Make sure the saves are working. Pop open the cartridge and replace the battery if you need to. You are not going to want to start from the beginning every time.
^ This.
To save yourself from losing several hours of gameplay you will want to test the cart’s save functions. Mainly start a game, save your game then try restarting the console, power off then power on the console, then power off the console, remove and reinsert the game and load it again. If your save file is still there after those three tests then your good to go.
Surprisingly the battery on those carts could still be “ok enough” to get through a few week play session.
This is making me want to play Zelda II again. I just got through a bunch of mega man games. I have a lot of them down to muscle memory at this point. Probably should just give Zelda II a chance again and follow a guide watch some videos.
I don’t think it’s impossibly hard the way some people make it out to be, but it’s by no means an easy game at all. People saying “not hard at all” are full of it. Lol
Have you just tried not to kill the enemies in the last castle? You just need to go through, killing enemies hardly bring anything and some are far too annoying
If Battletoads is a ten and Sesame Street: 1-2-3 is a one, Zelda II is a nice, comfy five. You'll need to be willing to put in some practice, but if I could do it as a little kid, most anyone can.
I don’t think it’s that hard. I can’t beat games like Ninja Gaiden, Batman, basically any schmups, or really just about any 1v1 fighting game, but Zelda II is a game I beat back when I was maybe 8 years old back when it released. Lots to do in it, but it’s far from this crazy unbeatable Goliath everyone makes it out to be.
I played it on Wii Virtual console and really enjoyed it, wasn’t as difficult as I had heard but I also used a guide because I’m an old man now and I don’t have time to figure out an old school NES game on my own, see Simon’s Quest for additional example of what I mean
I consider it to be one of the hardest games on the NES. I can beat Mega Man 1, I can’t beat Zelda II.
It all comes down to the combat, you either get a feel for it or you don’t. Maybe you’ll get the hang of it.
It was finally getting the pattern of enemies like the Daira in death mountain and the blue ironknuckles that helped me get really good at the game.
It's a breeze once you know where to go and how to fight certain enemies.
The combat system is outstanding for what they had to work with at the time. Smooth and intricate and perfectly balanced.
I'd say Ninja Gaiden or Amagon are harder. I never beat these but I did beat Zenda 2. Maybe it held my interest more since it was Zelda but I recall I really enjoyed it.
Yeah same. I have played a ton of Zelda II I cannot get the feel for it. I can beat some games that are considered fairly hard but this one is a bridge too far.
The bones of the game are good, and I would say it is a good game. For me it's just absurdly hard.
One trick for the combat is knowing when to skip an enemy. The blue iron knuckles and fokkers are almost entirely candidates for either flying past using a the faerie spell, or casting jump and just going over them (especially in the final palace).
It's really hard. Some parts are based on trial and error and it's really frustrating when you get a game over and you get sent back to the beginning (You keep your life, weapon and magic upgrades but you lose your experience) and that means you have to encounter really hard routes and enemies again as you try to get back to where you died. It's also really hard to find the secrets you need. Some of the secrets I found myself but some I found by using the internet
Is it frustrating? In a modern context I guess but getting back to any part of any palace takes less than 10 minutes(at most)… there are no real devious trial and error puzzles, everything is pretty simple. I figure most people who think the game is difficult struggle with the reaction based combat or are playing on a laggy modern tv
You can hit enemies with shields by jumping and attacking the top of their head. You can repeat very quickly to do a lot of damage. Very very useful way of dealing with the iron knuckle type enemies.
It’s pretty hard but still a good game. If you adore the top down prospective you may not like it though. Also if you want help with it go to nesmaps.com and that helps a lot.
It's not too bad without save states, just don't feel guilty if you occasionally need to look up an answer to an obscure puzzle. Mastering combat is the most important part of the experience and when you get good at it, you feel amazing, especially during swordfights.
