The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

This is NOT a simple remake. Don't expect it to be. What this game is better described as would be a nostalgic game set partly in the world that was made for Zelda (3) A Link to the Past. The overworld is similar but not carbon copy. Even some dungeons have slight similarities, but I feel this was for the sake of nostalgia and not any bit of laziness on Nintendo's part. My biggest compliment to Nintendo? NO MORE STYLUS!!! If you played the previous DS Zelda games, you probably got sick of controlling the entire game with the stylus. In this game you use the circle pad to move and the D-pad moves the camera slightly. The music is based on LTTP and Ocarina of Time (OOT) but it is slightly tweaked and improved. Control is amazingly fluid. Much improved over the old SNES and DS versions. It really feels like you have good control. You don't really stop on a dime, instead there is a bit of momentum. It makes the game tough at times because you WILL fall off ledges. And you do have a bit of bounce back if you strike things with your sword! Other great changes/improvements? Well the fact that after the first big dungeon, the game is wide open (for the most part) is really interesting. You rent or buy the items such as the bow and mallet. It's expensive and you lose them if you rent them then die, but it makes for a decent challenge. Oh, and rupees are easier to find - but you still have to balance your budget! There is a lot of backtracking due to treasure chests and pieces of heart that require certain tools or multiple tools, but with the witchy warp system, it's a breeze. Also with the item system - gone is the inventory of arrows and such. Instead you have a magic meter which depletes when you use tools (or turn into a painting - more on that in a sec!). It refills slowly, or with little magic vials found in jars. The most interesting little facet of this game is the ability of Link to turn into a 2-D wall painting. It opens up a lot of areas and allows you to travel to Lorule - the reverse world (not the same as the dark world in LTTP). Magic slowly depletes when using this power, so you can run out of magic, pop out and fall to your demise. True story. Speaking of story! A lot of game magazines said there isn't much story, but I would say that the story is on par with Ocarina. Not too fleshed out, just a little overview. Early on you are privy to a lot of the history and story line, and since the game is more or less non-linear, a bit more is filled in along the way. Interactions with other characters are quite fun and add a little comedy or drama. I won't spoil anything, but it seems that this game is set after LTTP since early on in the game, Impa tells you about the history of the last hero that sealed Ganon and found the Triforce of Courage. Again, nothing you don't know 5 minutes into the game. I only have one little qualm and that is that the maps in dungeons are provided when you enter them. Of course you need the compass to see the chests, but also that makes it easier to find all of the hidden items. Difficulty is variable. At times I feel I'm just powering along, other times I just get my rear end handed to me. All part of the more open nature of the game I guess. But with the open structure I felt that maybe a bit of a difficulty reading would help, something saying that particular dungeons would be tougher, so you might want more heart containers... Nitpicking though! What Nintendo just did though was cement the fact that the 3DS is THE Nintendo system to buy - not Wii U - at least not yet. And if you own a 3DS (or 2DS) you MUST buy this game. It is the golden stamp on a terrific year for this system!

How awesome is this game? I really can't deem it as good as Link to the Past yet, but I will when I finally finish it. But just know, I think link to the past might be my favorite Zelda of all time. Right next to Ocarina and the original LOZ. If you like the top down games in the Zelda universe, this is what Zelda is all about. Spirit Tracks was a bit of a let down and this one is their "sorry letter to you". This game pays a homage to classic Zelda. Anyone who played Link to the Past will recognize the music, the combat techniques and the awesome story. The 3DS touch screen is perfect for navigation and working through our items in a jiffy. It makes Link to the Past seem second rate from that standpoint. The 3D works and looks pretty good. I'm not a big fan of 3D, but if you like it, you'll like the 3D effects this game has. I personally play it with the 3D off. The graphics are colorful, bright and spriteful! Is that a word? lol. I think it's much prettier than Link to the Past. Mind you, that game came out in 92. (I think). And the enemies are more plentiful and more creative too. But you'll see some classic enemies make their triumpahnt return. The soundtrack is fantastic. Lots of new music and lots of the original soundtrack has returned but remixed in 3DS glory. Im actually amazed how good music can sound on the 3DS when it's really pushed. Nintendo went all out on everything here. The gameplay is rock solid. The control stick works nearly perfect for the precision that you'll need walking around walking narrow platforms and deadly dungeons. The puzzles are tough, but nothing too tough for most Zelda guys out there. If you get stuck, you can hints along the way if you get into a jam. Kinda like letting you look into the near future on what you need to do next. The dungeons are plentiful and filled with life. I'm a bit disappointed that the maps automatically point you out to the maps automatically in the game instead of letting you find them yourself. One of the few flaws this game has. IF that could be turned on in a patch, I think that'd be better for people who like to search every nook and locale the game has to offer. Old school, new school, it's a grand game for all and IMO, it would be a good enough reason to get a new 3DS for someone. This might be the best Zelda game ever made. Check it out friends!

