Poll of the Day > I finished my first ever Zelda game the other day.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Zelda NES, on the Nintendo Switch. And no I didn't do the second quest.

I had played OOT before but admittedly never finished it.
I'm playing Link to the Past now

Zelda II is also worth playing. Especially if you use the easy mode ROM hack.

CaptainStrong posted...

Zelda II is also worth playing. Especially if you use the easy mode ROM hack.

Played a bit of it and put it down.
I finished Castlevania II Simon's quest and never wanna play it again. This game reminded me too much of that game.

I like Zelda 2 more than Zelda 1.

After LTTP I will play Link's Awakening DX, then OOT/Majoras Mask, then Seasons/Ages, then Link Between Worlds, then I'll move on to newer 3D Zelda games

Links Awakening DX is good but I would recommend the Switch remake. Its basically the same game with better graphics and QoL improvements (like mapping the sword and shield as their own buttons and not taking up your limited item slots).

Zelda II is an acquired taste, I remember when it was a newer title most people did not like it much. It seems like over time it's started to get this reputation is a misunderstood great game which is not accurate.

I also think the mechanics of it are horrendously outdated in 2021 since there are so many better games that do what Zelda 2 tried to do in the late 80's.

Monopoman posted...

I also think the mechanics of it are horrendously outdated in 2021 since there are so many better games that do what Zelda 2 tried to do in the late 80's.

That applies to almost every NES game, and doubly so for Zelda 1.

I maintain my opinion that the worst thing about Zelda 2 by far is the game over system, which should put you at the entrances to any given area rather than back to the starting point of the game. It is odd that the game's designers even seemed semi-cognizant of that as that's how the final dungeon works.

Either way, an infinite life cheat is all a beginner needs to find the game far more playable. It's not a perfect solution, but... *shrug*

Monopoman posted...

It seems like over time it's started to get this reputation is a misunderstood great game which is not accurate.

Yeah. I mean it's alright but it's not a great game by any means.

Ferarri619 posted...

Zelda NES, on the Nintendo Switch. And no I didn't do the second quest.

I had played OOT before but admittedly never finished it.
I'm playing Link to the Past now

Cool. A Link to the Past is my favorite game of all time. Huge improvement from Zelda 1, and basically created the "Zelda formula" and a lot of the main stays of the series.

I never liked OoT.

Ferarri619 posted...

Played a bit of it and put it down.

I did the same. Zelda II is not for me. And Zelda is my favorite game series. I can't really get into that one at all...

The ending and ending credits of OoT is incredibly satisfying. Make sure to play that one sometime

Gaawa_chan posted...

I maintain my opinion that the worst thing about Zelda 2 by far is the game over system, which should put you at the entrances to any given area rather than back to the starting point of the game. It is odd that the game's designers even seemed semi-cognizant of that as that's how the final dungeon works.

It is very much done that way on purpose.

The overworld map is not like the original, it is relatively safe to travel from area to area save for a few sections. For example, once you get the hammer, going to dungeon 2 and 3 after a game over is a breeze. The other dungeons are in their own distinct areas, they don't overlap. The main difference is the last dungeon has a huge gauntlet to get through which requires a lot of magic use. You really need a checkpoint once you make it to the dungeon which you actually get. Adding checkpoints on every dungeon would make it a bit too easy.

It also helps to understand that you should not fight the dungeon bosses until you have gotten everything else (heart containers, magic containers, items, magic). That makes them way easier.

Ferarri619 posted...

Zelda NES, on the Nintendo Switch. And no I didn't do the second quest.

Fantastic game still. Second quest is not as good but it's a nice bonus for sure.

My favorite recent Zelda is probably Link Between Worlds, that was way better than I thought it'd be.

I still kinda don't like LoZ1, and I'm not sure I'll ever bother trying LoZ2 again.

Ferarri619 posted...

Played a bit of it and put it down.
I finished Castlevania II Simon's quest and never wanna play it again. This game reminded me too much of that game.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest is the best Castlevania hands down!

Monopoman posted...

Zelda II is an acquired taste, I remember when it was a newer title most people did not like it much. It seems like over time it's started to get this reputation is a misunderstood great game which is not accurate.

