#A link between worlds series#

New rental system for items and non-linear exploration works very well.Д¬ons: The gameвЂ™s a little too easy, which slightly undermines some of the new ideas.

#A link between worlds series#

Pros: Some of the very best dungeons in the whole series and two overworlds teeming with secrets and extras. In Short: One of the best Zelda games of all time and one which manages to quietly rewrite the seriesвЂ™ usual formula in some surprising, and surprisingly successful, ways. But itвЂ™s rare to get the best of both worlds and if itвЂ™s a choice between graphics or gameplay we know which weвЂ™d choose every time. We also canвЂ™t help thinking of The Wind Waker HD, which has the opposite problem of A Link Between Worlds вЂ“ in that itвЂ™s the best looking of all the Zelda games but also one of the least interesting to actually play. At least the 3D effect is good though, and one of the most impressive in a 3DS game this year. The character models are ugly even when the game does zoom in for a proper look at them and visually itвЂ™s hard to shake the feeling the game looks more like a fan project than anything else. We will admit however, that although in gameplay terms they work perfectly the retro art style, which mimics the illustrations from A Link To The PastвЂ™s manual, doesnвЂ™t help matters. Although weвЂ™re sure some will complain about the graphics you really donвЂ™t question them when youвЂ™re playing. TheyвЂ™re not actively bad but theyвЂ™re one of the few elements of the game thatвЂ™s not top drawer.Д«y comparison exploring the overworld is a joy, and seemingly never-ending one as you discover hidden caves and heart segments, visit a series of smaller dungeons already discovered by an endearingly second-rate treasure hunter, play mini-games for special prizes, rescue mountain climbers by bringing them a bottle of milk, and get involved in all manner of other sub-quests and one-off encounters.ДЄnd theyвЂ™re right because A Link Between Worlds really does feel fresh, with its curious mix of the very old and the brand new working almost perfectly. TheyвЂ™re the only part of the game that seems restricted by the old school aesthetic, as most just take part in small rooms with little space to manoeuvre or come up with advanced tactics. The only negative weвЂ™d say about the dungeons is that the boss battles are fairly unexciting by Zelda standards. The tension this adds when youвЂ™re low on health is considerable, as itвЂ™s not the fear of death which causes you to be more cautious but the fear of losing your deposit. Because the equipment is extremely expensive to buy a lot of the time youвЂ™re just renting, and if you die the items are claimed back and you have to rent them back again.

This seems bizarre at first because it robs you of the surprise of discovering new items, but the new risk versus reward dynamic it sets up is well worth it. This is especially true because of one of the other major shake-ups to the formula, where you no longer discover new items in a dungeon but rent or buy them beforehand from a trader that sets up shop in your home. ItвЂ™s a shame then that the game itself isnвЂ™t really that difficult, a little trickier than the DS games but not having a hard mode available from the start seems like a mistake. The lack of hand-holding is admirable, and corrects an error that even the best of the modern Zeldas have been prone to.

When you reach the main quest in the alternate world of Lorule (ruled by Princess Hilda, would you believe) youвЂ™re told where the seven dungeons are on the map and thatвЂ™s it вЂ“ youвЂ™re then left to work everything else out for yourself. Where A Link Between Worlds begins to divert from the usual formula is that you can tackle any of the dungeons in any order. However, apart from the 2D morphing the dungeons themselves could feasibly be included in any 2D Zelda game. The thought of playing through another ice or fire dungeon might not necessarily seem thrilling to veterans of the series but while the visual themes are predictable the ingenuity of the puzzles is most certainly not. You know a gameвЂ™s doing well when youвЂ™ve been sitting there for half an hour trying to work out a puzzle and when you finally realise a solution all you can do is beam with pleasure and wonder at the person that came up with the idea in the first place. The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) вЂ“ very 2D gameplay