Boggy Recommends: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Release Year: 2013
Play Year: SU2026
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 3DS Time to Beat: 16 Hours

Thoughts: I don’t like Zelda games. I never have and I don’t like most Nintendo IPs. I don’t like Mario, Zelda, and occasionally will play something in the Donkey Kong-o-verse. Which only means one thing: I don’t really like video game ass video games. Yet, there are outliers. I adore Ocarina of Time, having “played it” near release as a small child, as in my babysitter played through while I watched. Then again one winter break home from college. No other Zelda game has captured my attention or interest. And, yes, that includes Breath of the Wild. I would love to love these games that I see so much fervor around when they release. They top every “Greatest Video Games of All Times” lists, and just seem like made-for-fun experiences.

The problem I have with these games is that I don’t play them right. I never had the patience for repetition or exploration, which is kind of their whole thing. I never minded the puzzles or the combat, but it’s the rooting around the world, hopping back and forth between domains and, honestly, just figuring things out on my own. I was also always in a rush to have beaten them so I understood why people cared so much for the world. And therein lies the problem. I don’t think A Link Between Worlds is the best Zelda game - a passing glance at a ranker places it at 11th out of 21 titles - but it was accessible and short enough for me to find my own opinion on one of these games in perhaps the most storied video game franchise. The reason why I wasn’t finding the fun is because I would have guide open before I even started. So, the thing is about this game is that I already beat it. Years ago when I was gifted this Zelda themed 3DS with ALBW pre-loaded onto the system. But, I followed a guide chipping away at it on long plane rides. Because of that, I had almost no memory of the game at all. The narrative, the mechanics, the dungeons, the bosses, almost none. I remembered the Ganon fight and Ravio with his store, but basically everything else was knew again. I’m really proud I played this through will little reliance on guides (I consulted a guide maybe 3 times when I was properly stuck). I will remember this game deeply, and I’m glad for that. It was a good one.

I know this is going to sound obvious, but these games are fun because you have to figure things out. All told, they arne’t that difficult, but can often take repeated attempts to master mechanics. Once mastered, the game all falls into place and feels quite easy. But, it’s the feeling of the mastery moment - even with ALBW where this is targeted at a younger audience I imagine, and therefore less difficult - that the developers force you to have every step of the way. It really feels like you are being parented. No, no you can’t go through this door until you have eaten your vegetables, now pick-up the ice wand and do the steps again until you’ve gotten it down. It’s literal in ALBW where doors will have pillars with a specific item that you will be using. As you explore and puzzle your way through the dungeon you will be continually tested to not only the item and new mechanic, but also asked to increase your speed and precision along the way. A perfect example is the Skull Woods dungeon. Generally, each dungeon has a specific item that it specializes in. So, it introduces a mechanic, a few ways to use the item, and then it gets more difficult and precise leading up to a boss which has phases to test all of the knowledge learned exploring and puzzeling in the dungeon. Skull Woods feels like the most obvious because it adds a timer. The floating massive hand above you means that you have to add timing to your precise movements. Especially with the fire and ice staffs, which I had some trouble consistently casting, the timer really adds another level of expectation to the mechanic. There was only one dungeon where I felt like the formula failed: The Desert Palace.

