Y'know, to this very day, I still make the "game over - return of Gannon" pig-snort-laugh noises whenever I fuck something up. Not a single person has been able to figure out what the hell I was doing. I weep.
People talk so much shit about this game, but the fact is it was great. It was challenging, had great and memorable bosses, fun secrets, combined overview gameplay with platformer, and used a magic meter, which was a logical upgrade to the original. All in all, it is one of the best NES titles made. Everyone mentions the original, Mega Man II, Contra and a few others, but Zelda II deserves some serious reevaluation and credit.
kev3d I had all those games (except the original Zelda, but I could play that at a friend's house). I have to agree... when I asked my dad for this game and he looked at the price ($50 at the time), he asked "Does it come with a real princess for that price?" Great game and memorable. I also liked Battle of Olympus. Probably my favorite.
+kev3d Well... the thing is, you have two camps of people who talk crap about the game: those who actually played the game back in the day, and those who are only regurgitating what the first group said. Back in the day, people didn't care for it. The reason was simple: the first game was so good, and the second one was completely different. It's not so much that people couldn't handle change, more so that there was no need to actually make such a huge change. The reason why Zelda 2 was changed was because Nintendo saw that the action platformers of the day: Castlevania, Mega Man, and Mario - were selling the most. They figured that's what people wanted. At the end of the day, this game stands as perhaps the most unique in the entire series. I won't say it's a bad game. But I think it could have been a lot better as a Zelda game. I think this game's biggest problem is just how uninteresting a lot of the assets are. The enemies and the bosses are kind of lame. There's not a very consistent art style, and none of it is very interesting. The leveling up system is sort of neat, but there's no upgrading of the sword. There are no hearts. There's just a lot of the original game's charm that is missing overall. Some of the music is a little too generic and boring. It just didn't meet the standard that the second one created. It's still a good game, but it isn't a good Zelda game by any stretch of the imagination.
kev3d I said two camps that talk crap about it. If you enjoyed the game, you obviously don't fit into either one of those camps - do you? Like I said... I played it back in the day too, and it was a good game. It just wasn't a good Zelda game. My criticisms are accurate whether you agree with them or not.
This is one of my favorite Zelda titles. One reason is the world map. It's not so symmetrical like most every other title after it. In Zelda II you really feel like you're on an adventure traveling through new lands and across an ocean on a raft. By the time you reach the hidden palace (no.6) you really feel like you're light years from your home. Another reason is the difficulty and amount of skill required to be good it. It makes you appreciate keeping Link as healthy as possible. The music really fits with the whole survival aspect and the bosses are challenging. When you pass a dungeon screen and see those curtains coming up in the next room you know shit is going to get real and you start sweating, wondering if you'll survive with what you have left to work with. As you progress through the game you get more powerful and look back at earlier parts laughing, while the new challenges test you. I do wish the designers had put rupees in the game and maybe a dungeon map to help navigate, but altogether this game doesn't get the respect it deserves.
Yeah Zelda 2 was awesome. I personally prefer it over a lot of other Zelda games, which seems weird, but it's just a lot of fun to go straight into gameplay instead of working through loads of story, y'know?
So nostalgic, something about this game's soundtrack really stuck with me. It used really different sounds than others I suppose. That wavering higher pitch thing is really eerie. A lot of instruments have vibrato... its haunting.
Literally the Darksouls of NES games. You got to learn attack patterns of enemies, how to approach them, plus if you die you game over you lose all the stuff that you need to level up with! (EXP in this case).
This game gets overshadowed by the first one and some of the other sequels, but it's amazing. And one of the best NES scores. Thank you for this! The opening theme has been in my head for weeks. This game was such a part of my childhood...
Yep. Honestly the only reason it's labeled as bad is because it's got the Zelda name attached. It's a great game (for the most part) but it's the black sheep due to the fact it's more focused on the platforming and its strange (for Zelda) RPG elements
bentheechidna There was another game that was just like this, that I think was better executed despite its rough edges/lack of polishing, and that was The Battle of Olympus.
bentheechidna Yeah, Battle of Olympus is a nifty little game. One that I never did beat, much like this game. The thing I actually like about Zelda 2, believe or not, was the outerworld part. It was the first game I knew of that did this (well, actually I had Ultima: Exodus on NES that did this---talk about a hard fucking RPG for a 7 year old). So z2 basically just took the main world of z1, and made it a traversable map. Or you could think of it as an RPG like Ultima Exodus, Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy, except all the action was side-scrolling HnS instead of turn-based. Either way, to me, the overworld made z2 seem larger and more immersive than just an endless maze of side-scrolling screens to navigate endlessly. That was what I didn't like about Battle of Olympus (and also another game like this on NES you might wanna check out called Faxanadu). --- I haven't seen that Rauru playthrough but I'll check it out.
