This FAQ is best viewed on a 640x480 screen. -------------------------------------------------- ZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAA Z ZE EL LLLLLLLD DDAAAA AAAA ZZZZZZ ZZE EEEEEEEL LLLLLLLD DDD DAAA AA AAA ZZZZZ ZZZE EEEEEEEL LLLLLLLD DDDD DAA A A AA ZZZZ ZZZZE EL LLLLLLLD DDDD DAA AAAA AA ZZZ ZZZZZE EEEEEEEL LLLLLLLD DDDD DAA AA ZZ ZZZZZZE EEEEEEEL LLLLLLLD DDD DDAA AAAA AA Z ZE EL LD DDAAA AAAA AA ZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAA 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 22222222222222222222222 22222222222222222222222 222222222222222222222 22 222222222222222222222 2222222222222222222222222 2222222222222222222222 222222222222222222222222 22222222222222222222222 22222222222222222222222 222222222222222222222222 2222222222222222222222 2222222222222222222222222 222222222222222222222 222222222222222222222 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 -----------------The Adventure of----------------- LLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKK LL LLLLLLLLI IN NNNNNN NK KKKKKK K LL LLLLLLLLIIIIII IIIIIIN NNNNN NK KKKK KK LL LLLLLLLLIIIIII IIIIIIN N NNNN NK KKK KKKK LL LLLLLLLLIIIIII IIIIIIN NN NNN NK KKKKK LL LLLLLLLLIIIIII IIIIIIN NNN NN NK KKKKK LL LLLLLLLLIIIIII IIIIIIN NNNN N NK KKK KKKK LL LLLLLLLLIIIIII IIIIIIN NNNNN NK KKKK KK LL LLI IN NNNNNN NK KKKKKK K LLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKK -------------GAME CHALLENGES AND IDEAS------------ Zelda 2 Game Challenges FAQ Written By: Peliv Peliv Pe Peliv Pe li Peli Peliv o r o li or vo rP vo rP r r P eli rPeli vo Pe eliv el iv Pelivo v o v rP li orP or Pe r Pe rP orPel elivor vorPe el livo l iv Zelda 2 and it's instructions manual are property of Nintendo, all rights reserved. This FAQ is property of Jon Bernier (a.k.a. Pelivor), (c) 6/28/02, all rights reserved. Any relation to guide books or other websites dedicatied to Zelda 2 are purely coincedental, for this FAQ was put together by experience of playing the game (and well, based on what this FAQ is about, I guess I had a little too much time on my hands. ;) ) Feel free to distribute this FAQ or link this FAQ to your website. If you DARE steal or plagarize ANYTHING from this FAQ then I'll... I'll...ah, to heck with it, it's not much of a problem. Just give me the proper credit and all will be forgiven. If you have any info that can help me out on this challenges FAQ feel free to e-mail me at froloth@hotmail.com SOOOOO....WHAT'S THE POINT OF THIS FAQ??? You won't see any storyline or walkthrough in this FAQ (well...maybe a walkthrough in an update, but not now), nor will you see many strategies on how to defeat monsters and bosses; there are many FAQs that already do this job. So what's the point? Well, when I beat a video game, I discover new ways to beat it. (what else am I supposed to do? It's not like there's a second quest). This FAQ was created to suggest different ways to beat Zelda 2, as well as how you can prepare for it. Here I will be making my contribution on one of the greatest classic Side-Scroller RPGs of all time. NOTE: over 1000 Links' were sacrificed for the purpose of writing this FAQ. Ganon returned hundreds of times to conquer Hyrule because of me! CHALLENGES (Listed from Least to Most Difficult, based on my own experience) ---------BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH LEVEL 1 LIFE-------- This is no picnic for those who are nortorious for letting bad guys deliver tons of damage to poor Link. Here, there is little margin of error; if you don't get through flawlessly (or at least almost flawlessly), you're certain to be pummeled into Cream-of-Link Soup in no time. To give you an idea, below is a chart of all the monsters you can face, and how much damage Link will take if hit. (This is measured in BARS, NOT hit points!! each bar counts for 16 hit points). Area Legend W = Western Overworld E = Eastern Overworld C = Caves P = Palaces G = Great Palace | | Damage|Effect | | | if | From | Monster |Area|Touched|Touch | --------------------------------------- Ache | C | 1/2 | None | Ache |Town| 1 1/2 | None | Acheman |W/C | 1 1/2 | None | Bago-Bago | W | 1 |-10 exp| | E | 1 1/2 | None | Bot (Red) | W | 1/2 | None | Bot (Blue) | W | 1/2 | None | | P | 1 | None | | G | 3 | None | Daira (Orange) | C | 1 1/2 | None | Daira (Red) | C | 1 1/2 | None | Deeler (Red/Blue)|W/E | 1/2 | None | Dreadhawk (Red) | G | 4 1/2 | None | Fire Dragon | E | 3 | None | Geldarm | W | 1 | None | Ghost Wizard | P | 3 | None | Giant Bot | G | 3 | None | Giant Skull | G | 3 |-Magic | Goriya (Orange) | W | 1 | None | Goriya (Red) | C | 1 | None | Goriya (Blue) | C | 1 | None | Hammer Bro | P | 1 1/2 | None | Hawk Knight (Red)| G | 7 | None | HawkKnight (Blue)| G | 7 | None | Iron Knuckle (Or)| P | 1 1/2 | None | Iron Knuckle (Rd)| P | 3 | None | Iron Knuckle (Bl)| P | 3 | None | Killer Bee | E | 1 | None | Leever | E | 4 1/2 | None | Lizard Man (Or) | E | 3 | None | Lizard Man (Red) | E | 4 1/2 | None | Lizard Man (Blue)| E | 4 1/2 | None | Lowder | C | 1/2 | None | MegMat | W | 1 | None | Mini Horsehead | P | 1/2 |-10 exp| Moa (Red) | W | 1 1/2 |-20 exp| Moa (Shelled) | E | 4 1/2 | None | Moa (Town) | E | 3 | None | Moa (Blue) | E | 3 |-20 exp| Moa (Palace) | P | 3 |-10 exp| Moblin (Or Chrge)| W | 1/2 |-10 exp| Moblin (Or Throw)| W | 1/2 | None | Moblin (Red) | W | 1 | None | Moblin (Blue) | W | 1 | None | Moby | W | 1/2 |-10 exp| Myu |C/P | 1 | None | Myu (GreatPalace)| G | 3 | None | Octorok (Red) | W | 1 | None | Octorok (Blue) | E | 1 | None | Rope (Blue) | P | 1 | None | Rope (Red) | G | 4 1/2 | None | Scorpion | E | 4 1/2 | None | Skull | P | 1/2 |-Magic | Stalfos (RedSkel)| P | 1 | None | Stalfos (BlSkel) | P | 1 | None | Stalfos (RedKni) | P | 3 | None | Stalfos (BlKni) | P | 1 1/2 | None | Statue Head 1 | P | 1/2 |-10 exp| Statue Head 1(Or)| G | 3 |-10 exp| Statue Head 2 | P | 1/2 |-10 exp| Stone Warrior | P | 3 | None | Tektite | E | 1 1/2 | None | Wizzrobe | P | 3 | None | To figure out total damage, multiply the number of bars by 16. Ex: Blue Hawkknight deals 7 bars of damage to Link. 7 x 16 = 112 HP of damage!!! ARGH! If that's discouraging, check out how much damage the boss monsters deal to Link: | | Damage| | | if | Boss Monster |Palace|Touched| ------------------------------------ Horse Head | 1 | 1 1/2 | Helmet Head | 2 | 1 1/2 | Mounted Ironknuckle | 3, 6 | 3 | Carock | 4 | 3 | Gooma | 5 | 7 | Barba | 6 | 7 | Thunderbird | 7 | 0* | Evil Link | 7 | 4 1/2 | *Thunderbird only damages w/ fire. His body doesn't seem to damage Link upon physical contact. That was only if you touch the enemy. Now, check out the damage chart for various projectile weapons that Link has to deal with. Projectile |Monster/Boss |Damage |Shield?| ---------------------------------------------------- Axe |Red Daria | 3 | No | Ball 'N Chain |GOOMA | 7 | NO* | Blue Projectile |Tektite | 3 | Yes | |Statue Head 1, 2 | 1/2 | Yes | |HELMET HEAD | 3 | Yes | Boomerang |Goriya All Types | 1 1/2 | Yes | Boulder Rock |Octorok | 1 | Yes | |Killer Bee | 1 | Yes | |Bago-Bago | 1 | Yes | Fire |Scorpion | 3 | No | |Palace Moa | 3 | No | |Wizzrobe | 3 | No | |Gr. Palace Rope | 1 | No | |Dreakhawk | 4 1/2 | No | |BARBA | 7 | No | |THUNDERBIRD | 7 | No | Hammer |Hammer Bro | 1 1/2 | No | Mace |Blue Lizardman | 4 1/2 | No | |Stone Warrior | 3 | No | Magic |Ghost Wizard | 3 | Yes# | |CAROCK | 3 | Yes# | Sword Projectile |Blue Ironknuckle | 3 | Yes | |MOUNTED IRONKNUCK| 3 | Yes | |Red HawkKnight | 3 | Yes | |Blue HawkKnight | 3 | Yes | *The Ball 'N Chain is the only weapon that can't be deflected with the shield, even with a Reflect spell. All other 'No' projectiles can be deflected with a Reflect spell. #Magic can be reflected back to the