Is Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 เม.ย. 2019
- Zelda 2 is also available on the 3DS, another device that supports save states.
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Some people appear to be having trouble understanding what I mean by "save states." This does not mean saving after defeating every enemy, or whenever you feel like it. I meant using them sensibly, like say, at the beginning of a dungeon (which is already stated in the video). As usual thanks for watching, have a good rest of your day.
100% agreed. As long as you're not spamming save states to beat a difficult boss, it's fine. You're just adding your own "save point" at a reasonable spot in what is otherwise a lengthy and difficult game. There's a balance between being able to enjoy ALL of the game utilizing modern conveniences while maintaining the spirit of how the developers intended the game to be played. I have no problem with this. Life's short and we're all busy. Also I have bitter memories as a child of having to leave post-it notes on my SNES so my parents wouldn't shut it off because who has 6 solid hours of continuous time to run around accessing computer terminals and picking up keycards in Jurassic Park. Seriously would it have killed you Ocean to at least throw in a password system?! Something?!?
It's not about how often you save it's about how often you load
@@SevenCompleted Annnnd you load when you get a game over, so you don't have to waste time wandering all the way back. Not that difficult to figure out what I'm saying here, folks.
SNES drunk I was saying save scumming is fine don't matter how many times ya save if you never have to load. It was a joke sorry
@@SevenCompleted Oh, whoops, I'm an idiot, my bad
Looking back at it, the combat was really ahead of its time. Consider that this was a time when most enemies in games just outright ignored your character, this had enemies that not only actively attacked you, but used rudimentary strategies to kill you.
Agreed. You especially see it in the blue Ironknuckle.
Castlevania enemies have so many strategies to kill you.
What I really is that for each ennemies you have an according response to, weither it's just timed your stab to hit the Ironknuckle in the head, stab an ennemy in the leg making them knock back and miss you, go in an hole in the projectile they throw to get at them, reflecting their spells back at you....etc.... I'm really amazed by how good the overall ennemy design is.
Despite the next level combat, the sword attack range sucks.
@@FreneticZetetic It doesn't actually, range of the sword is never an issue if you know how to approach the ennemy.
it gets more hate than it should. When it first came out, all we had was Zelda 1 to compare it to. And compared to it, 2 had a huge jump in story, combat mechanics, and character detail. I really wish they did a remake for this
Yep, like Shadowgate, back in the day we had 'more' time on our hands to play through tough, grinding games. This game is an absolute classic.
@DejaVoodooDoll what? you don't lose experience points when you get hit in Zelda 2. maybe I misunderstood what you said?
@DejaVoodooDoll It's a hard game, but it isn't THAT hard. I just beat it at the age of 41 with a lot less time in my day to play video games, and exponentially less patience than I had when I was a kid. It was just the right amount of challenging in my opinion.
If they make a remake they're going to make it top-down, add chibi graphics, make all the bosses a puzzle with glowing hands and shoehorn ganondorf as the final boss.
No thanks, I'm happy the way it is
@DejaVoodooDoll This game DOESN'T remove exp on EVERY hit.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is one of the greatest titles to ever come to the NES and I'm not ashamed to say it
I agree 100%. My favorite nes game by a mile.
Agreed. Maybe not my favorite (there are so many great NES games to choose from), but definitely essential.
I agree and i love that type of game in general. Im i big fan of simons quest and faxanadu as well so maybe its just a taste some people have
You are so very wrong...
Yes this was way better than the first one
No joke. Zelda II is still my favorite Zelda. I’ve played and beat this one the most.
cause its the only zelda game that presents a challenge. the others are way too easy good games just too easy
@@SevenCompleted Considering half the "challenge" is getting back to where you died, it isn't a good trade of.
@@SevenCompleted Something, something, Death Mountain and the trip to the Great Palace. Long, arduous trips with hard hitting enemies and death traps. And if you get a game over you have to, ahem, W A S T E a lot of time just to get back to those places that aren't any more merciful just because you're rethreading them. Let alone if you get a game over in a dungeon.
But sure, the shortcuts totally ailviate the problem. That git gud talk? Shove it. You choose the body cavity
@@scissorman44 you only have to go through death mountain once and it's not even that hard lol. Ninja garden is a way harder game.
