Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Speed Run, 100% All Keys,

Recorded on an NESRGB-modded Famicom AV
Wow. In January I picked up All Keys to derust. Got a PB in early February that made think sub 80 was close. Well, it took another 4 and a half months to get there.
Wow.

[@ahrbro9448]

By the time you finished the game I just finished the first palace

[@raykehr1832]

Prolly spent his whole life on this game and there’s someone else that did it in 44 minutes.

[@raccooneyes2099]

ROFL. IKR!

[@Khunark]

worthless fucking player. get good. not even the fucking joke was any fun.

[@ineedscissors6176]

@@Khunark lol chill out homie jeez

[@Khunark]

@@ineedscissors6176 rabble rabble.

[@Chris71379]

SIGHHHHhhhhh memories. 😢♥️ Playing, & Passing this game like THIS, Became a Ritual for me! 😆😆😆 THIS was, & STILL IS my FAVORITE Game, in the WHOLE Entire NES system!

[@wilson0617]

Same feeling here bro

[@cartwrightworm1317]

This game was always bewildering to me so I’m glad to finally see it completed. It only took 30+ years.

[@slr-d]

This was a very entertaining run to watch.. I like how you got Everything. And glitched nothing. 👍🏾

[@SiLvErWaRe000]

Yeah, I like the non glitch runs.

[@JaneirosWorldGAMES4K2025]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZiul4qDqpubf8U

[@rmmartins133]

Well, he did skip the bubbles for example going in for the first heart. I haven't watched the whole thing but that is definitely one minor glitch, or at least a shortcut.

[@jonus28]

I feel like I’m watching the Adventures of Lunk as he just barrels forward with no intention of stopping for anything.

[@lukes6399]

The two most iconic games ever from Nintendo. Super mario, and Zelda. Both of which had two completely different sequel's that had nothing to do with the the first. And never again would be in the same format as the sequel. Very interesting.

[@mrtrollnator123]

Fr

[@jerks6215]

After all these years I never knew that that heart was hidden in the water. Still proud of the fact that I beat this game, especially now that I knew I was missing a heart all along.

[@pointedspider]

The red bat in the Island town tells u that..You are persistent. Heart is over ocean.

[@richflores1558]

​@@pointedspiderpfff I don't listen to "red bats"

[@MmmBopsPops]

Way better to watch than all the glitched TAS runs. Thanks.

[@PresJPolk]

Thanks, but my glitched runs are not TASes at all. They're done by ordinary human hands in real time! :)

[@MmmBopsPops]

@@PresJPolk I know. That's what I'm saying. It's cooler than the TAS runs (that have glitches). I honestly saw the title of your video and was thinking "there's no way!"

[@natu590]

As a fan of all Zelda games, this game definitely was challenging. There were so many hidden areas as well as getting all the items. That heart of the ocean side (lol hate the titanic reference) really was the one heart I missed during my play through 😎👍👍👍👍

[@Geckotr]

this game is not challenging, it's frustrating. First Zelda game was difficult too, this one is insane. It's difficult to the point that it's not fun at all. I don't know maybe it's something about the NES generation. It's frustrating even to play with an emulator

[@KH28m]

@@Geckotr Completely agree, word by word. (NES oyunlarına şu dönemde merak salmış tek Türk olmadığımı görmek sevindirici)

[@blasttyrant3228]

​@@Geckotrthat's a skill issue for sure

[@Bathingwookie]

@@Geckotragree, even watching this game I can’t fucking stand it 😂

[@AB-80X]

Definitely prefer non-glitched runs.

[@AB-80X]

@Meyfrator Just more fun to me.

[@knoxharrington666]

Incredible skill

[@Hankola]

That ending theme couldn't have been any more satisfying after all that.

[@PresJPolk]

Better believe that felt good after 6 months of grinding for sub 80.

[@TheJacklikesvideos]

Nice route and execution. I'm impressed.

