 |
|
Jan 15th, 2008 at 02:32:50 - Zelda II: The Aventure of Link (NES) |
GAMEPLAY
I found that the more progress one makes in the game the more exciting it becomes. There still isn't much development of characters; Link is just Link. But that's one thing I like about this game: there is very little I need to know as a player before I can go out slashing monsters. Actually, this kind of becomes tedious--while perhaps good for their time, the monsters score pretty low in the originality department. Blobs are fun to shoot for only so long.
In terms of social interactions, there were lots of directions from my onlooker friends--which door to go into, who to talk to, etc. Also, there is down time that allows for uninterrupted social interactions between watchers and players; it doesn't take that much focus to run around from place to place on the world map.
DESIGN
Sidescrolling is the design feature that gets immediate attention from the player, especially one familiar with the original Zelda. It feels like, I don't know...NOT Zelda. But I can make no criticism on that subject other than the fact that it takes away from the recognizability of the game. Another general criticism: I'm a little disappointed with the battle mode now--after playing for a while I can still only shoot magic and attack with a sword, which feels limited.
In Zelda II there are no cutscenes. No background or story history is explained during gameplay. Townsfolk will tell you hints, but nothing that reveals the backstory. This was probaby never a problem--even when the game first came out, players were most likely already familiar with The Legend of Zelda and knew what to do. Today, it is even less of a problem; the basic premise has been recreated so much that I'd argue no explanation is necessary. In fact, I kind of like this about the game because it lets you go right into the action. Another plus is the music. The Zelda theme takes every fan back to their early days.
read comments (1)  - add a comment  - read this GameLog  |
|
Jan 15th, 2008 at 02:28:52 - Zelda II: The Aventure of Link (NES) |
SUMMARY
In The Adventure of Link the player controls a boy named Link in the fantasy world of Hyrule. Link is destined by prophecy to save Princess Zelda, so that's the ultimate objective. However, this main goal is achieved through many subquests, and even the subquests have subquests, and so on. Most of the gameplay is sidescrolling, but takes place in a larger birds-eye view world map. In towns, gameplay is mostly dialogue with townsfolk; outside, battles with creatures. You must solve puzzles and find keys hidden within castles, and ultimately expand your world map.
GAMEPLAY
Okay, so I started out playing Donkey Kong for NES, but quickly decided that I couldn't take an hour and a half of that. Zelda was really fun because it was a long adventure. I'm still obviously far from done, barely beginning actually, but I'm already engrossed in the game. Battles are exciting, as you balance mana and life. Also, talking to the townsfolk (seeing what everybody has to say) is fun because they each tell you a clue about your environment and how to progress somehow ("Don't go south without a candle.") Then again, this is basically every Zelda game.
My friends watched as I played--apparently it is fun for bystanders to watch and follow Link's story. There were cheers to LOOK OUT! or ATTACK! and there were sighs when I died. There were a lot of sighs. Luckily, even in a Game Over instance, the game lets you restart at the beginning but with all your attributes saved.
add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
|
 |
| ericz's GameLogs |
|
ericz has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 11 days |
view feed xml
|
| Entries written to date: 10 |
|
