The Adventure of Link
A little under a year after the international first installment of the series, The Adventure of Link was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, taking the series to a new level in this side-scrolling adventure. There were many changes in this new adventure which totally changed the feel of the series, most notable being the side scrolling perspective for all of the battle sequences, towns, caves, dungeons, temples; while only the overworld exploration used the overhead perspective which the Zelda series had become known for. This new gameplay mechanic introduced jumping, along with intense sword battles to the series, with a much heavier reliance on using Link's shield as well as introducing magic and the use of spells.

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Considered "the black sheep" of the series, The Adventure of Link is without a doubt the hardest Zelda game to date, introducing a "lives system" that made the game frustrating when you ran out of lives and returned to the starting area, having to traverse across Hyrule and back into the treacherous dungeons where you fell. Many fans of the series were very disappointed with this rendition of the game and don't believe it accurately represents what the Zelda series was meant to be.

Aside from trying to live up to the expectations of its predecessor, The Adventure of Link is still one of the highest rated games for the Nintendo Entertainment System and a great game of its time. It has been released multiple times for various other Nintendo consoles such as the Gameboy Advance, the Gamecube Collector's Disc and now the Wii Virtual Console.


Game Details

Nintendo Entertainment System :
Japan release Jan 14, 1987
North America release Dec, 1988
Europe release Nov 26, 1988

GameCube Collector's Disc :
Japan release Nov 7, 2003
North America release Nov 14, 2003
Europe release Nov 17, 2003
Australia release Mar 19, 2004

Gameboy Advance
(NES Classic Series) :

Japan release Aug 10, 2004
North America release Oct 25, 2004
Europe release Jan 7, 2005

Wii Virtual Console :
Japan release Jan 23, 2007
North America release Jun 4, 2007
Europe release Feb 9, 2007

Developer Info
Produced/Directed by :
Shigeru Miyamoto
Developer/Publisher :
Nintendo


 
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