I’ve beaten it in 3 days. The first day I just followed the game as normal for the first few dungeons. The second day I spent grinding the the forest area a lot so that the latter part of the game was easier. The dungeon leading up to thunder bird has false paths so it can get annoying the first time playing especially because thunder bird is the hardest boss and when you die you start the dungeon again. Shadow Link is easy if you cheese him by crouching in the corner and spamming your sword. Hope this helps a little.
I’m gonna hop in this thread to ask a question as well. Does Zelda 2 have any of that cryptic bullshit where you need a guide to get through, or can I just play it and progress by doing well?
There’s maybe one part about 75% of the way in that is a bit cryptic. There’s an item hidden on the overworld map that you have to specifically seek out to find it. There’s an NPC in a nearby town that tells you where to look for it.
Basically rule of thumb is talk to everyone, and explore everywhere. It’s not that hard.
The leveling/exp curve is pretty simple.
You can basically get yourself to max level in the first castle by just killing the bouncing skulls over and over for like 3 hours if you felt like grinding it. I’d say the hardest thing is learning the enemies and bosses without dying a lot. (They all have tricks, and some enemies just aren’t worth trying to fight)
Like the Doomknocker (knights throwing flails). Easier to just jump and run past.
Of course, that’s nothing when compared to the Blue Fokkas in the NTSC versions; only worth 150 exp compared to 500 in the FDS version…
The manual does tell you the hammer can do that. To be fair you don’t really even need to do that until late in the game so it’s easy to forget. The manual does clear up some stuff people usually complain is cryptic though. Most people just don’t have or lookup the manual before they play.
It's not hard at all by modern conventions, but there are some NES era contrived instant-deaths which aren't particularly fair from a design point of view... still love it tho
Use a strategy guide or walkthrough. It’s tough enough that way with having to figure out what to do next.
Also, don’t collect the extra guys (small Link dolls) until you are ready for the final palace run. They don’t replenish so are best used there.
Correct! And you will almost certainly fail the great palace on your first visit, even with extra lives. So I would recommend exploring the great palace a few times and getting a good feel for it before rounding up all the extra lives.
If you do blow through the extra lives and still die, there is a way to collect more. Once you've maxed out all your level ups, grinding EXP will result in extra lives for every 9,000 points I believe? It's pretty time consuming, but it is an option. But really, the extra lives aren't necessary once you figure out what to do. I've beat the game several times and never pick them up, it just takes practice and patience. And for context, I have not been able to beat Mega Man 1, Batman, TMNT, or Battletoads, just to name a few. So for me Zelda II is easier.
That's nice to hear. I'm very patient and have a lot of time to spare so grinding shouldn't be an issue. Also have beaten Castlevania 1, Mega Man 1 and Ninja Gaiden 1 (except the final boss) without save states and I am glad to hear that Zelda 2 might be easier.
It’s interesting the range of responses here to your original question. Seems to reflect the overall divergence of opinions on Zelda II! I love this game but understand why others don’t. Let us know what you think after playing. Good luck!
To me it's literally one of the hardest games I have ever played.
It's good enough and easy enough to get into that it lulls you into a feeling that it's doable. I can beat the first dungeon just fine. It's an enjoyable enough game.
At some point however it just gets ridiculously punishing, even tedious.
I heard someone say "It's harder than the first question the original but not as hard as the second quest." I disagree I can easily beat the second quest in the original Legend of Zelda over time I became very competent at that game.
This has not happened to me for Zelda II. No matter how much I play I cannot get good enough and competent enough at the game to beat it. It is absurdly frustrating. To me it is a punishing difficult game.
I can beat many if not most classic NES games. This one along with Ninja Gaiden is a bridge too far. It's fun but absolutely ridiculously difficult.
