your video. While I don't enjoy zelda 2 and am vocal about it, I do come from a place of having played it as a child and again just a few years back on stream by request. I'm not a fan of people who crap on a game without actually playing it to see if they like it just because that's what everyone else says. (See: Dark souls 2.) I'm glad you enjoyed this game though! I hope it continues to provide many more hours of entertainment for you.
Thanks! I really enjoyed getting to share my thoughts on this one, finally playing through the whole game for the first time was a really neat experience!
11:10 7/10. Too much Zelda. Unless you're good enough to avoid that screen. Chances are, you're going to be visiting quite a bit. 20 times isn't too bad.
I grew up playing this game, it was gifted to me on my 5th birthday. I still have my original copy. It used to be my favorite Zelda game until I played and beat Link's Awakening in 2019.
My problem with this game was its lack of communication. This was the only Zelda game I had, so I didn't have any understanding of what was happening or what I was supposed to do. And theres so many obscure hints that I never understood, or figured out by chance. It was really frustrating when I wasnt getting any feedback about what I was doing, I barely got past Death Mountain before quitting on each attempt
It's definitely got its fair doses of that classic NES jank. Personally I'd love to see a form of small scale remake of this game that at least streamlines the progression a bit and yeah, that Death Mountain section really might be the biggest problem with the title
It gets better. In the next town after Death Mountain you get the Downward Thrust, which makes combat much easier since you can pogo stick enemies to death, or just bounce over and run away. Temples 3-6 were a breeze for me. Incidentally, in Cadence of Hyrule you are required to get the Downward Thrust to complete Death Mountain. I just thought that was an amusing anecdote.
@@mistersp3753 my problems were never the combat. It was the point and click type problem solving, where I'd never know what to do or where to look for solutions without trying everything everywhere
@@grobanlover292 Yes, that is still a problem. I needed a guide to find out you need to use the Spell spell at a dead end in some town to progress further. Still, it becomes much less tedious to get around later in the game. I would recommend at least getting to the third dungeon before you decide to call it quits, but that's up to you.
"So why does everyone hate this game? Well, you've heard about how outrageously difficult it is, but allow me to give a ten hour dissertation which I spent the last six months writing where I break down each of the game's fifteen fundamental structural..." *Dude. Stop. You nailed it. Right there.* THE. GAME. IS. TOO. FREAKING. HARD. *That is it. That is all there is to it.* If you want specifics: Way too easy to get killed, way too easy to get _instantly_ killed, enemies way too hard to kill, some enemies way too hard or even possible to hit at all, power ups barely have any effect, magic way too weak, palaces confusing and super-easy to get lost in, and entire stretches which serve no purpose other than to wear down and/or kill you. Too brutal, too merciless, too grueling, too frustrating, too cheap, _too hard._ It's not rocket science.
I can’t relate to that. I found it way easier to die in Zelda 1, and harder to make progress. Even as a child, I found Zelda 2 easier. Not easy by any means, but easier than 1. And yet, I never hear people complain about that in Zelda 1.
People call this the worst mainstream Zelda game, but I disagree. At least for three more days. We'll see if Skyward Sword HD does enough to change my mind on Friday.
Wow I remember when I used to play this. Still have the game(gold) but I remember being a twelve-year-old kid playing it every morning before I went to school. Took months for me to beat.(no internet back then) the first one took me a year. Quest 1 and 2.
When asked, most people will often say their favorite Link is someone like BOTW Link, Ocarina Of Time Link, or Windwaker Link. But I've always loved the NES Link the most. He was a just wandering kid, but he managed to recover the Triforce of Wisdom, win the Triforce of Power, and earn the Triforce of Courage. I've been hoping for Nintendo to remake the classic games for years so that the original Link's journey can be brought to it's full potential and fit with the modern Zelda universe. It's the reason I've been messing around with animating the NES Zelda games to make them more like the stories in the manuals.
A good strategy for fighting your shadow if you don’t want to cheese it is jumping slashes to the throat/heart. It has a small hit box so you have get closer than you’d think.
You mention how Zelda II was released in Japan before we got Zelda 1. My NES, that I got for Christmas '87, came with a poster that had a screen shot from various games. One game was simply called "The Adventure of Link." It was a screen shot of Link fighting a Moblin in a forest scene. At the time I thought absolutely nothing of it.
I never thought that Zelda II was a bad game. I just always felt that it was missing a lot of what excited me about the original. Namely, finding secrets. This is why, as sequels go, I totally loved A Link to the Past, because it took everything that the first Zelda was and added a whole bunch more to it. Imagine what Zelda II would have been like where every tile on that overworld map was a Zelda I style screen. Where trees, boulders, etc. were randomly placed based on a seed (the name the player enters when creating a file, coupled with the X/Y coordinates, and the number of times the game was beaten could be the seed), the precise layout of the entirety of the overworld would would differ from person to person and playthrough to playthrough. Now in terms of the palaces, towns and such, those would all be predesigned maps, as would be the screens where secrets could be found. But if all those tiles on the overworld were potentially screens, each populated by mobs, and where the layout could not be predicted from game to game, then the world exploration aspect would have been insanely huge, especially for back then. All a seed is is a string of numbers and letters that can be short, meaning maybe no more than 4 to 8 characters, and could have been stored in the game's save file. The seed would just be the key telling the game how to plug in the data from the appropriate categories. And honestly, there are techniques whereby the same technique can be used to randomize the location of (or at least the layout of) the palaces. Look at all the things that randomizers are doing to games like this now. Anyway, my whole point is that Zelda II is less than it could have been. But for everything that it WAS, it was decent.
