Faria is MUCH better than Zelda 2 for the nes

[MyTurnToPlay]

I picked up this NES action rpg gem a few weeks ago and have been playing it a lot since then. And ladies and gentlemen, I can now undoubtedly make this claim.

Faria is the true sequel to the original Zelda. Yes, that's right, it is much better than Zelda 2.

I want to be clear here. I'm not saying Zelda 2 is a bad game. I'm just saying Faria is much truer to the foundations/gameplay set down in the original Zelda.

The graphics are better. The gameplay is better. And the story/plot is weirdly entertaining. Yes it can be a bit difficult and frustrating. But compared to the death mountain bullsh*t in Zelda 2, it is nothing. Furthermore, I think we all like NES games because they never baby-ed us but expected the best from us.

It's kind of a rare game, and you may have trouble finding a copy, especially at a decent price. But if you can, I definitely recommend it. It took me a lot of patience to find a decent deal for it on ebay.

Either way, grab it, play it, and enjoy Zelda 2 as it should have been.

[Aussie2B]

It's kind of moot at this point considering Zelda 3 already addressed the desire to have a Zelda follow-up more like the original. :P

To be honest, I like Crystalis better than both NES Zelda games, if we want to talk NES adventure games.

[megasdkirby]

Oh, I really liked Faria! I recall creating maps for the towers/dungeons, specially during the later stages. One that always frustrated me was the one that the dungeon would repeat itself indefinitely. By sheer luck, I managed to find the exit and document my movements. Was there a clue somewhere in the game?

The character felt like a mini Ranma.

Better than Zelda 2? At least personally, I did enjoy the game a lot more than Zelda 2, that's for sure. But I prefered Golvellius more than Faria, so it really depends on the person.

[HappehLemons]

These games are hardly alike, why even compare them?

[A Black Falcon]

I got a copy of Faria recently as well, because I think I remember playing it when I was younger and looking it up a while ago definitely made me want it again. When I finally ran across a copy I picked it up, and yes, I agree, Faria's a pretty good game. It is too bad that it's on the rare side and a little pricier than some, because it's something any 8-bit action-RPG fan should definitely play.

I'm wondering, is Faria the only action-RPG on the NES with random battles in the overworld? I can't think of any others... at least in dungeons though the enemies are visible on the screen. And yeah, I like the story too, a better effort than in a lot of NES titles for sure. Exploring the dungeons is interesting and often fun too, and I like that it doesn't punish you too too harshly for dying -- you just lose half of your money. The dungeons are big, multifloor mazes, so you do have to either map it or print out a map from the internet... still though, it works, and exploring them is interesting, even if I do wish there was an ingame map.

The game's not as complex in some ways as some NES RPGs -- the menus are straightforward, you just have to walk into a hidden passage for it to appear, etc, but I'd call those definitely good things.

[MyTurnToPlay]

It's kind of moot at this point considering Zelda 3 already addressed the desire to have a Zelda follow-up more like the original. :P

You missed the point. Faria came out before ALttP, so it addressed the issue first. Furthermore, I was talking about nes games, so your comment is irrelevant.

[Aussie2B]

Boy, touchy, touchy. I was just being silly.

Sure, it may have helped a few NES gamers back then that were really craving a game more like the first Zelda, but it's not like it was the only overhead NES adventure game. There was Crystalis, Willow, StarTropics, Robin Hood, etc., and I don't think Faria was more significant to NES gamers back then or today than any of those others. And from today's perspective, I would still recommend Zelda 3 first and foremost to anyone looking for a faithful follow-up to the original Zelda, unless said person has some aversion to playing games on any system other than NES.

[Jisho23]

I don't follow the logic of this thread...

But if you want another "Faria is definitely a hidden gem in the RPG library" then you have... support?

[exit]

I remember playing Faria way back when and stopped after I was thrown into a random battle mere seconds after I left town, then another one several seconds after and then I died. No sir, I did not like it.

[RASK1904]

The over world battles are.... to fast and I don't feel like I can controll the character good enough. A little wonky imo. Also it takes forever to get to the first dungeon. But when you do they are nice. I don't think it's all that. A hidden gem yes. Better than Zelda 2... nah. I think Star Tropics has that coverd.

[kupomogli]

I like Zelda 2 better than Zelda and Zelda better than Faria. Faria is alright, but it's not even that similar to the original Zelda anyways. The only similarities between Zelda and Faria is that you attack with a sword from a bird's eye perspective. It's almost exactly like Little Ninja Brothers though another game that is similar is Sword of Vermilion on the Genesis(also better than Faria.)

But like other people mentioned. You have games like Magic of Scheherazade, Little Ninja Brothers, Star Tropics, Crystalis, etc, so it's obvious there are other games that have "similarities" to Zelda over Zelda 2 that has hardly any. Aside from that. Every game I've listed in this post I like better than Faria.

It's weird though. It's been 22 years and people don't get that Zelda 2 wasn't meant to be like the original Zelda. That might be why it's, you know, COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Some companies like to switch up their games. Look at Shining Force, Phantasy Star, Ogre Battle(Tactics Ogre,) Castlevania, Mega Man, etc. It doesn't matter how long a game series has been running, do you think developers don't have other ideas and just want to make the same game over and over? Is Tactics Ogre bad because it's not like Ogre Battle? Is Phantasy Star Online bad because it's not like Phantasy Star? Is Shining Force Neo bad because it's not like Shining Force? While Tactics Ogre and Phantasy Star Online are very good games, Shining Force Neo is terrible, so sometimes a series suffers, but if game developers never try anything different then we're going to get burnt out on playing the same garbage over and over, and what's the fun in that?

