Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Release date(s)	NES/FDS version ^JPN January 14, 1987 ^PAL November 26, 1988 ^NA December 1988 GBA version ^JPN August 10, 2004 ^NA October 25, 2004 ^PAL January 7, 2005 Virtual Console version ^JPN January 23, 2007 ^PAL February 9, 2007 ^NA April, 2007
Genre(s)	Adventure, Action-RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone) OFLC: G
Platform(s)	Famicom Disk System, NES, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console
Media	Floppy disk (FDS version), Cartridge (NES, GBA version)

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released in Japan as The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (The Legend of Zelda 2 リンクの冒険, Za Rejendo obu Zeruda Tsū Rinku no Bōken^?, lit. "The Legend of Zelda 2: Adventure of Link"), is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and the second title in the Legend of Zelda series. It was originally released in Japan on the Famicom Disk System less than a year after the release of the original Legend of Zelda, and converted to the NES cartridge format when released in the United States and other countries in 1988. It was later re-released in 2003 in The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition for the Nintendo GameCube, again in 2004 as part of the Classic NES Series for Game Boy Advance, and once more for the Virtual Console on the Wii.

Zelda II is a direct sequel to the original Legend of Zelda, and again involves the protagonist Link (now 16 years old) on a quest to save a new Princess Zelda who has fallen under a sleeping spell. Zelda II’s emphasis on side-scrolling and RPG-style elements, however, was a significant change from its predecessor (The Legend of Zelda) and has given it the common reputation as the “black sheep” of the series. Some fans of the series have even gone as far as to call it the worst in the official series. ^[1] Nonetheless, the game was highly successful and introduced many elements that would become commonplace in future Zelda games. It was followed in 1992 by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super NES.

1 Plot
2 Gameplay
3 Development
- 3.1 Music
- 3.2 Translation
4 Versions
5 Legacy
- 5.1 Sequels
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Plot

Shortly after the events of The Legend of Zelda, near Link’s 16th birthday, he notices a strange mark on the back of his left hand, similar to that of the crest of Hyrule. He seeks out Impa, and recognizing the sign, she brings Link to "the door that does not open" in the North Castle. As Impa suspected, the mark opened the door, revealing the original Princess Zelda put to a deep sleep. Impa tells Link the real “Legend of Zelda.” Long ago, a king ruled the land of Hyrule with a son and daughter. When the king died, the Triforce should have passed onto the Prince. However, he could only inherit the Triforce in part, and thus sought the remaining pieces. When he learned that Zelda knew of their location, he questioned her. She refused to answer, and so the prince sent his wizard to question her. When he failed, the wizard became furious and cast a sleeping spell on Princess Zelda. The wizard fell dead, but the Prince was left grieving. The prince moved Zelda to a room in the North Castle and had her placed on a bed, hoping that one day she would awaken and return to life. To ensure this event was never forgotten, the Prince ordered that all females born to the royal family from that point on would be named Zelda.

Link by the sleeping Princess Zelda

Impa gives Link a brown chest containing six crystals and an old message, saying that it was passed down from her family for generations while serving the king. She tells Link that they have been set aside for a time where a great king will come forth and allow Hyrule to usher into a golden age. Somehow, Link is able to read it even though he had never seen the ancient markings before. It is written by the same king, who cast a spell on Hyrule to reveal a mark on the perfect person to rescue Zelda when the time has come. It also reads that the restoration of the crystals to the six palaces in Hyrule will disable the "binding force" set up on the path to the Great Palace in the Valley of Death ("Disvalley" in the Japanese version), where the Triforce of Courage is kept. Taking the crystals, Link sets out to restore them to their places, defeating powerful palace guardians and learning magic spells to aid him as he seeks to find the Triforce of Courage and break the enchantment on the sleeping Zelda. Meanwhile, the followers of the fallen Prince of Darkness are still seeking to murder the one who destroyed him; sprinkling Link's blood on Ganon's ashes will make him rise from the dead. With the return of Ganon, the world would face an unprecedented crisis.

