Review Date: April 4, 2021
Release Date: December 1, 1988 (that’s an exact date this time, not an estimate like when I usually put the first)
Platform: NES
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Nonlinear Platformer
Anecdotes: Back in 1988, Nintendo enjoyed tons of success with their golden cartridge, The Legend of Zelda. Logic would dictate that they should make a sequel. However, this was back during the days when developers weren’t sure what to do with sequels. Do they obliterate everything and start over with something totally new like the US version of Super Mario 2 or do they do a nearly identical game with new levels like Japan’s Super Mario 2? Nintendo went with the former for this game before reverting back to what worked in the first game. Fans of the series, to this day, still look down on this game.
The other problem was that Nintendo, for reasons I don’t remember, only produced limited quantities of the cartridges, so the game was hard to find. We had to go to several stores to find it. We did find it and we were surprised at how different it was from the first game. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though.
Description: From the manual, page 13, scanned by gamesdatabase.org: There are six palaces hidden [liars; only one is actually hidden] in Hyrule. Link must gain experience by fighting Ganon’s underlings, and get information while visiting towns here and there. And, after defeating the guardians at the palaces of Death Valley [that’s not the same place as Death Mountain], he must obtain the Triforce of Courage – That is Link’s mission.
In other words, Link has six crystals and must place them into the statues at the end of each palace. Along the way, Link will gain experience, items, and skills. Once all six crystals are placed, the barrier to the Great Palace disappears and Link will be able to finish the quest.
Positives:
-At first, Link is just another hero with a sword. However, Nintendo made him stand out by giving him a really awesome ability. He can stab up or down with the sword. He learns in Mido how to down thrust first, then later he learns the up thrust in Darunia later. Down stabs are good for taking care of annoying enemies on the floor. Up stabs will be necessary in the Great Palace as they’re about the only efficient way to deal with those Fokkas.
-Although the graphics aren’t the best, it’s really nice to see what Zelda enemies look like in a platformer style. Tektites now have longer legs. Goriyas are taller. Octoroks can now jump. A few others also returned, plus a nice mix of new enemies.
Negatives:
-By far, the worst thing about this game is the gigantic difficulty spike after the fifth palace. In the fifth palace, Link finds a flute. He then needs to take the flute back to the River Devil, who is south of the raft port in Eastern Hyrule. Then he will have to deal with dinosaurs throwing rocks and red floating eyeballs. Palace six is full of Blue Ironknuckles and other “fun” surprises. Then he’ll have to visit a ghost town, which is full of invisible spiraling eyeballs to get a required spell. The sixth palace item can make them visible, but they’re still quite tough to avoid. After that, it’s time to head to the final dungeon, and that trek is even worse. It’s a gauntlet full of Gerus, Moas, Gilbocks, and other things. There is also a dead end. The route to the palace also has two caves to traverse. At the end of that is the Great Palace, which is even worse.
-The developers also felt the need to send players back to the North Palace on every game over outside the Great Palace. This is just plain cruel. I don’t know how many times over my childhood that I got within steps of the hammer and got hit by a flying axe and had to start to whole thing again from the start of the game. Dying in palace six is the same thing. Link will have to walk all the way back from the North Palace. The First Zelda game allowed players to continue from the start of the dungeon. Why did they change that?
More Screenshots:
Final Opinion: Being sent back to the start of the game really makes this adventure drag, especially if Link dies on Death Mountain or in the sixth palace. Those enraging areas, along with the brutal path to the Great Palace, let alone what awaits inside, are why I can’t rate it any higher than a C.
Grade: C