Zelda 2 Speedruns Are Completely Broken

[@karljobst]

Please let me know if the flashing lights cause any issues for anyone. Apologies as I was not thoughtful enough to consider it a problem as I'm not very knowledge on the subject. But let me know for the future. They are only present for a brief moment once or twice. Thanks. I've always considered myself to be a pretty good gamer but Zelda 2 really made me doubt that. It's insane. Get 20% off your first monthly box when you sign up at bespokepost.com/karljobst20 and use promo code KARLJOBST20 at checkout!

[@thetragedyofcommons]

hey karl you should put a seizure warning in this pinned comment and also the description, probably should put more of a warning in the actual video if there’s anything like this in the future

[@dialectiks]

Seizure warning would be great tbh even for those that just don't want to be tortured at 0:37

[@babyninjajesus2669]

how did you get them to send you a box, i thought you lived in australia? the shipping options are only US and canada :(

[@Arvl.]

Karl jacobs

[@TheTubePoweredOne]

The flashing is 100% a problem. Legit requires a seizure warning.

[@LGreymark]

Having the runner come on to explain the glitch was awesome, he had great camera presence and was a clear speaker

[@Oakshield2]

And a glorious beard

[@elliottryan13]

Karl ALWAYS has some legendary people when he has guests.

[@idontwantahandlethough]

I concur! Most indubitably 🤙(they don't have a fancy pinky emoji for some reason. Absolutely _odious)_

[@franpan89]

Heck ya

[@bryanmartin8935]

I agree here, this was very cool. Normally I prefer Karl to explain it as best and as in depth as he can in his incredible voice, but this was cool of him to do

[@Kosmicd12]

Man, I'm with you that the games a beast to complete for the first time (combat wise), but I think it's truly an incredible game. I just played it for the first time this year. I thought all the puzzles were reasonable to figure out- half the time I got stuck it was because I hadn't read the manual. I really think it's probably the best made game on the NES. If every game over took you back to the palace you died in, it'd be perfect.

[@jakecowan6441]

You say that.... but you don't realize the fact that it DOESN'T is what makes it so fucking incredible and such an accomplishment to beat.

[@PopADoseYo]

The legend himself!

[@BaufenBeast]

The only thing I think is a bit absurd is the Great Palace route. If you're playing it totally blind, you're trying to explore a labyrinth of super-tough enemies when there are several dead ends so long it could take you multiple continues to even realize you went the wrong way. And unlike the other puzzles in the game, there are no hints, you just have to brute force it, including jumping down all the pits.

[@manunova5929]

@@jakecowan6441 It does create *some* padding and feels a bit like a noob filter because not everyone can go back to their objective without losing lives. I don't hate it, but I am a patient person and have beaten the game many times, so I don't lose my lives as often and can make it to palaces without dying. But honestly, this is probably the hardest Zelda game and the game itself gatekeeping you does add to beating it being an accomplishment.

[@KainYusanagi]

100% agreed with you!

[@wtbhelbreath5098]

Karl, I appreciate that when you make videos about a specific game, you actually spend some time in the game trying things out yourself. Legend.

[@facadeESEA]

one thing i love about karl is he often tries the run himself or tries some of the tricks so he can speak on them with a bit more knowledge

[@lashian]

I really hope that having the runner itself speaking in the video becomes a trend, it's super interesting to hear their experience first hand

[@jodosh]

Slackanator was a perfect choice to do this. He often will break down tactics and strats live on stream for people who ask questions. He has started packaging them up as KZbin shorts lately to explain cool tricks for old games.

[@nocturnox882]

Not to sound like an advertisement, but if you like hearing runners give their own perspective in speedrunning documentary-type videos, check out OneShortEye's videos on old Sierra/King's Quest games! I discovered the channel a couple months ago and it's honestly a wonderful community. The videos are really humorous and well-edited too.

[@karlk5801]

The problem is that most speedrunners probably talk like auctioneers or Quicksilver from the X-Men.