Definitely gained some newfound appreciation for the title on this last goaround. I especially think that once you get past Death Mountain everything just clicks, you have a great understand of the mechanics of the game and how it wants you to proceed
@@Wayneisboss About Death Mountain... You can actually take on the 2nd palace BEFORE Death Mountain. There are absolutely no obstacles barring your path to the 2nd palace. Next time you play this game, once you get the Jump spell, try going to the 2nd palace right away before Death Mountain.
Got this as a gift when I was a kid and it was my favorite entry for many years. It’s very underrated with a lot of revisionist history much like majoras mask
If you like Z2, I'd highly recommend the Z2 randomizer. It manages to randomize the overworld and dungeon paths, making every playthrough a brand new adventure of exploration!
I know that it became a trend for a while to say this about tough video games, but. Legend of Zelda, the adventure of Link kind of makes me think of a NES dark souls. It’s balls to the walls hard, You will die a lot. Despite the simple controls, the sword combat is surprisingly good. If you weren’t careful, the enemies will kick your ass. The Lore is there to read in the book, but it’s not spelled out to you in the game and is it really necessary. Bottomless pits are your worst enemy. And the feeling of losing all of your points when you get a game over is soul crushing. I’ve actually played through the game a couple of times. And I’ve always remembered how many levels up until you reach maximum. Then I basically just grind on the anti-ferries in the first temple and level up just enough. That I reach max by the time I reached the last temple. Because with each time link puts the crystal in the pedestal and each temple link instantly gets a level up. And it also helps mitigate death mountain just a tiny bit. You’re a bit stronger.
Super interesting your opinion here, especially after watching you video on the first game. Love seeing people enjoy this game, I think I like it better than the first too!
I've been playing this game on the Switch's Nintendo online and I love it. I am using a copout though with the rewind function. That is whenever I'm hit I just rewind and try again. Even then it is taken me a while to beat the game (technically I'm still working my way through the final temple). My switch says I've played around 20 hours but it feels like way more. I do plan on replaying the game without doing any rewinding and I already know it's going to be brutal. I can't wait though, now that I have a general idea of the game, it's going to be so fun and personally rewarding.
Thank you for making this video! Zelda is my favorite games franchise, and I've been playing it since there was only one game to play. A very young me, back in the 80s, played this a lot...and died a lot, but I actually really liked it, and still do. I get that it rates low among fans; it could then, it does now, and I can even agree with several of those complaints, but the nostalgic me still really likes this game, and enjoys when folks discuss it!
I liked Zelda II: The Adventure of LInk. After completing Breath of the Wild for the first time I went back and played through the original Legend of Zelda (2nd Quest, continuing from a save that I had started years earlier). After that I went to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and I had an even easier time with it than I had many years ago when I first played it on a console. Which is not to say that it was not a challenge; I just felt less of a need to grind for extra lives.
I have zero Zelda experience and am trying this game out. So far, I really enjoy it despite being different what other games do. The most annoying thing is how fast the enemies move when you're walking around the map
I think one of the reasons it isn't as well-regarded is how the only real offensive item is the sword. It's kinda sad to see enemies have things like boomerangs and spears and realize you used to have a diverse set of weapons, and would again in later games.
I see where you're coming from, but to an extent I feel that the repertoire of spells you gain throughout the course of the game adds back a lot of the variation that is lost when you take away OG Link's arsenal. Aside from the Magical Rod and Book of Magic, OG Link wasn't much of a mage at all.
This tracks is called Marble Mountain from something called Bean Dreams! I actually still need to check out Bean Dreams for myself but I found this track a while back and I love it so much lol If it helps, I'm gonna be switching things up in the future so that the tracks I use during videos will have their title briefly appear on screen so these things are easier to find and share!
I had no idea that the game over just sent you back to the castle. I thought it restarted the game from scratch lol. I ended up save stating like crazy at the beginning because of it.
I HATED the Dungeon mechanic, in the previous NES Zelda dying sends you back to the start of the Dungeon, Zelda 2 sends you back at the VERY START OF THE GAME! God I hated the gameplay of this game. But I liked the story of this game however, it was executed very poorly.
You should have more views, I've sat through way worse zelda 2 videos with 10x the views. I'm still waiting for people to realize that the lives, exp system and combat make this one of the first, if not the actual first Souls Like game
Excellent review, I couldn't have said it better myself! I also didn't grow up with this game (first time I played it was on GBA as a teenager) so nostalgia isn't influencing my opinion of this game. I consider it to be the 5th best Zelda game in the franchise.
