Date played: April 13th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 10/10
I finished A Link Between Worlds and it was fucking incredible.
It all started with the sand based Desert Palace. I had to use the sand rod extensively to build bridges, walls and unearth treasures from the sand filled terrain of the dungeon. It had a fun layout to explore and granted me access to the Titan's Mitt. Finally, Link was fully equipped to traverse and explore all kinds of terrain and rid himself of all obstacles, including the large rocks scattered about. The boss was a cool one. I had to build sand bridges with the sand rod to reach him and attack him with my sword. It took the form of a weird plant that spewed dangerous projectiles and moved quickly.
With the new found lifting power of the Titan's Mitt, I was free to fully explore the world, and in the process, I ended up hunting down every single Maiamai. It was an interesting, rewarding task. I only had to look up one of them on the internet, who was hidden in a cave I had overlooked. The useful map proved invaluable. I upgraded all items and received the incredible new spin attack which has great reach.
Fully equipped and mostly all upgraded (I was missing a few sword and armor upgrades still), I headed to the treacherous tower for the 50 room battle challenge. I made it through victorious, though I used a couple of fairies along the way. There were a few enemies I had never encountered in there, as well as some dark rooms and icy rooms that proved a lot more difficult. I was rewarded with a new torch that now deals heavy damage, but is quite useless. I was then offered to do it again for another reward, so I did, which granted me a new, damaging net. Again, cool, but utterly useless.
I then headed off to complete the remaining dungeons. Skull Woods wasn't that great. It featured the return of the awful disembodied hands from Ocarina of Time as well as some pretty clever puzzles that involved baiting them in to swipe at objects above Link, like buttons and items. There was also a really fun part where I had to use a raft on lava and pull myself towards the walls with the hookshot. The boss was a giant, armored hand. I think this was the toughest boss fight in the game, because some of the floors collapse and the hand attacks quickly. I had to merge into walls as it swiped at me to stun it, then hit it hard. I also found some ore that allowed me to upgrade my sword at the blacksmith.
I then completed the Dark Palace. It had a weird stealth section that kind of sucked, where I had to avoid guards by hiding in walls and using smart paths. The dungeon itself was really fun because it played a lot with lighting. In many areas, eliminating sources of light revealed hidden paths. This was pretty challenging sometimes and more ingenious than it sounds. Throughout the dungeon, I had to use bombs to navigate the different paths. I scored a new piece of ore that allowed me to fully upgrade my sword. The boss was an awesome four legged creature, armored to the bone. I had to use bombs to reveal it's body and deal real damage.
Finally, I headed to Lorule castle for the last dungeon. It quickly became one of my favorites. In particular, the music really helped set the mood and was wonderful to listen to. It had four segments, each requiring different items to complete. One of them was based on the torch, one on the hookshot and I forget the others. Either way, it was tons of fun to play through. Eventually, I reached the boss. While I don't want to spoil the end, there were definitely some surprises in the story that made the ending meaningful. Of course, I had to fight Yuga, the evil motherfucker from the beginning of the game. He's a giant pig creature now, and had some cool attacks. The battle marked the return of the famous game of catch that was seen in a few of the Zelda games. I had to bounce the attacks between Link and the boss. Eventually, after long minutes of rigorous fighting, I was granted a special bow that can be shot while merged in walls. I had to use it to attack the merged Yuga.
In an epic conclusion, much is revealed about the world of Hyrule, Hilda, Zelda, Link and Ravio, the bunny suit wearing dude. It all ends well of course, but is quite emotional. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the ending, the reveals, the surprises and the character interactions. Honestly, without spoiling anything, it's one of the better endings I've seen for a game like this. In fact, I soon realized that A Link Between Worlds had surpassed Wind Waker and A Link to the Past as my favorite Zelda game ever made. It is truly a masterpiece of modern gaming and should be played by any fan of the series, but also anyone that enjoys a good dungeon crawling adventure.