[@TylerLeavitt]

Love the video, I've been meaning to jump back into this game and beat it. It was very hard as a wee lad but you masterfully completed it. Thanks for posting

[@m.a.packer5450]

Awesome playthrough, brought back a lot of nostalgia from my childhood

[@ericmoreau4568]

I'm commenting without having watched the video, but...how is this even possible, 100% in less than 2 hours? As a kid, it took me an entire school year to get through, playing every day! 🤯 I'm going to have to check this out. Darn, it brings back memories.

[@chaleowin7732]

Still one of the best gaming experiences of my childhood.

[@edwinblanco1366]

Your the best speedrun I've seen bro your the man

[@Samurai_Stoner]

Well, you earned my subscribe... well done sir

[@georgeacosta6548]

Hollllllly pooppoo amazing awesome stuff I enjoy this so much I spent so many years trying to get pass everything in this game as a kid teenager and adult for so long just watching this gave me so much relief 😌 even though I was never able to get far in this game thanx

[@augiemesa9429]

I like to leave the first palace with attack at lvl 4 but will never be able to do it that gracefully. Haha. I'm relearning the fifth and sixth rn. My legit favorite game of all time. Thank you.

[@gregoryeverson741]

i beat this game when i was about 10, but did it the dumb slow way, didnt know about going all attack first to rig the system for free 9000 points, i enjoyed the video

[@shakarussanders9911]

This game will always hold a special place in my heart as a matter of fact I still own it but there is no way I have the patience to play it all the way though anymore! I guess that's what happens when your no longer 14 and now 42 😆

[@prodclippy]

Lol, your a legend!

[@shakarussanders9911]

@@prodclippy Haha! Thanks man

[@GotStones1]

Shakarus Sanders I’m 38 and this has been collecting dust for last 8 years in my basement! I did break it out in late 20s and beat it one last time. Took me YEARS to conquer this! Cheerio!

[@shakarussanders9911]

@@GotStones1 yeah I haven't played mine in probably 6 years

[@jruler93]

To be fair, if you have a 3DS, Wii U or Switch, it'd be easier and more convenient to play it on one of those anyway, since the VC versions have restore points you can use to save and load at any time, and the Switch's NES Online thing has four restore point files and can rewind if you mess up but didn't save recently. But at the same time, I get why you mightn't want to do that, as nothing feels quite as good as playing classic games on their original hardware, even if it may sometimes be a hassle to get working.

[@slothz5063]

I want to thank you for this speedrun. I was so close of giving up with this game. Thanks to you I was able to beat it. This game seriously is a unforgiving maze, each turn will try to screw you over. My magic wasn't high enough so i had to defeat thunderbird just with 1 cast of thunder, didnt have enough for the other buffs... Took me so long... But i did it... Thanks.

[@PresJPolk]

Huzzah!

[@jannuar2009]

Great Game Great Music

[@bennymartinez007]

I wish when I played this game in the 80s, the game had a map! And step by step guide.

[@oriondx72]

yea things are much easier now with the internet back then u had to wait til the video games magazines came out or i think a phone hotline.

[@SiLvErWaRe000]

There were, my buddy had Nintendo Power so he had all the goodies. Still had to tough it out with your own skill though.

[@steveozone4910]

Fairy always reminds me of a flying carrot :-)

[@brianmoore3489]

Can't unsee

[@Yamigata]

Funny because flying carrots always remind me of fairy

[@absolute618]

Great speedrun

[@liquiddonkey6530]

Remember: Somewhere, every moment of your life is a speedrun of a video game someone else is playing

[@beastonrye]

First I’d like to say great video and I followed this video on my play through. You helped me a lot and I finally beat Zelda 2

[@PresJPolk]

Congratulations!

[@Frothenbath1]

A winner is you!

[@wknight8111]

Pretty awesome run of a good old game! There were a few graphical things here and there and the sound was starting to de-sync by the end, but otherwise it was a great video and I was quite entertained all the way through. Good job!

[@PresJPolk]

Thanks. My setup then wasn't quite as good as it is now.

[@colomboyt8096]

@@PresJPolk Good Job

[@David.lovesU]

I am absolutely AMAZED at your skill level on this game!!!!!!. Nobody can come close to you unless they cheated by learning from you. This was the hardest game ever

[@PresJPolk]

Thank you!

