posh_somme

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Recommended Posts

I am done. Gave up on a few of the mini-games, so i was three heart pieces short of a complete save. Got everything else though.

I think this is the best Zelda game i've played since Wind Waker. Really, really great game, i think. It's such a weird balance Nintendo struck with this one, being so reverent to LTTP, but with a few key changes in the formula making it feel like a distinctly new thing. (Pretty relevant to what the Thumbs were talking about on this week's podcast.)

The... The environments feel smaller than they did in LTTP though. I don't know if that's just the result of having more of it open earlier on, or maybe the camera is zoomed in closer in ALBW, or something. I think there also might be fewer enemies populating the ALBW dungeons than LTTP had.

I also thought during the final boss, where it gives you a bow and arrow weapon that you can use as a painting, that it would have been amazing if the wall-merge shifted you to a more fleshed out side-scrolling platforming style of gameplay, like how Link's Awakening and the original Zelda would jump back and forth between side-scrolling and top-down perspectives in different rooms.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My housemate's finally finished this, so I've just started. I've just reached the second dungeon, and had what I think was the weirdest hour I've ever had in a Zelda game.

 

I was surprised how much I resent the traditional Zelda formula, where there are areas I clearly have to use bombs, the hammer and the hookshot. I will get them at some arbitrary point, and will have to trudge through areas I've already done to get the one thing I didn't have. I like this style of game specifically for the moment when I discover that some design element I've seen all over the place has a secret new purpose, that what I thought were the borders of an area aren't really the edge of what's available at all. It's rare that Zelda does this, although it still can happen, for instance when I discovered a particular kind of tile I'd seen everywhere just so happens to respond to wind.

 

In that hour, between getting the signature ability to walk on walls and the time the shop opened for real, I had no goddamn idea how to proceed. I kept wandering around a little confused, because I was expecting the game to hand me answers on a silver platter like it always does. Instead, I had to actually explore a bit. I probably could have cut my time down significantly had I actually examined the problem and reasoned through what I needed, but the wall-walking is goddamn amazing at confusing the part of my brain that's convinced it knows how Zelda exploration works.

 

So I spent an entire hour unlearning Zelda conventions, enough to realise I probably could get into an area I'd written off until later.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The only thing I have left to do before the final dungeon is get one last heart piece.

 

It's the Octoball Derby one.

 

Why the fuck does Nintendo always insist on adding these awful, awful minigames into every Zelda game?

 

EDIT: and then I beat it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

FsdOOjf.png

 

 

 

100%, too! Every heart piece, item upgrade, etc.

 

So how about that ending?

 

I totally saw Princess Hilda being a villain coming, but Ravio being Lorule's Link totally took me off guard. I really like the idea of Lorule basically being an alternate timeline where the seven sages destroyed the Triforce instead of sealing it, though.

 

Best Zelda since Wind Waker. For realsies.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I went back and 100%'d it too, and i'm thinking about doing a hard run. (I wish Nintendo wouldn't lock their hard difficulties up as post-game unlocks. ALBW is not a game where i felt the default difficulty was too easy, but the original Wind Waker definitely was one, for example.)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My housemate did the hard difficulty.

 

It's a post-game difficulty mode, not a hard mode. Enemy attacks are about four times as hard, apparently? Basically that's enough to make things a lot dicier.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So you'd already have the blue tunic on and all your equipment? That kinda defeats the point of the hard mode if having this tunic already drastically raises your defense, it sounds like it would be the same as playing the game with the normal tunic to me.

 

Either way, I don't play it for the combat, I play it more for the puzzles and exploration. :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So you'd already have the blue tunic on and all your equipment?

 

...Did you only get to the blue one?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So you'd already have the blue tunic on and all your equipment? That kinda defeats the point of the hard mode if having this tunic already drastically raises your defense, it sounds like it would be the same as playing the game with the normal tunic to me.

 

No, you start at 3 hearts, green tunic. Basically you get hit by those rats at the start of the game twice, you die.

 

It adds the need to plan that you don't usually get from Zelda - you can't take a lot of hits, so you need to be constantly aware of where you're going next, avoiding unnecessary distractions. You need to get heart pieces as early as possible, which means you need to know where they are.

 

None of the puzzles change, though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So is the game actually balanced around the assumption that you're actually getting heart pieces? I usually don't bother getting them because I find Zelda games are usually on the easy side already, partly because every single monster and boss is super obvious about telegraphing everything it does, and also partly because of fairies giving you an easily available retry if you do die.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought a 3DS XL from Future Shop since they were $50 off for black Friday. I've been wanting an XL for a while, and knew that I was going to be purchasing one soon, so I was holding off on playing LBW (Oh god, now I can't stop seeing Legend Of Zelda: Leg Before Wicket) on my scratched up, horrible-battery life OG 3DS. I've loved that little system, but the time to move on is now! Blue XL is in the mail, accompanied by a copy of LBW. Excited!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Finished the game this morning.  I still really love LttP but ALBW was amazing.  I was admittedly very skeptical about the changes being made, but they were implemented in a very clever and satisfying way.

 

Also did anyone else notice at the end that

Ravio is in the painting with Link and Zelda?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So is the game actually balanced around the assumption that you're actually getting heart pieces? I usually don't bother getting them because I find Zelda games are usually on the easy side already, partly because every single monster and boss is super obvious about telegraphing everything it does, and also partly because of fairies giving you an easily available retry if you do die.

 

I think the difficulty's a little easy - a lot of monsters in the dark world do 2 hearts of damage, and some of the bosses have some nasty attacks, but you have plenty of options for mitigating damage. Still, I have felt a little pressure on my health, which is more than most Zeldas.