Zelda 2 was better than I thought it would be. It isn't great, like the majority of the franchise, but it's still legitimately good. It has glaring issues, particularly the high difficulty early on in the game, but it rewards you for persistence. The middle portion of this game is much more enjoyable. That final section is absolutely brutal, but at that point the game has earned its difficulty. It's definitely the hardest game in the franchise, but it is also very rewarding. 7/10. An above average game that suffers from unfair expectations.
Time for me to revisit these games thirty-plus years later. Some games I have never beaten games like Metroid, Ninja Gaiden 3. Gamers know NES games are the hardest there is.
I can see why people felt this game was too hard, but damn was it fun! At the time this game came out my bestie and I were way into D&D and this game scratched a very bad itch. Yes, it was brutal and unforgiving, but it was so in ways that could be overcome by becoming more skilled at the game. Practice paid off and when you finally beat a boss it felt like you were on top of the world! It also rewarded gaming the system, such as going back and placing the gems in the statues after completing the rest of the game but before entering the final palace as a way to more easily max out all your levels with less slog. Beating this game was so damn satisfying and the replay quality was pretty good too. Hmmm... kinda' want to dig this bad boy out again!
I started gaming in 1986 with the Nes and Master System. I remember well when how incredibly hard it was to get SMB2 or Zelda 2 when they were released. I myself asked for both games and wound up getting SMB2 (and the original Zelda) that Christmas of 1988. At that point, I hadn't played the first Zelda yet and merely asked for the second because surely newer=better. I'm very happy things worked out the way they did. I didn't know many people who were seeking Zelda 2 after the "1988 Chip Shortage" fiasco. While I know there was a real chip shortage... however, I still think Nintendo held back stock to create the mighty frenzy they did. Addendum - Zelda 2 was not a game many liked. I actually question how successful the second Zelda game really was? I know it was considered a success by Nintendo, but was that because of the shortage, or did people really enjoy it?
Love this game. Hard as hell - but so fun. Never understood why it feels "hated" by the Zelda community. I've always said if it was re-skinned with different sprites and not part of the Zelda franchise, like a space adventure or something, it would be praised as a classic.
The combat in Zelda 2 is brutal but so rewarding when you are able to figure it out. It’s very Dark Souls in it’s combat and how it punishes/rewards players
We didn’t know better. That’s what we had at the time. So you played it and enjoyed it. All the clues were in the game if you talked to the right people. We made our own maps.
I spent an entire summer playing this game when I was 10 years old. Got to the Thunderbird once, got killed, paused the game, and then came back to it the next day to realize that my mother had hit the power button while cleaning, turning OFF the Nintendo and resetting my entire game!!!!! If that weren’t enough, our dog peed on my Nintendo Power (or whatever) magazine with the dungeon maps, and my mother threw it away (!!!!!!!!) Back then we couldn’t just order stuff online, so I never got another dungeon map. And I never made it back to that point again. To this day, like 30 years later, I am angry about this. 😂
I feel that Zelda II might have been the inspiration for the structure of the "modern" Castlevania game. I think this game could have a fun remake if it was made more Metroidvania.
I love Zelda 2. I played it as a kid but could never beat it until my 30's. I think it's better than the first Zelda, it's more fun to play despite its difficulty. The only thing that disappoints me still when I play it is that some of the items you find in the palaces like the raft and flute don't have any function except getting you to the next part of the game. I wish you could use them to find upgrades and points. Minor complaint overall.
I would love to see this gameplay refined. Work out the ruff spots correct its mistakes and there is a fantastic formula here. I have always felt this way about it.
I had this originally on cartridge but was a little too young to understand how to level up and play properly. I beat it on GameCube with the Zelda collection and swore I would never play it again. Now with Tears of the Kingdom on the horizon, I'm suddenly getting the urge to play them all again... in order. Here goes nothing. Again
My two deal breakers are the combat and having to find all the upgrades to progress. The game is neat but it could use a facelift. Like, Mercury Steam could do some of their magic with this...
I loved Zelda II It certainly wasn't a failure even if Miyamoto himself said it Like LoZ it was one of the most atmospheric games on the console and like the former that had a grand and mystical atmosphere AoL had a dark and dangerous atmosphere. It was great in 88'
I used to give this game so much crap as a kid. It made me mad I kept coming back to it. I haven’t played it since 1989 and started playing again. I actually appreciate the difference after finishing most of the top down ones and breath of the wild.
Look, The old lady just wants to give you cookies.
Cookies specifically of the magic variety
So white chip macadamia.
Who provides the glaze?
@@theokrisna ayo no
I actually pictured the old lady as fixing him a meal, and the young one providing some green herbs.
I should mention that I didn't get a chance to play this game until after Resident Evil.
I did it all for the cookie!
The downward thrust was the salvation of this game. It single-handedly lowered the difficulty to the standard "NES hard". Zelda 2 without the downthrust would have been in that hard-core difficulty level, sitting next to Ninja Gaiden and Battletoads.
