Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES, 1988)
Graphics-7 Sound-7 Control-6.5 Challenge-8
Level Design-6 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6 Originality-6
Overall Score-6
+
Introduces magic (healing, fairy, shield etc.)
Gain new moves (down thrust, flight (as fairy)) and equipment (water boots, cross - see ghosts)
Mixes rpg and platform action
Interesting uses for the fairy spell
Very good AI for some enemies
One can skip most dialogue, one or two decent puzzles, enemies with immunities (some can only be harmed by fire)
Can unlock a couple of shortcuts on the western continent's overworld using the hammer (breaks boulders)
+/-
Magic effects disappear when moving between rooms (understandable for some spells)
Trojan inspired melee combat (high and low attacks and blocking)
Lack of puzzles in dungeons
-
Near random encounters (and some fixed which are invisible to the player on the world map)
Ugly and unnecessarily empty world map
Lack of puzzles
Sloppy hit detection
Downthrust is overpowered
Inconsistency (some roads are safe and others not, some items need to be stabbed to pick up, magic is represented by numbers in menu but a bar in-game, Bagu's note not shown in inventory, can't skip river guard/sage dialogue, power up inconsistency - can walk on water (using an item) on world map but you'll still drown in sidescrolling sections)
Quests can be missed when people don't come out of their houses
Need to re-select previously used magic in every new room
Control issues (when attacking in air - if Link doesn't finish the blow it is canceled when landing, knockback when stabbing enemies), Lots of dead space (area below death mountain, many empty rooms, great palace)
You can turn many fights into a cakewalk by jumping and hitting the enemy in the face whilst falling down
Uneven difficulty (downthrust lets you skip most enemies later on, leveling up is slow early on, death mountain, great palace)
Poor dialogue (townsfolk act like walking pieces of an FAQ rather than actual people)
Start from Zelda's chamber after each game over (= lots of tedious backtracking) except in dungeons
Some annoying sfx and mostly short music tracks
Addendum (2015):
+
Somewhat improved dialogue
Some freedom added in how you build your character (pick between life, magic, attack strength upon leveling up; you can save the exp for later if you want to focus on a more expensive upgrade)
Fast movement speed
Pretty good (but overly difficult and unbalanced thanks to the jump attack exploit) melee combat
You can leave a dungeon from the crystal room after the boss
No need to activate the candle yourself (on the other hand it can't be used to burn things), you can gain more magic from potions by using a spell while the mana is refilling, shows bosses' health bars, different terrain types that have an effect on enemy encounters in the overworld
+/-
Starts out quite a bit more linear (only two towns and only one alternate dungeon reasonably within reach)
Two fewer dungeons/palaces
1-up system (lose all lives and you'll respawn at the beginning of the game (ugh!) unless you pick continue while in a dungeon in which case you'll spawn at the entrance, otherwise respawn at the previous screen - unfortunately there's a very limited number of lives in the game so you'll want to keep your lives for later where you'll need them most)
Starts off harder than the prequel (poor exp gains (even exp and mana stealing enemies)
Enemy drops are rare
Death pits
Unkillable enemies/hazards)
Sometimes forgiving hit stun on enemies (you don't take damage during it and can pass through some of them) - sometimes unforgiving (enemy attacks aren't delayed from being stunned)
Quickly respawning enemies in some rooms (the wolves and skulls) and otherwise off-screen respawning (need to walk a couple of rooms away though)
No journal/log feature
Villager dialogue sometimes doesn't update after finishing quests (finding the candle and then talking to the kid in Rauru again for example)
Can't keep enemies from bumping into and hurting you with the shield
Static difficulty (earlier dungeons don't become harder if you save them for later)
Can't keep health/mana items for later use
The map in the manual only shows a detailed view of the first overworld area (~25% of the world) and a vague artwork picture of the first continent
You can grind fairly quickly outside some palaces further into the game (hit the statue to spawn a red knight)
Can't walk backwards/strafe (to keep blocking for example a blue knight while retreating so that he moves past a locked door (wtf) again)
Keys become almost moot when you get the fairy spell since they're often such a hassle to get to later on
-
Need to use a second controller (or lose all lives) to be able to save
Dead space in combination with backtracking (can't enter towns from both sides or dungeons from the exit after beating the boss, maze island segment)
Can't speed up dialogue text (can usually skip it but not when talking to sages for some reason)
Some control/interface issues (can't access the pause menu in the overworld, can't see how much you have left to reach each stat level at will (only when leveling a stat up), knockback from hitting walls and even enemies, sword attack can be canceled by moving off of a platform edge right after landing, sword attack is canceled if you swing right before landing or jumping (!), sidequest items don't show up in the inventory?, need to hit some items to pick them up (magic, p-bags; not fairies/1-ups/heart or magic containers) - creates more of a challenge in some cases though
Need to reselect spells in every new screen/room before use and after using a spell once you need to reselect it again)
No in-game dungeon maps (annoying when backgrounds are this repetitive) or overworld map (see dead space)
So-so in-game spell descriptions
Wise men/sages don't say anything other than talk about the spells they give you (instead you get quest related info from small children - wtf?)
