A Nintendo community
by the fans!
           
  Forum main
 + 
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Discussion (Nintendo 3DS) [game]
 
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS
9.37/10 from 44 user ratings

Welcome to the official discussion thread for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS!

To start, please add this game to your log, add it to your collection (if applicable), and (when you are ready) rate it using the link above!

Reviews:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Review (Nintendo 3DS) (9.9)  by  
The latest entry in Nintendo's famous adventure series, The Legend of Zelda, is just about upon us! This game takes place in the same "world" as the classic SNES game, A Link To The Past, following a new Link on a new adventure through Hyrule, and an alternate kingdom, Lorule.


Time to grab the Master Sword once again, adventure fans. The world needs a hero, will you answer the call?

URL to share (right click and copy)
11/13/13, 15:39    Edited: 11/13/13, 15:50
 
Why not sign up for a (free) account?
   
 
@GameDadGrant

Hehehe. I'm soured on Spirit Tracks though. Stupid flute.


Back on LBW, I died against the boss of the Skull Woods. What an asshole that guy is. I cant seem to run fast enough to avoid him.

Merging into the wall helps, but you can only do that for so long...

Need more faries.
11/29/13, 02:33   
GameDadGrant said:
Honestly? Phantom Hourglass fixed a LOT that was broken with The Wind Waker. Sailing was far better. Exploration was superior. Challenge was increased. No more stupid, stupid Triforce fetch quest.

Also? Yeah, hi...we can finally go fishing again.

These are all true, but there was a lot of stuff that Phantom Hourglass didn't do nearly as well.

Story: TWW > PH
Items: TWW > PH
Main Villain: TWW > PH
Dungeons: TWW > PH
Combat: TWW > PH
Music: TWW > PH
Bosses: TWW > PH
Minigames (as a whole): TWW > PH
NPCs (as a whole): TWW > PH
Sidequests: TWW > PH

I know not all of those comparisons are fair since TWW, a console game, has more space to do more with some of those categories, but still, TWW does plenty better than PH.

I mean, those things you mention that PH does well are some of the reasons why I rank the game above Spirit Tracks, the two Four Swords games, etc., but it still misses out on enough for me to rank it below almost every other game in the franchise.

I didn't have a problem with the Temple of the Ocean King though (and I loved the third Sea Chart puzzle; that was absolutely brilliant), but the Tower of Spirits was a much better execution of the idea, IMO.
11/29/13, 03:49   
V_s said:

Story: TWW > PH
Items: TWW > PH
Main Villain: TWW > PH
Dungeons: TWW > PH
Combat: TWW > PH
Music: TWW > PH
Bosses: TWW > PH
Minigames (as a whole): TWW > PH
NPCs (as a whole): TWW > PH
Sidequests: TWW > PH

Some of this stuff I agree with you on. Others, I think we'll disagree. Items, music, NPCs and story we agree on. The Wind Waker did all those things marvelously, and the sequel didn't quite live up to those same standards.

Other things though - like the minigames? I dunno. I thought the minigames in Phantom Hourglass were rather good. What minigames were in The Wind Waker again? The "Battleship" game, sorting mail at Dragon Roost Isle, and....? That flying challenge, I guess? On the far east of the map? Sidequests were well done in Phantom Hourglass as well. Some of The Wind Waker's sidequests were tedious - mostly because traveling across The Great Sea was such a chore.

I felt the combat was really fresh and unique in the DS games. The Wind Waker's was a more refined Ocarina of Time system. Which was still great of course. But man, the way you fought enemies with the stylus was just so new and exciting to me. And speaking of which, the bosses in Phantom Hourglass were amazing, and way more exciting than any boss encounter in The Wind Waker. Most of those bosses couldn't have been done on any other hardware - totally unique and fresh and innovative, IMO.

But anyway...opinions! I do agree that the Tower of Spirits was a better Temple of the Ocean King than the actual Temple of the Ocean King.
11/29/13, 06:05   
I finished A Link Between Worlds a couple of hours ago. 100%. All of the items and their upgrades, equipment, and pieces of heart.

