The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Genre: Top-Down Action-RPG

Players: 1, StreetPass Supported

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Review:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a Top-Down Action-RPG released on Nintendo 3DS in 2013. Link Between Worlds is somewhat surprising because, after 22 years and over a dozen new entries in the series, Link Between Worlds aims to be a direct sequel to 1991’s The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on Super Nintendo. While this game does appear to take place generations after A Link to the Past, and features new reincarnations of Link, Zelda, and various other characters, the world and its layout are quite similar to what we saw in A Link to the Past, so much so that players can check familiar haunts to see if they hide the same secrets.

One of the joys of A Link Between Worlds is discovering what things have changed and what hasn’t. You might check a secret spot from A Link to the Past in this game and discover that a similar secret hides here, or perhaps it has turned into something mundane, or perhaps it has even become the location of something entirely different. In this way, A Link Between Worlds feels like having a reunion with a beloved friend after decades apart and becoming reacquainted in a new era.

That’s not to say that this game takes it easy and lets nostalgia do all of the heavy lifting. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is absolutely bursting with creativity out of every seam, with new abilities that completely recontextualize old locations, and entirely new dungeons, wonderfully creative new bosses, and new challenges to challenge players to make full use of these new abilities.

Chief among these new abilities is a curse inflicted upon Link early into the game causing him to turn into a wall painting. Of course, luck sees the hero transforming back soon after, and the ordeal leaves him with the ability to shift back and forth between 2D and 3D, latching onto any flat wall and following it in either direction while ignoring corners and even gravity. This adds a whole new element to Link’s ability to explore dungeons in particular, and the dungeon design has been creatively reimagined to fully capitalize on this new ability.

One other new feature in this game feels like a bit of a mixed bag to me. Players will see classic series implements like the bow and arrow, boomerang, and hookshot return. However, this time around they obtain these items not by finding them in a dungeon or buying them in a shop, but by renting them from a character who takes up residence in Link’s own house. Players are required to pay a fee upfront in rupees (the usual currency of the Zelda series) for any of this equipment they want, and have it removed when they fall in battle, at which time they’ll need to fork out more cash to get them back.

While this way of doing things is certainly creative, I don’t feel like it ultimately benefits the game. Suddenly being able to buy at least a half-dozen of these items all at once means that newer players are not really staggering them out in a way that gets you fully acquainted with them. What’s more, some dungeons require specific items, meaning that if you didn’t rent the right equipment, you’ll have to hoof it back to Link’s house and possibly even grind so you can afford the fee. Also, unlike in traditional Zelda games, this means that you don’t actually acquire these new items in dungeons, making the completion of these dungeons feel just a bit less… special. At the very least the game’s world is brimming with secrets and additional items to find, so it’s not like there’s nothing to look forward to on your adventure, it just seems a bit odd that these things aren’t in the dungeons, but strewn around the world itself.

In regards to that world, A Link Between Worlds makes it a point to imitate the look, sounds, and overall feel of A Link to the Past, but it does so using fully 3D visuals and orchestrated sound. The way the classic pixel art visuals have been reimagined in 3D is quite impressive to behold, and that 3D is put to great use in dungeons in particular, where players will often have to traverse multiple levels even within the same room. To this end, the game makes excellent use of the Nintendo 3DS’s stereoscopic 3D. Meanwhile, the game also features orchestral remakes of the classic game’s tunes, along with some entirely new ones for good measure.

I keep going on like this as if you’ve played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and if you haven’t… well, you really should, it’s one of the greatest games of all time. However, if you haven’t played A Link to the Past, I think you’ll still thoroughly enjoy this game. You may be missing out on a lot of nostalgia, but A Link Between Worlds absolutely does not rely on players having played the earlier game to understand what’s going on here.

Ultimately, A Link Between Worlds was a pretty big risk. In directly evoking one of the most beloved games in the Zelda series and directly copying numerous elements from that game, A Link Between Worlds could have easily been seen as a mere copycat, simply playing on nostalgia. However, this is a fine example of taking nostalgia and using it to build something entirely new and interesting, worthy of the grand legacy it is derived from.

Anyone who owns a Nintendo 3DS should absolutely get this game, it is one of the best games on the platform. And anyone who loved A Link to the Past may very well want to buy a Nintendo 3DS just to play this game – it is a brilliant nod to that classic title that I struggle to imagine any classic Zelda fan not immediately falling in love with.

tl;dr – The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a Top-Down Action-RPG that acts as a direct sequel to the classic Zelda game A Link to the Past, and it is a brilliant re-imagining of that game’s world, with an entirely new story, new abilities, and some brilliant new level design and boss design. This game is not just a must-have game for Zelda fans, it is a reason to own a Nintendo 3DS.

Grade: A+

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