[@narnianninja4964]

​@@karlk5801 😂😂 That's so good

[@jguard79]

@slackanater has taught me ways around trouble points in games that were around since I was a kid. Great streamer and his explanations are so thorough

[@reboot3332]

When i was a kid, I rented this game and spent days trying to find the hammer in death mountain. No matter what I did, the spot I thought it was supposed to be in never had it, so I could never progress further. After returning it I eventually found out that the freaking game was glitched the hammer was not going to appear. I eventually got the game for a holiday and sure enough first try I get it. Then was able to beat the game despite it being ridiculously difficult. Figuring out the final palace was insanity, then dying multiple times to my shadow was torture. Was worth it though cause none of my friends could beat it so I always had bragging rights.

[@CA-fy6gj]

Lol that sounds like pure torture. I hope you eventually find out the game was intentionally glitched by the guy you rented it from.

[@tinyetoile5503]

Oh, I actually saw in another comment that the same thing happened to that commenter! The hammer was glitched and wouldn't spawn- they only managed to get it to spawn by having the "name" of the character start with the letter I.

[@tinyetoile5503]

Oh, to add to my previous comment, I found the story! It's one of the top comments on the video "Zelda 2 -Behind the Code"

[@MonkeyDLuffy-ed4fj]

Imagine being older than this game ☠️

[@PlexitGames]

Slackanater seems like a really cool dude! Mad respect to him for coming on and sharing in such a clear way. And mad respect for the runners in this game!

[@fedos]

@Don't Read My Profile Photo Don't be a spamming dirtbag.

[@P.W.R.]

@Don't Read My Profile Photo Okay okay, I won't. 😟

[@ASMRBass]

Got this game in the 2nd grade. The pain... 4 years later, a friend is watching me play the final boss and I'm getting closer but I just can't seem to do it. I take a break and grab some pizza. 5 minutes later he runs up to me saying he beat the game. I run to the tv to see the credits...I never played it since. That sumbich had beat the game with the help of his subscription to Nintendo Power. I stayed friends with him till he passed away 2 years ago due to glioblastoma. And thats the thing with these old legendary games, they bring back all the memories you experienced and all the fun you had with friends that may or may not be alive anymore.

[@antennahead4978]

My dad is 50 years old now and he still says beating zelda 2 and ninja gaiden on the original NES is his proudest accomplishment

[@brettdulaney8108]

ninja garden took me years to beat, Zelda 2 I did as a kid, yeah your dad is a hero

[@antennahead4978]

@@donutsama285 well ok it might be a little hyperbole lol but not that much :)

[@kripo7398]

Show him the speedrun then. His reaction when the sprites start to glitch out will be hilarious :'D

[@Noobsaibot21]

​@@donutsama285 I was gonna say... proudest gaming achievement? or in general?

[@Chic_Ken]

Ninja gaiden, I gave up, but beat Zelda 2 several times. I think I just love Zelda lol.

[@zzstoner]

As Karl likes to say: "Don't just take my words for it." And has the WR holder himself come on and explain some of his techniques? That's what makes a LEGEND. 🏆

[@SSJ4Lunchbox]

Karl I just want you to know how much I appreciate your ad break placements. Most KZbinrs I watch just throw breaks in wherever, and it really kills the momentum of the video. Yours are like commercial breaks, and maintain a great flow for your videos. Thanks again you absolute Legend.

[@steinanderson]

still needs to timestamp the end of them though

[@turtleism684]

Imagine not using vanced

[@skeletonwar4445]

@@turtleism684 Imagine your mother

[@nineplusten]

After seeing that crazy death screen, I had to look it up. Apparently there were reports of it causing epileptic seizures when the game was originally released. In re-releases of the game, they removed the flashing colors.

[@vodkagobalsky]

Combat in Zelda II is actually very deep and fun. I played this game way after it was released and I really appreciate how ahead of its time it was. It's a great game.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

I also did, but i was too bad at it lmao.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

Deep? I can understand enjoying it, but deep? Maybe I'm just too biased. 🤣

[@Queldonus]

I would love to see a remake of this game. Consider the level of care that Metroid 2 got on its remake and what a good game we got as a result, and its an exciting idea to consider.

[@groundedgameplayx]

@@Queldonus Samus Returns was so great!!

[@ottoneiii4353]

zelda ii is a great game!

[@zetorux]

The WR was beaten just today! Awesome to see a Z2 video on here. The glitches in this category are so fascinating!

[@karljobst]

Wow that’s insane

[@iancormier7550]

New tech as of last week just occurred. It'll have a few bops for the next month.

