More impressions of A Link Between Worlds

More and more impressions of A Link Between Worlds are flooding in, though they’re apparently not all praise like we’ve seen before. Generally still it seems the new 3DS title is considered a “must buy”, however now there are some heavy complaints, particularly about graphics.

Today we have impressions from Nintendo World Report and US Gamer. Hit the jump to see what these two sites said about A Link Between Worlds!

First up, Nintendo World Report had very positive thoughts about A Link Between Worlds.

Link Between Worlds feels like Wind Waker in tone, except maybe it won’t be as dire as Wind Waker’s world. The great war in each timeline is in the past. 

I don’t know if the villains will succeed, or if the game will indeed go down the same well-worn path that Link to the Past did. I’m excited, though.

I think this reveals something exciting about what the Zelda series has developed into. We don’t know anymore if the villains will succeed. Sure, we know there will be some kind of heroic triumph, but as far as the overall Zelda story as many of us are interested in, we’re still pretty much in the dark with every new release.

Nintendo World Report also gave their impressions of Super Mario 3D World, an upcoming title for the Wii U. If you’re interested in that and for their full thoughts on A Link Between Worlds, check out their article here.

US Gamer’s impressions of A Link Between Worlds is, in many ways, a stark contrast to what we’ve heard about the game thus far. Though no site has really actively talked about this game’s graphics, Jeremy Parish of US Gamer seems to have quite the issue with A Link Between Worlds’ appearance. In fact, the title of his article is, “A Link Between Worlds: Looks Like Crap, Plays Like a Dream”.

I suppose you could pin the blame on the fact that A Link Between Worlds hews so closely to its direct predecessor, A Link to the Past. 1992’s definitive Zelda adventure featured a very unusual art style, with a rounded look to its environments that led to oddities like trees that appeared to have been made from injection-molded plastic and rocks that resembled congealed chocolate.

Yeah.

But he continues on to consider what the gameplay feels like.

Jarring as Worlds’ appearance is, however, I can sincerely say I don’t care. Barfy-looking graphics, it turns out, are a tradeoff… and the benefits greatly outweigh any superficial ugliness. Simply put, A Link Between Worlds is the fastest, smoothest-playing Zelda game ever. Its world may be hideous to behold, but it moves with silky consistency.

That’s good, at least. I don’t know why we have to consider the visuals to be a tradeoff, though. The brilliant controls of A Link Between Worlds have stayed consistent with what people have said since the debut at E3, and I’m glad that Nintendo has seemingly been able to, in practice, perfect the usage of the 3DS’ already amazing Circle Pad.

I would strongly recommend you read Jeremy’s article on US Gamer to see more why he believes A Link Between Worlds’ graphics are crummy.

I haven’t been able to experience the game for myself, however from gameplay video and screenshots I personally don’t have any issues with the graphics. In fact, A Link to the Past’s style is one of my favorites, and I’m excited to see firsthand what Nintendo has imagined for what is, in many ways, a 3D recreation of the SNES game.

What do you all think? Does A Link Between Worlds fall short in the graphics department? Let us know in the comments!

Sources: Nintendo World Report, US Gamer