This is unironically my favorite 2D Zelda game. Why do people

Because it's different - there's a whole genre of side scrolling ARPGs though.

I'm a huge hipster, and I tend to like things more when everyone hates them.
Zelda 2 however, I played through it and it was shit.

>>3878029
>Why do people hate this one?

>"Intense action sequences"

Because they can't git gud. I guess most Zelda fans prefer casual block-sliding puzzles presented in an overhead perspective. Because, you know, that formula never gets old no matter how many times Nintendo repeats it.

zelda 2 is a love/hate deal but its still my favorite of the bunch

at least it makes you feel SOMETHING

>>3878029
Why dont you tell us why do you like this game instead?

>>3878043
>sword combat is more complex than its predecessor
>killing anything is extremely rewarding
>RPG elements are great, and add a level of strategy that other Zelda games seem to lack
>spells are fun and add to the fantasy setting of the game
>sidescrolling dungeons add interesting platforming elements and remind me of Castlevania at times
>the game has plenty of hidden secrets, just like the first game, which reward you for straying from the safe path
>NPCs are generally pretty helpful without spelling everything out for you like they do in later Zelda games
>movement/combat is tight and never feels cheap/unfair
Its just a solid game, mate. I also think the story works well. Its a great sequel, and I feel like the motivation is stronger than the first game, and many of the Zelda games that follow.

>>3878029
This game was praised at the time. Hating it is a meme.

>>3878097
I wouldn't say it's a meme.

It's just that people who started with LttP or a later game don't get it

>>3878029
One, because they're not good at the game.
Two, because they have this weird idea that because Nintendo went back to overhead for later games that Zelda 2 was a failure and they want to look like they're smart by association by trying to have the same opinions that they assume the people making Zelda games have. In the late 90's especially this attitude pervaded any attempt to discuss the game; if Nintendo does something, it's always the right thing, according to their diehards. The shit show that was the N64 resulted in this terrible inferiority complex and sense of denial among Nintendo fans that has pretty much defined them to this day, making it more or less impossible to have any kind of meaningful criticism of the company.

Probably because someone on the internet made a video about it once, probably.

>>3878034
0/10

Because they suck at video games, plain and simple. It's not even that hard of an NES game. Best music, too.

>>3878061
Good reasons. Opinion approved.

>>3878029
People just hate it because it's different.
That and because the nerd made a video being bad at it.

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>>3878029
The majority of people who hate it, at least in places like /vr/, are kids who weren't alive when it was released. The game was well-received when it was released. I didn't like it as much as the first, but I certainly had my fun with it.

There's this revisionist undercurrent that resides in this whole retro games craze.

>well, they went back to top-down styled games!
Yeah, for a game or two, the most notable of which was LttP. And then they went full 3D with the N64. Again, nothing at all like the original game.

The revisionism seems to go both ways, though. Having been very much alive and gaming when Majora's Mask was released, I can assure you that no one cared. No one was talking about it, and reviews were lukewarm. Now, years after the fact, it seems like no one can shut the fuck up about it. Greatest game ever made. Sold 500 million copies within its first hour of release. Caused a worldwide video game shortage. 11/10 reviews from every single magazine in the entire world.

Bullshit. All of it. Completely made up fiction. It's gotten so bad as of late that the Wikipedia page for it actually has "revised" review citations. As in, the rags that are still in business today have gone back and silently revised their original rating of this game to reflect the current hivemind opinion. (Apparently, copies of their older magazines no longer exist, no one could possibly own them, and they certainly wouldn't be able to see that 6/10 that basically called it "decent, but certainly no Ocarina of Time" review.) And the ones that didn't review it (or didn't exist to review it at the time) have all since done so, with overwhelmingly glowing praise. The entire legacy of this game has, quite literally, been rewritten to fit a modern opinion. Was it a bad game? No, I don't think so. But almost no one gave a shit about it when it was new. And it certainly didn't solve world hunger.

>>3878029
There are parts of it I would change, but on the whole I think it's a great game. I wish it got a sequel to refine some of its ideas.