[@scars2k2]

F

[@lasagnaforbrains]

The curse of making speedrun WR videos, they are NEVER up to day lmao. I love it when they get beat within a day of the video upload. Means there's hot competition to go watch RIGHT NOW!

[@alanfennell4833]

As a kid I had a friend who would get seizures sometimes after watching the death animation in this game. As an insensitive child, I told him it was an extra incentive not to die and that he actually had an advantage.

[@VirtuaVirtue]

he gets the extra thrill of potentially dying irl too, lucky

[@RockerBen]

Fella was on Iron Man mode IRL

[@RockerBen]

He inspired Isekais. "If you die in the game you die in real life."

[@Mrbaubenon]

@@VirtuaVirtue Thats a little bit too much immersion for me! haha

[@HUGEHARDTHICKANDVEINY]

@@VirtuaVirtue Always finding that silver lining!

[@Gigafrosty]

I collaborated on the publishing of the first Tool-Assisted glitched Zelda 2 speedrun on TASVideos (looked it up, it was back in 2005. Time really flies!) I've always had a very vague idea on how the healer glitch maybe worked underneath the covers and this was really great to see explained! Thank you for continuing to make such entertaining videos! :)

[@Deathstock]

Hehehe underneath the covers

[@renektonftw]

Great game tho!

[@jekw23]

I got lost following this but I have so much respect for these guys who devote so much time….it’s something I could never do. Personally I love getting the most out of mechanics in a game. However seeing this type of dedication is truly impressive

[@gblargg]

Imagine if these videos were time-traveled back to the early 1990s. We'd all have been absolutely blown away at the depth of knowledge people have of these games.

[@Vertraic]

I am blown away by it NOW! Some of the glitches speed runners use, it is just crazy that anyone ever realized they could do that. Plus the level of muscle memory needed for things like the distorted world portion of this run? Just pure insanity!

[@gblargg]

@@Vertraic Yeah, emulators and save states allow research (e.g. TAS) and training not possible with physical consoles alone.

[@briankarcher8338]

@@gblargg Yup. Not to mention being able to look at the memory real-time and even the code. No other way to traverse a game that gets this glitched.

[@a.j.leclair5426]

I'm surprised Karl doesn't have like 5 million subscribers!? He makes the best video game/speedrun content period!

[@R202X]

You and Summoning Salt are the best. Different ways of presenting great stories, but both are the best advocates of speed running!

[@Agon1stt]

They are definitely the top 2 channels for speedrunning on youtube, though there are many others as well like Speed Docs, Maximum and OneShortEye

[@booognish]

Summoning Salt also has a great p-hub channel, dude is packin!!!

[@1366Erik]

@@booognish Hell yeah! I knew he was.

[@slifer875]

@@booognish what? context for this joke?

[@PotatoToon]

@@Agon1stt Bismuth as well, truly underrated.

[@MungkaeX]

I find it funny that Karl has managed to spend more time talking about this glitch and the ensuing WRs stemming from it than the WR itself takes. Keep up the great work.

[@DubYuhGChoppa]

I know it's probably day time for you but thanks for uploading anyways. I'm up at 12 am and I needed something to just take my mind off life

[@0vel]

SAMEEEE

[@Dankaliciously]

It is day time over here.

[@Megamannen]

Not same, early morning

[@DubYuhGChoppa]

@@Megamannen EST lifestyle

[@0vel]

@@Megamannen *shock pika face*

[@brandtmiles2373]

I was 12 years old when I first beat Zelda 2. One of my most vivid gaming memories. It was Christmas break, and my mom rented it from a local video store for six days. The night I finally reached the Grand Palace, we had to go to a Christmas party so I paused the game for several hours, only to return to find that our power had gone out, resetting my game. Undaunted, I stayed up till the early morning hours, finally reaching Shadow Link and beating him on my first attempt. Way before the Internet and cheat codes, it was a brutal exercise in memory, reflex, and patience. Now 45, I still pop it in every year and play it from start to finish, impressing my children, haha. Amazing game that doesn't get much love outside of the speed running community.

[@TheJadeFist]

I've always loved this game. The so-called cryptic clues and where to, isn't a real problem if you just talk to all the NPCs they tell pretty much everything you need to know.

