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I generally eschew romhacks unless they are bugfixes or total conversions. Amida's Curse falls into the latter and a YouTuber's review of it intrigued me enough to try it out.

The best possible summary of it that I can give is "Zelda II but different and improved".

The good: This takes the structure and gameplay of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and creates essentially a new game, but modifies some aspects of the original to better streamline the experience. Gone are world map battles, with enemy encounters only being at fixed locations. This makes for less frustrating traversal and while it does make level grinding a bit more cumbersome the progression of the game makes grinding far less necessary than in the source game. 1-Up dolls also offer a permanent life stock increase so each one found is one extra life per continue, making hunting out those dolls much more worthwhile. The magic system has undergone changes which, while not drastic, make things a bit less irritating (no re-opening the magic menu to recast Shield after transitioning from one area to another).

The bad: Not so much "bad" but a disclaimer. While this is a new game world with new dungeons and towns the gameplay is still, at the core, Zelda II. It follows the same general flow as Zelda II, with Link traversing from town to palace to next town to next palace, collecting items to expand his ability to travel on the world map, defeating a palace boss, etc. If you did not like Zelda II's core gameplay you will probably not like this. Even enemies are not significantly changed; while many have been given tweaks to make life less frustrating (gone are any attacks that subtract EXP) they will still seem very familiar to veterans of the original.

The ugly: While I cannot confirm it, I believe that softlocking the game at a certain point near the end is possible. I cannot confirm it because it did not happen to me but I do not see any explicit safeguards that would prevent it. *However*, even if it is possible, doing so requires both counterintuitive gameplay (both for this game and the Zelda II gameplay in general) *and* ignoring an explicit statement from a person in the final town. Thus, while I do believe it possible I also do not believe it a serious enough issue to warrant anything more than a mention.

Overall, I had a very good time with this. It really is a game in its own right, not just a simple romhack, but be aware that it is basically a "mission pack sequel" to Zelda II. You are getting a completely new world to explore, but for the most part you will be playing the same kind of game (albeit one with substantial quality of life improvements).

This hack was made by someone who understands Zelda 2, and I know this because of how early you get the criminally overlooked upthrust. Despite not having overworld encounters, level progression is very smooth; it really doesn't require grinding, just as advertised! The overall progression through the adventure is very interesting, too; you get things all out of order, but game's world was designed around that, even moreso than the original game was. There were some really cool areas, too; that town right before the third dungeon was really something else, and so was the overworld area that followed! Dungeon design was great overall, too, with the exception of the Stone Temple near the end, but even that wasn't outright bad. If I had any criticism of the game, it's that some of the visuals were a little busy, and didn't quite capture the beauty of the original game, but there are many areas that absolutely do, particularly the final stretch. If you like Zelda 2, you'll probably love this hack; it's my second-favorite Zelda and my third-favorite NES game, and I sure did! It was like rediscovering the world of Zelda 2 all over again for the first time, and that's something special.

A solid and well polished hack that's more fun to play than the original release.

Admittedly, I played through this one in the winter of last year and must have played a zillion other games since that time, so naturally my memory of it is a bit cloudy so please bare with me. What I still recall about this hack is that it's really well polished, feeling like an official release rather than a hack or home brew. I was nostalgia stricken as I traversed the vast landscapes of this mammoth of a game with quality of life patches applied which made for a smooth playthrough, far more so than playing through the original. Honestly, after playing through the original game and realizing how brutal some parts were and how tedious it was to finish the thing, it made me not want to ever replay it but this one got me interested in giving it another go. Because it improves on so many different things, too many things to list. Playing through this reminded me of when I was about 13 or 14 years old and played through the original game with a friend and together we finished it in less than a week without any strategy guides or help from anywhere. Although considerably longer than the original vanilla game, containing a few more towns and at least a couple extra levels there's never really a dull moment. I definitely recommend this title.

Zelda II is my favorite Zelda, and I've been very disappointed by all the hacks I've played except this one. Amida's Curse feels like a licensed game, not a hack. Every other hack I've played feels like a trollfest made specifically for speedrunners and experts who know all the strats and are looking for a mega challenge while using guides and walkthroughs anyway. This is a game made for players of all skill levels looking for fun and adventure.

• No random encounters REALLY REALLY helps the sense of exploration and overall fun factor. There's plenty of other places to fight enemies and grind xp. Random encounters just make it tedious to explore. You're going to run away from random battles anyway, why not remove them instead of wasting time and life bar? HACKERS TAKE NOTE! REMOVE RANDOM ENCOUNTERS!