And to think, most people think of it as a pretty decent move from Smash Bros.
Up thrust too. Good for many of those flying enemies, and an absolute must in The Great Palace vs the Chickens Knights that jump around.
Absolutely. It was used again in Four Swords Adventures and Minish Cap. People tend to take for granted how influential this title was to Zelda.
Battle Toads was STOOOPUD hard. Zelda 2 & all 3 Ninja Giadens are GET GOOD and STOP CRYING hard.
@@AndSaveAsManyAsYouCan nah, Battletoads is not that hard, Zelda 2 is fairly easy.
On the other hand, I agree with Ninja Gaiden; 1 and 3 at least but none of them compares to Ghosts and Goblins, NOW that's difficult.
The old lady obviously gives him coffee. That's how I restore my MP.
If Ganon's minions want Link's blood, what happens if he dies in lava? Can they get his blood out of lava? Would they just dump the lava on Ganon's ashes? Is this a classic video game where a certain level of suspension of disbelief is necessary? I HAVE TO KNOW!
You know, I though of that while playing. Ganon's minions probably didnt consider that lol
The enemies in the overworld are minions of Ganon, while the enemies in palaces are guardians created by the king as a test for the hero. However, there are a few overworld enemies that make their way into the palaces, in particular the slimes (bots and myus) and the zombie cheep cheeps.
If Link dies in a palace, my headcanon tells me these are the enemies that retrieve his blood, being small and slimy or undead enough to infiltrate the palaces. I think it must be the zombie cheep cheeps. Being undead, they can survive in the lava themselves. They must also have some ability to filter out the blood from the lava.
@@Wayneisboss they perhaps don’t protect against just one intruder
whatever your imagination can conjure, just believe that. Some things especially in films and games cannot be explained, even we don't know the answers so you'll have to make some random shit up lol.
Actually, if you fall into real lava you won't sink as it's pretty dense, so you just float around on top while burning, pretty much.
One small correction if it hasn't been pointed out to you yet: you can actually do the second palace _before_ Death Mountain. You don't need the hammer to gain access to it, but getting the downward thrust as early as possible is definitely a good reason to slog through Death Mountain right after the first palace.
Aside from that, wonderful review. Of all the Zelda games out there when I first encountered the series, this one was the one that piqued my interest the most, and the first one I ever played, so it'll always hold a special place in my heart, and I'm thankful for voices like yours that give it the justice it deserves.
Yeah, I beat Midoro palace before Death Mountain.
Same here. And after the XP lewel-up you gain in the second castle, Death mountain is way easier.
Came over from Suris channel. I love everything Legend of Zelda.
Loved this game as a kid, and I still hold it in high regard. The only thing I would change is to restart at the beginning of a palace when getting a game over, same as they did for the Great Palace. Even the trek through Death Mountain seemed like a trial rather than an inconvenience.
On a fun side note, the Spell spell can also be used on most minor enemies and it turns them into slimes.
Zelda 2 was the first one I played, and I was always really confused by people who said the first one was better. The first one felt slow and awkward to me. The controls are so fast and tight in the sequel. I never beat either as a kid, but with the first one, I got bored and couldn't figure out where to go. With the sequel, I got frustrated and gave up due to difficulty several times, but I always kept coming back to it and finally beat it when I was in my early 20s. Plus, it has the best music of any Zelda game. Fight me on that.
Since palace 2 is beatable without downthrust, you can do it before you do death mountain if you want some more levelups.
The middle portion of Zelda 2 is my favorite part.
Just like an Oreo. I like the white stuff.
I love this game. In my opinion its a way better game than the original zelda. The first zelda game world felt empty and lifeless. Zelda 2's world feels much more alive and real with towns to visit and people to talk to. Ive always thought this was a good game since playing it as a young kid. I was unaware till i got older that so many people thought it was a bad game or the worst one in the zelda series. When i found out how many people didnt like it i was kind of shocked. I was like what the hell are they talking about its a great game. Nowadays i think many people automaticly label it as a bad game because of the negative stigma it has gained over the years. I think if many people would set aside the bad game badge it somehow got stuck with and just play the game they may realize they have been missing out on an all time classic simply from unwarented negative bias from many in the video game community.
For real about the "bad game badge". So many games I thought stood out as enjoyable and memorable only to later find out the community has collectively decided to hate them.
Likewise a bunch of games are "the best one" because that's just what was sorta decided by the hive mind.
So everyone hates FF2 and FF8 and they love FF6 and FF10. Everyone hates DQ2 and DQ6 and they love DQ5 and DQ11. Everyone hates Zelda 2 and they love OOT and LTTP. These are the consensus because we pick up the opinions we're told to have to be part of the group. 🤷
At 10:30 it takes 128 hits to kill a bubble with a level 1 sword while at 10:50 it takes 32 hits because you have a sword level of 5. At sword level 8 it takes less than 10 hits.
The up and down thrusts don't do any extra damage, they just give you more options to attack.
Did i miss you explaining how the levels work?
Also, if you cast REFLECT tour shield can block more powerful attacks.
