Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987)
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987) is the NES sequel that boldly shifts the series into side-scrolling combat with RPG-style experience, leveling, and a world-map exploration layer—making it one of the most unique Zelda entries ever released.
Game Data
| Release Year | 1987 |
| Developer | Nintendo |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platform | Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) |
| Genre | Action RPG / Platformer |
| Players | 1 |
| Original Media | NES Cartridge |
Gameplay:
Travel across an overworld map, enter towns, palaces, and caves, then switch to side-scrolling action for combat and platforming.
Earn experience to level Attack, Magic, and Life, and use spells and items to overcome tougher enemies and dungeon challenges.
Story:
Link must place crystals in palaces across Hyrule to break the sleeping curse on Princess Zelda. As he progresses,
Ganon’s followers try to revive their fallen leader by defeating Link and using his blood.
Trivia:
Zelda II is famous for diverging from the original’s top-down format, introducing a deeper combat system and RPG progression
that still makes it stand out in the franchise today.
With its precise swordplay, spells, and leveling system, Zelda II feels like an action-RPG experiment inside the Zelda universe—challenging, distinctive, and hugely influential for later hybrid designs.
Screenshots
Timeline / Versions
Why Zelda II Was Historically Important
Zelda II proved Nintendo was willing to take big design risks: it fused overworld exploration with side-scrolling action and a real RPG progression system. Even though it’s different from most entries, many later action-adventure and action-RPG hybrids borrowed ideas from its combat depth and leveling structure.
