Zelda II is famous for being “the hard one,” and nowhere was this more apparent than in its final palace, a grand labyrinth of samey-looking screens that very much wanted to kill you. Eventually stumbling upon the proper path leads you to not one, but two final bosses. They’re not the hardest things ever but when you go in blind that first time they make a fitting capstone to a difficult journey.
You know you’re in for something big when the screen suddenly stops scrolling. Then in floats Thunderbird, some kind of angelic-looking beast, to nonchalantly start bombing you with fireballs. You try to hit it: No good! But it sure hits you, and a short time later you are down one life and wondering what the heck to use on this thing. (The answer is to cast a certain spell, which opens it up to damage.)
Thunderbird down, you then face yourself in the form of Link’s Shadow. The hardest enemies in Zelda II are the ones who fight like Link, and no enemy apes your style better than this bruiser. It’s hard to know where to start with a foe who seems just as agile as the player, and the answer is really just “go HAM and hope you stab him more first.” Well, childhood me did not go HAM enough.
I only ever called Nintendo’s official gameplay counselors once, and it was to ask them how to beat this guy. They replied, and I quote: “Use your sword.” Maybe that’s the reason I only called them once.
Anyway, I went back and used my sword and Zelda gave me a kiss, nbd. — Alexandra Hall