• Does a good job of guiding you through the world, not hand holding, but good hints from towns folk and good map design so you don't get lost. Other hacks seem to get this really wrong where they have a giant open area and maze dungeons with too many options and too much backtracking. The best open world games are actually linear, they just give the illusion of being bigger than they are because there's lots to do, but you should always feel like the game is steering you in the right direction. Otherwise you resort to looking up guides instead of playing for yourself. The only reason you should need a guide is for very hard secrets or if the game isn't designed properly.

The hack is made with love and it really shows. Other hacks seem to be made with spite and angst, they aren't thinking about the player having fun, they are thinking about themselves being the powerful god who destroys you. I'm not an expert Zelda II player, but I beat this without a guide, not because its easy, but because its designed well.

Go play it.

Thanks Ok Impala! for the great hack!

I have been a big fan of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for some time and this hack feels like a lot of thought and effort went into it. You can read the changes from the original game to see what is specifically offered but from what I want to highlight is the sound track is great, most if not all of the villagers are helpful, and you are rewarded for exploring. Give this game a try if you also liked the original.

I don't really understand how this one is supposed to be more forgiving than the original. It throws very hard enemies at you from the start (harder than the regular Zelda II beginning enemies), and a game over still takes you back to the start of the entire game. The first dungeon just made me quit. It's just too much of a hassle. I prefer the original Zelda II, because it gradually introduces you to the difficulty of the game.

This is my first rom hack and boy, did I pick a good one to start out with. I really can't think of a single thing I didn't enjoy about this hack. The difficulty, the design, the music, the adjustments from the original (no random encounters, etc) were ALL welcome by me. I highly recommend this one. It's pretty quick and you will love it.

• SPOILERS*

I loved the enemies in the later dungeons and thought they were much more fair than the enemies in the original. I loved how 1-UPs stayed with you, although by the end of the game I thought I was a little overpowered (but I barely escaped the final boss on the first try). Unfortunately the mechanics of Zelda 2 make some of the enemy fights a bit RNG dependent, like I never really figured out what I did to get hits through on dark link... oh well.

Thank you for giving me the best possible start to my ROM hack journey.

Pros:

• Interesting and innovative level design with actual puzzles.
• Leveling feels better, with all three stats feeling important.
• Enemy placement is much better than the original.
• No random encounters! This also seems like it made room for more hidden encounters, which are more interesting.

Cons:

• May have permanently ruined the original for me.

I read a handful of the reviews for this game and had high expectations going in.

My expectations were *exceeded*

Since there are dozens of positive reviews on here I'll keep this one short:

• New OST is terrific and adds a lot to the 'new game' feel
• The balance and difficulty is great for me, a casual but experienced Z2 player
• No overworld encounters is so nice and allows for exploration
• There are many, many areas to discovery by exploring
• The sprites and features from Zelda 2 Redux form an excellent base for the game. Link looks cool, like a warrior, and not like a 13 year old boy anymore

In sum, this hack is absolutely worth playing. What a terrific job by OK Impala! et al.

This is one of the best hacks of any game I've ever played. Actually better than the original in my opinion, and the most fun I've had playing a LoZ game in many years. Highly reccomend. A must play game! 10/10

If you want to enjoy again the Zelda II you remember, Amida's Curse is the version you need.

Zelda II is one of the best entry, and certainly the most original, in a series that has its share of masterpieces. Gameplay is fast and direct, not too difficult (by the NES standard anyway), yet require some finesse.

However there is two reasons why you wouldn't want to play it again today:

• Quality of life issues that would easily be solved in newer games, or just plain old unfair, cheap difficulty

• You already know the route, layout, and overall story.

Zelda II redux partially solves some of these issue, but it's still the Zelda II you already knew. It's the definitive edition of the real Zelda II if that's what you really want to play. Amida's Curse however goes one step beyond and brings you a whole new and somewhat easier level pack.

We're not kids in the 80s, we don't have all the time in the world. If you are like me, you want great gameplay to enjoy which pose a real challenge, but don't have the free time to grind over or redo the same parts over and over again because of a sudden unfair difficulty spike.

Can't say enough about how the lack of random battles changes the game for the better. It allows one to really explore the map and get immersed in the world. The constant, predictable random battles got tiresome towards the original game's end game and they are gone in this version.

I did not struggle too much and the puzzles were not obtuse. Some great world design and the palaces were more than fun.

This and Winter Solstice are my favorites. Amida does not suffer from the difficulty burnout.

You can pick this up and start playing and really get right into the action. A lot of the issues are streamlined and the play experience is pleasant and fulfilling.

A must if you are a Zelda II fan.

MUSIC AND GRAPHICS ARE RIGHT ON POINT.

GAMEPLAY= LINK 2 with annoying glitchy issues fixed (one-ups/leveling/random battles etc)

CHALLENGE- A more manageable Zelda 2. Better palaces.