A Link Between Worlds is a solid entry in the Zelda franchise, and a welcome return to the top-down roots of the series. Nintendo has done an excellent job translating the world of Link to the Past into 3D, and this new title offers plenty of welcome changes to the aging Zelda formula for a fresh new experience. I originally wasn't excited about the star feature - the ability to merge into walls - but Nintendo nailed it, and puzzles that make excellent use of this new mechanic are found throughout the game. While progression in Zelda games has traditionally been a bit rigid, Nintendo has really opened things up in A Link Between Worlds. After completing the first few dungeons, players can play the remaining dungeons in any order. Most of the classic items - bow, hookshot, fire rod, boomerang, etc - are not unlocked by beating dungeons, but rented or purchased (with rupees, no IAP!) from an eccentric shop-owner (who looks more than a little like a purple Rabbid...). The shop opens up very early in the game, also giving players a lot more freedom than they've had in previous Zelda games. I welcome this new mechanic - hasn't Link found the hookshot in a dungeon enough times by now? This also eliminates the rather silly aspect of previous games that bosses were inevitably hiding in the same dungeon as the one item necessary to defeat them. However, the new approach does make the bosses themselves a bit less memorable - several of them can be defeated with just the sword. The overworld is packed with tons of content to keep players engaged outside of the central story. Puzzles and treasure are densely scattered everywhere. Link can collect little sea urchins to upgrade his weapons, and with 100 of them hidden around the world, you'll be challenged to find them all! There are also a large number of rupee-winning minigames, each of which awards the player with a piece of heart when he or she scores well enough. A Link Between Worlds places a much greater emphasis on rupees than previous titles in the series. You can carry (at least) 9,999 rupees from the start, and you'll certainly be needing them. In addition to the usual, you've got weapons to rent or buy, potions to purchase, fortune tellers to pay, and of course the entry fees on the many games. Rupees are plentiful and you'll never run low, but you'll also need plenty of time to earn enough to purchase *everything*! Finally, a Zelda game where money doesn't become meaningless after the first act. It doesn't quite have as much heart as Link's Awakening, and a few of the bosses and dungeons are less than memorable, but overall A Link Between Worlds is a fantastic and much-needed title in this long-running series. A must-have for any fan of classic Zelda. Now, let's hope they make a 3D remake of Link's Awakening... HINT HINT

Great game! Fast shipping!

This is the Oceania and UAE version, but it plays in English on my North American 3DS just fine. Came sealed in the box, fast turnaround time.

