wolfy42 posted... I love salt and sanctuary (CitD is ok but not nearly as good), but your comparing games that came out decades apart.
Zelda 2 was pretty much the first 2d scrolling rpg, which I have always loved. Battle of Olympus was similar if I remember right, but if you like that genre, and you were alive/old enough to play Zelda 2 when it came out, it was awesome.
I prefer that genre even to action/rpg like Zelda 1 etc, it's pretty much my favorite way to play, I think Zelda 2 was probably the best of it's type till Castlevania Symphony of the Night (which I also love with all my heart). Super Metroid etc also was similar in alot of ways, and the 2d platfomer/rpg took off from there.
But zelda 2 took reflexes a step further in RPGs then other games before it. Even Zelda 1 required cordination and reflexes, which rocked, but zelda 2 ......combined both an RPG aspect, and something I was really good at (I was the guy you went to if you wanted to see the ending of Lion King or Battle Toads etc). I had good reflexes/cordination and so Zelda 2 clicked all my buttons.
Salt and Sanctuary I have replayed multiple times in an age where I finish very few games at all. A good 2d rpg/platformer will grab my attention still better than just about anything else.
100% agree
I would add that I love the battles in Zelda II, the battles against the knights were very impressive. I have not found many games where you can block or avoid so easily that it becomes a large part of the battles (jumping on enemies with the downthrust). I loved Battle of Olympus too, that I find more difficult when you don't know where to find more life or better equipments, but the battles are less exciting (I do prefer the exploration from Olympus than the Zelda II overworld).
After the NES, graphics became better and sprites bigger, so that it is mostly not possible to avoid projectiles or hits anymore, and no such thing has downthrust. In Symphony of the Night, you have the backward dash and you can block projectiles with the shield, but not much more. The game is pretty easy.
I'll try the newer games listed here but I haven't played any.