Nice rhyme in the thumbnail hehe
Unintentional, but still groovy
A Link to the Past makes Zelda 2 look bad, which isn't really fair to Zelda 2. Link to the Past set up a lot of the ground rules for the franchise going forward, and in doing so it washes over most of what Zelda 2 did. The only major aspect it kept was magic, and it made that mechanic better.
To be fair, Link to the Past made plenty of games look bad. More on that next time.
The editing and production on this really shows your skill and passion, keep at it 👌
Thank you! I always pour a lot of work into the production of these videos, I'm glad that it shows!
If you played this as a kid when it came out, like I did, you probably still have fond memories and like it. Yeah, it’s very hard, but games then needed to be to extend the play time and be worth spending $50.
And all Zelda games have flaws. That’s why every Zelda remake/remaster includes quality of life improvements.
I always thought that sorcerer that cast the spell on Zelda; was the "Thunderbird" you fight before your shadow. Would have made more sense.
Awesome review, of an awesome game. I'm glad I listened to Suris.
God damn, you actually made me wanna give this game another shot. Thanks for the push, Wayne! (Also, where's Another Zelda 2 Remake?)
Wait, AZ2R is actually a thing. It's incomplete, but it exists. Welp.
That's a real thing?! Man, I'm gonna have to check that out
Check out Hoverbat’s Zelda 2 enhanced pc port!
Omg the palace music in this video is amazing. I remember hearing the palace music on our 14 speaker system (there were 14 speakers built into the walls and ceiling of our house) and the atmosphere was just down right creepy. The music really added atmosphere to the already moody game.
Man, I haven't thought about this game in FOREVER. Thanks for the nostalgia trip, good sir.
I always love taking a dive into the older Era of games. I feel like I play more stuff from the 80s and 90s these days than the modern stuff lol
Suris made a short about your video. While I don't enjoy zelda 2 and am vocal about it, I do come from a place of having played it as a child and again just a few years back on stream by request. I'm not a fan of people who crap on a game without actually playing it to see if they like it just because that's what everyone else says. (See: Dark souls 2.)
I'm glad you enjoyed this game though! I hope it continues to provide many more hours of entertainment for you.
many.
I think I was 8 when I beat Zelda 2. It took maybe 3 or 5 months. I loved it and played every weekend. To this day I still adore this game.
I've been looking forward to this video. There's just so much to talk about when it comes to Zelda 2.
There really is! Sadly I wasn't able to fit every thought I have on the game in this one video but I tried to hit the important stuff lol
@@Wayneisboss There really is. It's by far the most unique Zelda game. You did a great job covering all of the major points.
Thanks! I really enjoyed getting to share my thoughts on this one, finally playing through the whole game for the first time was a really neat experience!
11:10 7/10. Too much Zelda.
Unless you're good enough to avoid that screen. Chances are, you're going to be visiting quite a bit. 20 times isn't too bad.
So glad suris sent me here, great video wayne!
I grew up playing this game, it was gifted to me on my 5th birthday. I still have my original copy. It used to be my favorite Zelda game until I played and beat Link's Awakening in 2019.
My problem with this game was its lack of communication. This was the only Zelda game I had, so I didn't have any understanding of what was happening or what I was supposed to do. And theres so many obscure hints that I never understood, or figured out by chance. It was really frustrating when I wasnt getting any feedback about what I was doing, I barely got past Death Mountain before quitting on each attempt
It's definitely got its fair doses of that classic NES jank. Personally I'd love to see a form of small scale remake of this game that at least streamlines the progression a bit and yeah, that Death Mountain section really might be the biggest problem with the title
It gets better. In the next town after Death Mountain you get the Downward Thrust, which makes combat much easier since you can pogo stick enemies to death, or just bounce over and run away. Temples 3-6 were a breeze for me.
Incidentally, in Cadence of Hyrule you are required to get the Downward Thrust to complete Death Mountain. I just thought that was an amusing anecdote.
@@mistersp3753 my problems were never the combat. It was the point and click type problem solving, where I'd never know what to do or where to look for solutions without trying everything everywhere
@@grobanlover292 Yes, that is still a problem. I needed a guide to find out you need to use the Spell spell at a dead end in some town to progress further. Still, it becomes much less tedious to get around later in the game. I would recommend at least getting to the third dungeon before you decide to call it quits, but that's up to you.
IDK, I didn’t find this game more cryptic that any other old school Zelda-game.
"So why does everyone hate this game? Well, you've heard about how outrageously difficult it is, but allow me to give a ten hour dissertation which I spent the last six months writing where I break down each of the game's fifteen fundamental structural..."
*Dude. Stop. You nailed it. Right there.* THE. GAME. IS. TOO. FREAKING. HARD. *That is it. That is all there is to it.* If you want specifics: Way too easy to get killed, way too easy to get _instantly_ killed, enemies way too hard to kill, some enemies way too hard or even possible to hit at all, power ups barely have any effect, magic way too weak, palaces confusing and super-easy to get lost in, and entire stretches which serve no purpose other than to wear down and/or kill you. Too brutal, too merciless, too grueling, too frustrating, too cheap, _too hard._ It's not rocket science.