Excellent

As Zelda games go, this is another good one. It brought back a lot of the things I loved about A Link to the Past, with many aspects - the design of the overworld and location of areas in particular - being a nod to the game. It also pulled in little aspects from the later games, mostly Ocarina of Time. Don't go into this one thinking you're getting something brand new and innovative. It's also a little short - if you're really grinding through it, you can finish the game in less than a day. Gameplay is similar to the DS-era games blended in with problem-solving closer to Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. Some of the enemies can be a touch difficult if you're not aimed in the right direction or you're not used to action-adventure games, but overall it's very playable. I loved that you can actually get all of your items for all the dungeons early, and that you can use those items in creative ways to move on. Sometimes there's only one real answer, but often you'll find yourself able to use more than one method to pass obstacles and challenges (for instance, you can either blow out fire with wind or freeze it). It also has a lot less item-grinding to get everything in the game - even with the 100 Maiamai to be found, it doesn't feel frustrating. A little ingenuity in the dungeons, and you can also get the best weapons in the game without a whole lot of trouble. As a story goes, it's a little bit predictable, but I think that's sort of something to be expected with Zelda games. If you've played Link to the Past, you'll be able to anticipate a lot of what happens in the early half of the game, and they do telegraph the twist(s) pretty heavily. That didn't hurt my love for the game any. The music is sort of a blend of Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time along with some new music, which I loved for the nostalgia feel. A lot of that is something to keep in mind: nostalgia is a HUGE part of this game. If you're playing it for something brand new, you'll be disappointed. If you liked the older games and you like seeing nods to those games, you'll probably really enjoy this.

A Link Between Worlds manages to combine the grand feeling of exploration from the older Zelda titles with some welcome innovations that allow the game to feel fresh and exciting throughout. After beating this game, finding all the Maimais, getting all the weapon upgrades, and almost all the heart pieces I can easily say that ALBW is my favorite handheld Zelda and one of my favorite titles in the series. Music: The music in this Zelda entry is very impressive. The tracks are beautiful and diverse they really help to give the different locations and dungeons a distinct feel. The new versions of old Zelda tracks and the new tracks are all great and they really add atmosphere to the game. Graphics: The graphics really look great on the 3DS and I like the art style Nintendo choose for the game. It is pretty awesome to see A Link to the Past's Hyrule redone with modern graphics. That said I'm used to playing older video games so any graphics that have a good artistic style and are not bland look good to me. Controls: The controls in this game are very smooth and precise. They allow for precision that has been absent in many of the more recent Zelda titles.(The DS Zeldas, Skyward Sword) Story: Nintendo took a more minimalist approach to the story of A Link Between World, akin to the stories of the older Zeldas. There is not a long prologue nor long cutscenes throughout the game and the overall story is fairly straight forward. Many of the characters in the game are not even named, and there is little character development in general. That said the more central characters to the story have intriguing motivations and conflicts that really drew me into the story. One thing that I liked about the story is that it lacked the cheesiness that some recent Zeldas stories have had. I still prefer the stories of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker but I thought the story fit the game well while motivating the player to reach the end. I also really liked the ending and how they tied everything together. To sum myself up I thought the game was not story heavy, but the story that was told was very good. Gameplay: Dungeons The dungeons in A Link Between Worlds have some really inventive puzzles and are a lot of fun. The various dungeons are all unique and well-designed. The variety in puzzles and structure keep the dungeons interesting and never repetitive. While I did not really get stuck playing this game the puzzles posed enough of a challenge to be rewarding to solve. The only downside to the dungeons is that they are all fairly short. To be fair, this shorter length is probably better for a portable game and it also helped to keep the game feeling more fast-paced and concise. Bosses The bosses are fun and the strategies needed to defeat them vary immensely. While most of the bosses are basically new, there are a couple bosses from A Link to the Past, but the strategies needed to defeat them have changed slightly. The bosses in this game are substantially easier then bosses in earlier Zelda titles like A Link to The Past and LInk's Awakening and they really do not pose much of a challenge. When I played older titles like A Link to The Past and LInk's Awakening, I had to fight some bosses multiple times before I could defeat them. In contrast, I beat almost all the bosses in this game in one try.(Even though I did have to use fairies at some points) Overall the bosses were fairly easy but still a lot of fun. Exploration I think one of this game's greatest aspects is the sense of exploration and adventure. The game really encourages you to scour the entire game world in search of the dungeons and collectables. The ability to rent and buy the game's items allows the player to tackle Lorule's dungeons in whatever order they please. This makes exploration a central part of the game and as you transverse Hyrule and Lorule you are constantly finding new things such as dungeon entrances, collectables, mini-dungeons, etc. This variety of things to find and do makes this over world far more entertaining and vibrant then many of the over worlds of the 3-D Zeldas. I felt like I was discovering news things over the entire course of the adventure. As I played through this game I felt as though I stumbling upon dungeons while exploring the world, rather then simply seeking them out. Overall: I really liked A Link Between Worlds and I thought it did a good job of capturing the spirit of the classic Zeldas while incorporating some new innovative concepts such as Ravio's shop and the item meter. I would also like to add that the Merge ability is pretty cool and helped to bring a new dimension to the game, without becoming a gimmick. This game was really fun the entire play through and I do not think I ever came across a dull moment. The Legend of Zelda is my favorite video game series and I think A Link Between Worlds deserves a spot among the best games of the series. Pros: -Grand Sense of Exploration -Great Music -Great Dungeon and Boss Design -Vibrant and Interesting Over worlds -Good Story -Interesting Characters -Cool Merge ability -Cool Upgrades -Lots of Collectables and Mini-games Cons: -Fairly easy (In Zelda terms, I need to play hero mode next to see the differences)

Awesome game. My 8yr old loved it.. even i got addicted.. :)

Item de colecionador! Vale a pena!

Along with Super Mario 3D Land, this is probably one of the best titles for the 3DS. My son got a New 3DS and being someone that spent a fair amount of time gaming when I was younger and had all sorts of time on my hands I still try to find time to play games now and then but find it difficult to get into larger scale games but this one has been perfect for me. The fact that I can just pick up the 3DS during the evenings and get through a "chunk" of A Link Between Worlds in a short period and reach a save point and put it down has meant that I've actually been able to enjoy it and keep coming back to it to make progress. I'm probably about half way through the game now and feel like the amount of content in the game, not even counting the optional grinds (finding the Maimai babies?). It's very much a classic and approachable Zelda title and one that I felt instantly "at home" in regardless of the fact that a good portion of the game requires use of the "becoming two dimensional" mechanic - which I thought was going to be silly but really adds a thoughtful layer to the exploration and puzzle solving to this game. Many of the three dimensional Zelda titles, I just couldn't stick with for whatever reason - and while I know titles like Ocarina of Time are highly regarded, for me, A Link Between Worlds is the perfect Zelda and I personally hope that they make more just like it. While save points are relatively plentiful and you do come across them often enough to avoid becoming too annoyed, I still would have preferred a quick save option so I could literally drop it on a whim, sometimes when you're in the middle of a dungeon you just have to trudge through it to avoid losing your progress (unless you are willing to just suspend the game until next time, not something that works well when you know your kid is going to want to pick it up and play something else). The game is also, arguably, too easy. I have never actually died yet, and very infrequently had to rely on health restoring items. In a sense the forgiving nature of making mistakes does help you just enjoy the other non combat options of the game without getting worked up about re-doing anything over and over (oh long gone are the days when I would be willing to play a game on maximum difficulty and re-do each section two dozen times). Fall off a cliff? You lose a measly half a heart for that mistake. While there are some enemies that will take a sizable chunk out of your life if you run afoul of them, they are few and far between so far and in general very easy to avoid and none of the enemies do anything particularly intelligent. All in all, it is games like this that validate the continued existence of the 3DS and I would buy it again and would have still been happy if I had paid the full original MSRP for it.

Para empezar me toco comprarlo a un excelente precio, me llego en menos de una semana y en excelentes condiciones, comencé a jugarlo y visualmente esta impresionante y nostalgico para los que jugaron A link to the past en su momento. Apenas llevo un episodio y el puzzle del 1er castillo, la musica y los sonidos de los personajes te hacen revivir todos los juegos de zelda. El efecto de la pintura tambien se ve genial!! Aun no le he encontrado lo negativo pero me imagino que será minimo comparado con las cosas buenas que incluye este juego!! Muy buen juego eh!?

Este juego es para el mercado americano, ya que no vale para el mercado europeo. A mi me llego y no me vale