Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Nobody likes to talk about this game. Like many of its contemporary "second games in franchises that would eventually become enormously popular" - I'm thinking specifically of Super Mario and Final Fantasy here - Zelda II stands out in hindsight as a real black sheep compared to the rest of its family tree. I'll get into why in a moment, but it also warrants mentioning that, as with Super Mario Bros. 2 and Final Fantasy II, Zelda II set many important precedents that would help shape so many ensuing games down the road. But there are reasons nobody likes to talk about this game. For starters, it's unlike any other Zelda game in that it is a side-scrolling platform hack-and-slash akin to Castlevania. The overworld is still presented in a top-down manner, but there are random encounters. And you get experience points when you defeat enemies. In describing the game to a friend, I joked that it should have been called "Final Fantasy Zelda-Vania." Because aside from the presence of Link (and, briefly, Zelda), there's absolutely nothing Zelda-esque about this game. No bombs. No boomerang. No bow and arrows. No shield or tunic upgrades. No puzzle-based dungeons and no maps or compasses either. And yet, this is the game in the series that first gave us Dark Link, villages full of non-playable characters, "pogo stick" downward thrusting (and, well, jumping in general), and, believe it or not, the Triforce of Courage. (The first Zelda gave us the Triforces of Wisdom and Power but made no reference to a third one. This is especially weird since "Triforce" has that "Tri-" prefix and all, and since the three-triangle Triforce has become an internationally recognized symbol for the franchise. Strange.) There were parts of Zelda II I didn't mind. Experience points, for example, made it possible for me to "grind" and become very strong very early on in the game. And the side-scroller gimmick only felt weird until I realized that the 3D Zelda games are more similar to side-scrollers than top-down games. Still, at the end of the day, I'm glad Nintendo abandoned most of what made Zelda II so different from the first Zelda. It seems fitting that this game is the only one in the fifteen-long franchise whose title does not officially begin with "The Legend of Zelda." Ultimately it wasn't terrible, but it was certainly the least enjoyable Zelda game I've ever played. But thankfully, it's done now. Bye bye, black sheep, and bye bye, compilation disc!