Beating every Zelda in timeline order 15/20:
A Link Between Worlds works remarkably well as a direct sequel to A Link to the Past and provides a Zelda experience that's entirely unique. Once you reach Lorule, the game just shrugs and says "yeah, go wherever you want, I'm not a cop." Being free to tackle the dungeons in any order you choose and having the items be unlocked through a shop rather than in dungeons does wonders for the dungeon design. In my opinion, having the items and dungeons work this way allows for the most free-form, puzzley, fun dungeons to explore. In a way, it reminds me of Breath of the Wild's design in that "every direction is the right direction." Even though each dungeon isn't necessarily tied to an item, the dungeons still have strong identities and fantastic theming, even if they're nearly all borrowing from A Link to the Past. Puzzling out these dungeons is absolutely the best part of this game. Not having dungeons to rely on, the items themselves lack a bit of identity, I think. For example, beyond the house of gales, I used the tornado rod maybe once? I didn't feel much incentive to use my entire arsenal like I did in ALttP. While part of me enjoys how much of A Link Between World's identity is owed to A Link to the Past, it also lacks some identity because of it, which is probably why I forget about this game a lot. The music is great, the story is great and the wall merging mechanic is wonderful. It's over pretty quick but it's so much fun to blast through I don't care.
I love A Link Between Worlds and how its non-linear structure lends to engaging dungeon design even if it feels a bit lopsided at points.
A Link Between Worlds works remarkably well as a direct sequel to A Link to the Past and provides a Zelda experience that's entirely unique. Once you reach Lorule, the game just shrugs and says "yeah, go wherever you want, I'm not a cop." Being free to tackle the dungeons in any order you choose and having the items be unlocked through a shop rather than in dungeons does wonders for the dungeon design. In my opinion, having the items and dungeons work this way allows for the most free-form, puzzley, fun dungeons to explore. In a way, it reminds me of Breath of the Wild's design in that "every direction is the right direction." Even though each dungeon isn't necessarily tied to an item, the dungeons still have strong identities and fantastic theming, even if they're nearly all borrowing from A Link to the Past. Puzzling out these dungeons is absolutely the best part of this game. Not having dungeons to rely on, the items themselves lack a bit of identity, I think. For example, beyond the house of gales, I used the tornado rod maybe once? I didn't feel much incentive to use my entire arsenal like I did in ALttP. While part of me enjoys how much of A Link Between World's identity is owed to A Link to the Past, it also lacks some identity because of it, which is probably why I forget about this game a lot. The music is great, the story is great and the wall merging mechanic is wonderful. It's over pretty quick but it's so much fun to blast through I don't care.
I love A Link Between Worlds and how its non-linear structure lends to engaging dungeon design even if it feels a bit lopsided at points.