Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Original NES box art
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Composer(s)	Akito Nakatsuka
Series	The Legend of Zelda
Platform(s)	Famicom Disk System, NES, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	NES/FDS version JP January 14, 1987 NA December 1988 PAL November 26, 1988 GBA version JP August 10, 2004 NA October 25, 2004 PAL January 7, 2005 Virtual Console version JP January 23, 2007 NA June 4, 2007 PAL February 9, 2007
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E OFLC: G
Media	Floppy disk (FDS version), cartridge (NES, GBA version)
Input methods	NES controller

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (ゼルダの伝説 (パート) 2 リンクの冒険, Zeruda no Densetsu (Pāto) Tsū Rinku no Bōken^?)^[1] is an action role-playing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and it is the second installment in The Legend of Zelda video game series. It was originally released in Japan on the Famicom Disk System less than a year after the release of the original Legend of Zelda. Nintendo released Zelda II in Japan on January 14, 1987, seven months before the United States saw the release of the first Zelda title. Nintendo released Zelda II in North America in 1988, two years after its initial release in Japan, converting the game from its initial Famicom Disk System format to the NES cartridge.

The Adventure of Link is a direct sequel to the original The Legend of Zelda, again involving the protagonist, Link, on a quest to save Princess Zelda, who has fallen under a sleeping spell. The Adventure of Link's emphasis on side-scrolling and RPG-style elements, however, was a significant departure from its predecessor. Despite being one of the least popular titles in the series today, the game was still highly successful at the time and introduced elements that would become commonplace in future Zelda games. It was followed in 1992 by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super NES.

Gameplay

The Adventure of Link bears little resemblance to the first game in the series. The Adventure of Link features side-scrolling areas within a larger world map rather than the top-down view of the previous title. The game incorporates a strategic combat system and more RPG elements, including an experience points (EXP) system, magic spells, and more interaction with non-player characters (NPCs). Link has extra lives; no other game in the series includes this feature.^[2]

Experience levels

In this installment, Link gains experience points to upgrade his attack, magic, and stamina by defeating enemies.^[3] He can raise each of these attributes to a maximum of eight levels. Raising a life level will decrease the damage Link receives when hit, raising a magic level will decrease the magic points (MP) cost of spells, and raising an attack level will strengthen his offensive power. Each statistic requires a different amount of experience to level up, with the life level requiring the least number of points to level and attack requiring the most.^[3] When enough points are acquired to raise a statistic, the player may choose to level up that statistic or to cancel and continue gaining experience points towards the next level in another statistic. Once Link has raised a statistic to the maximum level of eight, further advances in that statistic will earn Link an extra life, without advancing the statistic itself.^[3] Link can acquire up to four Heart Containers and up to four Magic Containers that permanently increase his life points and magic points. Other games in The Legend of Zelda series only allow Link to increase his strength through new weapons, items, and Heart Containers. Certain enemies drain Link's experience when they attack, but he will never lose a level once raised.^[2]

Overworld map and side-scrolling

The overworld

The Adventure of Link plays out in a two-mode dynamic. The overworld, the area where the majority of the action occurs in other The Legend of Zelda games, is still from a top-down perspective, but it now serves as a hub to the other areas. Whenever Link enters a new area such as a town, the game switches to a side-scrolling view. This mode is where most of the action takes place, and it is the only mode in which Link can take damage and be killed.^[2]

Link also enters this mode when attacked by wandering monsters. Whenever the player traverses the various environments of Hyrule, enemy silhouettes appear and pursue him. Of the three random creatures that appear, there are three types which correspond to the relative difficulty of the monsters in battle mode: a small, weak blob denoting easy enemies, a large, strong biped denoting harder enemies, and a Fairy, which will put Link on a single screen with a free Fairy to refill his health. This separate method of traveling and entering combat is one of many aspects adapted from the role-playing genre.^[2]

Combat system

The Adventure of Link makes use of simplified controls and mechanics for Link's battles. Armed with a sword and shield, Link must alternate between standing and crouching positions in order to attack enemies and defend himself; for example, the Iron Knuckle enemy changes the height of its attack and its shield depending on Link's current stance, forcing Link to change stances until he has a chance to attack safely. Link has the ability to jump, which can be used for attacking tall or airborne enemies, and can be used for evasion. Eventually, he can learn techniques for downward and upward stabs in midair.^[2]