[@KnjazNazrath]

I completed this game when I was 6, with a mate and I grinding it out over a period of 8 months. I tried to do it again at 18, and wondered how the heck I managed it. Same thing happened with Duck Tales to a lesser extent.

[@westheriault3797]

I really appreciate how you play all the games you cover even if they're extremely outside of your usual comfort zone. It gives an interesting quality to the videos, especially in contrast to those games where you're in the top ranks of speedrunning like goldeneye or perfect dark.

[@KepalaMonyet]

21:10 "...which I will also LINK."

[@excalibur2038]

The fact that speedrunners are utilising and remembering the results of randomly written data in the wrong areas just goes to show how much dedication is really put into these runs, incredible

[@evileyeball]

I did a cool Zelda 2 thing at the beginning of pandemic, where I raised link to maximum level by defeating the skulls in the first temple which at level 1 take 255 hits to kill

[@tarnw3301]

The flying skulls can be killed???

[@evileyeball]

@@tarnw3301 at level 1 they take 255 hits

[@tarnw3301]

@@evileyeball I thought they were inmortal XD

[@adeptusmedicus]

I really enjoyed Slackinator explaining the glitch himself, nice touch.

[@FrozenMelody]

Looks like the LinkFeet glitch was found after my FairyFeet glitch discovery a long while back when I found it while playing the game with my feet (I assume that's why the feet part stayed in the name, that's nice of them!). Great to see the speedrun community building on top of existing glitches in earlier applications!

[@oddojaggins]

I am blown away yet again, how do they figure these things out? Thanks for your hard work Karl

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

A lot of times they create a TAS first and study the crap out of it for new strats

[@DavePoo2]

I suspect people are disassembling the game and looking at the code & data in memory. i.e How is it possible to know that the game only has 2 memory spaces to store the exit points of doors unless you looked at the disassembly? As there aren't any places in the game where you can go through 2 nested doors. In these old computer systems/programs, quite often the game is not only always arranged in memory the same way every time, but even in the exact same memory locations ( in a modern OS this wouldn't happen as it's a security flaw), so this glitch town glitch where you enter the door 5 times, is probably writing 3 zeros into memory after the actual space allocated for 2, so it's overwriting it's own memory. Whatever the data is there, it's always the same data every time the game is booted, so it's possible to glitch out the game in a consistent way. It's possible that overwritten data is some constant/read-only data that the game uses (e.g. it could be character movement speed). Again, in a modern OS/program, there can be sections of data & code that are marked as read-only by the system, so writing into those locations would actually cause the program to terminate, so glitches like this get rarer as OS's got more evolve and get more aware of problems like this (older games like ones on the NES etc would not even use an OS but talk to the hardware directly, so they have no such concepts).

[@kaozbender]

00:37 hoooooly epilepsy attack lol

[@pinkpapafranku]

Hey Karl I love your content and I've been having a couple of tough days so thanks for uploading this now :) it's a nice distraction

[@karljobst]

Hopefully you feel better soon

[@pinkpapafranku]

@@karljobst thanks I really appreciate it

[@lightfeather9953]

This craziness is probably why the all keys category is the most popular and competitive. For those discouraged to play z2, i highly recommend trying, and using the QOL romhack or PC mod version if needed to make it less frustrating. I enjoyed finishing the original game but I 'cheated' in the sense of using emulator fast forward button to speed up the boring overworld run back after dying. Didn't need save states after watching speedruns for guidance (no glitches)

[@BogusNoise]

That looks insanely complex! Would love a video of a full length breakdown and explanation of the run.

[@crestfallen5638]

This put the end to "do we live in the matrix or not" question. I'm pretty sure if we lived in a matrix, some speedrunner would've already found ways to teleport.

[@julaizaya7946]

I love when Karl call us "Absolute Legend" ^^ I really like your videos so much Karl Jobst, thanks for your hard work. Greetings from Belgium in Europe.

[@thomaslovell9909]

Great video as always, Karl! I love this type of video and I feel you always pace them just right by going in depth enough to explain what needs to be said while not going so in depth that you lose the audience’s attention. Minor mistake tho: at 3:37 you said “Obviously, the less items you collect, the faster you can beat the game.” While that’s generally true, low% speedruns exist because while some items are skippable, doing so results in a time loss. Think games like Super Metroid where while you can technically beat Ridley with only the charge beam, it’s much faster to use a bunch of super missiles, or think The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess where you skip some keys by staring at a dialogue box for a couple hours each time.

