18 replies to this topic

[Kwicky Koala]

So on Saturday I finally got round to beating Adventure of Link, via the Zelda Collection disc on the Gamecube. I game overed an embarrassing 17 times, then I played the Second Quest (so to speak, it isn't really any different) and managed to get that down to 8. My thoughts:

 

This game is actually shorter than I expected. Despite the difficulty it can be easily beaten in a day, providing you have maps.

 

Yeah, I used maps. The game is frustrating enough already, and I just wanted to tick it off the list, so to speak.

 

Most frustrating things: getting knocked backwards into lava/water. Having to start over from the Zelda castle every time you start the game, or get game over. Starting with three lives every time, making the Link Dolls a trap you should pick up only at the very end. No warps (original LoZ had them, why not the sequel). The inability to save and quit the game without it telling you that you died on the file select screen (again, the original LoZ avoids this on the Gamecube version) The Moas, the Fokkas, the blue Iron Knuckles, and Thunderbird.

 

Some stuff I liked: Realising I could use the Fairy spell in the Valley of Death. The spells generally, and the experience system (though it gets maxed out very quickly).

 

So overall, I can't say it was a very fun experience, but hey, I'm not an NES gamer, and at least I can say I've done it. I fully intend never to touch it again.

 

Are you in the club? What is your opinion on this "black sheep" game?

[Sir Turtlelot]

I beat this game a couple years ago, and while I've had some negative things to say about it in the past, it's definitely a good game overall, it's just not your typical Zelda game. It took me quite awhile to beat, since I didn't use any maps for the most part. I died at the Thunder Bird after finally making it through the Great Temple, so I did use a map the next time through, since clearing it on my own once without one was good enough for me. 

 

While the game is fairly difficult, my personal strategy was to max out all of your stats by constantly entering and exiting the first Temple, and grinding for P-bags. While incredibly tedious, this makes the rest of the game much easier, leaving most of the difficulty in figuring out Temple layouts. Aside from that, my biggest complaint about the game is having to start from the beginning every time you resume the game or game over. I know Zelda 1 does this as well, but the map is much larger in this game, and certain areas are guaranteed to make you lose health or magic whenever you enter.

 

It was a very enjoyable game, and I would definitely recommend it, but not so much to Zelda fans, but rather to fans of hard NES games, like Mega Man, Castlevania, and Ghosts n' Goblins.

[Alastair]

Its a good game once you get into it (i.e. after you have acquired a few spells, sword techniques and stat boosts), but therein lies the flaw. Platform gaming is most fun when you feel that you have complete control over your avatar and the maneuverability necessary to avoid/inflict damage from/to enemies. At the outset Adventure of Link is pretty horrible to play, with sluggish movements, an extremely limited attack and punishing damage from enemy attacks. From about a third of the way in the game becomes far more enjoyable especially, as Sir Turtlelot says, if you are prepared to grind for experience.

Edited by Alastair, 15 September 2014 - 08:56 AM.

[wisp]

I need to finish this game. I got sick of grinding for experience points very quickly and found that the game was too frustrating to play through at a lower level. I have that issue with most games where I have to sit and grind experience for hours on end just to clear a particular area. I'm not sure, based on my experience with it so far, that I'd ever expect it to be particularly fun, but I do want to be able to say I've completed it.

[Egann]

I will probably never join this club; I confess, I have a doozy of a time playing oldschool 2D games. The first games I ever played were PS1/ N64 games, which were 3D. There are some exceptions, but I seldom have enjoyed playing a game in 2D.

[Kwicky Koala]

Honestly I felt the grinding wasn't bad at all, providing you know beforehand not to use up your free level ups at the end of each palace until the higher levels. I waited till I was 6-7-8 before putting the crystals in the pedestals because I thought Link went up to level 9, but really I could've started on the crystals as early as 5-6-7 since 8 is the cap.

 

Combine that with all the P Bags, and easy enemies like the Stalfos giving decent exp, plus the undemolished palaces being good grinding places with hidden red potions at the entrance so you can restore your health, I maxed out by the 5th palace, making all P Bags and enemy kills somewhat redundant from that point.

