Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a truly underrated gem, and one that has gained a lot more attention in recent years. After the remake of Link’s Awakening, many have desired a remake of Zelda II as well, and there are a few reasons that this is the case. This includes the fact that Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was a game ahead of its time, and while Nintendo seems to have moved to the open world format for Zelda going forward, there is still something to be gained from the Zelda II style.
A Needed Change
Zelda II offered a genuinely fun and challenging experience, and also introduced RPG elements to the game to a level that would not be seen again in the series. While later entries have taken ideas from the title such as the names of towns serving as character names, as well as variations of the magic system from the rpg mechanics, Zelda II still stands out as a unique but flawed entry. The difficulty ramped up too early in the game which put many off of the experience, but games like Elliot’s Quest show that Zelda II has been influential to many.
Shigeru Miyamoto once said regarding the game in an interview
“I wouldn’t say that I’ve ever made a bad game, per se, but a game I think we could have done more with was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. When we’re designing games, we have our plan for what we’re going to design but in our process it evolves and grows from there. In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, unfortunately all we ended up creating was what we had originally planned on paper. I think specifically in the case of Zelda II we had a challenge just in terms of what the hardware was capable of doing. So one thing, of course, (that he would have liked the game to been like) is, from a hardware perspective, if we had been able to have the switch between the scenes speed up, if that had been faster, we could have done more with how we used the sidescrolling vs. the overhead [view] and kind of the interchange between the two.But, because of the limitations on how quickly those scenes changed, we weren’t able to. The other thing is it would have been nice to have had bigger enemies in the game, but the Famicom/NES hardware wasn’t capable of doing that. Certainly, with hardware nowadays you can do that and we have done that, but of course nowadays creating bigger enemies takes a lot of effort.”
A remake would show people just how good the game was, while also taking the time to fix some of the issues. These issues include the difficulty spike occurring before players were ready, less stiffness on jumps and of course fixing the enemy placements, while also giving a proper continuing system. The RPG elements should not be abandoned either, and could even be built up on and expanded in some ways to show how well the experience can be. As to a potential remake, I do not feel Nintendo themselves should do it, nor give it to Grezzo who worked on the recent Zelda remakes. Instead, it should be given to an indie developer who can really bring out the shine in the game.
Many Possibilities
I feel two potential developers for this would be FDG Entertainment and Inti Creates, the latter of whom have expressed an interest in doing such a remake. Inti Creates has shown a mastery of throwback style games with their Blaster Master Zero series and the Bloodstained Curse of the Moon games and would have a great amount of insight for such a project. FDG Entertainment meanwhile, has worked on the Zelda inspired Oceanhorn series, as well as Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, a beautiful HD sidescrolling continuation of the Wonder Boy series that shows their skill with this style of game. Either of these two developers would give the game a beautiful look, and could create some great innovations if allowed to tinker around. Ideas that were planned or desired could be implemented in such a version and this could bring the game closer to what Miyamoto had in mind, while also taking ideas from the new developers.
Yet another option would be Lizard Cube, who created the excellent remake of Wonder Boy III The Dragon’s Trap. They have shown the ability to take classic games and apply the right amount of fixes to them, while staying true to the original game. Considering the nature of Wonder Boy III and its similarities to Zelda II, this would not be a far fetched idea. Lizard Cube has even expressed an interest in the past, in working with the Zelda IP.
Zelda II is still respected by many gamers even if its flaws are acknowledged. I feel that the game not only deserves a second chance to win over people, but also a chance for the developers get things done like they desired. The fact that indie developers take influence from the game shows that its legacy is going strong and with interest in the Zelda series at an all time high, this would be the best time to bring Zelda II to a new generation of fans.
New Opportunities
With companies like Sega leaning out their IPs to indie developers as in the case of Streets of Rage 4 and the upcoming Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, Nintendo should follow suit and get an outside perspective on remaking past experiences. The traditional approach to game development is changing, and Nintendo has let indie developers use the Zelda license before, as seen with Cadence of Hyrule, so there is a precedent for this. Indie developers have been inspired by Zelda II for a long time, and their insight could be what is needed for the game to truly live up to its full potential and have a game that while still keeping true to the spirit of the original, manages to create a experience for many with a strong sense of identity.
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