Intro

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second installment of The Legend of Zelda series and a direct follow-up to the first The Legend of Zelda title. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was originally released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System on January 14, 1987, seven months before the first The Legend of Zelda title was released in America and just under a year before the first The Legend of Zelda released in Japan, also for the Famicom Disk System. It was the second best selling Famicom game released in 1987, selling approximately 1,610,000 copies in its lifetime (roughly two thirds as many sales as Dragon Warrior II). In 1988, Nintendo released Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in North America in 1988, converting the game from its initial Famicom Disk System format to the NES cartridge like they did with the first The Legend of Zelda.

Differences from Zelda I

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link bears little resemblance to the first game. It 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, a feature which is not included in any other The Legend of Zelda game.

The game's emphasis on side-scrolling and RPG-style elements was a significant departure from its predecessor, and has given it a reputation as the "black sheep" of The Legend of Zelda series. Despite never being as popular as its predecessor, it was still one of the most successful NES games of all time and introduced elements that would become commonplace in future Zelda games. In its time it was voted "Best Overall Game" in the Nintendo Power Awards '88, was ranked in Nintendo Power's Top 5 games from their January/February 1989 through July/August 1990 issues, and stayed consistently in their Top 30 (later Top 20) NES Titles from the game's introduction in the September/October 1988 issue until the NES Top 20 was phased out in January 1995. In 1992, a sequel, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, was released for the Super Nintendo.

The game involves the protagonist Link on a quest to save Princess Zelda, who has fallen under a sleeping spell.

Story

Background

Shortly after the events of The Legend of Zelda, Link notices a strange mark on the back of his left hand, similar to that of the crest of Hyrule. He seeks out Impa, who responds by taking Link to a door in the North Castle; this door has not opened for generations. Impa places 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, where he had hidden the last of three sacred golden triangle treasures of his kingdom, known collectively as the Triforce. Princess Zelda refused to reveal its location; the prince's wizard friend, in anger, tried to strike her down with a spell. This resulted in a powerful sleeping spell, but also resulted in his 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.

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 indicating 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.

Items

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link contains items. Here are all of them:

1-Up: Zelda II has lives unlike other games in the Zelda franchise. Lose all of them, and you'll Game Over. This pickup will give Link an extra life.
Heart Container: This will give Link an extra bar of health.
Treasure Bag: This magic bag will give Link experience points of varying amounts.
Candle: Found in the Parapa Palace. Lights up dark areas and makes enemies in caves visible.
Magic Container: Like the Heart Container, this gives Link an extra bar of magic.
Trophy: Required to get the spell Jump.
Fairy: Refills Link's health to full.
Bagu's Note: When shown to the Riverman, gives access to Death Mountain.
Mirror: Link finds this under a table in a house in Saria. Required to get the spell Life.
Hammer: Breaks rocks blocking the way in the Overworld.
Handy Glove: Allows Link to break blocks with his sword.
Raft: Allows Link to cross bodies of water.
Missing Child: Required to get the spell Reflect.
Winged Boots: Allows Link to walk on water the Raft cannot cross.
Flute: Removes the River Devil, and reveals 3-Eye Rock Palace and New Kasuto.
Magic Key: Gives Link infinite keys.
Cross: Makes invisible enemies in the graveyard visible.

Spells

Shield: It reduces damage taken by half.
Jump: Link can jump super high.
Life: Restores 3 bars of health.
Fairy: Transforms Link into a fairy.
Fire: Link can shoot fire from his sword.
Spell: Turns enemies into Bots.
Reflect: Allows Link to block attacks.
Thunder: Deals massive damage to enemies in a spark.

Releases

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link has been released for many systems.

Initially it was released for the Famicom and ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first re-released as part of a GameCube compilation disk in 2003. The following year in 2004 a version was released for the Game Boy Advance. On the Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS the game was available on the Virtual Console. The game later became available on the Nintendo Switch Online service.

About

Book History

Production of this book started by October 25th, 2005 with an import from Wikipedia covering the story of the game. The book had begun development at StrategyWiki by 2006.

This book was moved to Wikibooks from StrategyWiki through the transwiki process on June 28th, 2021.