@@SevenCompleted Oh yeah, because Ninja Gaiden being harder totally makes the punishing nature of checkpoints here validated(hint, unless you're stupid it doesn't). In fact, Ninja Gaiden handles Checkpoints accordingly. You die? You get back to the section. Game Over? Back to the beggining of the level. No downtime whatsoever.
It's also funny how you simply dodged the second example.
My uncle dumped this game on me when I was like 6 and said that if I could beat it then I could keep it just so long as I showed him the ending.
It took me most of summer vacation but I did it.
This was the game that got me, seriously, into video games. It was the first one that I became obsessed with and it made it very clear that video games would forever be a part of my life.
This is so wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing this wholesome story and how you got into video games!
@@brandonwilliams6119
The very first game I've ever played was Joust at an iced cream shop in Ligonier, PA at like age 4 and I hated it, even though I was fascinated by it, but I still hate that game today. It's not a bad game...just not my thing.
The family friend who took us there gave me their 1978 Atari 2600 heavy sixer that coming xmas and I loved it but never really grabbed me like Zelda 2 did.
That uncle who gave me Zelda 2 was a true American hero, too...he was a fighter pilot in WW2, played a few games in the MLB when called up from the minors, and was all around just a benevolent and wonderful human being. He just passed this year, unfortunately.
@@FoxFireUnlimited The very first game I played was either Super Mario World or Crash Bandicoot I can't quite remember.
It's hard for me to imagine someone beating this at all, let alone at age 6. How did you figure out all the puzzles/quests?
@@briandhamby
I agree. I beat it when I was in my early 20's and it was a decent challenge. I can't imagine beating this when I was six.
The older I get the more I appreciate Zelda 2 on NES. It might just be my favorite NES game.
Top 3 for sure
Yeah this was my favourite game in bed along with mario 3, I liked it more than the first one because I felt that was more rpg
Had a lot of fun playing this when I was a kid. borrowed it from my friend after he beat it.
I used to not like it because it was the oddball in the series and it was hard. Now though, I really like it. I realize that being the second game in the dawn of home consoles, there wasn’t really a formula for sequels so I can’t blame them for changing it up.
This game ages like a fine wine
One of my favorite Zelda games. Hard as heck but ,still my top 5 nes games.
Same! Started at 13 beat at 21 😂 Hearing the intro to the final palace for the first time made me weep.
William Hamilton Now that is something else lol 😂
@@williamhamilton8438 I first played it when I was 13...I finally beat it at the age of 41.
Ditto. One of my favorite games. I'm always surprised when people hate it. I question if those people suck at games in general :)
@Trzn ok boomer
Zelda II was SUPER popular when it was newly released and through the NES lifespan. It wasn't until much later that it became such a controversial game.
About the time people just gave up and game creators started making easy-mode games that held kids hands all throughout the game.
Zelda 2 was the exact right amount of difficulty.
@@Quimper111 We get it.
Well said Bro. The TH-cam echo chamber has not been kind to it. Back in the day it was very highly rated and was an awesome game. It still is
@Robert Hunter Ha! If they can't handle Zelda II, wait till they try Ninja Gaiden, Battletoads, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, Final Fantasy I to III, Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior I to IV, etc.
@Robert Hunter What I'm trying to say is they're all hard games.
I'll never forget the first time I heard the dungeon music in this game. It totally captivated me! I have yet to beat this one though... hopefully I'll be able to get through it some day!
I only just beat this game for the first time ever, no walkthrough and no save states. It took me weeks and gave me stomach cramps.
I have always loved this game but man it's brutal, even with save states.
I used save states once to beat Japan Mario 2, I felt bad. Both games can get brutal though 😁.
I've played this game so much, I can now beat the whole thing without getting a game over
@@Frieowksf1293 any tips for someone that is going to play for the first time, such as what stats to level early on etc
In my 34 years of life I finally beat this game a few months ago. It was agonizingly brutal yet satisfying to finally complete the one Zelda game I never could before. If I never have to play it again, I'd be cool with that, but I'm still glad I finally finished it.
Watching you pick up that heart container at 6:37 and immediately taking boomerang damage brought back memories. Nice inclusion.