I can’t relate to that. I found it way easier to die in Zelda 1, and harder to make progress. Even as a child, I found Zelda 2 easier. Not easy by any means, but easier than 1. And yet, I never hear people complain about that in Zelda 1.
People call this the worst mainstream Zelda game, but I disagree. At least for three more days. We'll see if Skyward Sword HD does enough to change my mind on Friday.
Yeeeeeah, you and I might be on the same wavelength with Skyward Sword
Holy crap, scott the woz was right....he was separated from his twin at birth
Wow I remember when I used to play this. Still have the game(gold) but I remember being a twelve-year-old kid playing it every morning before I went to school. Took months for me to beat.(no internet back then) the first one took me a year. Quest 1 and 2.
When asked, most people will often say their favorite Link is someone like BOTW Link, Ocarina Of Time Link, or Windwaker Link. But I've always loved the NES Link the most. He was a just wandering kid, but he managed to recover the Triforce of Wisdom, win the Triforce of Power, and earn the Triforce of Courage.
I've been hoping for Nintendo to remake the classic games for years so that the original Link's journey can be brought to it's full potential and fit with the modern Zelda universe. It's the reason I've been messing around with animating the NES Zelda games to make them more like the stories in the manuals.
I don't have a favorite personally, 'cause they're all great.
A good strategy for fighting your shadow if you don’t want to cheese it is jumping slashes to the throat/heart. It has a small hit box so you have get closer than you’d think.
Playing through it now on switch online and it's way more than I anticipated. really enjoying it, great review, thanks
You mention how Zelda II was released in Japan before we got Zelda 1.
My NES, that I got for Christmas '87, came with a poster that had a screen shot from various games. One game was simply called "The Adventure of Link." It was a screen shot of Link fighting a Moblin in a forest scene. At the time I thought absolutely nothing of it.
Suris sent me, but always liked this game
I never thought that Zelda II was a bad game. I just always felt that it was missing a lot of what excited me about the original. Namely, finding secrets. This is why, as sequels go, I totally loved A Link to the Past, because it took everything that the first Zelda was and added a whole bunch more to it.
Imagine what Zelda II would have been like where every tile on that overworld map was a Zelda I style screen. Where trees, boulders, etc. were randomly placed based on a seed (the name the player enters when creating a file, coupled with the X/Y coordinates, and the number of times the game was beaten could be the seed), the precise layout of the entirety of the overworld would would differ from person to person and playthrough to playthrough. Now in terms of the palaces, towns and such, those would all be predesigned maps, as would be the screens where secrets could be found. But if all those tiles on the overworld were potentially screens, each populated by mobs, and where the layout could not be predicted from game to game, then the world exploration aspect would have been insanely huge, especially for back then. All a seed is is a string of numbers and letters that can be short, meaning maybe no more than 4 to 8 characters, and could have been stored in the game's save file. The seed would just be the key telling the game how to plug in the data from the appropriate categories. And honestly, there are techniques whereby the same technique can be used to randomize the location of (or at least the layout of) the palaces. Look at all the things that randomizers are doing to games like this now.
Anyway, my whole point is that Zelda II is less than it could have been. But for everything that it WAS, it was decent.
Zelda 2 rulez. It’s Castlevania with leveling up, what’s not to like?
Definitely gained some newfound appreciation for the title on this last goaround. I especially think that once you get past Death Mountain everything just clicks, you have a great understand of the mechanics of the game and how it wants you to proceed
@@Wayneisboss About Death Mountain... You can actually take on the 2nd palace BEFORE Death Mountain. There are absolutely no obstacles barring your path to the 2nd palace. Next time you play this game, once you get the Jump spell, try going to the 2nd palace right away before Death Mountain.
Got this as a gift when I was a kid and it was my favorite entry for many years. It’s very underrated with a lot of revisionist history much like majoras mask
WHen this came out we loved it! Was ground breaking at the time:) Great video! Forgot how much fun it was:)
If you like Z2, I'd highly recommend the Z2 randomizer. It manages to randomize the overworld and dungeon paths, making every playthrough a brand new adventure of exploration!
Links in the description ;)
Sent from Suris. Neko Cat God's will be done
I know that it became a trend for a while to say this about tough video games, but.
Legend of Zelda, the adventure of Link kind of makes me think of a NES dark souls.
It’s balls to the walls hard,
You will die a lot.
Despite the simple controls, the sword combat is surprisingly good.
If you weren’t careful, the enemies will kick your ass.
The Lore is there to read in the book, but it’s not spelled out to you in the game and is it really necessary.
Bottomless pits are your worst enemy.
And the feeling of losing all of your points when you get a game over is soul crushing.
I’ve actually played through the game a couple of times.
And I’ve always remembered how many levels up until you reach maximum.
Then I basically just grind on the anti-ferries in the first temple and level up just enough.
That I reach max by the time I reached the last temple.
Because with each time link puts the crystal in the pedestal and each temple link instantly gets a level up.