Accumulated exp is wasted when you finish a dungeon (you get enough exp for a level up instantly) - this makes boss exp an odd feature since you'll sometimes want to backtrack and grind for one more level after finishing the boss to make use of that exp
Lose all exp after a game over (tedious)
Uneven difficulty (no encounters on the long bridge to the island maze, sometimes obvious where a hidden item is (most p-bags and fairies on the overworld) but other times it's pretty obtuse like with the mirror in Saria
Large magic potion near Nabooru (a town which has magic refill)
Sometimes bad exp gain scaling in terms of how hard enemies are to kill (only good exp early on comes from an enemy that takes 40+ hits from a level 3 sword), spikes: knight/goriya encounters/pits early on, parts of death mountain and the island palace, no magic drop from statue outside first dungeon when you get one later on, death mountain, etc.)
No health drops from enemies (you do get a life refill from leveling up your health bar through)
Some censorship (religious stuff) and translation issues (for example the clue to the first heart container is worse and the first sage doesn't talk about your quest in the western version; sometimes the spell explanations are slightly better though)
No magic refill in some towns
Some trial & error (mechanics, some cheap enemy placements in narrow paths, need to talk to a certain NPC four times to get a clue as to where Bagu is located (same with one other NPC though it's less important), fairly easy to miss some other clues since you have to catch NPCs in the street and they don't stay where they were after entering a house, enemies and boss patterns, etc.),
Comment in Swedish:
Sett ur ett modernt perspektiv är det här spelet helt skevt. Världskartan är fulare än ettans, onödigt stor och tom och med (nära på) random encounters dessutom. Stridsystemet, som det är tänkt att spelas är sjukt frustrerande (vem har de reflexerna?), men tack vare vad som bara kan vara en hit detection-miss kan man använda samma strategi mot nästan alla svåra fiender, om man inte väljer att hoppa över dem med färdigheten downthrust istället.
Bossarna är simpla och lätta så när som på den näst sista man möter. Stadsborna är antingen smått efterblivna eller pratar som om de vore bitar ur en walkthrough, vilket bryter immersionen.
Level-systemet är dåligt balanserat - Extremt segt i början tack vare att man inte får ett jota i EXP av fiender, och man är lätt på max (8 levels, tre olika färdigheter) långt innan slutet utan något extra slit.
Man börjar alltid om från Zeldas kammare när man dör och förlorar dessutom all EXP. Och dör gör man en hel del pga fiender som slår ner en i avgrunder eller i vatten, som inte går att simma i (trots att man hittat skor som gör att man kan gå på vattnet på världskartan) i dessa sidoscrollande partier. Dessa banor är också nästan alltid helt platta och linjära, även i palatsen där det inte finns ett enda pussel värt namnet.
Notes:
-The FDS original is from 1987
-Some differences between western and JP versions - simpler music and sfx, slight graphics and mechanics improvements
-Inspired by: Dragon Buster (ARC, 1984), Dragon Warrior (NES, 1986), Metroid (NES, 1986)
-Redux hack (many balance changes, some added FDS content, minor presentation improvements): https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=26001.0
Level Design-6 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6 Originality-6
Overall Score-6
+
Introduces magic (healing, fairy, shield etc.)