Nice attention to detail.
Good job noticing that.
This game is hard as hell but absolutely satisfying when you learn how to play.
It seems that players who lack discipline, are careless, don’t observe, and lack the determination to become sufficiently skilful end up hating this game. It’s so damn satisfying. My most replayable Zelda.
@@EmperorsNewWardrobe I didn't like the game but I never gave it a chance now I gave it a chance and now it's my second favorite zelda game
It isn't even that hard by NES standards though. I'd say 2/3 difficulty. People should play Battletoads for some perspective.
You just earned yourself another sub! Zelda 2 on the NES is still one of my favorite games on the system. I have fond memories of the challenging hours I spent finishing this game with a buddy of mine. The first LoZ is still my favorite. Zelda 2 was different, but in a great way. And yes, the NES Classic is the best way to play this game with the ability to utilize save states!!! Keep the great videos coming and I will be watching!!!
I legitimately love this game. First Zelda I ever played and beat. Don't understand why it gets so much hate.
cuz it can a hard game to beat mainly the resson but over that it is a great game
People hate on this game because they can't get through it. It is a motherfucker, but if you beat this game, you are a true classic gamer
It was fist Zelda game i owned and first zelda iplayed all the way through and beat. I played Zelda 1 before at friends houses and borrowed it after beating 2.
@Caleb E. did you finish it on OG hardware, or emulator. Because that has a lot to do with it. Also nostalgia
I played this game for the first time a few months ago, and I fucking loved it!
It's such a great idea that as you train under sword masters you then unlock the up-thrust, and whatnot.
It's intense, and highly skillbased, and I had a great time. The music is great too, as you said!
Also, Link is actually a Wizard in this game. He straight up just casts spells without relying on magic tools.
Rambo, Battle of Olympus, Castlevania II, Faxanadu... I love me some NES side-scrolling RPGs
I'll give these a try
5:29 "How on earth are you supposed to dodge all this?"
5:32 *Video shows exactly how you're supposed to do it*
*Watching him jump over magic shots rather than deflecting them with his shield.
Me: Oooooof.
*Watching him ask "how are you supposed to dodge all this?"
Me: Just veer back and forth!!!!
Haha great video, I am a master at Zelda II and can even beat it without dying, so I always watch people less familiar with the game and just go nuts in my head lol.
“Got to love that down thrust.”
😎👊🏽
Based on what I remember from back in the NES days, Zelda II didn't get a lot of hate back then. It was well received by me and my friends at the time, but I think the only major issue with it was the insane difficulty compared to the first game. Unlike the standard "NES hard" we were used to at the time, Zelda II was one of those games that stood out above the standard in difficulty. IMO it wasn't as hard as the likes of Ninja Gaiden or Silver Surfer, but it was hard enough to where only the most dedicated kids would have been able to beat Dark Link.
Agreed, save states make the game SO much more bearable. Having said that, I have proudly beat the game legit, back in the day. And I can remember getting to the end and saying, "I will NEVER do that again!"
The game isn't even difficult can easily beat it in one continue. Save states are not needed.
Me too
Never felt like the starting back at the beginning thing's nearly as bad as people make it out to be, you keep getting items throughout the game that create more and more shortcuts to get back to where you need to be fast, and the overworld is really quite small as you get used to it. It's kind of annoying given how hard the game can be and how few lives you get, but it definitely helps you care more about defensive upgrades and spells and want to get really skilled at the combat so you can take less damage and deaths.
This game is underrated
I have beaten this one along with the first one on the original hardware, and enjoyed this one more. Combat was more challenging and fun; more NPCs to speak with and towns to explore; character growth/customization; improved graphics; and an enjoyable soundtrack. Easily a top 10-20 game on the system, imo.
AWESOME music, that DOWNWARD stab! oh so satisfying! the peaceful towns, the scary fat slime that blows up into 7 or so slimes in the last palace, the last boss (brings back memories of the mega man clone boss in mega man 1!), that game over screen (known to bring nightmares to little kids when they first played this) with that evil laugh! this game is really well done. yes it is imbalanced but you can just grind out the levels and then kill the game. grinding isn't too bad as it brings back memories and is kinda fun here and there. that save state system is a real life saver on the nes classic.