Crafted with love and well worth your time. Captures the atmosphere and escapism of early 80's fantasy Zelda.

Highly recommended!

I hadn't really played Zelda II at all until I noticed the Zelda II Redux hack, which did a great job smoothing out the rougher edges of the game and left me wanting more Zelda II action.

Amida's Curse absolutely blew me away. The dungeons are designed incredibly well, making much biter use of features that were somewhat ignored in the base game. Enemy encounters on the overworld are gone, but instead there are far more side-scrolling sections and there are secrets to be found everywhere.

Difficulty-wise it starts out a lot smoother than the original, making this hack far more accessible than the original to newer players.

All towns and NPC dialogue is completely new, and if you listen you'll nearly always be able to figure out what to do next. No obscure hints or cryptic advice anymore!

If you're still doubting about giving this a try, stop doing so right now and hit that download button. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say I enjoyed this brand-new adventure more than the base game: the hack author really outdid himself this time!

I played this game and thus far have absolutely loved it. Really good fun and has the same great feel of zelda 2.

Well designed, fun and full of adventure.

Probably one of the best hacks/roms that Ive played for a good while.

I got this game running on a coin-ops/XBOX setup.

I highly recommend this wonderful ROM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UDPATE: 08 January 2022 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have continued to play this title and have found it exceptional fun. Some clever story elements and puzzles I'm still working out.

Again, highly recommend this title for anyone who loves classic zelda2 titles.

This is one of the best hacks I've ever played. You'll see the differences right from the start with the new graphics for the opening story scroll and when you load it up. The new graphics for Link look great and look a lot cleaner than that for Zelda 2 itself, and the new and old enemies you'll fight got a makeover as well. Animations in the overworld like moving grass and water were restored from the FDS Zelda 2 as well. graphics for the towns and temples look wonderful and the textures do look different than that from vanilla Zelda 2 which is a nice touch. The new overworld looks great as you'll progress from one area to another by walking, caves, or by water.

Dialog from townspeople is actually useful in this unlike most of Zelda 2! Some clues can be a bit ambiguous but you can figure them out with some exploration and trying new things. Each town also has someone to heal your magic and health! Explore everywhere in each are aof the overworld. You never know where a spot may open up to a side-view scene and you can get extra xp, a heart container, magic jar or a 1up. Unlike Zelda 2, 1ups save when you save your game either through a quick save or a game over, so next game you'll start with more lives!

The gameplay is much more refined and easier in this hack too, and quality of life stuff will make you wish Zelda 2 was more like it. Enemies aren't as hard as they are in Zelda 2, though the Ironknuckles are still annoying as hell and the tougher enemies where jump thrusts are their weakness still abound. The bosses have about the same weaknesses as they do in vanilla Zelda 2 also. You don't need to grind for your stat boosts in this, but it does help especially once you find spots in the overworld where enemies will respawn when you leave and return.

The 9 palaces are all a wonder to explore and have their own secrets, and you'll find some enemies in the palaces easier than they were in vanilla Zelda 2, like the floating skulls! Each palace has new equipment and a boss somewhere in it, once you find your way through and locate the keys. Mapping does help. Exploring everywhere helps since you can find yourself where you need to go, if you just fall into a bottomless pit sometimes...

In conclusion, this is one the best hacks i've played and a wonderful hack of Zelda 2!

I GIVE AMIDA'S CURSE 4.5 OUT OF 5 HEART CONTAINERS!!

This. Was. Awesome. Very well done and a nice successor to playing Zelda II. I finished it in a two day span and wanted to keep playing. There are about 4-5 spots where I really had to think of what to do next, but within 20 minutes I was back on the right track. There really was no grinding and I leveled up in tandem to the progression of the game quite nicely.

The Good - Very familiar Zelda II graphics, nice sprite swaps, good game play and sound. The towns people are far more useful in this than in the original. I even took a few notes while going into some of the towns and that actually helped out and reminded me of playing RPGs in the 80s. Nothing is overly difficult.

The Bad - There's a couple of spots where the next move is a little ambiguous, but after 20-30 minutes I would think almost anyone would figure it out.

The Ugly - I managed to soft lock twice so SAVE often. I only lost 30 min progress, but it was a bit frustrating. Once was talking to a bat that was asleep in a town where I got stuck and had to reset. The other was in a wall, again near the ceiling.

Overall, this was a fantastic hack of Zelda II and by far the best I've played thus far. I would like more of these. Game play was AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER than the original and the difficulty progression was BETTER than the original. We all remember getting the hammer in the first 20 minutes of Zelda II and how difficult that was when we were kids. You will enjoy this play through if you are a Zelda II fan like me.