People hated on this game so much when it was released for not being like the first Zelda game, and even more when Zelda III (ALttP) was released and returned to the same general format as LoZ. Put together, the resentment toward Zelda II and love of Zelda III ensured that the stigma to Zelda II never wore off. But when people actually sit down and play the damn game, they often realize how good it truly is (how hard it is, how inspirational to later games, how catchy the music) and find that their sneering wasn't from experience, but from word of mouth and from lionizing later Zelda installments. Me? Zelda II was always my favorite. Yes Zelda I will be THE Zelda game, and both Zelda III and IV are fun. But Zelda II created a WORLD for Zelda, and made it more than "hack, slash, burn, find, shoot". Zelda II was immersive, interactive, engaging, and just fucking DIFFICULT! Zelda I took me weeks to complete back in the 80s/90s. Zelda II took me YEARS to finally conquer (and days of straight playing). Zelda III? ...days. All subsequent Zelda games? ...days. There's just no challenge to survive, much less fight on. From Zelda III, it's just become one goddamned linear walk-through after another. No challenge, no adventure (never endless), and no curiosity. "Go here, do this, then get this, then go here, then do this, then get this." Zelda had become more like running errands than discovering an adventure. But Zelda II? Yes, Zelda II was the best one. And still is. :)
+MrTree1779 Zelda 1 took me 3 days. I loved it. I'm currently playing this one and I love it. I wonder how long it'll take me. It's been more than 3 days.
Expect a week at least your first time. You'll get faster, but the points/levels are the biggest limitation. With cheats on (Game Genie), it's an insanely faster game.
I've never used cheats soooo... Oh, and the level up system doesn't matter, I have extreme OCD when it comes to getting to the final level. I've leveled up all my stats at least 5 times. The only thing that might take me a while will probably be getting all heart containers/ magic containers.
+MrTree1779 the final castle omg, I had to buy a tape to put together all the pages of the map I draw, because I literally spend days exploring the last castle, were where the traps, the potions, the extra life. when I finally found the final boss path I was the hero of my school... oh the 90's
MrTree, a question. Firstly, I agree with you, ZII is fantastic and underrated game. My favourite for replayability, but 2nd favourite overall after LttP. I always wondered if you could combine, in my opinion, the best of both games into one game - ZII's tight, demanding, adrenaline combat system + ZIII's puzzle solving and exploration depth. If you remember in LoZ, when you go into a dungeon basement to retrieve the level's item, the view momentarily becomes a side view. As Oracle of Seasons does, you could toggle the view depending on area: overhead view using ZIII of moving 360 degrees and swiping with the sword, then the side view could be used with the ZII combat system of moving left and right, ducking and jumping whilst stabbing with the sword. Thoughts?
The best Zelda game, and the best Zelda music. By far. The first game is epic but this is beyond epic. I grew up with this and managed to complete the game without too much trouble. At least after learning the trick to beat evil Link in the final battle. The Angel of Death though, that was scary. The whole last palace thing was scary.
I played this game so much when it first came out and loved it. I was a great game. Just came here to listen to the great music of memories. NES music of this era FTW, like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest so good.
I had a love/hate relationship with this game. I loved playing it until i got to a point where i just couldn't beat it. I had to buy those crappy 'how to beat NES games' books to figure things out. I wish i could still play it.
+JODZ789 I spend days making a map of the final castle, all the traps, closed ends, extra life, etc, finally got to the final boss and got killed by link's shadow, I repeat it for days until I memorize the castle path and patterns of attack of the enemies, so one day I reach link's shadow without taken a single hit, and kill it... this game was the Dark Souls of the NES
I used to wake up to this music we used to wake up early and put the game on mom used to say it's to early go back to bed. But we still played those where the real days. This music is embedded in my brain .