The only reason people hated it at the time was because the gameplay was so radically different from Zelda 1.

But by that logic, every single Zelda game ever made other than the first is total shit, because none of them really look or play exactly the same as Zelda 1.

Zelda II was actually a very good game for its era if you could look past your own nostalgia, or if it was the first Zelda game you ever played. Personally, I've always preferred it over the first game, and rank it higher than most of the later games as well (except for LttP). But I also acknowledge that's partly my own nostalgia (Zelda II was the first Zelda game I owned/played, and the only one for years), and partly because I kind of hate Ocarina of Time and every game that followed it.

I think the only Zeldas I actively dislike are Majora's Mask (the time limit sucks, no matter how you slice it) and Twilight Princess (it just seemed way too linear to me and was a real disappointment).

Black_Crusher posted...

I think the only Zeldas I actively dislike are Majora's Mask (the time limit sucks, no matter how you slice it) and Twilight Princess (it just seemed way too linear to me and was a real disappointment).

I wasnt a fan of Twilight Princess, but Majoras Mask was my favorite. Being too linear wasnt my problem with Twilight Princess. Most of the newer ones felt linear Didnt like the wolf parts, and a few other things. That said, I love Majoras Mask. I personally never really felt the pressure of the Tome Limit. Not too mention slowly it down and the reset gave plenty of time to do a lot. But it depends on how you played. Apparently, it use to be possible to get a perfect playthrough. I just did one section at a time, though

That's awesome! The original Zelda is still a great classic

zelda 1 is great... pretty much any screen from that game can be made into a delicious cake or, like, poster or pillow cover or something

ParanoidObsessive posted...

The only reason people hated it at the time was because the gameplay was so radically different from Zelda 1.

But by that logic, every single Zelda game ever made other than the first is total shit, because none of them really look or play exactly the same as Zelda 1.

Zelda II was actually a very good game for its era if you could look past your own nostalgia, or if it was the first Zelda game you ever played. Personally, I've always preferred it over the first game, and rank it higher than most of the later games as well (except for LttP). But I also acknowledge that's partly my own nostalgia (Zelda II was the first Zelda game I owned/played, and the only one for years), and partly because I kind of hate Ocarina of Time and every game that followed it.

Link to the Past is like a refined Zelda 1, now it's not exactly the same but you can clearly see that they took inspiration from Zelda 1 when making Link to the Past. Removed most of the cryptic elements from Zelda 1 and lowered the difficulty but other than that it has a lot of similiarites.

LinkPizza posted...

I wasnt a fan of Twilight Princess, but Majoras Mask was my favorite. Being too linear wasnt my problem with Twilight Princess. Most of the newer ones felt linear Didnt like the wolf parts, and a few other things. That said, I love Majoras Mask. I personally never really felt the pressure of the Tome Limit. Not too mention slowly it down and the reset gave plenty of time to do a lot. But it depends on how you played. Apparently, it use to be possible to get a perfect playthrough. I just did one section at a time, though

Oh Jesus how could I have forgotten those terrible find the light balls sections as a wolf?? So boring! I mustve blacked the memories out haha

Yeah. The wolf sections were not fun. They were ok the first time because it was something new But the novelty wore of fast

Still better than Werehog

Zelda I is a near perfect game.

Zelda II isn't bad. I never heard about the hate until recently. I recall most people loving it when it came out. Nearly every NES sequel was vastly different than the first game.

11110111011 posted...

I never heard about the hate until recently.

I remember telling Wolfy that I wasnt enjoying it. He said he did when it came out, but that there is something different about the newer one that I tried. So, it might have to do with whatevers different. I cant remember what he said was off, though. I think youd have to asked him

@wolfy42 Do you remember when we talked about it?

Black_Crusher posted...

Majora's Mask (the time limit sucks, no matter how you slice it)

The time limit is the basis for all of the incredible world- and character-building that makes MM so awesome. The best thing about it is seeing how all of the various characters and their interactions develop in response to the impending apocalypse, and experiencing that relies on having the apocalypse actually happen enough times to see how everyone reacts and/or try different things to help them come to terms with it. The time limit is necessary for that, and given that it's really not restrictive enough to make finishing the game a problem (especially with the Inverted SoT), I'm quite happy for the tradeoff.