attacker with a Reflect spell. Strategy: Ok, so the whole theme of winning with a level 1 Life, is well, DON'T GET HIT! you've got your Sword strength and Magic to back you up if all else fails. You'll be spending most of your magic on Shield and Reflect and Life spells. If you are confident on your dodging skills, I recommend an AGGRESSIVE attack approach. The faster you kill the monster, the less time he has to kill you. See how that works? Yeah, I thought so. :-) Still think this is too easy? Try it again without acquiring the 4 heart containers... --------BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH LEVEL 1 MAGIC-------- Magic plays an important role in many parts of Zelda 2. An inept spellcasting Link makes his quest extremely difficult. Here are the 8 spells and how much magic (in BARS, NOT magic points!) is consumed when said spell is cast: Magic |Description | MP Use ------------------------------------------------- Shield |half-damage to Link | 2 Jump |double jumping height | 3 Life |+3 Bars of Life to Link |Close to 5 Fairy |Link turns into fairy | 5 Fire |Link's Sword shoots fire | 7 1/2 Reflect |Shield deflects projectile| 7 1/2 Spell |Monsters become Bots | 7 1/2 Thunder |Kill all monsters | 7 1/2 Allow me to count the ways why this is so difficult: 1. You need the fairy spell to get to the 3rd palace, exhausting most of your magic before even getting to the front doorstep. 2. You need to use the Fairy spell twice in the 6th Palace. Since you don't have enough bars of magic to cast it twice, you need to stand around killing monsters to replenish your magic for the second casting. 3. Sword-Proof enemies live to kill. Do you really think you're gonna waste ALL 8 bars of magic for a few measily sword-proof monsters? Uh, no. RUN! 4. You NEED Reflect to kill Carock, the 4th boss. So you need to acquire ALL 4 magic containers before you can even confront him. 5. Spell has only one use and that is to get the Magic Key...not a prob because you can refill your magic afterward. 6. By using all your magic on Thunder, you have no magic remaining for a shield, jump, nor reflect spell against Thunderbird. Because you need all your magic, SKULLS JUST BECAME YOUR WORST ENEMY! They need but drain a little more than half a bar of magic and you can no longer cast half your arsonal of magic. Having fun yet? Strategy: Save your magic; use it only when you know you can expend it, or when you have no choice. If you still intend to waste your magic for no reason, you can: ---fight monsters 'till they drop magic containers ---kill yourself, as that will always refill your magic, though you lose a life. However, you can use a life spell when you find a red magic container. There really isn't much else to it. Find a walkthough and play the game as you always do. Just don't use your magic until you have to. --------BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH LEVEL 1 ATTACK------- Ever wondered if quantity was better than quality? Here's your chance. You'll be likely to wear out the B-Button on the controller before you beat this. Because your attack is weak throughout the whole game, all monsters take forever to kill, giving them plenty of time to deal damage. Remember that short- range projectile that Link can throw when he's at full life? Very few FAQ writers have emphasized using it, but I AM! By using the projectile on those enemies that are susceptable to it, it will freeze them temporarily and allow you to go in for an easy kill. Below is a chart of how many hits it takes to kill monsters, as well as rather or not they are susceptable to Link's sword projectile: | | Hits| | | | to | | Monster |Area|Kill |Projectile?