I'm quite impressed with A Link Between Worlds. I tried to enter it without any expectations, but I had a feeling that this game would end up in the middle of the pack of the Zelda games: not among the best, but not among the worst either. It turns out I was wrong. Very wrong. ALBW borrows the strengths of ALttP but none of the flaws. It makes new additions that do nothing but improve the experience and removes almost all of the weaknesses of ALttP.

ALBW retains the secret filled, yet still easily navigable overworld of its inspiration, but there are more things to do and find, the world is easier to traverse, and the secrets are more interesting (such as mini dungeons that yield rupees). The dual world element is better than the one in ALttp. The dungeons are comparably brief and plentiful, with little between them if you choose to go straight from one to the next.

Not only does ALBW borrow the best parts of its predecessor, but it also improves on ALttP's weaknesses. There are memorable characters that aren't limited to solely residing in Kakariko village; the overworld has been tweaked a bit; the dungeons feel more thematic and use those themes in their puzzles; and the balance between combat and puzzles is more equal.

The new things ALBW adds are great as well. Merging into walls encourages you to view this single-perspective, 2D world from the perspective of the people within it. It literally gives the world depth. This also leads to some great puzzles and boss battles. The new items are fantastic. Lorule's new characters are great as well. Especially the twist pertaining to Ravio. And the MaiMai are a great addition. Renting and buying items has been executed better than I could have imagined. Being able to tackle the dungeons in any order also avoids all of the pitfalls that I worried it may have fallen victim to.

Overall, A Link Between Worlds stands on the shoulders of a giant and aspires to outdo its legendary predecessor. It isn't limited by its heritage. Rather, it uses the strengths of ALttP and capitalizes on that familiarity in order to try new things that ultimately improve the experience as a whole. Do I like A Link Between Worlds more than A Link to the Past? I want to wait a bit before giving a definite answer, but right now I'm leaning towards yes. Do I like A Link Between Worlds more than Kid Icarus Uprising, my favorite 3DS game? No, probably not. But A Link Between Worlds is now my second favorite 3DS game (not counting remakes). It's doubtlessly worth playing for fans of A Link to the Past, fans of the Legend of Zelda, 3D or 2D. Even if you haven't played Zelda before, this is a great place to start.
11/29/13, 06:42   
I finished the game earlier today as well (100% -- took me roughly 21 hours), and I really dug it. It's so brisk, avoiding a lot of the pacing issues seen in the recent 50-hour console entries. In fact, because cutscenes and dialogue are minimal, it feels even better paced than Minish Cap or the Oracle games. I think the rental system was a great addition, as the non-linearity really makes the game feel fresh.

The painting mechanic really added more than I thought it would. It mixes up the puzzles and makes you think outside the box that you're used to thinking in for Zelda dungeons, even if it essentially boils down to just being a new item.

My biggest concern going in was that it was going to crib too much from A Link to the Past. While it certainly does do this, I don't think it's to its detriment. Rather, they find ways to mix up the formula and play with your expectations so that it doesn't feel like a straight ripoff.

Overall, I really enjoyed this game. I think it's easily the best Zelda game in the past decade (since Wind Waker), and the best handheld Zelda since Link's Awakening. I'm looking forward to seeing them implement some of the ideas from this game into a wholly original release.
11/29/13, 07:54   
Question to those who 100%ed it, did you use FAQs at all or find everything yourself? Because I'm 15 hours in, only have 3 sages, and still missing 30 of the Miami babies (okay not Miami but that's more pronounceable) and so far I can only find one empty bottle (assuming there is 3? Isn't that the norm?)

Anyway I can't see myself finishing in 20 hrs without using some kind of guide to mop up all the remainding secrets, not at my rate (I am notoriously slow though).

