UNITED STATES—I have deemed “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” as one of the hardest games on the Nintendo gaming system that I have ever played. Well there are two more games, “Ghouls and Ghost” and “Silver Surfer,” but those games are difficult because the creators simply made video games that were nearly impossible to be victorious at. We can chat about those games at a later date, but back to “The Adventure of Link.”

It is indeed an evolution from its predecessor. How so? The graphics have evolved, and our hero can now jump, the attacks are a bit more intriguing. The hero has special attacks and abilities and we have spells that can be cast as well. I know the nagging question so many of you have: what makes this game difficult? You have to build up your fighting abilities. That makes the game difficult because if you venture into the wrong world without being properly prepared you will die instantly after a few battles with such creatures.

Why do I say that? There are creatures that have attacks that are just difficult to dodge people. The first world and the first boss, not that difficult people, but from the second stage onward it is an absolute battle and things are made more difficult because you cannot save your journey. You get 3 lives and you can always add more lives throughout your journey, but if you die, guess what? You have to start all over again from the beginning. That is NOT fun people, not at all.

The primary reason I make that argument is that unlike the first installment in the game, this second chapter has a larger map. There are 6 palaces; each contains a nifty item YOU MUST HAVE to continue your journey. Like the raft, boots, the candle, hammer, the handy glove, flute, the cross and magical key.  The frustrating aspect is that you cannot just journey from palace to palace because at any random moment you could be forced into battle and you have to fight off creatures to continue your journey across the world of Hyrule. It helps build your level (rather it’s your sword attack, health meter or magic meter), but it becomes annoying because it gets never ending.

Beyond your first two bosses, the third one which is a blue knight, throws knives, rides a horse and makes it hard as hell to dodge his knife attacks; he is a difficult villain people. There is then the big bad in the green castle as I coin it that launches a spiked chain ball at you that makes it hard to attack without losing some blood at the same time. Also these castles are mazes and I mean absolute mazes that can frustrate you to no end because you have to go with the flow of things and you might think one direction is correct, but then learn it’s a dead end or only leads to an item you really don’t need. It’s a nice perk, but when playing a video game my end game is to complete a stage not run into dead ends in the process.

However, nothing tops that palace in the middle of the desert where you have to battle a dragon that spits fire and if you make one false move you fall into that pit and your game is over. A downward sword attack is your best bet and you need to attack the boss as soon as you see his head pop up to end the battle quicker than you can count to three.  Also this is a maze within a maze that is just frustrating.

After that palace is completed, it’s a journey to the final stage which is the gold palace as I call it. The boss is not Ganon people, it is some sort of witch that spews fireballs that are near impossible to dodge before you have to battle yourself in shadow form. Yeah, after such an eclectic string of bosses the end game is disappointing to me. Ganon is the staple of the franchise and for his presence to be felt, but for you to NOT actually do battle with him is disappointing to say the least.

I think the most fascinating aspect is you have to carefully strategize which palace you venture to and how you go about venturing to those palaces. I have been known to cheat a bit and jump between palaces to get certain items that make the journey a bit easier. Is it a bit of work to do so? Absolutely, but that is the fun of any game when you can navigate things that do not follow a linear system.

Be warned if you tackle this game you might want to see possible maps or cheats via the internet to help you navigate what you do and when you do it. Trust me this game is not easy, but it is indeed lots of fun America. If you can defeat “The Legend of Zelda” of course you can accomplish “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link,” but it is a bit harder than you think.

Written By Davy Jones