Magic

In place of actively-used items, The Adventure of Link features spells for Link to use during action scenes. Each spell is learned from a different wise man in towns. Link often has to complete side-quests, such as retrieving lost items, before they will teach him their spells. Some spells are necessary for advancing beyond certain points in the game; both the Jump and Fairy spells allow Link to reach the top of ledges that are otherwise too high.^[2]

Plot

Link by the sleeping Princess Zelda

Shortly after the events of The Legend of Zelda, Link notices a strange mark on the back of his left hand, exactly like the crest of Hyrule. He seeks out Impa, who responds by taking Link to the North Castle, where a door has been magically sealed for generations. Impa places the back of Link's left hand on the door, and it opens, revealing a sleeping maiden. Impa tells Link that the maiden is Zelda, the princess of Hyrule from long ago, and the origin of the "Legend of Zelda." Zelda's brother had tried to force her into telling their recently deceased father's secrets concerning the last of three sacred golden triangle treasures of his kingdom, known collectively as the Triforce. Princess Zelda refused to reveal its location, and the prince's wizard friend, in anger, tried to strike her down with a spell. Zelda fell under a powerful sleeping spell, but it also resulted in the wizard's own death. The prince, unable to reverse the spell, had his sister placed in the castle tower, in the hope that she would one day be awakened. He decreed that females born to the royal family from that point on would be named Zelda, in remembrance of this tragedy.^[3]

Impa says that the mark on Link's hand means that he is the chosen hero to awaken Zelda. She gives Link a chest containing six crystals and ancient writings that only a great future king of Hyrule can read. Link can read it and it indicates that each crystal needs to be placed in a different palace in Hyrule. This will open the way to the Great Palace, which contains the Triforce of Courage. This, combined with the other two parts, has the power to awaken the enchanted Zelda. Taking the crystals, Link sets out to restore them to their palaces. Meanwhile, the followers of Ganon are seeking to kill Link; sprinkling his blood on Ganon’s ashes would bring Ganon back to life.^[3]

Ultimately, Link restores the crystals to the six palaces, and with the crystals in place, the entrance to the Great Palace is opened. After venturing deep inside, Link is made to battle a shadowy doppelgänger of himself known as Link's Shadow. Link then claims the Triforce of Courage and returns to Zelda. The three triangles unite into the collective Triforce, and Link's wish awakens Zelda.^[2]

Development

Like The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link was based on Shigeru Miyamoto's concepts.^[4] However, the game was developed by a separate team from that of The Legend of Zelda, and key members from The Legend of Zelda's design team, such as Takashi Tezuka and Kōji Kondō, were not involved in The Adventure of Link's production.^[5]

Music

The score of The Adventure of Link, unlike that of The Legend of Zelda, was composed by Akito Nakatsuka ("Tsukasan" in the credits) rather than Kōji Kondō. Almost none of the music from the previous game was integrated, save for the introductory notes of the overworld theme (Hyrule Overture), which were sampled at the start of the new overworld theme.^[6] The music in this game has generally not been incorporated into later games in the Zelda series, although other aspects of the game also did not return later, most likely because it was such a significant departure from the direction that the series ultimately took. However, a newly orchestrated version of the Palace track is featured in Super Smash Bros. Melee, played during the Hyrule Temple stage and the Underground Maze level. A variation of the track also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.^[5]

Versions

The Adventure of Link was originally released on the Famicom Disk System before its worldwide release. Like its predecessor, the FDS version appears to be an earlier version of the game, with a few obvious differences. In the English release, the dungeons each have different colors, whereas in the FDS version they are all gray. Also, the two dungeon bosses Carrok and Volvagia (the latter being initially named Barba in the NES release) have different graphical appearances.^[7] The game over screen in the English version features the silhouette of Ganon from the chest up, with the text saying "Game Over - Return of Ganon", whereas the FDS game over screen is a plain black screen with the text saying "Return of Gannon - The End". There are some slight additions to the dungeons, as well as a handful of differences on the dungeons themselves. Due to an additional soundchip that the Famicom Disk System had, when Nintendo ported Zelda II over to the NES they had to eliminate some musical elements, especially from the title screen. On the main map, the icons denoting attacking monsters look different, but the most significant change is the spending of experience points, as Link's three attributes cost the same, unlike the worldwide release. This makes leveling up in the game very different.^[8]

