My wife bought it for my birthday as I have always been a Zelda fan. I play it on my Nintendo DS and it's still as fun as it was on the SuperNES.

Zelda II: the Adventure of Link for the GBA is a re-release of the same game for the NES released in 1988. This sequel to the original Legend of Zelda received generally mixed reactions from fans. Although they are not without merit, the game contains some elements that would remain with the series in sequels to follow.
(Note: I will not go over the game's story in this review.)

The most noticeable difference is that the overhead view from the original and the other 2-D Zelda games has been changed to a side-scrolling perspective (similar to the early Super Mario Bros. games). The only time the game still uses the overhead view is when you are traveling from place to place on the overworld map.

Another new addition is the use of Experience Points. Experience Points can be collected mainly by killing enemies. Once you have a certain amount of points, you can level-up your attack strength, magic meter, or life meter. Leveling-up causes your attacks to be more effective against enemies, your magic meter to drain more slowly after casting spells, and allows you to take less damage after an enemy attack. Each time you level-up, the number of points needed to level-up again increases. Incidentally, Zelda II was the first game in the series to have a magic meter.

While most Zelda games have a good blend of both action and puzzles, Zelda II leans more toward action. Swordplay plays a more important part in this game than in other 2-D Zelda games. The game is far from easy, and this is a major turn-off for many fans. When you start the game or get a game over, you must always start from the same point on the overworld map with any Experience Points you earned gone. The game gives you three lives, and once all three are gone, you have to start all the way back at the starting point. Beating the game takes patience on the player's part, so don't be surprised if you find yourself angry at it from time to time.

The music is different as well and does not feature any of the original songs (except for a few opening notes from the main theme of the first game). The new music is not as memorable as in the other games and was not re-used in later games.

Overall, if you are looking for a traditional Zelda game, don't buy this. But if you are looking for something different, yet still a Zelda game, you might enjoy this.