Zelda Turns 40 With "Z for 2," A Mod That Turns The NES Adventure Into Two-Player Co-Op

The Legend of Zelda turns 40 this year, and the rom hacking community has given it a gift worthy of the occasion. Solo developer Deric Miller has just released "Z for 2," a mod that transforms the original 1986 NES adventure into a genuine two-player cooperative experience, playable simultaneously on the same cartridge.

The second player controls Link's Shadow

The concept: the first player controls Link as in the original game, while the second controls "Link's Shadow," a dark double who shares the same map and objectives. Both players can pick up and use any item found in the dungeons, each choosing their active item independently via the Select button without opening the inventory screen. Health and resources, however, remain shared between the two heroes, forcing real coordination to survive. It's not the first mod to attempt multiplayer on the original Zelda, but testers agree it's by far the most polished and best balanced ever built on this base.

To play it, you'll need a US ROM of the original Zelda and apply the .bps patch, something any standard patcher can handle, including online tools. The complete hack is available for free on romhacking.net, which also has detailed installation instructions.

Source: Time Extension

Image credit: “The Legend of Zelda - Golden Catridge” by Dave or Atox, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).