~Subset~ Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Level 1 Runs (NES) - RetroAchievements/guides GitHub Wiki

question	answer
Set Difficulty	10/10
Approximate amount of time to master	3-50 hours depending on skill
Minimum number of playthroughs needed	4 (1 for each run)
Number of missable achievements	0
Hardest achievement	Thunderstruck

This Zelda II: The Adventure of Link subset consists of 4 challenge runs. The first three allow only one skill to be leveled throughout the entire play through, but with no other restrictions. There is nothing especially notable about these runs as they are no different than vanilla play throughs, although they are clearly more difficult because of limited stat increases. These runs are recommended to be completed first, because they build important knowledge on how to survive with 1 life and 1 attack while giving enough wiggle room for survivability to really build your skill in a meaningful way.

The Xarnax Run (aka 1-3-1 low%, No Downstab NMG) is a challenge which is essentially a minimalist run. It is named after the first person to provide on stream proof that the run is possible, Xarnax42. Players of the Xarnax Run challenge are only allowed to obtain the minimum required items, spells and upgrades to complete the game. This requires creative routing and exceptional game play to pull off. It is among the most difficult challenges on RetroAchievements. You will also need to use the quit out feature to avoid leveling up at certain points in the run. To quit out, press Start to enter the spell/equipment submenu. Next, on controller 2, hold Up and press A. This will bring you to the Continue/Save screen and reset your exp to zero upon resuming gameplay whether you continue or choose to save and play later.

The following lists detail which upgrades are permitted and which are banned in the Xarnax Run:

Permitted upgrades

• all 4 Magic Containers
• level-2 and level-3 Magic
• Glove
• Hammer
• Raft
• Boots
• Flute
• Jump spell
• Fairy spell
• Reflect spell
• Thunder spell

Banned upgrades

• any Heart containers
• level-2 or higher Attack or Life
• level-4 or higher Magic
• Candle
• Cross
• Magical Key
• Shield spell
• Life spell
• Fire spell
• Spell spell
• Up Thrust
• Down Thrust

It should be mentioned that Xarnax banned the use of glitch town from his own run (making it NMG), but he does allow fairy feet. This set does not specify this ban in code or written rules.

The achievements require the following linked hash:

Zelda II - The Adventure of Link (USA) + Zelda II - The Adventure of Link [Subset - Level 1 Runs]
abc9f94f97c712b22bcdd2c04ac9ecb8

Patch is available at https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAPatches/blob/main/NES/Subset/10311-ZeldaII-Subset-Level1Runs.zip

Xarnas Run demo VOD

Red Candle has a wealth of information about Zelda II, but is a slow loading site. RedCandle

The achievements for the Xarnax Run are ordered in such a way to guide players through the recommended routing. Many of the achievements can be done out of order, such as item collecting, however there are some deviations which will make progress especially difficult due to limited keys and limited uses of Fairy magic. Additionally, Three-Eye Rock Palace should be completed first the other palaces can all be completed without a required level up. In this palace, the player will get both of the only permitted magic upgrades as it is impossible to avoid them due to earning experience points from bosses. Doing other palaces first will force an unnecessary upgrade due to the how many experience points Barba gives.

To avoid accidentally ruining a save attempt, a trigger icon for the final achievement will always be present in the bottom right of the emulator to let you know that you are meeting the run requirements. If at any time the icon disappears, this is in an indication that you've obtained a disallowed upgrade and should immediately reset without saving.

A few important tips for the run are as follows:

There are a number of not immediately obvious techniques used throughout this run that make it possible.

Jump Over Enemies
Many enemies read your D-Pad input to follow close to you on screen. If you jump over them while holding your D-Pad they will follow under you making it impossible to dodge. Instead gain momentum, release D-Pad and jump using your momentum to carry you over the enemy. Since your D-Pad is not being pressed, the enemy will not follow and will stay in place while you sail over them.

Fairy Feet / Encounter Skip Glitch
Indepth Video Guide
This technique is used by Xarnax to skip forced encounters in death valley, and can be used in any other forced encounter in the overworld--notably the path to the 3-rock palace. It does not work for caves that have separate overworld exits (e.g. Death Mountain caves) It is called fairy feet, because it was discovered by CrystalSaver while he was playing with his feet.