| ----------------------------------------- Ache | C | 2 | Yes | Ache |Town| 2* | Yes | Acheman |W/C | 4 | Yes | Bago-Bago | W | 2 | Yes | | E | 2 | Yes | Bot (Red) | W | 2 | Yes | Bot (Blue) | W | 2 | Yes | | P | 2 | Yes | | G | 24 | Yes | Daira (Orange) | C | 9 | No | Daira (Red) | C | 12 | No | Deeler (Red/Blue)| W | 2 | Yes | | E | 6 | Yes | Dreadhawk (Red) | G | 72 | No | Fire Dragon | E | 24# | No | Geldarm | W | 4 | Yes | Ghost Wizard | P | 1@ | No | Giant Bot | G | 5% | No | Giant Skull | G | 130 | No | Goriya (Orange) | W | 6 | No | Goriya (Red) | C | 7 | No | Goriya (Blue) | C | 9 | No | Hammer Bro | P | 8 | No | Hawk Knight (Red)| G | 24 | No | HawkKnight (Blue)| G | 48 | No | Iron Knuckle (Or)| P | 8 | No | Iron Knuckle (Rd)| P | 12 | No | Iron Knuckle (Bl)| P | 28 | No | Killer Bee | E | 4 | Yes | Leever | E | 8 | Yes | Lizard Man (Or) | E | 16 | No | Lizard Man (Red) | E | 24 | No | Lizard Man (Blue)| E | 28 | No | Lowder | C | 2 | Yes | MegMat | W | 2 | Yes | Mini Horsehead | P | 1 | Yes | Moa (Red) | W | 4 | Yes | Moa (Shelled) | E | 8 | Yes | Moa (Town) | E | 24^ | Yes | Moa (Blue) | E | 24^ | Yes | Moa (Palace) | P | 8 | Yes | Moblin (Or Chrge)| W | 1 | Yes | Moblin (Or Throw)| W | 2 | Yes | Moblin (Red) | W | 6 | Yes | Moblin (Blue) | W | 9 | Yes | Moby | W | 2 | Yes | Myu |C/P | 2 | Yes! | Myu (GreatPalace)| G | 12 | Yes! | Octorok (Red) | W | 2 | Yes | Octorok (Blue) | E | 6 | Yes | Rope (Blue) | P | 6 | Yes | Rope (Red) | G | 6 | Yes | Scorpion | E | 16 | No | Skull | P | 125 | Yes | Stalfos (RedSkel)| P | 4 | No | Stalfos (BlSkel) | P | 6 | No | Stalfos (RedKni) | P | 12 | No | Stalfos (BlKni) | P | 16 | No | Statue Head 1 | P | 28 | Yes | Statue Head 1(Or)| G | 48 | Yes | Statue Head 2 | P | 1 | Yes | Stone Warrior | P | 16 | No | Tektite | E | 12# | No | Wizzrobe | P | 16 | No | | |Hits | | | to | Boss Monster |Palace| Kill| ---------------------------------- Horse Head | 1 | 16 | Helmet Head | 2 | 24 | Mounted Ironknuckle<| 3, 6 |20/18| Carock | 4 | 8@ | Gooma | 5 | 72 | Barba | 6 | 96 | Thunderbird | 7 | 96 | Evil Link | 7 | 8 | * Some Aches in towns will be almost as strong as a skull. Better off avoiding them than fighting. # You need Fire spell to damage these mosters @ Can only be killed with a Reflect spell. % The Giant Bot splits into many little bots that are almost as powerful as skulls. ^ These monsters are invisible without the cross. ! You CAN damage a Myu without the downstab! If you hold down and attack next to the Myu just before you land, you will sometimes hit it. Strategy: When you get the downstab, USE IT ABUSIVELY! It's better than getting maced, axed, or stabbed to death. If you face monsters that take too many hits to kill, it's better to avoid. Once again, as in the Level 1 Life strategy, I use major aggression against monsters like the Iron- Knuckles, bosses, and the such. Lizardmen are a bit weak with shield using; you might be able to get away with downstabbing. It's the little things that you need to pay attention to. You have your high magic and life to pull you through if things get you down. Play it like you would any other game, just be a little more patient when dealing with monsters. Oh yeah, did I mention Thunderbird is HARD? ---BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH LEVEL 1 MAGIC AND LIFE---- The challenge only gets more difficult from here. Imagine getting your behind toasted after a few measily hits. Now, pretend you can only use your magic when it is required...pretty hard huh? You are entitled to a measily 4 shield spell castings. You only have your sword to carry you to victory. One or two hard hits and you're dead, even with a life spell. On the plus side, if you're running low on magic it doesn't take long to kill off Link. LOL! Note that it takes lots of experience points to level up your attack strength; so just when you think you want to avoid some battles, you may have no choice but to fight them for the experience. ---BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH LEVEL 1 ATTACK AND MAGIC-- Once