[KenOD]

Nay, because the whole game is filled with such art design that I could not learn the world, discover the secrets by visual (rather than just bombing everything), or feel like I was ever really progressing for all the effort I put into it.

Golden Axe Warrior was it's superior in this sub-genre in every way as far as I'm concerned.

[IdreamofHIME]

Hated it as a kid and those childhood memories soured my returns to the game.
Tried it on the GCN disc, GBA and Virtual Console, but never got that far any of those times.

[Allan Holdsworth]

Nope, I never had it as a kid. I tried to play it several times but I never found the 2nd dungeon and got bored.

I just finished Link's Awakening for the first time (got stuck on the last dungeon about 5 years ago and never finished it), and I have to do the Oracles. Still have to play OoT 3D's Master Quest. And then LA DX. Plus I should finish the few things left in SS but I hate boss rushes; doubt I will ever bother with Hero mode as the game is just way too long. I don't like playing them one after the other so it will take a while.

Someday I will beat it, after all I only beat Metroid about 2 years ago.

[Android18a]

I've only completed a handful of Zelda games, even having been playing them since the original.

The first I managed to finish was Ocarina. I nearly managed LTTP but the last dungeon just stopped me from ever doing it.

Never liked Zelda 1 or 2 enough to try.

[Kokonoe]

I didn't because over 12 years ago when I tried, it was either something about burning a bush, or a whistle(that I didn't know about). It wasn't a dungeon itself, though.

However, I use to play the game a lot just to run through the first few dungeons. I'll return to it some day.

[GavinGT]

Nay, because the whole game is filled with such art design that I could not learn the world, discover the secrets by visual (rather than just bombing everything), or feel like I was ever really progressing for all the effort I put into it. Golden Axe Warrior was it's superior in this sub-genre in every way as far as I'm concerned.

Don't forget using the candle on everything!

[Bjoern the Smexy]

I beat it exactly once, on an emulator.

I have never beat it on real hardware, though (my options would be on GameCube, Wii or 3DS).

I don't plan on beating it anytime soon.

[Bentles]

Nope. Shit's hard! Got maybe 6 dungeons in and couldn't find the next one and I found the enemies damn tough. Heck, I had to look up how to find the 2nd dungeon. Maybe on another playthrough it'll click with me. Whenever a dungeon starts you back with 3 hearts I'm too lazy to explore the overworld for more.

[Shion]

Yup, I have beaten both Zelda 1 and Adventure of Link several times.

[Apenheul]

I was doing a Zelda marathon a couple of months ago and beat both Zelda 1 and Zelda 2 in one day. They're both easy games in terms of NES standards IMO, but it certainly helps if you know every secret and shortcut by heart.

[Jay Sosa]

Never tried and never will. Think I've beaten Zelda II several times, even though I didn't understand one word english.

I beat it without using potions as a young child. Now it seems unplayable. Funny how that works.

Tell me bout it. I honestly have no clue how I could've possible beaten Super Probotector as a freaking 8 year old. Nowadays I die within seconds.

[Coolwhip]

NES Zelda is still my favorite game of all time. Beating Ganon was so awesome. Zelda 2 however I never beat and I still wake up screaming sometimes because of it.

[thomasmahler]

I did, but only with a guide. Zelda 1 has a ton of 'Burn this random bush out of 400 other bushes to get into this next dungeon!' and 'Put a bomb EXACTLY to this spot without any visual clue to continue on!' moments that it's just almost impossible without knowing the game by heart.

I play through Zelda 3 probably 4-5 times a year though.

[Anteater]

I've never beaten any nes games :(

Not even Mario

[Myriadis]

Did you know that Zeldas dress changes colors depending on what tunic color you have? But there's no way I'll go through Level 9 in a green tunic.

I completed the first quest of Zelda 1 multiple times and the second quest one time. I love that game, and while Oracle of Ages is my favorite 2D-Zelda, Zelda 1 is right behind it. I learned many tricks in this game by observing enemies and testing out items on them and noticed stuff like the fact that many blue enemies drop bombs and snakes are great for rupee farming. The last time I played through Zelda 1 I died just three times and in most playthroughs I never bothered to use potions.
In the first playthrough I had to use a faq to get to the last dungeons, though. I mean, seriously, how are you supposed to find the last level without one? Oh, and Level 6 is the dungeon I do last before going to Level 9.

Now Zelda II... I also really like that game but I never got past these mountains. But yeah, I would love to see a sequel to this one.

[Red UFO]

I've completed all the Zelda games (excluding CD-I) apart from Zelda 2. Because fuck Death Mountain.