[@hibikimaiku]

@David, Simpoldood, Pro_JN and Lackattack24 are all on his level. All amazing runners.

[@stickerupthe14743]

its crazy to have such an old video now even tho 2015 felt not that long ago time goes by forever.

[@Illusionistical822]

Awesome speed run.

[@thewalldemonofkentucky1465]

This guy is probably one of the top 10 players in the world at this game.

[@nintenjoedude1949]

Currently trying to get through this game on the Wii U. I wouldn’t know how to beat this game if it weren’t for those restore points I can create every minute I play to not lose progress lol, and also ur video. It certainly is challenging, idk how I’ll be able to beat it when the Zelda game and watch releases in November. Thanks for the video dude👍!

[@nintenjoedude1949]

Update: I have officially beaten this game on August 13, 2021 and I couldn’t have done it without this video. I appreciate the content dude👍!

[@slothz5063]

@@nintenjoedude1949 Same, i beat the game today. Was hard af.

[@nintenjoedude1949]

@@slothz5063 Indeed! It is probably the most annoying Zelda game to finish. After I beat it I went to link to the past cuz I’m going in order for the legend of Zelda games and it was much easier and more fun. I beat it before august ended after I beat Zelda II. Now I’m gonna start links awakening for game boy / colour sometime soon

[@azumarill1403]

This guy has skills, gosh! 😲

[@wilson0617]

Great job. 👍👍👍

[@edwinblanco2675]

Your the man broo

[@eagl3ye]

You know Link meant business when he walked left out of the Northern Palace to start his adventure.

[@PresJPolk]

Heh. It's exactly one frame faster, which happens to result in good spawns coming out of North Palace. :)

[@jasminscott8434]

Wow you are pro!

[@hmblguy]

Level 4 sword by the end of the 1st Castle. Impressive! This guy knows the priority is the Sword. If this wasnt a speed run, I would have loved to see total carnage.

[@carltoncoleman454]

Always had to laugh when an enemy on the map strikes for battle on the trails only for no enemy to be there.

[@kevindenis9551]

I honestly like speed runs like this way more, where the speed runner actually plays the games in the fastest way possible instead of using some stupid glitch everyone can use once learned. I recently played this on the Zelda game & watch and good lord it kicked my ass, lol. So honestly it feels really good to see this guy kill everything like their nothing, sweet vengeance unfolding right here.

[@madmedic366]

Holy shit. I can’t beat first level. Love it.

[@keez5193]

BIG Good Game!

[@Secret63333]

Coooooool

[@MadRespectTV]

love the points strategy

[@TheMassiveNINtool]

Awesome!

[@michaelcox8275]

This was the first game inever bought. I was 9. Love it to this day!!!

[@hitmanhatton]

This is some sorcery

[@bobbyblueholliday]

Bravo 10/10

[@speedraser2605]

One princess at a time god dam IT!

[@jarflymystique6545]

My best time is 2:20. I have to go through death mountain first. I can't beat horsehead without the downward thrust. Your jumping and stabbing technique is just sick. You go through the blue iron knuckles like they were bots

[@BB8enjoyer]

Great memories

[@opusmag1]

This seems to be the only real Zelda game where Zelda kisses Link like Mario.

[@apap7170]

122 minutes. took me months to beat back in 1990 when I first played it.

[@gonkdroidincarnate4237]

Sheesh you weren't great as a kid! I was like you lol

[@apap7170]

@@gonkdroidincarnate4237 too many months and the first one was even longer; both quest.

[@StewartUSAF]

I'm just starting to run this category as my introduction to speedrunning. Any suggestions for the easiest and best tricks to learn early on?

[@LackAttack]

+David Stewart Check redcandle.us/Zelda_II:_The_Adventure_of_Link/All_Keys_Leveling_Plans for leveling options. The site has plenty of good information for beginners as well.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

+David Stewart Yup, this will be my first run too! Good luck man!

[@bizichyld]

Nice run! I picked up an NES mini for Christmas and did a bit of casual speed running of Metroid and now I moved on to this. My first completion was like 2:30 without knowledge of actual strats, and I’m legit surprised people are getting sub 1:30. Looking forward to utilizing some of your techniques!

