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Famicom AnalysisZelda II: The Adventure of LinkZelda II: The Adventure of Link — stories left
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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link — stories left

Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).

People (8)

Sugiyama is credited with the pseudonym "Sugiyan" as his first major project at Nintendo, and Yamamura is credited with his nickname "Yamahen".

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

The intro text was changed to read "third Triforce" rather than "No.3 Triforce" and the copyright date was altered to read "1987–2004 Nintendo".

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

It was re-released again on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in September 2011, alongside the first Zelda game, as part of the "3DS Ambassadors" program.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

Nintendo Power said that the game was "an entertaining and natural step in the franchise's evolution", In Play magazine praised the unique gameplay, describing it as combination of unique elements that creates an action-RPG experience unlike any other.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Retrospective and re-releases"

In 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly listed Zelda II as number 72 on its "100 Best Games of All Time", saying that while the other three extant games in the series were better (The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, and Link's Awakening all placed within the top 30), it was still a masterpiece, featuring outstanding gameplay and a much larger quest than its predecessor.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Retrospective and re-releases"

IGN said that the game is a "recommended and playable adventure" but also noted that players should not expect the same gameplay from the classic Zelda titles. 1UP.com praised the game's length, saying that the players can find plenty to keep them busy for some time.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Retrospective and re-releases"

In a 2007 retrospective, GameSpot said that while the game is "decent enough to make it worth the $5 price [on the Wii's Virtual Console]", it features "questionable design decision[s]" and can get confusing if players don't have the help of walkthroughs.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Retrospective and re-releases"

The track was later once again updated and appeared twice, as the "StreetPass Battle Theme" as well as a slower version for the "Battle Victory" music, in the Nintendo 3DS game A Link Between Worlds.

Numbers (5)

Of the sales in Japan, 750,000 copies were sold and 750,000 rewrites were made.

In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu,the game scored a total of 36 out of 40, earning a place in the Platinum Hall of Fame.

In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by the magazine Family Computer Magazine,it scored 19.84 out of 25, as shown below.

The game ultimately sold 4.38 million copies worldwide.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Contemporary reviews"

In 1992 Total! magazine awarded an 82% rating, due in great part to mediocre sub-scores for music and graphics.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Retrospective and re-releases"

Firsts and onlys (5)

Sugiyama is credited with the pseudonym "Sugiyan" as his first major project at Nintendo, and Yamamura is credited with his nickname "Yamahen".

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

The Adventure of Link was originally released for the Japan-only Family Computer Disk System on January 14, 1987, followed by the Nintendo Entertainment System in PAL regions on September 26, 1988, and in North America on December 1, 1988.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

It was re-released again on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in September 2011, alongside the first Zelda game, as part of the "3DS Ambassadors" program.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

It is also featured in the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda handheld console released in November 12, 2021 along the first Zelda game and Link's Awakening.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

Based on its culminative score, it was the second highest ranked game from Famicom Tsūshin of in 1987, only being beaten by Dragon Quest II.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Contemporary reviews"

Reception (2)

Nintendo Power said that the game was "an entertaining and natural step in the franchise's evolution", In Play magazine praised the unique gameplay, describing it as combination of unique elements that creates an action-RPG experience unlike any other.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Retrospective and re-releases"

IGN said that the game is a "recommended and playable adventure" but also noted that players should not expect the same gameplay from the classic Zelda titles. 1UP.com praised the game's length, saying that the players can find plenty to keep them busy for some time.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Retrospective and re-releases"

Cancellations and recalls (1)

The release of volume 3, the final volume, was announced, but it was not released because Wanpack Comic ceased publication.

Differences overseas (1)

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 a year after the Japanese release and seven months before the North American release of the original The Legend of Zelda.

Changed from the original (1)

The Adventure of Link was originally released for the Japan-only Family Computer Disk System on January 14, 1987, followed by the Nintendo Entertainment System in PAL regions on September 26, 1988, and in North America on December 1, 1988.

(English)English Wikipedia"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link"from "Development and release"

The passages quoted on this page are taken verbatim from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles.Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) — reusable under those terms. They are the work of the people who wrote them.

Source: created by adapting the "Media Arts Database" (https://mediaarts-db.artmuseums.go.jp/) of the National Center for Art Research, National Museum of Art
Sources: Japanese and English Wikipedia, Wikidata
Sources: TASVideos (https://tasvideos.org/), speedrun.com (https://www.speedrun.com/)