• Use the Fairy Spell
• Move close to the side of the screen you entered from
• Tap the D-Pad towards that side one frame at a time
• Once the fairy disappears, press the D-Pad the other direction

Link Feet
Left Side Video Guide
Right Side Video Guide (starting at 10:40, I could not find a dedicated video on this)
The above technique can also be performed without casting Fairy allowing you to save your magic, but is Significantly more difficult. But there is a setup for both sides of the screen to make the process a bit easier.

Left Side (the easier side), most useful on the path to 3-eye rock palace. This one is more useful in the context of this run and worth it to take the time to learn.

• Hold left on the D-Pad while entering the encounter
• Release the D-Pad after Link has taken a couple steps
• If Link stopped with his shield flush with the edge of the screen you are on the correct sub-pixel
• Press left on the D-Pad for one frame, then immediately press right on the D-Pad on the next frame
  • This step can be pause buffered, press pause at the same time as you press left on the D-Pad, then hold right on the D-Pad and unpause

Right Side (much more difficult), most useful on death valley

• Hold left on the D-Pad while entering the encounter
• Release the D-Pad after Link gets to full speed
• Run right towards the side of the screen
• Swing your sword on the last pixel before you leave the screen (1 pixel of Link's back leg will be visible), if you do this you will be on the correct sub-pixel.
• Press right on the D-Pad for one frame, then immediately press left on the D-Pad on the next frame
  • This step can be pause buffered, press pause at the same time as you press right on the D-Pad, then hold left on the D-Pad and unpause

If you do not stop on the last pixel on either side you can tap the D-Pad to get to the correct position do complete the glitch, but it is not guaranteed that you will be on the correct sub-pixel every time. I highly recommend learning this, as having extra magic to get out of random overworld encounters is extremely useful.

Overwriting Forced Encounters
You can overwrite forced encounters with random encounters to skip the overworld encounter. This is most useful on the path to Darunia, the first encounter on the path to the 3-eye rock palace (wait on the desert tile that the flute block as on), and the entrance between the graveyard and death valley.

• Stand on the tile before the forced encounter
• Step onto the forced encounter the same time a random encounter enemy is on the tile
• Alternatively, step towards the tile when a random encounter enemy is just about to touch you on the tile you are waiting on

Here is a table from RedCandle that tells how many hits each boss takes to kill at 1 attack:

Boss	HP	XP	Hits for Atk 1
Horsehead	32	50	16
Helmethead	48	200	24
Rebonack*	17+23	301	9+12
Carrock	8	301	8
Gooma	144	500	72
Barba	192	700	96
Thunderbird	192	1000	96
Dark Link	8	50	8

• Note: Rebonack takes 20 hits in phase 1 and 20 more hits in phase 2. I am not sure how this was calculated for Rebonack, but the other items are all correct.

1. Name your file XARNAX (This was a measure put in place to ensure that each of the subset runs unlocks only their appropriate achievements.)

2. Obtain the Magic Container in the cave south of the North Castle

3. Obtain the trophy in the cave in the Tantari Desert. Return the trophy to the girl in Ruto and learn the Jump Spell

4. Visit Bagu in the forest near the Moruge Swamp to receive permission to cross the river in Saria

5. Obtain the hammer in Death Mountain (recommend quit out after obtaining)

6. Obtain the medicine in the cave in the Moruge Swamp

7. Return the medicine to the old woman in Mido and learn the Fairy Spell

8. Obtain the Magic Container in Death Mountain (recommend quit out after obtaining)

9. Obtain the Glove in Midoro Palace. You should not have picked up a key by this point. You will be utilizing Fairy to bypass several doors and save several keys for other palaces. Take the normal routing to the Glove, but use Fairy to bypass the first locked door. Pick up the key in the room with the lava pit. As you approach the next elevator, refill your magic with the red vial hidden in the monster head statue on the wall. As you head left again, you will use a key to unlock a door as you continue toward the Glove. When you reach the room with the Glove, once again use Fairy to bypass the door. After obtaining the Glove, quit out to reset your location back to the North Castle. You should have passed 3 locked doors, using Fairy for 2 of them and 1 key that you obtained in this palace for the other. You should have zero keys when you leave.

10. Obtain the Raft in the Island Palace. You should enter the Island Palace with no keys. Use the statue at the entrance to refill your magic by hitting it. If a red Iron Knuckle appears, leave the palace and reenter and retry. Survival will be difficult in this palace, so utilization of Fairy and magic refills are important. It is safest to traverse the first room with Fairy. Continue along the top path and retrive the key in the outdoor area without killing the red Iron Knuckle (he can be hit many times and pushed back to the wall with the key and jumped over). Return to the elevator, descend and head right. Unlock the door with the key you recently obtained and continue right. Unlike the demo video, I recommend skipping the key in the lava pit room (unlike the demo video) and instead just use Fairy to bypass the locked door guarding the Raft. You should have passed 2 locked doors, one using Fairy and unlocking one. You should have zero keys when you leave.