The Adventure of Link was re-released in 2003 on the The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition disc for the Nintendo GameCube,^[9] and again in 2004 as part of the “Classic NES Series” for Game Boy Advance,^[10] with changes. The intro text has been changed to read "third Triforce" rather than "No.3 Triforce" and the copyright date has been altered to read "1987- 2004". The death animation removed flashing colors in an effort to prevent seizures, replacing it with a solid red color. Graphical and audio tweaks were made, and Volvagia (formerly Barba) retained his Japanese name. It was released as the 100th title on the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on January 23, 2007,^[11][12] in Europe and Australia on February 9, 2007 and was released in North America on June 4, 2007.^[13] The Virtual Console release (at least in North America) still contains the flashing effect, although the screen is a bit darker than the original. Also, the text changes weren't made in this version.

Reception

Original reviews

4.38 million copies of Zelda II have been sold worldwide since its release.^[14] Zelda II was rated the 110th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.^[15] Play magazine commented on the gameplay, saying that "it's this combination of unique elements that creates an action-RPG experience unlike any other".^[16] Nintendo Power said that the game was "an entertaining and natural step in the franchise's evolution,"^[17] and awarded it the Nintendo Power Game of the Year Award for 1988.

GBA and Virtual Console version reviews

IGN said that the game is a "recommended and playable adventure" but also said "don't expect the same gameplay from the truly classic Zelda titles."^[18] 1UP.com praised the game's length, citing that "you can certainly find plenty here to keep you busy for some time."^[19] The game also received some criticism. Cheat Code Central cited the game's length as being a "long adventure".^[20] GameSpot said that while the game is "decent enough to make it worth the $5 price [on the Wii's Virtual Console]", it features "questionable design decision" and can get confusing if players don't have the help of walkthroughs.^[21]

The GBA version of the game had an aggregated score of 73 on Metacritic.^[22]

Legacy

Many elements first introduced in this game have remained in the series. For instance, non-player characters (NPCs) were present in The Legend of Zelda, but their role was rather limited. Starting with The Adventure of Link, Zelda games have prominently featured a variety of NPCs who play pivotal roles in Link's quests.^[24] The use of metered magic and spells has also carried over into other Zelda games. The Triforce of Courage makes its first appearance in The Adventure of Link and plays an important role in later Zelda games, as it is strongly associated with Link. Dark Link is a version of Link's Shadow which appears in Ocarina of Time, and a similar Link clone called Shadow Link appears in Four Swords Adventures.^[25]

Additionally, The Adventure of Link was one of the first games to combine RPG and platforming elements to a considerable degree.^[26] Over the next few years, a number of Japanese-made games appeared with a similar format; major titles such as Cadash (1989) closely resemble The Adventure of Link, with side-scrolling platform stages supplemented by RPG-like statistical systems, weapons, armor, magic spells, and so forth.

Most of the sages in Ocarina of Time bear the same names as towns from The Adventure of Link (Rauru, Ruto, Saria, Nabooru, and Darunia; excluding Impa). Another town, Mido, is also the name of a character in Kokiri Forest. The Adventure of Link is also the only Zelda game of the main English releases not to use "The Legend of Zelda" in its title, the only Zelda game to feature "lives" counting down, and therefore the only game in the series to include 1-up dolls.^[27] The next Zelda game after The Adventure of Link was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Famicom in 1991, which follows new Link and Zelda characters and returns to the top-down style of the original. The series broke away from the top-down style again in 1998 when Ocarina of Time was released on the Nintendo 64, with 3D graphics.^[28]

References

External links

• The Adventure of Link at Zelda.com
• Zelda II at RPGClassics.com
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link at MobyGames
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link guide at StrategyWiki
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link at GameFAQs