(Originally posted February, 2014)
(3DS, 2013)
Link To The Past was one of the defining games of my childhood. Not having access to the internet, or even a strategy guide until months later, endless hours were spent wandering Hyrule and The Dark World. Eventually, with a friend, I managed to beat the game at some ungodly hour of the night. I’ll save all those stories for when I discuss Link To The Past itself, but suffice to say, I lost my mind when the sequel was revealed over 20 years later. While very excited, I also felt the Zelda series lost much of its influence, and often times simply its fun factor post-Majora’s Mask. Is Link Between Worlds able to hang with the best of them?...
Beginning with the gameplay, I have so much to say that I’d prefer to divide my thoughts into three categories: General Mechanics, The Overworlds, The Dungeons.
General Mechanics:
The most thrilling of the many surprises LBW gave me was at just how distilled and ‘pure’ it feels. The game ‘takes off’ minutes after you start, cutscenes are brief and enjoyable and the gameplay is roughly as fast and non-linear as the very first!
The big innovation this time is the wall merging/walking ability. I was skeptical from the initial videos, but had more fun than expected once the game was in my hands. Many of the puzzles feel jarring in a most wonderful way. Suddenly switching the camera angle and the points of movement made my brain feel like it was thrust into an entirely different “operating mode,” accompanied by a fun sense of panic as I had to calculate the new possibilities and how my actions would affect where I wind up after leaving the wall. There’s a beauty in that while wielding such a wonderful power, it can be so mind-boggling that you feel all the more naked and vulnerable in its use. Aside from the puzzles, I often found myself ‘trolling’ enemies and retreating to the safety of the wall all in the name of mindless amusement.
The inventory and magic systems have been replaced by an automatically recharging meter. This was another instance where I initially felt underwhelmed, but was delighted at the additional lair of resource management and tension it adds to the game. While battling a couple of tough to kill cyclopes (who can now sprint towards you!), the fast paced combat is made even better as you also have to eye the amount of long-range attacks you have left within the next few moments.
The other major change is how items are now rented/sold by Ravio, a loveable jerk who I would love see get a game of his own. This further allowed for the game’s sense of player-autonomy, at the expense of making the acquisition of items feel less special than past games. This system didn’t introduce as much strategy or immensity of change as I anticipated, simply more choice, which is perhaps what the series needed the most.
The Overworld:
Both Hyrule and to a lesser extent Lorule are remarkably similar in design to LTTP, but manage to offer so many new things to do that I didn’t feel cheated out of a new adventure. Quite the opposite, it was fun to note even the smallest changes to occur after several decades of (super)natural phenomena and construction. Quite possibly taking inspiration from the Zelda-clone Okami, the overworlds are stuffed with hundreds of tiny, fun tasks that make all the difference in your character’s strength. Complete all these tasks, discovering minigames, helping characters, etc. is rarely dull, as the game also lets you get around with the swiftest teleportation system I’ve used to date.
I always enjoyed the large sense of incentive to explore every inch of the land in LTT. Link Between Worlds takes it even further.
The Dungeons:
This is a bit tricky for me. The dungeons aren’t what I’d call a low-point, but rather the part of the game that blew my mind the least. Heavily inspired by LTTP both in looks and puzzles, the slightly abbreviated dungeons were lots of fun, never forced me to use a guide, made great use of the wall mechanic and were highly replayable. The problem is, I kind of felt like I already had them beat before starting. It’s a great joy in Zelda games to enter a totally new lair, slowly get accustomed to and master your surroundings, then eventually defeat the epic boss waiting at the end. Remember all the unique new things about LTTP’s dungeons? Moving statues over switches, multiple entrances/exits, all the floors, item-dependent puzzles? Great news: All that fun is back. Not so great news: Their aren't nearly as many fresh ideas.
I wish to reiterate that I enjoyed this part of the game immensely, but with only a few dungeons such as the House of Gales, Turtle Rock, the Desert Palace and the Ice Ruins either looking or feeling truly fresh, I never experienced a high degree of intimidation at the onset nor pride at their completion. Same goes for the boss fights. Besides the finale, they stayed just a bit too close to the LTTP formula, where the big impact was felt decades ago.
Link Between Worlds shines during overworld play, which is fine with me. I must mention all the mini-dungeons which are scattered about. Built specifically around the wall mechanic, they’re great fun to solve. I would happily pay to purchase more of these mini-dungeons via DLC.
Before playing this game, I would have rather Nintendo’s handheld never had 3D viewing in exchange for more power. This was the first game to sell me on 3D gaming, as the camera angle and near flawless 60FPS often made me feel like I could fall into the screen. Just as Shigeru Miyamoto described his desire for the original Legend of Zelda to feel like a “miniature garden,” through the 3DS I felt like I was staring through a window towards a new, little world. Trekking the heights of Death Mountain, Hyrule Castle, and even the exteriors of dungeons in 3D is not just a graphical trick but a breathtaking experience.
