Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I’m a bit of a Virtual Console junkie. It’s a dangerous addiction, one that often leaves me with a regret-induced, what-the-hell-was-I-thinking hangover the next day. (Bio-hazard Battle, I’m looking at you.) But, more often than not — especially when I’ve done my homework — the Virtual Console makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The most recent example? Zelda II – The Adventure of Link.
When I downloaded Zelda II the other day, I didn’t know what to expect. I had always heard that it was different and really freaking hard. However, after ninja flipping all the way to the last boss of my previous VC obsession, the original Ninja Gaiden, I was riding high on delusions of videogame grandeur. 500 Wii points later and I found myself tearing it up in Hyrule.
Kind of. This game is hard as a mother. I took two hours just to beat the first temple. Talk about a humbling experience. The next two hours were spent leveling up in preparation for the second temple, which kicked my ass just the same. Still, I have to say, the game remains fun. It’s cool to experience the Zelda series in it’s infancy. Nearly 20 years and four consoles later, much of Link’s legacy remains intact. Like Ninja Gaiden before, I doubt I’ll ever finish Zelda II, but I do see myself wasting at least another four hours in the Hyrule of old. Not bad for $5.
You must perservere! You can beat it, it just takes time. You can try leveling up your attack like crazy until you reach Attack Level “.” and bosses will die in one hit, with the exception of the sixth palace boss and final master. My brother and I got this level by accident, and thought it was a cool glitch no one else knew about. It turns out others DID know about it, though…but not many, since it takes a long time to build up.
That would be very awesome indeed. I hope I get my period some day… er, nevermind.
I’m glad I still had the special edition Zelda disc from my Gamecube. It had the first 2 Zelda’s and Ocarina. I just played Zelda II recently myself and remembered that it was a lengthy game. Gotta love backward compatibility in game systems.