A classic: One of the best games ever made?
User Rating: 10 | Zelda II: The Adventure of Link NES
I was cleaning out my room last week, and in a box, I saw something shiny. On closer inspection, I saw it was the shiny gold cartrige of Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link. Immediately, a broad smile came to my face, as I recalled the wonderful moments I had with this game, years ago. I remember the first time I put it into my NES game deck, and switched on the power. I got the familiar flashing on-and-off screen that was oh-so-common in the days of NES. So I took the game out, cleaned it, put it back in, and this time it worked. Immediately I was hit with the music; the unforgettable introduction, with the sword in the rock, against the vast ocean. I watched, my eyes fixed on the screen, as the introduction text floated up, telling the story of the princess Zelda, the evil Ganon, and the power of the Triforce. I knew immediately that this game was special. I registered my name, and then started playing. From the moment that I walked Link out of the castle, I felt like some kind of hero, that it was my duty to travel the land of Hyrule and free it from evil. I became completely immersed in the game almose immediately, it was like nothing I had ever played before, like nothing I had ever experienced. I felt like I was travelling around a beautiful world, exploring it. I remember travelling to the castle in the Desert, fighting with Ironknuckles to get to the treasure, a candle which would let me see in the dark caves, and travel further to the south. I remember battling with the huge horse-headed boss and the feling of incredible victory after defeating him. And this was only at the start of my adventure. So today, I dragged out my archaic NES console, dusted it off, and started the adventure once more (of course, I went through the compulsory NES flashing-screen-syndrome a few times too). The blocky, dated NES graphics are still great, in a kind of retro way. The sound and music brought a huge smile to my face hearing them again. The world of Hyrule is so memorable that I still remember my way around today (apart from that cave maze, argh!). The game gets really hard, especially once you reach the large island, and the later castles, but it is almost impossible to stop playing, this is a game where you just want to keep going. I am now completely addicted to this game, again. And that, standing up to the test of time, and remaining brilliant, after many years, is the sign of a great game. This is a great game.