[GavinGT]

Did you know that Zeldas dress changes colors depending on what tunic color you have? But there's no way I'll go through Level 9 in a green tunic. I completed the first quest of Zelda 1 multiple times and the second quest one time. I love that game, and while Oracle of Ages is my favorite 2D-Zelda, Zelda 1 is right behind it. I learned many tricks in this game by observing enemies and testing out items on them and noticed stuff like the fact that many blue enemies drop bombs and snakes are great for rupee farming. The last time I played through Zelda 1 I died just three times and in most playthroughs I never bothered to use potions. In the first playthrough I had to use a faq to get to the last dungeons, though. I mean, seriously, how are you supposed to find the last level without one? Oh, and Level 6 is the dungeon I do last before going to Level 9. Now Zelda II... I also really like that game but I never got past these mountains. But yeah, I would love to see a sequel to this one.

As I mentioned above, you can read the manual for a tip.

[ThoseDeafMutes]

I've tried several times, and always give up out of boredom/frustration before I hit the first dungeon.

[Apenheul]

Did you know that Zeldas dress changes colors depending on what tunic color you have? But there's no way I'll go through Level 9 in a green tunic. I completed the first quest of Zelda 1 multiple times and the second quest one time. I love that game, and while Oracle of Ages is my favorite 2D-Zelda, Zelda 1 is right behind it. I learned many tricks in this game by observing enemies and testing out items on them and noticed stuff like the fact that many blue enemies drop bombs and snakes are great for rupee farming. The last time I played through Zelda 1 I died just three times and in most playthroughs I never bothered to use potions. In the first playthrough I had to use a faq to get to the last dungeons, though. I mean, seriously, how are you supposed to find the last level without one? Oh, and Level 6 is the dungeon I do last before going to Level 9. Now Zelda II... I also really like that game but I never got past these mountains. But yeah, I would love to see a sequel to this one.

I didn't know that Zelda's dress changed color, I assume it has something to do with the limited color palette for sprites.

But yeah, some secrets as well as the last dungeon are hard to find out for yourself in Zelda 1. I called the Nintendo hotline at the time to ask where to find the entrance to dungeon 9, and also dungeon 7 for which you had to use the flute.

I love Zelda II but it's very unbalanced so I see why people have a hard time finishing or even appreciating it. There is a huge difficulty spike right in the beginning of the game when you have to find the hammer and it certainly doens't help that you have to go through this big and confusing maze filled with difficult enemies. Only the final dungeon is (IMO) more tricky than that part. At least the game gives better hints about where you should look for things than Zelda I :)

[SonicMegaDrive]

I first beat it when I was 8 in 1988.

Beaten countless times since.

[Grassy]

I must have beaten it 5+ times back in the day as it was one of the few NES games I had. I just played it tonight for the first time in 20+ years to see how I fared and well, fuck me, this game is a lot harder than I remember.

[RoboGeorgeForeman]

I've beat it twice on the NES (once on normal and the "ZELDA" mode) and twice on the GBA (I imported a few of the Famicom Mini collection games). This along with Zelda II are my favorite Zelda games to this day despite not playing Zelda I until after I had finished OoT.

[SonicMegaDrive]

Yeah, I agree with those that say it really isn't that difficult..that is until the second quest. That's when the game finally gets "NES hard".

[Heropon]

Yes, but I used a map. I played the GBA version. I still remember those wizzrobes in one of the dungeons.

I think I should beat it again now that I can save in the 3DS VC version.

[Majukun]

of course i did

[BassForever]

I've beaten first and second quest, along with many fan made alternate quest of the original LoZ. I have beaten every Zelda 100% minus the CD-i titles, Zelda 2 was the final one I had to beat and I finally beat it last year.

[rebonack]

Yep, I've beaten both quests in the original Zelda a bunch of times. I've even done it swordless and once in reverse order (started with dungeon 8, then 7, etc.). That's one of the things I love about the game -- it's so versatile. I've been playing it for close to 25 years and I'm still finding new ways to enjoy it.

I've also beaten Zelda II more times than I can count. Hell, I played through it twice on 3DS as soon as it was made available.

Zelda 1 has definitely aged, but it's not nearly as bad as other games of the era.

[Coinspinner]

I've beaten the first quest. I couldn't beat it as a kid (5 or 6?) but I tried again as a teen and managed. The instruction manual and pack-in map are all I used. I've never put a serious effort into the second quest.

Same deal with Zelda II. Couldn't do it at 7, managed it at 12 or 13.

[linkboy]

I know Zelda 1 (and A Link to the Past) like the back of my hand.

My personal best for Zelda 1 is just over 3 hours, I know I can do better though.

I've perfected both games.

Zelda II I've only beat once and that was the Japanese FDS version, which is slightly easier.

[smuldegspaj]

could not even beat it with save state.