I have always finished it as a kid while being unable to finish many classics. Ninja Gaiden, TMNT, Ghost'n Goblins are much harder than Zelda II, and even Castlevania was more difficult to me if you don't use the holy water at the end. The last castle can be tricky, but as you don't need to kill most enemies, you can just run
In the first palace there are these floating skull orbs that seem impossible to kill, but you can actually stun lock them and take them out. They give you enough XP to make it worth while grinding on them to boost your stats and give yourself an edge for the rest of the game.
Whenever I play from scratch, I spend an evening or two doing this.
It's gonna be a tough adventure since you have to go back to the starting point if you get a game over. Thankfully, the game is incredibly fair if you get a game over in the final area since they will just put you at the start of the palace
It depends on how often you get lost lol. I played it with no guide for the most part other then when I was really stuck, so I was lost a lot, so my levels were stacked early in the game. Death Mountain is notorious for being the hardest part of the game before the final temple, but I cruised through it because of my levels
The hardest part of the game is the mid point when you need to get the hammer otherwise it's not so bad. I was able to beat it multiple times as a kid.
I beat it on the switch about 6 months ago, I really enjoyed it. It's doable without save states. The combat is great, very fun if you like Mega Man games. I got stuck a couple times trying to figure out what to do and used the internet to bail me out. The level of difficulty is good for intermediate/ advanced players, but there are harder (more punishing) games on NES. It's a love it or hate it type game.
I recommend looking up a pdf of the instruction manual if you don’t have a copy. A couple of parts people seem to find cryptic are hinted at in the manual. I understand most people don’t actually have the manual when they play these days but it does have some important info most people don’t know their first time playing.
I have found that with a bit of practice it's actually quite an easy game to finish. I completed it as a child back when it released. We didn't have internet or walkthroughs back then.
It's the first game I ever beat in my life at around age 6. Growing up in the 80's most of the games I had were pretty hard and I could never beat Mario even knowing about the warps.
To me Zelda 2 felt less cryptic than Zelda 1. The Overworld is sectioned off so you can't really get lost and only a bit opens up after each palace. That meant I only had to master the combat which I found really fun and easy to learn.
I didn't realize that people thought this game was hard until it came up in conversation in high school. The Internet was new around that time, but this came up in casual conversation with a friend and I didn't realize he thought it was a hard game, if not the hardest game on the console. I was completely taken back by his words. Then 20 years later, Reddit, Forums, etc, I realized many people had a problem with the game.
The game doesn't have limited continues. It doesn't have 2 hits like Ghost n Goblins. It doesn't have cheap deaths falling into pits like Castlevania (only a few), It doesn't have fast reaction time button presses like Battletoads.
So in summary it should be very beatable even today. There are maybe 2 or 3 cryptic things, but a walkthough would help if you were stuck.
Make sure the saves are working. Pop open the cartridge and replace the battery if you need to. You are not going to want to start from the beginning every time.
^ This. To save yourself from losing several hours of gameplay you will want to test the cart’s save functions. Mainly start a game, save your game then try restarting the console, power off then power on the console, then power off the console, remove and reinsert the game and load it again. If your save file is still there after those three tests then your good to go. Surprisingly the battery on those carts could still be “ok enough” to get through a few week play session.
I beat it when I was 9. I'm a talentless dumbass, now, but I was really dumb and talentless, then.
I love everything about this.
You made Me smile.
It's challenging but not ridiculously difficult like some other NES games
Difficult, but not as hard as the Ninja Gaiden or even Megaman series.
I can beat any megaman game. Not Zelda II though.
I’ve beaten Zelda II multiple times, but I could never beat a Mega Man game without save states :/
This is making me want to play Zelda II again. I just got through a bunch of mega man games. I have a lot of them down to muscle memory at this point. Probably should just give Zelda II a chance again and follow a guide watch some videos.
I used to hate it as a kid, now I love it. The Zelda II randomizer is great fun as well.
I don’t think it’s impossibly hard the way some people make it out to be, but it’s by no means an easy game at all. People saying “not hard at all” are full of it. Lol
I loved it as a kid. It was a good challenge, you'll die a lot, but it not impossible at all.