That's not to say that MM doesn't have its flaws (the saving system is a big one, though the 3DS remake addressed part of that issue), but the time limit very much is not one of them.

LinkPizza posted...

@wolfy42 Do you remember when we talked about it?

Sadly I don't, I did replay it not that long ago and it didn't age that well, but back in the day it was my favorite Zelda, pretty much still is even today, just, can't really enjoy playing it anymore because the controls etc just are not good enough anymore. I really loved the original zelda as well though, but Zelda II was the first rpg side scroller, and I freaking love them. Took till like Symphony of the Night before a better one came out I think.

adjl posted...

The time limit is the basis for all of the incredible world- and character-building that makes MM so awesome. The best thing about it is seeing how all of the various characters and their interactions develop in response to the impending apocalypse, and experiencing that relies on having the apocalypse actually happen enough times to see how everyone reacts and/or try different things to help them come to terms with it. The time limit is necessary for that, and given that it's really not restrictive enough to make finishing the game a problem (especially with the Inverted SoT), I'm quite happy for the tradeoff.

That's not to say that MM doesn't have its flaws (the saving system is a big one, though the 3DS remake addressed part of that issue), but the time limit very much is not one of them.

I think the main reason why I didnt like it was I had just come from playing OOT for a long time and the exploration aspect was probably my favorite part. Going from a game where I could take my time and fart around to one with a pretty rigid timer was too jarring I guess.

wolfy42 posted...

Sadly I don't, I did replay it not that long ago and it didn't age that well, but back in the day it was my favorite Zelda, pretty much still is even today, just, can't really enjoy playing it anymore because the controls etc just are not good enough anymore. I really loved the original zelda as well though, but Zelda II was the first rpg side scroller, and I freaking love them. Took till like Symphony of the Night before a better one came out I think.

@wolfy42 you ever play Battle of Olympus? It was built off the Zelda 2 engine but theres no overworld bits. Has the Ancient Greek theme and lots of fun.

Black_Crusher posted...

@wolfy42 you ever play Battle of Olympus? It was built off the Zelda 2 engine but theres no overworld bits. Has the Ancient Greek theme and lots of fun.

Yeah, it was good, but not Zelda II good heh.....it wasn't rpgish enough for me I think (don't really remember why I didn't like it as much). I replayed Zelda II many times, but BoO just once I think.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

The only reason people hated it at the time was because the gameplay was so radically different from Zelda 1.

But by that logic, every single Zelda game ever made other than the first is total shit, because none of them really look or play exactly the same as Zelda 1.

Zelda II was actually a very good game for its era if you could look past your own nostalgia, or if it was the first Zelda game you ever played. Personally, I've always preferred it over the first game, and rank it higher than most of the later games as well (except for LttP). But I also acknowledge that's partly my own nostalgia (Zelda II was the first Zelda game I owned/played, and the only one for years), and partly because I kind of hate Ocarina of Time and every game that followed it.

Nah it was terrible because of the awful hit boxes.

I played Zelda II earlier in the year and I don't recall it being bad at all. I felt it held up pretty well. Not as well as other games (like Zelda I, SMB 2, Crystalis, etc.)

11110111011 posted...

I played Zelda II earlier in the year and I don't recall it being bad at all. I felt it held up pretty well. Not as well as other games (like Zelda I, SMB 2, Crystalis, etc.)

How?

Revelation34 posted...

How?

What, you dont think SMB2 holds up? I like it more than SMB3 (in the minority here, I know)

Which SMB 2? Lost levels or Doki Doki Panic USA SMB 2?

Black_Crusher posted...

What, you dont think SMB2 holds up? I like it more than SMB3 (in the minority here, I know)

No he said it didn't hold up. It's a great game.

Revelation34 posted...

No he said it didn't hold up. It's a great game.

Yeah I know, I was curious as to why he didn't like it.

Revelation34 posted...

No he said it didn't hold up.

No, he said Zelda 2 didn't hold up as well as those games