It’s kind of strange to view this as some sort of sequel to ALttP when it feels more like a reimagining, and naturally that sort of thing is going to be a bit polarizing; even in a series where games get endlessly compared to each other and reference each other, this stands out as one that’s going to stir up ardent fans of the original for better or worse. It feels like you get a lot of people talking about whether the game lacks the “soul” of the original in cases like these.
Anyway, I’m not sure if ALBW has the same soul as ALttP, but I really like the soul it does have. It’s definitely less grim and more cheeky than the original, which I can see being a point of contention but I kind of like as an establishment of its own identity. The cast isn’t particularly deep, but I think they’re all pretty charming, and while the plot twists are easy to see coming I think they’re pretty fun! I ended up liking Ravio a lot and I’m glad he ended up as kind of a standout.
But like, what about the actual game part of the game? I don’t know, I liked it a lot! I can see the rental/ownership system being a point of contention but honestly it felt like how I first experienced the original, which was through an endgame file that had all the items unlocked… except there were actual objectives to accomplish. I also think getting to upgrade the various items after purchasing them was pretty cool, even if it was a little bit of a collectathon grind. It gave you a lot of interesting options when dealing with dungeons and bosses. I can see how people might not be fond of having to track down so much money, but on the other hand, I feel like it makes monetary rewards actually feel like a reward.
I think learning how to navigate dungeons was also pretty fun! It’s definitely on the easier side compared to the original, but I think the 2D mechanic was neat.
This brings me to a… well, I’m not sure if problem is the word, but this is actually a game that feels designed to make use of the 3D feature in interesting ways. For a 2D Zelda, the dungeons are actually fairly vertical and it feels like the effect was used to make judging depth easier. Unfortunately, my original 3DS’s thumb pad disintegrated and I replaced it with a New 2DS… so I didn’t get to experience it as intended. On the one hand, I think it was cooler that they actually utilized the 3D, but on the other that stuff made my eyes hurt so I’m not sure I would’ve used it anyway…
In any case, this game felt like a 2D Zelda that was exactly my speed, and as such I am glad I played it! I guess I do kind of wish there was more of it, since I completed it relatively quickly, but I’m not sure if I would have done so if I wasn’t having so much fun. Also the soundtrack slaps pretty hard even by Zelda standards…!
Anyway, I’m not sure if ALBW has the same soul as ALttP, but I really like the soul it does have. It’s definitely less grim and more cheeky than the original, which I can see being a point of contention but I kind of like as an establishment of its own identity. The cast isn’t particularly deep, but I think they’re all pretty charming, and while the plot twists are easy to see coming I think they’re pretty fun! I ended up liking Ravio a lot and I’m glad he ended up as kind of a standout.
But like, what about the actual game part of the game? I don’t know, I liked it a lot! I can see the rental/ownership system being a point of contention but honestly it felt like how I first experienced the original, which was through an endgame file that had all the items unlocked… except there were actual objectives to accomplish. I also think getting to upgrade the various items after purchasing them was pretty cool, even if it was a little bit of a collectathon grind. It gave you a lot of interesting options when dealing with dungeons and bosses. I can see how people might not be fond of having to track down so much money, but on the other hand, I feel like it makes monetary rewards actually feel like a reward.
I think learning how to navigate dungeons was also pretty fun! It’s definitely on the easier side compared to the original, but I think the 2D mechanic was neat.
This brings me to a… well, I’m not sure if problem is the word, but this is actually a game that feels designed to make use of the 3D feature in interesting ways. For a 2D Zelda, the dungeons are actually fairly vertical and it feels like the effect was used to make judging depth easier. Unfortunately, my original 3DS’s thumb pad disintegrated and I replaced it with a New 2DS… so I didn’t get to experience it as intended. On the one hand, I think it was cooler that they actually utilized the 3D, but on the other that stuff made my eyes hurt so I’m not sure I would’ve used it anyway…
In any case, this game felt like a 2D Zelda that was exactly my speed, and as such I am glad I played it! I guess I do kind of wish there was more of it, since I completed it relatively quickly, but I’m not sure if I would have done so if I wasn’t having so much fun. Also the soundtrack slaps pretty hard even by Zelda standards…!