Zelda II: The Adventure of Link: Difference between revisions

{{Game

|image= [[File:TAoL Black Logo.png|center|300px]][[File:TAoL NA NES Box Artwork.png|x300px]]

|developer= [[Nintendo EAD]]

|designer= Tadashi Sugiyama (director)<br/>Yoichi Yamada (director)<br/>[[Shigeru Miyamoto]] (producer)<br/>Akito Nakatsuka (sound composer)

|released= '''Famicom Disk System'''<br/>{{release|jp= January 14, 1987<ref name="E 7">{{Cite Book|quote= |book= E|publisher= |page= 7}}</ref>}}<br/>'''Nintendo Entertainment System'''<br/>{{release|na= December 1, 1988<ref name="E 7"/>|eu= September 26, 1988<ref>{{Cite web|retrieved=September 27, 2017|url=http://www.jeuxvideo.com/jeux/nes/00006760-zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link.htm |title=Zelda II: The Adventure of Link sur Nes |site=jeuxvideo.com}}</ref>}} <br/>'''Game Boy Advance'''<br/>{{release|na= October 25, 2004|jp= August 10, 2004|eu= January 7, 2005<ref>{{Cite web|retrieved=June 10, 2014|url=http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Game-Boy-Advance/Zelda-II-The-Adventure-of-Link-267673.html |title=Zelda II: The Adventure of Link |site=Nintendo Europe}}</ref>|aus=2005}}<br/>'''Wii Virtual Console'''<br/>{{release|na= June 4, 2007|eu= February 9, 2007<ref name=EU-VC>{{Cite web|retrieved=June 10, 2014|url=http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/NES/Zelda-II-The-Adventure-of-Link-823290.html |title=Zelda II: The Adventure of Link |site=Nintendo Europe}}</ref>|jp= January 23, 2007|aus=February 9, 2007}}<br/>'''Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console<br/>(Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors)'''<br/>{{release|jp=August 31, 2011|na= August 31, 2011|eu=September 1, 2011|aus=September 1, 2011}}<br/>'''Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console'''<br/>{{release|jp=June 6, 2012|na= November 22, 2012<ref>{{Cite web|retrieved=June 10, 2014|url=http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/s9F89w_gvdQw9AHfp5S2yAU901BhQQne |title=Zelda II - The Adventure of Link |site=Nintendo of America}}</ref>|eu=September 13, 2012<ref name=EU-VC/>|aus=September 13, 2012 |kr=May 4, 2016<ref name="Korean VC">{{Cite web|retrieved=May 6, 2016|url=http://www.nintendo.co.kr/3DS/eshop/eshop_virtualconsole.php |title=Virtual Console |site=Nintendo Korea}}</ref>}}<br/>'''Wii U Virtual Console'''<br/>{{release|jp=September 11, 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/software/vc/fbcj/index.html|title=<nowiki>Wii U｜リンクの冒険｜Nintendo</nowiki>|site=Nintendo}}</ref>|na= September 12, 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=40507|title=NINTENDO DOWNLOAD HIGHLIGHTS NEW DIGITAL CONTENT FOR NINTENDO SYSTEMS - SEPT. 12, 2013|site=Nintendo Pressroom}}</ref>|eu=September 26, 2013<ref name=EU-VC/>|aus=September 26, 2013}}<br/>'''Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online'''<br />{{Release|na= January 16 2019<ref name = "SwitchNA">{{Cite web|author= Nintendo|published= 8 January 2019|retrieved= 21 March 2019|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJb8KSG1q74|title= Nintendo Entertainment System - January Game Updates - Nintendo Switch Online|site= Youtube.com|type=Video}}</ref>|jp=  January 16 2019<ref name = "SwitchJP">{{Cite web|author= Nintendo|published= 8 January 2019|retrieved= 21 March 2019|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKw2EEpKmsc|title= ファミリーコンピュータ Nintendo Switch Online 追加タイトル <nowiki>[2019年1月]</nowiki>|site= Youtube.com|type=Video}}</ref>|eu=  January 16 2019<ref name = "SwitchEU">{{Cite web|author= Nintendo|published= 16 January 2019|retrieved= 21 March 2019|url= https://twitter.com/nintendoeurope/status/108548739306557440|title= Nintendo of Europe on Twitter|site= twitter.com}}</ref>|aus= January 16 2019<ref name = "SwitchAU">{{Cite web|author= Nintendo|published= 16 January 2019|retrieved= 21 March 2019|url= https://twitter.com/NintendoAUNZ/status/1085688196166500352|title= Nintendo AU NZ on Twitter|site= twitter.com}}</ref>}}

