Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, a game I've played back and forth since the early 90's. Of course, I didn't get further than the first temple until the mid 2000's and didn't finish until last year (2014) when it was released on the 3DS virtual console with save state making it a bit easier to traverse one hit kills and pitfalls. A fun game if you have the intelligence to keep pen and paper by your side to write down the temple maps... until easy access to the internet when you just look up a map on your phone taking away the more frustrating parts, although exploration gets a bit lost. An Action-RPG many seems to have some problems with today, but I like it. Nice music, the RPG elements are fun and interesting, questionable why 8 is the maximum level, 9-10 would feel more symmetrical (and probably make some of the end game a bit easier), and now that I'm a bit older I actually like walking around and exploring and finding new spells and hearts or magic... with a bit of help here and there (*cough* walk through *cough*). Story wise it's as simple as it got around that time. Link, a couple of years after the first game turns 16 and gets a mark on his hand and Impa tells him of the Triforce of Courage and the Zelda put a sleep in one of the towers of the North Palace. You get 6 crystals that are needed to be placed in each temple to unlock the final temple were your hardest challenge await. All the while the soldiers of Ganon are hunting you down to perform some sacrifice to resurrect him. Rather interesting story points. So you traverse the lands, beat some temples, reach the inner sanctum of the Great Palace and fight your own shadow for control of the Triforce of Courage. With it you awakens Zelda, curtains fall The End.

The difficulty is pretty much the one thing most people complain about and it exist mostly for the 3 lives and continue system. Dying with lives just let you restart the room pretty much, but a continue takes you all the way back to the North Palace, meaning every single pit fall is spelling death. You can't afford to fall since you at least need one extra life for the boss in the temple so that you don't have to navigate the temple again. Doesn't help that the only way to get life is using magic and due to the cap at 8 levels makes the magic meter drain insanely fast and it doesn't fill the health meter all the way. Then you pray to god the enemies drop a red magic bottle so that it fills the whole meter. It's probably this reason why enemies both drops health and magic in later games, especially since you need magic like jump and fairy to traverse some places which puts a real strain on how good you as a player need to be to finish of enemies that throws daggers and jump like crazy over the screen. It can even be multiple enemies and each one drain your health like crazy (some even dare drain magic or experience). Also something I thought about as well is how to get to the very first temple. You need to cross a cave, but due to not owning the lamp it's pitch black. I know they fixed it with all other caves having either pits making it impossible to see or a high cliff you need the jump spell to traverse that you get after exploring another cave which leaves only one cave to cross that is plausible. Still, couldn't the cave with the idol switch place with the temple so you can get the candle before traveling through dark caves? Or is that to force you to at least level up a bit? Then we have cheap enemies like the rock throwing wall or speedy birds or those sword resistant enemies you need the magic fire for (which, if I remember correctly, wasn't impervious to any other damage in the Japanese version). That's something you really need more of, enemies you need magic to kill with.

So yes, I cheated like hell to finish the game by almost save scumming each cave, room or battle to avoid unnecessary damage or instant death by a wrong turn or something like that. I even managed a non-death run which is kinda remarkable cause you are expected to die once or twice... or a hundred times to reach the end. Otherwise, the only way to do it legit I believe is to survive until you reach the other continent and there grind the fire-killed monsters who give you 50 or 200 exp until you have enough lives (if you max out your stat levels each new 9000 exp gives you an extra life and refills either life or magic so you can probably use that as well) since that is the simplest way for extra lives. Another tip is to save the extra lives you can find on the overworld until you are ready to go to the hidden palace since that trek alone will at least cost you 2-3 lives, but once you reach it you don't need to travel there again (if you finish all the temples that is). Finish the games allow you to play it again, but this time you are maxed out meaning every crystal placed nets you an extra life making it on paper a lot easier. If it does anything else like the second quest on the first game I don't know. It's rather fun though to run through the first half of the game like a god, even the infamous death mountain maze is bearable. And yeah, grind like hell for that your first time through, tough as nails otherwise, but getting the hammer is worth is so you don't have to travel the bog again.