A Link Between Worlds review round-up

Community gaming site, GoNintendo, has recently gone around the web and found reviews of A Link Between Worlds from each of the major gaming sites, including IGN, Eurogamer, and Kotaku. They have published a compilation of links to all of these various interviews, which can be found here, but if you’re not one for sifting through an orderly stack of information just to get a general idea of what’s being said, hit the jump to read about what some people are calling a “must buy” 3DS title!

IGN’s Keza MacDonald commended A Link Between Worlds‘ combination of nostalgia from the reuse of A Link to the Past‘s overworld and innovation in the form of the new item renting feature, as opposed to finding expectantly overdue items in every dungeon. Moving onto the game’s art style, MacDonald had this to say:

“This retro aesthetic – halfway between SNES-era sprites and modern 3D – is a strange mix, and once the initial nostalgia has worn off it loses some of its impact. The Past’s top-down 2D style translates well into 3D, but it’s a straight visual upgrade rather than a statement, like Wind Waker’s cel-shading or Skyward Sword’s beautifully daubed, impressionist feel. That said, Between Worlds boasts the same masterful use of 3D as Nintendo’s other best 3DS games, from Luigi’s Mansion to Super Mario 3D Land. With the slider up, it comes into its own visually.”

To this extent, MacDonald also found Link’s wall-merging ability, going from 3D to 2D and back again, to be very fitting with the game’s inspired art style. This ability, MacDonald felt, added to the game’s already “inventive, cerebral puzzles”, which she felt are as novel in A Link Between Worlds as they ever have been. In conclusion, MacDonald also praised the game’s many stylistically diverse dungeons and the increased difficulty, claiming that it “recaptures the spirit of adventure” that the early Zelda games had. You can read her full article here.

While still enjoying the game, US Gamer’s Jeremy Parish wasn’t as positive. Parish felt that A Link Between Worlds was more of a Second Quest than a new game, claiming:

“Even though A Link Between Worlds amounts to an adventure awkwardly wearing its predecessor’s skin, it still manages to stand on its own merits.”

To this extent, Parish goes on to praise the game’s escape from the structure that A Link to the Past set in place back in 1992. Moving on to the game’s item rental system, Parish claims that the wealth of Rupees around Hyrule means that it is not as much of a chore as The Wind Waker‘s Triforce map quest. In addition, the rental system allowed for other worthwhile gear to be scattered around the land and throughout dungeons instead.

On a closing note, Parish loved the game’s devious puzzle design, open-ended structure, and lack of an annoying, hand-holding companion, but was disappointed that the game’s quest to break free from the traditional mold meant taking the series back to its roots, literally.

To find out about other people’s ideas of A Link Between Worlds, you can find the links to other reviews at GoNintendo. So what do you guys think of A Link Between Worlds‘ feedback so far? Do you feel that it is overly positive and encouraging? Or do you find the complaints that the game is too similar to A Link to the Past discouraging? Are you still looking forward to this game? Give us your thoughts in the comments!

Source: GoNintendo