11. Rescue the missing child on Maze Island

12. Retrieve the Magic Container on Maze Island

13. Obtain the Boots in the Maze Island Palace. Take the normal routing to the Boots

14. Obtain the Flute in the Palace on the Sea. Grab the key at the vertical wall where you need to cast Fairy to pass. Continue on until the room with falling blocks and the key. This key is difficult to get without up-thrust, so try to break stacking blocks in such a way to get the key. Otherwise, it is possible to break blocks above Link without up-thrust if you swing your sword at the very top of your jump. It's a little tricky, but doable. Do not miss the red magic refill bottle in the room with several orange Iron Knuckles. Make your way to the Flute and use Fairy to bypass the door, then quit out. You should have zero keys when you leave.

15. Obtain the Magic Container in New Kasuto

16. Learn Thunder in Old Kasuto

17. Go to Parapa Palace to obtain three keys. First head right at the bottom of the first elevator and use Fairy to pass the door. At the next elevator, go up and head right and pick up the two keys you will find. Quit out after obtaining the second key. Go back to Parapa palace and this time head left at the bottom of the first elevator to retrieve a third key. Quit out and return to the North Castle. You should now have three keys.

18. Go to Three-Eye Rock Palace and refill your magic at the entrance. Travel down the elevator and unlock the first door and use either Jump or Fairy to traverse this room (you should have two keys left). In the next room, push the blue Iron Knuckle into the pit and fall down this repeating pit until you are back in the starting room over on the right side by the statue. Hit the statue to refill your magic, if you spawn a red Iron Knuckle, fall back into the pit and fall several times until you are back in this room. When your magic is full, fall into the pit twice then go right and unlock the next door (you should have one key left). Avoid killing enemies by pushing them off the screen or bypassing them through another method. Traverse the lava room with the Fairy spell and unlock another door before heading into the Rebonack fight.

This fight is very difficult. While mounted, Rebonack can be hit with a jumping crouching stab from the front or as you falling down behind after jumping over him. Both windows are quite small and this fight will likely require significant practice. Once dismounted, the best time to attack him is to jump over the first attack in a new volley and do a jumping standing attack which he cannot block.

In phase 1, you should stand at the far side of the screen, when Rebonack comes at you with full speed, you should build forward momentum before jumping and crouch stabbing him. Your momentum against his momentum will keep you safe most of the time even if your timing was a bit off. After he falls off, his horse will leave to the left, make sure to avoid it. In the phase 2, he will throw volleys of 3-4. If his 4th attack is a low attack you can jump over it to attack him safely, otherwise just react to when it has ended and be ready to block the counter attack. Small hops are the best, so long as your timing is quick enough you will always land with enough time to block the next attack.

You WILL be forced to select an upgrade after this fight due to the amount of Exp earned. Select Magic level-2.

Continue right and fall down the pit, then Fairy to go right into Barba's room. Barba is not nearly as difficult as Rebonack, but will require understanding of how to dodge his fireballs. After defeating Barba you'll need to upgrade to Magic level-3 as there is not enough time to quit out after collecting the key.

As soon as Link releases the gem at the statue, immediately pause and quit out. Do not wait for the gem to actually place itself nor for the Exp to award to begin. If when you continue, the Exp bonus tries to award, simply quit out again and that will reset it.

19. Go to the Palace on the Sea, you should have one key. Traverse the palace via normal routing and defeat Gooma. The Jump spell will make dodging Gooma's attacks easier, you can also push him off the right side of the screen and repeatedly stab until he dies. When he's off the side of the screen his weapon will not load, and it's completely safe as long as you jab quick enough and keep your front foot on the line between the far right two tiles, this method just takes a very long time. After defeating Gooma, make sure to quit out as soon as link release the gem. You should have zero keys after completing this palace.

20. Return to lost child to Darunia and learn the Reflect spell

21. Return to Midoro Palace, head down the elevator twice then go left to retrieve a key. Return to the elevator, go down again and go right to retrieve another key then quit out. You should have two keys.

