The Legend of
Zelda has been in a bit of a rut for a while now. Every game since Ocarina of
Time’s release in 1998 has tried to surpass it by adding in some kind of
gimmick or innovation to separate it from Ocarina of Time. Nintendo has tried
nearly everything in their quest to break out from under Ocarina’s shadow.
Touch controls, 1:1 sword controls, sailing, they even tried to make Zelda
gritty. After a while, these extra gimmicks made Zelda games a decidedly more
complicated affair. So, Nintendo decided to go back to basics with Link Between
Worlds. The results are one of the finest Zelda games in recent memory and one
of the best titles on the 3DS.
This newest Zelda
is a direct sequel to the series’ other world-renowned masterpiece, A Link to the
Past. On the surface, this entry changes very little. The overworld is mostly
the same, the weapons are similar and even the locations of some of the
dungeons are the same. Once you start to dive into the game and explore, you’ll
quickly come to realize how everything has changed. The overworld may be
similar but every cave and dungeon has changed.
The game’s two
gimmicks work to its favor. Firstly, you have an item renting mechanic which
is extremely clever despite sounding like a total game breaker. The idea of the
rental mechanic is that you can rent any weapon as long as you have the rupees
to pay for it. If you die while you have it, you will lose it and will be
forced to rent it again. It adds a much needed punishment to dying as the
prospect of having to grind for rupees or just going back to the shop is
threatening enough to make you want to avoid death. The rental mechanic also
allows you to explore as much of the overworld as you want at your leisure. With the right
item, you can explore whenever and wherever you like. It’s the type of freedom that we
haven’t seen in a Zelda game for quite some time. It’s a much needed breath of
fresh air.
Unfortunately, it
takes a little while to get to this breath of fresh air. The game doesn’t open
up at all until after you clear the first dungeon. And after that, you’re still
pretty restricted. Once you reach Lorule, this game’s version of the Dark
World, the game finally lets you take the reins. With enough rupees and the
right items, you can spend as much time as you like exploring both sides of
Hyrule. You can also tackle the dungeons in any order you want since you can
choose what items you want to bring along with you. That’s such an obvious
change to the Zelda formula; it makes you wonder why it hasn’t been used
before. It plays with the Zelda formula just enough to make it feel different
yet familiar.
The 2nd
gimmick is the ability to merge with walls and walk on a 2D plain. I was
initially uneasy about this mechanic as it seemed pointless and just sort of
forced in but I can safely say that all my fears were misguided. The painting
mechanic is brilliantly implemented and leads to some of the cleverest puzzles
in the history of the series. The mechanic is worked into every single dungeon
and works alongside your items instead of outright replacing them.
Because
of the changes made to the items, the dungeons in LBW are allowed to take
advantage of a certain item’s potential instead of trying to shoehorn in
puzzles for three different items into one dungeon. As a result, the dungeons
in Link Between Worlds feel far cleverer and more intelligently designed than
other ones. The amount of times I thought to myself “That’s really smart” while
running through the dungeons was staggering. These are some of the best
dungeons in the series’ history, hands down. My only gripe about the dungeons
is that they’re a bit on the short side.
Link Between
Worlds isn’t a very long game, only about 15 hours long for the main game,
maybe 3 to 4 hours to collect everything. It’s a short but sweet adventure and I
actually prefer that. One of Skyward Sword’s biggest problems was its length
and how the game tried its hardest to extend its playtime. Link Between Worlds
doesn’t try to pad out the game. It’s as long as it needs to be and it’s better
for that. I’d rather Nintendo take cues from this game rather than Skyward
Sword because "Worlds" has far, far better pacing.
Link Between
Worlds is also on the easy side. Enemies are fairly easy to outmaneuver and
with the exception of one, the bosses are pretty easy too. It’s a bit
disappointing but the game’s “Hero Mode” is so ridiculously tough at first that
it almost makes up for normal mode’s wimpy difficulty. Like I mentioned before,
there is a punishment for dying but the chances of the player dying are pretty
slim so it’s, unfortunately, no big deal.
The Zelda series
isn’t one that’s a stranger to mini-games but Link Between Worlds still has a
surprising amount of diversions from the main quest. Many of these diversions
are just extra ways to earn money like a footrace or an arena where you fight
off enemy after enemy but other sidequests see you collecting these weird
shellfish from every nook and cranny in Hyrule. The highlight of all the
sidequests and minigames would have to be the baseball minigame which is way
more fun than it has any right to be. These things add some replayability to
the game and give it its own unique flavor that separates it from the other
Zelda titles.
Link Between
Worlds, unlike Skyward Sword and Phantom Hourglass, won’t win any achievements
for taking advantage of its system’s capabilities. The 3D looks nice and it
runs at a smooth 60 FPS even when the 3D is turned on but that’s just a neat
little bonus. The touch screen is only used for menus. Phantom Hourglass and
Spirit Tracks both used touch controls for everything, a move that divided fans
and critics. Link Between Worlds brings movement and weapons back to a more
familiar set-up. It’s back to the circle pad and buttons for old Link and it’s
a change for the better. The circle pad gives Link a level of movement not seen
in past Zelda games. That, combined with the silky smooth frame rate makes Link
an absolute joy to control. It’s the most fluid Zelda game in a long while.
Link Between
Worlds is pretty easy on the eyes. It’s nothing too stunning but it properly
evokes the style of the classic 2D Zeldas while staying up to date graphically.
The dungeons and overworld look nice, if a little on the plain side, and the
enemy designs are accurately carried over from Link to the Past. It’s not a
gorgeous game but it’s not an ugly one either. The smooth 60 FPS make the
graphics trade-off totally worth it.
“Worlds” plays
around with depth a bit. There are several puzzles and platforming sections
that revolve around leaping from one platform to another one beneath you. They
weren’t something I had been expecting and they were a neat surprise, if
nothing else. The 3D effects were well done too but it’s clear that it
was not something the designers were focusing one. That being said, it wasn't an afterthought either.
The game’s
soundtrack is fully orchestral and is mostly comprised of remixes from Link to
the Past. While some may be disappointed by the lack of original content in
LBW, it’s worth noting that these are some damn fine remixes. From the title
theme to the Dark World theme, the orchestral versions do wonders for the game.
They’re bombastic, energetic and they do a great job of immersing the player in
the world of Hyrule. If the soundtrack had a few more original tracks on it,
I’d argue that it contains one of the best soundtracks in the series. As it
stands though, “Worlds” has a soundtrack that’s every bit as a good as its
predecessor but it lacks originality.
Ever since Ocarina
of Time’s story hit it big in 1998, Nintendo has tried to make lightning strike
twice. In every game since Ocarina of Time, Nintendo has tried to make Hyrule a
richer and more detailed place while telling a story of its own. Generally, the
story collapses underneath its own weight as it tries to cram too much into too
little. Link Between Worlds ditches long expository sequences and instead tries
to tell its own story. It’s nothing to write home about but it is well written
and well done. The story throws a few curveballs at you and it dares to shake
up established Zelda tropes. It’s an ambitious move even if it doesn’t result
in anything major.
Some may call out
Link Between Worlds for being too easy, too short or not innovating enough.
Personally, I think it was the breath of fresh air that the series needed. Like
Mega Man 9 before it, “Worlds” sets out to restore simplicity to a series that
had become too convoluted as the years passed by. And it does its task
masterfully. The dungeons are some of the best in the series and both the
rental and painting mechanics are wonderfully done. The result is one of the
most clever, engaging titles on Nintendo’s blossoming handheld.
Final Score: 8.0
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