The Glade 4.0

I'll try not to spoil anything that isn't in the trailers or abundantly obvious.

Having never upgraded to the 3DS, and being the Zelda Maniac that I am, I took advantage of the Special Edition Gold and Black 3DS XL with Link Between Worlds, which is a really sexy looking piece of hardware, but that's a another story.

Now as a self admitted Fanboi of the highest caliber, who hadn't upgraded to 3DS, this was a no-brainer. That said, I'll try to be decent and honest. People harp about Zeldas lacking originality, and I've historically defended it. However I will freely admit: you have, more or less, seen this game before. However, given the number of my fellow fanbois who are flocking to an HD remake of Wind Waker, maybe that's not a terrible thing. The overworld is very much a Link to the Past, the dungeons, while not flat out remakes are somewhat similarly themed. I see the pluses an minuses on this plan. Positively it's wonderfully nostalgic to travel the landscapes that made the series* in 3DS 3D. Negatively, there is the very real sense that you have played this game before.

Moving on from that there are new puzzles to solve and the special ability you see in the trailers does give you literally a new dimension of thinking that you have to apply to the puzzle solving that is the cornerstone of the series. It's taken me a couple of dungeons to fully remember to apply this ability, and newer dungeons do keep finding ways to use it. Additionally the sub-story collections mechanics are the best we've seen in while and do a great job of incentivizing (sp?) you to explore the nooks and crannies of world you think you know pretty well.

Generally i think fans have to manage their expectations. If you're looking for something to blow your mind on the heels of Skyward Sword, you're going to be vastly disappointed. However If you are comparing it to Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks, I think it's a return to form (perhaps in over-correction) that I hope we can see in future handheld titles. Honestly I'd rather have seen this a direct download for WiiU as well as 3DS (with the promise of a new full featured game in the wings) rather than a HD remake Wind Waker. However I can understand while the game has its detractors, even among the faithful.

* Now that I've finished my review I want to go back and address those of you who are screaming at me for saying LttP made the series when you feel that OoT or something else is vastly superior. Personally, It's a 3 way Toss-up between LttP, OoT, and Skyward sword. However none of that precludes the fact that after the Kerfluffle that was Adventure of Link and the Great Microchip Shortage, the series needed a win to avoid being bumped from the A-list, and OoT delivered in a big way.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

I'm pretty surprised there's so much love for the HD Wind Waker remake, I feel like I just played the original. If they had released a new Zelda, I'd probably own a Wii U by now. With so many other amazing games out, I personally have no interest in replaying Wind Waker. I felt like it was good, but if we're replaying Zeldas, I'd much rather replay an HD remake of any of the 3 you listed.

there's no technical reason (that I can see) they couldn't/cant port Link Between Words to WiiU. It just wouldn't be in 3D and its not a mainline console caliber game. It would a nice bridging tool though. I don't own a copy of wind waker and I only played through it once. I'll probably avail myself of it at some point.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

To any Zelda critics who say the series doesn't veer too much from it's standard formulae, I say: They did. It was called Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. And most people hated it.* So they went back to the original formulae with A Link to the Past, and people loved it. The formulae works.

Just wanted to add that in. It's good to hear you're enjoying the game. I likely won't be playing any new Zelda game ever again simply because I can't justify purchasing a gaming system just to play a couple of fun franchises anymore.






* - I was not one of those people. I enjoyed the hell out of AoL. Some of my fondest memories are of me and my friend, having sleep-overs (we were in 5th grade) and tag-teaming working to beat the game. We even mapped out the final dungeon on graph paper. To this day, Dr. Pepper instantly takes me back to that time, because the first night I played AoL was also the first time I had Dr. Pepper.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Adventure didn't bother me that much at the time of its release, other than the Great Microchip Shortage that lead to its delay. I enjoyed it with friends as much as anyone else at the time. I am however glad they went back to the more traditional style going forward.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

To imply that AOL was the only way they could diversify the game seems a bit silly. My friend tried to get me to play this when he brought his 3DS over and I put it down after 10 minutes because it's the same damn Zelda intro I've played a dozen times before. I just wasn't interested.

My point was that many people like the formula and don't want it to change. Yes, every Zelda is the same "Go to this dungeon to get a piece of the McGuffin while also getting an item upgrade that will help you advance in this dungeon as well as beat its boss."

This is peanut butter and jelly to the fans. This is apple pie. This is classic Coca-Cola. You don't **** with the recipe.

Are there some people who don't like that it's more of the same? Sure. Are they the majority? I believe the answer is "hell to the no."

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Funny Windwaker HD from Yahtzee - http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/8347-The-Legend-of-Zelda-The-Windwaker-HD

Yahtzee delivers.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Yes, except breaking that formula is seemingly what this game does best. You can rent equipment and do the dungeons in whatever order you like. I'm sure it's refreshing as you go throughout the game; but the identical introductory 10 minutes didn't do anything to make me wanna go that far.