Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
  1. Games
  2. Action Rpg

This fan-made Zelda 2 remake gives the 36-year-old RPG a new lease of life with new features, quality-of-life updates, and pretty visuals

News
By Hope Bellingham published 11 December 2023

Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link is now even more fun to play

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
(Image credit: Nintendo)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

A Legend of Zelda fan has created their very own Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link remake, complete with new features, quality of life update, and pretty visuals.

As highlighted by a user on Resetera, there's an improved version of Zelda 2 floating around online. The game's creator, HoverBat, shared a post on Reddit a couple of years ago giving future players a complete rundown of their fan game, Zelda 2: Enhanced PC Edition, and it seems to have resurfaced in 2023. 

According to the game's developer, they grew up playing the Nintendo title and, although they loved the original, they felt it was "lacking content" so built an engine to add more features to it. To do this, they used the engine GameMaker and the level editor Tiled to make a "direct translation" using the game's original assembly code - which basically means they've kept physics, combat, AI, etc. the same, and just added their own features.

In saying that though, the post reveals that some of Zelda 2's original mechanics and logic have been "modified" for quality-of-life reasons, or to fix some of the original's bugs. In terms of what new features they've added, the post lists several new things that have been implemented in the action RPG, including things like a saving system, a dungeon map to show you the rooms you've visited so far, an overworld map, new HUD elements, and much more.

As for those quality of life changes, HoverBat says they've added things like Link retaining 25% of his XP when continuing after game over, making background flashing optional, making beeping when your HP is low less frequent, faster dialogue speed, and more. There are a lot of new and exciting things in this version of the 80s Nintendo title, which you can see for yourself in the playthrough below from YouTuber Vinesauce. 

This is not the first impressive Zelda fan remake we've seen recently - we've also seen a lot of Ocarina of Time remakes and fan projects. There's been the fully-fledged fan sequel to Zelda: Ocarina of Time called The Legend of Zelda: The Sealed Place, as well as the Ocarina of Time PC mod that adds support for better graphics, a pet dog, and a multiplayer mode. 

My personal favorite though, is the fan-made Unreal Engine 5 anime inspired by Ocarina of Time and Studio Ghibli - and yes, it's as magical as you're imagining. 

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Find out what else you could be playing with our best Zelda games list. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
Social Links Navigation
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Latest in Action Rpg
A screenshot of Yoko Taro in the "Message from NieR: Automata director Yoko Taro" Square Enix video announcing Nier: Automata's Steam release.
Nier: Automata creator Yoko Taro sees it "as a form of respect" when devs "say outright that they copied" his action RPG
 
 
Ghostwire Tokyo
Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami has been working on a new AAA action RPG for at least 1 year, and no one noticed
 
 
Up close shot of a character from Echoes of Aincrad
New Bandai Namco Sword Art Online action RPG is "not a Soulslike," dev says, but it's still "very easy to die"
 
 
The player raises their fist as it glows blue in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
Monster Hunter Stories 3 review: "This Pokemon-like JRPG evolves to almost match the highs of the main series' hunts"
 
 
Nioh 3 shogun in plate armor helmet
15 years after Dark Souls, Nioh 3 faced the exact same problem and "people felt that the game was a little bit easier"
 
 
Diablo 4 The Butcher
For the first time in Diablo history, the Butcher will be a playable character in Diablo 4's new Season of Slaughter
 
 
Latest in News
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu standing in a row
Samurai Champloo is getting a live-action Netflix series from One Piece studio, and the original creator is on board
 
 
Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the It: Welcome to Derry finale
It: Welcome to Derry season 2 is officially in the works, as showrunner promises "something greater" than season 1
 
 
Mass Effect
"F***ing Colonel Shepard dies in Mass Effect 3, and that makes us the Worst Company in America," former EA exec laments
 
 
a ditto human sitting on some logs with pikachu and pichu
Pokopia's unhinged dialogue is tempting me away from Animal Crossing: "It's a pretty nice butt, don't you think?"
 
 
A lady looks shocked.
55-year industry vet made the first CRPG, got laid off, went bankrupt, but "I don't care": "Business does not love you"
 
 
Dragon Quest 11
Dragon Quest creator says English is "a simple language," so "the flavor tends to get lost" when translating games
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the It: Welcome to Derry finale
    1
    It: Welcome to Derry season 2 is definitely in the works, as showrunner promises to "deliver something that is greater" than season 1
  2. 2
    14 years later, former EA exec is still mad about getting the "Worst Company in America" award over BP and Bank of America just because "f***ing Colonel Shepard dies in Mass Effect 3"
  3. 3
    55-year games industry vet helped make the first CRPG, got laid off, went bankrupt, but said "I don't care" as long as he got to keep crafting games: "A business does not love you back, unless you are a business person"
  4. 4
    I thought nothing could replace Animal Crossing for my nightly cozy vibes, but Pokopia's delightfully unhinged dialogue is very tempting: "It's a pretty nice butt, don't you think? So shiny!"
  5. 5
    The Asus ROG Azoth 96 HE has returned to take the magnetic crown, but that price tag is going to be a problem

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...