A lot of people don’t remember that Zelda 2 came out in a different world. The NES didn’t come out all across the US at the same time. It started in New York and then SLOWLY made its way across the country. I remember living in Ohio and going to visit my extended family in Texas. The NES was a hit in Ohio and they hadn’t even heard of it yet in Texas. By that same vein, many people were slow to adopt the NES and there were far fewer videogames in total which sat on the shelf for a very long time. The point being that Zelda 1 and Zelda 2 were sold AT THE SAME TIME. It wouldn’t have made sense for Zelda 2 to be the same game as Zelda 1 when Zelda 1 was still selling like hot cakes and at the top of the list of favorite games for the system.
Zelda 2 is a great game.
Great perspective, thanks for sharing.
When we got our NES, this was one of the two games we got with it (the other being the pack-in Mario/Duck Hunt). So, we loved this game. There was so much to do and explore!
Haven’t played it since ‘87 or ‘88, but my thoughts back then were that while it’s a departure from the first game that it’s good enough to stand on its own. I enjoyed Zelda 2 a lot but was unable to defeat Shadow Link!
Love your videos man. I rarely play SNES games anymore (or anything from that era) but something about your videos is so relaxing and nostalgic. Love your enthusiasm. Thank you!
I absolutely love this channel. You play so many Super Nintendo games. It is amazing! You are thoughtful in how you approach your commentary. Smooth, easy to understand, and very fair. Keep it up!
I have been subbed to you for a year, and i gotta say, I absolutely love your style. First time commentor. But thanx for doing Zelda II. I always felt it deserves lore love than it gets.
Was JUST hoping you would review this one day! Excellent video. Thank you!
Played through this game about 5 times. I got two tips for anyone thinking about taking this game on.
1. Save all the extra lives for the final stage of the game. You can find about 4 extra lives hidden on the world map.
2. Do not deposit the crystals at the end of each dungeon. Instead Die (if your experience points are low) or walk out of the dungeon (if you don't want to lose your experience points). Then, towards the end of the game, come back and deposit the crystals. This will automatically gain you the next level up. This makes it much easier to level your sword up to level 8 and eliminates the need to do any grinding. If you still feel the need to grind do so with the jumping spiders (use flame magic).
This was one of the first NES games I ever played. My friends parents rented it and we played it a bunch. Loved it. We didn;t know what a battery backup save was and couldn't figure out why there was 3 people to pick from lol. We had no idea what we were doing.
I stand as a lover of this game. I played this game heavily when I was a kid and still enjoy it as an adult. It's different and challenging, but rewarding.
This is honestly my favorite Zelda game. I know, I'm weird like that.
You’re not weird because of this, this game is awesome. Although you could be weird for other reasons. Hahahah
One of my all-time favorite games on any system period.
Nice one, one of your best vids! I gave Zelda 2 a full playthrough a few years ago and I have to agree it is often overlooked.
I owned the first Zelda on launch and this one too. I used to play this with my friends as a 10 year old back in the 80s. I loved it, and I don't remember anyone hating on it back then. It was super popular. Hell they based much of the Zelda cartoon off this game.
Honestly I also loved (even more so) Castlevania 2 Simon's quest. These games got me into rpgs. Then I played dragon warrior and pen and paper rpgs. That led to final fantasy and pc rpgs a few years later.
These games are classics and don't deserve the hate they get today. We're they hard, yes cryptic you bet... But that made it so much fun back in the 80s when most games were very short or just score attacks.
This game needs a remake like Links Awakening. It could be a great Metroidvania style game with better controls, balancing and other quality of life changes.
That’s not a bad idea
Links Awakening did not need a Nintendo Crafted Land remake. It needed a Link Between Worlds style remake. Nintendo has been going 100% into fluffy fuzzy safe zone and it sucks. I hope MP4 and other games don't share the same fate.
Not another Metroidvania style game.
I’m
Not really sure what you mean
By better controls. I think the controls in Zelda 2 are perfect. In fact I replay it often just to play the fun combat.
Honestly, the only changes that need to be made are starting the player at a more reasonable spot for game overs, and maybe a tweak to the exp system (like only losing half of your exp on a game over). The controls are fine.
