Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an absolutely brutal game. As soon as you leave the temple with the sleeping Princess Zelda, you’re on the inevitable path back because sooner or later, and you’re going to die and be looking at her slumbering face again. I’ve never been one to cast shade on someone for using the Switch’s rewind feature, but with The Adventure of Link, I’d actively encourage it. One moment when this comes in handy is when facing the legions of dreaded Iron Knuckles inside the game’s temples.
Iron Knuckles viciously guard the items in each of the temples in The Adventure of Link. They randomly attack by swinging their steely blades towards Link’s noggin, and they never, ever stop. The blue variety even throw knives, causing Link to have to block dagger after dagger in order to close the distance enough to fight. Each encounter with them is a pulse-pounding dance with death as you try to flick your blade past their shields and into their approaching bodies.
Clayton Stroup’s rendition of “Temple Theme” from this infamous game perfectly captures the intensity of the battles with these armored foes. The fast tempo of the song brings to mind the lightning-fast slices going up and down, relentlessly seeking the blood of the hero. At one point, a xylophone is played where the notes go quickly through a repeating pattern of high notes down to low notes, and it sounds a lot like the frantic footfalls of a Link whose health is low — the persistent beeping of near-death haunting him as he races to escape his armored pursuer.
The second half of the song creates more of a sense of mystery and searching as the tempo of the song slows down. Having escaped death, it recalls the times when we force Link to search through every nook and cranny of the palace for enough Magic Jars to cast the life spell and stave off a trip back to Zelda’s bedside.
For all the grief it gets, The Adventure of Link is absolutely worth playing. It introduces concepts that are vitally important to the series, like the Triforce of Courage, and it has some absolute bops when it comes to songs. No song from the game will get cemented into your head as much at the “Temple Theme,” and Clayton Stroup’s excellent version takes the in-game tune to new heights. Like the Iron Knuckles, it will pursue you throughout your day as you perform equally inescapable tasks such as school work, jobs, or the ever-dreaded laundry and dishes. Enjoy the pursuit!