I have only sampled a few Zelda II hacks thus far, and most have proven TAS/savestate only. This was a remarkably refreshing play. Although somewhat straight forward, and, in my opinion, a fair bit easier than the original, the gameplay is still great. The sprite work is much improved as is the palette. Puzzles could've been harder, but at least there was no major backtracking in the palaces :).

All said, a thoroughly enjoyable play.

It's weird that this game boasts no grinding needed and no cheap deaths, even though I've been grinding and taking quite a few cheap deaths. There is one in the very first temple where a gargoyle on the wall shooting fireballs at you can hit you and knock you into the lava for an instant kill. And I ended up losing all my lives to that.

I can understand no level grinding if you made the game so that you dont go back to 0 EXP when you game over, something that another hack "Resurrection of Ganon" does. But with this, it just seems like you want to grind or stay alive as long as possible to get higher levels especially if you're using the cancel option.

I'm not done with this hack and it is a good hack, but I'm just confused by this advertising when I'm experiencing the opposite.

As of this review I still haven't found the jump spell. And may I suggest a QOL update to allow better access through the underworld back to the main world after you beat that temple?

I've long wanted to showcase a quality ROM hack of one of my favorite NES classics, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Problem was, I couldn't find one. Now, unlike some, I've never considered the regular game to be overly challenging or unfair. That said, it teeters right on the edge at times, and most hackers are all too eager to nudge it off into the abyss of obnoxiousness. After years of being let down by grueling Kaizo style gauntlets clearly geared toward expert speedrunners, I had almost given up. Enter Ok Impala!, who just earlier this Fall partnered with bentglasstube, Trax, and ShadowOne333 to bring us Zelda II: Amida's Curse. What a breath of fresh air this one is! It's less difficult than before, yet not to the degree that veterans will be bored. More importantly, it switches up the world and level design just enough to provide a new perspective on what can be accomplished within the confines of the familiar Zelda II engine.

You may be wondering who Amida is. Well, it's a matter of where, not who. Amida is the strange world Link finds himself trapped in when he passes through an unexplained one-way portal. That's the extent of the storyline: Explore Amida to find a way back to Hyrule. Hey, it beats another princess to save.

Given how unlikely it is that you're reading this without knowing what Zelda II is and how it plays, you'll forgive me if I cut to the chase. What makes Amida's Curse such an interesting hack is its emphasis on thoughtful exploration over endless combat. It wastes no time differentiating itself with the removal of the vanilla game's random overworld encounters. You have all the time in the world to poke around the wilds of Amida without fear of unwanted interruption.

This same approach carries over to the dungeons (or temples, as they're called here), which have fewer monsters and a correspondingly greater focus on ferreting out hidden paths. These passages are usually hinted at in some way, either via oddities in the architecture or clues from NPCs. Later temples in particular have an entirely different feel than their base game counterparts. Think extended brain teasers as opposed to simple tests of survival. Some of the tricks they employ can throw you for a loop in the nicest way. A boss might appear at an unexpected place or time to effectively ambush you, for example.

Major changes to the baseline mechanics are few, but impactful. The extra life dolls Link acquires are now added to his starting pool of lives on every subsequent continue, turning them from one of the least essential prizes to one of the most. Further, the range of his sword beam has been doubled, although it can still only be fired off when at full health and is as useless as ever against larger foes. Oh, and the Fairy spell can now be canceled with a tap of the jump button. No more flying up to an item you can't grab in fairy form!

I also have to mention the pleasing facelift Amida's Curse benefits from. Link and many of his antagonists are sporting excellent revamped sprites and the overworld now includes animated water and swamp tiles. As great as these additions look, it's the soundtrack by bentglasstube that steals the show. The adventurous tone that characterized Akito Nakatsuka's Zelda II score gives way to one of brooding mystery, neatly mirroring the game's overall shift from action to exploration.

In terms of negatives, Zelda II was already a significantly less freeform experience than its predecessor, and Amida's Curse leans even harder into linearity. There's relatively little wiggle room to complete dungeons or obtain critical items and powers out of their intended order. The quest is so enthralling that you likely won't be put off by how strictly regimented it is the first time around. It doesn't exactly bode well for the hack's replay value, though.

Curse's second problem (if you can call it that) is its lack of any truly new gameplay elements. The absolute best NES fan works all go the extra mile by including things like unique player abilities or enemies with no equivalents in the source material. This is what sets my current Holy Trinity of NES Hacks (Castlevania: The Holy Relics, Metroid: Rogue Dawn, and Super Mario Bros. 3Mix) apart from the crowd. You won't find anything comparable to that here. Link, his gear, his spells, and his opponents are all fundamentally their old familiar selves, albeit gussied up and rearranged in novel fashion.

