What's So Great About Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? - What's in a Sequel?

[@pqsk]

Man the music in this game is awesome

[@XX-sp3tt]

This game was epic. And it introduced so many freakin' elements to the lore that influenced everything since then. It gave Link meaningful sword play three games before Ocarina of Time!

[@yagatza]

This game was my introduction into the LOZ world. As a kid it was so difficult. It still to this day but completing it as an adult, so satisfying 😌.

[@zigerwoods34]

Same for me, it was my 1st game other than Mario/Duckhunt! It was unbearably HARD as a kid!!! I’m currently trying to beat it and I’m about 60%, wish me luck!!! 😂

[@killerhertzmercedes]

One of the best Zelda games, really pushed the series forward with new ideas.

[@azraelle6232]

Zelda II remains to this day the only Zelda game that I have owned and beaten, and I did it back in the 90's before the internet. Yeah it's a tough game, but it was so rewarding to finally beat it, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@AkaiAzul]

It is truly the Dark Souls of the Zelda franchise.

[@Shigarui]

Have you played Phoenotopia Awakening? It's the same style of gameplay. Overworld map, areas both obvious and hidden that take you to 2D dungeons and towns, gorgeous pixel art, a beautiful soundtrack, and combat that's part Dark Souls and part Zelda 2. It's AMAZING!

[@sirmi9868]

First Zelda game i experienced and i loved it. I only got the cartridge alone tho,no map no instrucction. It was an amazing experience discovering and learning the game 🔥🔥🔥

[@maynardburger]

Nice video. This game was far too intimidating for me as a less-than-10 year old kid in terms of actually getting anywhere in it, though it simultaneously impressed me for the same reason. The whole 'needing to write things down' aspect didn't bother me at all as I was already doing the same thing for like King's Quest games on PC and enjoyed that part of it. I ultimately really liked the idea of a 'grand adventure' sort of game like this and I'd soon grow into being a huge RPG fan for that very reason, it was just all too difficult and overwhelming for my abilities at the time.

[@4SonnyD]

Adventure of Link really is a great game if you like a retro challenge. This video perfectly explains why all its unique qualities make it fun.

[@TonyStarkCLC]

Agreed.

[@andrewsaint6306]

I enjoyed that Adventure Time DS/3DS game that had a similar structure and would love to see more modern takes on Zelda II's gameplay.

[@foxdavani4091]

I beat this game when I was 8 or 10. I still love it. It was a hard fun game and I didn’t find it cryptic at all. I was playing when the internet was still barely even functional. No google. No anything. Just a browser with no search engines or whatever. I couldn’t google answers. But somehow I beat it and loved it. I still return to the game on my switch.

[@ninjascout]

no hate to the FIRST game, but this one is MILES better than it

[@hi-tych]

We all know this game was the first "GTA". Link didn't go in that lady's house just to get any "replenished energy" we all know the truth. 😅

[@Marc_Araujo]

I still get flashbacks to lizardmen tossing rocks at me from atop a really high wall...Zelda II was an evil work.

[@Erdbeerenserver]

I was 6 when I first played this. It was fun and hard but I still managed to beat it many times

[@samuraikatsu-kingofthemonsters]

For me this is the best NES game ever. I really love this game. Thank you for this video!

[@Waifu4Life]

You only need 1 cheat code (GameGenie, Action Replay) to make this game more tolerable: Start with 9 Lives The only thing that makes this game annoying is when you always start back at the Zelda Temple when you die or resume your game, so having more lives makes so that you won't see it that often.

[@MrMidasGames]

Another great video. I never played Zelda 2, Link to the past is where my adventures begun.

[@Dyundu]

Play it-it’s a great time 👍

[@Norvo82]

Zelda II may be considered the black sheep of the franchise, but its influence is still felt today. A lot of elements introduced here survived and even returned in Tears of the Kingdom. Crossing bridges, fighting flying enemies, returning sacred stones to statues: it all started here. The names of the various towns have become part of lore: Rauru, Mido, Darunia, Saria... The wide variety of landscapes to explore: tons of caves, the woods, the prairie, a graveyard, Death Mountain and lava streams. One thing that's always irked me though: the (master)sword is prominently featured in the opening graphics, but the sword plays no part in the entire game!

[@galacticnight05fan18]

That’s because the sword in the intro is not the master sword. Nintendo did not introduce the master sword until LttP.

[@Norvo82]

@@galacticnight05fan18 🙂Put it another way: there's no sequence in the entire game that has Link retrieve a sword, any sword, from that cliff in the opening titles. It's a little misleading, is all I'm saying.

