Such a fantastic game. I think it’s better than A Link to the Past, but I understand why others prefer it over this sequel title. If you haven’t played this yet, find a way to play it. I have very fond memories of getting the special edition 3DS XL bundled with this game for Christmas and playing through it for the first time. This play through I did everything except for the 999.99 second endless Cucco mini game and the StreetPass challenges. Just wanted to keep playing. Maybe I’ll do another play through on Hero mode later this year. I was only defeated twice in this play though, so some heightened difficulty would be welcomed.

Link to the Past was phenomenal, but this was another level.

I almost thought that this would be a remake of sorts, but there's so much more going on that it's far from that. Basically everything you found in A Link to the Past is still present, but built on. The painting gimmick is really cool and provides for some of my favorite puzzles in the series. The rental system was what I was most worried about, but it was implemented in just about the best way it could've been. It's there if you want to adhere to it, but non-intrusive in that you can always buy the equipment you need. And let's not forget, the freedom of this game. They truly let you tackle the dungeons in any order you want unlike the other top-down Zelda games I've played. And while there are some orders that may benefit you more, the game never restricts you to adhere to any of those. It's freedom that made Breath of the Wild as fun as it was.

This is currently (very much bound to change) my second favorite Zelda game and has now become my favorite 3DS game. I am so glad I bought this at the last second before the eShop closed because I had no idea what I was missing. I was not that interested in this game. But here we are now, having beaten it, I can say I loved every second.

As far as 'traditional' Zelda games go, this game is the gold standard. Although it has a slightly more open structure than previous titles, allowing you to tackle dungeons in any order, those dungeons are still mechanically distinct and require the use of special tools - alongside the central mechanic of the game, the wall painting transformation, which is delightful and endlessly inventive.

The game is also one of a select few that makes meaningful use of the 3DS's flagship feature, the 3D, thanks to some levels featuring stunning verticality that might be more difficult to complete on your 2DS.

A delight from start to finish.

This was the only Zelda game I've ever beaten. I have a bit of a curse with the Zelda series, where with every game I've tried to play I couldn't finish. Not out of the typical "i put it down and now im discouraged to pick it back up" but instead a "the device i was playing it on was slammed in a car door" kinda stuff.

Silly anecdote aside, Link Between Worlds goes very hard. The exploration is stop notch for the sheer fact that you can go into that painting/mosaic mode and move along the walls. It makes exploring dungeons and solving puzzles so fun. The rentable items are also very very nice as they allow you to tackle things in whatever way you want, while also placing a very fair limitation.

The art and music also goes hard, and I like a lot of the Lorule characters. I can't say in what ways this games excels over other Zelda games as car doors and corrupted files apparently don't want me to play any other Zelda games, but just know that as someone who isn't a big Zelda fan, I loved it.

This was my first time revisiting this game since it originally launched, and I was surprised to find how well it holds up. The non-linear nature of choosing your dungeon order and the sidequests in the main world make this really stand out. Item rental sucks a little bit, but it’s quite easy to go through the whole game without dying, so it’s not a massive downer. It’s a shame this is the last original Zelda in this more traditional style we have gotten to date. I would absolutely adore more of this.