The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Review

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Review.

As the first new Zelda game on the 3DS platform, fans had their hopes pinned on it being the next great game in the long-running series. After playing the game through to the end, I can say that this is not only one of the best Zelda games on handheld systems, but one of the best games in the series.

Storywise, the series has almost always been about 3 characters; Link, Zelda and Ganon. This holds true here, but the way they are used in the story may not be exactly what you expect from a Zelda game. Link is a blacksmith’s apprentice who is constantly late for work, one day the captain of Hyrule Castle’s guards is at the workshop getting a shield from the blacksmith, but leaves his sword behind. It’s then up to Link to find the captain and return his sword to him, after some light exploration Link discovers that Seres, the girl who look after the nearby Sanctuary, has been turned into a painting. And it is now that we meet our villain Yuga, who comes from an alternate version of Hyrule called Lorule. Yuga has the ability to transform himself and other people into paintings, whether in frames or on walls. Yuga is only after 7 people however, who happen to be descendants of the Seven Sages, who sealed away the Triforce in the Sacred Realm and it seems that Yuga is after the relic. I’ll leave the story explanation there, as I don’t want to spoil it too much.

As far as gameplay goes, A Link Between Worlds plays virtually identically to the SNES classic A Link to the Past, which isn’t a co-incidence since this game was described as a sequel to A Link to the Past and it certainly shows. The game is an open world played from a top-down perspective. I think this is one of the few games I can recall where the phrase ‘open world’ can be justifiably used, since after you beat the first couple of dungeons you can take on the other 7 in any order you choose. Other games may be ‘open-world’ but still have some sense of linearity otherwise the story wouldn’t be able to progress as intended. Here however, the story progresses no matter what order you tackle the dungeon, which doesn’t happen very often in games and hasn’t happened in a Zelda game since the original Legend of Zelda on the NES.

The weapons are standard fare as far as Zelda goes; you have your sword, boomerang, bombs, hookshot etc. The way the items work however is a big change to the series, as they aren’t found in the games dungeons. Early on in the game you’ll meet a character called Ravio, who is a travelling merchant. After a quick conversation, he is now staying at your house and decides to set up his shop there. In his shop are all the items in the game, but they aren’t for sale, at least not in the early game. Instead of selling you the items, Ravio will rent out the items to you for a very cheap price, and the only time you have to give them back is when you die, which might not happen for the whole game. In every Zelda game to date, items like bombs and arrows have worked with an ammo system, when you run out of ammo you can’t use the item until you replenish it. Here however, all items you rent/buy use a magic meter, which regenerates over time. So technically you’ll have infinite bombs/arrows for the entirety of the game, and not having to worry about finding ammo is a plus point.

The one big gameplay change that was consistently advertised was Link’s ability to transform into a painting on a wall and move around on a 2-dimensional plain. This ability can be used in various ways, whether it’s simply progressing through the story or finding secrets, to evading enemy attacks. This seems like a gimmick that could have easily been overused and therefore become boring quickly, but this ability doesn’t feel as though it’s being pushed on the player so when it is needed, it’s fun to use and the way it is used is interesting.

In terms of presentation, A Link Between Worlds is a great looking game with a sort-of exaggerated cartoon style, and the 3D really enunciates the vibrant colours of Hyrule and the more muted colours and environments of Lorule. The use of 3D in this game is up there with the best in the entire 3DS library, one dungeon in particular stands out for me with it’s use of 3D and light pouring in through windows into darkness, it sounds like something simple but it is executed really well.

Overall, A Link Between Worlds is definitely up there with the best Zelda games ever made, and is a must purchase for anyone who owns a 3DS, whether you’re a fan of the series or not, this is a game you simply can’t miss.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is available now on Nintendo eShop for £39.99 or various online retailers from £32.99-£39.99