Gain new moves (down thrust, flight (as fairy)) and equipment (water boots, cross - see ghosts)
Mixes rpg and platform action
Interesting uses for the fairy spell
Very good AI for some enemies
One can skip most dialogue, one or two decent puzzles, enemies with immunities (some can only be harmed by fire)
Can unlock a couple of shortcuts on the western continent's overworld using the hammer (breaks boulders)
+/-
Magic effects disappear when moving between rooms (understandable for some spells)
Trojan inspired melee combat (high and low attacks and blocking)
Lack of puzzles in dungeons
-
Near random encounters (and some fixed which are invisible to the player on the world map)
Ugly and unnecessarily empty world map
Lack of puzzles
Sloppy hit detection
Downthrust is overpowered
Inconsistency (some roads are safe and others not, some items need to be stabbed to pick up, magic is represented by numbers in menu but a bar in-game, Bagu's note not shown in inventory, can't skip river guard/sage dialogue, power up inconsistency - can walk on water (using an item) on world map but you'll still drown in sidescrolling sections)
Quests can be missed when people don't come out of their houses
Need to re-select previously used magic in every new room
Control issues (when attacking in air - if Link doesn't finish the blow it is canceled when landing, knockback when stabbing enemies), Lots of dead space (area below death mountain, many empty rooms, great palace)
You can turn many fights into a cakewalk by jumping and hitting the enemy in the face whilst falling down
Uneven difficulty (downthrust lets you skip most enemies later on, leveling up is slow early on, death mountain, great palace)
Poor dialogue (townsfolk act like walking pieces of an FAQ rather than actual people)
Start from Zelda's chamber after each game over (= lots of tedious backtracking) except in dungeons
Some annoying sfx and mostly short music tracks
Addendum (2015):
+
Somewhat improved dialogue
Some freedom added in how you build your character (pick between life, magic, attack strength upon leveling up; you can save the exp for later if you want to focus on a more expensive upgrade)
Fast movement speed
Pretty good (but overly difficult and unbalanced thanks to the jump attack exploit) melee combat
You can leave a dungeon from the crystal room after the boss
No need to activate the candle yourself (on the other hand it can't be used to burn things), you can gain more magic from potions by using a spell while the mana is refilling, shows bosses' health bars, different terrain types that have an effect on enemy encounters in the overworld
+/-
Starts out quite a bit more linear (only two towns and only one alternate dungeon reasonably within reach)
Two fewer dungeons/palaces
1-up system (lose all lives and you'll respawn at the beginning of the game (ugh!) unless you pick continue while in a dungeon in which case you'll spawn at the entrance, otherwise respawn at the previous screen - unfortunately there's a very limited number of lives in the game so you'll want to keep your lives for later where you'll need them most)
Starts off harder than the prequel (poor exp gains (even exp and mana stealing enemies)
Enemy drops are rare
Death pits
Unkillable enemies/hazards)
Sometimes forgiving hit stun on enemies (you don't take damage during it and can pass through some of them) - sometimes unforgiving (enemy attacks aren't delayed from being stunned)
Quickly respawning enemies in some rooms (the wolves and skulls) and otherwise off-screen respawning (need to walk a couple of rooms away though)
No journal/log feature
Villager dialogue sometimes doesn't update after finishing quests (finding the candle and then talking to the kid in Rauru again for example)
Can't keep enemies from bumping into and hurting you with the shield
Static difficulty (earlier dungeons don't become harder if you save them for later)
Can't keep health/mana items for later use
The map in the manual only shows a detailed view of the first overworld area (~25% of the world) and a vague artwork picture of the first continent
You can grind fairly quickly outside some palaces further into the game (hit the statue to spawn a red knight)
Can't walk backwards/strafe (to keep blocking for example a blue knight while retreating so that he moves past a locked door (wtf) again)
Keys become almost moot when you get the fairy spell since they're often such a hassle to get to later on
-
Need to use a second controller (or lose all lives) to be able to save
Dead space in combination with backtracking (can't enter towns from both sides or dungeons from the exit after beating the boss, maze island segment)
Can't speed up dialogue text (can usually skip it but not when talking to sages for some reason)
Some control/interface issues (can't access the pause menu in the overworld, can't see how much you have left to reach each stat level at will (only when leveling a stat up), knockback from hitting walls and even enemies, sword attack can be canceled by moving off of a platform edge right after landing, sword attack is canceled if you swing right before landing or jumping (!), sidequest items don't show up in the inventory?, need to hit some items to pick them up (magic, p-bags; not fairies/1-ups/heart or magic containers) - creates more of a challenge in some cases though
Need to reselect spells in every new screen/room before use and after using a spell once you need to reselect it again)
No in-game dungeon maps (annoying when backgrounds are this repetitive) or overworld map (see dead space)
So-so in-game spell descriptions
Wise men/sages don't say anything other than talk about the spells they give you (instead you get quest related info from small children - wtf?)