There are games similar to it, like Faxanadu, but none that quite scratch the same itch. I don't think it's all that far from the series' conceptual roots, either. It's definitely different from the rest, but not unapproachable.

>>3878789
>But almost no one gave a shit about it when it was new.
That doesn't mean people are wrong to give a shit about it now. Some things just don't quite find their audience when they're released. The idea MM was always completely beloved and respected is wrong, though; you're right about that.

>>3878871
>That doesn't mean people are wrong to give a shit about it now.
I don't remember saying, or even implying, that they were.

>>3878884
I'm saying that the new reviews that reflect a more warm reception aren't necessarily inconsistent or disingenuous for doing so, or at least aren't anymore disingenuous than any review might be for various reasons. People change, so do audiences. This is distinct from explicit revisionism, generally speaking, especially if the new rating is accompanied by a new review as it often does.

Albums that got mixed reception in Rolling Stone have since been included in their various all-time-great lists. Is there something dishonest going on there? Not necessarily, just irony.

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>>3878837
>different from the rest
It's connected to other Zelda games, but people don't seem to notice. In addition to almost every character/enemy returning from the first game, Zelda II introduced:
>Impa
>Volvagia (his name was the same in Japan)
>Dark Link
>The Triforce Of Courage
>all of the towns are the names of the sages in Ocarina Of Time

Because modern gamers only like old games that they are told to like and anything different is scary and "bad" to them.

>>3878978
I definitely agree, and the basic premise of exploration leading to dungeons is also kept on by Zelda II, which is why I said it's conceptually in line with the rest of the series.

As >>3878789 notes, is Zelda II really all that much more different from the original or ALTTP than OOT? I don't think so. I can understand why people might dislike it, though.

>>3878097
Every Zelda game is praised at release

Played it a few months ago. Great game, my favorite 2D entry of the series as well. MM is my favorite overall though.

I worry that sharing these opinions with people will make them think Im some edgy contrarian try hard.

>>3878029
i feel like if the sword beams were a little faster and traveled the length of the screen that would have helped. also, not much in the way of items. not like zelda 1 at least. I remember being real bummed that there were no bombs, boomerang, bow/arrow, wands or anything like that as a kid.

I don't dislike Zelda 2, but it always feels weird to me no matter how many times I play it.

>>3878029
because it's fucking gay just like you, homolord

just kidding, it's a pretty decent game. a lot of the hate mostly just comes from the fact it's not the same as other zeldas even if later games actually borrowed a lot of ideas from it.

I never disliked it, I like it a lot and am long overdue for a full replay. I think it might have been the second Zelda game that I played, following LttP? I can't remember. In any event, I'd be curious to know what in particular people dislike about it, and how many of the people who don't like it actually played it. Fun, satisfying gameplay, great graphics, good combination of exploration and adventure with sidescrolling combat, and so on.

Even if you don't like it, you have to admit that it has a bitching palace theme.

>>3878904
Yeah, but what you're saying often isn't what's happening. At least not as far as I can tell. It's not the newer reviews I take exception to. It's the older ones that some rags are trying real hard to make you forget about in lieu of their new narrative that they gave the game a "15 out of 10 - The Greatest Game of All Time" review back in 2000 when it was new. They didn't, and the evidence of such still exists. The magazines are still out there floating around in the hands of fans and collectors.

If you want to "re-review" this game years after the fact because it's now trendy to do so, go ahead. It's a bit tasteless and disingenuous, but whatever. But don't make the claim, even if only through omission, that this was always your opinion.

I always wondered, Link wields a shorter sword in this game, is it the Magical sword? Also my only gripe with Zelda 2 is a lack of usable items, spells are okay but I miss stuff like the boomerang and candle, I know the candle is in as a light source but being able to shoot our a short range plume of fire was fucking cool.

