A Link Between Worlds: Full Review (German)

My review on ZeldaEurope is out! It's probably the most thorough review yet, but I kept it spoiler free.

I've been playing the game for over two weeks, about 58 hours by now. Beaten both normal and Hero Mode with all items collected. Still need to get all the StreetPass medals though, so there's still something left to do for me for the true 100%.

Overall I've really enjoyed the game and still do. The replay value is great, probably the Zelda game with the highest replay value. In terms of non-linearity and world design it has everything I wished for over ten years now. It's open, it's fast paced and it even offers some good challenges. I love the items and the upgrade system. Upgrading your items really means something in this game and finally optional sword upgrades are back. It does so many things the right way, which have been wrong in the Zelda series for so long. It's non-linear, open, there's no hand-holding, it's fast paced, there are no hamster-wheels or anything big that might slow you down, optional upgrades for swords and other items really mean something. ... it's pure classic Zelda!

 

And because of the replay value it might become my favorite Zelda game (only time will tell), but definitely top 5, among A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. It's imho the best Zelda game since those games.

Of course it's not perfect. My main concern was that the dungeons could have been more hazardous, especially when compared to A Link to the Past. There are too few and too weak enemies inside the dungeons. The overworlds is much more dangerous than the dungeons actually. And sometimes regular enemies from ALttP are treated like minibosses, which is a joke.

And there's no boss rush/battle mode, I hate that, because the bosses were really fun and great. But besides these two downsides the game is overall really great.

Some (fun) facts:
I calculated for the review that there are 5040 possible orders of the dungeons. It's the most non-linear Zelda game yet, beating The Legend of Zelda with 672 orders. A Link to the Past offered 66.

You can skip all heart containers and there's only one missable chest with some Rupees, everything else can still be gotten at the end of the game (including all StreetPass medals).

Hero Mode does quadruple damage... sadly it doesn't change the dungeons (adding tougher/stronger enemies would have been enough), but the damage values are insane. It's two hearts in the beginning, eight hearts per hit in Lorule... crazy! A worthy challenge.


I'll add some of my experiences with the game and further impressions later to my blog. Right now I just want everyone to enjoy the game on their own! Have fun!