22. Go to the Maze Island Palace and head left at the bottom of the first elevator and head to Carrock via normal routing. Use keys on the first two locked doors you encounter and Fairy on the last one. You will likely have to die to refill your magic so that you can cast Reflect to defeat Carrock so make sure you have enough lives. The Carrock fight is RNG based, but you will have the best chance at survival by getting to the right side of the screen by immediately jumping over Carrock when you enter the room and face left while crouching. Once Carrock is defeated, quit out as soon as Link releases the gem. You should have zero keys left.

23. Go to the Island Palace again and head straight to Rebonack. In the room before him with the different paths, you must choose the bottom path and use the jumping attack technique previously described to break the blocks from below near the blue Iron Knuckle. Hopefully you can break both on the same jump, then allow the Iron Knuckle to fall down to your level. Push him back and jump up (you will need a running start) to bypass him. The red Iron Knuckle must be killed to pass. Defeat Rebonack using the same strategy as in Three-Eye Rock Palace and quit out upon Link releasing the gem. You should have zero keys left.

24. Go to Midoro Palace and use Fairy to bypass the doors leading to Helmethead. Defeat him and quit out upon Link releasing the gem. You should have zero keys left.

25. Go to Parapa Palace and use Fairy to bypass the doors leading to Horsehead. Defeat him and quit out upon Link releasing the gem. You should have zero keys left.

26. With a saved game, get all the 1-Ups in the game at this point and head toward the Great Palace. On the trap rooms in the lava flows, there are 2 techniques: 1. You can try to skip the encounter with the fairy feet glitch (explained above) This takes some practice and costs magic each attempt, or skip with the link feet glitch (also explained above) which is free but significantly more difficult. Another option is fighting blob enemies on the trap tiles. These fights are still deadly, but survivable with a little luck, cast Fairy immediately, go straight to the top of the screen, and go for an exit. You have to do this at least three times and will almost assuredly die several times. This is why collecting the 1-Ups is useful at this point. If you run out of lives, do not Continue, reset the game and reload so you can recollect the 1-Ups.

27. Once you reach the Great Palace, you will restart here any time you continue, but not if you save--so be careful! You probably used all the extra 1-ups coming here, while getting through with no extras is possible, is requires that you be lucky with random encounters and skip all forced encounters with link feet.

You will have to take a non-standard route and take advantage of a difficult damage boost opportunity. This will be extremely challenging and require two full trips since you will have to quit out after defeating Thunderbird due to the Exp gain. Follow the demo video for routing, being especially careful around fire birds and bird knights. The damage boost is quite difficult to do without some practice. I highly recommend creating a save state and practicing it in softcore mode. Notice where Link is standing and how high he jumps when the enemy spawns that will be used to damage boost. The running and timing of the jump is important as is the turn back to the left near the top of the jump. Unfortunately, you only get one attempt per life and this is near the end of a very difficult palace. Practice it until you feel comfortable attempting it for real.

Just in case the demo video is unavailable, here is the route in the Great Palace; keep in mind you have enough magic for 2 jump spells and 1 fairy spell:

