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WOW!!! This hack is amazing... I absolutely loved every minute of it except for a couple of times where I struggled for a bit but that happens every time I play a Zelda II hack. This game was completely different from the original. The overworld was great. Totally rearranged and totally awesome. Very very cool new overworld. The difficulty was similar to the original but maybe just a little bit harder. I enjoy playing hacks this level and I enjoy hacks that are harder than this one. But for me this one was fun the whole way through unlike the harder ones which half of the time have me hating them. But I still love them. It's nice to have lots of different difficulties out there to choose from. Like I said it's maybe a little harder than the original but not much. Maybe it's even the same difficulty. At times the palaces were easier than the original. And at times the walk to the palaces was a bit harder than the original. In my opinion it is either the same difficulty as the original or just a tiny bit harder. None of the secrets are really very hard to figure out. Palaces are short and sweet which makes it so you don't get frustrated during the game. Palaces were completely different with multiple entrances to different parts which was an interesting idea. The level of difficulty of the palaces seemed a bit easier than the original at times. You get to continue from the great palace if you game over which is a huge plus to not have to take that long walk again. Death mountain had to be one of the most beautiful places to go through. Absolutely beautiful. This game is truly one of a kind. It separates itself from all other Zelda 2 hacks by being what I've been searching for quite some time now. It is like a whole new game of Zelda 2 with approximately the same difficulty as Zelda 2. I wanted so bad to play more zelda 2 at the same difficulty but most hacks I have found were so much harder. There were lots of crumbling blocks that disappear when you step on them and lots of ways that you could possibly fall but I rarely did because the game did not have many cheap enemy's coming out of nowhere so it was more like lots of fun hopping from spot to spot and rarely falling in. This is the first Zelda 2 hack that I absolutely loved from beginning to end. The spells have been given new names but they do the same things. Which is cool. Just another way that they made it the same but different. It's fairly easy to level up fast so when I died a couple times early on I just grabbed a couple of levels and never really died too much more. If you are looking for a new Zelda II adventure that is similar in difficulty to the original then this is it right here. If you are looking for something easier or harder then try something else. HollowShadow ROCKS!!! What an amazing job making a Zelda II hack completely different than the original while still being approximately the same difficulty. I really hope HollowShadow makes more Zelda II hacks at this difficulty or a little harder. This is a game that I will enjoy once every couple of years for the rest of my life. It's as good as the original in my book. This hack is amazing.

And by that I mean how unfair the difficulty is in this hack.

Graphics and Sound: The same as the original so nothing to complain.

Overworld: I like how it is arranged now. It stays grounded so I can actually enjoy it... unless you have to go on this scavenger hunt.

Palaces: There is some creativity, especially the third Palace in the mountains where one can jump down a pit after placing the stone.

Random encounters: These can range from fun to aggravating, all depending where one is.

Difficulty: My biggest problem with this game. I played the Recommended Mode because I played Zelda II several times and therefore think that I'm in the target demographic. Instant death pits everywhere, difficult and at times unfair platforming with enemies, fireballs or bubbles smacking Link into a pit, you don't restart at the palaces but are thrown back (with the Grand Palace being the only exception).

Also, enemies at the beginning take way too many hits to defeat, making it obligatory to level up attack power over anything else.

What made me especially angry were the blindsiding enemies that appear out of nowhere and making one lose a life.

Unless you use savestates, get used to start over and over and over again.

Summa Summarum: As it stands right now, I can't give this game a recommendation. I was happy when I finished it because I wanted to see everything before I wrote this review.

If my words aren't enough, I also made a video about it where I lampshade some unfair spots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INmy0kk6ssk

UPDATE EDIT! The dev has answered the request/suggestion to offer separately tiered difficulty patches so that the hack can be enjoyed by players of all skill levels from casual to expert to those begging for brutal punishment! The review has been modified to reflect these new changes...

This review has three recommendations based on differing perspectives on each if the offered difficulty patches.

The first recommendation is an overwhelming Yes for the "Noob Mode" patch[AKA Original difficulty]. This hack/mod does what it was designed to in presenting a whole new experience to an existing and well loved game. The game has been rearranged and reconfigured to be a completely new experience. While it had a few glitches and quirks, those have been worked out as of recent versions. For those looking for an exceptionally fun new play-through, this hack will not disappoint! It's literally like playing through LOZ2 as if it were brand new and is on par with the level of quality Nintendo and Mr. Miyamoto offered. And I honestly suspect they would, quietly, admire this effort!

The second recommendation is also a Yes for the "Recommended Mode" patch. As Snarfblam in his review accurately pointed out, the official game's most frustrating aspects are it's difficulty. This patch is a couple steps up from there. Even veteran players will find this hack a very serious challenge. But not an impossible one. Players of this version will need to devise all new methods and strategies for making progress in the game as the enemies are stronger and challenges will, at times, be very tough.

The third recommendation is a conditional Yes for the "One Hit Death Mode" patch. This version of the game is insanely difficult because, as the title describes, you will die from one hit, regardless of what hits you. This applies equally to invisible enemies that exist in several parts of the game. Only gaming masochists who beg for punishment and desire an extremely unforgiving experience need apply. For veterans, only play this if you want a merciless beating. Casual gamers, you will find no joy with this patch, though you may find amusing just how quickly the game hands you your hat.

