thordog
Feb 25th, 2007, 08:06 PM
This game differs considerably from the first Zelda game. In the first Zelda game, battles are fought on over-world maps. In Zelda II, side-scrolling views are used when battles are fought and towns are explored. The play control feels a little awkward in this view. Link does not jump very well. Let's just say that I can't control him in the air as well as I can control Mario. In addition, attacking with the sword becomes impossible when I try to do so the moment Link steps onto an elevator. The depth of the games leaves much to be desired, in comparison to the first Zelda. There aren't as many cleverly hidden secrets to discover. Another thing I found frustrating about Zelda II was it's lack of a second quest. It is possible to start something similar to a second quest after beating Zelda II, but the only difference is that Link starts out with all of the attack power, health, and magic that was acquired in the first quest. This makes the game even easier to beat, instead of more challenging. Once you beat the first quest, there's nothing remarkable to look forward to.<BR><BR>Gaining experience points to increase Link's abilities lends something to making the game feel similar to a Role Playing Game-- although at the time I first started playing it, I had never even heard of Role Playing Games. While inside towns, Link can collect tips and learn new skills from the towns-folk. Many aspects of Zelda II reminds me of Rambo, which is a Nintendo game published by Acclaim that was released earlier than Zelda II. Gaining experience points was also used in Rambo, and there are some elements from Zelda II that appear to be borrowed from Rambo, such as deadly bubbles and speed reducing swamps. It could've been the other way around, due to the fact that the release date for Zelda II kept getting delayed. Who knows? At least the aspect of wandering in an overworld map with Link represented by a tiny icon adds some uniqueness to the game. In this view, enemies were represented by icons. Link could avoid battles by dodging the enemy icons. When Link runs into one of these icons, the view changes into a side scrolling view with Link in the middle of a set of enemies he can attack.<BR><BR>The music and graphics in this game are not particularly fantastic; They are not unbearable, but neither are they great. The map view leaves much to be desired, with Link appearing like a tiny doll. You can hear the Zelda theme song while in the map view, there is a separate melody for wandering in towns, a battle song for most of the side scrolling views, and separate tunes for the final palace. They are okay, yet somehow the melodies from the first Zelda game had more sucess at drawing me into the game even more than its sequel did. Zelda II is an okay game if you liked the first one, but I wouldn't recommend it for those that aren't as fondly attached to the Link character.