Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Reviewed by Jason Venter (July 15, 2006)

The reason Zelda II is special isn’t just the dungeons and their guardians, though, or the way it mixes two unique perspectives. What makes it so outstanding is how those elements contribute to the most tangible world the NES ever saw. It’s evident even in the way people talk about the game to this day.

Reviewed by Rob Hamilton (October 21, 2005)

While there are only a total of seven main dungeons to explore, there are a number of smaller caves to occupy your time, including the mammoth Death Mountain — a maze-like assortment of caves covering nearly a third of the first continent. Much like many of the second-continent palaces, this region is designed to test a player’s endurance and skill, as the combination of tough foes, instant-death lava and a seemingly-limitless number of caverns to navigate ensures that only a proficient player will make it through without losing a life or two.

Reviewed by mariner (November 13, 2004)

It's a sad fact that many people tend to dismiss this masterpiece simply due to the fact that it doesn't play like the rest of the Zelda games. It's the outcast of the family, tolerated perhaps, but often described as "a good game, but...." Quite frankly, that's not fair. Ignore the way the Zelda series has become, ignore all the celebrated history of Zelda that came on the SNES and onward. Imagine the feeling of having a new Zelda game, one that is admittedly quite different in gameplay but...

Reviewed by ratking (August 16, 2002)

The Adventure of Link is not at all like the original. They combined a 3D world with 2D areas. The fighting is more similiar to Castlevania then it is to the original Zelda. Really I do not understand why the original NES always changed the sequels so drastically from an already succesful formula. This is my least favorite Zelda game, for it could've been much better and I did not like how the game worked out, and the strange story.

Reviewed by sgreenwell (Date unavailable)

It's an enjoyable game, and everyone should at least try it to see if it's their fancy, but most people will be more disappointed than pleased.

Reviewed by Suskie (May 03, 2009)

One could almost say that the serious gaming world can be cleanly divided into two groups: those who love Zelda games and would be devastated if Nintendo were to make any large-scale renovations, and those who gave up on the series a long time ago because it refused to evolve. I fit pretty firmly into the former category; Zelda is my favorite video game franchise, and while the formula has been repeated endlessly, it’s a formula that almost always works and hasn’t gotten old. Then ...

Reviewed by whelkman (May 26, 2008)

To say that The Legend of Zelda revolutionized gaming is like saying The Beatles revolutionized music; it's an understatement no matter how you slice it. Zelda stunned the world with its complex yet digestible game play and its hours upon hours of nonstop fun, and it introduced the world to a new type of game and a new type of blockbuster. After Zelda, video gaming was never the same.