• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Zelda: A Link Between Worlds |OT| All in all you're just another Link in the wall

B

Basileus777

Member
Watch Da Birdie said:
What's the point of "Rosso's Mine", located past Tower of Hera in Death Mountain.

I followed the signs and did the hard platforming section where you need to drop on platforms, only to come out to an empty area with a few baddies. Is there a point where something occurs here?
Click to expand...
There's a piece of heart, some maiamais, and you can deliver the milk to the mountaineer to get a bottle in that area. There's also a crack there later that will take you close to the Ice Ruins.
 
K

Kater

Banned
Chitown B said:
I really don't like the rental gimmick. I like getting my weapons as I need them and keeping them.
Click to expand...
It's probably done like that so that you don't have to grind for Rupees just to buy one item (which costs 800 - 1200 Rupees, which is quite a lot if you don't care about the treasures).
 
S

Sendou

Member
Chitown B said:
I had no idea you could? I only have seen the bunny who rents them.

I just like the old way, where you get things in dungeon chests.
Click to expand...

Oh I thought you were further into the game. Fairly early on Ravio gives you the option to buy them after renting them. There's no way to upgrade them if you don't.

About dungeon chests:
Play more. You do get items from dungeons when you progress further. Not the traditional kind but still some pretty cool stuff.
 
M

Madouu

Member
Whaaat. I swear
the torch on the suspended metallic platform wouldn't light up with the fire rod the ten million times I tried earlier.
Now I feel dumb for getting stuck there.
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
Mr. Wonderful said:
Yup yup yup. Pretty much my only negative. I haven't made it to Lorule yet, but the game so far has been "redo everything from ALTTP with awesome new dungeon layouts!", which becomes a problem when, for example, you know once you get the flippers, you can get the bottle under the bridge, etc. It would have been a lot cooler if this was an ALTTP Hyrule where clearly a couple hundred years have passed. Maybe some things are in ruins, new things have been created, but the overall structure of the map remains the same. And for goodness's sake, how about putting the dungeons in different places?
Click to expand...
That bottle point really stuck out to me as well, it was the first thing I did when I got the flippers just to see if they would repeat the exact same setup which they did, I was hoping for at least some kind of twist to the proceedings.

ViewtifulJC said:
I'm also not so hot on the maimai upgrading. The game is already really REALLY easy, and the levels are all designed around being completed with the main default weapons, so upgrading your gear just seems...superfluous? Overkill? I thought it was out of place in Skyward Sword, as well.

Its a very fun, snappy game, but I'm not a fan of all its major design decisions. And its still kinda ugly.
Click to expand...
I guess it depends on how much value you place on combat in these games, I don't find the basic combat in this type of Zelda really compelling enough for the difficulty to be focused on how much damage an enemy does by nudging you, I'd sooner walk into an area and swiftly dispatch the enemies as opposed to having those cumbersome pokey sword fights that happened against the more defensive enemies, if anything having these upgrades prompted me to use some of the items more in standard combat. Let's not so quickly forget the audience of players who could actually use an extra edge in standard combat as well (even if it is still a lot easier). Then again I'm saying this as someone who found Oracle of Seasons annoying for its supposed combat focus.


I'm going to use this to shift into talking about how well the Maiamai aspect was integrated into the rest of the game. When the mother first mentioned a whopping 100 of the buggers to find I expected the worst. Keep in mind this is the series with Poe Spirits and Gold Skulltallas, both leading to the ultimate prizes of yet more money in a game where you wont need money so I questioned the worth of collecting these squid things.
Instead what I got was something that hit all the right points.

First looking at how they're dispersed and collected you've got each area of the map segmented with a number indicating how many are currently in an area, it's enough to go so you wont wander around aimlessly and not giving away so much that it removes the whole discovery aspect. On top of this there's audio cues to lead you in the right direction.

Each 10 you get being worth an item upgrade of your choosing as long as you own the item is another set of pluses. First being that it gives you a reason as to why you'd buy an item instead of just renting them until the end of time, second is that the number to give is low enough that you're frequently rewarded for your collecting efforts. If you're not big on the idea of collecting too many then that's fine as you'll likely come across more than enough on your travels to upgrade a few preferred items, if you don't like it at all then you can entirely ignore the process to keep things a bit tougher since the upgrades aren't at all mandatory (and don't hide arguably more useful stuff like bigger wallets in OoT which is troublesome to go without). Fun collectables, worthwhile rewards, can't say fairer than that, suck it Poe Souls.

And of course the upgrade process with the choral addition to the music is totally great.
 
P

pariah164

Member
Started playing a new game since I missed the Treacherous Tower first time out. Not playing Hero Mode, because I already died too much last time.
 
M

Madouu

Member
I kind of love that whole set up for the bottle
under the bridge
though, with this random character living there, not giving a damn about what could happen to Hyrule or Lorule for that matter. I also love how the music just stops right there and you're only left with the sounds of the water flowing through the river. I think it's one of those "too good to change" spots, at least it is for me.

