Nintendo’s Very First Legend of Zelda Sequel Made a Bold Move That Still Impacts the Series Today

The Legend of Zelda is approaching its fortieth anniversary, with the original game in the series becoming one of the defining successes of the original Nintendo Entertainment System. In the years since, the series has grown in lots of surprising ways, whether that be the shifts in style seen in The Wind Waker or The Twilight Princess, the gameplay/storytelling integration in A Link to the Past, or the mechanic tweaks of Tears of the Kingdom. An emphasis on approaching new gameplay tweaks in each title has helped solidify the series as something wholly unique in the gaming space.

That has been a core element of the series, going all the way back to the sequel to the first game. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link brought back the same hero from the first game, now tasked with awakening the long-slumbering Princess Zelda while preventing the resurrection of Ganon. While that may sound like a basic sequel on paper, the execution saw the developers take risks and experiment with the newly crafted formula. The result was a game that may not be the most beloved entry in the series but nevertheless influenced every sequel to come with a focus on the importance of evolution and experimentation in game design.

The Legend Of Zelda Sequel Was A Completely Different Game From The First One

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link debuted in Japan on January 14, 1987, before making its way to other regions the following year. Whereas the first game had used a straightforward top-down approach to world exploration and combat, The Adventure of Link shifted gears completely. The game alternated between a larger world map and side-scrolling action sequences, with the combat much more in line with games like Castlevania. New additions were included, including experience points to improve Link’s capabilities, a collection of magical spells to use against enemies, and a life system that no other entry in the series has since revisited. The inclusion of magical items was added, along with a host of side quests necessary to acquire new magical spells.

It was a huge departure from the previous game, and that was very much by design. Shigeru Miyamoto had been a co-creator on the first game and (alongside story and script writer Takashi Tezuka) was among the almost entirely new development team assembled for the sequel. While the core concepts were consistent with the first game, the greater depth of combat options and grander storytelling — which included the first real hints towards the cyclical nature of the central characters that would become a crucial element of the franchise — came into play.

More than just a simple sequel, The Adventure of Link felt like a truly expansive new approach to the concept, reinventing how the series approached action, exploration, and worldbuilding. Even if it retained much of the universe established in the previous entry, it was fundamentally a very different game. While critics and audiences at the time of release embraced the game, modern fans have been a bit more critical of the title and the changes it makes to the formula established in the first Legend of Zelda game, while more openly embracing the refinement of the first title’s gameplay found in subsequent sequels like A Link to the Past.

Legend Of Zelda Has Always Thrived On Innovation

Looking back, The Adventure of Link might be something of an outlier in the overall trajectory of The Legend of Zelda franchise, but it codified the idea that innovation and experimentation were key to any new entry in the series. The Adventure of Link added several fresh elements ot the experience that would go on to define other entries, like the use of magical weapons or abilities. While the limited lives might have been largely dropped, elements like upgrading Link’s abilities (a trait more in common with typical RPG titles instead of The Legend of Zelda games) would be reincorporated into the games with Breath of the Wild‘s stamina wheel.

The greater emphasis on strategic combat would come more into play once the series entered 3D, with the timed blocks and precise swings becoming increasingly important in future entries. The massive world of Hyrule, now filled with NPCs that the player could speak with, learn about, and receive side missions from, became increasingly fleshed out with subsequent sequels.

Even the larger shift in storytelling and the change in the visual approach speak to how Legend of Zelda games can wildly differ in terms of aesthetic and tone while still being unmistakably part of the same legacy of games. More than anything, the legacy of The Adventure of Link, almost forty years later, was to make innovation a key component of The Legend of Zelda‘s future. While other sequels would take bigger and broader swings as time went on, none of that might have been possible if the original Legend of Zelda sequel hadn’t been willing to embrace change so thoroughly.