Gaming Anniversaries January 14- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Released January 14, 1987-Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link slashed into the Japanese market on this day in 1987. For the Famicom Disk System!

Zelda II: The Adventure of LinkZelda II: The Adventure Link is quite notorious for being the worst Zelda game. however, it’s not that bad. It just isn’t what people expected to be a Zelda game. In 1987, it wasn’t that bad either, as time marched forward, hatred for the game began to multiply. Mostly from people who didn’t grow up in the time period, or already had a pre-imagined idea of what a Zelda game should be. Nintendo, of course, is known for taking risks and trying new things. (Not), but they had something big back then with the first The Legend of Zelda game. So why not give it a go?

The game stars our usual hero, Link as he just turned 16, he noticed a strange mark on his hand. Impa informs him that this mark is the key to opening the chamber where the Princess has been asleep for so many years after she learned of the Triforce of Power, and an evil wizard unsuccessfully tried to steal it from her. Placing her into her eternal rest. It’s now up to our hero Link to find all the pieces of the Triforce of Power to revive the Princess and bring Hyrule back to the kingdom it once was!

The game is the same action-roleplaying genre we know and love, with some twists. battles and dungeons are now played out in a side-scrolling view, and the overhead map is used only for traveling.

Battle System

Enemies are no longer in plain sight either. instead, they’re represented by black characters that will give chase to link. When they catch up, the game switches to the aforementioned side-scrolling view for battles.

The battle system is pretty unique as well. When Link is at full health, he can throw his sword, after just one hit, he must rely on melee tactics. Additionally, the game will give you three lives to complete your goal. When all three have been used, its game over.

The Adventure of Link utilizes a battery-save system. Just like in the first game. meaning there are no annoying passwords to remember or write down, which helps, as the game is pretty long for a title in the NES library.

Overall, the game deserves a second look. Especially if you’re a fan of the series overall. If you give it a go or have any thoughts, drop them in the comments below!

 

 

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