Also, rebalance Death Mountain.
Zelda 2 has some of my favorite music. Yeah there might only be like 3 songs but that temple music is so good.
This game resides in a warm place in my heart. I remember how it took months to beat this game, asking friends for clues when you're stuck, sometimes even calling the Nintendo Hotline. Despite it's flaws I still love it. I wish they would remake this game, with HD graphics, orchestral music and a couple of gameplay changes this could become a new classic.
* Have the rare 1 ups that can be found in caves respawn
* Give the player the ability to fast travel, or start from the last temple as you stated.
* Work better clues and tips in the dialogue, have stuff like a hidden section in the over-world stand out more.
It's a diamond in the rough.
@5:30 They throw rocks based on the direction and how fast you're going, so you gotta differ in speed and quick back stepping a little, and you can get by almost everything, mostly only going to get hit if you take too long fighting one of the ground enemies.
This was my first Zelda game and I got it new in 1988. During the the early days of the NES, many of the complaints were common practice. Save states were not even a thing and uneven gameplay was perfectly acceptable.
Side-scrollers were the dominate "gameplay" type, so it was only natural that Nintendo would try something new with the Zelda sequel (US and Japan).
This game was HARD! The key is level-up as early as possible. That being said, the 10-year old me who played this game back then simply adapted to the difficulty and learned the timing. Timing was EVERYTHING in the 80's games.
At this time, there was no Internet, so I remember buying any magazine that I could (afford) when I saw something in it pertaining to the final palace. It took me years to finally beat that game, and I did not know about the corner trick until years later. (It was not in that magazine.)
Today gamers have SO many advantages: automatic saves every few minutes, DLC to make the game easier, etc. Even with retro games, there are save states. Forget trying to master a tough level from beginning to end, just "rewind" the game or go to a previous save from the prior screen.
Now, as a 40 something man, I do use those features, so I am not trying to sound hypocritical, but with a family, I just want to play my games. If I can squeeze in a few minutes here and there, I am happy to do so. Save states give me the advantage of being able to play a game without saves with the ability to save progress. Furthermore in a situation like Zelda II, save states are AWESOME! In the early Zelda games, the only way to save your progress was to die and save. You then started back at the beginning and you wandered back to wherever you were before. While this was never anything to complain about in the 1980s, we simply do not do that today in our games. That being said, the convenience of a save state definitely shows.
To summarize, many of the complaints you listed were common in the 80s, so I do not see them as a big deal. I do however see how somebody who missed that generation, and played this game years later, could have legitimate objects to some of the elements.
@Robert Hunter We must be a lot alike. When Zelda II came out, it was the second game. There was no "traditional" way of a playing the "series." Castlevania did the same thing on the series. Most games adopted this type of gameplay. As a result there was more room for experimentation. Even Mario was different the second time around.
I talked about games constantly during this time period too. I was never quite a hit with the ladies. Apparently, they did not care too much about my conquests in Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, etc. Who knew?
This is the one NES game I always go back to. I'm re-playing it on Switch right now. Love the music too.
I think the lives & dying mechanism was actually a great incentive/penalty to take death seriously, and that first time continuing from the Great Palace was all the more rewarding after taking the long and difficult journey to get there.
But, yeah, continuing from the last town or village would have made backtracking and recovering much less frustrating.
I got this game for my birthday back in the day because Super Mario Bros. 2 was sold out everywhere, and I loved it. It’s got a good amount of challenge, memorable music and great progression. I still play through it every now and then just for fun.
First Zelda game I ever owned/played still love it to this day
Excellent review man. Zelda 2 is misunderstood. It’s a chore but a rewarding one. Also A+ on the save states. People need to stay in their own lane with this real gamer stuff and just let people live.
6:39 nice hit
Something I miss about gaming before the information age: We played games we enjoyed. We didn't know if other people (on the whole) hated them. We didn't know ANYTHING going in; by trial and error we figured out combat mechanics, learned strategies to deal with each and every enemy, and after poking around enough, discovered all the sword and spell upgrades. This game sparked my interest and love for RPG mechanics (I remember running home during school lunch breaks to cram in some experience grinding). When I completed the game, it felt EXTREMELY rewarding because of its difficulty.
