A different Zelda game.
If there is one game in the NES library that made me feel special as a kid after finishing them it was definitely Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. In my neighborhood it was a sort of standard to fame among kids when you were able to defeat Link’s shadow in the end of Zelda II. This of course meant that the toughest of us played the game through multiple times.
Story is, just like the game itself as whole, a little different from other Zelda titles. This time you start in the same room as princess Zelda, but she’s asleep. So it is up to you to wake her from an evil spell and on your way to save the world from Ganon once again. Just like in the original Legend of Zelda, you will not know much about the story unless you read the manual.
Graphics are better than they were in the original, much because the overworld looks like a map and it pretty much works just like that. Sound is great and I remember many theme songs vividly even to this day, but probably because the music loops a lot. This means that I listened it for hours and hours as a kid.
The structure of the game reminds me of Super Mario Bros. 3, but Zelda II is non-linear. Game is a some sort of hybrid top-down overworld and side scrolling RPG. It’s very different comparing to other titles of this franchise, but it still works well. Be prepared to fight lots of enemies and collecting many different items on your way.
To me and my childhood friends this is THE Zelda game in the NES, but if you don’t agree with me I’ll totally respect that.