Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

About This Game

Gameplay

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an action role-playing game that bears little resemblance to the first or later entries in the Legend of Zelda series. It features side-scrolling areas within a larger top-down world map, unlike the exclusively top-down perspective of the first game. The side-scrolling gameplay and experience system are similar to features of Konami's Castlevania series, especially Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. The game incorporates a strategic combat system, a proximity continue system based on lives, an experience points system, magic spells, and more interaction with non-player characters. Apart from the non-canonical CD-i The Legend of Zelda games, Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, no other game in the series includes a lives feature. The side-scrolling perspective is used in a minor capacity in Link's Awakening and the other Game Boy entries, while the top-down perspective still takes focus. In this installment, Link gains experience points to upgrade his Attack, Magic, and Life attributes by defeating enemies. He can raise each of these attributes a maximum of seven levels above their starting point.

History

Shigeru Miyamoto, co-creator of the original The Legend of Zelda, intended to make Zelda II: The Adventure of Link fundamentally different from its predecessor. A new team was assembled to develop the sequel, except for Miyamoto (who is credited with the pseudonym "Miyahon") as the producer and Takashi Tezuka as the story- and scriptwriter. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link had two directors: Tadashi Sugiyama and Yasuhisa Yamamura. Sugiyama is credited with the pseudonym "Sugiyan" as his first major project at Nintendo, and Yamamura is credited with his nickname "Yamahen". Music composer Akito Nakatsuka is credited as "Tsukasan".