Up Next: Zelda II The Adventure of Link

 

The black sheep of the Zelda franchise, Zelda II was my first experience in the land of Hyrule and remains to this day to be the only game in the series I have never beaten. This isn't because of any dislike for the game but purely due to the difficulty. It is without a doubt the hardest Zelda game in existence. The biggest issue is that when you lose your three lives, you're sent back to the beginning of the game. You keep all your items and keys and whatnot, but the journey to each temple is sometimes harder than the temple itself. I often wind up sacrificing one or two lives on the way to my destination. 

For this reason, and because it doesn't fit the mold of the other Zelda games, The Adventure of Link gets a pretty bad rap. Most people can't stand it and herald it as the worst Zelda game in existence. And while it's certainly not my favorite Zelda game (that distinction goes to Majora's Mask) it still has some great elements and is a genuinely unique game. 

Now despite not beating it, I have seen the end of this game several times. As a kid, this game was a little beyond my ability, but my dad was obsessed with it. I watched him beat it when I was about eight. I remember trying to figure out how to beat shadow link with him and I had heard from a kid at school that you had to duck in the corner and just keep stabbing. I couldn't wait to tell my dad, so over dinner I spilled the news and we both shoveled the remaining food into our mouths and rushed up to my room and turned on the NES. I sat on the floor with my legs crossed, entranced in the possibility of seeing the end of the game. Cheering my father's every littler victory on the way to the final temple. He beat that first giant blue hawk thing and then, out comes shadow link. We both held our breath. My dad rushed Link into the left corner, knelt down and mashed the B button. Shadow Link was finished. My memory of sharing that moment with my dad is more tangible than actually seeing the end of the game. In fact, I don't think I remember what happened after that.

So now it's my turn. I have to carry on the Murray legacy and finish the same way my father did, and his father before that, and his before that. We Murray men have a long history of beating Zelda II. All the way back to the colonial settlers. For real. 

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for NES. Let's do it.