Zelda II Redux

[Midnight Metronome]

Zelda 1 was ultimately a mediocre game at its core

you dont know wtf you're talking about. And I didn't have any of the problems you had with Zelda 2 redux.

[11clock]

you dont know wtf you're talking about. And I didn't have any of the problems you had with Zelda 2 redux.

I liked Zelda 1's overworld, but the dungeons left a lot to be desired. BS Zelda: Third Quest was a lot more fun to me and felt overall better designed. I think playing that or the original Link's Awakening would be superior options for a similar kind of experience. Redux certainly helped Zelda 1, but it's shown me that no amount of QoL features will save a mediocre game

My issues with Zelda 2 Redux were moreso just problems with the original game that Redux didn't address, as I fully approve of everything that was already included. I think that Zelda 2 Redux is worth playing as I had fun with it, despite its shortcomings. Now I want more and am playing through Amida's Curse (which is really good so far other than one major gripe that the prison temple is a pain to trek back to if you game over there, I am really missing the restart at palace patch).

[MattKimura]

In my experience with Zelda 2, I've played the original and learned everything about it (Yes with guides). So by the time I got to Zelda 2 Redux, it made for a more relaxed experience of a game I already knew how to get through. So I'd say that Zelda 2 Redux benefits returning players more so than newcomers. You'll still likely need to use a guide on a first time playthrough, but once you learn the game you can get through it again and again without any guidance. I too would definitely struggle to figure some things out if I didn't already know where to go.

The biggest change for Zelda 2 Redux has to be the cheaper spell costs. The Life/Heal spell at magic lv 1 is cheaper than magic lv 8 on the regular game. Making it extremely cheap to use and easier to stay alive. On top of getting 1up capacity upgrades, it becomes rare to get game over. It makes the difficulty of the game seem more like normal mode rather than hard mode. There's also a "keep exp at game over" patch that lets you keep your exp even after getting game over. But it only works if you keep the game on or use save states. This would further make the game simpler but it would also eliminate the need for 1ups and make dying completely forgiving.

Overall I enjoy Zelda 2 Redux and prefer to replay the game using this hack since it's much less stressful. Even though I don't go through as much stress as a first timer since I know what to do. The stress usually does kick in (redux or not) once Im in dungeon 6, the road to the great palace, or the great palace. I always use a map for the great palace. But I heard that in Redux, there's no dead ends and you can get to the end no matter which path was taken.

[11clock]

In my experience with Zelda 2, I've played the original and learned everything about it (Yes with guides). So by the time I got to Zelda 2 Redux, it made for a more relaxed experience of a game I already knew how to get through. So I'd say that Zelda 2 Redux benefits returning players more so than newcomers. You'll still likely need to use a guide on a first time playthrough, but once you learn the game you can get through it again and again without any guidance. I too would definitely struggle to figure some things out if I didn't already know where to go.

The biggest change for Zelda 2 Redux has to be the cheaper spell costs. The Life/Heal spell at magic lv 1 is cheaper than magic lv 8 on the regular game. Making it extremely cheap to use and easier to stay alive. On top of getting 1up capacity upgrades, it becomes rare to get game over. It makes the difficulty of the game seem more like normal mode rather than hard mode. There's also a "keep exp at game over" patch that lets you keep your exp even after getting game over. But it only works if you keep the game on or use save states. This would further make the game simpler but it would also eliminate the need for 1ups and make dying completely forgiving.

Overall I enjoy Zelda 2 Redux and prefer to replay the game using this hack since it's much less stressful. Even though I don't go through as much stress as a first timer since I know what to do. The stress usually does kick in (redux or not) once Im in dungeon 6, the road to the great palace, or the great palace. I always use a map for the great palace. But I heard that in Redux, there's no dead ends and you can get to the end no matter which path was taken.

The Great Palace still has a few dead ends, actually.

[ShadowOne333]

Sure there's some rooms in the Great Palace that lead to dead ends, but that's not the point per-se.

Matt's referring to the fact that 2 of the 3 major paths in the Great Palace bring to a dead end in vanilla Zelda 2, meaning only one of the paths is the correct one to reach the final bosses.

In Redux, this was modified so all 3 major paths can still lead you into the final boss area, giving players more exploration liberties with the final dungeon.

[kaine23]

What was changed with the new version?

[ShadowOne333]

What was changed with the new version?

New version?

[kaine23]

yeah 3.0, listed as updated this month. was wondering if there were any big changes with that and zelda 1 redux if i should repatch them.

[ShadowOne333]

There's no new version, all I've been doing is just adding additional info to take advantage of the new "Hack Information" entries for Source code and other stuff, as well as adding credits.

You can check the modifications done by clicking on the date to the side of "Last Modified", which takes you to this page:
https://www.romhacking.net/?page=submissions&action=itemhistory&section=Hacks&sectionid=6&id=5440

[kaine23]

oh thanks! so same with zelda 1 redux then?

[ShadowOne333]

oh thanks! so same with zelda 1 redux then?

Yeah same with that one too.

[kaine23]

Thanks for the fast reply!

[Nintenja]

Do you think youll ever work on a zelda oracle of ages or seasons project?

[ShadowOne333]

Do you think youll ever work on a zelda oracle of ages or seasons project?

I did intend to tackle those at some point, but I have no idea what I'd do for QoL features for them.
Having all the rings available in a single playthrough is for sure the top priority, but how to handle it is another story. There's the whole cable link stuff to deal with, as well as the New Game+ thing which changes dialogues depending on whether you finished the other game or not and linked to it.

It's a mess which I still have no clue how to manage.

For anyone interested, please let's discuss it here:
https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=33200.msg417191#msg417191

[JadestarXL]

I'm having a particular issue with the patch. It seems to apply fine (with the title screen sword and pause text being most obvious for me to see), but the flashing lights upon death are still present. Any idea what could be going on?

[ShadowOne333]

I'm having a particular issue with the patch. It seems to apply fine (with the title screen sword and pause text being most obvious for me to see), but the flashing lights upon death are still present. Any idea what could be going on?

Flashing light on death are still there, they were simply modified to not be as bright.
In Redux the flashes should be shades of red, going from a red to a pink colour instead of going through several colours, which is more prone to photosensitivity.
I basically ported over the Virtual Console patches to Redux in this regard.

[JadestarXL]

Flashing light on death are still there, they were simply modified to not be as bright.
In Redux the flashes should be shades of red, going from a red to a pink colour instead of going through several colours, which is more prone to photosensitivity.
I basically ported over the Virtual Console patches to Redux in this regard.

Ah, alright. Is there a way to remove the flashing all together while using the redux? I know that this patch https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/740/ works, but it's not compatible with the redux from what I have tried.

[ShadowOne333]

Ah, alright. Is there a way to remove the flashing all together while using the redux? I know that this patch https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/740/ works, but it's not compatible with the redux from what I have tried.

From what I'm seeing, it should be 100% compatible with Redux.
The patch only modifies two addresses: 0x2A01 and 0x1C9FA,  it then writes the same 3 bytes to have the same colour on all frames to avoid the flash, so instead it is just one static colour.

Patch it over Redux, it should be fine.

[JadestarXL]

From what I'm seeing, it should be 100% compatible with Redux.
The patch only modifies two addresses: 0x2A01 and 0x1C9FA,  it then writes the same 3 bytes to have the same colour on all frames to avoid the flash, so instead it is just one static colour.

Patch it over Redux, it should be fine.

Doesn't seem to work patching it over Redux, unfortunately.

[azul120]

Looks good. Any option for a stat HUD more similar to the original? I still kind of prefer the way things were sorted there.