Classic NES Series: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

"Sixteen years later and it's still a great game."

Classic NES Series: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the Gameboy Advance.

Heading back into the realm of reviews once more we are know going to look at Zelda II: Adventure of Link. One of the most under-rated games from the NES makes its debut in Nintendo's classic series of ports to the Gameboy Advance. Same great game as before but does that warrant a purchase to some who already own it once(NES) or even twice(GCN)? From my point of view this game is twenty dollars well spent.

Story

Zelda II picks up right after the events of The Legend of Zelda. A short run down: Link notices a strange symbol appear on his hand during his sixteenth birthday. Perplexed, Link travels to Impa, a royal aide, to inquiry on what this might be. Impa then proceeds to tell him an ancient tale that starts with a King using a mystical treasure called the Triforce to help him rule and ends with the daughter of the King being put in a sleeping trance. Eventually this king died and his son, the prince, tried to take the Triforce as his own to continue to rule but the Triforce had other plans. It broke in three parts with one, the Triforce of Courage, disappearing completely. The prince spent a lot of time looking for it in his greed until a magician, Gannon, appeared one day and told the prince that his father told the secrets of the Triforce to the princes sister, Zelda. The prince and magician go to question Zelda who won't give up any information on the subject. Angered the prince stopped questioning her and then the magician threatened her with a spell if she didn't talk When Zelda(the first) refused to talk about the secrets of the Triforce after the death of the King he put a spell on her that only the one gifted with the Triforce of Courage can break by defeating the evil that is attempting to come back to the land. The mark on the back of Links hand signifies he is the one that can use the last part, the Triforce of Courage. To do this Link must defeat six guardians around Hyrule, place the six crystals in the statues in their palaces then face the ultimate evil in the Death Mountain palace where he will find the Triforce of Courage and finally be able to but the pieces back together.

It's a good story that is unfortunately not mentioned at all in the game in the slightest; it all comes from the manual that you may or may not have or even read so the story might be lost on you. It's a shame too since the story is actually pretty good but the lack of any attempt to tie it into the game itself keeps the final score low.

Score: 5/10

Gameplay

Zelda II took a course away from the top-down questing found in the first in the series; The Legend of Zelda. It combined a top down view while exploring Hyrule with a side scrolling view while you fight in and explore the detailed areas of the world. When in the top down view, known as the land map, Link can move around in all four cardinal directions through swamps, forests, deserts, plains, graveyards and even walk on water. As Link walks around enemies will randomly pop up in groups of there; either three sets of minor enemies like Bots or Moblins, three sets of major enemies like Lizardmen and Digdoggers or any combination of the two. These enemies will pop up and move around the area around Link trying to come in contact with him; if this happens the game switches to a side-scrolling view known as a fight screen.

In fact, if you enter any area where more detailed exploring is needed the game switches to the fight screen style of gameplay. Areas include caves, towns, hidden areas like forests or swamps and most importantly, the games seven palaces. Towns are filled with lots of houses that are mostly empty sadly, many citizens that either help Link with some info, ignore him or even turn into a monster! Palaces are filled with many enemies, tons of maze-like corridors, great treasures and devilish guardians. Fight screens play more like your typical Nintendo platformer like Super Mario; Link can jump, attack and cast spells during these scenes. Attacking is fairly basic but still offers some need for strategy. At first Link can only stab either high or low towards his enemies but as his Adventure progresses he can learn new moves that let him stab down or up. Combined with the sword attack Link also has a shield that can block basic attacks from swords, spears and even rocks. Like his sword, the shield can also be upgraded with abilities like magic guarding. Spells are also available to help Link along the way; some are needed to progress and others aren't but can help a lot. Spells include Jump which enhances Links vertical abilities, Fairy which turns Link into a small flying creature and Fire which allows Link to shoot fireballs from his sword.

Hyrule is made up of a huge world that switches between the two types of screens as needed while you look for the hidden treasures the series is known for. Along with the spells and sword techniques there are also Heart Containers, Magic Containers, Link Dolls, medicine, kidnapped children and man other things that Link might stumble on while he goes about saving Zelda. Of course, the main locations in the world for Link are the six palaces around the world followed by the last in the heart of Death Mountain. That doesn't mean you shouldn't stray off the path once in a while though.

The best feature of this game is how it feels like you are actually progressing in the Adventure yourself rather then just following steps and that is even more an amazing feat given the age of this game. The large, secret filled world lends itself well to a game like Zelda II but the small aspects of the world like the close to dead towns detract from the set feeling of the game which in turn keeps the final score from being perfect.

