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Zelda II was actually my first Zelda game. I got it when it was released. And it was hard! But I liked it a lot. Enough to trade away some games to get the first Zelda from my cousin soon after. Ultimately, The Legend Of Zelda would be the game I fell in love with and made my a die-hard series fanatic to this day. HOWEVER, it recently occured to me that I hadn't played Zelda II in yeeeaaaaaars. And worse, I definitely NEVER beat it! So I decided to pop it in (via Gamecube Zelda Collection) a few nights ago. I've been messing with it lately, and y'know what? It's still REALLY hard! I mean really! WHY do I have to go back to the first palace every time I get a game over? That's just wrong. But y'know what else? It's so much better than I remember! I always think of it as the awkward side-scroller experiment that didn't really succeed. But it's actually a great game. I'm really enjoying it again. Maybe more than before as my skills have improved in the last 20 years!

It's definitely a fun game. Like Castlevania with an overworld map. I played it for a little bit the other night and I agree that it is really hard!

One thing though, whats with the implied prostitution? The ladies that want you to go into their houses to make you "feel good"? I always got a laugh out of that.

wow, I was thinking the same thing just last night about the prostitution. I mean, even the way the girls are standing looks like the red light district. Haha.

But yeah, there is a definite Castlevania vibe to it. Obviously the game is the black-sheep of the series, but I'm just amazed at how great it has aged. Now I really see how incredible the game really is. And as far as how hard it is, all I know is that when I finally beat an area and get a new item I feel like I'm so frickin' awesome!

Yeah, that is definitely a great feeling! I remember getting that feeling when I finally beat the original Castlevania for the NES. It was sooo hard IIRC, and I felt like a complete badass when I finally beat it.

IMO, Zelda II is a bit more challenging due to the lack of range the basic sword attack has if you have taken any damage!

I don't think I'll ever beat Castlevania. I've tried in 2008 and 2009. (I don't use cheat devices or save states or any of that crap).

do you guys have any techniques to getting through it other than flat out using a walkthrough. I always wanted to get through the game, but just couldn't.

no, but I'm also not using a walkthrough. Yikes!

I don't care what other people think but I would use save states periodically. I don't have the time to replay an area over and over again. I would rather be able to try new games periodically.

I'm taking a little break from the Zelda series after having played all of the hand-held versions except for the DS. I started Windwaker and will resume it at some point. I do plan to play Zelda II one day.

When I think of Zelda II I think of Castlevania II. I played through CV2 just because I'm a die hard fan, but I'm not a fan enough of the Zelda series to suffer through Zelda II. Maybe one day I'll give it another try though.

noiseredux wrote:I don't think I'll ever beat Castlevania. I've tried in 2008 and 2009. (I don't use cheat devices or save states or any of that crap).

You know, I use to think the same thing. I would die on stage 4 or on the boss of stage 4, never got past there. It was just too hard, and I thought I'd NEVER beat the game.

Then my friend and I started playing that game religiously. We broke down every little part of each level and came up with a technique to get past it. Beating it eventually became a routine and would take under 30 minutes. When you beat it, it starts over on "hard" mode, we even beat that too. My crowning achievement with that game was beating it on ONE life! I'm still proud of that lol.

It's probably my favorite NES game now. I just love it so damn much.

noiseredux wrote:WHY do I have to go back to the first palace every time I get a game over?

Uh-oh it's one of those games? Even if you get to the last castle and die, it's right back to the start of the game? Never playing this game in that case
I have it on the Collector's Disc as well, but it's the only console Zelda I've never played (unless you count the Master Quest). I just haven't got round to it with all the other games. Plus, as it's the black sheep it's been left til last. How many lives etc do you get?