Link: The Faces of Evil - Zelda Series Influences

In the early years of its existence, the Zelda series was nowhere near as rigidly defined as it is nowadays. The perception of the series from the late 80s to the early 90s varied greatly, and often resulted from the type of Zelda-related media that was available in a country and/or to a person familiar with the series. For the United States, the Zelda series was mostly defined by the two NES games, DiC's Nintendo cartoons (primarly their Zelda series as well as Captain N: The Game Master), Valiant Comics' series, and (near the end of that period) the brand-new, 16-bit title A Link to the Past.

These entries also influenced how the Maryland-based Animation Magic viewed the series, with specific designs and character quirks being recycled for their two CD-i games. I've went through comics, episodes, and concept art for the early Zelda series, and I believe that all six of the above sources were used as inspiration (in at least one way) by Animation Magic. Each potential connection I found will recieve one of three verdicts:

Very Likely: Nearly identical (or even 100% identical!) in terms of design or similarity. This is the closest a link (heh heh) can get to being officially confirmed.
Likely: Are quite similar to each other, and a good chance of being an influence (if not the main influence) on its CD-i equivalent.
Debatable: There are similarities between the two, but there's too much vagueness and/or there's an equal chance of influence from elsewhere.

Here are my findings for Link: The Faces of Evil:

Entries:

The Legend of Zelda (1987) -- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1988) -- DiC Cartoons (1989-91) -- Valiant Comics series (1990) -- A Link to the Past (1992)

The Legend of Zelda (1987)

Example (Location)	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
Darknut artwork (US Manual pg. 36)	Darknut in-game sprites	Likely
Dodongo artwork (US Manual pg. 37)	Dodongo in-game sprites	Very Likely
Stalfos artwork (US Manual pg. 35)	Stalfos in-game sprites	Likely

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1988)

Example (Location)	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
Daira artwork (US Manual pg. 29)	Daira in-game sprites	Very Likely
Wosu artwork (Nintendo Power #4 pg. 28)	Lupay's design	Debatable

DiC Cartoons (1989-91)

Quite a bit here. We'll have to break this down by episode and even series.

Multi-Episode Stuff

Example	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
Link talks! And he desparately wants a kiss from Zelda.	Link talks! And he desparately wants a kiss from Zelda. (At least, in this game.)	Very Likely
Zelda's father (and the King of Hyrule) is named Harkinian.	Zelda's father (and the King of Hyrule) is named Harkinian.	Very Likely
King Harkinian calls Link "my boy" in Sing for the Unicorn and That Sinking Feeling.	King Harkinian calls Link "my boy" in the game's intro.	Debatable
Goriya design	Goriya in-game sprites	Likely

101: The Ringer

Example	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
The episode starts with Link declaring how bored he is: "Yuck! Another beautiful day in the magical kingdom of Hyrule - boring place!"	The game starts with Link declaring how bored he is: "Gee, it sure is boring around here!"	Debatable
Part of the episode's ending involves Link and Zelda almost kissing, with a sky backdrop.	Part of the game's ending involves Link and Zelda almost kissing, with a sky backdrop. (They're even in the same positions!)	Likely

105: Sing for the Unicorn

Example	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
Link's Crissword is unable to injure regular, non-monster people like Sing.	Link's Smart Sword cannot hurt regular, friendly people. (In fact, it makes them talk!)	Debatable

Something interesting to note; The Ringer and Sing for the Unicorn had dedicated VHS releases from 1989 to 1990. Could Animation Magic have bought these specific VHSes to use as direction for their Zelda games?

110: The Moblins Are Revolting

Example	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
When his minions rebel, Ganon is trapped in a bubble and sent to his lair's Bottomless Pit for some time.	When Link defeats him, Ganon is trapped in the Book of Koridai and sent to "the pit".	Likely

Captain N: The Game Master

Example	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
Zelda's outfit in Captain N has her wear a short-sleeved shirt with an exposed midriff, something the animated series lacks.	Zelda's outfit in this game has her wear a short-sleeved shirt with an exposed midriff. (TWoG screenshot used for better visualization)	Likely

Valiant Comics series (1990)

Example (Issue)	CD-i Equivalent	Verdict?
King Harkinian design (Issue #1 pg. 12)	King Harkinian cutscene design	Likely
Moblin design (Issue #1 pg. 12)	Moblin cutscene design	Likely
Octorok design (Issue #2 front cover)	Octorok in-game sprites	Likely
Gohma design (Issue #2 pg. 4)	Gohma in-game sprites	Likely
Zelda keeps her items in a "Magic Pouch". (Issue #2 pg. 6)	Link keeps his items in a "Magic Pouch", as said in the tutorial.	Very Likely
Ganon's hood design (Issue #2 pg. 10)	Ganon's cutscene design (TWoG screenshot used for better visualization)	Debatable
Link says "How about a kiss, for luck?" to Zelda. (Issue #3 pg. 1)	Link says "How about a kiss, for luck?" to Zelda.	Likely
Link almost defeats Ganon by trapping him in a cage and dropping him into an "endless pit". (Issue #3 pg. 15)	Links defeats Ganon by trapping him in the Book of Koridai and sending him to "the pit".	Likely
~~Power~~ Handy Glove design (has extra wrist rings) (Issue #4 pg. 9)	Power Glove inventory sprite	Debatable