Well, since the original Hell Awaits is generally regared as the pinnacle of old-school Zelda style quests, I have taken it upon myself to write up this little review.
Gameplay- The Gameplay in Hell Awaits 2nd is magically delicious. Just as good as the origional, and even improved in some ways. An almost perfect example of Z1-style gameplay, it is marred only by a few problems with the difficulty.9/10
Difficulty- Too easy. Now the walls have cracks in them, showing you where to bomb. This takes away the search-and-exploration feel a good classic quest should have. Also, remember that key in the original HA that was behind some blocks, and you couldn't reach it? You instead had to bomb the wall and enter an unmarked room? Well, in HA 2nd, all you have to do is blow the whistle and the blocks disappear. There are other such small changes to the other dungeons as well. Also, not only is the secret shop easier to find now, it actually sells useful items, such as the Hammer and the Mirror Shield. When I reached that point, I had 500 rupees easily (too much treasure is "hidden" on the overworld and in dungeons), and bought both, making the rest of the game a cakewalk. This quest is just too easy in every way. 3/10
Tiles- The tiles themselves are pretty good for a classic-style quest. A good use of classic tiles, a few BS tiles, and some custom tiles thrown in as well. My only complaint is that a few of the custom tiles from the origional Hell Awaits seem to be MIA. 7/10
Pallates Good god, they suck. I'm sorry, that may seem harsh, but they are HORRIBLE. Many - heck, I'll go so far as to say most - of the palattes in this game are ass. They are ass-tacular. Many of the imported tiles look like the hairballs my cat routinely spews all over my carpet, and the dungeons have been proven to cause cancer in lab rats. Look Manson, next time you want to blind people, just use the conventional hot poker method, okay?
However, the item and enemy palattes are good. It's just that... fuck, I cannot get over how horrible the level and overworld pallattes are. By the time I finished this quest, I had to have surgery due to the intense damage done to my retina. You'll be hearing from my lawyer.1/10
The Verdict- This would be a perfect classic quest, if it were not for the toned-down difficulty and the... well, the god-forsaken palatte work. Look, I know messing with pallates can be tough, but would it have hurt to at least add some more colors? Not to mention how bright they are. If you want to be safe, you need to look at the monitor through a box with a pin hole in it while playing this quest. Frankly, the pallates of this quest drop my overall rating. Don't forget, I'm the guy who spends all his time playing fucking Atari 2600 games, and even I'M complaining about the graphics. Oh yeah, they're that bad. However, people searching for an easy, well-desinged classic quest who also possess wielding masks or SPF 5000 sunscreen might want to check it out. Might.
Final Rating- 3/10
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