Daily Debate: Should Zelda II Spells Return in a Future Game?
Posted on March 12 2015 by Rod Lloyd
I was recently playing through Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (as I am known to do sometimes), and was quickly reminded of how useful the Fairy Spell is to gameplay. With the power to increase mobility and skip passed doors, the Fairy Spell is one of many awesome spells present in Zelda II. With some unlocking combat abilities and others changing how Link moves throughout dungeons, these spells were great gameplay additions that have never again been revisited. The results were satisfying back then, but do such spells have a place in modern Zelda games?
In Zelda II, Link learned eight different spells over the course of his journey. Each spell offered something unique when cast; the shield spell increased Link’s defenses, the fire spell threw fire balls from his sword, and the spell spell (yes, that’s its name) transformed enemies into weak, little blobs. With powers such as these, the player was allowed to feel like a strong magic-caster in addition to a skilled swordsman. Also, the magic system that Zelda II implemented to limit spell usage was extremely interesting. It was obviously influential toward the magic meters seen in later Zelda games, but it allowed for a degree of strategy and forethought that I argue is not present with magic use in more recent games.
Remnants of Zelda II‘s spells can be seen in later games. Items like Nayru’s Love are obviously reminiscent of spells from the past and Majora’s Mask‘s transformations fall in line with the Fairy Spell, but other more recent Zelda games have not really carried over the ideas seen in Zelda II. As well, with jars of magic available almost everywhere in newer titles, the strategic magic system that encourages careful planning has been completely abandoned. Perhaps such a spell system would be too complicated for today’s Zelda players; perhaps the types of gameplay these spells provide no longer fit with today’s Zelda formula.
I leave you to decide: should the Zelda series revisit the spell system from Zelda II? Are there any specific Zelda II spells you’d like to see return? Does anybody other than me want to see the Fairy Spell again? Join the Daily Debate!
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
