Do you think Zelda II is a bad game?

[DevilRising]

I can understand people who simply don't like its different style.

But people who claim it's a BAD game, are either trolling, or don't know what "bad" is.

It's actually a very good game, well made. Just, like Miyamoto himself has said, it honestly needed more time in development, to flesh out more ideas and give it that typical "Nintendo Polish". It was somewhat rushed out, which is absurd, and because of that, it's somewhat rough around the edges.

But as a GAME, it was honestly ahead of its time in many ways, and was very inventive, trying new things, instead of just copying what Zelda 1 did. Granted, most fans just WANTED basically Zelda 1 Pt. 2. But those same fans are the reason they rushed out the Japanese Mario 2, aka "Lost Levels", which is, I don't mind saying, an inferior product and little more than a professional Super Mario Bros. hack. "Our" Mario 2, the Doki Doki Panic port, was, I once again don't mind saying, VASTLY superior as a game. As a kid, my initial gut reaction to it was "eww, this isn't like Mario 1". But then I actually gave it a chance, and it's brilliant.

We lucked out getting "our" Mario 2, and quite frankly, while it SHOULDN'T have been rushed, I think we lucked out getting Zelda 2 as well. Yes, it's hard as hell, but not in an unfair way, such as games like Ninja Gaiden. The game as very innovative and/or creative for its time, the game world for the 80s was rather huge, the RPG-lite system is actually really fun and makes you actually WANT to fight enemies more often. In some ways Zelda II had elements of being one of the first "Metroidvania" style games, building on what Metroid started. And the combat, while it takes getting used to and a good sense of timing, you CAN get good at it, and it makes you feel pretty bad ass when you do.

I realize Zelda II isn't everyone's favorite, it is often considered the "Black Sheep" of the franchise. But I don't think it's fair to judge it harshly. It needed more polish, yes, and that's unfortunate that it wasn't the game it fully deserved to be. But what they did make is still a great game, and I think it deserves to be considered a classic.