Note how Link is carrying a Silver Sword in this picture - It means the "Second Quest" is activated
The Legend of Zelda (Part One) is the most heralded console video game of all time according to many websites and review magazines. If it’s not #1 it’s usually on the top ten. But what many people don’t realize, is that most people who are fans of the game…have only actually played 50% of the adventure.
That’s right, The Legend of Zelda has a “Second Quest” you can tell if you character is ready for the Second Quest by looking at the “- S E L E C T – ” Screen. If your character is holding a silver sword, then you have beaten the game at least once. This means, the next time you play the game, you will be on the Second Quest.
In the Second Quest of Zelda, you play on a very similar “overworld” map. There are only very small cosmetic changes. For example one place which you can find via your raft does not exist any longer etc.
The difference is that the overworld map has many changes in terms of dungeon locations, hidden powerups, the “It’s a Secret to Everybody” coin bonus areas, and of course the guys who rake over your money by playing that dastardly coin guessing game.
When you play the Second Quest, you are actually playing a game which is about 70% harder than the first quest. Only the first dungeon is in the same place…all the rest are tricky to find. You might have to burn a bush here, or blow a whistle there. If you beat the first quest, you’ll be able to get through the second…it’s just that the Second Quest takes much more patience and perseverance.
This is a map which might help you on the last dungeon of Zelda 1 - Second Quest
If you played through the first quest, you didn’t even get to encounter all the monsters. In the Second Quest there are rabbit faces which are pinkish color. And they do a lot of damage. Also, the skeleton dudes can throw their swords in this one. To make things more interesting, the floating bubble things which make you unable to use your sword are back. But in this case, the red ones make it so you can’t use your sword…and the blue ones allow you to use your sword again. Leaving the dungeon doesn’t help. You have to either touch a blue death bubble or else die completely, then start at the beginning again. It is much better to touch the blue bubble.
The dungeons are tremendously more satisfying to beat. There are plenty of invisible walls and ones which need to be destroyed in order to get to the next area. I recommend that you always carry over 100 rupees on you at all times, this is because there are many times you meet old dudes who will give you an upgrade on your gear for 100 coins. Also, you might have to pay money or take a hit to your total heart containers. NEVER TAKE A HIT TO YOUR HEART CONTAINERS. That would just be ridiculous. We’re talking about your life man. Cash can be farmed anytime when you’re in the overworld. There are only a limited number of heart containers in this game for either quest so those are your treasured buddies.
Speaking of the overworld. You need to start thinking like a professional miner to find stuff in this quest. If there is a wall or mountain which looks like it could be bombed in order to find a secret area…DO IT. If there’s a bush, burn it. If there’s a pushable rock, push that bad boy. Also, when you get the whistle, play your latest track every time you visit a new spot in the overworld. There are a couple secrets in the desert which can only be accessed by using the whistle. Also, in the graveyard the whistle unlocks a dungeon. So you use this whistle a lot more in this quest.
Another thing to remember, is that the dungeons may have staircases which act somewhat like subroutines in a computer program. They may take you back to the beginning of the map or to a strange area. The only level which I felt really needed me to draw a map of what was going on was the final stage. I included it to the right, so you can see what I’m talking about. But you might be super visualization-status so you might not need a map.
If you’re a new gamer and you just got Zelda on your Wii virtual console, don’t forget to play the Second Quest! This is what I consider the “ACTUAL” game. The first quest is just like a warm-up to the second one. You need to beat the second quest to say you actually beat the game. If you didn’t beat the second quest, then you haven’t beaten Zelda part 1. Sorry dude.
-Tyler