Score: 9/10

Graphics

For a sixteen year old game the graphics surprisingly still hold up well but they aren't without their faults. Environments are varied and drawn very well. Link travels through deserts, swamps, forests and ocean areas that all look like the areas they should. The land map takes a tile approach to the environments so while there is a large world to see it all looks a little square. Don't know about you but I can't remember the last time I saw a mountain filled with 90 degree angles. Towns are large and filled with houses, fountains, tress and signs that make them look like an actual town…. the first time we saw it anyway. Towns all tend to look the same as the one before it except with a new paint job on the houses so while this does offer variety the towns all start to blend together especially with their exotic names. Palaces on the other hand are pretty bland; they appear basically like large areas of rooms made up of a single color block. Palaces feature very little in way of environmental images that spruce things up for the player beyond the random window or curtains. Like the towns, palaces also pull the different color for a different location trick.

Filling these areas is a magnitude of enemies and people but once again, the color trick comes in to play. Monsters for the most part come in three variety; orange, red or blue. The color signifies their skill and range of abilities going from orange to blue. Luckily for the player the designers actually tried to make each stage of enemy feel different beyond the color change so it works out well. The people you meet in towns come in a few varieties and three main colors, purple, red or orange. While the color sometimes refers to a different use, Health and Life ladies, it is mainly a means to make the people look different to Link as they stroll on by. Items that Link finds along the way are drawn pretty well from the hammer to the magical cross although you never get to see them in actions; they just sit in the inventory window. Link himself is both drawn and animated well. Running, jumping and swinging all look great. A few extra facial expressions would have been nice but in 1988 that was unheard of; it's just a little weird to see a big grin on Links face while he is being plummeted to death.

The graphics would warrant a high score if not for a minor problem found in this port. Due to the aspect ratio change from the television to Gameboy Advance some of the environments are cramped vertically which in turn makes the sprites that move along the ground, enemies and Link, push into the ground a little. It's not deal breaking but it's noticeably especially to fans of the original version. The color change problem can be chalked up to the needs to save memory space on the old style cartridges and using what they had, the designers did pretty well. The aspect ratio problem is one that really couldn't have been avoided. Hardware is hardware. All in all Zelda II is still a good looking game. It won't hold it's own against Minish Cap but you'll still enjoy them well enough to have fun.

Score: 8/10

Sound

The sound department is one that really shines with this game, both the original and this port. Music is made up of five main songs that loop over and over depending on the current location. You have one for the land map which is the classic Zelda theme, a song for towns, a song for enemy battles and hidden areas, a song for exploring palaces and one for the battles with the palace guardians. The songs match the location you are in, with a upbeat song for the towns and a gloomy for the palaces, and are catchy enough that you will be humming them the rest of the day. They are a little on the short side in terms of their looping though and a little more variety wouldn't have hurt but all in all the music holds its ground well.

Even better then the music are the games many sound effects. First off let me say that there is no annoying "boing" sound for when Link jumps; Mario this isn't. Effects include the sound of swords and spears siding off shields, spells being cast with a magically ring and even some great environmental effects like when a blow hits the walls. A few enemy specific sounds would have been great if even for the bosses alone but sadly they all rush into battle without a sound. Spells come with their own range of sound effects as well from the filling sound of the Life to the burning of Fire, they all sound really well for such an old title.

What sound and music are here all sound great but that just works to make you wonder what could have been if they finished the job. It kind of takes you out of the fantasy when you see a huge snake shoot from a lava pit without so much as a peep. I doubt these choices were made due to laziness but rather memory constraints but a problem is a problem no matter what the reasoning. Coming out of the tiny speak of the Gameboy Advance the whole range of sound never losses an ounce of quality and they remain faithful to the NES version.

Catchy music and great sound effects all coming flawlessly from the tiny speaker make for a nice game to listen to…if only they would have went the extra step.

Score: 8/10

Conclusion

Zelda II is a great port of an amazing game. I would wholeheartedly suggest you but this title. However, if you intend to play this on the television by way of the Gameboy Player I suggest using the cash to locate a copy of the Zelda Collection on the Gamecube. That way you can avoid the small graphical errors that when stretched to the television are that much more noticeably. Minor problems aside this game is worth every penny of the twenty dollar price tag if you want to have this adventure with you wherever you go however if you are just looking for a way to play this great game again without busting out the NES then I suggest springing for the Zelda Collection if possible since it just moves better to the television. On the GBA though Zelda II is an adventure that only the Zelda series can offer and one that stands above the rest in the action RPG genre.

Overall Score: 8/10

Recap

Story: 5/10

+ Good story
- that you need to read an extra manual to see

Gameplay: 9/10

+ Many unique areas to explore
+ A ton of enemies
+ Great Bosses
- areas tend to have a square feeling

Graphics: 8/10

+ Enemies look great
-..but use color as the sole way to show difference.
+ Bosses look great
-..but again, the color….
+ Link animates well
- but that stupid smile….and his sword color…

Sound: 8/10

+ Catchy tunes that fit the environments well.
- …but they tend to loop just a tad too short.
+ Sound effects are detailed and sound well
- …for the ones that are there anyway. Damn Memory constraints!
+ Classic sounds and music all sound great coming from the tiny Gameboy Advance Speaker.

Overall Score: 8/10
+ Game hold up very well for it's age
+ Great buy if you want it portable
- but if you want to play on the television this isn't the version for you

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/05