• Go down in the entrance
• Go left and poke the firebird until it is off the side of the left screen (alternatively use your fairy here to fly over it)
• Jump after the pillar in this room and go down
• Go left
• Go up the blocks without stopping, once both Ra's have spawned, turn around for them to spawn moving left. Jump after the pillar and get to the end of the room while the Ras are following you, duck to let them pass and go down the elevator
• Cast jump, while dodging the fireballs break open the blocks to stand higher than the fireballs will shoot at you (you can wait for a fireball shot offscreen before you run forward to jump and break blocks) and go right through this room
• Immediately go right, stopping for just long enough to let the first bubble bounce off the wall so you can pass. If you keep moving straight on through, the bubbles will not hit you
• In this room a firebird will spawn on a level higher than you, the last 4 tiles on either side of it are fake floors, so if it steps on them it will fall through to the same level as you. Enter and exit the room as many times as you need to for it to stay on the top level, then break the blocks and fall in the hole
• Go right through this room
• Walk right over the bridge, in the first alcove a Boss bot will spawn just after the second increase in height on the roof. Let it spawn and immediately take a step back, poke it with your sword as it jumps to you and run through it while it is flashing. Jumping helps build momentum slightly quicker to make it through in time
• The next room is also a bridge, this time a red bird warrior will be waiting for you in about the same spot. Block its knives and run under it when it jumps to move onto the next room
• Cast fairy if you have the magic for it to fly over the room, turning around after both Ras spawn to make them follow you through the room. If you cannot cast fairy, run over the collapsing bridge until both Ras spawn, turn around so they are following you and jump over the Bots, or wait for the Bots to jump into the lava while you are dodging the Ras, this room is difficult to get through without getting hit if you do not use fairy
• Cast jump using the rest of your magic, break the blocks so that there are 5 blocks underneath you. Go to the right side of the block tower and drop so that now there are only 4 blocks underneath you, crouch at the end and use turbo and fast-forward to stab the blue bird warrior 48 times to kill it for 100 xp (we will remove this later). Alternatively you can run through the room and try to get into the second tower without getting hit, which is significantly more difficult.
• Hop onto the first collapsing platform in a way where it does not disappear, then jump onto the second and stab the lower block. If a bird warrior spawns, it will fall onto and get trapped by the lower platform so you can safely leave the room and try again. If magic spawns, grab it and cast fairy to get across the lava
• Cast jump, and run to the far wall on the right side of the room, get a full height jump just as the Ras are about to get to the edge of the screen so that they despawn. Walk to the left to the 6th tile from the right. A Ra will spawn on the 5th tile from the right while you are walking left. Just as it is leaving the screen to the right, jump so that it spawns high. At the first bottom of it's wave-like movement, start running right. Jump between the third and second tiles to the right, just before you hit the wall, hold left on the D-Pad to run into the Ra, this will get you on top of the wall. Wait just a second so that the Ra is in front of you and leave the screen to the right.

Jump here

Start running here

Jump again here

Turn around here

You will get hit right about here

Well done!

• Immediately turn around and leave to the left
• If you got experience before, go left until a Ra spawns, then run to the right side of the screen, let the Ra hit you and you will lose 10xp and will be pushed off the screen before you die. Repeat until you have at most 50xp (from my testing this is easy to grab the key and pause if you have 50xp, I had 30xp--3 frames--remaining)

Stand here to drain xp

• Go left, and spawn both Ras, keep making sure they spawn going left to right, while you slowly crouch stab away 1-2 blocks at a time from the left, and drop down after you break the 5th block
• Go right and pass the boss Bot just like you did on the bridge, or if you have magic, use fairy and drag it out then fly over it
• Go right across the collapsible bridge and drop down
• Go left and break the blocks, the second block on the second layer will have magic or a bird warrior, keep leaving and reentering the room until you get a magic drop so that you have full magic before fighting Thunderbird

Defeating Thunderbird is very tedious and requires you to do it without being hit. When you enter Thunderbird's room, immediately run to the right side of the room--this is almost a safe spot. Wait for Thunderbird to reach his max height, then start running to the other side of the room. You can get 2-3 attacks while he is low. Once he reaches his peak height again at the other side of the room, turn around and repeat. His swoops will resemble a pendulum pattern, leaving him vulnerable in the center of the room. Thunderbird has 2 types of fireballs--ones that drop behind him and ones that drop in front. Normally the ones that drop in front will move as quickly as Thunderbird and will not be a threat in the center as long as you move away and attack at the same distance, but they will be a threat when you are turning around. Make sure none are coming at you while you stand in the corner and wait for a moment to turn around. Finally, if you get out of cycle, wait in the right corner of the room again just like the beginning to reset. One hit from him will kill Link, so this will require perfection for 96 total hits.

When Thunderbird is defeated he will give you 1,000 exp which you cannot afford to take. As soon as the final hit is dealt to Thunderbird, immediately maneuver to the middle of the room and await the key drop. Depending on how much exp you previously gained (hopefully near zero) you will have to cancel either one or two upgrades before stabbing the key and IMMEDIATELY pausing so you can quit out. If you wait a bit too long until 700 Exp has been absorbed, you will not be able to quit out and will have to defeat Thunderbird again. Trust me, you do not want this. It's not especially difficult to do this, but it will be something that you must be prepared for after a grueling battle. Practicing with a save state is probably worth it just so you don't blow it when it matters.

28. After quitting out, select Continue and traverse the Great Palace again to reach Dark Link. Fortunately, this fight is not too difficult as Link can crouch on the far left side of the screen and stab Dark Link successfully. Sometimes Dark Link will jump onto Link and damage him which is unfortunate, but fairly often he will go entire fights without doing that. Dark Link only takes 8 hits regardless of your attack level. Defeat him and you will have earned one of the most difficult badges on RetroAchievements. Congratulations!