Hot Coldman
Banned
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was released for Nintendo 3DS on November the 22nd, 2013, in stores and eShops in North America and Europe. It received a Japanese release a month later, on December 26th, 2013. As of October this year, the game has sold 1.03 million copies in the United States alone, with at least 2.51 million copies sold worldwide. It received vast critical acclaim, including a 10/10 from Game Informer, and was crowned Game of the Year by Gamespot.
That's right, it's the first anniversary of the best 3DS game.
All right, needless absolutes aside, this is a very special game. It's safe to say that this game was always going to deliver on the A Link To The Past nostalgia - the same music, the same overworld, the return of the Dark World, the Japanese title being fucking Triforce of the Gods 2... I doubt anyone expected this game to under-deliver when it came to making your memories of the SNES classic float up to the surface. Indeed, the final product does more than that - the makeover to the source material's sight and sounds almost makes you appreciate the original more. The iconic music of the Dark World and the dungeons of Rules high and low sound glorious, even coming out of the less-than-stellar 3DS speakers, thanks to some lovely new arrangements. And such memorable scenes as the Master Sword acquisition deep in the Lost Woods, showdowns with the likes of Moldorm, Blind the Thief and the Helmasaur King, and the peaceful village of Kakariko are rendered every bit as you remember them, except now in polygonal and stereoscopic 3D at a smoother-than-Sahasrahla's-noggin 60 frames per second.
But you know what? Fuck all of that. That isn't why A Link Between Worlds is so good.
It's in everything that is new, everything a Magic Mirror-wielding, pink-haired Link would never have seen. It's in the power to merge Link in vertical surfaces, turning an ostensibly two-dimensional Zelda game into a world of puzzles exploring all 3 axes. It's in the item rental mechanic, which throws the series' linearity out of the window, granting players true freedom in progression (and making both Rupees and death meaningful for the first time in a long time). It's in the cleverly constructed dungeons, which feel perfectly paced, feeding the endorphins that only good Zelda puzzles can provide whilst never feeling too simple nor too constricted in difficulty by the freeform nature of progression.
It's in the speed, and in the passive oversight. Zelda games have rarely felt this fast, this generous in handing the game over to the player, sitting back, and letting you just go to town. Play with purpose, and the game can be over fast, but that's all on you. It's like being handing a present on Christmas Day and getting to tear the wrapping apart. You know roughly how this song and dance goes - how it's all done, maybe even what's inside - but it's still fills you with joy and satisfaction like nothing else can, even though the moment can never be long enough.
To sum up my gushing, this is easily my favourite game for the 3DS, my favourite game of last year - and last year was a hell of a year, so that's no faint praise - and probably the most important Zelda title released since Ocarina of Time.
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There's been a few LttP (that's Late to the Party, not the other thing) slash opinion threads on A Link Between Worlds lately, even within the last week, so I don't just want this thread to be more of that. Rather, let's address some threads I feel the existence of this game, and the 12 months since its release, leave hanging:
1) Does the game still live up to your initial impressions?
I'll be playing A Link Between Worlds on Hero Mode over the next few days - something I started a few months ago, but I'll be starting from scratch here. My memories of the game are fresh in the mind still, but this refresher is still something I'm excited about. If you've been playing this game recently, or plan to soon, or simply just have some more recent thoughts about the title, share away. Zelda fans love to change their minds over time, after all!
2) The impact of the game's innovations
The item shop is obviously a bit shift away from the conventions of most Zelda titles. What do we expect to see as the biggest change? The first Zelda title for Wii U has been touted as having a far more open chain of progression, but do you expect to see them go further than A Link Between Worlds even did? How about the item shop - would you be up for purchasing weapons in the future too? How about the weapon upgrades, or systems like the Hint Ghosts, the wall merging, and so on?
3. Other titles getting the "ALBW" treatment
As someone who doesn't rate A Link To The Past that highly compared to most, the nostalgic ties to that game in A Link Between Worlds don't grab me as much as the game design does, but it is lovely to hear that game's music back up, as it is novel to see an old, familiar overworld re-purposes for a brand new title. Is this a thing Nintendo should try again in the future? I certainly wouldn't mind returning to Termina or Kolohint Island under new pretences.
Also, watch this amazing speedrun over the game, beaten in under 2 hours! Seriously, it's ridiculously good. Some of the skips are hilarious in their "how was this not spotted?"-ness.
Feel free to share any opinions, whether you vehemently disagree with me or not (and I know some of you do; not most, but definitely some!). Thank you Nintendo for this stone-cold classic; I know I'll enjoy replaying the heck out of it for years to come.