The hate for this game is unfounded.
Zelda 2 is my second favorite game on the NES and I prefer it over the original, and funny enough I recently replayed it for the first time in a very, very long time. Awesome review as always!
If you're a subscriber to the Switch Online service, it's also in the free NES games pack. With savestates.
Want a challenge. Get an Japanese account and install the famicom channel on Nintendo's eshop and play Zelda 2 on the Famicom. All I cam say is don't die.
such fantastic content, thanks for the hard work
beat this game when I was 14 on the original NES. it only took me 2 years
Link to the past is my favorite Zelda game
My favorite zelda
Same
I never minded going back to the starting location after losing all your lives. It's a time punishment, so it was meant to be annoying, but it also pushes you to improve so you can avoid having to go back as much as possible. Besides, it doesn't take that long to get anywhere, the only long journey is the final temple, but the game gives you a restart point once you reach it, so you only have to make it there once.
Yes, I understand all of those things. But the demographic for this channel is mid-late 30s. Working adults with lives. I'm suggesting an alternative to *avoid* a time punishment. I think that's useful in 2019.
@@SNESdrunk I'm mid 30s and only play retro games, I think this game is hard but it doesn't need save states to be fun. Why do people need to crank through a game as fast as possible? If I play an hour a day and it takes me a month or more to make it through, that's just extra value to me. If you like save states, that's cool, but it's not a deal breaker.
This game reminds me of my Aunt Betty. She loved this game as well as the first Zelda game, and a Link to the past. I remember drawing dungeon maps to the first game for her. Priceless memories. R. I. P. Aunt Betty. I miss you so much!
This was a good game, and I didn't know anyone who disliked it when it came out. It seems as if the haters came later.
Hmm you definitely made this game seem more appealing to me then other reviews have. I really think I will need to give this a try and some point; albeit with save states for sure.
This is honestly one of the most under appreciated games EVER. In many ways it improves from the original and is deeper than many games released at the time. Great video as always!
Been playing the hell out of this game on my NES Classic during quarantine. Love it as much as I did as a kid. It has everything--awesome action, perfect music and sound effects, highly challenging, and when you know where things are and begin to develop strategies for beating it more quickly the replay value is almost limitless.
Great vid and a worthy tribute to a Top Ten (imo) NES cartridge.
Now I want to get out of work and go play some Zelda II 🤩
I got shit as a kid for liking this game, and it gave me a rep for liking "bad" games. thanks for covering it fairly, though i am a little confused that you didn't mention that it's on the switch (and super buff SP form too) given that its been on there for at least a month as of the time of posting.
SNESdrunk doesn't have a switch. I've recommended him switch games before on twitter and he says he doesn't own one yet.
@@duffman18 let's do a gofundme or something similar for this ol' (or young?) drunkster. one dollar donation each. he can easily buy a system. heck if we all donated just 50 cents, he could get it. we enjoy so much content he creates, i would be up for it. i just don't know how to set it up.
I've had a lot of health problems my whole life and spent my childhood in and out of the hospital. I have great memories of playing Zelda II in the pediatrics unit of my local hospital on an NES that was donated by the local Lion's Club. It's a perennial favourite of mine.
Great video, buddy. You are the best!
All the Zelda 2 hate is a relatively new thing because someone said it somewhere and other people heard it so it musta been true etc etc. At the time, Zelda 2 scored very high in top 10 lists and rightly so. It is the most grown up Zelda of the series. It is dark, it is relatively hard (although fair and player skill based) and treats the player like a real grown up, like the previous game (new Zelda games treat the players like kids) Zelda 2 is probably my favorite because it just oozes this dark foreboding atmosphere with the claustrophobic dungeons and the feeling that the world is bigger.
Eener1000 oh puh-lease, people have been ragging on Zelda 2 since long before they could do it on the internet.
"Treats you like a grown up" says someone that doesn't exactly act like a grown up.
@@scissorman44 I guess the irony of your comment is lost on you.
@@Zeburaman2005 There's no irony there, to say someone is acting immaturely doesn't mean I'm the peak of maturity(even though there's nothing inherently immature about what I said)
@@scissorman44 I fail to see what part of OP's comment is immature. Care to point it or them out?
