Note that I never mentioned action in my statement. I mentioned how the player is limited by their knowledge and abilities, not necessarily combat abilities. As for the example on the first Zelda game, the internet can say it is action-adventure or even RPG. But at heart it is an adventure game. Miyamoto(hopefully typed that right) wanted to replicate his experiences of getting lost when younger and exploring unknown areas to him. That in itself is what adventures are, by definition. Going to the nearest forest you've never visited to discover the unknown, find out what lies beyond. And luckily not get attacked by a stray bear, you don't want to go into that kind of beyond.
I just feel like there is a misconception in what generally defines adventure games. Because again, any game can be story-focused. Undertale isn't an Adventure game, story-focused though. Detroit Become Human, story-focused. The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, NieR: Automata, same applies. If an Adventure game is defined as story focused, all of these games would be categorized Adventure.
Once more, I'm approaching this from a technical point of view. One where games as interactive experiences are defined by mechanics and user interaction from within their worlds. So technically speaking, adventure games are games where you explore that which you have no knowledge about. You're there to travel and see what lies in this small new world aided by its mechanics and puzzles. If a game purely was story-driven it'd be the same as watching a movie; totally counterintuitive to what videogames are. And obviously if a game doesn't have a story, then it would ultimately lead to a dull experience without a drive for the player's actions. In all games you will advance the story by overcoming challenges and solving problems. It is the main goal of every piece to push the player forward until the end of the story it wants to tell.
Concluding, I see how adventure games are defined with that general view. Yet I disagree due to the fact that said definition is very vague, and could apply to any other genre similarly.