Set Difficulty	7
Approximate time to master	20 hours +/- 10 depending on skill
Minimum numbers of playthroughs needed	3
Number of missable achievements	8
Does difficulty affect achievements?	No
Hardest achievement of the set	Adventure Master

Zelda II is often cited as the most difficult Zelda game ever made, and the black sheep of the Zelda franchise. However, with some trial-and-error, and a whole lot of patience initially, one will come to see the game as one of the most rewarding experiences the NES library, not to mention the Zelda franchise, has to offer.

This guide will serve to help new players to the game easily keep track of what to do and where to do it in the game. Although it will not serve as a step-by-step guide (this writer recommends StrategyWiki's Zelda II Walkthrough), it will help players determine what might be the easiest method to get through the set, told by one who has traveled the path before them.

One final note to mention here is that this guide will not mention every single achievement, but it will cover every special achievement worth pointing out.

Key Collector (25)
Collect all 31 small keys.

P-Bag Scavenger (25)
Collect all 30 P-Bags.

Six-Up! (10)
Collect all 6 1-ups.

Hit and Run (2)
Safely retrieve the P-Bag on the crumbling bridge in Parapa Palace without falling into the lava or using Fairy.

Daring Grab (5)
Safely retrieve the P-Bag on the crumbling bridge in Midoro Palace without falling into the lava or using Fairy.

Scooped It Up (2)
Safely retrieve the P-Bag on the crumbling bridge in the Palace on the Sea without falling into the lava or using Fairy.

• All damageless boss achievements are technically missable, but if at some point you screw up, you can redo them on playthrough #2

Snazzy (1)
Pick up a sharply dressed 1-up.

When you enter a screen with a one-up, cast the SHIELD spell to turn the one-up red, then pick it up to unlock this.

The Sky is Falling (10)
Traverse the valley beyond the river monster without being hurt or using Fairy, Fire or Spell.

After moving the monster out of your way with the whistle on the overworld, you'll be at a spot with 3 side-scrolling sections that you have to go through damageless. Easiest way is to go through them one by one, killing the enemies you see on the ground, then go from the left of the first section or from the right of the third section to attempt this. It'll be a little simpler.

• Do NOT beat the bosses of each dungeon in the early game

  • If you do, make sure you do NOT place the jewels in the statues afterwards initially.

• Focus on getting each item, p-bag, heart, spell, etc

  • Use a map to doublecheck dungeons, making sure you got every key and p-bag in them. Once a dungeon is closed, it cannot be reopened.

• Work your way through the levels until you reach 3,000 exp needed. Then return to the dungeons and finish them, as each time you put a jewel in a statue, you automatically level up. This will make reaching your final levels MUCH EASIER.

• Damageless boss achievements, especially the ones in dungeons 2 and 3, are going to be quicker when done on your return trip to finish the dungeons out.

• Dungeons 1, 2, and 5 contain the missable P-bags, You can easily get them on other playthroughs, but its nice to get them out of the way early. Simply reset if you don't unlock them.

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This is the most difficult playthrough of this round, as you'll be knocking out all of the "Do [this] without [that]" ones here.

This is also the playthrough to make sure you get whatever you missed in playthrough 1, if possible.

Ate Your Frog (25)
Place the crystal in Three-Eye Rock Palace first in the first quest.

Not Afraid of the Dark (25)
Reach the Great Palace without the Candle or Cross in the first quest.

Work Harder, Not Smarter (25)
Obtain the Triforce of Courage and awaken the Princess without getting the Shield, Life, Fire or Spell spells.

The main reason for this playthrough. Just make sure you never learn Shield, Life, Fire, or Spell.

This also means you won't be getting the magic key this time around, so be sure to control your magic so you have enough to use Fairy to bypass doors or get every key in each dungeon, which probably won't be as bad as it sounds this time around.

Death Not From Above (25)
Defeat any Rebonack without having learned Down Thrust.

Don't learn Down Thrust until you beat Rebonack, either in dungeon 3, or dungeon 6. Check the achievement page for various tips

Not Afraid of the Dark (25)
Reach the Great Palace without the Candle or Cross in the first quest.

This one is worth mentioning again. DO NOT get the candle in dungeon 1 or the cross in Dungeon 6 until after you get to the Great Palace. Special attention will be needed on the final section of the world map. Check the achievement page for tips and tricks. Make sure you do not finish those dungeons until after unlocking this. GO BACK AND GET THE CANDLE AND CROSS after unlocking this.

• As mentioned above, be sure to check each achievement's page for tips and tricks. Different players have different play styles.
• Make sure you have unlocked all possible achievements so far. We want to have as few distractions as possible for playthrough #3.

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Adventure Master (50)
Obtain the Triforce of Courage and awaken the Princess without continuing.

• Use the completed 100% file for this one, as there is no real difference between First and Second Quest except you keep your spells, and your Attack/Magic/Life stays at 8.
• If the section you are on has hole in it, Fairy over it.
• If the enemy is blue, and is not a skeleton, Jump/Down Thrust or Fairy over it.
• Map your route through the dungeons so you know which keys to get, and which to skip so you can Fairy through them.
• Finishing a dungeon completely (jewel in statue) grants you an extra life if all your stats are maxed out.
• Don't grab the one-ups (except dungeon 6, obviously) until you are ready to go to the Great Palace. This way you'll have extra padding for the final push.
• Make sure you have roughly 3 hours open in your life's schedule for this, or plan to keep your device turned on and running while you sleep/etc.