Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

An early example of genre-busting in video games, and it remains one of the most disappointing. The actual side-scrolling action feels fine—great, even, as combat scenarios have the tendency to convey far more than most would consider the platform to be able to deliver—but everything besides it feels so bad. A walkthrough is necessary, and that’s kind of a deal breaker considering the game really wants you to figure things out for yourself. Perhaps a proper sequel could have worked out the issues as there was plenty of potential here. Come for the sword fights, skip the story.

5