Watch This Analysis of Zelda (NES) and Zelda II’s Dungeons

Mark Brown recently uploaded the latest edition of  his”Boss Keys” series, in which he analyzes both The Legend of Zelda (NES) and Zelda II. This video also marks the penultimate entry to the “Boss Keys” series. Mark Brown did this video after getting so many requests, and he gives a thorough view about what he likes and dislikes about a game’s dungeon design, as always. He starts by examining the dungeons found in the very first Zelda title before moving on to its sequel.

While Mark admits that the first Zelda title was innovative and thought-provoking, he points out that the dungeons are poorly designed in terms of the number of small keys per dungeon, as well as the tendency for player’s to skip over required items in the game. He says that some tutorials were given to fix this problem, but that didn’t take place until the fourth level. While covering Zelda II, Mark points out the complete removal of almost every aspect of the first game’s design. He also notes that Zelda II at least has the correct number of keys within the dungeons, but this is counterbalanced by the game’s frustrating difficulty level.

Watch the video for yourselves, and let us know what you think of the analysis in the comments below!