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So after giving part II a try, I thought i'd try part 3 a try and maybe like it more, but No... I didn't

I'm not the type of person that never liked Zelda II and would try a rom before beating the original, I will say this game Is more difficult than Part II of the_icepeguns hack, but once again, just not for me You start off with 1 Health bar, and 2 magic bars (Why?) lower enemies give you no XP for killing them, even though are start you off low XP and work your way up, you can't grind enemies and get any points unless you get a P-bag they drop. It's not fun having to hit the same enemy 10x just to kill ot and get not XP for it. One hit KO's is not something you should add to your game. I did once again make it through half way of the game before calling it quits, nobody likes to make it half way through a map and getting to a temple just to die and start again from the beginning. But I will give him credit for making new overworld and new temple designs

Like from Part II, I wish there was a Easy version to try, I think the_icepenguin learned from his mistakes from Part II & III, that these 2 hacks aren't for everybody, but at least he made up for it later from his later hacks "Shadow of Night" & "Journey of a Day" by adding easy versions so that not Die-hard players could try it

5/10

Just once could you make a fun game? You have all these great ideas for this hack but you ruin it by giving people one hit to start and making it so a lot of enemies no longer give experience. Theres a difference between fun hard and tedious, and you just can't seem to stop crossing that line.

So I played through the first palace. Then learned jump and went south with the candle. Up until this point, yea, things were pretty hard. A lot of grinding for random p-bag drops since most enemies don't give XP anymore. A lot of parkour too. Sure fine whatever. It's hard, I get it. I'll stick through it and see how it goes.

Anyway I go south. Good thing I found a magic container otherwise I wouldn't even be able to cast jump. I cast jump. Go to the next screen. Oh good I need a full tank of magic to cast jump again. So I start grinding an uncooperative red slime and an annoying blue bat. 10 minutes later having gotten one bottle, and realizing I need another, I call it quits on this hack.

I've played through most of ice_penguin's "Part 2" and judging by the way things are going on so far in Part 3, it's not gonna get any better. Killing the same thing twenty times in order to advance one screen is where I draw the line.

I get that some people might find this sort of challenge fun, but it's really not for me.

Some quick gripes:

• Way too much grinding.
• There's no nice feedback of gaining XP when you kill something. There is only pain when you realize it's another magic bottle and not an XP crystal.
• Everything is well designed, the overworld, the palaces, but it has lost its game-feel and is more work than pleasure.
• I hate you for calling this "easy"!

By the way, amazing job on Shadow of Night. Now that's a GAME. Think I'll go try Journey of a Day next...

Yes!! Fully completed the Hard Patch without save state and recorded my journey. All that is left now is the Great Palace in icepenguin's Part 2. Might take some time, it is the most challenging puzzle yet! Great job. But this review is for icepenguin's Part 3, so, let's begin.

I started the_icepenguin's hacks in order (up to Journey of a Day), but have completed them backwards, saving the most difficult for last. Path of least resistance, seems like. Personally, I fell in love with Part 2 and 3 the most, equally in their own ways. I really like how they stay true to the original graphics, but, icepenguin has so many surprises included to spice them up, I couldn't get enough.

I must say, I'm shocked that these two hacks aren't hyped up more, they are outstanding pieces of work. I'm likely in the minority who enjoy extreme challenges, so that might be why it feels that these were made specifically for me!!

Better move on before I get carried away. So, on to the actual game, Zelda II: Part 3.

A brand new overworld. Pure awesome all on its own. Having to search Hyrule far and wide for secrets. The storyline and progression of the palaces is quite unique and I like the Sacred Altar idea, much different than Part 2. Using Jump and Fire change Link's colour, which is a nice touch. You need the downstab to complete the game, which is fine by me, but I really did enjoy how Part 2 had them disabled.

As with his other hacks, it's tough early on. You have to be willing to bang out your levels to even the playing field. Things get a lot easier after that. BUT, icepenguin made a couple sinister palaces, so beware. A bit of patience may be required to fail and learn! I think my favourite part was the Thunderbird. Best Thunderbird ever. So difficult, what a joy it was to finally take him down. Very fun.

If you like Zelda II and don't mind a challenge, try out the Hard Patch and give it some time. It's so much more rewarding when you have to fight for victory.

If there's ever a Part 4, I'll be the first in line. For now, Part 2 and 3 come highly recommended by me.

Thanks for another awesome adventure icepenguin!