Also at the end does it give you a completion percentage, if not how do you know of you found everything?
11/29/13, 22:51   
Edited: 11/29/13, 22:53
@deathly_hallows I didn't use a guide at all. I don't actually know if I got 100%, just assuming because I explored pretty much everything twice over and seem to have all the equipment upgrades and what I assume are all the bottles (I got * * five * * of them). I even got all the optional treasures in the dungeons, some of which were actually pretty tricky!

The Maimais are easy to find, thanks to the Maimai map counter and their noises. As for bottles, you pretty much just have to chase sidequests.
11/29/13, 23:13   
Edited: 11/29/13, 23:14
@deathly_hallows
What @nate38 said.
Once you have all of the abilities, you can get the Maimais pretty quickly.

Aid everyone find that Ogre guy in the Lorule cave who keeps giving you rupees? I kept taking from him and he got angry and violent. What's with him?!?!
11/30/13, 00:03   
Yo! I think I might start this game soon. Anything I should know?
11/30/13, 00:06   
@ploot Haha, I did find that. I opted for the other option and didn't demand more rupees. We parted ways amiably.
11/30/13, 00:08   
The music in this game is phenomenal.

Did anyone fight a Street Pass/Shadow Link?

Notice the music? Amazing.
11/30/13, 00:20   
@TheOldManFromZelda Yeah, that was a good tune.

I just looked it up in GameFAQs, and apparently I did miss one NPC! You can find them in the Lost Woods...
11/30/13, 00:32   
Edited: 11/30/13, 00:32
The only time I used a guide to find two maimai that were giving me a hard time and to see what you get for giving a million rupees to the rupee fairy.

@nate38

The gossip guy, right?

@Tranquilo

I can't think of anything. Have fun :)
11/30/13, 00:38   
Edited: 11/30/13, 00:43
@nate38

I only selected wait, not yet or whatever because I was trying to give the poor son of a bitch his rupees back or learn what was up with him. Didn't realize I was bullying him out of more. Haha.
11/30/13, 01:08   
Edited: 11/30/13, 01:09
@Hero_Of_Hyrule Yeah, that one. I totally forgot about that section of the woods.
11/30/13, 01:12   
@Tranquilo

Don't get too impatient about the items. You can't rent items until right before the first dungeon, and you can't buy items until after the first dungeon (or maybe even later than that; I forget).

I thought you'd be able to buy and rent items much earlier on than I actually was able to, so I kept wondering what I was doing wrong. You're not doing anything wrong; they're just not available for a while.

Also, don't try to make this game fit story-wise with ALttP. Just pretend that ALBW's back story is referring to entirely new events that took place many years after ALttP happened with an all new, never-before-seen hero, princess, sages, and Ganon. That's the only way the story makes sense.
11/30/13, 01:39   
I must throw in my 2 cents here:

This game is incredible. Feels so good to play and reminds me of 3D World in a weird way (in the sense it's a retro retread but also feels very new, a modern sequel to an SNES game). Completely forgotten how good Zelda 3 style gameplay was. This is so refined. Music is great.

And why do people say the graphics suck? Looks great.

This must be the best Handheld/3DS game I've ever played. My only complaints are probably circle pad related. And the Zelda 64 house theme sucks ass and needs to go. It was never good. Come at me.

Currently at the Tower of Heracles.
12/01/13, 02:58   
@carlosrox

Yeah, I was underwhelmed with the graphics when I originally saw them... but playing the game in silky smooth 60FPS, everything is great. The game could have looked better if they went with 30FPS, but no thanks.
12/01/13, 10:51   
I'm really liking some of the later graphics in the game, actually. Very moody, for what they are. Last night I just played the first Zelda dungeon to ever make me feel like I just entered some sort of ancient crypt that I really shouldn't be messing around in, because WHO KNOWS what odd, ancient technologies might be at work here?
12/01/13, 21:04   
Edited: 12/01/13, 21:06
After finishing my fourth dungeon in Lorule I decided I simply must have missed finding the boots. I tried thinking back to anything I remembered in particular from ALTTP. I finally figured it out. I should be ashamed. I can't believe I didn't make that connection far earlier.
12/01/13, 23:54   
  Forum main
 +