Link’s Back for More

I like Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I think it’s a flawed game, to be sure, with its difficulty cranked higher than it needed to be and an adventure that feels about as far removed from the first The Legend of Zelda game as any could be. Zelda II is one of the oddest of oddball sequels for any NES game, weirder than the open-world expansion of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest or the repurposed from another title’s gameplay of Super Mario Bros. 2 USA. This game throws everything you expected from Legend of ZeldaCreated by Nintendo in 1986, the original Legend of Zelda game presented players with a open world to explore, packed with dungeons and monsters all ready to kill them at a moment's notice. The mix of adventure and action game play created a winning game and launched not only a successful series but an entirely new video game genre. out the window to make its own kind of adventure.

But in a weird way it does kind of work. It’s not the Zelda sequel anyone wanted but taken on its own merits it’s a fun, expansive, interesting adventure with plenty of secrets to tease out along the way. It has an adventure that’s as deep as the first game, with more to learn and master. The combat is deep, the dungeons are massive, and you have to touch almost the entire world just to find everything you need to complete the game. Yes, it’s hard, and the 2D side-scrolling is a strange choice for a sequel to a top-down adventure, but it does work on its own merits.

The fanbase has eventually come around on Zelda II, but there was a time where it was the most hated game in the entire franchise. Despite selling a lot of carts back in the day (4 Mil-plus for the NES), Zelda II has always held this weird play in the franchise. Hell, Nintendo all but ignores the game at this point, calling it a massive misstep. Where they’re willing to occasionally re-release the game from time to time (in a disc with the first game on the Gamecube, as part of the NES Classics line on the Game Boy Advance), the company doesn’t give this second game in the franchise the same kind of love that it’s show to many of its other Zelda titles. And they certainly have shown no interest in doing any remakes or sequels.

That leaves it up to the fans, then, to show Zelda II the kind of love it deserves. One such game is ZIIAOL (aka Zelda II Remastered, as it’s known by some fans), a complete remake and expansion of the NES game that seeks to enhance and improve the overall Zelda II experience for fans new and old. The bones are still Zelda II as the game is based on the original code for the NES cart, ported out into the PC game, but so much has been improved that it’s more than just the same game all over again.

The basic look of the game is the same. Creator HoverBat worked with the original code and graphics, and has kept everything in line with that style. The NES graphics have been preserved, keeping everything in the game in the rich, 8-bit style you’re likely familiar with. Nothing deviates, and everything is crisp, sharp, and very pixelated in perfect 3-colors (plus transparent). If you know the look of the original game then you’ll see that HoverBat kept Link and his world looking right, from start to finish.

And yet, the changes come very quickly as well. As you land in Hyrule Castle and see the sleeping Zelda on her pedestal, you’ll see that the game is presented in high-def widescreen instead of the basic 4-by-3 presentation of the NES original. Walking out to the right of the castle, as you would before, doesn’t immediately drop you onto the overworld but, instead, gives you a bit of the outerlanding to explore, a few early enemies to kill. If you go out of the castle to the left, you get a secret area with bonuses to unlock… once you’ve found a few extra items and powers first.

Even once you’re on the overworld shortly after, the changes are noticeable. An early area you could explore for a heart container now only has a heart piece instead. Hearts and magic bottles now each require three pieces to create a full container, which naturally means there are even more secrets and hidden items lurking around. There are special gels to fight, new items to find, and plenty of extra secrets to explore. The game has been greatly expanded in every way, giving fans of the original game so much more to see and do.

But while much has changed, the core game will still be familiar enough. The temples remain in the same areas of the map. Dungeon layouts are largely the same, and the treasures you get within those dungeons are generally the ones you expect as well. If you know the base NES game then you already know the basic routing to take to explore through the game and get the items you need. But if you’re trying for secrets then you’re absolutely going to have to dig more and search around because there’s so much more that’s been added.

And then there’s one major change: the fairy spell no longer turns you into a fairy. Instead, amusingly, you get turned into a chicken. This is actually a change I like for a couple of reasons. The first was that the fairy actually broke the game since there were a number of tricks you could use the fairy to accomplish, like skipping through locked doors or skipping over battle encounters. The chicken can’t do this. Hell, the chicken can’t even float, it can only hover while slowly drifting downwards, and I think that’s actually good because it means you actually have to engage with rooms instead of just breezing past them. While I’m sure some purists likely hate this change, I feel like it improves the experience.

Plus I also like how it includes a cuckoo, a mainstay of the series from A Link to the Past onwards into this title. That’s such a great little addition.

With all this said, you do still have to like Zelda II: The Adventure of Link to like this game. Because it’s built on the original code ported out from the NES game, and because it’s preserved so much of the original gameplay, this isn’t a title that’s going to reinvent the game for any haters. Zelda II Remastered is a love letter to the original NES game, giving it some modern touches and enhancements while keeping the core experience preserved. If you hated the NES sequel then you likely won’t enjoy this game as it’s more of the same (and, at times, a lot more).

For everyone else, though, this is a remake that really shows how good Zelda II could be. It does all the good work Nintendo hasn’t put into this title, giving it the spit and polish fans have wanted for years. And with so much extra content included in the game, it almost feels like a sequel even to the original experience. Hell, it even includes a built-in randomizer so that once you’ve played the main adventure you can keep coming back to enjoy other versions of it again and again. It’s the perfect enhancement of this once-hated NES title.

And, best of all, it’s free. You have no reason to not go out and download it right now just to see how good it can be. If you liked the original Zelda II at all you’re sure to love this enhanced remaster.