I genuinely loved playing through this! In middle school I used to try to emulate it on my phone, but the emulator I used would get taken down and I lost my progress multiple times. I'm so glad I got to see it all the way through this time.
I think that this is one of the most polished top-down Zelda games of all time. The art style definitely takes inspiration from Wind Waker, but the artists really nailed this colorful and "softer" pixel art style. It really maximizes its hardware and it looks a lot better than the Oracle games and Link's Awakening as a whole.
The puzzles here were super great, I really enjoyed the way that the dungeons are broken up by Hyrule Town, which is essentially a big dungeon with no enemies. It's a nice change of pace and it encourages the player to explore a good amount. Hyrule Town is also packed with so many shops and people and challenges, it feels like a lively place.
I also really enjoyed the big vs. small gimmick here because it presented everything you needed to know on one screen. I love A Link to the Past, but having to memorize the layouts of the dark world and light world to piece together puzzles was not so ideal on my first time around. I think that having everything visible to the player allows them to get their wheels turning earlier on and makes the puzzles feel more seamless. Like I could be solving another puzzle and notice a little mousehole, and then my brain would start to try to think of the ways I could shrink and find a pathway there. It's really great design and definitely makes this feel accessible but challenging.
The dungeons were all pretty cool, but the Palace of Winds and Hyrule Castle were amazing as the final two. They were really expansive and tested a lot of puzzle knowledge and combat knowledge to make it through. The bosses also ramped up with each new dungeon, and the final boss was great because it forced you to use so many items. What's great about Zelda bosses is that the difficult almost always stems from learning what items you should use rather than perfecting dodges and spacing. I like difficult games, but this design really embodies what makes Zelda games feel so special.
I did have a couple of issues in Hyrule Town, where I remembered things I was supposed to do from when I played back in middle school, but I would try to do them too early. Or I would forget little steps and be confused with why I couldn't do anything. This is definitely more on my end though, so I won't fault the game for this.
My only real issue with this are the mysterious shells which unlock little figures. I think the figures are cool and give great details, and I don't even mind the shells as rewards, it's just how time consuming it is to get 1 capsule. It takes a good 10-15 seconds to get a capsule, and there's also like 4+ different button inputs that you need, meaning you can't completely turn your mind off while you open them. Having the shells max out at 999 means that you have to go spend them when they fill up, but it's such a slow process, and early on you only use 1 at a time, so it takes a while to get rid of them. If it only took 5 seconds with 1 button press, it would be fine, but it's just a lot of mindless work for a bunch of figurines and a heart piece.
A lot of people also complain about the kinstones, but I really don't mind them. The idea is that for handheld players, it's easy to pick up and complete a kinstone challenge really quickly. As long as you're cutting grass and interacting with the world, you should have plenty of kinstones to trade, and it's pretty easy to knock out your trades when you first meet someone, so you don't have to backtrack. I it's a cool idea that interacting with the world and its characters gives you more quests and opens up more areas. It's pretty neat, and I think most people's gripes stem from not wanting to interact with the world.
Overall this game rules and holds up super well. Definitely one of my top Zelda games. Fujibayashi is really innovative with the series, and its awesome to see how he's grown as a director.
I think that this is one of the most polished top-down Zelda games of all time. The art style definitely takes inspiration from Wind Waker, but the artists really nailed this colorful and "softer" pixel art style. It really maximizes its hardware and it looks a lot better than the Oracle games and Link's Awakening as a whole.
The puzzles here were super great, I really enjoyed the way that the dungeons are broken up by Hyrule Town, which is essentially a big dungeon with no enemies. It's a nice change of pace and it encourages the player to explore a good amount. Hyrule Town is also packed with so many shops and people and challenges, it feels like a lively place.
I also really enjoyed the big vs. small gimmick here because it presented everything you needed to know on one screen. I love A Link to the Past, but having to memorize the layouts of the dark world and light world to piece together puzzles was not so ideal on my first time around. I think that having everything visible to the player allows them to get their wheels turning earlier on and makes the puzzles feel more seamless. Like I could be solving another puzzle and notice a little mousehole, and then my brain would start to try to think of the ways I could shrink and find a pathway there. It's really great design and definitely makes this feel accessible but challenging.
The dungeons were all pretty cool, but the Palace of Winds and Hyrule Castle were amazing as the final two. They were really expansive and tested a lot of puzzle knowledge and combat knowledge to make it through. The bosses also ramped up with each new dungeon, and the final boss was great because it forced you to use so many items. What's great about Zelda bosses is that the difficult almost always stems from learning what items you should use rather than perfecting dodges and spacing. I like difficult games, but this design really embodies what makes Zelda games feel so special.
I did have a couple of issues in Hyrule Town, where I remembered things I was supposed to do from when I played back in middle school, but I would try to do them too early. Or I would forget little steps and be confused with why I couldn't do anything. This is definitely more on my end though, so I won't fault the game for this.
My only real issue with this are the mysterious shells which unlock little figures. I think the figures are cool and give great details, and I don't even mind the shells as rewards, it's just how time consuming it is to get 1 capsule. It takes a good 10-15 seconds to get a capsule, and there's also like 4+ different button inputs that you need, meaning you can't completely turn your mind off while you open them. Having the shells max out at 999 means that you have to go spend them when they fill up, but it's such a slow process, and early on you only use 1 at a time, so it takes a while to get rid of them. If it only took 5 seconds with 1 button press, it would be fine, but it's just a lot of mindless work for a bunch of figurines and a heart piece.
A lot of people also complain about the kinstones, but I really don't mind them. The idea is that for handheld players, it's easy to pick up and complete a kinstone challenge really quickly. As long as you're cutting grass and interacting with the world, you should have plenty of kinstones to trade, and it's pretty easy to knock out your trades when you first meet someone, so you don't have to backtrack. I it's a cool idea that interacting with the world and its characters gives you more quests and opens up more areas. It's pretty neat, and I think most people's gripes stem from not wanting to interact with the world.
Overall this game rules and holds up super well. Definitely one of my top Zelda games. Fujibayashi is really innovative with the series, and its awesome to see how he's grown as a director.