Comments on: The Anatomy of Zelda II – VI. Pixie Dust

By: Matt Mason

Matt Mason — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:29:50 +0000

This is the point in the game (and as a game player in general) where I learned about grinding, although I didn’t call it that at the time.

I would enter the island dungeon and hit the shield of the Iron Knuckle statue, sometimes getting a blue jar and other times getting an actual Iron Knuckle to pop out. I would then spend hours going in and out, leveling up all the while.

It doesn’t break the game per se, but it made the challenge a little more surmountable.

By: Tato

Tato — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:19:09 +0000

When I was younger I don’t think I fully understood exactly how the experience mechanics worked and what areas were important to level up and when. As a result I struggled in the middle of the game, especially against tougher enemies. These days, through limited grinding and an understanding of the gems you place in statues, I’m usually maxed out by the fifth palace.

I think what made the game much harder for me as a kid was a tendency to hoard magic. Now, knowing that enemies will only ever drop magic refills and not any healing items, I realize it makes much more sense to make liberal use of the life/shield spells and farm weak enemies for magic drops when you desperately need them.

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:00:54 +0000

Have you found your experience points naturally progressing at a rate equal to the challenge? The time when I finally beat Zelda 2 was the time when I started treating it like an early RPG spent an hour or two in the first temple stabbing those bouncing skull guys until I had powered up to my liking. I don’t know if that’s an integral part of the game, or just a cool way for players like me to compensate for a lack of skill and confidence in the game’s first half.