Overall, I'm giving this a rating of a "Shadow Link" out of ten. It delivers a whole new Legend Of Zelda 2 experience at levels of difficulty that offer something to everyone. There have been many excellent & quality LOZ2 hacks/mods done over the years and this one stands out from the rest. If you are going to play through any fan mod for LOZ2, do not miss this one. Simply exceptional in every way, especially considering this is the devs first effort! Well done HollowShadow!

For clarification, though I am playing the 3.4 version, the author has been great about patching up any bugs in a very timely manner. I pointed one out a handful of days ago regarding a respawning locked door in palace 4, and it was fixed and updated almost immediately. I know there have been a couple of other updates since as well, and since I only ran across that one issue, I imagine that anything that was wrong has been taken care of.

This is definitely a hardtype hack, and while it absolutely meets its goal there, it's not nearly as brutal as even some of the easier hacks from ice_penguin (which I also highly enjoy, and I only ever played hard mode on those). So, while I can understand the desire for an easier version as an alternate patch (as I know ice_penguin usually included), this hack very much achieves its goal.

I haven't actually beaten it yet, having found everything only to fail at my only genuine GP attempt. Still, I made a deep run and I'm sure I was nearing the end, and it's very much doable without save states. And I'm not that great at this game compared to many out there (I'm better than average, but still, I made plenty of mistakes that were unnecessary).

Also, if you know the vanilla game and where things are located, you'll notice quickly that everything is essentially in the same area as it was, just moved around a bit. Once you pick up on this (which shouldn't take too long), exploration becomes much easier. And while there are some parts later in the game where you can't use Fly (Fairy) to bypass troublesome screens because of the need to break blocks in your path, the utility of the spell can't be overstated. Most of the screens that have anything that could be argued as cheap jumps/knockbacks can easily be overcome with the Fly spell. That said, those sections can still be overcome without it, but there are some screens with wickedly placed enemies or enemies flying in from offscreen, and I can understand getting frustrated by that. But, if you know how the enemies function, Fly isn't a necessity for random screens by any means, just a huge boon.

This has already run on longer than I anticipated, but I've been meaning to make this post for a while now. I wanted to wait until I finished the hack, but seeing the mixed reviews so far (in which some valid criticisms are made, but most feel unfounded to me, considering this is supposed to be a hardtype) inspired me to jump in and praise what I believe to be a very fine hack. It can get frustrating at times, but ultimately, I don't feel that anything about it is cheap. The author used the tools of AoL quite well to create a punishing, yet rewarding experience. If you enjoy AoL and you enjoy hardtypes, you should definitely give this a go!

The Adventure of Link is a great game that doesn't get quite enough love, likely because it's unnecessarily frustrating. It's disappointing to see a lot of effort going into a hack only to have the game's biggest flaw multiplied by ten. I'd love to see everything this hack has to offer, but it's just not worth the aggravation. Hope to see a version some day with the difficulty dialed back.

I will say that I have yet to finish this, but I'll give my impressions thus far.

The World - The story seems to have been unchanged whatsoever, which is perfectly fine. What has changed is the world of Hyrule. If you thought you knew it before....well you don't now! I rather like how varied the world seems now, though I will say it is pretty difficult to figure out where exactly to go next. However that does lead into the next point...

Dialogue - Typically I didn't pay much attention to the villagers in the original game, but this time, the creator has cleaned up and reworked the dialogue for stuff to actually make sense. So talking to the villagers does give fairly good hints on where to go next every now and then. So yes....pay attention to the villagers because they could mean the difference between a hint on where something is...or wandering for quite a while scratching your head, lol. Also, the names of spells have been redone, but still do the same thing as before (Protect - Shield)

Difficulty - Remember those medusa heads in Castlevania who were almost always placed where they could knock you into a pit? Guess the creator liked that concept because that sorta thing is EVERYWHERE here. This is where I get a bit unsure of what side I'm on. Enemy placement is often near pits and it requires you to very much think about what you're doing or else you WILL get knocked in a pit of lava/water and lose a life. Mistakes are punished and there's no second chances in many cases. The problem of this comes from the fact that while the standard equipment is available to help with shortcuts, the further along you go, the more it feels like a grueling hike to get back should you lose all your lives. So maybe if the creator would ease up on the "enemies near pits" a little in the future, I think this wouldn't be so frustrating. One point I DO like....is that the creator did seem to bring out a few enemies more that seemed underappreciated in the original. I believe I saw more dairas in this hack than I did in the original, where they seemed to be limited to just Death Mountain and its surrounding area and nowhere else. So good on you, developer.

Game Over Screen - Hahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahaha! Oh you so funny.... . :P

My Rating: 8.5/10 I am enjoying this hack, and while I'm hunting for the last heart container before slogging through to the final palace, it is keeping my attention pretty well. I do feel that a lot of the difficulty relies on the cheap "enemy knocks you into death pits" too much, but otherwise, I feel that the world is a lot more varied than it used to be. So I do feel this is a worthwhile hack to play.