again, a low magic makes things difficult as it is, and the monsters just won't die! By the end of each battle you'll probably want to use a life spell, but you can't expend it. You should be so lucky that life requires the fewest experience points to level up. By using all your magic on Thunderbird, you have none remaining for shield, jump, nor reflect. The lack of attack power doesn't help things either. --BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH LEVEL 1 ATTACK AND LIFE--- Why don't you just throw in the towel while you're still behind? More than half the Link's that were sacrificed were caused because of this challenge. Not only do the monsters have all the time in the world to hurt you, but it will only take one or two hits to knock you down. With only magic to back you up, I would abuse your shield, life, and reflect spells; Use them like a credit card in a shopping mall! Expend your magic like there is no tomorrow! Because it's the only real key to winning. ---BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH LOWEST STATS POSSIBLE---- This is still just an experiment in the making, because I have yet to figure out the right combi- nation of low stats that make it the most challenging. This is but a theory in the making, and if anyone could give me info on this challenge feel free to e-mail me at froloth@hotmail.com The first most important ground rule I see here is: ---the only experience points that can be earned are the bosses. No other monsters can be killed. Eventually, you will be forced to level up if you earn too many exp, so the best way to go is to earn as little as possible. There are two ways of approaching this: The flawless way, or the non-flawless way. THE FLAWLESS WAY This means that you want to finish the game without dying. Well, here's the theory to lowest stats: Palace 1: Kill Horsehead (50 Exp) Ignore Life level up. Place crystal in stone. Ignore Magic level up. Palace 2: Kill Helmethead (200 Exp) Level-Up Magic. Ignore Life level-up. Place crystal in stone. Ignore Attack level up. Palace 3: Kill Mounted Ironknuckle (300 Exp) Level up Attack. Ignore All Other Level-Ups (Which will be abbreviated IAOLU from this point forth). Place crystal in stone. Level up Life IAOLU. Palace 4: Kill Carock (300 Exp) Level up Magic IAOLU. Place crystal in stone. Level up Attack. IAOLU. Palace 5: Kill Gooma. (500 Exp)Ignore level up. Place crystal in stone. Level up Magic. Palace 6: Kill Mounted Ironknuckle. (300 Exp) Kill Mounted Ironknuckle. (300 Exp) 1450 Kill Barba (700 exp). Ignore attack level- up, then level up Life. Place crystal in stone. Level-Up Life. Of course, it's EXTREMELY unlikely that you will have killed ONLY bosses and no other monsters. but if you did (yeah right), then you will enter Great Palace with a: Level 3 Attack, Level 4 magic, and Level 4 Life, and with 1100 Experience points. And if you do manage to defeat Thunderbird with such pathetic statistics, level up your attack; Evil Link takes 8 hits to kill no matter how powerful your attack strength is. Other suggestions to lowering experience points is by running into Moas, Bago-Bagos, the weaker version of the Moblin, Mini-Horseheads, etc. This will actually give you a little breathing room if you don't want to dodge monsters all through the game. THE NON-FLAWLESS WAY Here, you expend all your lives trying to achieve the absolute LOWEST statistics you can possibly achieve. Acrynyms used: ILU = Ignore Level-Up KOAYL = Kill Off All Your Lives RP = Reenter Palace (place number here) PCIS = Place Crystal in Stone Palace 1: Kill Horsehead (50 Exp), ILU, then KOAYL. Continue, RP 1, and PCIS. ILU, then KOAYL. (see the pattern? This goes on all through the game. What a pain, huh?) Palace 2: Kill Helmethead (200 Exp), Level-up Magic, then KOAYL. Continue, RP 2, and PCIS. ILU, then KOAYL. Palace 3: Kill Mounted