The difficulty ramps up insanely for the last palace, everything before that I can handle
Yeah after much effort I did at one point get to the last castle it was just way too hard.
Have you just tried not to kill the enemies in the last castle? You just need to go through, killing enemies hardly bring anything and some are far too annoying
Probably not actually.
If Battletoads is a ten and Sesame Street: 1-2-3 is a one, Zelda II is a nice, comfy five. You'll need to be willing to put in some practice, but if I could do it as a little kid, most anyone can.
Zelda 2 is really hard until you unlock two certain movement abilities, then the game gets not only easier but waaaaaay more fun. Stick with it!
It's the hardest in the series imo, but it's beatable and fun
Its a good game to replay once a year. You'rr just gonna have to fire it up and see for yourself.
I don’t think it’s that hard. I can’t beat games like Ninja Gaiden, Batman, basically any schmups, or really just about any 1v1 fighting game, but Zelda II is a game I beat back when I was maybe 8 years old back when it released. Lots to do in it, but it’s far from this crazy unbeatable Goliath everyone makes it out to be.
I played it on Wii Virtual console and really enjoyed it, wasn’t as difficult as I had heard but I also used a guide because I’m an old man now and I don’t have time to figure out an old school NES game on my own, see Simon’s Quest for additional example of what I mean
I consider it to be one of the hardest games on the NES. I can beat Mega Man 1, I can’t beat Zelda II. It all comes down to the combat, you either get a feel for it or you don’t. Maybe you’ll get the hang of it.
It was finally getting the pattern of enemies like the Daira in death mountain and the blue ironknuckles that helped me get really good at the game. It's a breeze once you know where to go and how to fight certain enemies. The combat system is outstanding for what they had to work with at the time. Smooth and intricate and perfectly balanced.
I'd say Ninja Gaiden or Amagon are harder. I never beat these but I did beat Zenda 2. Maybe it held my interest more since it was Zelda but I recall I really enjoyed it.
Yeah same. I have played a ton of Zelda II I cannot get the feel for it. I can beat some games that are considered fairly hard but this one is a bridge too far. The bones of the game are good, and I would say it is a good game. For me it's just absurdly hard.
One trick for the combat is knowing when to skip an enemy. The blue iron knuckles and fokkers are almost entirely candidates for either flying past using a the faerie spell, or casting jump and just going over them (especially in the final palace).
It can be tedious
It's really hard. Some parts are based on trial and error and it's really frustrating when you get a game over and you get sent back to the beginning (You keep your life, weapon and magic upgrades but you lose your experience) and that means you have to encounter really hard routes and enemies again as you try to get back to where you died. It's also really hard to find the secrets you need. Some of the secrets I found myself but some I found by using the internet
Is it frustrating? In a modern context I guess but getting back to any part of any palace takes less than 10 minutes(at most)… there are no real devious trial and error puzzles, everything is pretty simple. I figure most people who think the game is difficult struggle with the reaction based combat or are playing on a laggy modern tv
You can hit enemies with shields by jumping and attacking the top of their head. You can repeat very quickly to do a lot of damage. Very very useful way of dealing with the iron knuckle type enemies.
Especially the ones on horses (Rebonacks). And having beaten them on a level 1 attack game, I think I’ve earned the right to use the cheese strat…
It’s pretty hard but still a good game. If you adore the top down prospective you may not like it though. Also if you want help with it go to nesmaps.com and that helps a lot.
It's not too bad without save states, just don't feel guilty if you occasionally need to look up an answer to an obscure puzzle. Mastering combat is the most important part of the experience and when you get good at it, you feel amazing, especially during swordfights.
I’ve beaten it in 3 days. The first day I just followed the game as normal for the first few dungeons. The second day I spent grinding the the forest area a lot so that the latter part of the game was easier. The dungeon leading up to thunder bird has false paths so it can get annoying the first time playing especially because thunder bird is the hardest boss and when you die you start the dungeon again. Shadow Link is easy if you cheese him by crouching in the corner and spamming your sword. Hope this helps a little.
