Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Overview
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an action role-playing sequel where the player controls Link. His quest is to revive a sleeping Princess Zelda by finding the scattered pieces of the Triforce, which are protected by monsters in temples. The narrative explains that Zelda was cursed into eternal sleep long ago, leading to a royal tradition of naming all princesses Zelda to remember the event. Additionally, the followers of the defeated Ganon seek to resurrect him using Link's blood, adding another layer of threat.
The game world is navigated from a top-down perspective, but transitions to side-scrolling views for combat and exploration in towns, temples, and enemy encounters. In these action sequences, Link can use his sword, cast learned spells, and interact with characters. His health and magic meters are key resources; health is lost through enemy contact and can be restored by fairies or town healers, while magic power is spent on spells for effects like healing or enhanced jumps and is refilled by collecting jars dropped by foes.
Defeating enemies yields experience points. Accumulating enough experience allows Link to level up and spend points to permanently increase his attack power, maximum health, or maximum magic. Players may choose to save these points for later upgrades. Certain necessary items are hidden throughout the adventure, which requires progression through guarded locations. The game includes a battery backup feature for saving progress.