Review: Zelda II - Adventure of Link

“Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” is viewed in modern times as something of a black sheep within the beloved Legend of Zelda franchise. It’s not very hard to see why it’s thought of this way. It’s the only numbered sequel in the Legend of Zelda series. It’s not even actually called the Legend of Zelda! Just Zelda II! (This was actually a localization choice by Nintendo of America, the game is called the Legend of Zelda II in Japan)

As many Youtubers have lamented over the years. It’s harder. It abandoned the original’s top down, overworld-exploring, dungeon-crawling format for a different approach. It combines a vast bird’s-eye view with dungeons, caves, special locations, and random encounters that transition to 2D side-scrolling action scenes. The puzzles require a lot more thought. Solving them and finding all the secrets require a lot more hints from the game’s treasure trove of NPCs. Unlike the first game which just had old men, shopkeepers, or strangely friendly Moblins hiding in random dungeons, caves, or stairs hidden under a bush; Zelda II has entire towns and NPCs with their own motivations, side quests and sometimes even backstories (backstories that can fit into 1 or two lines of dialogue but backstories, nonetheless).

While Zelda II had a lot of elements that would never be used in the series again, it did introduce some concepts that would become series staples. Shadow Link, magic spells, villages filled with NPCs, and side quests. Yet the differences can make it feel like it’s just not quite a Zelda game, and you can trace that back to its development. Following the release of The Legend of Zelda for the Famicom Disk System in Japan, work got started for a new sword and shield action game. Miyamoto assembled a whole new team with his right hand man, Tezuka, as his writer. As his co-directors, he tagged Tadashi Sugiyama (who would later go on to work as director for the Mario Kart and F Zero series) and Yasuhisa Yamamura. (who would become one of Nintendo’s top level designers) From the beginning of development, it was decided that the game would not just be a continuation of the first game’s mechanics but would explore moves and mechanics that weren’t possible in the Legend of Zelda. In Miyamoto’s vision, the game would be an action platformer with multiple attack and defense options. Only after the game was nearly done, did they add the story and details connecting it to the first.

Zelda II, like its predecessor, was released for the Famicom Disk System in Japan. It was released on January 14th, 1987, just 11 months after the original. It ended up being the 5th highest selling game on the NES. Although not as immensely popular as the original sales-wise, it did garner high praise at the time of release. Famitsu gave the game 36 out of 40. (The original garnered a perfect score). ACE Magazine of the UK, in their September 1990 issue, gave it a 90%, praising the game’s beautiful manual, the absorbing gameplay, and the blending of RPG elements with arcade action. Total! Magazine of the UK, in February 1992, gave the game an 82, praising the combat sequences and ultimately recommending it over the first game. These days, Zelda II scores among the worst of the Zelda franchise. Shigeru Miyamoto even famously considers Zelda II as his “one bad game”. But now, after beating the game for the first time; I want to explore whether Zelda II holds up or deserves its reputation as the black sheep.

Action Gameplay, Grueling Difficulty

The Adventure of Link starts off in Zelda’s Palace in a side-scrolling view. Zelda lays asleep in a deep slumber. Here is where the player takes control and discovers that A is jump and B is attack. Now Link can scroll the screen smoothly when moving left and right. Pressing down lets Link crouch down. Scroll the screen all the way to the left or to the right and you will exit. The game drops you into the overworld and back into the familiar top down view. If Link wanders off the path, however, black figures appear butLink cannot swing his sword. Eventually the shadowy blobs catch up to Link. Instead of taking damage, the screen cuts to black and transitions back into another side-scrolling screen with enemies now to fight. The gameplay loop has been communicated to the player. Considering the time and hardware it was released on, I find the interactions between the top-down overworld and side-scrolling action scenes marvelous. Link controls great in the combat sequences. There is no perceivable lag in the controls or slipperiness or floatiness in the physics. The side-scrolling view gives Link new attack options. He can attack high with a jumping slash, attack low with a crouching stab, and Link will need to adjust his position with his shield to perform defensive maneuvers when his health gets low. Enemies also now have more options with the side scrolling view. While overworld encounters aren’t all that challenging, the palaces are labyrinths with branching paths. Full of enemies with swords and shields of their own. Enemies fly across the screen in an arc. Enemies shoot projectiles that must be blocked. Each palace requires you to find the hidden item and fight the boss before placing a crystal in a statue in the final room, destroying the palace.

New players will die. A lot. Mercifully, Zelda II has lives so a death doesn’t result in an immediate game over and continue. Link starts with three lives and can find more in the world by collecting “Link Dolls”. Extra lives don’t regenerate after getting a game over or turning off the game, they are one and done. This makes them pointless for newer players somewhat, but I digress. Losing a life restarts you on the same screen you died. A continue, however, means you start the game over from Zelda’s Palace but retain the progress you have already made. This is a downgrade from the first game where getting a game over in a dungeon lets you continue from the start of the dungeon rather than the first screen. The one exception to this is the final level, “The Great Palace”. A Game Over here allows you to continue from the beginning of the palace. Nintendo must have realized the hell players had to go through to get that far and knew making players start at the beginning of the game wasn’t going to fly. Overall, the combat is fun but tough and even a bit frustrating in parts.The controls and combat are a lot more fun than the Legend of Zelda, they are my favorite aspects of Zelda II.