I totally agree about the upgrade system, it's done in a great and very thoughtful manner. This is something I hope will return in the next entries.
 
D

Dartastic

Member
Just beat my first boss in Lorule. Beat the boss in
Thieves Den.
Had half a heart left when I beat him. HOLLY FUCKKKKK SO LUCKY. At the end I just got in his face and started whacking him as hard as I could because I knew I was almost dead. It worked.
KuGsj.gif
 
R

Roto13

Member
I got a gold bee about five minutes after getting my net and use it to get the bee medal thing. I just caught two more. What should I do with them?
 
M

Madouu

Member
stuminus3 said:
I didn't think I could get hooked on a Zelda game again. Then I played this and I was like...

35l4jdC.png


...whoah.
Click to expand...

There's actually quite a few places in the game where you can clearly notice the trick they used when you merge into certain walls! One that comes to mind is a small hill in Hyrule blocked by five statues in a triangular shape with a piece of heart in the middle if I'm not mistaken.

-MB- said:
They're actually called Lynels.
Click to expand...

You almost sound angry at him :p
 
D

DaBoss

Member
MasterBalls said:
Oh dear. You'll get MM3D, I'm sure.
Click to expand...
I don't get why MM3D is brought up every time the Majora's Mask in ALBW is mentioned. It is out of place. It's obvious HeresSomeWeapons is wondering how it got there in a story sense. I'm also curious as to how it got there.
 
P

peanutbutterlatte

Member
DaBoss said:
I don't get why MM3D is brought up every time the Majora's Mask in ALBW is mentioned. It is out of place. It's obvious HeresSomeWeapons is wondering how it got there in a story sense. I'm also curious as to how it got there.
Click to expand...

If we go by this logic Pokemon in Zelda is also a thing. Still waiting on that Pikachu mask to be explained in ooT :\
 
H

HeresSomeWeapons

Member
DaBoss said:
I don't get why MM3D is brought up every time the Majora's Mask in ALBW is mentioned. It is out of place. It's obvious HeresSomeWeapons is wondering how it got there in a story sense. I'm also curious as to how it got there.
Click to expand...
Seriously. You have a parallel universe, a cult of people who all wear masks, and you have MM just hanging in Link's house for no apparent reason. Its not ridiculous to expect those threads to have been tied together somehow.

MasterBalls said:
If we go by this logic Pokemon in Zelda is also a thing. Still waiting on that Pikachu mask to be explained in ooT :
Click to expand...
That's the Keaton mask. Its a mythical fox, not pikachu.
 
D

DaBoss

Member
MasterBalls said:
If we go by this logic Pokemon in Zelda is also a thing. Still waiting on that Pikachu mask to be explained in ooT :\
Click to expand...
Could you be anymore dense?

In OoT, it is just a mask that somewhat resembles Pikachu's head, not a mask of Pikachu. In Majora's Mask, the Keaton Mask has the fox like thing show up.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
Tom_Cody said:
What's up with Rosso's Ore Mine? I just had my coolest experience yet in the game but it seems to have led to nothing.

I am at the point of tackling The Tower of Hera and, instead of going inside, I decided to explore the rest of the mountain. After getting past some truly treacherous dragon/minotaur things I tackled a mini-dungeon (the hookshot-centric one) and then continued to try to explore the area comprehensively. I went back one screen and entered a doorway which eventually led into a room with a platform elevated hundreds of fewet above lava in probably the best 3D effect I've yet seen on the system.

From there I started to traverse the room going from platform to platform. While doing this I noticed that there was one platform visible off to the right of the platform I was currently on but much further down in elevation and quite far away laterally. I pressed L to dash and made the jump (in truth this took a few tries) but I eventually ended up in a new area and was able to follow more platforms to an exit. At this point I felt like a Zelda god and felt that I has stumbled on some fantastic obscure secret. I exited the lava room out onto another area. At the bottom of this area I came to a log path suspended out over the void to the side of the mountain (none of this is clearly visible on the map) in another fantastic 3D showcase. At this point I felt like even more of a god and I made the tight walk along the logs.

Then it all went to crap. The log path ended up looping around the other part of the previous area with no reward. After exploring this area thoroughly for a few minutes I did a quick google search and determined that here I'm meant to explore the lava room more and maybe return here later in the game. WTF!? What a wasted moment.
Click to expand...
Did the exact same thing last night. I don't understand the point of that log area, either.
 
O

Omega

Banned
is the collector edition strategy guide worth $20?

looks so sexy. i doubt i'd ever use it but it's kind of tempting to just get it
 
D

deranged_666

Member
MBR said:
You should be able to get into that area by
entering the rift in Hyrule which lies closest to desert, and then walking into the Lorule version of the desert. Once you're there, use the Sand Rod to get into the dungeon itself.

Extra hint if necessary:
The dungeon is actually in Hyrule.
Click to expand...

Wow, I cannot believe I missed that. I was having problems
just finding how to get into Lorule near the desert
. But then I went into an area that was right in front of me that I must have missed 10,000 times already. Thank you!
 