Love me some Zelda II. I remember being sick as hell after I got it as a kid and trying to play through it. Great game, great music.
short answer "hell yes" This game blew our minds in the day and its still a fav
I've owned this game for years, but only beat it for the first time last year. It was on the GameCube version, so no save states. And while it was frustrating losing experience and trekking back to the temple after each Game Over, it was still very satisfying to finally beat this game.
7:45 I tried to beat Dark Link legit. After three deaths, I only managed to hit him twice. So yeah, knee-stab it was. No regrets.
It only “doesn’t fit into the formula” in hindsight. Ten year old me didn’t play and enjoy it and shake my head at the end thinking “well, it’s not a ‘Zelda’ Zelda...”
l think the only real gripe l have about this game is the unfair difficulty. If it wasn't so damn unbalanced, it would actually be a great game. l like a good challenge, but there comes a point where a game can be too hard to have fun. It's very beatable, but the amount of time you have to spend memorizing everything and perfecting your reflexes is just asking too much. And the fact that death is punished by wasting more of your time is what keeps it from being truly great.
The overworld has short cuts so it's not really that long to get back to something. The real loss is if you gameover and lose a large amount of exp. This game is so much more playable on original nes + crt, (a digital display adds some delay to analogue signal) or a fully digital way via emulation. There comes a point where a hard game, once it clicks with you, stops being hard. Sure it has it has its difficult parts, but once you understand how the game behaves, you can predict what it's possibly going to throw at you, even in a new part of the game.
first game I played when I got a switch with Nintendo online. Loved every minute of it and it brought so many fond memories from my childhood.
I got this when It came out but I was too young to really understand or figure it out. I went back and played it a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Its so different but it's very dark and when you figure out what to do with all the spells and when to use them you realize how brilliant it is.
5:28 "How on earth are you supposed to dodge all this?!?"
*Proceeds to dodge everything like a champ 2 seconds later*
Crono trigger LP please
This and Rad Racer 2 were the first games I beat as a kid... set the bar kind of high. I crushed most games after that, until I played Kid Icarus. That brought me down a peg or two.
Great review. Spot on about the dialog, spells, MUSIC, etc. I still like it on original hardware since the map isn't enormous, and travel is only tedious once you cross the ocean/lake... whatever that body of water to the east is.
Worth learning the nuance to play through, and another solid view/criticism!. I have two tips for frustrated players that really helped me and I don’t think I heard them in the video? (Apologies if the second one is redundant)
1. The statue at the start of each dungeon can spawn an enemy that you can use to refill health and magic.. even worth back tracking to if you don’t have save states.. just enter the dungeon from the world map and attach the statue.. it’ll come to life or not and just run back to world map and the enemy respons..
2. The last dungeon, once reached, you’ll respon there even after continue!
Great content! Cheers!
Do you ever feel the "save states are cheating, it isn't that hard" crowd need to get a hobby other than gaming? Go outside every now and then.
Only if the hobby is being a crash-test dummy.
Nah brah. You need to man up your video gaming.
youre just spoiled
I know exactly what you're talkin about I don't know how many times I saw Zelda sleeping 😂😂😂😂
This was my first Zelda game. Christmas 1991. Finished it for the first time in summer 2018 at age 33 (on a GPD XD)! My older sister was around too because we were having a family reunion/vacation.
I love this game so much. I wish they would make another sides scrolling Zelda.
Yes I played this on original hardware this game was a pain in the ass for me but I like it it though for me you can say that this game was the old age dark souls the first dark souls 😂😂😂😂
nate joe dang dude I was seriously thinking about how this was OG dark souls as I was watching the review.
Also I learned to read from playing this game as a kid because I wanted to know what the villagers were saying
Sees someone about to fight Dark Link with attack at level 6 "ok I'm intrigued", does corner trick "meh"
Attack level doesn't matter on Dark Link. It takes 8 hits regardless of your attack level - always has. Now - do it with life lvl 6, no corner, no shield spell. :p
This is one of my go-to games when I have some downtime and want to play something over a weekend. It's really fun, with some interesting world building and just the right level of challenge. My other go-to game is Faxanadu. You should do a video on that one, I think of it as a forgotten gem.
