Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - Legacy

Legacy

Many elements first introduced in this game have remained in the series. For instance, non-player characters (NPCs) were present in The Legend of Zelda, but their role was rather limited. Starting with The Adventure of Link, Zelda games have prominently featured a variety of NPCs who play pivotal roles in Link's quests. The use of metered magic and spells has also carried over into other Zelda games. The Triforce of Courage makes its first appearance in The Adventure of Link and plays an important role in later Zelda games, as it is strongly associated with Link. Dark Link is a version of Link's Shadow which appears in Ocarina of Time, a similar Link clone called Shadow Link appears in Four Swords Adventures, and yet another appears in Spirit Tracks.

Additionally, The Adventure of Link was one of the first games to combine role-playing video game and platforming elements to a considerable degree. Over the next few years, a number of Japanese-made games appeared with a similar format; major titles such as Cadash (1989) closely resemble The Adventure of Link, with side-scrolling platform stages supplemented by RPG-like statistical systems, weapons, armor, magic spells, and so forth.

Most of the sages in Ocarina of Time bear the same names as towns from The Adventure of Link (Rauru, Ruto, Saria, Nabooru, and Darunia; excluding Impa). Another town, Mido, is also the name of a character in Kokiri Forest. The Adventure of Link is also the only Zelda game of the main English releases not to use "The Legend of Zelda" in its title, the only Zelda game to feature "lives" counting down, and therefore the only game in the series to include 1-up dolls. The next Zelda game after The Adventure of Link was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Famicom in 1991, which follows new Link and Zelda characters and returns to the top-down style of the original. There are a small number of side scrolling areas in the The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening; these areas were mainly underground tunnels and caves. The series broke away from the top-down style again in 1998 when Ocarina of Time was released on the Nintendo 64, with 3D graphics. A new version of the composition "Temple", arranged by Shogo Sakai, is featured in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where it is played during the "Hyrule Temple" stage and the "Underground Maze" level. A variation of the track, as well as a new version of the 'Grand Palace' level song, also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.