[@bizichyld]

1:57 new PR haha. I’m now realizing how insane your techniques are.

[@bizichyld]

Decided to come back to it and I think I’m happy now with 1:34. This is probably my new favorite NES game to run. Any suggestions on others?

[@JoeyLutes]

It took every ounce of grit in my soul to finish that first horse boss. Man wtf lol

[@PresJPolk]

Don't blame you. You really have to jump and get in his face!

[@benishmael9451]

I max out my stats in the first palace, then collect palace items. From there I beat the bosses and get an extra life once I place each Crystal in the statue. Then I get the 1up dolls. This way I have plenty of lives when I get to the great palace.

[@respobabs]

well-played although i probably still would have gotten more of the p-bags

[@bizichyld]

Why? That would just take extra time and defeat the purpose.

[@CJHElectro]

I struggle with the timing on the jump attacks and the rng is constantly kicking my ass. Someday I will beat it... lol

[@typar6431]

I think this and Punisher where the best NES games.

[@84gssteve]

Always loved this game with its large world and leveling system. I just hate how you beat the final boss by just cheesing him from the corner....not that I could ever beat it!

[@gregoryeverson741]

i beat this when i was a kid about 10yrs old and didnt cheese the final boss

[@jackson2531]

It's also good that Zelda II marks the first time we see the Triforce in its complete form.

[@oriondx72]

yea its the stupid end fight ever everyone beats it this way so stupid.

[@laser7925]

At 2:30 you timed getting hit by the outer world monster just as you were about to go over the square that triggers the annoying bridge level in order to skip it, is genius

[@xenofett7008]

I'll have to try using "Spell" on the way to the Great Palace, like you did.

[@mathewhorodner2000]

Yeah, I never knew about using the spell on the enemies, either. I was looking for the comment on the spell. That was interesting.

[@mathewhorodner2000]

And, I didn't know that the fairy could open a gate with the key. At least, I didn't remember that.

[@josephmiddleton3181]

Nice one. Would’ve loved some commentary.

[@dominikstute5810]

seeing this makes me feeling very bad

[@deansmith9914]

Well played... i always said Dark Link or a different version of Link from a different time or universe should be a final boss

[@AsmrAnotherSuperMetroidRemake]

monster

[@aputridpileofb-movies6542]

A random guy in the town of youtube - "1 up in swamp after jump cave."

[@rikuriku1645]

GOD！！

[@JoeCambo]

3:17 melee

[@JunaidWolf3]

This game had great music or beeps

[@ElectricCool]

@1:17:46 might be the most genius move you made the entire game, tbh.

[@PresJPolk]

Gotta get those free refills!

[@ThePoliticalMusician]

What are those black things that appear on the world map in groups of four? Poes?

[@PresJPolk]

Small enemy spawns are meant to look like bots. Large I think are molblins?

[@crimsoncaliber8270]

If you want to really know how impressive this speedrun is... watch in 2x speed. @PresJPolk becomes a god!

[@AKITM]

Why did you pause buffer and get into those battles at 40:45? For XP or to skip over a tile? I never could get much further past the 2nd palace.

[@PresJPolk]

The trapped tile screens are very long to cross, and can be dangerous if you make a mistake, so it's worth doing a little pausing to ensure you get the skip.

[@AKITM]

@@PresJPolk Ahh thanks for explaining.

[@sammiejeanne3846]

i been wondering if they'd ever do a zelda 2 reboot. make it into a more metroidvania + platformer style game (think shovel knight and celeste) with updated pixel graphics, remade the soundtrack. idk think it would be a hit?

[@slothz5063]

Like a hollow knight 😍

[@Roger85able]

That blue guy wanted to chase you

[@Roger85able]

Horse man

[@laser7925]

When I was a kid, and this game came out, it was infuriating. Now I run through it and my son gets HEATED

[@user-BlackLotus]

アイテムとったときのとったどーっての好き

[@user-qwerty267]

Bro this is like a 16-bit souls game.

[@PresJPolk]

8 bit! :) You're probably not wrong though. All about the combat and hugely influential.