Accumulated exp is wasted when you finish a dungeon (you get enough exp for a level up instantly) - this makes boss exp an odd feature since you'll sometimes want to backtrack and grind for one more level after finishing the boss to make use of that exp
Lose all exp after a game over (tedious)
Uneven difficulty (no encounters on the long bridge to the island maze, sometimes obvious where a hidden item is (most p-bags and fairies on the overworld) but other times it's pretty obtuse like with the mirror in Saria
Large magic potion near Nabooru (a town which has magic refill)
Sometimes bad exp gain scaling in terms of how hard enemies are to kill (only good exp early on comes from an enemy that takes 40+ hits from a level 3 sword), spikes: knight/goriya encounters/pits early on, parts of death mountain and the island palace, no magic drop from statue outside first dungeon when you get one later on, death mountain, etc.)
No health drops from enemies (you do get a life refill from leveling up your health bar through)
Some censorship (religious stuff) and translation issues (for example the clue to the first heart container is worse and the first sage doesn't talk about your quest in the western version; sometimes the spell explanations are slightly better though)
No magic refill in some towns
Some trial & error (mechanics, some cheap enemy placements in narrow paths, need to talk to a certain NPC four times to get a clue as to where Bagu is located (same with one other NPC though it's less important), fairly easy to miss some other clues since you have to catch NPCs in the street and they don't stay where they were after entering a house, enemies and boss patterns, etc.),
Comment in Swedish:
Sett ur ett modernt perspektiv är det här spelet helt skevt. Världskartan är fulare än ettans, onödigt stor och tom och med (nära på) random encounters dessutom. Stridsystemet, som det är tänkt att spelas är sjukt frustrerande (vem har de reflexerna?), men tack vare vad som bara kan vara en hit detection-miss kan man använda samma strategi mot nästan alla svåra fiender, om man inte väljer att hoppa över dem med färdigheten downthrust istället.
Bossarna är simpla och lätta så när som på den näst sista man möter. Stadsborna är antingen smått efterblivna eller pratar som om de vore bitar ur en walkthrough, vilket bryter immersionen.
Level-systemet är dåligt balanserat - Extremt segt i början tack vare att man inte får ett jota i EXP av fiender, och man är lätt på max (8 levels, tre olika färdigheter) långt innan slutet utan något extra slit.
Man börjar alltid om från Zeldas kammare när man dör och förlorar dessutom all EXP. Och dör gör man en hel del pga fiender som slår ner en i avgrunder eller i vatten, som inte går att simma i (trots att man hittat skor som gör att man kan gå på vattnet på världskartan) i dessa sidoscrollande partier. Dessa banor är också nästan alltid helt platta och linjära, även i palatsen där det inte finns ett enda pussel värt namnet.
Notes:
-The FDS original is from 1987
-Some differences between western and JP versions - simpler music and sfx, slight graphics and mechanics improvements
-Inspired by: Dragon Buster (ARC, 1984), Dragon Warrior (NES, 1986), Metroid (NES, 1986)
-Redux hack (many balance changes, some added FDS content, minor presentation improvements): https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=26001.0