Introduction
Zelda II was released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System in early 1987. North America didn't see a cartridge release of this game until almost two years later, in late 1988. The second game in the Zelda series altered the basic formula, swapping out the top-down action/adventure for a mix between an RPG and a platformer. Though it was generally well-liked back in the good old days, in recent years this game has seen some venomous criticisms from people, mostly due to it being "too different" and "too hard".
Though it may be different, I consider it a fresh entry in the series, and one of my favorites. As for the complaints about its difficulty... Zelda II is only merciless if you don't know the tricks. Killing the toughest of tough enemies without getting slaughtered yourself, using the game's experience system to raise certain stats early, even exploiting the game system a little to make certain tough parts kid stuff. All of this is very possible to do in the world of Zelda 2, and it's exactly this sort of stuff I wish to show off.
This is not exactly a "breaking" of the game. Rather, it's simply showing off a few cool ways you can trick it out to make the hard parts not so hard. After that, the game's really not all that bad. It just needs a chance, is all.
So what's Link up to now? According to the intro screen's wonderfully worded opening crawl;
After Ganon was destroyed, Impa told Link a sleeping spell was cast on Princess Zelda. She will wake only with the power of No. 3 Triforce sealed in a palace in Hyrule. To break the seal, crystals must be placed in statues in 6 well guarded palaces. Link set out on his most adventuresome quest yet...
Charming. This Zelda you're trying to save is not the one from the end of the original game, but an ancestor of that princess who's been asleep for generations. Now Link has to delve into six palaces in order to break the seal on a seventh, and get the Triforce of Courage. Simple stuff.
| Part 01: Introductory Preparations | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 02: Parapa Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 03: Fetch Quests! | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 04: Prepping For Death Mountain | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 05: Death Mountain | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 06: Prepping For Midoro Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 07: Midoro Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 08: Island Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 09: Welcome To Eastern Hyrule | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 10: Maze Island Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 11: Ocean Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 12: Sixth Palace Preparation | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 13: Three Eye Rock Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 14: The Valley Of Death | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Part 15: The Great Palace | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Bonus Video 01: Death Mountain Revisited | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Bonus Video 02: Link no Bouken | blip.tv | YouTube |
| Bonus Video 03: Great Palace Dead Ends | blip.tv | YouTube |