 

And what a relief it is when you can kill an Iron Knuckle in one less hit!

 

And yep Turtlelot, as hard as I found this, I'm sure there are far more brutal games on the NES... I've been revisiting the AVGN lately so I know that's true.

[TheAvengerLever]

Oh, yes. Once you get the grinding out of the way and you max out your level, the game is actually really fun to play. On the lowest level you don't want to explore anything for fear of getting killed and going back to the start only to do it over again, but once you max out, you're a free man unless you're trying to get to the Great Temple, which is a test of patience even to the hardest of hard core. But there is something EXTREMELY satisfying about beating this game and it makes it an experience that is worth having.

[SnowsilverKat]

I think the big hurdle is, like everyone said, getting yourself out of the early game where Link dies in only a few hits, your magic is limited, and your attack is weak.  Once you get past that, it's a really fun platformer.  It's also learning tricks like how to kill Ironknuckles really quickly by jumping at them while attacking (I always wondered if Link's jump slash from OOT was based on the same strategy...)

 

It's funny, something about the game completely unsettles me.  It did when I was a kid, and I still get the heebie-jeebies from it sometimes today.  Something about the instruments they used for the music, or something.  But hearing those old NES chiptunes...

[TheAvengerLever]

I think I know what you're talking about. The music is kind of funky for this game, and I think it's because it sounds like the sounds in the game were...out of tune? It gives the game a weird, unnatural quality that adds to the overall atmosphere.

[SteveT]

I "beat" this game recently.  Sarcasm quotes because I played it on 3DS VC and employed unabashed and frequent savescumming.

 

I'm not even sorry.

[Masamune]

I've beat the game several times legitimately. Like Steve I recently replayed it on the Wii U and abused statestates so I could play the entire game on one life. It was pretty rad. I even beat Dark Link legit without cornercrouching like a loser! 

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Nope. Even with savescumming, I haven't finished the game. I'm not sure if it's the grinding that makes it unbearable. It probably is, though.

[Fin]

God damn, every time someone starts one of these threads I get the urge to play though the game again but all my games consoles are back home. >=C

[Masamune]

Nope. Even with savescumming, I haven't finished the game. I'm not sure if it's the grinding that makes it unbearable. It probably is, though.

 

I generally don't spent much time grinding. I'll often take a few trips through Death Mountain because it's a nice path for collecting exp. But that said, I make it a habit to save the first few palaces for after the sixth temple, that way I can go back and get easy level ups for those last few out of reach levels. It makes a big difference if you're not having to kill like a hundred lizardmen just to get that last sword upgrade. 

[SteveT]

It makes a big difference if you're not having to kill like a hundred lizardmen just to get that last sword upgrade. 

 

My least favorite thing about the game was that the Sword was on the slowest upgrade path.  That's the only upgrade that's not tied to a collectible!  Why do I have to wait so long?  So I spent a lot of time overshooting on XP to save up for more sword.

[TheAvengerLever]

I'm pretty sure when I went through this I made sure to upgrade the sword first and foremost, or at least put it as priority one when I could.

[Masamune]

Zelda II would certainly have benefited from having some sword upgrades like the rest of the series, on top of having the leveling system. 

 

Or even just a spell that upgraded your sword. I always hated that Fire was  only useful against weak enemies or a specific few enemies who could only be harmed by it. 

[JRPomazon]

I played through and beat this game a few summers ago. But I did it with my friend back home, we switched off at every death to keep ourselves from falling into total despair. It's fun when you make games co-op. We both made sure to beat the final bosses, each of us not calling the game done until we both finished Thunderbird and Dark Link each.

[Raien]

I have beat Zelda II once with limited save-states, mostly so I didn't have to keep re-treading the overworld everytime I died. I didn't enjoy it enough to want to play it again but I have to admit that it has the most intricate combat out of all the Zelda games. Honestly, I feel that the overworlds for both NES Zeldas have not aged well. Exploration feels tedious and over-reliant on trial and error. But the combat is so good that the dungeons are always fun. It has the perfect level of challenge that feels intense but not unfair.