|platforms= [[Famicom Disk System]]<br>[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]<br>[[Nintendo GameCube]]<br>[[Game Boy Advance]]<br>[[Wii|Wii (Virtual Console)]]<br>[[Nintendo 3DS|Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console)]]<br>[[Wii U|Wii U (Virtual Console)]]<br>[[Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch (Online)]]

'''''Zelda II: The Adventure of Link''''' is the second main installment of {{TLoZ|Series}} and the direct sequel to {{TLoZ}}. It was originally released on the [[Famicom Disk System]] in Japan and eventually on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] in North America and Europe. While retaining many of the features of its predecessor, {{TAoL|-}} altered certain elements of gameplay, most notably affecting movement and combat. Traveling across a world map would lead to enemy encounters which took place on a side-scrolling field of play rather than the top down perspective for which the series became known.

A few years after the defeat of [[Ganon]] and the rescue of [[Princess Zelda]], [[Link]], now at the age of sixteen,<ref>[http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_lb/vc_lb_02.html Nintendo Virtual Console: Adventure of Link]</ref> is disturbed by the appearance of a mark on the back of his hand. Upon seeing this mark, [[Impa]], the nurse of Princess Zelda, tells him the story of how, ages ago, the [[King of Hyrule (The Adventure of Link)|King of Hyrule]] had hidden a third part of the [[Triforce]], the Triforce of Courage, in the [[Great Palace]] to safeguard it from evil.

When Link is on a side-scrolling perspective, he is able to use [[Magic of The Adventure of Link|Magic]]. Each Magic can be used either for attack, defense, or solving puzzles. Each ability consumes a certain amount of Magic Points on Link's [[Magic Meter]], and while their effects are of unlimited time, they automatically cancel after Link reaches a new area. Certain enemies drop [[Magic Jar]]s that contain Magic Power which replenishes the Magic stock. There are eight Magic Spells in total:

Development of {{TAoL|-}} started with [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]'s idea of creating a side-scrolling action game which used up and down movements for attacks and defense.<ref>{{Cite person|quote= Development started with Mr. Miyamoto saying he wanted to make a side-scrolling action game that made use of up and down movements for attacks and defense. It's rooted in actions like jump strikes, downward strikes, and high and low shield defense moves. Types of moves that weren't possible in the first game.|name= Tadashi Sugiyama|url= https://nintendoeverything.com/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link-director-on-how-development-started-title-difficulty-and-more/|title= Zelda II – The Adventure of Link director on how development started, title, difficulty, and more}}</ref> This idea was developed as a new sword and shield action game that did not follow the system seen in the first ''The Legend of Zelda''.<ref>{{Cite person|quote= Rather than being a continuation of the series, it started as a new sword and shield type of action game. We were experimenting while producing the game so we didn't really have the first game's systems in mind while developing it.|name= Tadashi Sugiyama|url= https://nintendoeverything.com/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link-director-on-how-development-started-title-difficulty-and-more/|title= Zelda II – The Adventure of Link director on how development started, title, difficulty, and more}}</ref> At the end of development, the game was considered a type of spin-off until it was decided on a story where Link would be 16 years old, attaching the ''Zelda'' title to it.<ref>{{Cite person|quote= As for it being unique within the series, we were searching for new ways to play so you could say it's like a spin-off. At the end of development we decided on a story and that Link would be 16 years old then attached [The Legend of Zelda 2] and released it as the second game in the series.|name= Tadashi Sugiyama|url= https://nintendoeverything.com/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link-director-on-how-development-started-title-difficulty-and-more/|title= Zelda II – The Adventure of Link director on how development started, title, difficulty, and more}}</ref>

