There’s no disputing the crazy amount of critically acclaimed games in The Legend of Zelda series. From its early days on the Nintendo Entertainment System to its latest foray on the Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda is one of t🤪he few gaming franchise you can always count on in delivering an entertaining ga🎃ming experience. This wasn’t always the case.
Back in late 80s, Nintendo’s follow-up to The Legend of Zelda on the NES, called Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, received mix reviews for doing away with the top-down adventure formula of the original, in favor of 2D platforming journey. A journey that was shrouded in confusing mysteries to uncover for players that didn’t own a copy of Nintendo Power. The radical experiment with the Zelda series, while appreciated, wasn’t welcomed aღs waဣrmly as the first game.
While it’s understandable why Nintendo never went back to the Zelda II style of gameplay, there’s still a lot to love about the black sheep of the Zelda series. More importantly, Zelda II has a lot of interesting tidbits that many gamers may not know about. Below are 15 things you never knew about the miserable Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Enjoy!
15 I Actually Am Error
For years many assumed the infamous “I am Error” quote was nothing more than a glitchy response to Link, but that’s not actually the case. The man who speaks this famous internet meme in the Town of Ruto is actually named Error. There’s a similar character in the Water Town of Saria whose name is “Bagu,” the Japanese word for “bug.” With two men named “Error” and “Bug,” it’s safe to assume this was a funny reference from the developers about error messages and software bugs. The "I Am Error" quote remains amusing, but know you now that it was intentionally and not a strange glitch in the system, or a poor translation of dialogue in the game. So, feel free to continue sharing those Zelda II memes online.
14 ﷽ Wait, Why Do I Know That?
If you thought Ganon’s laugh during the Game Over cutscene sounded familiar, that’s because it is. Ganon’s laugh, heard after the player loses all his lives, originated in Punch Out for the NES. The laugh is an altered sound clip from Soda Popinski's laugh after he wins by knockout. This isn't an uncommon trick. Video game developers will often alter previous sound clips for minor or major characters, in an effort to save time and money. For example, Boo's creepy laugh in Super Mario 64 is 𝕴actually a speed up version of Bowser's laugh. Of course, the average Joe wouldn't be able to notice this at first glance. So, it speaks to the talent of these developers that they can reuse old assets and turn them into completely new things.
13 ✱ And You Thought THIS Game Was Bad...
While Nintendo never made another 2D Legend of Zelda game after The Adventure of Link, there have been other games in the franchise that continued the side-scrolling action. Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure were 2D games developed exclusively for the Philips CD-I system. These game, however, were critically panned for their horrid gameplay and laughable cutscenes. The Philip CD-I games are also not recognized officially by Nintendo, so they might as well not exist at all. Philip's didn't just make bad Zelda games, though. The company also made the infamously bad Super Mario game called Hotel Mario, which is more known for its atrocious animation and meme templates than actual good gameplay. With bad games like these, theꦺ Philip CD-I did not live a long and gracious life.
12 I Scratch Your Back, You Scratch Mine
In the Japanese version of the game, a grave found in Saria Town reads “The Hero Loto rests here." The name “Loto” is a reference to the Japanese name of the legendary Dragon Quest hero. Square Enix returned the favor in Final Fantasy by placing "Here lies Link" on a grave in the town of Elfheim. The original North American release of Final Fantasy on the NES didn't contain this reference, however, as the English translators changed it to "Here lies Erdrick," which is the English name of Loto from Dragon Quest. Later ports of Final Fantasy on the Game Boy Advance, iOS, and PSP did restore the Zelda reference back in the game. The screenshot above is from the PSP port of Final Fantasy.
11 Which Came First?
Do the names of the towns in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link sound familiar? They should. The towns are named after the sages in the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64: Rauru, Ruto, Saria, Mido, Nabooru, and Darunia. The only exception to this is Mido, who is only a side character in the Ocarina of Time. There is speculation that Mido may have been planned to be a sage in the N64 game; a possible fit for the Earth Temple or Wind Temple that were cut from the game. While Zelda II obviously inspired the names of the sages in Ocarina of Time, chronologically, the sages from Ocarina of Time inspired the names of the towns in Zelda II.
10 Who Needs Keys?
Can’t find a certain key to help you progress through the game? It’s possible to bypass all that locked door nonsense by implementing a little bit of magic. By turning into a fairy, Link can fly through any keyhole. You will have to get the fairy transformation move first, though. This is a great trick for anyone planning to speedrun this game. Or, for anyone stuck in an unbelievably hard dungeon. There's no shame in using this trick. Even for Zelda experts, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link can be a frustrating experience, as so many crucial details for completing it are only vaguely told to the players. So, bypassing a few locked doors like you were a thief in Fallout ins nothing to be ashamed about.
9 No More Flashing Colors
The original release of the game featured flashing colors after the player has died. The seizure-inducing animation was toned down significantly in the re-release for the Virtual Console. A solid red background now takes it place. After the anime 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon seizure fiasco, Nintendo doesn’t need another incident like that on its hands. If you ever wondered why modern video games from Nintendo often open up with a brief health warning, games like Zelda II: The Adventure of Link are reason why. If you somehow find an NES copy of the game, try not to stare too closely on the screen and avoid getting a Game Over as much as you can during your playtime. Although, considering the game's difficulty, is probably just a pꦆipe dream🗹.
8 A Good Reason For A Delay
The Adventure of Link was released in North America on October of 1988. However, the game was originally set for a February release date. Why the eight month delay? The chip famine of 1988 hindered production of the game. This was even mentioned in the June/July issue of Nintendo Fun Club (a predecessor to the Nintendo Power magazine). "Where's Link?,” the magazine stated. “All the fun of The Legend of Zelda continues in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, right? Right! But when? As soon as we can get more computer chips! There has been a shortage. But we have used the waiting time well by making Zelda II: The Adventure of Link an even more exactinꦐg, more challenging game... co𝓰ming this fall!"
7 America Really Got The Short Stick
The North American version of The Adventure of Link had numerous changes from its original Japanese release. One glaring example is the arrangement of bosses. The Japanese version had Helmethead as the boss of the fifth dungeon, but the North American release moved him to the second palace. For the fifth dungeon boss, Nintendo of America made a new enemy named Gooma, who is basically a troll with a mace. There's no official statement as to why Nintendo of America would rearrange certain enemies in The Adventure of Link, however, popular speculation suggests the company wanted to adjust the difficulty for North American players. Not a surprising move, as Nintendo of American previously withheld the real Super Mario Bros 2 (known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in U.S.) because of its increased difficulty, and released a new Mario game in its place.
6 It Was Supposed To Be So Much More
Shigeru Miyamoto, the famous game designer behind the Legend of Zelda series, doesn’t have a lot to regret in his video game career. One game he wish he could have spent more time with, however, was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. In an interview with , Miyamoto expressed regret about not doing more with the NES Zelda sequel. “When we're designing games, we have our plan for what we're going to design but in our process it evolves and grows from there,” he told Kotaku. “In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, unfo🌟rtunately all we ended up creating was what we had originally planned on paper.” He expressed his desire for improving the game's performance on the NES and wishing for bigger and badder enemies.