 

Basically thus far I think it's the best Zelda in some time. Ravio's shop fixes a lot of problems with the economy, providing a big rupee sink that doesn't necessitate grinding. Because the dark world dungeons don't rely as much on the 'get item-use item' formula, they employ other tricks, and working out what the rules of the dungeon are is part of the puzzle. It's never particularly difficult, but it's not obvious, either.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Beat it last night, and am super happy with the whole thing. Easily the best Zelda game since Wind Waker (and despite last week's Thumbs podcast, I've been a defender of that game since it came out), and possibly the best one since OoT or even ALttP

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've started replaying the game on Hero mode.  I'm finding it to be more fun than I thought it would be.  The increased amount of damage you take adds a level of tension that I've never really had in a Zelda game before.  It's making me think a bit more tactically and changing my normal approach to the game.  Usually I'd save side quests and stuff for the end but now I'm doing them first because I need the extra hearts and bottles.  I'm also probably going to change up the order I do the dungeons to get certain equipment first, like the blue mail and magic meter.

 

Also, I somehow didn't notice it the first time but last night I found Ravio's journal in his house in Lorule.  That was kind of a neat surprise for me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Also, I somehow didn't notice it the first time but last night I found Ravio's journal in his house in Lorule.  That was kind of a neat surprise for me.

It's only there in Hero mode, so that's why you didn't notice it!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've started replaying the game on Hero mode.  I'm finding it to be more fun than I thought it would be.  The increased amount of damage you take adds a level of tension that I've never really had in a Zelda game before.  It's making me think a bit more tactically and changing my normal approach to the game.  Usually I'd save side quests and stuff for the end but now I'm doing them first because I need the extra hearts and bottles.  I'm also probably going to change up the order I do the dungeons to get certain equipment first, like the blue mail and magic meter.

 

This is good to hear.  This game and Wind Waker were the Zelda games in which I felt combat was most varied and fun.  But now I guess I have to improve my skills!

 

And it's also cool to hear that Hero Mode offers (only slightly?) new content.  I'll have to replay it maybe sooner rather than later...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I finished this over the weekend. I am of two minds (no real spoilers):

 

1) The game is indeed a departure for the series, and I'm pretty glad that they took chances on shaking things up. I wasn't one of those people who saw the game and got grossed out and swore it off on looks alone (I'll save that for the Yoshi's Island 3DS sequel, which looks like all of the world's garbage), and it actually ends up being a very handsome game, even in those moments where you go into painting mode and suddenly see that everything is leaning back all weird. It controls perfectly, which is such a wonderful thing. I have a feeling that someone high-fived someone else right after they got Link's motion and speed down just so. The dungeons are clever, and it's true that you have to think about them slightly differently than in other Zelda games because the primary items are rentable. The game was pretty charming, which I have come to expect from both Nintendo and the NoA localizers, and it never lagged, which is important since that's what tends to get me in most of the recent games in the series.

 

2) That being said, the game still does gate you a little bit, and there are dungeons where a certain item is definitely supposed to be the primary way of solving puzzles, and the dungeons are never up to the level I've come to expect from some of the handheld games in the series (the oracle games have some real stumpers). Actually, you know, thinking back, maybe that's too harsh, the dungeons each have some fantastic moments (just not the bland, forgettable bosses). It is a little on the simple side, but I'm a goddamn adult, maybe I'm at the higher age end of the large target audience range, so that's ok. I'm not really interested in "hero mode" style difficulty, because that means that you play the same game but have to hunt for hearts more often, or avoid combat more, when what I really want is the same game but where each dungeon doesn't just lead you along one long path to the end, but rather features more moments (which did happen in this game) where you're standing in a room and checking the map and thinking: "what the heck, where haven't I gone? Where do I go now?"

 

I think that Patrick Klepek really hit the nail on the head when he brought up how difficult it must be to make these games. They can't stray from the formula, or else everyone flips out, and yet the internet clamors for them to mix things up. In the end, I'm always glad for a new game in the series, especially on the handheld. I want them to be bold, and take more chances, but I know that this won't happen. So, I enjoy the games for the moments they make me happy, and Link Between Worlds offered a lot of that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think that Patrick Klepek really hit the nail on the head when he brought up how difficult it must be to make these games. They can't stray from the formula, or else everyone flips out, and yet the internet clamors for them to mix things up.

I agree with that observation, too. Man, I'd love to see Nintendo make some altogether new action-adventure game, applying the expertise that goes into Zelda to something that's not Zelda.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just realized that when I beat the game I only died fighting the final boss and that's only because I didn't find the armor upgrade, so I never actually saw the whole renting mechanic in action. :|

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I died once during my first playthough and that was before I even rented anything (I attacked a cucco and summoned the horde).  I've died exactly once so far on my current Hero mode playthough, although if it weren't for my habit of repeatedly bottling fairies, I should have died several times by now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I died once during my first playthough and that was before I even rented anything (I attacked a cucco and summoned the horde).  I've died exactly once so far on my current Hero mode playthough, although if it weren't for my habit of repeatedly bottling fairies, I should have died several times by now.

 

 

HAHAHA. High five, I died once as well, the exact same way! The final boss fight almost got me. I used my fairy and had half a heart left when I took him down. Proper tense, that fight. Great game. I had an awesome time with it. Some of the dungeons were just flat-out amazing. Discovering the proper use of wallmasters made me so happy with the designers.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm replaying this in Hero Mode! I'm up to the final dungeon now.

 

v5tN7C7.jpg

 

This guy's whole deal where he thought he was supposed to be the hero is surprisingly melancholy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now