[@earthsteward70]

You know it's gonna be good when the hashtags are "Epilepsy warning" and "Flashing lights."

[@BabaJeez]

11:30 Wow. Such precise analysis and so much time and effort to save only 8 seconds.

[@camwyn256]

Hebereke by adef at AGDQ2020 put together a list of the perfect GDQ run. One of the things was a very complicated explanation of a simple trick. Another was a simple explanation of a complex trick. And there were, like, 9 other things. Oh! A blindfolded section. A call for serious time. And so many others I'm forgetting.

[@sink649]

As a Zelda II runner myself I can say I did not expect this video at all, amazing work. It just makes me wonder if there would be, I don't know... a video on an F-zero game soon?

[@HerbieMcNugget]

Gotta love the Flintstones unused theme in the end, my favourite chiptune track

[@soul-om4id]

Love Zelda 2, loved it more than the first one. I beat it when it came out as a kid. Super tough game, it was super fun. I have incredible memories playing it with my father and brother when I was a kid. Another super hard but fun game was The Battle of Olympus (I believe that's it's name). Oh how I miss these tough, no hand holding, skill based games. The way how our minds fill in the gaps when missing details, especially with pixel art, is what makes these games so damn timeless.

[@excrubulent]

It's so interesting that they programmed this method of connecting doors. Like you'd wonder why they didn't just have a reference to the destination stored in the code of the door itself. At first glance it seems like a hacky, overly fragile solution, but I suspect the reason it was done this way was to save space in the tiny storage available in those old cartridges. They had to do so much work to get a fully working game - especially with an open world - stuffed in there. A consequence is that they can have these obscure quirks which are so fascinating. It really drives home to me that programming a video game means creating an entirely unique version of quasi-physics that has implications even the creators don't fully inderstand.

[@xWatanukix]

What I still can't wrap my head around is how people discover these complicated glitches? Many of them are just complete madness in terms of what you have to do to activate them.

[@bobiboulon]

It's the 1st Zelda I ever played, and it was my favorite video game when I was a kid. I have fond memories of it, even if I recognize that some parts were very difficult. But with training you develloped strategies against the hardests of enemies. However, if it's true that you restart at the begining when you die, devs made you find a special item in each region of the world that, once acquiered, allowed you to skip entirely the previous region. So, if you lost all your lives, you were just good for a bit of walking, which is not that annoying. Oh, and did I mention that it was one of the first games of the NES allowing you to actually save your progression? This game is an under estimated gem.

[@camwyn256]

Then you should check out Super Chibi Knight. Great game with the side scrolling combat and leveling system like Zelda 2

[@txwering7380]

Me: Proud of myself because I am about to go to sleep at a semi decent hour. Karl:

[@Lumberjack_king]

0:54 not just gaming options but entertainment as a whole

[@sadmanadib8536]

"The less items you collect, the faster you beat the game." Mario games having items that skip entire worlds: Hold my flute

[@beesree39]

it's still not wrong

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@beesree39 yeah, i guess

[@Lethargyman]

I’m back to watch this video again after seeing Slackanator’s 13:48 run - time cut down two minutes in 2 years, crazy

[@nexus1g]

It was his first try doing the new route, I think. I love watching that guy when I can when he's streaming in the morning.

[@JesseSwaney]

What a unique game. I absolutely loved the first game. When I was a kid.. I couldn't do it. This game whooped my ass.

[@Number1sineaterfan]

I remember when I was younger I think about 7 my dad who had me quite late into his life showed me the game from his childhood we beat it in a day and then we beat it up the second one and being a 7-year-old I don't think I've played it since then because I just hated it I should give it a replay though

[@JesseSwaney]

@@Number1sineaterfan You guys beat it on one day!?! Damn dude..

[@Number1sineaterfan]

@@JesseSwaney given we looked up a couple of ways to beat dungeons and also given the fact that he knew every Easter egg in every area

[@JesseSwaney]

@@Number1sineaterfan Still man.. pretty impressive.

[@eMKayyoUwhY]

The 14 min. barrier has been broken by this guy a couple of days ago. It's crazy!

