The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

When it comes to my favorite 3D Zelda game, I am always torn between Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild. But when it comes to the 2D installments, nothing beats The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. In my review of it here on IMDb, I already praised its cinematic quality, layered story and great gameplay, and to the day, it remains not only one of the most replayable games in the series, but also one of the first that I was able to play through on my own. The first Legend of Zelda I could only finish with a map pointing the way to the dungeons and upgrades, and I have basically given up on my wish to ever make it through Zelda II: Adventure of Link, which I found impossible even WITH a walkthrough, given that you have little more to defend yourself with than a glorified potato peeler.

With the title "A Link Between Worlds", it comes as little surprise that we find ourselves back in the Hyrule that we know so well from LttP. This time, an evil warrior called Yuga has come from a parallel world to revive Ganon, after the previous Link had taken great care to seal him away several generations ago. It is Link's task to find the descendants of the Seven Sages that originally locked Ganon away in the Sacred Realm.

Sounds familiar? No coincidence: LbW was specifically developed as a distant sequel to LttP, and to give its fans a familiar experience. They even reused the old Hyrule lay-out from LttP, and the traditional 'two worlds system' is present in the form of Hyrule's dark counterpart with the tongue-in-cheeck name 'Lorule'. It looks suspiciously like the Dark World from LttP, complete with the same type of enemies, and remastered but characteristic music. It doesn't get more nostalgic than that.

It is both the biggest strength and biggest weakness of the game. If Twilight Princess could be called 'heavily inspired' by Ocarina of Time, then LbW is a near-deja vu of LttP. Apart from the familiar surroundings, the developers have also recycled its main plot all the way through the end credits, with Link needing to find three pendants first to get the Master Sword, then fight the bad guy, and then proceed to free the descendants of the Seven Sages in the alternate world. It fits perfectly within the current trend of recycling old themes, plot elements and imagery into new works, and I don't mind extensive referencing in itself, but I feel that nostalgia should be used creatively, rather than stifle creativity. Unfortunately, the developers choose the easy route a few times too often here. I think that LbW would have been much better if they had conceived an original plot within this familiar world, instead of remaking the old game under the guise of a sequel.

Talking about easy route, the game itself also feels that way. LttP offered a healthy challenge, with maze-like dungeons that required all your skill and perseverance. I found the overall diificulty somewhat lacking in this game. Maybe it is because I am more experienced now or because controls have improved since the 90s, but I actually went through LbW very quickly, and I had very little trouble with most bosses. Even the final boss was a mere nuissance rather than a true challenge. In other Zelda games, you could extend the gameplay with some side-quests, but I found these rather limited here as well (with the exception of the search for the Maiamai creatures). Talking to NPCs often unlock a small minigame, but very few relevant subplots that could pleasantly divert your attention for a longer period.

The big innovation in the game is the so-called "wall merging" where you become a two-dimensional version of yourself that can walk accross wall surfaces. A nice feature that works quite well in a few instances, but in the end, it still feels mostly like a great gimmick rather than a true innovation in gameplay. It is limited to walking left or right, and therefore mainly used to reach hidden items and traverse areas (check Super Mario Odyssey for a example of how to do it right). I would have loved to do more in this capacity, like an elaborate boss fight, but that sadly only happens at the end, and only briefly.

It is not all bad though; if the makers were trying to make a love letter to 2D Zelda games in general and LttP in particular, then they succeeded. It is a joy to walk around a 3D version of this beloved world, especially when you use the tornado rod and Link literally jumps out of the screen. The traditional overworld, gameplay and plot may appear familiar, but the dungeons have all been re-designed as far as I am aware. Their lay-outs are creative, and challenge you to use all your inventiveness (and wall merging) to navigate. Additionally, there is now an option to rent or buy the items you need (which are coupled to an energy meter instead of an ammo counter), and this provides a nice opportunity to play the final seven dungeons in any desired order.

Lastly, the true heart of the game finally shows in the end, when the plot thickens and culminates in a very moving finale. It also features the Triforce in a different light than usual: often the game's McGuffin that merely creates closure, but here, we finally learn why it is the symbol of Hyrule's providence.

For those who are new to the 2D series, this game will be a blast; to the veterans, it may be hard to spot real innovations through the thick layer of nostalgia, but it is a fun game nonetheless that uses the 3DS capabilities quite fine. Narratively it is no Minish Cap, and as for novelty gameplay, it gets nowhere near Phantom Hourglass, but you'll still have a good time. It is not a revolution in the series, but it doesn't take ages to get to the end, so it is a nice game to play intermittently over brief periods.