The kingdom of Hyrule has since been relocated north of where the original Legend of Zelda took place, primarily due to the land being overrun by monsters. Even so, the current location of Hyrule is in a grim state. Most of the people of Hyrule have died, telling from the massive graveyards all over the area. Monsters roam the overworld, and small towns are few and far between, scattered about Hyrule. They are all hunting for Link.

Ultimately, Link is able to place the six crystals in the palaces, crossing the sea by raft to the Eastern Continent of Hyrule in the process. With the crystals in place, the path to the Great Palace is opened, where Link defeats the great winged beast Thunderbird, and a doppelganger of himself (also known as Dark Link). Link is then given the Triforce of Courage by a small old man within the palace. He returns to Zelda in the North Castle, who awakens and embraces Link as the curtains fall, giving the Legend of Zelda a happy end.

[edit] Gameplay

Zelda II bears little resemblance to the first game. Rather than the top-down view of the previous title, Zelda II features side-scrolling areas within a larger world map. The game also incorporates a strategic combat system and more RPG elements, including an experience points system, magic spells, and more interaction with non-player characters.

[edit] Experience levels

In this installment of the series, Link gains experience points to upgrade his attack, magic, and life points by defeating enemies. He can raise each of these areas to a maximum of eight levels. Raising a life level will decrease the damage Link receives; raising a magic level will decrease the cost of spells; and raising an attack level will strengthen his offensive power, requiring fewer sword strikes to defeat enemies. Link can also find up to four Heart Containers and up to four Magic Containers that increase his life points or magic points. Though Heart Containers appear in other Zelda games, Zelda II is the only game in the series that allows Link to build levels.

Like many other RPGs, Zelda II allows the player to fight weaker enemies to raise levels before tackling more difficult challenges. Most other games in the Zelda series only allow Link to increase his strength through new weapons, defensive items, and Heart Containers. Unlike the majority of experience systems for other RPGs, Link can lose experience by being touched by certain enemies, though he will never drop to a previous experience level. In order to be strong enough to beat the game's steadily more difficult dungeons, the player may need to spend time fighting extra enemies in order to raise Link's levels.

[edit] Overworld map and side-scrolling

The overworld.

The second Zelda welcomes players to a two-mode world. The overworld, which was previously where the majority of the action occurred, is still from a top-down perspective, but serves only a means to get from one place to another. Whenever Link is attacked or finds a place that can be explored, the game switches to a side-view mode. The palaces and towns are all viewed in this way as well. Likewise, if Link strays from the roads of the overworld (into a forest, desert, or swamp, for example) black enemy silhouettes appear and pursue him. If one is touched, a battle ensues in the side-scrolling mode. The fighting remains action-oriented, not menu-based like most RPGs, yet the separate modes for traveling and combat are very characteristic of traditional RPGs.

[edit] Combat system

Zelda II uses a relatively complex and strategic-minded combat system. Link must alternate between a standing or crouching position in order to attack with and defend against either high or low attacks. When standing, Link attacks at and defends most attacks from torso level. While crouching, Link attacks at and defends most attacks from floor level. Many enemies in the game have attacks that can strike Link at either the high or low level, and are also often immune to either the high or low strike, often due to a height difference or equipping a shield. Link must time his movements to attack the enemies' vulnerable points while defending against their varying attacks. The Iron Knuckle is a particularly challenging enemy because it changes the height of its attack and its shield depending on Link's current stance, forcing Link to continually change stances until he has a chance to attack safely. During the course of the game, Link also learns techniques for attacking midair with downward and upward stabs.

[edit] Magic

In place of actively-used items, The Adventure of Link features spells for Link to use during action scenes. Each spell is learned from a wise man, each one in a different town. Before they teach Link their spells, he often has to complete side-quests such as retrieving lost items.

[edit] Development

Like The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II was based on Shigeru Miyamoto's concepts.^[2] However, the game was developed by a separate team from the original, and key members from the Zelda design team, such as Takashi Tezuka and Koji Kondo, were not involved in Zelda II's production.

