Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

I have played just about every Zelda game in existance. I tend to get through most of them as well. But there is an exception. I have never ever have gotten through Zelda II nor Wind Wakers (heck, I don't even own Wind Wakers yet).

Unlike most of the other Zelda games, Zelda II is a combination of RPG and Action-Adventure side scroller games, which is quite an original idea. The plot has to deal with Link having to recover Zelda from a strange illness that made her unconscious. However, some sacrifices obviously have to be made though.

To gamers everywhere: Zelda II has been re-released on a new game anthology called "Legend of Zelda collector's Edition" for the Nintendo Gamecube. But I have to warn you, this is not an easy game, in fact, it is far from easy.

Being only the second game in the Zelda series, it can't be said that there was an established format for the series. This is, as stated above, a great game; combining a gigantic over world map with wandering monsters, which then converts to a side scroller to fight the various types of beasts. Link can go to towns and converse with the local populations, explore caves, temples and the like. Unlike in the first game, Link can now gain experience, learn new sword techniques and cast spells!

The story begins after the original "Legend of Zelda" with Ganon's minions trying to resurrect their fallen master by sprinkling Link's blood on Ganon's ashes. The storyline is very deep brought to life by the expanse of the world map and the depth of the game play and exploration. Highly recommended game for any fan of the Zelda series.

I know I'm leaving stuff out, but I hope this description will help anyone unfamiliar with the Zelda series.

Like many Nes sequals, the gameplay is very different (CastleVania II, Super Mario II etc) Although this game is very different from the original Classic, it is more innovative, original, and believe it or not, Fun. This is definatly one of the most underated NES games, get It, now !

The Adventure of Link is a least favorite game among a lot of Zelda fans. I couldn't believe how bad and how difficult at was at first. The overworld is absurd, as you cannot use your sword, and there are no conventional enemies. Every ten seconds three enemies appear and it's like pac-man in that you have to run and try to avoid them. If they run into you, you are forced into this new screen of enemies. You can either fight them at this point or leave the screen and return to the overworld.

This game is very annoying at first, but you sort of get used to it. I tried to make progress in this game countless times and gave up on it within minutes. It doesn't even seem like a Zelda game. It is playable though once you figure out how it works. It helps to consult a walkthrough or a Youtube video to get help, as there are a lot of cryptic places where you get stuck and there's no way to know that there's a wall you can walk through or a certain grave that you can fall into unless you consult a walkthrough.

The dungeons are side-scrolling, so they're basically the opposite of the first Zelda game. A really annoying thing is that every time you die you have to start at the very beginning of the game. So you have to complete a palace in its entirety, or else you have to start from the beginning. You still do keep items and stuff like that, and going through the dungeon the second or third time is much easier, but it gets really tiresome. It's easily the worst thing about the game.

There are points in this game that seem virtually impossible. I felt like some of them require 50+ attempts before you beat them, and that's a lot for a game like this. The worst is the very last dungeon. It is incredibly hard. The last boss took me so many times to beat. There's also a boss right after that one. Fortunately, there's a technique to beat this boss that makes it about the easiest boss in the game, but if you don't know it you won't ever beat the game.

Overall, I would only recommend this game to Zelda completists who want to beat every game. The Adventure of Link does some things right, but it's far from a success. The palaces are kind of different and almost fun at times, but the difficulty is ridiculous. The graphics are also very dated.

I have fond memories of this game. It was my favorite for NES (besides Dragon Warrior IV), yet I never owned it. I still remember it as the best in the series, possbily only second to Ocarina of Time. But I haven't played it in a while and can't find it anywhere. So if you have it, consider yourself lucky.