Make no mistake, however: Amida's Curse is far and away the finest Zelda II ROM hack I've come across as of this writing. Its unparalleled inventiveness, attention to detail, and willingness to embrace a design philosophy other than "more of the same, but harder" put it in a class by itself. If you have any love for the original—hell, even if you've only wanted to love it—you're in for a rare treat. May there be more like it.

Amida's Curse was an awesome experience that I would recommend to any Z2 fan, or anyone who enjoys adventure platformers. I've been playing Zelda 2 pretty much my whole life. I'm such a big fan that my game company is named after a minor character from it, so I would hold any sequel/remake to a very high standard. This hack truly delivered, and I am so glad that I found it. Virtually every image is modified, all songs are original, and the entire world (including every single town, palace, and action scene) is 100% new. It's very creative, the feel is dark and mysterious, the level design is great, and there are lots of design improvements (such as the order of discovering spells) and quality of life improvements (such as fixed palace crystal XP) from the original that make it a pleasure to replay the basic Z2 engine from the beginning. 10 thumbs up!

This hack really is as good as everyone says, I had a lot of fun beating this hack.

• -About the level design—

This hack is really well made! The overworld and the caves/dungeons are cleverly designed. I love how the NPC's give you hints about what to expect or where to go. There's always a sense of satisfaction when you figure out where to go. The level design is the strongest point of this hack, it made me want to come back for more after taking a break. I was actually hooked on exploring the game and seeing what's next. I felt like I was playing Zelda 2 for the first time all over again. This hack feels like it was an actual NES game released back then, made by official developers. Or as if Zelda 2 really did get a direct sequel. The secrets are also cleverly placed but not insanely difficult to find. The way the overworld connects with itself later is genius. There's just so much to explore and find, which are my fav type of games.

• -About the difficulty—

Don't let other reviewers make you think that this hack is super easy, it's far from that. The difficulty is up there with the original Zelda 2, maybe a little harder. But it's very well balanced since you can expand your free life capacity which keeps you in the game longer. I died a lot in this hack so I definitely needed the lives. Even with lv 8 defense and 8 hearts by the end, I was getting torn up by the enemies. And this hack does not give you the heal spell or the down thrust until much later in the game compared to the original game so you're not gonna be relying on that for a very long time. There were some moments of cheapness where I'd get knocked back into a pit. But I admittedly used save states and rewind for those moments. By the end of the game it gets pretty brutal, so I advise using save states if you don't have the patience. Even with save states, the hack was worth playing through and experiencing. I also did have to pull up a youtube guide a few times to figure out where to go. This is definitely not an easy hack, but nor is it kaizo difficult. This hack is better suited to those who beat the original Zelda 2 and is a fan of Zelda 2 in general.

• -Final verdict—

I give this hack a 9/10, I absolutely recommend checking it out. Hands down the best Zelda II hack out there. It's not a hack aimed at making the game unfair, but instead tries to balance things and make for a fun experience. It plays more like a game rather than a kaizo hack. The music and the level design makes you feel like you're playing a good NES game again. The only way you wouldn't like this hack is if you hate Zelda 2 in general. But if you do, definitely check it out!

An amazing adventure, this was awesome. I loved the exploration aspect and the feeling of truly being immersed in a different world. I can't wait to see what's next!

Like many others have already mentioned, this is by far one of the best Zelda-II hacks out there! Without going into much detail as I'd just be repeating what others have already said, I'd just like to say that I've had the most fun playing this Zelda-II hack among all the others. The other ones, while very interesting and lots of effort went into them as well, are just way too difficult and grindy to make the overall experience enjoyable. This hack does not do that. There are a few things that are questionable such as the removal of overworld enemies, etc. But the overall experience is one that is fun, engaging, and satisfying!

Zelda-II is one of my favorite Zeldas so thank you SO MUCH for this! This is incredible!

Highly recommended!!

9.5/10

As usual, I will refrain from dropping spoilers. I will say this: Anyone who enjoys the original LOZ2 will find a whole new experience with this project. It has been lovingly recrafted into something I think Shigeru Miyamoto and crew would be proud of. In fact I think this could be considered a way for them to play a version of their own effort which will be a totally new experience to them.

Highly recommended! Download, patch and enjoy!

The only Zelda II game that nails exploration!

# Difficulty:

+ No guides required, no save states required.

+ New players that did have difficulties with the original Zelda 2 will appreciate how generous is Amida's regarding lives.

- Veteran players that have play the original several times or other romhacks are going to feel unchallenged. Higher difficulty, specially at endgame would be welcomed.

# Graphics and design choices:

+ Overall graphics and design choices for the overworld, towns and palaces are simply stunning.

