Classic NES Series: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

"So, what was so bad about it again...?"

I was playing one of my games one day when my nephew shows up (I didn't have advanced word, one of my pet peeves.) and has his brother's copy of Zelda: Collector's Edition. He puts it in the GameCube and starts it up. First thing he started was Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and was REAL surprised that his game data didn't carry over. He has since learned that you need the memory card in order to carry a game save with you. Well, he starts it, saves, hands me the controller so I can have a turn. I pick Zelda II and was immediately BLOWN AWAY by the game. Played for a while, saved, tried out Zelda I. I found this game to be the one I came back to time and again. Well, to make a long story short, when I saw this game at Wal-Mart, I got it as soon as I could.

So, Zelda II is back in GBA form. If you couldn't tell, I had never played the game before. Anyway, I suppose I should just cut to the chase, eh?

Graphics: 9/10

I actually enjoy these graphics more than most other games. The thing that made it fail to get a 10/10 was that, if you look REALLY close, the sword is skin-colored. Oops. Also, the shield changes color according to the color of your tunic. Double oops. Still, the graphics are much more detailed than Zelda I, and while Nintendo could have done touch-ups, they clearly decided that more people would like to see the game untouched. Well, they did touch it, but those were just the Sleep Mode, to conserve battery power, and the save procedure. I'll go into that later.

Sound/Music: 10/10

Heck, what Zelda game FLUNKED this category? None that I can think of. I think I enjoy this music a bit more than any other game, at least a bit more when I was a toddler. Let's just say that we did NOT get along. And it wasn't healthy for my mom's ears. I digress. The music score is incredible, although there aren't many tunes.

Sound? Well, the "CLING!" that occurs when something hits a shield (Like your sword or a foe's attack.) gets irritating after a while. The typewriter sound that occurs when you talk to someone can get annoying fast. But overall, the sound is great.

Story: 8/10

The story confuses a lot of people. I've seen guides that say that this is a prequel, although then you have to ask why Link has the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom from the previous game. I've also seen guides that say that this is, in fact, a sequel, although then you have to ask why Zelda is snoozing on you. I'd retype the story for everyone, but that'd add a heck of a lot of words to the review and I don't want to deal with it right now. Anyway, it's a heck of a lot better than "Hey, Zelda got kidnapped again! Link, go save her! By the way, can you bring home some chicken after you're done?" that is so popular with Nintendo. ...Okay, the chicken part was made up on the spot, but I felt it needed a bit of humor in there.

Gameplay: 10/10

Okay, you ask anyone who hates this game what the worst part is, and they'll tell you that it's the gameplay. Heck, this is really a Zelda/Mario combo with Link as the hero. It's a platformer with swordplay. You also have more moves than the standard "Press A to slash" move. Now, you can actually choose whether you go high or low. You can also jump, so you can now just press A (B is slash, BTW.) to jump up. Unlike Mario, Link doesn't have springs in his boots, so he can't jump real high. It helps, though, to dodge fireball that my shield can't block.

The shield, speaking of it, actually becomes a big part of the game. It still blocks things, but you now have a bit more defensive options than just pointing it in a direction. The swordbeams are also toned down, so they don't go across the screen and they don't go so fast. Shame. Fencing is also MUCH more important. Before, you could get away with just staying in one spot (Well, up until the final boss, anyway.) and just use beams to take out everything. Now, you have to actually fight. Passiveness is no longer an option. Not that it was to begin with, though.

Finally, we have the magic meter (plus spells) and the handy experience meter. This is the first Zelda game to have a magic meter and spells (I think the last game to have spells was Ocarina of Time. Don't quote me on that, though.) which really sets this game apart from any others. Spells are your items, no more Silver Arrows. Magic plays a bigger part in the game than you'd think. MUCH bigger part than in any other Zelda game I've played, for that matter. The experience meter is more of a counter, and the more enemies you fight (That give out experience, of course.) the more powerful you become. If you get enough points, you can upgrade your defense (AKA Life), spell-casting abilities, or your attack power. This makes dodging HORDES of foes much less of an option than now. Too bad it didn't catch on.

The reason it didn't is because this game is INCREDIBLY difficult! The lives system that is used here is the only reason why this game is even remotely possible to beat. Go ahead, try to beat the game with one life. Yeah, impossible. You take WAY too many hits. This is probably reason #2 why people hate this game. I actually enjoy it. Compared to Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time, this one is nearly impossible. If you thought that Super Mario Brothers 1 was tough and you get easily frustrated, you might want to pass this game up. Otherwise, you'll need to replace a few walls and GBAs.

The game has much more of a social structure than Zelda I. Zelda I had a social structure of this: "Either pay me or leave." Imagine how your town would be if everyone's attitude was like that. Not a pleasant place to live. Here, people actually give you help. They'll heal you, teach you spells or abilities, and will give you information. Some people, though, are really enemies in disguise. Adds a bit of a twist, don't it?

Oh yeah, the save procedure is now press start, hold up, and press select. That's about the only change to the game.

Replayablilty: 8/10

All depends on how committed you are to beating this game. If you aren't, then it's not real high. If you want to not beat the game, but MASTER it, you'll have to have a lot of batteries on hand, you'll be playing it a lot. Nothing really changes, but it's still nearly impossible to beat the game with ease.

Overall: 9/10

If you prefer 3D games, you're spoiled by easy games, my friend. Picking this game up will make you realize just how much of a breeze they are. And Nintendo still delivers an excellent game. This gets my vote as the most underrated game of all time.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/18/05