>>3878061
Great points. Zelda 2 is a great one not my favorite Zelda though. Although I love the combat, falling in lava/water can be bs. Especially during Barba fight

>>3878789
>No one was talking about it, and reviews were lukewarm

If I recall correctly it got 10, 10, 10, 9.5 from EGM, which was the only US magazine that reviewed it anyone gave a shit about.

>But almost no one gave a shit about it when it was new.

Casuals didn't give a crap, but anyone who was a "gamer" was aware it was supposed to be very good, although by the time of its release it seemed like everyone was more interested in the PS2. If it hadn't needed the ram cart it might have been more popular, but it also wouldn't have been as good.

>>3879625
I'm always surprised when I hear about people having trouble with the Barba fight. For me that was the second easiest boss in the game, after the guy who you can beat by just crouching and reflecting projectiles. I was still kind of shit when I fought Horsehead so I had a slightly difficult time with him.

How do people fall into the lava during the barba fight? Does it happen when you try to attack? I'm not trying to sound like a dick I'm honestly confused because I've seen a lot of people cite him as a really difficult boss.

>>3879751
Not the guy you're replying to, but I'm the opposite. I don't understand how Horsehead is hard. I always exit and re-enter the palace and use the stalfos and bubbles to grind for EXP, and level my attack up to 4 before fighting him. If your attack is 4, you can kill him in 4 hits. Just jump and hit his face. He's really slow.

>>3879613
>Also my only gripe with Zelda 2 is a lack of usable items

If by "usable," you mean "Shit, I have to pause and change my sub-weapon again!" then I would argue that Zelda II's shift to passivity is a very welcome departure from established formula. It's just a lot more convenient that most of the treasures are automatically activated when the situation calls for them. e.g. The glove allows Link's sword to shatter destructible blocks, and you don't have to equip the item manually before it can be put to use.

The game's treasures are very much "usable items." I mean, every treasure has a very distinctive function. Just because you aren't manually activating them shouldn't diminish their importance in completing the game.

>>3878789
The revisionist meme is my favourite one from /vr/. People trying to convince you how things were in the past. Maybe you were influenced by your close circle of friends and nothing else.

>>3880110
You could argue the pausing to switch subweapons was swapped out for pausing to switch spells, and it gets worse seeing as you have to rearm a spell after every cast. The glove's fine yeah, but like I said, I miss being able to burn shit with the candle, and not having the boomerang just feels off.

because it's too hard for the wimpy nintendork kid babies to beat compared to the other zeldas

>>3880780
>You could argue the pausing to switch subweapons was swapped out for pausing to switch spells

Not really, since it's not done nearly as often in comparison. It's not like you have to pause between half the rooms in a dungeon just to light them up. How often do you find yourself needing to arm your JUMP, FAIRY and LIFE spells? And don't tell me you ever actually bother to cast FIRE.

>>3880794
I don't bother casting FIRE, no. That's kinda the problem I have with the spells, they're either situational, OP as shit, or just useless. So that means the combat always boils down to the sword, which means you can attack while standing, crouching, jumping, and of course you have the up and down thrusts.

I like the variety the subweapons bring in the other Zelda games, and I wish they could have found a way to implement one or two into Zelda 2 during combat.

>>3878061

The combat really starts to shine once you get the downward stab. And beating a Darknut/Lizalfos mano a mano is indeed very satisfying, the cheap jump hit is a bad habit that can bite you hard in some spots where you can't abuse it.

If I could change something about the game that would be the Fairy spell. A hookshot a la Bionic Commando would have been incredibly fun in its place.

>>3880854
>I like the variety the subweapons bring in the other Zelda games

I suppose. But I didn't find combat lacking since enemies had pretty aggressive AI in this game. The fokkas (bird knights in the Great Palace) and blue darknuts were so aggressive that most players probably just sped past them whenever possible, no doubt losing a huge chunk of health in the process.

You almost make it sound as if all you have to do is stand around spamming the attack button to stab things. Combat isn't that easily survived without some fancy maneuvering.

>>3881712
>fokkas
Perhaps the most annoying enemy in any video game. I hate those dudes.