Nintendo is known for releasing rather ‘safe’ sequels. These generally do not stray far from the previous game, but they weren’t always like this. In the eighties Nintendo frequently experimented with their key franchises. One of which was the Legend of Zelda. This first game was one of their biggest hits, and rather than expanding on the ideas they introduced with it the developers at Nintendo instead hit the drawing board for the sequel. The fan base is generally divided on Zelda II: The Adventure of Link because it’s a significant departure. I recall renting it when I was young, but I was never able to make it very far due to the intense difficulty. Despite this my interest was piqued, and as an adult I was finally able to complete the adventure. Zelda II: the Adventure of Link may not hold up as well as the original, but it’s a great game on its own merits.
Right off the bat you can tell this installment is different from most because it’s one of the rare direct sequels. Zelda II takes place several years after Link defeated Ganon by gathering the pieces of the triforce of wisdom. An evil spell has befallen princess Zelda who is now doomed to eternal slumber. What’s more is that Ganon’s minions are rising up to revive their fallen leader by defeating Link. Our elfish protagonist must take six magical crystals and return them to their rightful resting place deep within numerous monster filled temples and finally face off against his dark doppelganger to break the curse. I really like just how different this scenario is compared to the other releases in this franchise. Shigeru Miyamoto made some bold choices here, and in my opinion the atmosphere of this game more closely matches the concept art from the original. This title gave us a more in depth view of Hyrule, and I’ve always found this world more rich and mysterious than the original game. Not only that but you have actual town areas and characters with which to interact. This enhances the story a great deal and makes the world feel populated. Hyrule has been completely re-invented here and is completely changed since last we saw it.
While the approach to story is quite different than what fans are used to the biggest change here is the gameplay. Nintendo did away with the purely action adventure based gameplay and instead went with something that more closely resembles a side scrolling platformer. Let’s start with the world map. You traverse this from an overhead perspective and enter caves, dungeons, towns, and other miscellaneous locations. These are represented with small icons, and the map itself resembles what you would find in a Japanese role playing game of this era. Adding further to this is the fact you cannot directly fight on the world map; enemies are represented by small black icons that approach you. When touched you’re whisked away to a side view action screen. Here you can walk left and right as well as jump and attack with your sword. When your health is full the sword shoots a short range beam that is helpful for keeping distance between you and your opponents. Completing these sequences and returning to the map is as simple as navigating to the end of the action area. What’s really cool is that there is a variety of terrain in these sequences which is determined by where Link is standing when engaged by the foe.
The world map isn’t the only RPG element added to the game. Rather than having a life bar and gaining hearts by defeating bosses Link now a numerical hit points value. Defeating enemies rewards you with experience points, and when you reach a certain amount of these you gain a level and his health increases. In addition you have other stats such as attack power and magic that are also upgraded by this method. Zelda II plays more like an action RPG than any of the other installments in this franchise, and it feels surprisingly right. Unfortunately tools take a backseat in this adventure. You’ll find these throughout the course of your adventure, but most of them are single use and only serve to open up new paths. It’s quite boring in this regard compared to the original and all subsequent Zelda titles. Replacing them are magical spells that can be used freely during the action sequences. These serve various offensive and defensive functions, but some are used simply to open up the path. Personally I much prefer the plain old tool system.
Unfortunately Zelda II: the Adventure of Link does suffer one major issue. The difficulty is through the roof. The adventure is challenging right from the get go, but once you reach Death Mountain things quickly take a turn for the unfair. At least the Game Over screen featuring Ganon laughing. It’s a good thing because you’ll be seeing this a whole lot. The enemies are extremely unfair, and the standard attack is often ineffective. You have to pay attention to where the enemy’s weapon is, and strike elsewhere either by ducking or jumping while swinging the sword. This makes the sword play feel more authentic and it’s entertaining for the first few times, but to be honest, it just makes the entire experience too frustrating. Defeating some standard enemies could take over a minute which is just far too long for this type of game. Furthermore the boss characters (particularly the final one) are by far the toughest in any Zelda title. I’m always up for a challenge, but Nintendo went too far with this one. Younger fans of the franchise won’t stand a chance.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a pretty big graphical upgrade from the original release. Characters feature more animation, and are rendered in bigger and more detailed sprites. While I really like the world map and appreciate the fact that it resembles that of traditional RPGs of this era it’s a little boring to be honest. Simple pathways, grassy fields, swamps, water, and mountains. Nintendo could have done so much more to make each region feel different from one another. Another problem I have is with Link’s sprite during the action sequences. It’s far too clunky, and a bit goofy to be honest. They did a pretty bad job putting it together to be honest. There’s also frequent sprite flickering and slowdown. You’ll find many situations of this because of the number of enemies that are often on-screen at once. On that same note the soundtrack is one of my least favorites across the series. The overworld theme is a fantastic rendition of the classic music, and the temple track is extremely memorable. My favorite music in the entire game plays while you’re inside NPC houses. The rest is pretty forgettable to be honest. The composer did make good use of the hardware though.
While it’s the most different installment in the entire franchise I don’t think it’s fair to call Zelda II the ‘black sheep.’ It’s actually a pretty fun game with nicely designed dungeons, and it captures the essence of the early atmosphere even more than the original. Nintendo really should have tested this one more out of the gates though because even as a seasoned gamer I found myself struggling with the unbalanced difficulty.
