The classic albeit often criticized Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is now available on Nintendo's Virtual Console. This is the 100th game released for the Wii's download service and it originally came from the NES' roster. Zelda II has received some unfair criticism in the past due to its shift from the overhead view of the original to a side scroller, but i suggest you play it first before making up your mind. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link features a game world that is larger than any other Zelda game to date.

 

Zelda II is a direct sequel to the original Legend of Zelda, and again involves the protagonist Link (now 16 years old) on a quest to save a new Princess Zelda who has fallen under a sleeping spell. Zelda II's emphasis on side-scrolling and RPG-style elements, however, was a significant departure from its predecessor (The Legend of Zelda) and has given it a reputation as the "black sheep" of the Zelda series. Despite being the least popular entry in the series (in both popularity, and sales), the game was highly successful and introduced many elements that would become commonplace in future Zelda games. It was followed in 1992 by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super NES.

via Wikipedia