I won’t take up too much space as it wasn’t terrible, but I repeated this fucking boss fight sooooooo many times. My final death counter was 10, and I think 9 of those may have come from this fight. Again, you can go through the lorule dungeons roughly in any order, but I did this as the first or second dungeon and I was pissed. Trying to balance the directional input of the staff plus the timing of the sand blocks plus the 3-6 homing missile bombs plus getting in damage on the boss tested me. I ended up doing what I imagine in a cheese strat. I stayed on either end and did chip damage until the solar beam phase (where the plant does the beam of light that hurts you if you touch it). Once the beam shot our I knew exactly where the boss was even if it was off-screen, so I would quickly sword the bombs run in-line with the boss and shoot arrows until I was out of stamina. Rinse and repeat and I won. It didn’t feel great and it took forever, so I know it’s no the “right” way, but I just didn’t find any fun in that fight. I will also say the fucking follow the ghost bit in the maze woods earlier on fucking sucked and is inaccessible rather than difficult imo, but it’s a real nice touch the way one ghost will disappear after getting it wrong and restarting. It felt like a good balance. I just got my girlfriend to help me out and was able to get through no problem. Overall, the difficulty of dungeons and boss counters seemed way too disparate for the kind of game this is. There were boss fights where I didn’t drop any health with few phases and difficult mechanics (hello Dark Palace boss and Ice Ruins boss lmao). Oh, one more thing, what’s up with these enemy designs? The world is so pretty, the painting aesthetic is stylized and unique, and the main characters are all distinct - given the limitations of the hardware. These enemies feel like they were pulled straight from a HumbleBundle discount asset package. So disappointed there. Bosses were cool tho!

I do want to shout-out my favorite moments before I wrap up because this game is really fun, and it was so foreign when I started and I felt like I really knew it by the end. I would enter dungeons knowing what to expect, where to look for secrets, and be excited to stretch my understanding of an item.

• House of Gales: Boss Fight. The stupid stack of disks was so fun to fight given the top-down 3D nature of the game. It felt chunky when you are ripping it to pieces with each strike.
• Thieves Hideout: I like the new take on an escort mission. The boss is probably the coolest encounter of the lot. Just the phase one of going into his shield, popping our and slashing him. It was so aesthetically cool. You felt smart figuring it out and it felt impactful when you got your slashes in.
• Dark Palace: The light/dark pathing puzzles of the dungeon were aesthetic and cool. It just felt rad walking around in the dark managing the flames as you made your way through the psychedelic corridors. It felt almost like a haunted playhouse. The high contrast paths and illuminated walkways in the dark were such a cool touch. The boss is so beautiful but the fight is soooo forgettable. Which was honestly a nice reprieve as I got stuck on this one.
• Ice Palace: I remember getting lost in this one. It’s so expansive, I was really taken aback at how the developers created so much depth here. You really get minor vertigo walking along the paths over these infinite drops. It’s such a beautiful and haunting dungeon. I’m still taken aback at how much level they were able to fit in one dungeon, like you can see multiple floors below you at any given time when you’re outside. Really impressive.
• Swamp Palace: The most impactful moment of the game was probably in this dungeon. At some point, you release a water flow and it takes you from one side of the map allllll the way to the other. It was so fluid and silly I stg I smelled chlorine in the air. It really felt childlike-wondery and I’m really grateful for that moment. The boss fight was dead easy but I realllly like the mechanic. Very satisfying.
• Turtle Rock: The iconography of the tiling was so striking. The mix of freezing platforms and using warp tiles also felt pretty fun.

Lastly, the Ganon fight is excellent. As the only boss fight I do remember from my first play-through, it really holds up. The Ganon reveal after Hilda’s whole thing is epic. I can imagine being a kid and just freaking out that this was a moment. He’s this hulking, grotesque pig monster rising from a FMA-level seal on the ground. He’s so hulking and epic and the first phase(s) are just really fun. When it becomes the the second full phase after the fusion it feels like the perfect ending to the game. Using the painting ability to get the final blow, mmf good stuff.

I also really like the ending. Hilda is hot and knowing that she a bit evil really did it for me. Yes, it was a painfully obvious ending, but having it come to resolution did feel good after 14 hours. I really liked watching it on original hardware, I think it added to the experience and, as a kid, I never had handheld audio on, so it was a treat to turn it on periodically to get the vibes. The last walk with Zelda music and post-credits scene music were particularly good. I don’t think this is the best game that I am running people down to play, but it’s comfy and cozy. It’s not too difficult and it mostly meets you where you’re at. If you want a Zelda that has all of the tropes, but you can take slowly with a forgiving death system, then this is a great pick. The painting mechanic is also so clever and really, really, fun. It’s a breath of fresh air and just fun each time you do it!