[@June28July]

Anyone else curious how the lady heals Link? 😉

[@Kydrou]

Same way the Granny restores Link's mana. Have fun.

[@sorrenblitz805]

Avgn already explained it. Link's not a little boy anymore he's getting a little bit of the ol in out in out

[@tupalev]

Thanks for the terrific video Karl - you not only feature one of my favourite people to watch on Twitch with Slack (I discovered him after your NG video), but you both explain the insanity behind the glitches in this game so well. Great stuff!

[@treschlet]

Zelda 2 is actually my favorite Zelda game. The combat is so fluid and dynamic. Nothing feels quite like it

[@videopostrrr]

karl your channel is so wholesome. I watch summoning salt when i want ASMR, I watch you when i want to be in a happy place!

[@thetragedyofcommons]

hey guys massive seizure warning at 0:37 and many more throughout the video, if you’re epileptic you might just want to skip this one out

[@originalsleepyjon]

I beat this as a nine or ten year old kid on the original NES. Fast forward to this week, I'm now 43 and I just beat Zelda 2 with zero continues. I know it's the Zelda black sheep, but I've always had a soft spot for this game.

[@unisol17]

No drama? What is this? An actual Speedrun channel?! (love your content Mr. Jobst)

[@mikeroagreschen5350]

Billy Mitchell apparently never played Zelda 2.

[@ArthurvanH0udt]

That struggle was with many games of that era. Try finishing Ghosts 'n Goblins. I did it on a coin machine. And it took several months and many coins to get to the end boss first time. MOST people never got any further than 2nd or 3rd screen.

[@camwyn256]

Using emulator and save states, I couldn't get much further than a few screens

[@kosmosyche]

As a kid I always had dirty thoughts when the fine lady invites Link inside "to help him" and they don't actually show inside. Yeah, I bet she does, Link, you dirty dog! Just don't forget we are here to save Zelda. lol

[@beincheekym8]

simply awesome! Slackanator seems so chill tbh, seeing 160 BPM near the end goes to show the level of stress.

[@Kyle4ya]

No matter what, my day always gets better when Karl jobst uploads. Love the content and thank you for the extensive work you put into these videos! Very well appreciated!

[@noobandfriends2420]

I remember running around Gannon's castle drawing a map of it and checking every wall for secret passages. Those huge slimes were crazy to encounter for the first time. Those were good times.

[@hdofu]

I love these any % runs, its like watching sorcery.

[@leafgreensniper13]

I know this is a very long shot, but Karl could you cover Episode 1 Racer? That game is one of the fastest and intense racing games out there. The strategies and techniques are deep. The racers are highly skilled. Not to mention the crazy skips!! I think it would make great content for the channel!

[@zophar1]

Slackanator is an awesome runner and great human being. Loved seeing him on your vid!

[@occamsbutterknife9186]

A few years ago, I decided to beat this game and the long treks back to the last palace, having to go passed the wall with the lizards throwing rocks at you every time, almost did me in. This game and the original Metroid are two of my proudest wins.

[@spouwnerring]

Click 3:12 if you want to skip the ad

[@grizzlywhisker]

I find it weird that many people look at Zelda 2 in a negative light. I grew up with this game and I've always really liked it, it feels like a true precursor to a game like Dark Souls with the RPG elements and the high difficulty. Sure, it's wildly different than all the other games in the series (making it sort of a black sheep,) but I think it's really good for the NES era.

[@thatguyanderson]

Zelda 2 was before my time, but having played it recently, I agree. It’s definitely a hard game, but there isn’t anything unfair about the difficulty. I think it being so wildly different than the other Zelda games, especially the first, is a big part of the reason it’s not as beloved as the others.

[@my-king]

It's all double Dutch to me after while. I will admit, you lost me... but that's ok because that makes it magic. Congrats on the magic guys. You should be proud. Thanks for the video Karl! It is always a treat when I see a new video from you.

[@idontwantahandlethough]

hah, I've never heard 'Double Dutch' used that way before. I like it!

[@avo616]

Double Dutch Rudder

[@Terracronz]

A game over in the final temple would start you at the temple entrance, that made the game beatable

[@PutTheSuitOn]

Slack is absolutely wonderful and kind, and obviously just an amazing runner. Thank you so much for featuring him with this!

