The Nintendo 3DS has enjoyed a monumental amount of success this year, and it’s about to get even more crazy with the release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds capping off this huge year that has already included standouts such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Fire Emblem: Awakening. Nintendo had a few 3DS stations with the game available, and we had to give it a try.
For those unaware, A Link Between Two Worlds is sort of a follow up to A Link to the Past, the Super NES classic that is regarded by many to be the best 2D entry in the series (if not the best in the entire Legend of Zelda franchise). It’s the first Zelda game featuring a top-down view since the release of The Minish Cap for the Game Boy Advance in 2005, so it should be a welcome addition to longtime lovers of the series, as well as those who have never experienced a 2D Zelda before.
The demo at the GameStop Expo featured gameplay from both Hyrule Field and a dungeon. Since there was no background given on what had to happen in the game’s overworld, we elected to try out the dungeon and right off the bat we were met with the game’s latest gimmick–merging with walls.
The dungeon began with Link at 5 hearts as well as a bow with arrows and a hammer in his inventory. We had to use red and blue switches to activate certain doors in order to go further into the dungeon. Before long, Link had to use his hammer to smash a bunch of flat laughing heads that when pushed, flatten so that Link can stand on top of them, only to be launched to elevated areas.
Upon finding the first key and opening a door, Link had to ride a floating platform that hovered around the perimeter of the dungeon. Using his wall merging technique, we were able to slip Link threw a window that had bars caged around it, preventing traditional entrance and exit.
Most of the puzzles in the game required understanding the logic and when to use the wall merging technique, because you could only remain as Wall Link for so long. Before long, we reached our time limit and had to choose another level.
In the field level, we were pretty much introduced to how exploration and combat work in the game. In regards to exploration, it’s the same as any 2D Zelda game where a map begins to start tracking down as you learn your vicinity. As far as combat goes, it’s a lot more fast-paced than it was in the SNES days, but button mashers should have no issue with standard enemies in video games.
Other than the fact that the game is a sequel to a Super NES classic, not much is known about the game, but stay plugged here to keep you busy until the release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on November 22.
Title:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds
Platform:
Nintendo 3DS
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer:
Nintendo
Genre:
Adventure
Release Date:
November 22, 2013
ESRB Rating:
E
Developer's Twitter:
GSE 2013: “The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds” Hands-On
The Nintendo 3DS has enjoyed a monumental amount of success this year, and it’s about to get even more crazy with the release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds capping off this huge year that has already…
The Nintendo 3DS has enjoyed a monumental amount of success this year, and it’s about to get even more crazy with the release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds capping off this huge year that has already included standouts such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Fire Emblem: Awakening. Nintendo had a few 3DS stations with the game available, and we had to give it a try.
For those unaware, A Link Between Two Worlds is sort of a follow up to A Link to the Past, the Super NES classic that is regarded by many to be the best 2D entry in the series (if not the best in the entire Legend of Zelda franchise). It’s the first Zelda game featuring a top-down view since the release of The Minish Cap for the Game Boy Advance in 2005, so it should be a welcome addition to longtime lovers of the series, as well as those who have never experienced a 2D Zelda before.
The demo at the GameStop Expo featured gameplay from both Hyrule Field and a dungeon. Since there was no background given on what had to happen in the game’s overworld, we elected to try out the dungeon and right off the bat we were met with the game’s latest gimmick–merging with walls.
The dungeon began with Link at 5 hearts as well as a bow with arrows and a hammer in his inventory. We had to use red and blue switches to activate certain doors in order to go further into the dungeon. Before long, Link had to use his hammer to smash a bunch of flat laughing heads that when pushed, flatten so that Link can stand on top of them, only to be launched to elevated areas.
Upon finding the first key and opening a door, Link had to ride a floating platform that hovered around the perimeter of the dungeon. Using his wall merging technique, we were able to slip Link threw a window that had bars caged around it, preventing traditional entrance and exit.
Most of the puzzles in the game required understanding the logic and when to use the wall merging technique, because you could only remain as Wall Link for so long. Before long, we reached our time limit and had to choose another level.
In the field level, we were pretty much introduced to how exploration and combat work in the game. In regards to exploration, it’s the same as any 2D Zelda game where a map begins to start tracking down as you learn your vicinity. As far as combat goes, it’s a lot more fast-paced than it was in the SNES days, but button mashers should have no issue with standard enemies in video games.
Other than the fact that the game is a sequel to a Super NES classic, not much is known about the game, but stay plugged here to keep you busy until the release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on November 22.
Written by: Danreb Victorio
Date published: 08/29/2013
/ 5 stars
by Danreb Victorio
