Another review

So, I just beat Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for the 3DS.  And between this and my recommendation of I.S. and the Bravely Default demo a little while back, I guess I do reviews now.  XD

And actually, I should say, I didn't so much beat ALBW; rather, I kinda destroyed it - miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AY…

Anyway, so I got this game for Christmas and I was really excited 'cause it's been kind of a while since the last 2D Zelda game (which this ironically kinda counts as).  I mean, I guess there was Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, but I really couldn't get into the stylus-exclusive playstyle of those games.  So coming back to a familiar world with a classic style and classic controls just felt good.  It was so easy to jump into, and I felt right at home right away.

If you haven't played it yet, it's supposed to be a direct sequel to A Link to the Past for the Super NES.  It's got the same overworld (with little alteration besides beautiful new graphics), but it's not the same game.  The dungeons aren't necessarily all in the same places and are dramatically different on the inside.  Many tools are throwbacks to the original game, but with some new spins and a couple additions including the Tornado Rod and Sand Rod (not to mention the clever and brilliantly implemented new wall-merging ability).  

On the subject of tools, I both really liked and really hated the way they were handled in this one.  Practically everything, from the Boomerang to the Bombs to the Bow to the Hookshot, etc, was earned simply by renting/buying from a shop.  And they're fairly cheap too, so it's not unlikely that you could have a pretty full-looking inventory before even going into the second dungeon.  The idea is that this allows you to do the dungeons in any order you like (kind of like the source material basically allowed).  And that's cool and all, but it also sort of takes away the excitement of going through the dungeon and finding this "cool new thing" that will help you progress.  In a way, it devalues a lot of them.  Unlike in other Zelda games, where you find the Hookshot in a dungeon, and the rest of that it revolves around utilizing it, you just kinda... HAVE the Hookshot, and then you use it when/if you need it.  Dungeons as a result also have one less fun thing to pick up and often just feature chests full of money (presumably to afford the tools) or things that don't technically get used, but help (like new tunics or a scroll that increases your magic meter).  In other words, it's very possible to finish many of the dungeons without ever getting the "big treasure" within them.

ALBW was actually a little harder than I expected.  Maybe it's just because I played Wind Waker HD not long ago (and much as it's one of my favorites, it DOES kinda hold your hand), but I lost a couple times in my first playthrough because I didn't realize quite how damaging the enemy's attacks were until I was already thoroughly whomped.  This has been like the most legimately challenging Zelda game in recent memory for me (as opposed to Skyward Sword which was only hard because the controls never worked like they were supposed to).  It's still not "old-school hard," but I was taken very much off guard (and of course, jumped right back in to do the much harder Hero Mode XD).

I've heard pretty mixed reviews of the game, but overall, I was extremely pleased with it myself.  It exceeded my expectations in a lot of ways by paying homage to the source material, while simultaneously not using it as a crutch or trying to reenact everything exactly.  It's a little on the short side, but that actually adds to the appeal of being able to start over and do everything in a different order or try to tackle the harder new mode.  I don't think this is the best 2D Zelda offering ever.  But I DO think it's actually worthy of being called a direct successor to a certain 23-year old classic we all know and love.  It's a wonderful game, and I think most longtime Zelda fans will probably love it.  

***

Thanks to some Christmas gift cards, I also have Disgaea D2 and Ni no Kuni just sitting there tantalizing me.  My wife's been playing Disgaea a lot lately, so I'm dying to jump into that next.  But I've got a lot of drawing to do, so for now, back to work.

Also, do people like me reviewing things like this?  I don't very often do this, but I'll gladly keep doing it if people are interested in hearing my opinions.  ^_^