Despite the difficulties of me procuring a copy of the latest Zelda game (my release day Amazon delivery hasn’t arrived three days in, plus I’m yet to reach the elusive review copy status yet resulting in me once again hitting the full-priced eShop) my initial lack of enthusiasm hadn’t increased significantly. The graphical/art style mostly sucked and my biggest fear was of the game being akin to a Spice Girls reunion being strictly ‘for the fans’ yet offering neither nothing new and what was offered being of a lower quality than when originally offered. My fears only escalated when I heard the game was almost called New Legend of Zelda bringing about comparisons with the mostly uninspiring New Super Mario Bros. series. Additionally new content offered such as the wall merging contained in ALBW I feared may be up (or down) there with many of the DS iterations’s gimmicks such as blowing into the microphone, drawing patterns with the stylus, closing the DS screens etc etc.
Trying to write a review entirely spoiler free (hence my using a Moldorm picture above!) in the internet age isn’t necessarily easy but this is one of those games where you need to discover all content for yourself. Yes, that first paragraph can be entirely erased. Even initial issues I had with the game such as only using one of the 3DS buttons (other than the sword button, plus shield button is R) for special items was soon alleviated. The limitations of the saving abilities (see criticisms from my One Piece review) was equally eradicated. Not that the latter is to the convenience of what is expected by most modern gamers, ALBW brings back the valuing of save states. It’s these old school values where Nintendo really let the old and new schools collide in somewhat of a hybrid. The added value of rupees is now more important than ever. Even the combat brings back flashes of the original Hyrule Fantasy or Nazo no Murasame at times where the player has to retreat occasionally to replenish his health.
As for the new gimmicks in ALBW you realise how essential they are to this game. Not just to progress but how much they benefit the experience. The wall merging is executed perfectly. The item rental system shakes things up just as necessary to feel fresh and exciting, but not too much where it distances itself from the original concept Miyamoto had of Zelda in 1986 and the immediate availability of these items make the games more instant than most recent games in the series. The magic meter becoming the item meter is another fantastic addition meaning no more bombs or arrows need to be found yet care still has to be taken of overusing them. Perhaps the greatest return in ALBW is the ability to play through dungeons in any order. Not only does this bring back further memories of the original Zelda but it takes away from the linearity that has become all too familiar with the series. What Aonuma probably intended (and what I wholeheartedly recommend) is to forget a Prima guide, fuck Gamefaqs and just enjoy the twenty hour ride.
Despite my not loving the character art too much this ultimately is of little consequence as the graphics both work well and the depth of 3D is probably what Miyamoto intended when he talked of making A Link to the Past a 3D Classic (what ALBW evolved from). And in-spite being a direct sequel to the Super Famicom classic (the Japanese name explicitly confirms this), Eiji Aonuma has done more than just retread the excellent original. This isn’t Queensrÿche with an Operation Mindcrime 2 that nobody remembers today but an absolute classic in its own right. If you take the elite of the 16-bit era and compare to today than today’s updates seldom compare: Chrono Trigger and Radiant Historia is no comparison, ditto Final Fantasy, one could argue Mario Kart but contextually speaking MK7 is the sixth updated version, with no 2D top-down Zelda in seemingly forever this game feels as fresh as the original in 1992. ALBW is not only legitimately a contender for game of the year amongst the best the home consoles have to offer but it’s also legitimately up there with the top two or three Legend of Zelda games.
10/10
