So, 2024, That's practically 2014, right? I'm still in time to check out A Link Between Worlds? Yes, of course.
Despite it having been sitting in my shelf for some ten years by now, I knew almost nothing coming into A Link Between Worlds bar its central gimmick and connection to A Link to the Past, and even in the latter there was a bit of a surprise: in Japanese, the game is outright called 神々のトライフォース２, which would be equivalent to naming it A Link to the Past 2. It's good that they changed it in the West, not only because sequels tend to intimidate people who don't know the original, but because A Link Between Worlds has its own, unique game feel to it, almost like a reimagining, which naming it "Thing 2" betrays.
It is a direct sequel, though, that is not up for debate: it takes place in the same Hyrule as A Link to the Past, decades, maybe centuries after the events of that game. You play as, as one would guess, Link, who's the apprentice to a smith in Kakariko Village. Link's day starts out just like any other, that is, with him oversleeping and being late to work yet again. During a delivery of a commissioned sword, however, he is met with the eccentric Yuga, a man possessing magical powers who attacks the local church. Sword in hand, the descendant of the legendary hero sets out to find a solution to this new threat.
It pays not to know much about the narrative of A Link Between Worlds because, surprisingly for a Zelda title, there's a lot of depth to it: it expands upon the lore of the original game, building its story on top of established elements and motifs, while at the same time, providing us with fascinating new characters and settings. The cast is wider than that of the prequel, and the slowly unfolding narrative has a lot of twists and turns to its plot, which wraps up to a beautiful ending.
It's one of the ways in which ALBW incorporates the sensibilies of more modern Zelda design, and it goes even further than that: despite the world map being mostly unchanged from the original, the game brings a completely new twist to its dungeons, abandoning the grid-based design of the original in favor of more varied rooms. A few dungeons retaining the feel of the original while others explore other concepts, like more vertical and/or more open layouts. On the surface, some of them even resemble the DS Zelda games more than A Link to the Past.
But then comes another twist: equipment is no longer found within dungeons, being instead required to enter them in the first place. A mysterious merchant named Ravio sets up shop in Hyrule and helpfully offers to sell or lend Link helpful items, like a bow or a hammer. The economics of Ravio's shop are a bit confusing -- Ittle Dew presented a more elegant implementation of the same concept -- but it does serve a purpose in that it rewards thorough exploration while at the same time not requiring it. Plus, it's one of the game's many rupee sinks, which help solve the problem of rupees being useless that's often seen in the series. In A Link Between Worlds, it's unlikely, unless the player intentionally grinds, that they'll finish the game with maxed out rupees.
The potential problem with this setup is that each dungeon assumes the player has one specific item and only that item, and simplistic puzzles can arise from having a single answer to any problem. "Oh no! I'm stuck in a puzzle in the Bow® Dungeon™! Whatever shall I do? I guess I will use my Bow®!" Fortunately, A Link Between Worlds's level designers were aware of this issue, making full use of the game's 3D nature to create complex rooms, and also incorporating a variety of stage elements to support the creation of each dungeon, preventing the one-answer problem and making each one feel unique. The result was some of the best dungeons in the series.
One mechanic shared by every dungeon is the wall traversal: it's the one thing that drew the most skepticism on my part coming into the game, and I cannot believe how wrong I was. The wall mechanic is, at the same time, mind-bending and intuitive, creating a complete paradigm shift on how dungeons are traversed while still feeling perfectly natural to the game. There are a myriad different ways in which A Link Between Worlds uses its central gimmick in its many environments, exploring verticality, connections between rooms and so on.
It's the cherry on top that makes the game, more than excellent, feel irreplicable. A Link Between Worlds is a fantastic reimagining of a classic game that's so dear to my heart, blending its iconic motifs and clever design philosophies with more modern aspects of Zelda games' design. Don't be like me: don't wait for a full decade to play it. It's a treat that deserves to be enjoyed.
Despite it having been sitting in my shelf for some ten years by now, I knew almost nothing coming into A Link Between Worlds bar its central gimmick and connection to A Link to the Past, and even in the latter there was a bit of a surprise: in Japanese, the game is outright called 神々のトライフォース２, which would be equivalent to naming it A Link to the Past 2. It's good that they changed it in the West, not only because sequels tend to intimidate people who don't know the original, but because A Link Between Worlds has its own, unique game feel to it, almost like a reimagining, which naming it "Thing 2" betrays.
It is a direct sequel, though, that is not up for debate: it takes place in the same Hyrule as A Link to the Past, decades, maybe centuries after the events of that game. You play as, as one would guess, Link, who's the apprentice to a smith in Kakariko Village. Link's day starts out just like any other, that is, with him oversleeping and being late to work yet again. During a delivery of a commissioned sword, however, he is met with the eccentric Yuga, a man possessing magical powers who attacks the local church. Sword in hand, the descendant of the legendary hero sets out to find a solution to this new threat.
It pays not to know much about the narrative of A Link Between Worlds because, surprisingly for a Zelda title, there's a lot of depth to it: it expands upon the lore of the original game, building its story on top of established elements and motifs, while at the same time, providing us with fascinating new characters and settings. The cast is wider than that of the prequel, and the slowly unfolding narrative has a lot of twists and turns to its plot, which wraps up to a beautiful ending.
It's one of the ways in which ALBW incorporates the sensibilies of more modern Zelda design, and it goes even further than that: despite the world map being mostly unchanged from the original, the game brings a completely new twist to its dungeons, abandoning the grid-based design of the original in favor of more varied rooms. A few dungeons retaining the feel of the original while others explore other concepts, like more vertical and/or more open layouts. On the surface, some of them even resemble the DS Zelda games more than A Link to the Past.
But then comes another twist: equipment is no longer found within dungeons, being instead required to enter them in the first place. A mysterious merchant named Ravio sets up shop in Hyrule and helpfully offers to sell or lend Link helpful items, like a bow or a hammer. The economics of Ravio's shop are a bit confusing -- Ittle Dew presented a more elegant implementation of the same concept -- but it does serve a purpose in that it rewards thorough exploration while at the same time not requiring it. Plus, it's one of the game's many rupee sinks, which help solve the problem of rupees being useless that's often seen in the series. In A Link Between Worlds, it's unlikely, unless the player intentionally grinds, that they'll finish the game with maxed out rupees.
The potential problem with this setup is that each dungeon assumes the player has one specific item and only that item, and simplistic puzzles can arise from having a single answer to any problem. "Oh no! I'm stuck in a puzzle in the Bow® Dungeon™! Whatever shall I do? I guess I will use my Bow®!" Fortunately, A Link Between Worlds's level designers were aware of this issue, making full use of the game's 3D nature to create complex rooms, and also incorporating a variety of stage elements to support the creation of each dungeon, preventing the one-answer problem and making each one feel unique. The result was some of the best dungeons in the series.
One mechanic shared by every dungeon is the wall traversal: it's the one thing that drew the most skepticism on my part coming into the game, and I cannot believe how wrong I was. The wall mechanic is, at the same time, mind-bending and intuitive, creating a complete paradigm shift on how dungeons are traversed while still feeling perfectly natural to the game. There are a myriad different ways in which A Link Between Worlds uses its central gimmick in its many environments, exploring verticality, connections between rooms and so on.
It's the cherry on top that makes the game, more than excellent, feel irreplicable. A Link Between Worlds is a fantastic reimagining of a classic game that's so dear to my heart, blending its iconic motifs and clever design philosophies with more modern aspects of Zelda games' design. Don't be like me: don't wait for a full decade to play it. It's a treat that deserves to be enjoyed.
NOWITSREYNTIME17
2 months ago