[AoL] Adventure of Link, what is story/goal?

Hi guys :) I recently was gifted Link’s adventure (Zelda 2) and have been playing for a while now, but I can’t get over the lack of storytelling. I play the game on a game & watch, and thought maybe it was faulty product. But a friend just got the game on an emulator, and again: no storytelling! So I started a gameplay video on youtube, to be extra sure, and also: the game just starts! Where do you get your hints? How to navigate through?

(PS: using friend’s account - please don’t send private message)

Thank you in advance!