Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

aka: Zelda II: A Aventura de Link, Zelda II: Link no Bōken
Moby ID: 7296
NES Specs
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Description official descriptions

Link has just turned sixteen, and discovers a strange birthmark on his hand. With the help of Impa, Zelda's nursemaid, Link learns that this mark is the key to unlock a secret room where Princess Zelda lies sleeping. When young, Princess Zelda was given knowledge of the Triforce of power which was used to rule the kingdom of Hyrule, but when a magician unsuccessfully tried to find out about the Triforce from Zelda, he put her into an eternal sleep. In his grief, the prince placed Zelda in this room hoping she may wake some day. He ordered all female children in the royal household to be named Zelda from this point on, so the tragedy would not be forgotten. Now, to bring Princess Zelda back, Link must locate all the pieces of the Triforce which have been hidden throughout the land.

Each piece of the Triforce is in a temple guarded by a powerful monster which must be defeated. At the same time, Ganon's underlings are still around and gaining in strength and number. It is said Ganon could be brought back to life by sprinkling the blood of the one who defeated him on the ashes - which was Link himself.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an action role-playing game, and a sequel to The Legend Of Zelda. The gameplay alternates between a top-down view (when traveling the land) and side-scrolling perspectives (when fighting, in a temple, or town). In the top-down view, Link cannot do much except for walking: in the side-scrolling action view, however, he can fight, cast spells, collect items and talk to people.

When Link encounters an enemy in the wilderness, or enters a location which contains enemies, he can fight them with his sword. If Link is at full health, his sword can be thrown, but when he is hurt, he can only fight in melee. Link has a shield which protects him against some of the enemies' attacks if they strike the shield. Touching an enemy or getting hit by their attacks decreases Link's health. If he runs out of health, he loses a life. If he loses all his lives, it's Game Over. Link can replenish his health completely by encountering a fairy in the wilderness, or by using the services of a healer in a town.

Link also has a "magic" meter. He can cast spells (as long as he has learned them) if he has some magic power left. Spells cost a various amount of magic power. They have various effects: they cure Link, allow him to jump very high, shoot fireballs etc. The magic power meter can be refilled by collecting blue and red jars sometimes left behind by enemies.

When Link slays an enemy, it might leave behind an item, or give Link some experience. When Link gains enough experience, he gains a level, which allows him to buy weapon power, maximum magic, or maximum health upgrades for his experience points. The player can also decide not to buy anything and stockpile his experience points for later use.

There are some items to be found that are necessary to get past certain points in the game. The Adventure of Link features a battery backup so games can be saved without needing a password system.

Spellings

  • リンクの冒険 - Japanese spelling

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Credits (NES version)

10 People

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 52 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 183 ratings with 11 reviews)

The game that should never have come out.

The Good
I was trying so hard to find anything good to say about this game...I re-played it many times trying to find something good but I'm sorry there isn't anything I liked about this game. Other than the cool looking gold box the game came in, this game stinks compared to the first Zelda.

The Bad
First off the music and sound effects drove me nuts. It was like someone took the Mike Tyson's Punch Out sounds effects and put them (like that 'boingy' sword sound) all over the game. Second, the character control for Link was like a throwing around a big sack of potatoes. I just didn't feel like you were in control of Link when he would just float around in the air when you jumped sideways. Then third, there was too much reading! "Go to this house and blabhlablablahblahblah", I go there and get more "blahblahblah" from Old Hag #6. I wish I could of just stabbed these blabber mouths like I used to do to the Old Man in the first Zelda game! Ugh. Playing Zelda II again so recently gave me flashbacks of the anger and disappointment I felt when I first got this game when it came out. I remember seeing this game on the Nintendo poster they gave out when you bought a system and was wondering where the game was while standing in line to buy first classic Zelda game. I really doubt the microchips in the game were that hard to make to delay this game a year! I think Nintendo made that rumor up due to the first Zelda game being so good and wanting to milk the sales. They didn't want people to get confused into buying Zelda II so soon and then loose their sales on both games.

The Bottom Line
The first one was so awesome but this one.. It's just feels like someone took that overhead RPG layout of Final Fantasy and added it to the winning side scrolling action of Super Mario Bros. into one big adventure game. With Zelda II you could just say it is plagued just like movie sequels. First one was great but second one. .ehh.. pass if you can...