[@maynardburger]

The downward sword strike is also an obvious source of this prime mechanic in Shovel Knight and Hollow Knight.

[@ddsjgvk]

Wasn't the final dungeon in the first game in a grave yard?

[@Norvo82]

@@ddsjgvk The final dungeon in the first Zelda game? No, Ganon wasn't hiding in a graveyard but inside a rock on Death Mountain.

[@TurdFerg117]

2 spawn points. You will spawn in the Great Temple once you make it.

[@juanluisgomezgonzalez9519]

I find amazing the fightinh system. It stands as a real 1 VS 1 tough battles instead of the swarm enemies of other games from the era

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

This game is an absolute misunderstood classic. It was really ahead of its time.

[@Vanoxe]

Great video. I still absolutely hate this game but great analysis.

[@Rubberman202]

The black sheep of The Legend of Zelda series, has its flaws but brought a lot of staples to the series, such as visiting towns and whatnot. Also unique in not involving Ganon at all, except for the Game Over sequence. Honestly surprised that Nintendo hasn't revisited the side-scrolling action-platformer format after this (officially, anyway), I think it would have been a neat thing to expand on.

[@amerk6601]

It may be the blacksheep of Zelda, but seems it could have been the precursor to the side scrolling adventures we see today. If Nintendo had called this something else (not related to Zelda) and gave the characters different names with a different story, I wonder if it would have been popular enough to develop its own series that would have rode along or perhaps surpassed the Metroid series. The landscape of what we call Metroidvania today could have been different if Konami decided they preferred the adventures ZII style when they developed Symphony of the Night.

[@ChrisHoulihan]

Love your work!

[@orangejjay]

I have tried and tried and tried and tried some more to play this game to completion. I love the graphics, love the music but it's tough! Even with Game Genie it's hard. Great game though! ❤

[@roberthardy9255]

Along with Super Mario Bros. 3 and Battletoads, this is tied for best game on the NES.

[@catsaregovernmentspies]

Top 10

[@dwatts64]

Your stuff deserves SO many more views. Have you tried tweeting them out to streamers or posting on some classic gaming subreddits?

[@3X3NTR1K]

No other game in the series (at least on consoles) has as much potential for improvement with a remake.

[@estebangarcia8999]

I finished it yesterday for the first time. I did it watching a guide and the question is HOW COULD PEOPLE IN DE 80s DO IT WITHOUT INTERNET AND KZbin?!

[@NEStalgia1985]

6:28 ive never seen a healer npc say revived before. This a cartidge or a rom

[@Catterjee]

Healers on the second continent say revived.

[@Epic_C]

Why are you always on the last bar of health? 😂

[@SauceBlob]

Great game tbh!

[@yazarc]

The game is a cakewalk once you get the hammer.

[@DonaldRoy-nr9xe]

6:55 this is a lie (or ignorance), if you die in the final dungeon (maze with Thunderbird/shadow link) you will start from its entrance only & not from Zelda's bedside.

[@amerk6601]

While Hoverbat's version is fantastic, it's not a true protrayal of what the NES could have done with Zelda II since it was not bound by NES hardware and limitations. For a better look at what ZII itself could have been, play Amida's Curse, which is a romhack of the game and uses the NES hardware.

[@EGRJ]

This also sounds like an ur-roguelite.

[@maynardburger]

I mean, arguably most of the games from this era could be considered something roughly akin to 'roguelite' in terms of how we use the term nowadays. It wasn't strictly 'one life', but very limited lives still kind of granted a similar level of tension and 'get good' notions because you knew failure meant the pain of starting over from the start, only carrying with you what you've learned.

[@cahlendavidson2921]

Get rid of that border. You'll get better engagement

[@AlexTamayo.]

I liked this video and the explanation, but I doubt anyone will ever convince me that Zelda II wasn't a dreadful game and indeed the black sheep of the whole franchise. Also, I think you forgot to mention that you need the manual, like with most, if not all, NES games otherwise it's even harder to know what you're doing.

[@RetroPlayer4000]

Black sheep was just a hype word. All because there wasn't a black Mario

[@AlexTamayo.]

@@RetroPlayer4000 huh?!

[@RetroPlayer4000]

The game is classic retro.....not fun, it's in a league of established series which allows a mistake to be made at a time where mistakes were a learn from area..... nowadays few mistakes remain.....the real test will be the next installment after miyamoto passes on......nice video action Jackson

[@aubreysaunders2381]

😉 Promo`SM

[@NEStalgia1985]

Ice climber is by far the worst black box game....well mach rider maybe