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.
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 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.
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. 🤷
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
Great video! We did our own analysis of Zelda II via our series The Good, The Bad, & The Buggy HERE: ua-cam.com/video/wtXyi5j41A0/v-deo.html I've been playing this game since the early/mid 90's on original hardware (top-loader these days), and I'd be lying if I said I've yet to come across the majority of people claiming to love this game, only play on devices that enable save-states. Nothing wrong with this, I just wonder if their fervor would be the same if they had to actually endure the worst faults of the game, with no option to avoid otherwise lol. I've also always LOVED the combat in this game, but my major gripe is how tiny your sword attack hit box is! Only one pixel for attack/swipe, and four for full health blast! Garbage!
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.
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?
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
North Castle, not Hyrule Temple, mate. But I LOVE what you said about the healing ladies in towns. I hate the Reddit-style manchild obsession with terrible sex humour. Your explanation is far more fitting for the Zelda universe we know and love.
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.
I think the only reason people don't like this game was because of how radically different it was from all the other 2-D Zelda games. I personally I'm not a big fan of the RPG elements, but that's just because I don't like RPG games very much.
Beat it back then when I was young. I never really like the game compare to the first which even today I still enjoy playing it. I feel this game creativity is there, but before it’s time to be actually great. The graphic is poor, the towns like life and more of a repeat screen to screen, every fight is almost one on one. The game end up being boring and like life. The game should have been called the life of link instead adventure of link because it likes life. Again I’m glade it introduce magic, town, world map, and a different take on Zelda game play…but pointless if people don’t get excited to play the game.
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
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 like the idea of the game, but even you died 63 times. now imagine someone playing this game that doesnt love it. it couldve easily been fixed with minor adjustments like enemy placement, better life system, a bit more health, the life spell not being as bad. but at every turn they mess something up to make it more frustrating. i have completet this game about 5 times but i still think those are big issues that wouldnt be overlooked today.
This game is broken and unfair but to me it's the best Zelda so far. You have to master it to enjoy it at all, but it's not childish or boring, unlike other Zelda games. You can just turn it on and run around practice your skills. At first you hate it but the more you play it, the more smooth it gets.
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.
Tiny note, and believe me I hate this game so I'm not really defending it, but you DON'T have to beat Death Mountain before the second palace. You can do either or first. Believe me, I would know. I had to grind between both.
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.
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 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
A lot of people trash on Death Mountain for being too difficult, but I never had much trouble with it. I'm not bragging about my skill at all, by the way, because there are plenty of other areas that absolutely kicked my buns. Death Mountain wasn't one of them though.
Same with me. As a kid I figured out the skulls in the 1st temple gave 50xp and constantly re-spawn just by walk past where they appear so I'd line up 2 or 3 and kill them all at once, I think on my 1st play through I was like 5+Att 3+HP & Magic. The first red axe trowing guy in DM was a shock but I just used Jump to get on the upper platforms.
The one thing about Zelda 2 defenders I never understand is when there bring up the "but its only disliked because its not like the rest of the series and people need to understand it was just the second game so there was no standard" argument. This is not to say that Zelda 2 is a bad game or anything but its an argument I really don't understand. Even on the NES was it standards and pretty much expected than a sequel would be the same game as the first but more and better. Like Ninja Gaiden 2 is just more NInja Gaiden, Megaman 2 is just more Megaman, Super Mario bros 2 in Japan is just more Super Mario bros (and in the west is the redskin Doki doki Dream Factory at least also still in the same genre of the precision platformer and many of its unique changes like a more properly scrolling screen and more playable characters could still be seen as a straight upgrade to Super Mario Bros ) But Zelda 2 is nothing like Zelda 1. 1 is a top down perspective action adventure and 2 is a Side scroller action RPG. These are 2 entirely different kind of games with only the exploration and Item usage being similar but still very different in execution to do the change from top down to side scroller. So while Zelda 2 maybe a great game (I can't tell never played enough of it) so would I certainly say that it fails as a sequel to Zelda 1 as it just doesn't provide the same experience. I would think that Zelda 2 would be known as one of the NES's great classics if it wasn't made the sequel to a game that attracted a completely different audience than it would have done on its own leading to many of its players both back than and today be disappointed for it being not the experience that the franchise its a part of made them think there would get lowing its reputation greatly.