[tomaitheous]

I see that you WANT the game to be the successor to the first Zelda, but it doesn't have any 'zelda' feel to me. The music isn't that great either. Granted, I haven't played much of this game, but it doesn't strike me as 'zelda' right away. Not specifically to the original poster, but a lot of people look at a game or play a game and immediately say, 'oh, this reminds me of zelda'. It's kind of like those shmup video responses too, 'looks like gradius'. Tsk-tsk...

[MyTurnToPlay]

I see that you WANT the game to be the successor to the first Zelda, but it doesn't have any 'zelda' feel to me. The music isn't that great either. Granted, I haven't played much of this game, but it doesn't strike me as 'zelda' right away. Not specifically to the original poster, but a lot of people look at a game or play a game and immediately say, 'oh, this reminds me of zelda'. It's kind of like those shmup video responses too, 'looks like gradius'. Tsk-tsk...

This is my exact reaction when I play Zelda 2. It doesn't have the Zelda "feel" to it. Ok, so you stick the name Zelda on the cartridge and that makes it great and I'm supposed to accept it? If you changed the game's name to Dwarf man or something else, I guarantee you almost no one would be saying "oh this reminds me of Zelda" OR "wow...this game is so revolutionary"

That doesn't mean developers aren't free to explore other domains for their games etc, they can do whatever they want. But if you want to objectively judge Zelda 2, forgetting the Zelda brand and judging it solely for what it is, the only conclusion you can really come to is that it is mediocre at best. And if you do the same with Faria, you'll undoubtedly conclude it is an overall better game than Zelda 2.

[Aussie2B]

But if you want to objectively judge Zelda 2, forgetting the Zelda brand and judging it solely for what it is, the only conclusion you can really come to is that it is mediocre at best. And if you do the same with Faria, you'll undoubtedly conclude it is an overall better game than Zelda 2.

Objectively? Maybe that's your own subjective conclusion, but there are plenty of gamers that would differ. If Zelda 2 is mediocre at best, then why are there plenty of gamers out there that love it, sometimes more so than the original? If they like it more than the original, then obviously it isn't a matter of nostalgia over the "Zelda" name coming into play. In fact, in some cases, it could be in spite of the Zelda name, if they didn't feel the original was that engaging.

Some people may just prefer side-scrolling adventure games. In my own opinion, I'd say it's a good example of one. I think it holds its own or surpasses other good ones on NES like Battle of Olympus and Faxanadu. And then you got other great side-scrolling adventure games on different systems, like the Wonder Boy series.

[Berserker]

[Gameguy]

If Zelda 2 is mediocre at best, then why are there plenty of gamers out there that love it, sometimes more so than the original?

Why do people like cheesy movies or have ugly/tacky furniture? Some people have poor taste. Zelda II isn't that bad, but I personally don't like it that much as I find you take damage from enemies too easily and enemies are harder to kill than they should be. It's not because it's different from the first game.

Here's an example of poor taste. Someone designed this furniture, and other people bought it. Poor taste is out there.

[Jisho23]

But if you want to objectively judge Zelda 2, forgetting the Zelda brand and judging it solely for what it is, the only conclusion you can really come to is that it is mediocre at best.

I don't think you know what the word "objectivity" means. Hopefully an admin will lock this thread b4 it gets too stupid.

[Aussie2B]

Why do people like cheesy movies or have ugly/tacky furniture? Some people have poor taste.

Well, sure, anybody can argue that someone has poor taste. For example, I think Final Fantasy VII is a mediocre game. I could say that the people who love it have poor taste, and the people who love it could say that I have poor taste. But either way, I wouldn't say that it's objectively mediocre. Now matter how some people look at it, they're still going to see a great game, just as no matter how I look at it, I'm still going to see a mediocre one. Same with Zelda 2.

If we even want to get close to objectivity, Zelda 2 is a bad candidate. There are just too many people that like it. If you pick something far less divisive, like say, Superman 64, then you could come a lot closer to saying it's objectively bad and that only poor taste could produce a fan. But to that one, lonely fan out there, he or she would see it differently, haha.

[MyTurnToPlay]

Damnit. So I thought I had gotten a good deal on my Faria cart, but I just checked ebay and it seems like several people listed Faria all within a few days of each other. So that means that if any of you are interested in getting this for much cheaper, this would probably be your chance.

It's the luck of the draw I guess. Even though I'm still happy with the price I paid, I know I could've gotten it for cheaper. Hell, I might just buy up these copies and sell them for more later.

anyways, just giving you guys a heads up.

[megasdkirby]

If Zelda 2 is mediocre at best, then why are there plenty of gamers out there that love it, sometimes more so than the original?

It really just depends on their taste. I personally loathe and think Ghost and Goblins is a pile of poo, but some people love it. Same goes with Gran Turismo, Battletoads, etc.

Although used in a different context "One man's trash is another man's treasure". Or something like that.

I personally enjoyed Zelda II, but I had a blast playing Faria. It was an entirely different experience...heck, I enjoyed it more than the original Zelda! It just depends on the person.