The leveling up system was added so players could battle enemies multiple times, while encounters on the overworld added a luck factor to the narrow map.<ref>{{Cite person|quote= There were various restrictions at that time so we put in the level up system as a way to have players battling enemies time and time again. As for the symbol encounters, the field map was narrow so the system added a luck factor to it.|name= Tadashi Sugiyama|url= https://nintendoeverything.com/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link-director-on-how-development-started-title-difficulty-and-more/|title= Zelda II – The Adventure of Link director on how development started, title, difficulty, and more}}</ref> The high difficulty of the game was implemented to extend playing sessions due to the lack of content in games at the time.<ref>{{Cite person|quote= The foundation of action games at the time was to feel difficult for everyone. Games didn't have a ton of content at that time so in order to have them played for as long as possible we felt like we couldn't make them easily clearable.|name= Tadashi Sugiyama|url= https://nintendoeverything.com/zelda-ii-the-adventure-of-link-director-on-how-development-started-title-difficulty-and-more/|title= Zelda II – The Adventure of Link director on how development started, title, difficulty, and more}}</ref>

Like [[The Legend of Zelda (Game)|the first game's]] incarnation of Hyrule, the world of ''Adventure of Link'' is not landlocked, meaning that Link will have to travel overseas to move from one side of Hyrule to the other. [[Level-9|Death Mountain]], which was in the north in the first game, is now in the southwest. While it was a simple mountain region in the first game, it is now a complex rocky labyrinth.

Both this game and [[The Legend of Zelda (Game)|the first]] are linked in continuity, since the first game revolves around retrieving two of the major fragments of the [[Triforce]], and [[Ganon]] is fought in order to rescue [[Princess Zelda]]; the second game revolves around finding the third major fragment in order to revive an incarnation of Zelda that was sleeping for a very long time, and to impede the revival of Ganon.

===Completion Records===

<!-- NOTICE: To update completion records, please edit the Speedrun Records article (http://zeldawiki.org/Speedrun_Records). This table will automatically be updated with the records on that page. -->  

{{#section:Speedrun Records|AOL}}

|}

===[[Places in The Adventure of Link|Places]]===

{{TAoL|-}} was added to the [[Nintendo Switch Online]] Service on January 16, 2019.

*The first appearance of [[Dark Link]].

*The introduction of several new enemies and one boss (aside from Dark Link) that return in later games, such as the [[Iron Knuckle]] and [[Volvagia]] (called Barba in the original English release).

*The Famicom Disk System version of the game uses the infamous "Gannon" spelling in the intro, as well as other typos such as "Tryforce." This intro was largely re-written in the North American release.

*Acording to serie's creator [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], {{TAoL|-}} is the only {{TLoZ|-}} game he considers a failure,<ref>{{Cite person|quote= Compared to Legend of Zelda, Zelda II went exactly what we expected... All games I make usually gets better in the development process, since good ideas keep coming, but Zelda II was sort of a failure...|name= Shigeru Miyamoto|url= https://www.nintendoforums.com/articles/40/super-play-magazine-interviews-shigeru-miyamoto-about-zelda|title= SUPER PLAY MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS SHIGERU MIYAMOTO ABOUT THE LEGEND OF ZELDA}}</ref> this due to the limitations of the hardware.<ref>{{Cite person|quote= I think specifically in the case of Zelda II we had a challenge just in terms of what the hardware was capable of doing, [...] So one thing, of course, is, from a hardware perspective, if we had been able to have the switch between the scenes speed up, if that had been faster, we could have done more with how we used the sidescrolling vs. the overhead [view] and kind of the interchange between the two. But, because of the limitations on how quickly those scenes changed, we weren't able to. The other thing, is it would have been nice to have had bigger enemies in the game, but the Famicom/NES hardware wasn't capable of doing that. Certainly, with hardware nowadays you can do that and we have done that, but of course nowadays creating bigger enemies takes a lot of effort.|name= Shigeru Miyamoto|url= https://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamotos-bad-game-514017583|title= Shigeru Miyamoto's 'Bad' Game}}</ref>

*Ganon's laugh on the game over screen is also used in the NES game ''{{Wp|Punch-Out!! (NES)|Punch-Out!!}}'' as {{Wp|Soda Popinski}}'s laugh.

{{Names

|zhSM= Zelda Legend 2: Link's Adventure}}

[[Category:2D games]]