This was my younger brother's favorite game when we were kids, I never even played it one time but I remember hearing all these themes while he played...
don´t worry. it´ll all be over,.. you´ve done a great work with your fingertips, playing Zelda II. you´re able to hold up with your kids, playing nowadays games. just konzentrate, and you´re in again. :)
I still love this music and put it on every now and then, nearly always brings me into a certain state, beyond this world :) Great what they were able to create in 8 bit, with a sound that would now be considered terrible, but the atmosphere is beyond great!
Zelda II wasn't really a "Zelda" style game. Even the creator sees Link to the Past as the "true Zelda 2". I agree though, I'd like to see what Nintendo would do as a sequel to Zelda II. I bet they'll make one, some day at least.
I got my hands on this game back in 1993 when there was no internet and you had to depend on friends who had Nintendo Power to guide you through every aspect of the game. I finally beat it in 1996 after stumbling on the last magic on the path leading to the maze palace. Boy was I thrilled to see the ending of the game. When there is a problem, there is always a solution :)
the original LoZ was honestly great, but as i kid, i loved this game soooooo much more, wish they would have continued down this style with a few games here and there. The 3d games are good, the over the top games are awesome, but i would love another game like this one.
i love how each song is accompanied by a screenshot where you hear it. i got to the 6th dungeon but gave up for years trying to find the boss, anyone playing this ?
Want something hard??? Try listening to this sountrack without even remembering the sound of the attacks or the damages. The Palace Theme is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!
Worst moments of my childhood. I felt so dumb. Could not get anywhere without getting my ass handed out to me. Now I know that I wasn't dumb, this games' plain INSANE.
This game was not popular back in the day, and nobody I knew ever talked about playing this game together, taking turns and having fun like any other good or even decent nes game. This game is much cooler now a days though. The twitch streamers can rush through this game and skip most of the boring dialogue, encounters and even the annoying leveling (by cheesing the crystal exp).
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and most of them stink most of the time. Everyone's opinion who agrees with my opinion has superior value to those who don't. That's the way subjective valuation works. and I side with Kev on this.
This is soo when my angel of death takes my gold coin out of my hand and tells me I will take you too the land of judgment 😉❤❤❤ it's too epic this music link zelda !!!
I'm one of those people who actually really liked this game. It was hard as shit--at times, downright unfair, but that also meant it felt damn good when I finally beat it. And even if the general consensus is that this is "the worst game in the series" or whatever, it's still _far_ better than those hilariously bad CD-I games.
I loved Zelda II and it left great memories. If I have to be honest, a game I have completed but I have never got back to is Oracle of Ages. Based on this then I would have to say maybe that's the worst in the series for me
This game is hard to play for me. But I enjoy the music and I want to get beyond what this adventure can give. But I know I can ever or never try again, I would be terrified of the game over screen and hearing ganon's laugh alot on my Zelda collector edition on GameCube.😅 This makes me wonder if this is where the legendary theme: temple Originally Came from this game :) As it's iconic in smash bros series
I logged alot of hours on this game! I personally liked it. I found a way to exploit a easy XP farm on this game. normally you would fight your way thru eventually making it to each boss in each castle building enough XP. normally. i instead of taking the normal amount of time progressing thru the game, I kept leveling up in one area by continually farming until I was at least 5 levels up fighting the same Monsters and in caves and fields. in some cases I leveled up even farther until it was just insanely hard to get any XP walking around. The trick actually comes in when you fight a castle boss as once defeated they automatically level you up to the next level regardless how many points you need! With this exploit even the first castle boss could level u up to 5-7 if you had the patience! By the time I made it to my my shadow double (Gannon) at the end, a few strikes and he was dust. I didn't even break a sweat. To bad the other versions of Zelda didn't have this exploit. To add even more, if you had the SUPER NES PAD ( the joystick controller) it was even easier on boss fights. simply activate the turbo switch and turn it on. Link's sword was constantly swinging in turbo and any boss that tryd to hit you keep getting hit. I would switch it up either crouching or standing but regardless it was awesome. game was fun and easy. I really enjoyed this game. I still think the first installment was better as the dungeons just seems more of a challenge and more hidden Easter's . plus the sound track has some more memorable tracks.....any comments?
+Ushi lol as I told u b4 I ran thru the game, then on my replay I accidentally stumbled across it. No knew about that in the 80s when i played and if they did I don't remember seeing it in nintendo power magazines...no need to shake your head..
Guys I have something really important to say! We had to flee to Kasuto! 5:03 Lol tbh i thought it said he at first so i was like lady who the heck is he lol