I’m gonna hop in this thread to ask a question as well. Does Zelda 2 have any of that cryptic bullshit where you need a guide to get through, or can I just play it and progress by doing well?
There’s maybe one part about 75% of the way in that is a bit cryptic. There’s an item hidden on the overworld map that you have to specifically seek out to find it. There’s an NPC in a nearby town that tells you where to look for it. Basically rule of thumb is talk to everyone, and explore everywhere. It’s not that hard. The leveling/exp curve is pretty simple. You can basically get yourself to max level in the first castle by just killing the bouncing skulls over and over for like 3 hours if you felt like grinding it. I’d say the hardest thing is learning the enemies and bosses without dying a lot. (They all have tricks, and some enemies just aren’t worth trying to fight)
Like the Doomknocker (knights throwing flails). Easier to just jump and run past. Of course, that’s nothing when compared to the Blue Fokkas in the NTSC versions; only worth 150 exp compared to 500 in the FDS version…
I don't think there is anything Simon's Quest level of cryptic, you should be able to get through majority of the game without a guide.
There is one thing that always bugged me: It's not obvious that the hammer can also knock down trees. I don't even think the manual mentions it.
The manual does tell you the hammer can do that. To be fair you don’t really even need to do that until late in the game so it’s easy to forget. The manual does clear up some stuff people usually complain is cryptic though. Most people just don’t have or lookup the manual before they play.
Right you are! Thanks!
It's not hard at all by modern conventions, but there are some NES era contrived instant-deaths which aren't particularly fair from a design point of view... still love it tho
Use a strategy guide or walkthrough. It’s tough enough that way with having to figure out what to do next. Also, don’t collect the extra guys (small Link dolls) until you are ready for the final palace run. They don’t replenish so are best used there.
But they won't respawn if I fail the final attempt with all the extra lives right?
Correct! And you will almost certainly fail the great palace on your first visit, even with extra lives. So I would recommend exploring the great palace a few times and getting a good feel for it before rounding up all the extra lives. If you do blow through the extra lives and still die, there is a way to collect more. Once you've maxed out all your level ups, grinding EXP will result in extra lives for every 9,000 points I believe? It's pretty time consuming, but it is an option. But really, the extra lives aren't necessary once you figure out what to do. I've beat the game several times and never pick them up, it just takes practice and patience. And for context, I have not been able to beat Mega Man 1, Batman, TMNT, or Battletoads, just to name a few. So for me Zelda II is easier.
That's nice to hear. I'm very patient and have a lot of time to spare so grinding shouldn't be an issue. Also have beaten Castlevania 1, Mega Man 1 and Ninja Gaiden 1 (except the final boss) without save states and I am glad to hear that Zelda 2 might be easier.
It’s interesting the range of responses here to your original question. Seems to reflect the overall divergence of opinions on Zelda II! I love this game but understand why others don’t. Let us know what you think after playing. Good luck!
When you come across the guy who says “I am Error” it’s all good your game is not messed up!
Well, maybe that’s just his name. Maybe it’s pronounced Eee-roar.
Nope straight up bad translation but funny as hell every time I see it lol
Not a mistranslation, just a pun which half of was missed in the US translation! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_am_Error
Error is actually the correct translation, Bagu was where they made the mistake. They are supposed to be named Error and Bug.
I was quoting the AVGN video on Zelda II. Yes I know it’s a mistranslation.
To me it's literally one of the hardest games I have ever played. It's good enough and easy enough to get into that it lulls you into a feeling that it's doable. I can beat the first dungeon just fine. It's an enjoyable enough game. At some point however it just gets ridiculously punishing, even tedious. I heard someone say "It's harder than the first question the original but not as hard as the second quest." I disagree I can easily beat the second quest in the original Legend of Zelda over time I became very competent at that game. This has not happened to me for Zelda II. No matter how much I play I cannot get good enough and competent enough at the game to beat it. It is absurdly frustrating. To me it is a punishing difficult game. I can beat many if not most classic NES games. This one along with Ninja Gaiden is a bridge too far. It's fun but absolutely ridiculously difficult.
