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 You have to give the NES credit. No other system has offered up sequels
that have veered so far from a landmark first title. In 1988 alone, Super Mario Bros. 2, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
all were released. Each of these
sequels strays far from their original roots but in all three cases
remain excellent games. All three
of these games have also received unnecessary bashing from gamers as
further sequels have moved each series back in the original direction
leaving #2 looking like the black sheep. This is certainly the case for the
strange and excellent game that is Zelda
II: The Adventure of Link.
Before we examine how this game
is different let’s take a look at what elements it retains from the
original. Of course, you’re still
Link, you have to save Princess Zelda and in doing so you have to stop
the evil Ganon (some things never change). Once again you have to make your way
through a large overworld to find hidden heart containers and other items
that are necessary to solve the quest.
Also, you still have to make your way through a number of dungeons
where you will pick up an important item and in the end have to defeat a
boss to do so. As you can tell,
the basics are very similar to those of The Legend of Zelda. So why is this game
considered the black sheep of the series?
For the only time in a Zelda game
you will play a large portion of the game in a sidescrolling
fashion. You still have the bird’s
eye view of the overworld but anytime you run into an enemy the game
switches to a side view and you have to defeat the enemy in battle. In fact, any time you have to battle
the game switches to the side view.
That means the palaces (the equivalent of dungeons in the first
game) are all sidescrollers now.
This sounds disappointing but it is actually pretty fun since
there are still plenty of puzzles to figure out. You also will enter
villages in Zelda II and those are once again in the side view. In these villages you can meet a woman
in red who will replenish your energy and you can talk to the vill agers to gain clues about what to do next
on your adventure. It is very important
to talk to the villagers because they have lots of important information
to tell you. This brings me to
another major difference in this game.
Zelda II introduced magic to the series. In every town you have to solve some
problem, once you do you will meet a wizard who will teach you a new
spell. Some of these spells are necessary
to beat a boss in a palace (Reflect and Thunder) while others help you
stay alive throughout your adventure (Shield and Life). In each town there is also an old woman
who will replenish your magic meter.
Another difference in Zelda II is that you gain experience
points. Each enemy you defeat
gives you anywhere from two to hundreds of experience points. Each time you hit a certain number you
can upgrade either your ability to take damage, your magical prowess or
your attack ability. You can power
each one up to eight and your numbers will need to be darn close to that
in order to beat the game. You are
also given lives for the first time, you get three chances to succeed
before you die and have to start over at the beginning spot of the
game. Of course everything you did
has been saved just like before.
The only real difference is that you get three chances before you
have to  start over instead of just one.
So do all these changes ruin the
game? Not at all, this game is a solid
sequel and was much loved at the time of its release. It still feels like a Zelda game but is
unique enough to feel like its own entity and not just a booster pack (like
the Mega Man series). One final
interesting note, this game was released in Japan
before The Legend of Zelda was
even released in the United
States! That explains why Nintendo Fun Club was
hyping this game seemingly as soon as Zelda I had been released.
Positives:
 Once again you have a huge world to walk
around in. You will certainly feel
lost a few times and have trouble finding some items without
cheating. There are definitely some
heart and magic containers that are hidden without any clues to help you
find them. Make sure you check out
every cave and walk on every bit of land at least once as some pieces of
land contain hidden items. The
sidescrolling palaces are very fun and can be tough to navigate. The addition of magic and experience points
was very cool and I wish that experience points would have been
incorporated into future Zelda games.
As always the music is top notch and the gameplay is crisp.
Glaring
Negatives:
I wish that in the palaces you
still got a map and compass like in the first game. Also, since stuff can be hidden on any plot
of land it would be cool if there was a map of where you have walked in
the overworld. Another minor
problem is that although the music is great, a lot of sounds in the game
are annoyingly loud and jarring.
It is a bit strange that rupees were not used in this game at all.
Graphics
and Sound: Great
The graphics are a step up from
the original mainly because the sidescrolling view gives you a chance to
see more details. The music is
once again great but the sound effects are too loud and jarring.
Gameplay
and Controls: Great
As always the Zelda series gives
you perfect control and hours of fun gameplay. When I pop a Zelda game into my NES I
know that this area will be perfect.
Features:
Lots
You have to find heart and magic
containers hidden around the land.
You have to solve plenty of puzzles in towns and in palaces. Finally you have to figure out when is
the appropriate time to use your spells.
Of course a battery saves all the progress you make throughout the
game. Plus the game pak is gold!
Fun?: Definitely
This game is just a slight step
down from the first game. Of
course, The Legend of Zelda is
often cited as the best video game ever so that means that Zelda II is
pretty darn good.
Challenge:
Tough
Without cheating this game will
definitely tax you. Some parts of
the game will be very easy but I’m sure you will have a little trouble
finding certain items and solving some puzzles in the palaces.
Replay:
Not Much
You can only level each area up
to 8 and you have to find every Magic Container to beat the game so there
isn’t much left to do on a 2nd go around. Unfortunately there isn’t a 2nd
Quest option this time around.
Although if you beat the game you will start over but this time
you begin with all of your spells and items. That should make things easier!
2
Player: None
The Zelda series has never been
multi-player friendly.
Online
Manual?: Yes at Nintendo Age
http://www.nintendoage.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Element.View&egID=2719&lgID=1191
Bottom Line: A Must Have
First, go beat both quests of The Legend of Zelda. Then go pick up this game. If you are only going to own 20 games
for the NES this definitely should be one of them. It combines all the best elements of RPGs, adventure games and sidescrollers to provide
one of the most fun experiences on the NES.
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