D

DaBoss

Member
HeresSomeWeapons said:
Seriously. You have a parallel universe, a cult of people who all wear masks, and you have MM just hanging in Link's house for no apparent reason. Its not ridiculous to expect those threads to have been tied together somehow.
Click to expand...
Knowing how Zelda and Aonuma does things, I'm gonna bet it is going to be Link from ALTTP got it through his travels and brought it back with him and then passed it down.
 
B

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Why is there a story about MM's Tingle in Wind Waker if they are in separate timelines?

It's a bit of fan service/easter egg.
 
M

MrDeeds

Neo Member
BGBW said:
Why is there a story about MM's Tingle in Wind Waker if they are in separate timelines?

It's a bit of fan service/easter egg.
Click to expand...
Agree - it's there for the same reason as the Happy Mask Salesman having a Mario mask on his backpack: simply as an Easter egg.
 
S

Snkfanatic

Banned
Chitown B said:
I had no idea you could? I only have seen the bunny who rents them.

I just like the old way, where you get things in dungeon chests.
Click to expand...

I am with you, I kinda miss getting them from the dungeons. On the other hand I kinda like this set up as well. Mainly because it opens up combat a bit in my opinion. Right from the start I can mess with different weapons and really find a style I have fun with.
 
T

Tom_Cody

Member
Madouu said:
yeah it's a pretty cool spot, I was a bit confused at first too. Lava room has a piece of hearth in it. It's also used to access Rosso mine which leads to a dungeon in Lorule later in the game. I think this is also the path to get to the guy who wants some fresh milk so you can get one of your bottles. There might be more that I've missed/can't remember.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Yeah, I did all that stuff.

Also it seems that the route I took in the lava room was an unintentional alternate path which sort of added to the epicness of the whole thing. If I had gone on one of the other paths first it would have seemed like just another area on the map and it wouldn't have been such a deflating experience.
 
M

Madouu

Member
Neiteio said:
I saw the guy in need of milk down below, but I couldn't figure out how to reach him. I got to the cliff outside with the log path, the area that loops in on itself, and I could see him down below, but I wasn't sure how to get down there. :-
Click to expand...
There's another moving platforms path in the lava room that leads to it.
One leads to the heart piece, another to the milk guy and if you follow the signs, you get to the log path area which is used later to access a zone in lorule.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
Madouu said:
There's another moving platforms path in the lava room that leads to it.
One leads to the heart piece, another to the milk guy and if you follow the signs, you get to the log path area which is used later to access a zone in lorule.
Click to expand...
Ah, I'm guessing that the circle platform in the lava room with the fire-breathing chimera fellows has three platforms moving from it, not just two?
I took one leading to the Piece of Heart (harrowing stuff, with all the well-timed leaps and falls), and I took another one leading to the cliff with the logs. I'm guessing there's a third moving platforms path that leads to where the milk fellow is down below?
 
S

Stoze

Member
Nocturnowl said:
I finished the game earlier, it was a lot better than I anticipated so time for impressions.

Despite being a fan of the series I’ve never considered my liking for 2D/top down Zelda entries to match my love for the 3D entries, I still enjoy them but Link’s 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 it’s 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 it’s really the only true flaw I find myself having with the game. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with this version of Hyrule, it’s 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 it’s a shame that they didn’t 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 that’s 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 doesn’t 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 there’s 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 you’ve 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 doesn’t 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, they’re not quite bite sized, and they’re 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 ALttP’s shadow. The freedom to tackle Lorule dungeons in (mostly) any order isn’t 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 didn’t 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 I’d 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 I’m 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 Link’s 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 Link’s 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 I’m 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, I’d stop short of calling this soundtrack truly fantastic since the vast majority isn’t new but there’s no denying its quality. Visuals also take from ALttP though without the same level of success, not that I find the visual style bad, it’s 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.
Click to expand...

This nearly mirrors my opinion of the series and game having beaten it now, thanks for posting this.

One thing I would like to mention, that a lot of others may not agree, is that I think having character upgrades/gear as rewards in dungeons instead of items needed to traverse the dungeon is an excellent change. When I walk into a dungeon in a Zelda game, I know what the treasure is just by looking at the first couple rooms because of the obvious visual cues. In this one the treasure is simply a surprise, and there's no indication of what it is. I want them to expand on that in future Zeldas.That being said, the real, gratifying reward of dungeons is just being able to conquer them, cherish the level design, and fight the boss, not the treasure chests themselves.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom | Preview Thread
Opinion 2
66
4K
Ozriel replied
Really not enjoying Tears of the Kingdom - does it get better?
LTTP 2 3
136
6K
Pimpbaa replied
Hottest take of the year: 2D Zelda games are superior to 3D Zelda games
2 3
104
6K
Pimpollo818 replied
Deadlock |OT|
|OT| Community 2
57
3K
Robot Carnival replied
I asked ChatGPT to turn Zelda into a Battle Royale game...
6
1K
Kdad replied
Top Bottom