| Zelda II: The Adventure of Link | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo R&D4 |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Tadashi Sugiyama Yasuhisa Yamamura |
| Producer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Designer(s) | Kazunobu Shimizu |
| Programmer(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Takashi Tezuka |
| Composer(s) | Akito Nakatsuka |
| Series | The Legend of Zelda |
| Platform(s) | Famicom Disk System Nintendo Entertainment System GameCube Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing, platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link[a] is an action role-playing game developed and published by Nintendo. It is the second installment in the Legend of Zelda series and was released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System on January 14, 1987—less than one year after the Japanese release and seven months before the North American release of the original The Legend of Zelda. Zelda II was released in North America and the PAL region for the Nintendo Entertainment System in late 1988, almost two years after its initial release in Japan.
The Adventure of Link is a direct sequel to the original The Legend of Zelda, again involving the protagonist Link, on a quest to save Princess Zelda, who has fallen under a sleeping spell. The game's emphasis on side-scrolling and role-playing elements is a significant departure from its predecessor. For much of the series' three-decade history, the game technically served as the only sequel to the original game, as all other entries in the series are either prequels or occur in an alternative reality, according to the official Zelda timeline. This changed with the release of Breath of the Wild in 2017 and Tears of the Kingdom in 2023, which serve as the latest chapters to the Zelda continuity.[3]
The game was a critical and financial success and introduced elements such as Link's "magic meter" and the Dark Link character that would become commonplace in future Zelda games, although the role-playing elements, such as experience points and limited lives have not been used since in canonical games. The Adventure of Link was followed by A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991.
- ^ "Zelda II : The Adventure of Link. (Registration Number PA0000427613)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "「リンクの冒険」全てのゼルダの最終章？最も未来を描いた名作横スクロールアクションアドベンチャー！「ニンテンドークラシックミニ ファミリーコンピュータ」収録記念！【ゲーム年代史】". Excite (in Japanese).[permanent dead link]
- ^ Wong, Alistair (August 5, 2018). "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Has Been Added To The Series' Official Timeline". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
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