Last but not least, a relatively new composer. Ryo Nagamatsu knocked it out of the park with arguably the greatest Zelda soundtrack to date. Creating a generous amount of tracks, his LTTP remixes are great spins on the originals, and the unique tracks for each Lorule dungeon fit in perfectly, heavily reminding me of many Squaresoft games. Kakariko Village sounds more pleasant than ever. When I heard the trumpet, I couldn't believe how good it sounded. When the soft percussion kicked in moments later, for a moment I felt I was actually in the village! Hearing the computerized drums start in the fortune teller hut was confusing at first, until I realized how well they fit in. Even the short sound effect that plays when Hilda sends a telepathic message gave me the creeps. There’s just so much amazing stuff. One of those games I’ll constantly revisit to fully enjoy the music.
As both a pure sequel to Link to the Past and 2D Zelda at its best, I couldn't have asked for much more. My biggest regret with Link Between Worlds was allowing too much of it to be spoiled. Before playing Link to the Past, I think I only saw the three beta shots on the back of my Super Nintendo’s box. With Link Between Worlds, well, I saw a bunch more. Why did I allow myself to be spoiled? Because I was witnessing Nintendo bringing back Zelda to its full glory, as if they had the power of the Tri-Force themselves.
A Second Look
(Originally posted February 2015)
(Nintendo 3DS, 2013)
(Note: This particular writing contains spoilers for both a Link to the Past and a Link Between Worlds. Also, please consider this a supplement to my first review.)
Clearing the game nearly twice upon its release, I had such a great time that the itch to play a Link Between Worlds yet again quickly returned. With everything about the game being so fast paced and uniformly fun, it was still exciting to dive right back in, searching for more secrets to uncover. It’s a rare treat to be this pre-occupied with a Zelda, as I’m just as often unimpressed or indifferent to the series.
Being more a fan of exploring the main world rather than clearing the dungeons, this Zelda in particular delivers. Denser than whatever magically holds Link’s inventory throughout all his games, Hyrule and Lorule is packed full of NPCs and content that I still haven’t tired of. Even more, I was delighted to still be discovering hidden areas and odd characters. As mentioned in my first review, the worlds, borrowed and largely based off A Link to the Past, have undergone enough changes and additions that they don’t feel any less curious than completely new maps. Actively avoiding spoilers to this day, it’s great fun to wander around the world exploring and experimenting, just as I did in the early 90s.
The wall painting mechanic remains both novel and genuinely deep, whether creeping along cliffs or against the walls of the brief but satisfying dungeons (which can get wonderfully stressful when played in Hero mode). My replay was timed just long enough where I knew the general plan on how to solve them, but forgot just enough for the dungeons to still be interesting. On replaying the game, I also felt an even greater appreciation for how the final boss fight and ending played out, which got to me more than Zelda games tend to. Outside of the finale, the sense of scale and spectacle from the boss fights of the 3D Zelda’s unfortunately don’t transition back to 2D.
The stereoscopic 3D view might be a bit less impressive, but the soundtrack is still as amazing as ever. It’s even better to listen to on its own, as I was often too distracted during the game to notice the great little touches, such as the hand drums added to the boss battle theme. The urgent sneakiness of ‘Thieves Hideout’ is even more compelling by itself. ‘Skull Woods’ and ‘Dark Palace’ are even creepier when just listened to alone in one’s room, without the comfort of the game’s busyness and color graphics.
My two biggest complaints, which make up a small part of the game:
- The point where I left off during my second play through, the final dungeon merely feels like you’re being asked to jump through hoops. It’s a series of mini-dungeons, rather than a singular clever and challenging finale.
- For how successful the game is at honoring a Link to the Past, one thing that really bugged was how Blind was handled. In a Link to the Past, he was mentioned very early in the game, and his build up and startling introduction left me not just surprised but frightened. I still remember immediately putting the game on pause to gather my wits before fighting him. In Link Between Worlds, he’s just thrown in there without any explanation.
Even though some of the minor let downs felt back in 2013 are a bit more noticeable, A Link Between Worlds still stands as one of my top Zeldas even after the newness factor has worn off. I’m still shocked that after 20+ years, Nintendo somehow pulled off making a direct sequel to one of their top games while introducing fresh, meaningful mechanics. If the Zelda team had the interest and confidence to work on a ‘Super Mario Brothers 3: 2’ or a new Wave Race, I wouldn’t worry about them crushing my dreams.
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