+ The way to world is arranged, is probably the most creative Zelda 2 hack to date.

+ Exploring is fun since is non interrupted by battles. Hints are on point.

# Music:

+ Themes quality ranges from good to great to amazing.

# Gameplay Balance:

+ No grinding required.

+ Well connected world map, avoids long walks to reach the place you wanted to be.

I've played the original Zelda II countless times and have always wanted more. I've tried several of the other Zelda II romhacks but most are not straightforward and have a brutal difficulty.

This romhack strikes the right balance and encourages exploration. There were some very creative puzzles in some of the towns and dungeons without being next-to impossible to figure out. At first I wasn't a fan of not having random overworld encounters, but it actually works out in this game and allows you to explore more.

Would recommend!

So either everyone else is crazy...or I am...cause I grew up actually loving Zelda 2 unlike a lot of people who gave it flak back in the day. It was always a game that fascinated me with the bigger open world, the heavy emphasis on combat strategy in addition to swinging your sword about, the leveling system which would make it my first ever RPG...and that constant yearning to just figure the darn thing out! (We never found Three Eyed Rock Palace...) So what does Amida's Curse do in relation to that game? Tones down some of Zelda 2's harsher elements and gives a new adventure that could be a worthy sequel, that's what!

WORLD: I love brand new worlds in games! And the world of Amida is a bright, vibrant world with many places to explore. The lands seem somehow far more varied than the original game appeared to be. There's rolling fields, a gigantic swamp that leads to the cold, dark underworld, the volcanic path that leads to the Volcano Palace in the heart of its crater, the Kingdom of Soli and the castle of the Blue Knights that are at war with them, every land seems like it tells very little yet has an implied backstory that goes beyond what you're told. I found myself with a sense of wonder at these places, a curiosity for what meaning behind these various lands and their various settlements there was, and the ultimate question of what on earth did any of this have to do with Link? Amida is gigantic and it's fun for exploring everything there is to see!

GAMEPLAY: Soooo....Zelda 2 is, for lack of better comparison, a Zelda Souls-like back before we even had the genre of Souls-likes or even any conceivable idea as to what that genre even meant. It was hard, it brutalized you, it made you its...uh...ya know...and it took no prisoners. It was, as BrentalFloss so elegantly put it, "klunky and funky (but look, a monkey!)". Amida's Curse tones down a significant portion of that. There's no more random battles in the overworld, opting instead for many action scenes along the way to make up for it. There's no more reliance on cheap death tactics of enemies waiting alongside water and lava pits to push you in (though some start turning up towards endgame). And quite frankly, the game is FAR less of an enigma than the original ever was. Your Health and Magic meters are all smaller than the base game, beginning with 3 Hearts, 2 Bars of magic, meaning there's now 5 heart containers and 6 magic jars to be found instead of the original 4 of each, so there's plenty to hunt for, some in places you may not find on your first round. The game is still Zelda 2, and while there's a lot of quality of life changes to make the game more accessible and easier than the base game, it still will hand you your butt if you don't take it seriously, and I died a fair amount of times, almost as many times as I did in the original.

FUN: Well I certainly think so! I just wanted to know everything about what was going on. Your story is that Link is lost in some kind of portal and winds up in the land of Amida, a strange world that will have more ties to Link than he imagines....what tie? You'll have to find out! The exploration is fun, finding new places to go and slowly building up your gear, your levels, everything, it's the same fun as it was back in Zelda 2, and there's plenty of QoL changes to make it more accessible, such as tweaking the drop rate of bonus XP, leaving MORE of it laying around to make up for not having random battles, well thought out clues, making the Link Dolls actually USABLE (not only do they give an extra life immediately, they increase Link's maximum lives at start by 1), and my favorite, making the palaces actually have legit level design, making them FAR easier to navigate. There's more, but you'll just have to play it!

MY RATING: 9.2/10

Okay, so there's another reviewer who felt this game really stripped away a lot of what makes the original game unique, and I can certainly see that side of it. No more random battles does reduce the urgency of the gameplay to nothing, and it does make it less grindy at the expense of not being able to make yourself powerful too early (which some people can and do strive for), and admittedly the game does start to feel fairly same-y by the time the late dungeons start kicking in. If you've played and beaten Zelda 2, there's...not that much different here as far as new challenges so much. And one thing that I will personally say is a missed opportunity, though possibly not one easily fixed, is the lack of story that's hinted at but never told about the towns. Why are Soli and the Blue Knights at war? Why are the people in the prison town trapped there and is there any escape for them once you yourself make it out? Questions like these are never expanded upon, though I guess it is kinda cool being left to the player's imagination in light of the reveal. Nonetheless, I found myself greatly enjoying Amida's Curse as I am an explorer at heart. And I dun't care what anyone says, I think the soundtrack rocks! I found myself humming along to the action scenes and the palaces all the time! So if you want a slightly easier Zelda 2 that could potentially continue the hero's story, give Amida a try!