Role	Alias	Real Name	Zelda I Alum
Executive Producer	H.Yamauchi	Hiroshi Yamauchi	Yes
Producer	Miyahon	Shigeru Miyamoto	Yes
Director	Sugiyan	Tadashi Sugiyama	No
Director	Yamahen	Yoichi Yamada	No
Sound Composer	Tsukasan	Akito Nakatsuka	No
Designer	Isshin	Kazunobu Shimizu	No
Programmer	Morikazu	Kazuaki Morita	Yes
Programmer	Marumaru	Tatsuo Nishiyama	No
Programmer	Shigechan	Shigehiro Kasamatsu	No
Programmer	Nishiyan	Yasunari Nishida	Yes
Programmer	Nakazoo	Toshihiko Nakago	Yes

^[3]^[4]

[edit] Music

The score of The Adventure of Link, unlike that of The Legend of Zelda, was composed by Akito Nakatsuka ("Tsukasan" in the credits) rather than Koji Kondo. As such, almost none of the music from the previous game was retained for this game, save for the introduction to the overworld theme for the first game (Hyrule Overture), which was used in the new overworld theme in The Adventure of Link.

Due perhaps to the fact that the game's music was composed by Nakatsuka, the music in this game has generally not been incorporated into later games in the Zelda series. However, a newly orchestrated version of Palace features in the Underground Maze level and the Hyrule Temple stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

[edit] Translation

In the town of Ruto, there is a character whose initial line of dialogue is “I am Error.” This is correctly translated from the Japanese word for error (エラー). The character name Bagu is likely a misinterpretation of the Japanese word for bug (バグ), which would connect the two characters with computing terms.

[edit] Versions

The Adventure of Link was re-released in 2003 on the The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition disc for the Nintendo GameCube,^[5] and again in 2004 as part of the “Classic NES Series” for Game Boy Advance,^[6] with several changes. The death animation removed flashing colors in an effort to prevent seizures. Several graphical and audio tweaks were made, and an enemy formerly titled Barba is named Volvagia, keeping with the naming in the Japanese release. It was released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on January 23, 2007^[7], in Europe and Australia on February 9, 2007 and in U.S on April 9, 2007.

[edit] Legacy

Link in the town of Rauru

Many elements of the game have remained in the series. For instance, non-player characters (NPCs) were present in the original Zelda, but their role was rather limited. All Zelda games since Zelda II prominently feature a variety of NPCs who play a pivotal role in Link’s quests. The use of metered magic and spells has also carried over into several Zelda games. Dark Link also appears in Ocarina of Time, and a similar Link clone called Shadow Link appears in Four Swords Adventures. The hammer was introduced as a tool for the first time as well.

Although Link's ability to stab upwards and downwards midair has not appeared in any other Zelda game, it has been featured in the Super Smash Bros. series and in the Nintendo GameCube version of Soul Calibur II.

Additionally, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was one of the first games to combine platform and RPG gaming elements to any considerable degree. Over the next several years, a number of Japanese-made games would appear with a similar format; major titles such as Cadash (1989) closely resemble Zelda II, with side-scrolling platform stages supplemented by RPG-like statistical systems, weapons, armor, magic spells, and so forth. More recently, the Valkyrie Profile series of games by Square Enix have also combined side-scrolling platform action with RPG gameplay.

Five of the sages in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time bear the same names of towns from Zelda II (Rauru, Ruto, Saria, Nabooru, and Darunia). Another town, Mido, shares the name of a bossy character in Ocarina’s Kokiri Forest.

Link’s line, “I found a mirror under the table,” may be the first example of Link speaking in a Legend of Zelda game. Whether the line is actually spoken is questionable, as it appears only in text (like all dialogue in NES games). Link very well may be thinking this rather than speaking it. Similar lines also appear elsewhere in the game.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the only Zelda game in the main North American series not to use the phrase “The Legend of Zelda” in its title. It is also the only Zelda game to feature “lives” counting down to “Game Over”, and the only game in the series to include 1-ups.

[edit] Sequels

The next Zelda game after Adventure of Link was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super NES in 1992 (North American release), which followed new Link and Zelda characters and returned to the top-down style of the original Legend of Zelda. No further Zelda titles in the main series to date have used side-scrolling gameplay, but several later games including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Seasons for the Game Boy systems incorporated limited side-scrolling in certain areas. Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, two lesser known Zelda games for the Phillips CD-i created without involvement from Nintendo in 1993, did have side-scrolling play reminiscent of Zelda II.