The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – Linking the hearts of fans.
This past Saturday I attended Nintendo Canada’s launch event in Toronto for “The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds” and let me tell you: I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!
Maybe I’m biased, due to my love of cosplay, silly trivia games and all things in the Zelda franchise, but I have never so felt “at one” with any fandom as I did that day. There were beautiful costumes created by dedicated Zelda fans from every age group, enthusiastic handheld gamers street tagging each other hundreds of time, excited little kids dressed up as miniature Link’s and my all-time favourite cosplayer for the past decade, Pikmin Link. In fact, you can check out our cosplay gallery from G33kpron writer, Chris, for some gorgeous shots!
When I arrived at “The Great Hall”, the venue the launch party was held at, I cautiously tread up the lush but well-trodden staircase past the huge lineup of Zelda fans waiting to get inside. The queue wrapped around the entire building like a long green snake hungry for its prey. I was a smug little bastard with my media status, but despite some slightly irritated glances from fellow fans, I happily trotted into the venue’s main hall and my little fangirl heart almost beat out of my chest. The first thing I heard was the Lost Woods’ theme from “Ocarina of Time”, which never fails to brighten my day. But what I saw next was what got me: podiums of light with 3DSXL’s proudly displayed. As I rushed to a podium, I could feel the excitement of the crowd resonating as the lucky first fired up the “A Link Between Worlds” demos. There were two demo options (you were allowed ten minutes per first playthrough): an overworld demo where you could rent inventory items for a price and a dungeon demo which, quite frankly, I was too sidetracked to play.
One thing Nintendo has always been very good at is nabbing me with nostalgia. When the 3DS launch title, “Ocarina of Time 3D”, came out I could often be heard telling all of my friends I cried when it was announced at E3. It’s true, I did. Embarrassing, maybe, but true. For my entire life all I wanted was to play around in “Ocarina of Time’s” Hyrule in a different light, and I was given that with the game’s port to the 3DS. But with “A Link Between Worlds”, Nintendo went the full distance and delivered us the opportunity to explore an overworld we already know and loved: the overworld from “A Link to the Past”. As Link, we’re able to discover parts of the map in a way we weren’t able to before with new abilities and items. The “wall merge” ability that you gain fairly early on in the game isn’t gimmicky at all; the artsy ability fits in so seamlessly with Hyrule’s lore you almost forget it is the first time you’ve played it it. It’s amazing how incredibly accurate the overworld’s geography is in comparison to its predecessor.
The soundtrack is completely orchestrated, and there are some added tracks, but the musical atmosphere is kept in harmony with “A Link to the Past”. Also, fun fact about the game, it strays away from previous Zelda games with a non-linear approach to dungeon play and item collecting. All in all, I love this game. I’m sitting here cuddling my copy like its my precious baby, because I am in awe of this top-down direct sequel to “A Link to the Past”. If you buy anything for the 3DS at the end of this year, make sure you pick up a copy of “The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds” because you absolutely will not regret it.