I'm having a VERY nice time playing this so far...a couple hours in and at first I thought it was going to be boring/too easy, but I'm happy to report that despite losing the random battles (which I really enjoy), the combat in the battle sections is very engaging. Enemy placement is fair but forces you to stop and think before you jump at times. The cool part is that you can play fast (if you have a lot of experience with the original) and you aren't ever knocked back into a pit out of nowhere. If you are, it's because you were sloppy or missed an attack.

I read a review saying that a lot of the fun of the original was lost, and I think they are being too much of a purist, even for me. I was actually thinking I might not enjoy this, but I gotta say that this is a totally impressive experience so far. I don't love some of the sprite changes, but after 2 hours, they feel normal.

You're getting a really well thought-out experience with a lot more than just a "second quest" with new graphics tacked on. I put this right up there with Winter Solstice, but even moreso since it's not brutally difficult to figure out.

I haven't enjoyed a rom hack like this in quite some time, and I really recommend you give this one a go. If you enjoy Zelda 2, you'll like this.

This game absolutely nails the exploration aspect. It does a great job of hinting at new areas on the overworld map or in a dungeon and making you say "how do I get there" and then making you feel satisfied when you figure it out.

The game is also very figure-outable. I'm generally quick these days to reach for google if I get stuck somewhere, especially if I feel like the game is janky, but in this case there are enough clues carefully laid around to lead you to all the answers but make you feel satisfied when you figure them out.

It's a limitation of the engine that there's just not very many types of puzzles that are possible to implement, and things start to feel a little same-y just at the end. But it doesn't overstay its welcome.

The new soundtrack is very welcome. It's not as good as the original, of course, but it's really nice to listen to something else.

Yes, it's pretty easy for a Zelda 2 veteran, but that doesn't diminish the fun. The fun is in the exploration. The lack of random battles absolutely helps the fun of exploration and was the right decision for this game.

In short, this game feels very well designed. Arguably better designed than the original. Definitely on my short list of hacks that (almost) feel like they could be legit releases. Very highly recommended!

The hack is amazing and feels like an official sequel. The new graphics and themes look great, the emphasis on exploration is really cool (and yes eliminating random battles was the right choice to go in this direction).

Having new music is a great feat in itself and I sure hope future hacks will implement that too, but I must admit this particular soundtrack is pretty lackluster to me, unfortunately. The tunes get repetitive fairly quickly and don't have the endless "replayability" of the original tunes. But still a great and very well crafted hack!

Overall I had a blast with the game and I liked the new music and new areas. It was also cool seeing all the new ideas for continuing the game like having to fit through things using fairy or needing to explore to progress. I liked the exploration aspect and I love this game - I would recommend for anyone!

This hack is a passion project that has spanned a year and a half that changes everything in the game, from the overworld, to the palaces, to the graphics (using Zelda 2 Redux as a base), new town architecture pieces, a brand-new original soundtrack, etc. The end result is probably the most beautiful and eye-popping Zelda 2 hack I've played so far.

Difficulty-wise, the hack was meant to be a little easier than the base Zelda 2, but it's still not without its tricky moments. Here, the emphasis is placed on exploration rather than combat, so the difficulty lies more with finding where you're supposed to go in some spots. I was stumped for a little bit trying to find the Jump and Ice (replacing Thunder) spells, and I got lost in the final dungeon for a little bit before realizing that one of the elevators went through the floor.

While other Zelda 2 hacks have used custom soundtracks before, like Resurrection of Ganon and the endgame of Winter Solstice, Amida's Curse probably has my favorite OST of the three. The side-scrolling themes for the action scenes and palaces in particular are almost as good as the base game. Bentglasstube did great work on it!

Speaking of new additions, while Resurrection of Ganon added one extra dungeon to the game, Amida's Curse adds two! So there are now a total of 9 dungeons in the game as opposed to the base game's 7. More is always better in that regard.

Conclusion: Zelda 2: Amida's Curse was an 18-month passion project, and the passion really shows in the end result. The most beautiful Z2 ROM hack I've played, with an intriguing new story, and puzzles that really make you think. Yes, the game is a bit easier than Z2, but that doesn't mean it sucks. Far from it.

Amida's curse is amazing. As you play, the graphical upgrades and design choices make the game feel like a true next instalment in the Zelda 2 style. Although it won't make the haters of Zelda 2 change their mind, they are wrong anyway so it doesn't matter (kidding haha).

