as of late following a friend finishing Skyward Sword for me over discord, brainworms have been revitalised regarding the Zelda franchise and i'm finding myself in a fixated race to play entries i can get my hands on. like others i was a kid who didn't have many opportunities to buy new games and would often replay the ones i did own to absolute mind-numbing ultradeath, with my usual suspect being Phantom Hourglass for the DS. along with The Sims 2 for PSP it was one of my first experiences with the Tetris Effect and i harbour a lot of nostalgia for this sequel to a game i had never even heard of, and in 2024 i'm visiting another in A Link Between Worlds.

i was an impatient and petty-minded teen when i was taught emulation by my brother and quickly grew frustrated with A Link to the Past for entirely minor reasons (2d, grid based movement and combat, the dark world confused me, link's hair was purple (seriously?)). i couldn't believe this was the same series as the toon link i knew and loved and promptly discarded it after trying to restart any interest in it over and over, my favourite Zelda song ironically being the Hyrule Castle theme; probably due to my repeated experiences of the game's prologue.

it's this background that has me feeling guilty about how much i adored ALBT. featuring 1:1 cast members of its predecessor, a light/dark world transition, a new creative gimmick in the wall merge, and an incredible supporting character found in Ravio, what i see many refer to as the best 2d Zelda game delighted me over the few days i spent playing through it. coming from my background of PH and now SS, ALBT boasts snappy and engaging puzzle design in comparison within and without the dungeons spotting the kingdom with a sprinkling of platforming, highlighted within Death Mountain. on top of it all, the wall merge remains thrilling all the way to the very last second of gameplay, its use within the final boss encounter cementing ALBT's grasp on Zelda as a whole.

the score, art direction, overall worldfeel, dungeon design, and the narrative of manipulation vs ultimate charity is enchanting. it was just such a sweet experience, shoutout to Skull Woods and the Thieves' Hideout.

INASA!!! My friend made this game... I'm American, so I don't have experience with a rainy summer day stuck at my grandparents' place in Japan - but I (and I imagine many others) have similar youth experiences of being left at a relative's house, feeling like there was very little to do... this game conjured a lot up for me. I loved the choice of letting you pick 20/40/60 minute play session, I also liked slowly uncovering the moveset. After about 10 minutes you'll have an understanding of the house, so passing time becomes a matter of how you use your moves... you can crouch, sit, jump around, open doors or move stuff. As a kid, once I had a Game Boy it became easier to feel busy (perhaps to a fault), but I remember doing things like trying to 'draw' images on plush carpets my moving the fibers, sliding down staircases over and over, looking at grandparents' travel knick-knacks...