[@ashmenser7959]

I have beaten this game once in my life. It took 4 years of on and off play, but I did manage to beat it. I started around 2010 and finished in 2014. My 14 year old brain couldn’t believe that I had finally done it. I don’t think I will ever attempt it again tho, not worth the headaches. It got to a point where I was so sick of seeing Zelda that I didn’t even want to save her anymore lol.

[@RashFaustinho]

You should add an epilepsy warning, the screen flashing when Link dies is... quite the spectacle

[@tia1678]

i thought that i had missed the warning, those flashing lights were intense 😓😬

[@cupriferouscatalyst3708]

I was thinking that too. I can normally handle a lot of the crazy effects used in many 8 and 16-bit games, but that death screen actually made me have to look away.

[@Griggs58]

Stop being so weak.

[@danceyrselfkleen]

People with epilepsy are weak genetically and honestly should be eliminated from the gene pool for society's sake. Anyone that can be completely disabled by flicking a light switch doesn't deserve to procreate.

[@chimericalical]

I beat Zelda: AoL as a kid without using cheats or a strategy guide… buuuuuuuuuuut similar to the original Zelda and a lot of other games at the time it was a group effort. A group of friends come over and share what they know about the game while playing with you… and you probably don’t beat it then. You play more, get stuck somewhere else, go to a friends house and play together with a group and share information. Lather, rinse, repeat until the shared information is enough to beat the game. I then played it again on GameCube with the Zelda collection disc and said fuuuuuuuuck this, I don’t remember this being this hard. Then even later where I kinda just emulated it at 3/4 speed.

[@mastercobra8249]

Fun fact. Zelda 2 was the first game I ever beat in 1991 when I was 5. So it always holds a special place in my heart.

[@Ramsey276one]

FIVE?!

[@joeallan3706]

lol, zelda 2 was 2nd game i beat when i was...5 but in 1990! the first game i beat was Metroid it was way harder to 5 yr old me then zelda 2

[@Ramsey276one]

@@joeallan3706 I can imagine... I think in the 80s I found Metroid easier than Zelda2

[@calebland6246]

Are you sure the controller was plugged in and it wasn’t your older brother actually playing?

[@mastercobra8249]

@@calebland6246 considering I am the older brother……… nope.

[@Stonehorn]

I beat this game many times in the 80’s. It’s the only game in the series except 4 swords that I haven’t completed at least once in the last decade

[@TheSBleeder]

This was my favorite NES game as a kid. I know it's the "black sheep" of the franchise, but I love it. The difficulty is what it is. It's an NES game. And I don't think it's any harder than the original Legend of Zelda. Finally beat it as an adult on an emulator (without save states).

[@IYPITWL]

I had this as a 5yo and was absolutely terrified of the shadow enemies that popped up every few steps. I didn't know about the candle so every cave was pitch black. Anyways I ended up beating many years later on Gameboy and it felt amazing. Like I was being a big brother for my younger self.

[@Kowalth]

This is one of the most mindblowing things I've seen! *Zelda II: The Adventure of Link* is one of my favorite games of all times! I beat it when I was like 8 years old without even knowing english, or the secret Palace you open with the flute! Everytime I attempted to beat the game was a challenge for me! I even had random dreams about "secret" special locations that didn't even exist! I was aware of the Healer glitch, but such explanation, plus this Speedrunner makes this even more brilliant! I 've enjoyed a lot this video with all the details. Thanks for uploading it and sharing this information!

[@cloudsquall88]

Very happy to see Slackanater mentioned in your channel! He is such a chill guy, and real fun to watch, too!

[@dmhenderson]

This game was a huge deal when I was a kid. When the game missed its announced release date in 1987(?) in the US, Nintendo actually published an apology letter from Link in Nintendo Power explaining why we couldn't spend the holidays together (not kidding). In an era before Gamefaqs (and the internet in general), I think it took my friends and I about 2 months to beat it with maybe a couple phone calls to the Nintendo hotline. Mapping the final palace was the worst bit.

[@camwyn256]

Super Chibi Knight uses the combat and leveling ideas from Zelda 2. Great game

[@bigbadspikey]

I'm pretty sure that "Healer Lady" is "Healing" Link very well inside that "Healing House"....a very "special place" indeed!

