“Zelda II – How A Black Sheep Paved The Way For The Entire Series”

When it comes to Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link, stop me if you’ve heard the following:

Zelda II is the black sheep of the series because of xyz.

It’s not a real Zelda game.

It’s so different from other Zelda titles, I don’t see how it fits with the other games.

However, when asked what their favorite series entry is, most likely people will answer with games like Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, or even Breath of the Wild. Those four games (among many others in the long-running series) share DNA with the so-called black sheep of the Zelda series. Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link isn’t a game that should be dismissed because it’s not a conventional Zelda game. It should be celebrated because of what it gave to the series.

Zelda II has contributed to the lore, the locations, names, and even some of the combat mechanics featured throughout the series history. In my eyes, the greatest contribution this game gave to the series was its combat. I admired Link not only for his selfless, altruistic nature but also for his indomitable proficiency in swordsmanship. The combat in Zelda II taught me that patience and strategy will overcome any adversity; whether it’s a fearsome Lizalfos or a Friday afternoon deadline.

Regardless of my personal view, today, I hope to uncover and share with you all the many things that make this game so special and important to the franchise. It’s my hope that less can be said about how this title doesn’t fit with the Zelda mould, and instead helps explain how the series evolved and became the powerhouse that it is today.

The first and most significant contribution that Zelda II brought to The Legend of Zelda series is the Triforce of Courage. In The Legend of Zelda, players were presented with the Triforces of Power and Wisdom. Power is in Ganon’s hands and Wisdom is broken up into pieces by Princess Zelda for Link to find. The sequel revealed that there exists a third Triforce – the Triforce of Courage – and the game’s premise is centralized around this powerful artifact. 

Years after his valiant battle against Ganon, Link awakens to see a triangle mark on the back of his hand. Impa, Zelda’s handmaiden, rushed him to a palace in North Hyrule and revealed the story of the Triforce of Courage and the original Princess Zelda – the first by which all Princesses of Hyrule are named after. Cursed by a wizard to eternal sleep, the only way to awaken her was to recover the lost third Triforce. Impa hands Link six crystals and instruct him to deliver them to six palaces around North Hyrule. Only then can the entrance to the Great Palace be opened where the Triforce can be claimed.

Since then, the Triforce of Courage has become synonymous with Link. Throughout his storied career as a heroic vanquisher of evil, Link’s courage saw him through many obstacles. However, there is no challenge greater than facing off against yourself. A prime representation of this is Dark Link, the final boss in Zelda II. Dark Link is the ultimate foe that Link has to face in order to claim the Triforce of Courage as his own. Metaphorically, the shadowed fiend represents a more vile and violent version of Link; a dark culmination of all the lives of monsters and living things he had taken in the name of good. When faced with such an opponent, there are only two options to consider. One: To flee from and reject the consequences of your actions as an act of cowardice. Or two: To face your darkest self head-on with courage and conviction, knowing that you do what you do for the good of all. In Zelda II, Link chooses the latter. It’s remarkable that this aspect of Link’s character could be traced back to the most unpopular of Zelda titles! 

Speaking of, in subsequent titles, Dark Link would appear as a potent adversary in games like Ocarina of Time and Minish Cap. Dark Link also enjoys a strong following within the fan community, likely due to the reasons above.

With regards to Ocarina of Time, the names of the towns should sound familiar to players of the most iconic of Zelda titles – that’s right, they are the names of five of the Six Sages: Rauru, Ruto, Saria, Nabooru and Darunia. Mido, Saria’s friend/devoted follower in Ocarina of Time, was also named after the Town of Mido, the port town off the coast in the western part of North Hyrule. When addressing the chronology of the full Zelda timeline in later years, Nintendo stated that the towns in Zelda II were named after those very characters from Ocarina of Time.

Zelda II introduced a Hyrule that was teeming with character and personality. That same vibrancy was then replicated in subsequent titles. Each game, from Link to the Past, to Breath of the Wild and everything in between, had memorable NPC’s. However, they all originated from individuals such as Error or the River Man. The time-honoured tradition of random folks asking Link to get them stuff for a reward also originated in the first sequel.

Magic plays a vital part in the mythos of The Legend of Zelda. While the first title granted Link magical items that helped in his quest, Zelda II introduced players to the Magic Meter. Learning spells from various wise men, Link used them to aid in his quest to recover the Triforce. Those Links who succeeded him in later titles would use that same magic power to thwart evil at every turn.

Last but definitely not least, Zelda II influenced combat mechanics within the series. Due to its side-scrolling nature, Link’s actions in Zelda II gain a substantial upgrade from the first title. Introducing crouching and jumping to his repertoire of movements allowed players to employ a more strategic method of fighting enemies. Not only could Link attack enemies shorter than him, he could also take on enemies who had the high ground. Add in a few secret moves, such as the immensely useful downstab and the moderately useful upstab, and Link becomes an impressively capable swordsman. Future titles such as Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and even Skyward Sword expand upon Link’s proficiency with swordplay. In fact, a Did You Know Gaming? expose on The Legend of Zelda revealed that Ocarina of Time’s development originally began as a remake of Zelda II! The proposed remake would have had a strong focus on chanbara – a cinematic form of samurai fighting – likely stemming from the original game’s combat mechanics.

It may have been obvious, but I would be remiss not to mention that Zelda II is my all-time favourite Zelda game. On top of it being my first, it was also my introduction to the fantasy genre. The various townsfolk, the fearsome monsters, the sword fighting and the magic and mystery of Hyrule drew me in as a child and has not let go. From reading Lloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three, to the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, and to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, all of those stemmed from my initial journey with Zelda II. It’s even what influences my writing to this day, so it bothers me when people dunk on it as not being a true Zelda title. I strongly feel that this unappreciated title contributed greatly to one of the longest-running series in video game history. Without Zelda II’s contributions to lore, gameplay mechanics and combat, Link, Zelda, Ganon and Hyrule itself wouldn’t be as beloved and cherished as they are right now.

If you haven’t given this game a chance, I highly implore that you do so and that you play it with an open mind and heart. Chances are, you’ll learn something from it.

Ryan Cheddi – our friendly, neighbourhood caffeine addict – is a man of many talents: an engineer, a gaming historian, a fiction writer and a streamer. He is also a self-avowed Sonic the Hedgehog fan. You can check out his cool beans at his site – Games with Coffee – or find him on Twitter as @GameswCoffee, and Instagram as @games_with_coffee. He streams on Twitch, also as GamesWithCoffee.