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 10/10
I finished A Link Between Worlds and it was fucking incredible.
It all started with the sand based Desert Palace. I had to use the sand rod extensively to build bridges, walls and unearth treasures from the sand filled terrain of the dungeon. It had a fun layout to explore and granted me access to the Titan's Mitt. Finally, Link was fully equipped to traverse and explore all kinds of terrain and rid himself of all obstacles, including the large rocks scattered about. The boss was a cool one. I had to build sand bridges with the sand rod to reach him and attack him with my sword. It took the form of a weird plant that spewed dangerous projectiles and moved quickly.
With the new found lifting power of the Titan's Mitt, I was free to fully explore the world, and in the process, I ended up hunting down every single Maiamai. It was an interesting, rewarding task. I only had to look up one of them on the internet, who was hidden in a cave I had overlooked. The useful map proved invaluable. I upgraded all items and received the incredible new spin attack which has great reach.
Fully equipped and mostly all upgraded (I was missing a few sword and armor upgrades still), I headed to the treacherous tower for the 50 room battle challenge. I made it through victorious, though I used a couple of fairies along the way. There were a few enemies I had never encountered in there, as well as some dark rooms and icy rooms that proved a lot more difficult. I was rewarded with a new torch that now deals heavy damage, but is quite useless. I was then offered to do it again for another reward, so I did, which granted me a new, damaging net. Again, cool, but utterly useless.
I then headed off to complete the remaining dungeons. Skull Woods wasn't that great. It featured the return of the awful disembodied hands from Ocarina of Time as well as some pretty clever puzzles that involved baiting them in to swipe at objects above Link, like buttons and items. There was also a really fun part where I had to use a raft on lava and pull myself towards the walls with the hookshot. The boss was a giant, armored hand. I think this was the toughest boss fight in the game, because some of the floors collapse and the hand attacks quickly. I had to merge into walls as it swiped at me to stun it, then hit it hard. I also found some ore that allowed me to upgrade my sword at the blacksmith.
I then completed the Dark Palace. It had a weird stealth section that kind of sucked, where I had to avoid guards by hiding in walls and using smart paths. The dungeon itself was really fun because it played a lot with lighting. In many areas, eliminating sources of light revealed hidden paths. This was pretty challenging sometimes and more ingenious than it sounds. Throughout the dungeon, I had to use bombs to navigate the different paths. I scored a new piece of ore that allowed me to fully upgrade my sword. The boss was an awesome four legged creature, armored to the bone. I had to use bombs to reveal it's body and deal real damage.
 |
| Zelda and Hilda |
Finally, I headed to Lorule castle for the last dungeon. It quickly became one of my favorites. In particular, the music really helped set the mood and was wonderful to listen to. It had four segments, each requiring different items to complete. One of them was based on the torch, one on the hookshot and I forget the others. Either way, it was tons of fun to play through. Eventually, I reached the boss. While I don't want to spoil the end, there were definitely some surprises in the story that made the ending meaningful. Of course, I had to fight Yuga, the evil motherfucker from the beginning of the game. He's a giant pig creature now, and had some cool attacks. The battle marked the return of the famous game of catch that was seen in a few of the Zelda games. I had to bounce the attacks between Link and the boss. Eventually, after long minutes of rigorous fighting, I was granted a special bow that can be shot while merged in walls. I had to use it to attack the merged Yuga.
In an epic conclusion, much is revealed about the world of Hyrule, Hilda, Zelda, Link and Ravio, the bunny suit wearing dude. It all ends well of course, but is quite emotional. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the ending, the reveals, the surprises and the character interactions. Honestly, without spoiling anything, it's one of the better endings I've seen for a game like this. In fact, I soon realized that A Link Between Worlds had surpassed Wind Waker and A Link to the Past as my favorite Zelda game ever made. It is truly a masterpiece of modern gaming and should be played by any fan of the series, but also anyone that enjoys a good dungeon crawling adventure.