And it also helps mitigate death mountain just a tiny bit. You’re a bit stronger.
Hey y'all, Scott here
Begone Knees!
Super interesting your opinion here, especially after watching you video on the first game. Love seeing people enjoy this game, I think I like it better than the first too!
Thanks for the hype! Just finished 1 on my switch and bout to hit 2. Ive only beaten this once ever. So round 2!
...I still experience flashbacks from my first playthrough of this game as a kid.
I've been playing this game on the Switch's Nintendo online and I love it. I am using a copout though with the rewind function. That is whenever I'm hit I just rewind and try again. Even then it is taken me a while to beat the game (technically I'm still working my way through the final temple). My switch says I've played around 20 hours but it feels like way more. I do plan on replaying the game without doing any rewinding and I already know it's going to be brutal. I can't wait though, now that I have a general idea of the game, it's going to be so fun and personally rewarding.
Thank you for making this video! Zelda is my favorite games franchise, and I've been playing it since there was only one game to play. A very young me, back in the 80s, played this a lot...and died a lot, but I actually really liked it, and still do. I get that it rates low among fans; it could then, it does now, and I can even agree with several of those complaints, but the nostalgic me still really likes this game, and enjoys when folks discuss it!
4:18 How dare you. A girl needs her nap time.
Been brought over from Suris. I just like videos like this. It's good!
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm always working on more haha
You do not have to complete death mountain before the second Palace Midoro. You can access the second palace Midoro right after you get the candle.
I liked Zelda II: The Adventure of LInk.
After completing Breath of the Wild for the first time I went back and played through the original Legend of Zelda (2nd Quest, continuing from a save that I had started years earlier). After that I went to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and I had an even easier time with it than I had many years ago when I first played it on a console. Which is not to say that it was not a challenge; I just felt less of a need to grind for extra lives.
I have zero Zelda experience and am trying this game out. So far, I really enjoy it despite being different what other games do. The most annoying thing is how fast the enemies move when you're walking around the map
Did you ever beat the game?
@williamhardee8863 I never did, it couldn't draw me in like the other games did.
The random Sonic Adventure music was wild considering I am playing Sonic Adventure while watching this
I think one of the reasons it isn't as well-regarded is how the only real offensive item is the sword. It's kinda sad to see enemies have things like boomerangs and spears and realize you used to have a diverse set of weapons, and would again in later games.
I see where you're coming from, but to an extent I feel that the repertoire of spells you gain throughout the course of the game adds back a lot of the variation that is lost when you take away OG Link's arsenal. Aside from the Magical Rod and Book of Magic, OG Link wasn't much of a mage at all.
Hey man great video! Any idea what the song is playing in the background at 5:30? Super relaxing and would love to listen to it on its own. Ty!
This tracks is called Marble Mountain from something called Bean Dreams! I actually still need to check out Bean Dreams for myself but I found this track a while back and I love it so much lol
If it helps, I'm gonna be switching things up in the future so that the tracks I use during videos will have their title briefly appear on screen so these things are easier to find and share!
@@Wayneisboss you rock thanks so much!
I had no idea that the game over just sent you back to the castle. I thought it restarted the game from scratch lol. I ended up save stating like crazy at the beginning because of it.
As someone that gets laughed at when I say this game is my favorite game ever, thanks for the fun review!
I HATED the Dungeon mechanic, in the previous NES Zelda dying sends you back to the start of the Dungeon, Zelda 2 sends you back at the VERY START OF THE GAME! God I hated the gameplay of this game. But I liked the story of this game however, it was executed very poorly.
You should have more views, I've sat through way worse zelda 2 videos with 10x the views. I'm still waiting for people to realize that the lives, exp system and combat make this one of the first, if not the actual first Souls Like game
Excellent review, I couldn't have said it better myself! I also didn't grow up with this game (first time I played it was on GBA as a teenager) so nostalgia isn't influencing my opinion of this game. I consider it to be the 5th best Zelda game in the franchise.
What are the first 4?
Gonna have to agree that it's pretty darn good. NICE channel btw 👀
You don't need to get through Death Mountain to finish palace 2...
Zelda 2 was better than I thought it would be. It isn't great, like the majority of the franchise, but it's still legitimately good. It has glaring issues, particularly the high difficulty early on in the game, but it rewards you for persistence. The middle portion of this game is much more enjoyable. That final section is absolutely brutal, but at that point the game has earned its difficulty. It's definitely the hardest game in the franchise, but it is also very rewarding. 7/10. An above average game that suffers from unfair expectations.
For me, it HAD great potential. Unfortunately, I'd have to give it a 3/10
Do Death Mountain after you clear 2nd palace. It makes life easier. And yes, you can clear the 2nd palace before Death Mountain.
Error is bagu's twin brother. It was a mistranslation. Error & Bug the 2 brothers. They even reference each other and share a sprite
AHHH forgot to comment great video wayne
Time for me to revisit these games thirty-plus years later. Some games I have never beaten games like Metroid, Ninja Gaiden 3. Gamers know NES games are the hardest there is.
