在1987年推出的《林克的冒險》是薩爾達傳說續作，劇情有延續性，之後所推出的相關作品都是前傳或是平行世界所衍生的情節。遊戲分別在Famicom及Disk System平台上面發行，總銷售量有150萬套。隔年經過部分改版後推出海外NES版本，馬上受到極大歡迎，成為當年銷售量第一的任天堂遊戲，整體最後銷售數字達到438萬，是歷史上最暢銷遊戲第6名。2004則在GBA平台推出復刻版。

故事描述在上次與加農的戰爭的數年後，16歲的主角林克左手出現類似海拉爾的紋章，與印帕來到一座城堡，透過標記解開封印進入城內，發現一名沉睡的少女，原來就是古代海拉爾王國(Hyrule Kingdom)的公主。當年國王去世後，王子試圖奪取三角力量中的最後一塊，遭到公主妹妹的拒絕，於是透過魔法師將公主陷入沉睡，沒想到魔法卻意外失控，從此公主再也無法甦醒，於是傷心之餘的王子要求之後誕生的公主都要取名為薩爾達，讓後人引以為戒。林克被告知需要將六個水晶放回原置的海拉爾宮殿各處，就能取得三角力量，並與其他兩塊融合就可成功喚醒薩爾達。加農屬下為了引誘林克到加農(Ganon)埋葬地讓加農復活，準備用林克進行血祭卻失敗，最後玩家是否能成功喚醒薩爾達公主? 

《林克的冒險》屬於動作ARPG遊戲，跟前作一樣可以有三個存檔，重新登入時特殊道具是會消失的，需要再次取得。玩家需要到城鎮與村民取得各式情報，而打擊小魔王取得道具才能讓遊戲持續進行，在城鎮時畫面則變成卷軸2D(如圖)。值得一提的是除了瑪莉歐兄弟及寶可夢系列外，薩爾達傳說的成功讓該作品之後出現在任天堂所有的主機平台，對許多玩家來說，這三款經典遊戲已經跟任天堂品牌劃上等號。

Released in 1987, "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" is the sequel to "The Legend of Zelda." The storyline is continuous, and subsequent related titles are either prequels or parallel world narratives. The game was released on the Famicom and Disk System platforms, with total sales reaching 1.5 million units. After some revisions, it was released overseas on the NES the following year, immediately receiving immense popularity and becoming the best-selling Nintendo game of that year. Ultimately, it sold 4.38 million units, ranking as the sixth best-selling game in history. In 2004, a remake was released on the GBA platform.

The story takes place several years after the war with Ganon. The 16-year-old protagonist, Link, discovers a mark resembling the crest of Hyrule on his left hand. With Impa, he enters a castle and discovers a sleeping maiden, who is the ancient Princess Zelda of the Hyrule Kingdom. After the king's death, the prince tried to obtain the final piece of the Triforce, but was refused by his sister, the princess. Enraged, he had a wizard cast a spell to put her into an eternal sleep. The spell went awry, and the princess could not be awakened. The grieving prince decreed that all subsequent princesses be named Zelda as a reminder of this tragedy. Link is tasked with placing six crystals back in their original locations throughout Hyrule's palaces to obtain the Triforce. Once all three pieces are united, Zelda can be awakened. Ganon's minions try to lure Link to Ganon's burial site for a blood ritual to resurrect Ganon, but fail. The player's challenge is to successfully awaken Princess Zelda.

"Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" is an action RPG, and like its predecessor, it allows for three save files. Special items disappear upon reloading and need to be reacquired. Player must gather various pieces of information from townspeople and defeat mini-bosses to progress. In town scenes, the game switches to a 2D side-scrolling view. Notably, apart from the Mario and Pokémon series, the success of "The Legend of Zelda" has ensured its presence on all Nintendo platforms. For many players, these three classic games are synonymous with the Nintendo brand.