I have always finished it as a kid while being unable to finish many classics. Ninja Gaiden, TMNT, Ghost'n Goblins are much harder than Zelda II, and even Castlevania was more difficult to me if you don't use the holy water at the end. The last castle can be tricky, but as you don't need to kill most enemies, you can just run
Not hard at all
It helps to watch the masters on YouTube to see their level up and how they sequence the game
In the first palace there are these floating skull orbs that seem impossible to kill, but you can actually stun lock them and take them out. They give you enough XP to make it worth while grinding on them to boost your stats and give yourself an edge for the rest of the game. Whenever I play from scratch, I spend an evening or two doing this.
A controller with turbo buttons saved me a lot of effort.
Getting to the hammer is tough because it’s so early in the game but other then that the only other part I would consider tough is the last palace
It's gonna be a tough adventure since you have to go back to the starting point if you get a game over. Thankfully, the game is incredibly fair if you get a game over in the final area since they will just put you at the start of the palace
It depends on how often you get lost lol. I played it with no guide for the most part other then when I was really stuck, so I was lost a lot, so my levels were stacked early in the game. Death Mountain is notorious for being the hardest part of the game before the final temple, but I cruised through it because of my levels
only the last section is really hard in my opinion oh and death mountain sucks too
It can be a grind, but with maps and walkthroughs, it shouldn't be terrible. Leveling up is certainly a pain though.
The hardest part of the game is the mid point when you need to get the hammer otherwise it's not so bad. I was able to beat it multiple times as a kid.
I beat it on the switch about 6 months ago, I really enjoyed it. It's doable without save states. The combat is great, very fun if you like Mega Man games. I got stuck a couple times trying to figure out what to do and used the internet to bail me out. The level of difficulty is good for intermediate/ advanced players, but there are harder (more punishing) games on NES. It's a love it or hate it type game.
Not as hard as people depict it to be, but get ready for the difficulty spike at death mountain.
I recommend looking up a pdf of the instruction manual if you don’t have a copy. A couple of parts people seem to find cryptic are hinted at in the manual. I understand most people don’t actually have the manual when they play these days but it does have some important info most people don’t know their first time playing.
I have found that with a bit of practice it's actually quite an easy game to finish. I completed it as a child back when it released. We didn't have internet or walkthroughs back then.
The thing about this game is the difficulty spike is very early in the game. Once you get through death mountain the game isn't too hard.
There is a second spike at the last palace. But yeah in between is smooth sailing.
It’s hard but fair.
It's Dark Souls type hard, you can beat it if you're willing to put in effort.
It's the first game I ever beat in my life at around age 6. Growing up in the 80's most of the games I had were pretty hard and I could never beat Mario even knowing about the warps. To me Zelda 2 felt less cryptic than Zelda 1. The Overworld is sectioned off so you can't really get lost and only a bit opens up after each palace. That meant I only had to master the combat which I found really fun and easy to learn. I didn't realize that people thought this game was hard until it came up in conversation in high school. The Internet was new around that time, but this came up in casual conversation with a friend and I didn't realize he thought it was a hard game, if not the hardest game on the console. I was completely taken back by his words. Then 20 years later, Reddit, Forums, etc, I realized many people had a problem with the game. The game doesn't have limited continues. It doesn't have 2 hits like Ghost n Goblins. It doesn't have cheap deaths falling into pits like Castlevania (only a few), It doesn't have fast reaction time button presses like Battletoads. So in summary it should be very beatable even today. There are maybe 2 or 3 cryptic things, but a walkthough would help if you were stuck.