This is one of the best hacks I’ve ever played. You’ll see the differences right from the start with the new graphics for the opening story scroll and when you load it up. The new graphics for Link look great and look a lot cleaner than that for Zelda 2 itself, and the new and old enemies you’ll fight got a makeover as well. Animations in the overworld like moving grass and water were restored from the FDS Zelda 2 as well. graphics for the towns and temples look wonderful and the textures do look different than that from vanilla Zelda 2 which is a nice touch. The new overworld looks great as you’ll progress from one area to another by walking, caves, or by water.

Dialog from townspeople is actually useful in this unlike most of Zelda 2! Some clues can be a bit ambiguous but you can figure them out with some exploration and trying new things. Each town also has someone to heal your magic and health! Explore everywhere in each are aof the overworld. You never know where a spot may open up to a side-view scene and you can get extra xp, a heart container, magic jar or a 1up. Unlike Zelda 2, 1ups save when you save your game either through a quick save or a game over, so next game you’ll start with more lives!

The gameplay is much more refined and easier in this hack too, and quality of life stuff will make you wish Zelda 2 was more like it. Enemies aren’t as hard as they are in Zelda 2, though the Ironknuckles are still annoying as hell and the tougher enemies where jump thrusts are their weakness still abound. The bosses have about the same weaknesses as they do in vanilla Zelda 2 also. You don’t need to grind for your stat boosts in this, but it does help especially once you find spots in the overworld where enemies will respawn when you leave and return.

The 9 palaces are all a wonder to explore and have their own secrets, and you’ll find some enemies in the palaces easier than they were in vanilla Zelda 2, like the floating skulls! Each palace has new equipment and a boss somewhere in it, once you find your way through and locate the keys. Mapping does help. Exploring everywhere helps since you can find yourself where you need to go, if you just fall into a bottomless pit sometimes…

In conclusion, this is one the best hacks i’ve played and a wonderful hack of Zelda 2!

I GIVE AMIDA’S CURSE 4.5 OUT OF 5 HEART CONTAINERS!!

I hadn’t really played Zelda II at all until I noticed the Zelda II Redux hack, which did a great job smoothing out the rougher edges of the game and left me wanting more Zelda II action.

Amida’s Curse absolutely blew me away. The dungeons are designed incredibly well, making much biter use of features that were somewhat ignored in the base game. Enemy encounters on the overworld are gone, but instead there are far more side-scrolling sections and there are secrets to be found everywhere.

Difficulty-wise it starts out a lot smoother than the original, making this hack far more accessible than the original to newer players.

All towns and NPC dialogue is completely new, and if you listen you’ll nearly always be able to figure out what to do next. No obscure hints or cryptic advice anymore!

If you’re still doubting about giving this a try, stop doing so right now and hit that download button. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say I enjoyed this brand-new adventure more than the base game: the hack author really outdid himself this time!