![]() ![]() Nearly every side quest requires extensive use of Merging, and if you are ever stuck in a dungeon a good rule of thumb is “have you tried Merging?” Merging lets you explore the outside walls of dungeons, find hidden back doors to houses, and dodge enemy attacks. Merging is used to reach portals to Lorule and to traverse all the areas of the two overworlds. It allows you to walk up to any flat vertical surface, flatten Link into the wall as a drawing, and then walk left or right along the wall to reach new areas. The wall merging ability, simply called Merge, is the primary new puzzle-solving and exploration mechanic of A Link Between Worlds. If you know anything about A Link Between Worlds, it is probably that Link can walk on walls. ![]() There are still some puzzles that require switching back and forth between the two worlds, but they are strictly limited to specific scenarios and designed to showcase another key feature of A Link Between Worlds: Merging. You access each area by finding a portal in the corresponding area in Hyrule. ![]() A Link Between Worlds takes a different approach. In A Link to the Past, the Magic Mirror allows you to leave the Dark World at any time to reach new areas in the Light World. Lorule is an alternate, darker version of Hyrule that, unlike A Link to the Past‘s Dark World, you travel to at set points in the overworld. Link is a stranger to the townsfolk of Lorule, and they treat him as such. Lorule fills the same role as the Dark World in A Link to the Past. Access to Lorule is unlocked as the story progresses. The same cannot be said of the characters in the second world you visit. Unusually for a Zelda game, many characters already know Link and recognize him as the blacksmith’s apprentice. I am not exaggerating in saying that the ending always makes me tear up - and not just because the game is over and I want another dungeon.įrom the beginning, it is clear that Hyrule is not a place that Link is visiting it is a place where he lives. That story spans two worlds and includes big surprises and heartfelt moments. Some characters initially seem to be designed for one side quest or to give an in-universe explanation for a game mechanic, but then unexpectedly play a larger role in the story. Storytelling in Zelda has come a long way since 1991, and A Link Between Worlds spends the first few hours introducing characters that will continue to play a role throughout the game. Remakes always have more expectations thrust upon them by fans of the original releases, and I have sometimes felt the same way about A Link Between Worlds even knowing it is a sequel rather than a remake.Įven though it takes you to familiar places, the story of A Link Between Worlds quickly deviates from A Link to the Past. However, the familiar world can sometimes make A Link Between Worlds feel more like a remake than a new game. A Link to the Past was one of my first video games, and exploring its familiar locations brought to life on new hardware still makes me smile, even after several replays. Seeing the same world again delighted me. One glance at your map, which is always displayed on the bottom screen of the 3DS, and anyone with even a passing familiarity with A Link to the Past will realize that this game takes place in the same world as its predecessor.Īnd that isn’t a bad thing. You then immediately travel to the Kakariko Village blacksmith, also in the same location, and then to the Sanctuary and then Hyrule Castle. A Link Between Worlds begins with Link asleep in a house located in the same place as the previous game. The comparisons to A Link to the Past are immediate and inevitable. But even burdened with the weight of two all-time greats, A Link Between Worlds provides an experience you will not find in any other Zelda game. Now, almost ten years after its release, A Link Between Worlds is compared not only to its predecessor but also to its successor, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which expands on some of A Link Between Worlds‘ gameplay experiments. It is a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the game that defined most of what we expect from a Zelda game. From the day it was announced, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds has been weighed down by nearly insurmountable expectations. ![]()
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