[@Tuttifrutt8i]

My mom was so addicted to Zelda 2. She played it while talking on the cord phone, which was between her shoulder and head. At the same time, she was doing laundry like ironing .... and she played Dr. Mario on fast and expert (I remember a flying saucer or some kind of cut scenes). Now 30 years later, my brother and I are laughing at family reunion parties, how "pro" she actually was. Doing multiple things at the same time and playing hard video games with ease. I also remeber, that she hit reset, when some specific colored pills not spawned at Dr. Mario. She said: "It's impossible so solve, when I dont get this and this color at the beginning." I couldnt even complete medium difficulty :D By the way, when I was sick like fever or some kind, she sat next to my bed and told me a fairy tale about the little green man from the forest (who was Link) .... :p

[@AnthonySigouin]

Thank you for the credits ah ah! I finished this at 8-9 years old without any help in the mid 90s. The quick combat system is very enjoyable when you're skilled to it. Great informative video as always!

[@Xtopher822]

I just played this again on my original NES, and this game is no joke. Great job Slackanator, you're the real deal!

[@manunova5929]

I love Zelda 2. I would never play it with glitches but still appreciate how ridiculous it gets. It's my most played Zelda game and I've beaten Dark Link legitimately a few times too (although it does feel random when you hit him and when not). I play this game at least once a year, and if you know the map you know you can reset really quickly after losing all your lives by going through Death Mountain (a great place to automatically grind a few levels before palace 2) and get the hammer early, add downstab to your arsenal and you're golden for the rest of the game. You only have to go through the first cave once and the rest is history.

[@Newtination]

For the door glitch, I remember the set-up as limk shield just past door, healer chest touch window - she'll turn around and then as soon as her elbow lines up with the window (where chest was) press again. Still definitely tough, it's just ~8 frames.

[@kbramlett6877]

I was with my Dad at K-Mart, when the company was still in business, I just happen to see a copy of Zelda II in some random box on the floor behind the counter in the electronics dept. I convinced him to buy it for me because at that time there was a shortage of microchips and the game was very hard to come by. He did and told me that I could not have it until Christmas. As for playing the game, it was quite difficult. But I finished it, with a little help from Nintendo Power magazine. The magazine gave you tips on where items needed to assist you in your quest were located, but it was up to you to go through the struggle of acquiring them. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link gave a different spin on the franchise, but it was an excellent game in its own right. It takes patience, determination, and at least three controllers, (LOL) to play through this game successfully.

[@JacobPlays136]

11:40 slackanator's explanation is really cool. He's so enthusiastic about it too which makes it really fun to listen to.

[@conedx]

very glad you made this video. zelda 2 is one of my all time favorite games and was my 2nd favorite zelda before BOTW and TOTK came out (wind waker was number 1), so i decided to watch some speedruns to see what people can do. saw that sub 16 minute video and thought "WHAT THE HELL HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE" so i watched and at the end thought "WHAT THE HELL HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE".

[@herisruns]

slackanater is a legend. your ninja gaiden video was the first speedrun analysis video i ever watched and i've been hooked ever since

[@doscassette871]

As someone who does a decent amount of 2D game dev, mostly as a hobby, I love hearing the speed runner discuss their logic in finding and completing glitches as its often similar issues I run into when coding and testing/debugging

[@KainYusanagi]

Damn, thank you a lot for getting Slackanater to explain Link Feet! I've heard of it and read explanations for it, but seeing it accompanied by the explanation makes it a lot more understandable. Never been a fan of super glitch runs, but still appreciate coverage of them, especially with such a chill dude assisting. I've always been a fan of clean speedruns instead, so it's a little sad that the scene at large has almost entirely transitioned to the former instead of the latter. EDIT: Spelling.

[@giteausuperstar]

Karl, your views and engagement on videos is extremely high for your number of subs. There are channels with millions of subs who don’t consistently get 500k-1m views. It’s a testament to the quality of your content.

[@Jokervision744]

That's quite beautiful. Reminds me of times when I played PS1 demo and accidentally found some cheat codes or cheats. I still don't know how or what did it. The demo was for Populous: the Beginning on PS1. I know the thrill of being able to get beyond the limits, but then to find something you value from there. I don't know, but it's chilling.