Growing up with Castlevania 2 and Mario 2, I would’ve been disappointed if Zelda 2 had been like Mario 2 Japan, which is essentially a glorified romhack of the original.
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.
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 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.
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. 🤷
The old lady obviously gives him coffee. That's how I restore my MP.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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!
Nice rhyme in the thumbnail hehe
Unintentional, but still groovy
Suris sent me, but always liked this game
Awesome review, of an awesome game. I'm glad I listened to Suris.
The middle portion of Zelda 2 is my favorite part.
Just like an Oreo. I like the white stuff.
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!
Begone Knees!
Sent from Suris. Neko Cat God's will be done
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.
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.
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.
Since palace 2 is beatable without downthrust, you can do it before you do death mountain if you want some more levelups.
Links in the description ;)
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.
Holy crap, scott the woz was right....he was separated from his twin at birth
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.
"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.
I always thought that sorcerer that cast the spell on Zelda; was the "Thunderbird" you fight before your shadow. Would have made more sense.
Hey y'all, Scott here
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'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!
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.
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!
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
4:18 How dare you. A girl needs her nap time.
So glad suris sent me here, great video wayne!
This game is very dear to me.
Playing through it now on switch online and it's way more than I anticipated. really enjoying it, great review, thanks
Great video! We did our own analysis of Zelda II via our series The Good, The Bad, & The Buggy HERE: ua-cam.com/video/wtXyi5j41A0/v-deo.html
I've been playing this game since the early/mid 90's on original hardware (top-loader these days), and I'd be lying if I said I've yet to come across the majority of people claiming to love this game, only play on devices that enable save-states. Nothing wrong with this, I just wonder if their fervor would be the same if they had to actually endure the worst faults of the game, with no option to avoid otherwise lol.
I've also always LOVED the combat in this game, but my major gripe is how tiny your sword attack hit box is! Only one pixel for attack/swipe, and four for full health blast! Garbage!
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.
Love your Zelda reviews, Wayne! When might we expect Ocarina Of Time...?
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?
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 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.
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.
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.
Scott the Wozn't?
The random Sonic Adventure music was wild considering I am playing Sonic Adventure while watching this
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. 😂
Shhhh dont scare him, if you do he wont leave you a sequel to zelda 1........TEZUKAAAAAA
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.
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.
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.
North Castle, not Hyrule Temple, mate. But I LOVE what you said about the healing ladies in towns. I hate the Reddit-style manchild obsession with terrible sex humour. Your explanation is far more fitting for the Zelda universe we know and love.
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.
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.
I think the only reason people don't like this game was because of how radically different it was from all the other 2-D Zelda games. I personally I'm not a big fan of the RPG elements, but that's just because I don't like RPG games very much.
A cat friend sent me
Beat it back then when I was young. I never really like the game compare to the first which even today I still enjoy playing it.
I feel this game creativity is there, but before it’s time to be actually great. The graphic is poor, the towns like life and more of a repeat screen to screen, every fight is almost one on one. The game end up being boring and like life.
The game should have been called the life of link instead adventure of link because it likes life. Again I’m glade it introduce magic, town, world map, and a different take on Zelda game play…but pointless if people don’t get excited to play the game.
As someone that gets laughed at when I say this game is my favorite game ever, thanks for the fun review!
Zelda 2 wasn’t even originally going to be a Zelda game….kind of like the US version of Super Mario Bro’s 2 but not as dramatic.
Error is bagu's twin brother. It was a mistranslation. Error & Bug the 2 brothers. They even reference each other and share a sprite
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
I love The Adventure of Link, its probably the Zelda game I replay the most.
Moat popular of its time?? Where in what country?? I knew ZERO kids that had this game ZERO that talked about it
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.
WHen this came out we loved it! Was ground breaking at the time:) Great video! Forgot how much fun it was:)
@4:35 Similar to an RPG overworld?............. like the type of game this is!?