:/

[synt4x]

I've gotten pretty far into it, but sadly I haven't beaten it yet. The problem I usually run into is that I just simply can't find the next dungeon. I guess I should get an overworld map or something. Also those damn wizards or whatever they're called... fucking viscious.

Edit: Also, anyone who says Zelda II is crap doesn't know what a bad NES game is. Zelda II is fucking awesome, just fucking hard as well.

[evilromero]

Agreed, I can't see how it's a contender for worst sequel either. I suppose a lot were harsh on it for being too different?

Didn't matter. It sold like hotcakes and was sold out everywhere.

[linkboy]

Some tips for Zelda 1.

There's two heart containers you can get before you enter lvl 1 One is on the beach, the other is just north of lvl 1. Get them first. This will allow you to get the white sword before you even start the first lvl.

Also, you can get the magical sword before lvl 5 if you get all of the heart containers (there's 5 in all) on the overworld. Again, makes the game much easier.

Another thing I do is to hit the dungeons out of order to get items (I do the same in Alttp with the Titan's Mitt). For example, I get the raft from lvl 3 before I beat the boss, this way I can clear out all of the heart containers. I also get the red candle from lvl 7 and the book and master key from lvl 8 (that really breaks the game).

Lastly, save the moblins who give you money until you actually need them. Remember the game has a 255 rupee limit and your arrows are pulled from that.

Once you start to figure the game out and know where everything is, you can start to formulate a strategy to maximize your play through.

[Manmademan]

I recommend playing the 16-bit update by Nintendo.

Eh? First I'm hearing of this thing. When/where was it released

[Nugg]

I've beaten both Zelda 1 and Zelda 2 back in the days when I was a kid. I was used to the NES and the difficuly standards. I'm not sure I could do it again now.

[R_thanatos]

Yes

i've made a faq for a website i worked for several years ago ..

[CoilShot]

I've beaten the original and Zelda II but I know I couldn't beat Zelda II now sadly.

[Mzo]

Eh? First I'm hearing of this thing. When/where was it released

Satellaview Nintendo system in airplanes, hotels, and junk.

Yes, I rented and beat Zelda 1 as a kid. Eventually purchased it and did the 2nd quest as well. Not very difficult. Zelda 2 is a much bigger pain in the ass.

[Johnas]

More times than I could ever count.

The second quest, a few times, but it isn't nearly ingrained into my memory as the first.

I didn't realize Zelda II was considered so challenging. I finished it a few times also, but it's been years and years ago.

[StAidan]

I beat the first and second quests an uncountable number of times when I was a kid. No guide usage.

As such, the entire game is basically stuck in my head and I can still beat it 25 years later with little difficulty.

I beat Zelda II many times as a kid as well, but I've never cared much to go back to it. I just didn't find the side-scrolling style as enjoyable.

[backlot]

Yeah I beat Zelda 1 and 2 recently when I got them on 3DS.

[linkboy]

Eh? First I'm hearing of this thing. When/where was it released

The only way to play it right now is via emulation, since some people were smart enough the save the data back in the early 90s.

[iosef]

Responding to OP, but... Zelda 1 has "control issues"?

[linkboy]

Responding to OP, but... Zelda 1 has "control issues"?

Yea, that caught me off guard as well.

The only way Zelda 1 has control issues is if you try to play it on a computer with the 360 d-pad.

Other than that, its spot on.

[Chie Satonaka]

Sure have. Multiple times.

Not the second quest, though. I can't find some of the dungeons, and I refuse to read a walkthrough.

[MatthewB92]

Yup. A couple of times and the first time when I was 3.

[inner-G]

I beat it back in the 80s, but not the second quest.

[Solstice]

I've beaten every Zelda game with the exception of the CD-I ones and Skyward Sword. I didn't know there were people who HADN'T beaten Zelda 1.

[SonicMegaDrive]

Responding to OP, but... Zelda 1 has "control issues"?

Really. Zelda 1's controls couldn't be any more basic and simple. The controls are quick and responsive and the hit detection is dead-on accurate.

I think some people take issue with the fact that the sword has more limited range than it does in later Zelda titles. This game doesn't cushion you very much in this regard. If you want to hit an enemy, you gotta have good reflexes and precision. And if you're in a room filled with enemies, tough ones, you gotta rely on strategy as well.

[BigDug13]

Yup, beat Zelda 2 as well. Actually found Zelda 1 harder. I wish combat in Zelda games was still hard.

I found Zelda 1 harder than 2 also. 2 actually has decent controls once you get use to it. I beat 1 long ago with my friend taking turns. The 2nd game was back in my "must play to completion" NES days with the likes of mega man and Zelda 2 so I eventually beat it. I've lost the patience of my youth though. I don't do that anymore with most games.