I've been on a sort of "Zelda Kick" lately. I've never been the biggest fan of the games growing up. I had "Link to the Past", and "Link's Awakening" which I have played and loved a bunch. I had "Ocarina of Time", and "Majora's Mask" that I had gotten as gifts, but I could never get into them, or most 3D adventure games, for a long time. I was always nostalgic for 8, 16, 32 bit graphics, even when they JUST switched to 64+. So, about a month ago, I picked this up, because I always wanted to play it, and it. Lewis me away. I love it all, the graphics, the gameplay, the puzzles, the dungeons, and the thing I loved most was the weapons rental system, and ammo meter. How many times have I gotten to a boss, and not realized I had arrows, or bombs? Not here. This is a perfect sequel to one of my favorite games in the series.

Link Between Worlds is my tutor's favorite Zelda game, fun fact. I played it, and it was awesome as heck! A little more fun to play than link to the past in my opinion. Just like every entry, this game provides the fun of exploration puzzle solving and secrets to uncover. I like the mechanic where Link merges into a wall. Plus, many items you get early in the game are rented until you pay to keep them. If I can remember exactly. Still feels like spoiling you a bit but I appreciate it.

The only thing that bothered me is that sometimes all you get are rupees and almost nothing else. Like, they're nice to have, but I expect a heart piece or something.

Overall, great game!

I'm a big Zelda fan. This is one of my favorite games of all time. Better than Breath of the Wild. Ravio is my favorite character, and he should make more appearances unmasked. Hilda should return in the future too. She's prettier, too.

When I learned that this game was going to be a game that was like my favorite Zelda game, "Link to the Past" I just knew I had to play it. It is not only like that game, it is actually a sequel to that said game. Once I learned this when I started playing I was ecstatic as a couple of people that I had talked to made it sound like this was sort of a remake of that game and that there were only going to be a few new places and a new power. So, suffice to say, this is one of the better Zelda games I have played in a while. Do not get me wrong, there has yet to be a Zelda game that I disliked, but all the ones that I have played that have come after this one all have parts about them that I find disappointing. Ocarina of Time was really fun, but at times those dungeons were too much as I needed a strategy guide to traverse them. Windwaker's dungeons were not too bad, but the problem with it was the world was so covered with water. Twilight Princess had the same problems as Ocarina. Once again, all these games were fun, but this one defeats them with its simple charms and the fact that it is not so short that it is over before you know it and it is not too long that it overstays its welcome. The two worlds are also fun to explore.

The story is set in Hyrule, where many years have passed since the previous hero defeated the vile Ganon and sealed away his awful powers. Unfortunately, a new threat has arisen in the form of a person named Yuga, who is obsessed with capturing beauty in paintings. His powers turn people into portraits. It is not long before he is invading Hyrule castle and turning Zelda herself into a painting. Link must go from being a lazy apprentice at a blacksmith's shop to the hero we all know he is. He must, of course, seize the master sword from its resting place once again and find the sages across two worlds as another princess seems in need of a hero of her own.

The game play is standard Zelda with a few twists to it. In this one, you do find some items in dungeons, but a lot of items you can purchase in a shop run by a strange man named Ravio. You also do not have to worry about buying bombs constantly or arrows as when you use these items it simply takes away some magic. I can see people not liking this feature as it does take away from some of the challenge, and it also makes buying stuff not all that central to the game once you have purchased all the items there are to buy. The combat is standard and dungeon exploration is much easier here than in the more 3D games as the ones mentioned above. The dungeons are challenging, but they do not take forever! As for the 3D part of the game, it really just adds depth to the world. I find it strange that a game that was converted (Ocarina) had more in your face 3D than this game that was made for the 3DS.

So, yes, this game is very fun. I still prefer Link to the Past, but this is due to the fact that this game was essentially placed in that world. If there were more new places it would have been a bit more fun, or if the world was expanded just a bit more. Sure, Lorule, was sort of different than the Golden Realm of Past, but it also kind of mirrored it a bit to well too. The story is really good, but I wish there were a few more character interactions in certain areas too. I like talking with people and learning about areas and locales and there is a bit of that in here, but not enough for my tastes. Overall though, the game is great so enough talking about its faults. I wish more gaming companies would make games in this simpler format for release as this is the type of game I prefer than the same game being released everywhere with just a few tweaks to it.