Zelda A Link Between Worlds 3DS.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - Life on the Dark Side

Hi! I recently treated myself to a 3DS and because I have had a long history with the Zelda games I decided to purchase the special edition 3DS with the Link Between Worlds Triforce on it, since it comes with the game preloaded I have not really rushed to play this game. But having just completed it I thought it would be good as my first proper Blog post!

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is set in the same world as the early 90's SNES version of Hyrule in Zelda: A Link to the Past. Having played the SNES game it does bring back fond memories of this Hyrule and it is made even better by adding an amazing soundtrack that is a variation of songs from some other Zelda titles. This may initialy trick you into thinking the game is just some 90's throwback where they are trying to squeeze more money out of a very prized cash cow. But you would be wrong. Although the Hyrule location in the game is very similar to the original there is a big variation in the new world called Lorule.

Lorule is accessed by going through the cracks like seen above using the interesting new game mode in A Link Between Worlds which is the ability to turn into a painting that allows you to walk on walls. This feature adds a new level of depth to the puzzle's in the game which are already nothing like the game this is based on. If anything this is more of a sequel to A Link to the Past then a remake.

Lorule is a world that has been plagued by darkness and it is up to you, Link, the hero of Hyrule to help the poor princess of Lorule and once again save Zelda!

The game also has another new feature which is basically a weapon shop, after only a few hours of game time you unlock this shop which has an inventory of almost all of the games available weapons. The shop makes you decide between paying a relatively low amount and renting the item, which upon death will return itself to the shop. Or paying a much larger amount of Rupees and buying the weapon outright.

This beast was a lot easier than you would think

This new addition to the Zeldaverse is a very good game at heart (many of hearts...) and can keep you entertained for quite a long time, and upon completion it is one of the only Zelda games to offer a newgame+ called Hero Mode.

Weapon Store
One of the problems for me was the implementation of the new weapon store, although this was a nice new feature that did come in handy. I decided to never rent an item and just purchase the item I knew that I needed for that particular dungeon, because it was basically 1 item needed per dungeon and by the time the dungeon was complete you had racked up enough Rupees to go and purchase the item needed for the next dungeon. The weapon shop also made the in-dungeon chests more dull as you knew that the big chests would only contain something to make Link stronger or make him be able to swim or lift rocks.

Easily the hardest bit in the game. 

Difficulty Spikes
Another problem for me was the times that the game became really difficult for 1 room in an otherwise easy dungeon. This did not happen to often but there were a few puzzles that required very tight ledge walking, these could sometimes be very difficult especially the few that made you jump down from a high ledge to a low ledge. Because of the angle of the camera it made these very difficult to land and used a lot of my health bar just to get past.

How much would you pay?
After playing this Zelda title I would have to say that this game should be purchased around the £25 mark. Although being a Zelda game, the game did not seem as long as other titles since the other games usually make you think that you are completed with you dungeons, then throw another 7 at you. This game made it a little to easy to see the end coming since it put a cross on the map at every destination.
But all being said. This game has amazing visuals, and age old style of gameplay loved by many, an excellent soundtrack. And hey... its Zelda!

Thanks for reading
BlessingOfChaos
{Chris}