Retro Review: Adventure of Link (NES Classics)

I recently obtained a copy of Zelda II: Adventure of Link, which is part of the NES Classics line for the GBA. In case you've been living under a rock, the NES Classics line emulates a single NES game onto the GBA. The price is usually a bit high (20 bucks for a 20 year old game), but I was able to snag it for pretty cheap at Target. Anyway, I've played far enough into it to find that it's the exact same game you either loved or hated back in 1988. Using a different perspective on the action, the game uses the traditional top down view for the map screen, while using a side scrolling method to fight battles and explore dungeons. Some declared it to be an evolution to the series, while others cried out for the return to the original Zelda. As for me? After all these years, I'm still undecided. But you can't deny it added new things to the Zelda universe that we couldn't imagine playing without nowdays, such as the magic system.
The only updates to the GBA version is a system menu you can access to either reset or put the game into Sleep Mode. You can also immediately saveand end the game, which is the same as losing all your lives, though you have to press Select and Up on the system menu to do so. Why they just didn't add a Save option to the system menu is beyond me.
But hell, if you're reading this, then you've probably already played through and beaten this game YEARS ago. So if you're feeling nostalgic, and your NES is all dusty, and you didn't get that Zelda Collection Disc, be sure to pick up Adventure of Link.