Dreamy Luigi
Content Creator
A Link Between Worlds has me linked to Zelda.
I raised an eyebrow when I discovered the new Zelda for the Nintendo 3DS was using the classic style, overhead view of the game that was used in the original The Legend of Zelda, The Minish Cap, and most old Zelda games. After playing my first ever Zelda game (Wind Waker HD) I was craving some more 3D adventures in Hyrule. However, A Link Between Worlds blew me out of the water.
Link is a boy who works for a Blacksmith in the kingdom of Hyrule, the game starts with you being late for work. After a Hylian Captain forgot his new sword, the Blacksmith asks you to go to the Sanctuary to deliver it. Action picks up fast as once you get there, you hear screaming and the doors close, shut tight. Dampe the gravekeeper urges you to take the sword you were supposed to deliver and go through a secret passage in the graveyard to get inside the Sanctuary. Already, you start off on your adventure.
"A Link Between Worlds" couldn't be a more perfect title, because it's exactly the purpose Link serves in the game. You must explore two worlds: Hyrule, the kingdom with peace; and Lorule, the kingdom with chaos. Link truly is the link between them as he has to save them both from a new evil. This game executed the dual-world concept perfectly, as I never found it too annoying to switch back and forth between them too often, something I felt Mario & Luigi: Dream Team didn't exactly do a good job at.
The main feature this game presents is the ability to merge into walls as a painting, move around, and pop back out. It's key to most dungeon puzzles once you unlock the feature early in the game. However in the over-world, trying to explore with the power leads to disappointment as most walls have rocks on them where the creators don't intend you to go. It's a small annoying detail that didn't go so well for me.
The artstyle is a nice balance between the kid friendly Wind Waker and the realistic Twilight Princess, for a 3DS game the visuals are quite nice and colorful. The characters are chibi style (big heads compared to the body) and they all look nice and charming.
The game's soundtrack didn't feature many original tracks, The Legend of Zelda's main theme plays in Hyrule, that catchy Mountain tune plays in the mountains in Lorule, but a track that turned to be my favorite (and an addition to my favorite Zelda tracks) was Lorule's main theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYc_Vosp9_Y
A lot of the dungeon themes were nice too, unlike Wind Waker they were more apparent rather than silent, it serves as a nice background tune while you're trying to figure out a puzzle. Thieves' Hideout theme was probably my favorite dungeon music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNLyRnweqqI
The soundtrack wasn't too amazing but it had it's stars, for sure.
I will admit I don't have a very good judgment on the difficulty of Zelda games since this was my second one but I can say A Link Between Worlds gave me a nice amount of difficulty. Only 3-4 dungeons had me really stumped at some points, of the game's 10+. I'd say if you're looking for your first entry into the series, A Link Between Worlds is not a bad starting point. If you really are stuck, though, "Hint Goggles" you can use to talk to Hint Ghosts in dungeons that will give you a hint, in exchange for a 3DS Play Coin. On those dungeons I had trouble with, I definitely used Hint Ghosts a few times. Some put me on a roll and some stated the obvious, overall it's a very nice feature that I hope comes back in future installments.
Overhead-style combat is simple as always, while lacking depth, it's still very fun. With no need to control the camera, you can see all the enemies you're fighting at the same time. And yes, lack of camera hassle was very nice, probably my favorite feature of the overhead camera style. Battles are quick and you can return to whatever you were doing in no time.
Another big positive about this game was it's lack of streamlining. A merchant named Ravio will rent and sell items to you to use, almost all available at the beginning of the game. You can rent items for as low as 50 rupees, but if you fall in battle, you'll lose them. Buying items come as low as a hefty 800 rupees, but you can keep them forever. This new item system not only makes sense, but also eliminates ammo, instead Link has an energy gauge that will diminish as a painting and when using items. Doing none of those activities will bring you more energy to fill up your gauge again. A big chunk of the dungeons don't have to be cleared in any order, to compliment the new item system. It was a great feeling exploring wondering which dungeon to do next, even though the story got dry at this point in the game.
Overall, I was able to complete A Link Between Worlds in 13 hours of gameplay, turned out to be short in quantity (compared to my 30 hours to beat Wind Waker) but the quality of the adventure was well worth it as A Link Between Worlds had a story-line I will love forever. The game has an alright replay value as their are a good amount of things to collect, including lost shellfish, some bottles, heart pieces, and all the good stuff, and the game has a good amount of side-quests, more than I noticed than Wind Waker.
A Link Between Worlds put a fresh coat of paint on an old game style, perfectly executed the duel-world concept, and set you off to choose your own path in the middle of the game with the lack of streamlining and being able to rent items from Ravio. While the game could have been a bit longer, the story itself was brilliant and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds has put a permanent Link between the Zelda franchise and me.
Gameplay: Great
Visuals and Audio: Great
Story: Amazing
Replay Value: OK
9/10
