Here's a series I haven't done in a while. Note: This isn't a structured review, it's just disorganized thoughts on this game.
So I finished that new Zelda game. The first thing I noticed while playing was how different it felt from almost any other game in the series. It really, really wants to be A Link to the Past, but I noticed myself going from screen to screen way faster than in ALttP. The game world is incredibly small, for a Zelda game at least. Yet, as I played the game, that was made up for with how much they packed into that world. This isn't the smallest Zelda yet, just the most concise. No part of the map is boring; in fact, just about all of it has something that makes it interesting. The only thing that I disliked about the world is that the general locations felt less memorable. By compacting the game so tightly, the regions of the game feel less like... places. In other words, the world feels far less alive than other Zelda games. These aren't new places you're visiting, like in the other games-they're just different environments to explore. It's not that the environments aren't varied, but I still felt disappointed by the small scale of A Link Between Worlds.
The next thing I noticed was that I have to buy items. Let me repeat: In A Link Between Worlds, you have to buy items. No matter how few issues I actually had with that, it never ceased to put a bad taste in my mouth. Zelda is an adventure. It should never be a grind. Thankfully, you can also rent the items at a lower price, but then you lose them on death. This has always bothered me in video games, but A Link Between Worlds is easy enough that it's never a major issue. When I did die-mostly at the start of the game, while getting used to the controls-I didn't enjoy having to exit the dungeon and go all the way back to the store to rent the item again. Just buying all of them doesn't work either, because the items cost a lot of in-game money. So either you have the constant threat of having to go all the way back to the store to get your item back, or grinding. Thankfully, the game's warp system allows you to warp to the store and then back to whatever dungeon you were probably doing, so the tedium is lessened-if it comes up at all in your playtime.
On the other hand, the new item system does work to make the game considerably less linear. You can pick up the item needed for whichever dungeon you wish to challenge, as the dungeons can be completed in almost any order once you reach the more open part of the game. Speaking of which, these are some of the best-designed dungeons in the entire series. Each one has a unique identity, and their design is as compelling as always. They're filled with ingenious puzzles, some of which can be completed in a number of different ways, in stark contrast to many other games in the series. If A Link Between Worlds has one particular area in which it excels, it's these dungeons.
Where A Link Between Worlds really falters is its story. It feels like something that they started to make, but stopped caring about less than halfway through. It introduces a lot of characters, but spends so little time developing them that you wouldn't be blamed for forgetting that they exist. Almost every little detail plays out like an expanded version of A Link to the Past. Sure, other games show similarities, but this one feels at times as if they just slightly edited that game's script and called it a new game. In addition, there's a major twist thrown in after you get to the dark world, but it's given away far before anything is actually done with it, and the game seems to be pretending that you didn't get its extremely obvious foreshadowing.
Despite all of my complaining, this is actually a very well-designed Zelda game. The core gameplay itself is actually some of the best in a Zelda game, and almost every inch of the game world has something to do or something to uncover. The puzzles are excellent, and while the combat might not be too challenging, the puzzles do require some thought to solve. The wealth of content-almost all of which is optional-is extremely compelling, and will keep you going through the game in absence of a decent story. For people nostalgic about A Link to the Past, this game will be even more of a treat. There are parts of A Link Between Worlds that intentionally call back to ALttP, just to subvert itself just when you think it's gonna retread the earlier game.
The game's main gimmick-being able to merge into walls-is the base of a lot of its puzzles, and is brilliantly executed. However, there were times early in the game where I forgot I had that ability, making some puzzles a lot harder. Eventually, though, I started using it so often that it was more useful than the sword. It's an interesting new element that gives this game a unique identity.
Despite my complaints, this is a very good Zelda game. I'd actually call this my favourite of the portable Zeldas, if you don't count the ports of Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, at least. It's a strong entry in a great series, and every 3DS owner owes it to themselves to pick it up.
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