[@user-qwerty267]

@@PresJPolk Sorry I didn't know it was 8 bit. cant tell the difference between those kind of pixel things.

[@siraran2077]

Anytime you guys see a tied up bag with the letter p on it, shout out “PEE”.

[@NightTwister]

never knew u could kill those things like tht at 33:17 ive always used down thrust to kill them howd u do it?

[@PresJPolk]

It's a tight trick. Might be frame perfect, but I'm not sure. But if you do a crouching stab right as you land from a jump, you can stab those guys from the side.

[@NightTwister]

@@PresJPolk ah awesome thx cheers

[@bryanneideffer3969]

Smart fella builds his attack up first. Side note ooo if you could only have down thrust at Z start 😭

[@slr-d]

I agree... that was a good move 👍🏾

[@alanle4731]

I beat the game too. Only took me 26 continues LOL

[@socalstr]

Great run. Would have loved to have seen this same run with zero deaths and seen how that would have affected the total time.

[@PresJPolk]

Each intentional death in palace 4 is saving I think about 5 seconds, if I recall.

[@PresJPolk]

Actually if you want deathless, that's a separate run, heh. 7 years ago I did dark deathless, that was hard. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4bdopaVq8qAjJI then I did 100% deathless which is much easier kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2XboXZ-q5WUf9k

[@socalstr]

@@PresJPolk I'm terrible with terminoligy. I started watching the 100% deathless and then saw the fiery trick and got sad. I'd love to see the exact same run above but without deaths. Whatever is the nomenclature for that run. 100% | All Keys | Deathless

[@PresJPolk]

@@socalstr Ah yeah nobody really does that.

[@johneygd]

This may be one ofthemost praised games ever. But it's just too hard to figure out what to do and where you are supposed to go, also you have to go back & forth between stages, then you need to know wich essential items you need and how to use them , it's clear that Cv2 simons quest was inspirated from this game,also that ut sound when you get hit is in castlevania 2 so no wonder,phew.

[@PresJPolk]

This game actually gives you all the hints you need, if you talk to the NPCs. It's not like CV2, where the hints are badly and mistranslated, either. :)

[@steveozone4910]

You actually had to figure this shit out back in the day! What a concept!

[@hitmanhatton]

You dont need a walkthrough for this game. You're meant to visit every tile, talk to everyone in the towns and use new items/spells when you get stuck. All the while leveling up. The developers addressed a lot of the cryptic clues from the first game and made one that is superior in almost every way .As far as combat is concerned. Yes it's hard at first. But you're highly encouraged to hone your timing and platforming or else you'll never beat it. It's a great game that's actually designed very well! I hope you take the time to play it all the way through. It's very rewarding to do. This game got so much right when a lot of copycats failed. AMD its definitely a contender for best game on the NES

[@elm_experience]

I got completely stuck at 1:05:40, I did not have any key to that door, and if I remember there was none to be found, where is this key found? I still remember it 25 years later since I eventually gave up 😂

[@PresJPolk]

You have to acquire the Magic Key from Palace 5 .

[@PresJPolk]

@Captain-Arse You are of course correct and I Flipped the two in my head. Curse of doing a run enough times. You can do it without thinking about it. :)

[@jfiffl7]

Somthing about watching this is Enthrallingly similar to Starfox-2- Must be a Puzzle piece to pandora's Box. Or Herald of wierd al Yaknovic

[@jpatrick1967]

I’ve been playing since 89 and still haven’t finished

[@Roger85able]

The old lady disappears when u go in house with her

[@Roger85able]

I always walk on the grave stones

[@kingrex1931]

I remember how disappointed I was in this game. After playing the original Legend of Zelda, this thing fell flat on it's face. It's basically a Mario Brothers side scroller.

[@GranVizcondeMrG]

1:13:56 1:17:34 1:18:00

[@andtalath]

Well played, but you seem to be using save states at certain spots (a small stutter here and there), especially when doing stuff which seems related to RNG but shouldn't be like monster movement.

[@PresJPolk]

Wrong. I'm pausing the game in order to read the monster movement and react to it.

[@andtalath]

@@PresJPolk Ah, then well done =)