Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

"Lurking in the shadows..."

After a courageous battle with an evil magician, Princess Zelda was succumbed to an eternal slumber by his wicked powers. Sleeping on an altar in the North Castle, it seemed that no powerful forces would awaken her – that is, unless the Triforce was used. Thus, Impa proclaims Link to search for the remaining Triforce piece – the Triforce of Courage – and unite it with the other two, Power and Wisdom. But searching for this piece is no easy task. For one, the Great Palace – the place where the Triforce of Courage is said to be located – is guarded by a seemingly indestructible magical barrier, capable of destroying anyone attempting to dash through it. The only possible method of dispelling this barrier is to place a special crystal in a statue situated in the deepest reaches of each of the initial six palaces, only to be protected by a formidable guardian. Only then will Link be able to enter the seventh and most immense palace: The Great Palace.

At the start of his adventure, Link is immediately positioned from a side view, unlike in Legend of Zelda. Upon witnessing the latent princess for a brief period, he finally leaves the North Castle, ready to face any challenge that awaits him. As soon as he enters the overworld, the screen immediately switches to the traditional overhead perspective. After discovering a small town located on the horizon, he decides to take a shortcut through the grasslands and woods in hopes of arriving there sooner than later. But much to Link's avail, ferocious enemies of different sizes suddenly appear out of nowhere, ready to take him down. Unable to run away, Link bravely decides to engage in battle (The screen instantly changes to a side perspective once again, as is every other “action” scene).

After receiving a few minor blows from the spears of two vicious moblins, Link manages to overcome them both with his mighty sword – valuable experience points are acquired for a job well done. Following a couple of successful victories, Link decides to spend his hard-earned experience points on increasing one of his three attributes: overall attack power, defense, or magic power. The higher these attributes are in level, the easier it is for Link to progress through his challenging adventure.

But don't expect battles to be as simple as those near the North Palace, where the strongest enemy is the spear-throwing moblin. Later in his quest Link will encounter deadlier foes, such as ferocious axe-wielding Darias and boomerang-throwing Goriyas. Simple sword-swinging won't work here; Link will need to make use of his ever-important shield to deflect any projectiles coming his way, and will have to rely on great jumping skills to gain the upper hand on them. And if that's not enough, Link will be greeted by menacing ironknuckles that reside in each palace. These guys surely mean business; they are destined to destroy Link whenever they can with their impressive sword and shield skills. Compared to Legend of Zelda, where many foes didn't appear completely fierce and dangerous, the many visually-detailed enemies here truly show they want to shred Link to pieces.

However, as mentioned before, Link will not face identical swarms of enemies when traveling throughout the land of Hyrule. Completely different beasts are located on every diverse terrain. Plains are always flat and frequently filled with the weakest of all foes, which usually provide more of an annoyance than a benefit should Link decide to encounter them. On the other hand, Link's fighting skills will surely be tested in deserts and graveyards, where he must tackle through many obstacles like flying rocks and bumpy hills, while attempting to defeat incredibly powerful adversaries. The different landscapes also illustrate gorgeous surroundings, from the dark skies in graveyards to the murky waters in every swamp.

Thankfully, Link's quest isn't all about monster bashing, or else he'd suffer many deaths from the hands of every foe. He must also travel through every town, receiving valuable information about Hyrule's surroundings from the local townsfolk, and learning new magic spells and sword techniques. Without the help of these villagers, Link wouldn't be able to progress much through his quest – and end up in many dead-ends as a result. But don't expect these people to have the vast knowledge about every important location Link must travel to. Sometimes you'll end up confused of what they're talking about, while other times you will not receive enough information. In the end, you may often wind up questioning yourself of what to do and where to go next, wasting valuable amounts of time in the process.

The main portion of the game, the palaces, will definitely challenge Link's fighting and venturing skills. Containing numerous lava pits, locked doors, and incredibly difficult enemies (including ironknuckles), Link must successfully brave through all these obstacles to locate the statue where a crystal must be inserted. Prepare to confront a destructive adversary at the end, as Link must defeat it in order to reach said statue. The first palace is a relatively easy breeze, though; only the final three palaces will present a hefty challenge for Link to achieve.

The Great Palace, on the other hand, is definitely something else. It's best not to marvel at its beautiful golden structure; Link must prepare to battle the toughest of all enemies and backtrack from the gloomiest of all dead-ends, instead. Furthermore, Link must find a very valuable treasure in each of the initial six palaces that will certainly aid him during his quest. This includes the candle, which helps illuminate dark and gloomy caves; and the boots, which enables Link to travel across shallow water.

Unfortunately, while each palace has its share of dreadful foes, all of them are lacking in the puzzle-solving aspect. Besides having to retrieve a certain key to unlock a door, thus opening a brand new portion of the palace, puzzles are virtually nonexistent here. Although, this is probably because all palaces are situated in a side view as well; it is pretty difficult to implement any sort of challenging puzzle – like block-pushing – as a result.

In spite of the numerous differences from Legend of Zelda – most notably the side-scrolling action scenes – Adventure of Link is not everyone's cup of tea. While the side scrolling scenes are despised by many, I think it's a wonderful new innovation. Essentially, the side scrolling battle and town scenes make Adventure of Link a more action-oriented title. Battles with the toughest of all foes are always heart-pounding and intense, a definite improvement over the original Zelda.

Adventure of Link is undeniably the most unique of all Zelda's, as the passionate battles definitely make up for its lack of challenging puzzles and side-quests. In addition, its difficulty is definitely notable; prepare to suffer many deaths from the hands of most enemies and dangerous obstacles. It's definitely a shame Adventure of Link is often regarded as the worst of all Zelda's. While many might regard it as a lone gremlin, others consider it as a powerful beast lurking in the shadows – myself included.

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/08/04, Updated 02/28/05