Zelda II always reminded me of cross over with final fantasy with how they did the top over lay out map and how the enemies run into you for battle. Crossed again with the side scrolling part mimicking Battle of Olympus.
Neeeessss drunk, this game deserves a remake on switch , if Pokemon , Mario and Luigi can get remakes on 3ds then why not this & golden sun
I expect Golden Sun 4 by late 2021 or so.
The Mario and Luigi games didn't even really benefit from being remade. This game certainly would.
@@bezoticallyyours83 that's what I used to think about ocarina of time Majora mask but their 3ds remake made them absolutely gorgeous, golden sun with enhanced graphics will look amazing
Savestates? Bleh. I completed this game numerous times when I was only 8 years old. Granted, it took me DAYS to clear certain dungeons for the first time, but it felt so very rewarding. I can see why people would like to use savestates now, but it also makes me a bit sad as well; knowing that a lot of people, including myself, have completed this game on original hardware with none of that fancy technology. Just me, the NES and the game.
Great video. I really liked how you railed on ducking in the corner to beat dark link but boasted about using save states lol
I really liked this one. It was different, but still challenging and rewarding. This is coming from the guy that likes Battle of Olympus as well, so the control of Links character has alot of genuine appeal to me. I've never finished it, but one day I may. Great video! Good coverage of every aspect of the game!👌
On original hardware is fine, honestly.
Save states are not that necessary, plus when you do die, everything is retained including EXP. I mean, sure, the walk back is a bit annoying, but not that bad.
Definitely a great game. Don’t listen to the crybabies.
Put me in a pair of diapers cause its a big no from me ever revisiting this game.
Not liking it doesn’t mean you are a crybaby. But maybe you are.
I loved this game when I bought it in the late 80s. Great video.
Finally...someone out there giving this game some love. I got this when it first came out (December'88) and loved it. To this day it's one of my favorite NES Games.
Too much whining. Combat isn't unfair, you just have to learn the movements. Save states will kill the experience.
I don't think you listened to the video. He didn't said that the combat is unfair.
And how going back to the Palace entrance instead of the Zelda Castle "will kill the experience"?
Oh yeah, because setting savestates like the checkpoints in past games would totally ruin the game design. He's not advocating for savescumming, he's just telling people to avoid what ACTUALLY kills the experience: getting sent back so far for a game over.
@@scissorman44 savestates ALWAYS lead to savescamming. It takes a grand total of what, 5 minutes to walk from the beginning to the farthest point on the map? It's part of the journey. Don't want to "kill the experience"? Learn to defeat enemies without getting hit. This game is not that hard.
@@MiloKuroshiro There was obviously enough of a distinction when designing the game that the developers and play-testers thought so, didn't they?
@@SeveredLegs "savestates ALWAYS lead to savescamming." Stop projecting. There's this thing called restraint. If you can't excercise it, then I'm sorry, but stop assuming everyone would rush to spam them just because YOU would
" It takes a grand total of what, 5 minutes to walk from the beginning to the farthest point on the map?"
Not everyone has the time to spare, you know. The reason games aren't designed like that anymore is because the average player is busier for A LOT of reasons.
"Learn to defeat enemies without getting hit. This game is not that hard."
In other words, git gud. To which I say, fuck that.
Not only was the music for the Palaces great, the Great Palace had a fantastic theme; I wish we got to hear more of it. Though to be fair, you’ll probably end up repeating this level so many times it won’t be an issue.
Fun fact: the only time you don’t start from the beginning after a game over is in the Great Palace. My understanding is that since this was a CD release in Japan, you had to switch disks right before the palace. As such, the game let you start there so you didn’t have to keep swapping disks and that state was kept in the US release.
Second fun fact: this was one of the first games to have a New Game+ mode that was so popularized by Chrono Trigger. Playing the game through with max stats, skills, etc. was awesome.
Love this game! Couldn't beat it as a kid (partially due to skill, partially due to losing saves). Finally beat it a couple years ago! Thanks SNES drunk.
I loved this game, and used to beat it weekly. I loved powering way up and going to the first castle.