NES · by skl (1061) · 2008

The toughest Zelda release

The Good
This, I think, is the best Zelda game. It is the toughest of all Zelda games because you actually end up beating your shadow. I have 4 more Zelda games, and they took me weeks of once in a while play to finish them, but this one took me like 10 years, no kidding! (well, maybe because I got it when I was 5 ys. old, but EVERYONE in my family played it and no one could win it.) It requires thinking a lot, and understanding clues. NO tips and tricks from anywhere! It is an interesting story, and has the most original enemies and dungeons from all Zelda Games. I think is the perfect trama because you have to wake up Zelda, the original idea of the game; you don't go around for other objects that have nothing to do with Hyrule like the other Zelda Sequels. You definitely have to think a lot because there are things that have no clues actually, and without them you cannot move on, that is why it took me such a long time, cause i got stuck many times.

The Bad
It is the best game, no complaints, but the fact that you thumbs WILL HURT a lot, especially if you already fought with your shadow!

The Bottom Line
If you like adventure, Zelda games, and most of all best sellers with Nintendo;s Golden Seal, you WILL love this game!

NES · by cinthya gomez (2) · 2004

Is that a child in your pocket?

The Good
Zelda II is a pretty big departure from the first Zelda in the series. So, kudos to Nintendo for trying to do something different. Unfortunately, “different” isn't synonymous with “good” or even “adequate”.

I'll give the game that had an interesting combat system. Fighting the shielded foes by attacking high and low was a neat idea. Unfortunately it isn't really possible to tell where they will block, so you’ll often find yourself flailing at them.

The leveling system was also not a bad idea. You still had to find heart containers, but you also gained experience and leveled up to gain new spells. The spell system was also decently implemented, but really it just replaced the (superior) item system. There is decent exploration. Some characters in the towns will give you hints on the locations of special items. There are some side-quests, but they’re usually little more than fetching.

My favourite moment in this game is when you had to find someone’s child. When Link picks the kid up, he does it in classic above-the-head-Zelda-style. “You got someone’s child!”

The Bad
I’d never have finished Zelda II if it hadn't been for my goal to play though every Zelda game, in their original format, in order of their release. This game is also the reason I’m never going to try that again.

First off, this game has an extremely inconsistent difficulty. Most of the time, the game is far too difficult. It isn't challenging, it’s cheap. Inversely, the boss battles are extremely easy. It appears to me that the difficulty was used to artificially lengthen the adventure. Without the extremely frustrating cheapness, the game would be over and done with rather quickly.

As mentioned earlier, the item collection from the first game has been replaced by learning new spells. This is not only unoriginal; it is also far inferior to the old system. The new random battles are also extremely annoying, as usually they include pester enemies, such as birds.

The Bottom Line
I know there are people who believe this game doesn’t deserve its bad reputation, but it does. Praising it for deviating from the Zelda formula is a little cheap, as there had only been one in the series before it. Guess which style of gameplay they decided to stick with. As it stands, Zelda II is not only a poor Zelda game, but it’s also a BAD game.

NES · by Adzuken (836) · 2009

[ View all 11 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
One of my favourite NES games so far, I easily prefer it to Zelda 1 Andrew Fisher (697) Mar 27, 2024
So this is the black sheep?.. Unicorn Lynx (181780) May 30, 2012
Only one who like this more than the first? Simoneer (29) Jun 15, 2010

Trivia

Cartridge

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was the only other Nintendo-licensed NES title to have the honor of being a gold cartridge besides the original Legend of Zelda.

ERROR

Inside a house within one of the towns is an NPC who simply says "I AM ERROR" when talked to. While many gamers at first found this to be a mistake in the code, there is another NPC later in the game that tells you Error knows a secret, proving that Error is his name and not an error.

It is possible that Error’s name was originally "Errol" (like the Australian-American actor Errol Flynn), but due to the letters "R" and "L" being allophones in Japanese, the programmers mistyped the name as "Error" in translating the game to English.

Platforming

As of 2005 Zelda II is the only game in the series to use a standard jump button that doesn't require the use of a power-up, or running off the side of a ledge to clear a gap.

Town names

Many of the villages share their names with characters from Ocarina of Time (Ruto, Rauru, Mido and Saria, etc.)

Interestingly enough, Ocarina of Time is considered to be the first Zelda game continuity-wise, so it's possible the villages are named in their honour, at least in the case of the Sages (Rauru, etc.).

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #72 (Best 100 Games of All Time)

Information also contributed by CaptainCanuck and Mark Ennis

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Servo.

Nintendo 3DS added by ResidentHazard. Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. Wii, Game Boy Advance added by gamewarrior.

Additional contributors: Satoshi Kunsai, Jeanne, Guy Chapman, NH, Alaka, monkeyislandgirl, Pseudo_Intellectual, LepricahnsGold, Perfil Falso, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson.

Game added September 28, 2002. Last modified February 1, 2024.