Zelda II: The Adventure of Link went in a completely different route from its predecessor which led to a game that, other than the Philips CD-i games, is the most polarizing entry in the entire series.
The team behind Zelda II opted for a side-scrolling action adventure with platforming and role-playing elements as opposed to the top-down action-adventure sword-fighting of the original. It did have top-down sections, but only as the map that Link walked through to get from town to town.
Like the original game, Link gained abilities as the game went on that would help him in later parts of his quest. However, this time around, Link earns the ability to cast magic. As such, Zelda II has a health bar as well as a magic bar. Most abilities consume a certain amount of magic, so it is important to use your magic sparingly. Magic can be refilled by talking to specific people in the villages or from certain items dropped by defeated enemies.
Although the combat and exploration were different, it did add some elements that returned in future installments. The villages were explorable and you could talk to villagers who would sometimes do things to help Link or have helpful items in their houses. Future games would revert to using hearts to represent life, but the magic meter bar returned to keep track of things such as energy to cast fire or ice.
The story is, in my opinion, the best part of the game. As this was released in 1987, at a time when cartridge space was tiny due to the cost of memory chips, most of the story was told through the manual. The story in the manual is as follows. Before the events of the first game, the Kingdom of Hyrule was prosperous due in part to a mystical artifact known as the Triforce. The King of Hyrule had two children, a boy, and a girl. After he died, the Triforce of Courage was split into pieces. The prince sought the help of a magician to acquire the pieces of the Triforce that he did not inherit. It was believed Princess Zelda knew much about the Triforce, so the magician interrogated her. He threatened her with eternal sleep if she did not reveal what she knew, and when she remained silent the magician made good on his threats. Distraught by his sister's state, the prince ordered that all female descendants of the Hylian monarchy be named Zelda.
This leads to the game itself. Link sets off to find the missing pieces of the Triforce of Courage to wake the sleeping Princess Zelda. He begins his quest in the palace where the princess lies asleep. If Link fails in his quest, the evil Ganon is resurrected. This leads to a red game over screen, which flickered in the original release but has been toned down in re-releases due to fear of causing epilepsy in the children and adults who play the game. This is accompanied by an evil laugh which is also heard in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and its variations. All of this, combined with the spooky silhouette of Ganon, scared me as a kid. Yet, it also made me determined to do better as I didn't want to see that game-over screen again. I still saw it multiple times, as the game is tough as nails, but it gave me the motivation to keep playing.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a game that doesn't deserve all of the hate it gets. It is the most different of the Nintendo games in The Legend of Zelda series, and it is really difficult. However, it is not more difficult than other games that are still praised from that time, such as the Mega Man series. The Nintendo Entertainment System was chock full of difficult games. The random encounters of enemies on the map were also certainly annoying, but in the late 1980s, this was common in role-playing games developed in Japan.
The combination of platforming, magic, and role-playing elements was certainly interesting. If this wasn't part of The Legend of Zelda series it would no doubt be better remembered today. The story and atmosphere make it very memorable. The musical pieces, from the classic theme song to the palace combat tunes are also extremely memorable. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link definitely deserves to be played with a fresh set of eyes. You might find yourself actually enjoying it.
Final Verdict:
3½ out of 5
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