Do Death Mountain after you clear 2nd palace. It makes life easier. And yes, you can clear the 2nd palace before Death Mountain.
i like the idea of the game, but even you died 63 times. now imagine someone playing this game that doesnt love it.
it couldve easily been fixed with minor adjustments like enemy placement, better life system, a bit more health, the life spell not being as bad. but at every turn they mess something up to make it more frustrating. i have completet this game about 5 times but i still think those are big issues that wouldnt be overlooked today.
This game is broken and unfair but to me it's the best Zelda so far.
You have to master it to enjoy it at all, but it's not childish or boring, unlike other Zelda games.
You can just turn it on and run around practice your skills.
At first you hate it but the more you play it, the more smooth it gets.
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.
Gonna have to agree that it's pretty darn good. NICE channel btw 👀
My first Zelda game. Absolutely loved it, still do. Never understood the hate
Tiny note, and believe me I hate this game so I'm not really defending it, but you DON'T have to beat Death Mountain before the second palace.
You can do either or first.
Believe me, I would know. I had to grind between both.
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 think the game is great with excellent replayability. Finished it a bunch of times. I throw it on every year or two.
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
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!
Do you want granny to take her teeth out?...itll make your magic bar get full.
Sounds like this game needs a remake bad. And put the entire story in the game and not the manual. Just don’t take 6 years to do it Nintendo.
This was my favorite game...until I played BOTW! 🤩
Oh and when you turn the game off your lost all your points I had to stock up all over again.
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.
Now imagine playing this when 6 years old and no internet to help.
You don't need to get through Death Mountain to finish palace 2...
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.
This is one of my very favorite games of all time. Only other Zelda I like more is Oot
I’m going to give you a chance on this one as an OG. Check back after the vid.
IMO Windwaker is Zeldas "Black Sheep"!
I always assumed the Sorcerer was Aghanim.
A lot of people trash on Death Mountain for being too difficult, but I never had much trouble with it. I'm not bragging about my skill at all, by the way, because there are plenty of other areas that absolutely kicked my buns. Death Mountain wasn't one of them though.
Same with me. As a kid I figured out the skulls in the 1st temple gave 50xp and constantly re-spawn just by walk past where they appear so I'd line up 2 or 3 and kill them all at once, I think on my 1st play through I was like 5+Att 3+HP & Magic. The first red axe trowing guy in DM was a shock but I just used Jump to get on the upper platforms.
Anyone who wants to use save states for this game has my blessing to do so.
Iron Knuckles. They are called Iron Knuckles. 😂
One of my favorite games as a kid. It's a tough game. .
The one thing about Zelda 2 defenders I never understand is when there bring up the "but its only disliked because its not like the rest of the series and people need to understand it was just the second game so there was no standard" argument.
This is not to say that Zelda 2 is a bad game or anything but its an argument I really don't understand.
Even on the NES was it standards and pretty much expected than a sequel would be the same game as the first but more and better.
Like Ninja Gaiden 2 is just more NInja Gaiden, Megaman 2 is just more Megaman, Super Mario bros 2 in Japan is just more Super Mario bros (and in the west is the redskin Doki doki Dream Factory at least also still in the same genre of the precision platformer and many of its unique changes like a more properly scrolling screen and more playable characters could still be seen as a straight upgrade to Super Mario Bros )
But Zelda 2 is nothing like Zelda 1.
1 is a top down perspective action adventure and 2 is a Side scroller action RPG. These are 2 entirely different kind of games with only the exploration and Item usage being similar but still very different in execution to do the change from top down to side scroller.
So while Zelda 2 maybe a great game (I can't tell never played enough of it) so would I certainly say that it fails as a sequel to Zelda 1 as it just doesn't provide the same experience.
I would think that Zelda 2 would be known as one of the NES's great classics if it wasn't made the sequel to a game that attracted a completely different audience than it would have done on its own leading to many of its players both back than and today be disappointed for it being not the experience that the franchise its a part of made them think there would get lowing its reputation greatly.
Growing up with Castlevania 2 and Mario 2, I would’ve been disappointed if Zelda 2 had been like Mario 2 Japan, which is essentially a glorified romhack of the original.
I have the grey cart, kinda wish I had the gold one to be honest.