Highly recommended to diehard Zelda 2 fans who are looking for an alternative to the muscle memory annual replay of the original.

I see a real talent for game design from a level design perspective at the core of this game. Super impressive stuff.

This is a finely crafted hack in all areas, from graphics to music to gameplay. Lots of attention and work have been put into it, and it shows.

I understand some will see it as an easy game, well that's not me. I have been playing since the first beta and have yet to see the ending. This is still a challenging game, but not in an obscure, annoying way. I would say it preserves the feel of the Zelda games of old, with modern sensibilities and updated visuals and sound.

It seems that over the past few years, most new hacks of classic games are either over-the-top, mindbendingly hard to the point of being unplayable or so easy and stripped down that you could finish the game in one sitting, defeating the purpose of building up one's skills to complete the game.

This one falls into the latter category. The random encounters, combat-oriented game play, and the skill required to avoid "cheap deaths" made "Zelda II" a unique challenge that few games from this era could match. But recent hacks strip the game of this quality and turn it into, well, like something out of Sesame Street or Romper Room.

I get the "focus on exploration" thing, but this isn't Sacred or a modern RPG. The game was built as an action-packed adventure that drew the player in with a serious challenge. You had to prepare for your trip to Death Mountain and get really geared up for the latter temples, leveling up as much as possible to even have a chance. The features of this game eliminates that and therefore takes a lot of the spice off this recipe. It's like ordering a Vindaloo and asking for it "mild". Why order a spicy dish without the spice? Amida's Curse is the video game equivalent to a flavorless but pretty curry.

One thing that is a pet peeve of mine about this is the comparison to Chrono Trigger with the "battles are not necessary" thing. There is absolutely no comparison between the two games, as the concepts are very different. Battles in the action scenes were almost impossible to avoid in CT, while the overworld map was not exactly "open ended" until you get the flying Epoch. The "vanilla" Zelda II was much more open-ended and almost all overworld battles could be avoided already by just staying on the path, and later stages like Death Mountain and the Island had unavoidable, contrived battle sequences. So I don't get the whole "anti-random battle" thing here, nor do I understand why people think this game requires "grinding". In fact, I never saw Zelda II as a "grindy" game, as some have put it. It wasn't hard to level up in this game. To me, it just seems like people treat 8 bit games as if they are supposed to be done with in about 2 to 3 hours.

While I appreciate the graphical and musical upgrades, I am not the sort of person who looks for these sorts of aesthetic tweaks in an 8-bit game hack. The elimination of the core challenge and risk makes this game not just "less difficult", but almost a mockery of the era of 8-bit gaming, as so many hacks in recent times are.

This should be regarded as an "easy type" game, or, perhaps as a suggestion the hacker should create a patch that keeps the core gameplay, such as the random battles, the leveling up, and a reestablishment of the combat focus (which would make the hack more balanced, ironically). As the game stands right now, it provides little to the seasoned 8-bit gamer other than a slightly interesting story and some cute visual and audio improvements, which, to be honest, defeats the purpose of this type of game.

And personally, I have yet to find a Zelda II hack that truly improved upon the original, and unfortunately, this one fits into that category.

This felt like a really well balanced hack. The early game was a bit on the easy side, but some of the later dungeons actually had a bit of difficulty to them without being unfair or frustrating. The graphics were good, and the music (especially the final dungeon music) worked very well. Secrets were explained/marked reasonably well.

The only real downsides I could see was that the game were:

• Lag at a couple points because of how much was going on at the same time - not really a big deal, and fairly common in NES games/hacks
• There was one part where a wonky fairy hitbox made me spend too long on a puzzle than I needed to. More of a minor inconvenience than anything, though.

Overall, I really liked this hack! It was relatively conventional...but that's perfectly fine! It is obvious that time was spent on it to make it polished and well made, and most importantly, was really fun to play! This does a good job of capturing the essence of what made Z2 fun.

Estimated time to beat: 4-6 hours

This hack features great design, beautiful palaces, unique towns, and amazing music.

At first I had no expectations of this hack since Zelda 2 is not my favorite game, but it was certainly a great trick and it was decent for me. Honestly, it is one of the best hacks that I have seen for this game

Over the years there have been quite a few Zelda II hacks, some would get to points in-game and crash, some would get to points and literally be impossible to complete, many were made by someone who was some gaming masochist, finally comes a compelling Zelda II reimaging with new music, new towns, fantastic new sprites and while I've only begun to dip my toes into this adventure the difficulty doesn't feel unfairly punishing the way many of these Zelda II hacks get fast.

If you are a fan of Zelda II who wanted another Zelda II hack worth playing, this one is an easy recommendation.