The Legend Redux. 

I am sure everyone has a treasured memory of their first Zelda experience. For me, it goes back to the NES-era, back when the gold-plated cartridge was considered to be quite the novelty. Carefully unpacking the contents, I stood with this quizzical look, totally unprepared for the mystical world of Hyrule, and all the wonders that lied within.

Since that time, I’ve been an avid Zelda fan playing every installment going back to the original Legend of Zelda. even going as far to endure the rather bland CD-i series. With every adventure, I saw myself loving the series more and more as I traveled with the stoic hero.

This brings me to how I finally just caved in when I saw The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds-themed 3DS . As soon as I saw the gold-tinted 3DS with the Triforce imprint, I didn’t hesitate to secure my very own copy. It didn’t take long before realizing much of the game was familiar and I jumped right into the game.

Yes, many of old characters are back as well, with a little twist. It gave me such a nostalgic tingle right up until the fight where I obtained my first new ability. Throughout the various dungeons in the game (2 pendant dungeons, Hyrule Castle 1, 7 sage dungeons, and Lorule Castle), I was thrilled to find the difficulty level has been adjusted to be more accessible to casual players. Best of all, A Link Between Worlds isn’t set by a linear direction, giving players the opportunity to explore in whatever order they desire. This is particularly helpful, especially if you no longer want to rent equipment and feel more suited to stock up on Rupees to purchase the items so that they remain in your possession even after Link meets an untimely demise.

Link retains all his signature abilities from the original Link to the Past edition, but now can fuse directly onto walls, adding a new dimension and challenges which lead to hidden secrets and pathways.

 When it comes to tapping into the cockles of your heart, Nintendo certainly came through with an impressive selection of remixed tracks that appropriately set the mood based upon pivotal moments. I couldn’t resist kicking back on the couch with my pair of Razer Electras so that I could be fully immersed in the virtual experience. 

In the same fashion as prior installments, A Link Between Worlds offers a variety of mini-game challenges. Octoball, takes on a baseball-oriented format, while diligent players can take on a scavenger hunt to aid a mother octopus locate all of her missing babies hidden throughout the two worlds.  There’s also a survival-mode style game where you’ll face different monster types that scale in difficulty as you advance – leading to some valued bonuses.

Without a doubt, all fans by now should have gone out to their local retailer and picked this up. A Link Between Worlds delivers a solid blend of fresh elements combined with notable ties to the original blueprint, making it one of the most impressive entries in the Zelda series to date.