Ironknuckle (300 Exp), Level-up Attack, then KOAYL. Continue, RP 3, and PCIS. ILU, then KOAYL. Palace 4: Kill Carock, ILU, then KOAYL. Continue, RP 4, and PCIA. ILU, then KOAYL. Palace 5: Kill Gooma, Level-Up Life, then KOAYL. Continue, RP 5, and PCIA. ILU, then KOAYL. Palace 6: Kill Mounted Ironknuckle. ILU, Get the Cross, then KOAYL. Continue, RP 6, and find the second Mounted Ironknuckle. Kill it, ILU, then KOAYL. (By now, you're probably sick of making so many trips to the palaces). Find and kill Barba. Level-Up Attack, then KOAYL. Three guesses what you do next? That's right. Continue, RP 6, PCIS, ILU, then KOAYL. This allows you to trek to Great Palace with a pathetic: Level 3 Attack, Level 2 Magic, and Level 2 Life. And of course, if you somehow miracilously get to and defeat Thunderbird, Level-Up attack, because Evil Link takes 8 hits to kill no matter your attack strength. How tough is it? I can't do it. I'm still working on it. Now, on to more realistic challenges -BEATING ZELDA 2 WITH FEWEST SPELLS, ITEMS, ATTACKS- To determine which items are not necessary, they cannot play an important role in advancing further in the game. First, let's go through the spells: Shield: Halfs damage delivered to link. It's not needed for anything important, so it's not needed. Jump: Needed for the cave south of Ruto. Life: Increases Link's life by 3 bars. Not necessary. Fairy: Used on several occassions. Unless cheating with the game genie, it is very much needed. Fire: Used to kill 2 sword-proof enemies. Not needed. Reflect: Used to kill Caraok, the 4th boss. You tell me if it's needed... Spell: You need Spell to get the Magic Key. But you don't really need the Magic Key for the 6th palace; a few Fairy spells do the trick ;-) Thunder: Needed to make the Thunderbird vulnerable. NOTE: I don't remember if you need Spell in order to get Thunder, or if you need all 4 Magic Containers, or if all you need to do is just visit New Kasuto. I always keep forgetting that. So until the next update, I will assume you don't need Spell. That said, there are only 4 spells you really need: Jump, Fairy, Reflect, and Thunder. Next up is the fewest items possible: Candle: Needed to light up caves, and the route to the Great Palace. If you can fight monsters in the dark then you don't need this. NOTE: Orange-colored monsters like the Orange Daira and Orange Lizardman are still visible even in the dark! Kind of a neat discovery if I do say so myself. Glove: You need it to get a key in the 3rd palace, but you can avoid this by using a Fairy spell. When you get to the Great Palace, however, you discover that there are two places where you need to downstab through blocks. You can't do that without the glove. Raft: Used to get to the East Overworld. Guess that means you need it, huh? Boots: Used to get to the 5th Palace...Guess you need it. Flute: Used to rid of the spider-like creature guarding the river. Guess you need it, huh? Cross: Used to see invisible Moas. If you think you can get to the Great Palace without it then i don't see what's stopping you. Hammer: Eliminating the hammer would really deal a crippling blow to your journey. Allow me to explain why: 1. You can't get the Magic Container next to the Hammer cave. 2. Each trek would mean going through Death Mountain, taking the long way around to the East Overworld EVERY time. 3. Without all 3 Magic Containers, you can't get the 4th one in New Kasuto. 4. WAIT A MINUTE! Without the New Hammer, you can't get to New Kasuto! Whoops. 