To be excessively fair to "Tears of the Kingdom", sequels that clearly do not want to be sequels are a tradition in the "Zelda" series. "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" makes no goddamn sense as a sequel to "The Legend of Zelda" (1986), which is kind of impressive given how minimal their plots are. - ThreadSky

prokopetz.bsky.social • 72 days ago

To be excessively fair to "Tears of the Kingdom", sequels that clearly do not want to be sequels are a tradition in the "Zelda" series. "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" makes no goddamn sense as a sequel to "The Legend of Zelda" (1986), which is kind of impressive given how minimal their plots are.

Comments

bookhook84.bsky.social•72 days ago

I honestly look at them as almost another timeline split, they just don't make any sense back to back 🫠

devilpants.bsky.social•72 days ago

I know what you mean, TOTK felt more like a second attempt at BOTW than an actual sequel

prokopetz.bsky.social•72 days ago

"Tears of the Kingdom" feels like it's being held back from being the game it actually wants to be everywhere it's obliged to maintain narrative or mechanical continuity with "Breath of the Wild", and it manages to communicate the distinct sense that it's both aware of and actively resents this.

astralikacastle.bsky.social•72 days ago

Which is interesting to me cuz my read was "finally, these mechanics that felt kinda unnecessary in BotW feel more justified in TotK!" and this *feels* like an exact opposite read, and yet I *also* agree with you.

prokopetz.bsky.social•72 days ago

I think they're not mutually exclusive. "Tears of the Kingdom" is often *able* to justify its hold-over mechanics from "Breath of the Wild", but it doesn't *want* to be doing this.

casualadultgamer.bsky.social•71 days ago

"Sequel" to a video game also meant different things back in the 80s as it does now. Popular games became series, and you to just say "SMB2" or "Megan Man 2" or "Zelda 2" to maintain brand identity. Dragon Quest/Warrior is the only early series I know of with intended story continuity.

prokopetz.bsky.social•71 days ago

Often that was the case, but not in this particular case, no – "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" was explicitly positioned by the developer as in continuity with its 1986 predecessor, and even has a little story in the instruction manual explaining how. It makes no sense, but it's there!

palmertree.bsky.social•72 days ago

I always thought The Adventure of Link was just a reskinned game to get something out quickly to follow on Zelda’s success, much in the same way that SMB2 was. They were both very successful that way.

Link to the Past was the real number 2. And soooo much better.

jordan.weatherby.io•71 days ago

Zelda 2 is almost the complete opposite of a reskin, its gameplay is unlike any other Zelda game.

It has an XP and level up mechanic and you have lives. Not to mention it is mostly a side scroller.

Zelda 1 to 2 is much more like Ocarina to Majoras mask, an entirely different game

palmertree.bsky.social•71 days ago

By reskin, I meant an entirely different game but they added Zelda sprites. I always wondered if it was a different game first… I was wrong

jordan.weatherby.io•71 days ago

Oh lol yes I get you, tired brain

prokopetz.bsky.social•72 days ago

Apparently not – Shigeru Miyamoto produced both Zelda I and II, and is on the record that he wanted Zelda II to be very different from the first game intentionally.

palmertree.bsky.social•71 days ago

Fascinating! Thank you!

palmertree.bsky.social•71 days ago

SMB2 was definitely a re-skin though.

prokopetz.bsky.social•71 days ago

It's a little more complicated than that. According to Kensuke Tanabe, "Doki Doki Panic" started out as a tech demo for an unnamed "Mario" sequel, which was shelved due to internal disagreements about whether the gameplay was "Mario-like" enough, then later repurposed as a tie-in for Yume Kōjō '87.

palmertree.bsky.social•71 days ago

I am sooooo following you now :)

blueghostskater.com•71 days ago

Zelda 2 feels akin to an RPG Metroid sequel.

thescreamingpossum.bsky.social•71 days ago

There’s an outrageously weird dynamic between the two. Some of TotK’s improvements make BotW feel incomplete in comparison. But BotW highlights Totk’s sandbox-y excesses, and I would say is the better game. In the end it’s perhaps better they be thought of as a package deal.

starman037.bsky.social•71 days ago

In Zelda II's case, I feel like the RPG elements to it were a reaction to the insane success of Dragon Quest in Japan

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply