I finished the game earlier, it was a lot better than I anticipated so time for impressions.
Despite being a fan of the series Ive never considered my liking for 2D/top down Zelda entries to match my love for the 3D entries, I still enjoy them but Links Awakening is the only one I really rated. So as you may gather A Link to the Past is a game I enjoy but not to the levels of praise it often receives (though I do understand why its highly praised), so the announcement of a direct sequel left me having shall we say middling hype.
Pre-release it was the reuse of the old overworld that was my main gripe from this sequel approach and as of right now its really the only true flaw I find myself having with the game. Theres nothing fundamentally wrong with this version of Hyrule, its quite well laid out with a nice variety of locations yet the feeling of true exploration as you discover a new overworld bit by bit is unfortunately lost by taking this return trip, on top of that even Lorule is a pretty direct Dark World homage as opposed to its own kingdom. I do think its a shame that they didnt fully revamp Hyrule like other games in the series often do but as far as remixing an old overworld from around 20 years ago they did a good job, and it arguably shows the strength of that layout as it still stands up today, sprinkling in some new characters as well as a few more drastic layout changes in areas also helps.
Right so thats the closest thing to a negative point out of the way, this game was a lovely refresher for the series. Despite enjoyment of the recent Zelda games there have been some pressing issues scattered about the various entries, too much guidance, clumsy pacing, the damn train in Spirit Tracks and so on but ALBW is free of these hindrances that had crept into the series as of late. This outing dials things back but not so far back that it doesnt take on board the strong points from recent entries be it fleshing out the world via characters or even bringing in a certain item I loved dearly in Spirit Tracks, in a sense this game is like the link between 2D and 3D Zelda design philosophies, you could even say that it's a Link between Worlds....sorry.
Taking the dungeons for example, I feel theres a heavier puzzle/obstacle overcoming presence here reminiscent of the 3D games approach to dungeon design compared to A Link to the Past while of course working from the top down template of the 2D games gives it the strength of those games as well. With the game being built up in 3D they can also reduce the flatness of rooms in a more effective way as well as giving a sense of scale beyond just switching floors with staircase transitions, factor in the other kind of 3D that the handheld specializes in and it all comes together very nicely. As a result youve got fast flowing dungeons carefully balancing what you could call well guided exploration, combat and puzzles together in a true Zelda blend. Admittedly there is a loss of the more sprawling labyrinthine nature of dungeon design seen in some of the older games but to be quite honest that design never did much for me at all and in its place we have dungeons designed in such a manner that backtracking doesnt come across as an issue, the game never outright points you in the right direction yet the design leads you organically to the right places.
The dungeons on show here have what I find to be a perfect length, theyre not quite bite sized, and theyre not drawn out, they give their relevant items a good workout often on top of the dungeons own gimmick. Each dungeon has its own flavour, a lot of them of course being directly inspired by their SNES predecessors yet with enough of a twist to edge out of ALttPs shadow. The freedom to tackle Lorule dungeons in (mostly) any order isnt game changing but it is appreciated and can ever so slightly alter the potential difficulty of a dungeon based due to the gear they hold within which I imagine is useful to take on board for hero mode.
Speaking of freedom, the way items are handled ties in with that. I didnt die during my playthrough but I came close enough twice to feel the fear of losing my rentals. Having early access to most items leads to a more immediately accessible overworld which has more pros than cons Id say such as being able to just fully explore what you want as early as you want for the most part. Buying the items is made worthwhile through the very well handled upgrade system, not only are some of these upgrades quite significant and useful, it also offers an extra incentive to explore Hyrule once more for the little critters that make your upgrades possible, not often are collectables handled as well as this.
The addition of a regenerating energy meter for item use is one Im a fan of, items that would formerly use magic come across as more usable on a whole without being too open to abuse (outside of a few upgraded items I guess, Tornado Rod can be pretty cheesy). Some old items are given greater interaction with the environment such as the hookshot in particular, alongside this most items work in tandem with Links newest trick, the ability to merge into walls.
I felt that turning into a drawing was more than just the obligatory new Zelda game gimmick that I initially expected it to be. The walls add another way to traverse across the environment at various levels which sounds like a minor detail however how well this mechanic is integrated with Links array of items and in some case the movement of parts of the environment itself adds another layer of Zelda puzzle logic to the proceedings, to think before this new addition truly clicked I was left puzzled as to how to cross a small gap in the overworld.
Music has one hell of a base to work from, as far as Im concerned A Link to the Past has quite possibly the strongest soundtrack in the series and the remixes on display here do the classics justice, Id stop short of calling this soundtrack truly fantastic since the vast majority isnt new but theres no denying its quality. Visuals also take from ALttP though without the same level of success, not that I find the visual style bad, its actually quite a faithful adaptation of the old style. What greatly benefits the visuals is the game running at 60fps and superb use of 3D depth that enhances the experience.
Overall despite leaning a bit too heavily on its SNES heritage for my liking I found A Link Between Worlds to be an improvement on A Link to the Past and quite possibly my favourite Zelda game using the top down format. I can only hope the next 3D Zelda game draws from the strengths of this one.