Zelda II also includes some RPG mechanics. Instead of using items, Link has a magic meter. Spells are obtained by completing little sidequests during the adventure and using them drains the magic meter. Not only can Link find wizards to teach him spells but there are two hidden warriors in the game that will teach him new attacking moves as well. When defeated, enemies either drop an item or give Link some XP. When the XP quota is met, the new level can be used to raise Link’s Attack, HP, or Magic. The original game gave you a few cryptic hints. But otherwise you are on your own searching every screen for the next hidden dungeon to get another piece of Triforce to defeat Ganon. But in the sequel, Link visits towns and the locals will give him an abundance of information to use on his quest. These aren’t much less cryptic than the first game but the extra information is appreciated.

About ⅓ of the way through the game, “Death Mountain” becomes available, introducing a huge difficulty spike. The area is littered with multiple branching paths and new stronger enemies. It can seem almost impossible to make it through. Leveling up, however, makes Link stronger and with practice and new abilities, you can make it through; unlocking the hammer that opens up the 2nd half of the game. There are other items that you will need to find in the game; heart containers to increase your health, magic containers to increase your magic. And various trinkets to give to NPCs so that they will teach you a new spell. Still there are many places where new players can and probably will get lost. As the Angry Video Game Nerd said in his review of Zelda II, the NPCs might as well just say “Get the Power! Nintendo Power!”. Speaking of Nintendo Power, although I was determined not to use a walkthrough or look up any questions online for my playthrough, I did download scans for the game’s manual as well as Nintendo Power #4 and #5. These ended up being invaluable resources as there were some puzzles I simply could not solve with the vague NPC hints alone. The world of Zelda II does feel more alive than the world of the first game. The towns with their various citizens and the many locations make Zelda II’s version of Hyrule feel like a living world and not just a collection of disconnected screens on a 16 x 8 grid.

The Sights and Sounds

What the Legend of Zelda lacked in quantity of music, (it really just had 3 songs, plus the opening and credits themes) it made up for in quality. While none of Zelda II’s themes are as iconic as the Legend of Zelda opening or overworld themes, it has many more themes overall at the quality level you would expect from the series. Zelda II’s composer was Akito Naktsuka who also composed for “Punch-Out!” on the NES. The palace theme, in particular, is a favorite of mine. The overworld theme gives a sense of adventure and whimsy that is appropriate considering Link’s new abilities in Zelda II. The towns’ theme is peaceful and a needed respite when braving the onslaught of enemies in the overworld. Speaking of the overworld, there are many different environments. Deserts, swamps, rivers, and mountains all have unique tiles on the overworld and the different areas have their own distinct looks. But, it isn’t the most graphically captivating sprite-work. Link manages to be the same size as towns, which are the same size as the shadowy enemies, and so on. The overworld view still does its job of showing the player where they are at and where they are going in the world. It’s just not the greatest graphics on the NES. Action scenes and palaces look so much better. Enemy sprites are big and varied, coming in orange, red, blue, and occasionally purple varieties. Palaces have many decorations and have been uniquely colored in the NES version compared to the japanese release. Boss characters are interesting and unique. NPCs are often repeated but come in several varieties. Overall, the game is on par with the original’s look and other games from that time period. It’s not a game that blows you away with its presentation like Mario 3 or Kirby’s Adventure but it isn’t a sight for sore eyes either.

The So What

Zelda II is a game that is challenging, confusing, and frustrating at times. It’s also compelling, totally engrossing, and fun. Zelda II lacks modern sensibility and seems like it was created solely to sell Nintendo Power subscriptions. But it has a level of Nintendo Polishtm that makes you want to play anyways. Miyamoto admitted that he was not satisfied with Zelda II. Paraphrasing, he didn’t think it pushed the limit of what the NES was capable of. They just made the game they set out to make, and Miyamoto didn’t think that was good enough. Sugiyama, one of the game’s directors admitted in an interview that games of the time were designed to be difficult as a way to pad out play times. Zelda II falls into that trap. But it’s game that relies on skill instead of luck. If you aren’t the kind of gamer that has the desire to struggle through cryptic puzzles and really tough enemies, I’d recommend playing the game on a platform with save states while using a walkthrough but I’d recommend playing it all the same. It’s one of the best games on the NES and one of my favorites in the series. I’m sorry Mr. Miyamoto but I just don’t agree that Zelda II is one of your bad games. It did exactly what it needed to do to be a great action RPG. While its style didn’t become the future of the Legend of Zelda series, it was popular enough to inspire great games that came after it like Shovel Knight!

Beating Zelda II is one of my proudest achievements. I promise you won’t be let down with this classic sequel either. 4 ⭐’s out of 5