Does anyone know the music in the background starting at 1:14? Id really appreciate it!
One Night in Neo Kobe City, from Snatcher on the Sega CD
@@WayneisbossThank you so much!!!
I can see why people felt this game was too hard, but damn was it fun! At the time this game came out my bestie and I were way into D&D and this game scratched a very bad itch. Yes, it was brutal and unforgiving, but it was so in ways that could be overcome by becoming more skilled at the game. Practice paid off and when you finally beat a boss it felt like you were on top of the world! It also rewarded gaming the system, such as going back and placing the gems in the statues after completing the rest of the game but before entering the final palace as a way to more easily max out all your levels with less slog. Beating this game was so damn satisfying and the replay quality was pretty good too.
Hmmm... kinda' want to dig this bad boy out again!
Love your Zelda reviews, Wayne! When might we expect Ocarina Of Time...?
hey, you can actually take on the second palace, before death mountain.....it gets you a little stronger beforehand ( i also just beat Zelda 2 today)
I started gaming in 1986 with the Nes and Master System. I remember well when how incredibly hard it was to get SMB2 or Zelda 2 when they were released. I myself asked for both games and wound up getting SMB2 (and the original Zelda) that Christmas of 1988. At that point, I hadn't played the first Zelda yet and merely asked for the second because surely newer=better. I'm very happy things worked out the way they did. I didn't know many people who were seeking Zelda 2 after the "1988 Chip Shortage" fiasco. While I know there was a real chip shortage... however, I still think Nintendo held back stock to create the mighty frenzy they did.
Addendum - Zelda 2 was not a game many liked. I actually question how successful the second Zelda game really was? I know it was considered a success by Nintendo, but was that because of the shortage, or did people really enjoy it?
Scott the Wozn't?
Love this game. Hard as hell - but so fun. Never understood why it feels "hated" by the Zelda community. I've always said if it was re-skinned with different sprites and not part of the Zelda franchise, like a space adventure or something, it would be praised as a classic.
I love The Adventure of Link, its probably the Zelda game I replay the most.
This is one of my very favorite games of all time. Only other Zelda I like more is Oot
The combat in Zelda 2 is brutal but so rewarding when you are able to figure it out. It’s very Dark Souls in it’s combat and how it punishes/rewards players
We didn’t know better. That’s what we had at the time. So you played it and enjoyed it. All the clues were in the game if you talked to the right people. We made our own maps.
I spent an entire summer playing this game when I was 10 years old. Got to the Thunderbird once, got killed, paused the game, and then came back to it the next day to realize that my mother had hit the power button while cleaning, turning OFF the Nintendo and resetting my entire game!!!!!
If that weren’t enough, our dog peed on my Nintendo Power (or whatever) magazine with the dungeon maps, and my mother threw it away (!!!!!!!!) Back then we couldn’t just order stuff online, so I never got another dungeon map. And I never made it back to that point again.
To this day, like 30 years later, I am angry about this. 😂
One of my favorite games as a kid. It's a tough game. .
I feel that Zelda II might have been the inspiration for the structure of the "modern" Castlevania game. I think this game could have a fun remake if it was made more Metroidvania.
I have the grey cart, kinda wish I had the gold one to be honest.
I love Zelda 2. I played it as a kid but could never beat it until my 30's. I think it's better than the first Zelda, it's more fun to play despite its difficulty. The only thing that disappoints me still when I play it is that some of the items you find in the palaces like the raft and flute don't have any function except getting you to the next part of the game. I wish you could use them to find upgrades and points. Minor complaint overall.
I would love to see this gameplay refined. Work out the ruff spots correct its mistakes and there is a fantastic formula here. I have always felt this way about it.
I think the game is great with excellent replayability. Finished it a bunch of times. I throw it on every year or two.
Anyone who wants to use save states for this game has my blessing to do so.
@4:35 Similar to an RPG overworld?............. like the type of game this is!?
I had this originally on cartridge but was a little too young to understand how to level up and play properly. I beat it on GameCube with the Zelda collection and swore I would never play it again. Now with Tears of the Kingdom on the horizon, I'm suddenly getting the urge to play them all again... in order. Here goes nothing. Again
My two deal breakers are the combat and having to find all the upgrades to progress. The game is neat but it could use a facelift. Like, Mercury Steam could do some of their magic with this...
I loved Zelda II
It certainly wasn't a failure even if Miyamoto himself said it
Like LoZ it was one of the most atmospheric games on the console and like the former that had a grand and mystical atmosphere AoL had a dark and dangerous atmosphere. It was great in 88'
Do you want granny to take her teeth out?...itll make your magic bar get full.
I used to give this game so much crap as a kid. It made me mad I kept coming back to it. I haven’t played it since 1989 and started playing again. I actually appreciate the difference after finishing most of the top down ones and breath of the wild.
7:24 wow those look so similar to a goddess statue
In the Japanese version it is a goddess statue. I think calling it just "statue" instead of trophy in our release would have been better.
A cat friend sent me
My first Zelda game. Absolutely loved it, still do. Never understood the hate