5. Without being able to visit New Kasuto, the Wizard in Old Kasuto won't give you the Thunder spell....oops. That makes the game impossible doesn't it? Guess you need the Hammer. Magic Key: Well, the 6th Palace isn't impossible without it, but it will mean casting a Fairy Spell every time you find a locked door. So that said, the only items you can sacrifice are the Candle, Cross, and Magic Key. Finally, there are the attack skills. There are only two you can master: The downstab and the upstab. You need the downstab to break blocks in the Great Palace. As for the upstab, the only thing you need the upstab for is for one of the keys in the 4th Palace. Easily cured by using a Fairy spell as soon as you find a locked door. So with all that said, it is possible to beat the game: -- With only Jump, Fairy, Reflect, and Thunder spells -- Without Candle, Cross, and Magic Key -- Without the Upstab. --FINALLY, THE HARDEST, MOST IMPROBIBLE CHALLENGE-- It will only take a few lines to sum this up. Pick one of the following two: --Take either challenge of Beating Zelda 2 with lowest stats possible --OR take the challenge of Beating Zelda 2 with a level 1 Attack and Life. Based on experience, this challenge rivals the lowest stats challenge. And include: --beating the game with fewest spells/ items/attack skills possible Are you a true Zelda 2 master? Well, based on my high standards, even I'm not. LOL COMING SOON: A Walkthrough on the Hardest, Most Improbable Challenge, Flawless Low- Stats style! ENDING THIS FAQ: Here are my current best records with each challenge: With Level 1 Life: 0 Retries, 4 total Lives. With Level 1 Magic: 1 Retry, 6 total Lives. With Level 1 Attack: 5 Retries, 16 total lives. Level 1 Magic & Life: 8 Retries, 28 total lives. Level 1 Attack & Magic: 12 Retries, 39 total lives. Level 1 Attack & Life: 23 Retries, 72 total lives, Haven't beaten. Lowest Stats Possible: Haven't started yet. Fewest Items/Spells/Attack Skills: 0 Retries, 5 lives. Lowest Stats, Fewest Items: Will be starting soon. Well, that about does it. I believe I have exploited every possible way to make Zelda 2 more difficult and more challenging to the expert gamer. I wish you luck, fellow gamers! THE SPECIAL THANKS SECTION: Unlike my other FAQs, I have MANY people to thank this dedication to: All my friends (you know who you are) for helping me assemble the monster lists, and they thank Nintendo Power and the Instructions Manual for helping them so that they could help me. With that said, I should thank Nintendo Power and the instructions manual as well. LOL. Aside from that, I thank the usual suspects: Nintendo for making awesome RPGs, GameFaqs for they're website, Earthshaker for the inspiration, and The Red Barn Restaurant, for making killer milk shakes! Walkthroughs that Pelivor has written: Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (NES) Game Challenges and ideas. (This one) Exodus Ultima (NES) Dungeon Guide. Check it out: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/file/ultima_ exodus_dungeon.txt Secret Quest (Atari 2600) check it out: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/a2600/file/secret_quest.txt Two half-finished Final Fantasy walkthroughs that will never see the light of day because too many FF walkthroughs have been written already to begin with. I have also co-authored a Battle of Olympus walkthrough (NES) authored by Earthshaker. Check it out at http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/file/battle_of_olympus.txt DISCLAIMER NOTICE This FAQ is property of Jon Bernier (a.k.a. Pelivor), (c) 6/28/02, all rights reserved. Any relation to guide books or other websites dedicatied to Zelda 2 are purely coincedental, for this FAQ was put together by experience of playing the game (and well, based on what this FAQ is about, I guess I had a little too much time on my hands. ;) ) Feel free to distribute this FAQ or link this FAQ to your website. If you DARE steal or plagarize ANYTHING from this FAQ then I'll... I'll...ah, to heck with it, it's not much of a problem. Just give me the proper credit and all will be forgiven. e-mail me at froloth@hotmail.com if you believe I have made an error in this FAQ so that I can make the change.