The only Zelda RPG, and Nintendo did it right. This title was one of my first, and it's still solid.
User Rating: 9.3 | Zelda II: The Adventure of Link NES
You may have already played Zelda 2, so I'm going to tell you why you should play it again. If you haven't played it, shame on you. If you have played other Zelda games and think they are rad to the max, and you haven't played Zelda 2, I'll make you readjust your value system. Enough with introduction already. Now for the review. Gameplay- (Still better than every other Zelda game.) At first glance you will notice, "Wow, this isn't like the other Zelda games.". So I say "Yeah, this is a sidescrolling action/RPG with an overhead map.". Then you say "But Geusprime, all the other Zelda games are RPGs.". And I finish with "No they aren't, simply because Zelda 2 definitely is, and the others distant cousins to Zelda 2.". In Zelda 2 you get experience from killing enemies. This is the only Zelda game where that happens. Link(main hero) has a wide array of magic that he learns from old men who have daughters that invite strangers into their homes and learns sword techniques from knights who have nothing better to do with their time than teach a random guy in a green suit how to stab his sword upwards. Link can level up three major attributes (Defense, Attack and Magic) as well as get permanent upgrades for his life and magic meters. Expect to see the usual Zelda enemies in sidescrolling action. Link cuts through moblins, stalfos, iron knuckles and wizrobes with a smile(he literally always has a grin on his face) and never looks back. The difficult levels of Zelda 2 demand that the game should have extremely responsive play control, and Link always does what you tell him when you tell him to do it. Even with its quick reaction to button presses, Zelda 2 still has some areas where it is simply impossible to aviod getting hit. This is the only fundamental gameplay flaw in Zelda 2. It won't bother you too much, trust me, it's fun. You like it. Get away from your lame targetting systems on the N64 incarnations. Get away from the Gameboy games because hey, they hurts your neck. Get away from Zelda 1 and 3 because I'm telling you that Zelda 2 is simply better. And get away from Wand of Gamelon because you would have to be a masochist to enjoy any aspect of that game. Sound/Graphics- (Great for the NES and better than Zelda 1.) The music is very Zeldaesque (that's a good thing). All the Zelda games have had very catchy and appropriate music. Zelda 2 fits right in this mold. The sound effects and music tracks are nothing special (except Gannon laughing at you when you die) but they are Zelda and therefore greatly above average by definition. Zelda music- Greatly above average videogame music that comes from games featuring little men wearing green. See, there's proof. The visuals in Zelda 2 are much more detailed than that of 1 and are well above most of the visuals you will see on the NES. Now graphically, Zelda 2 does not even compare to games like Vice: Project Doom, Castlevania 3 or Guardian Legend because not a whole lot was done with the backgrounds. I've never experienced any gameplay hindering problem as a result of Zelda 2's graphics. Story- (Nearly worthless main plot but story driven through dialogue. Big disappointment here for you fans of the Zelda storyline because the main plot of the game can be wrapped up in a single sentence. Link is trying to revive Zelda from a deep sleep and Gannon's minions want to use Link's blood as a sacrifice to resurrect him. Whoopity do. But the reason I gave it a seven is that you can talk to all the townspeople in all the towns. "Why give it a higher rating just because of that?". What is the point of a game's story? For me, it is to draw you further into the game's world and make it more realistic. Talking townspeople surely gives that effect. Although some of them say things like "I am Error.", some of them invite Link into their houses and others give him valuable tips. The people in the game will draw you further into the game. Even if they sometimes do have lame quotes. Bottom line- (The best Zelda out there.) This is the same final score that I would give to Wind Waker. However, Zelda 2 is the best Zelda game because it is slightly more innovative than even Wind Waker (you must take into account the context of time). Buy it. Don't pirate it. If you already played it, play it again. -Geusprime 
