Honestly, it’s a bit weird how often people overlook The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds when they start arguing about the "Greatest Zelda of All Time." Everyone goes straight for Ocarina of Time because of the nostalgia or Breath of the Wild because it basically reinvented the open-world genre. But if you actually sit down and play the 2013 3DS masterpiece, you start to realize it might be the most perfectly paced game Nintendo ever shipped. It doesn't waste your time. It’s snappy. It takes the DNA of A Link to the Past—the 1991 SNES classic—and iterates on it in a way that feels like a love letter and a revolution at the same time.
I remember picking it up on launch day. There was this concern that it was just a "remake" in disguise because it shared the same map as the Super Nintendo game. It wasn't. Not even close.
The Renting Mechanic That Changed Everything
For decades, Zelda games followed a strict, almost religious formula: you enter a dungeon, find the specific "special item" halfway through (the hookshot, the bow, the hammer), use that item to kill the boss, and then never touch that item again until a specific puzzle required it. It was predictable. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds threw that entire script in the trash.
Instead of finding items in chests, you met Ravio. He’s this weird guy in a purple rabbit hood who just moves into your house and sets up a shop. Suddenly, you could rent the Hookshot or the Fire Rod right at the start of the game. This changed the fundamental "gating" of the world. If you had the Rupees, you could go anywhere. You could tackle the dungeons in almost any order you wanted.
It was a precursor to the freedom we eventually got in Breath of the Wild. Nintendo was testing the waters. They wanted to see if players could handle non-linear progression without getting lost or frustrated. Turns out, we loved it. There’s something deeply satisfying about hoarding enough money to finally buy the items permanently so you don't lose them when you die. It added stakes. If you died with rented gear, Ravio’s little bird minion, Sheerow, would come and take it all back. It was punishing but fair.
The Wall Merging Gimmick That Actually Works
Most "gimmicks" in handheld games feel forced, like they're just trying to use the touch screen or the 3D slider. The wall-merging mechanic in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is different. It’s genuinely brilliant.
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By turning Link into a 2D painting, the developers forced you to look at a 3D space in a completely new way. You weren't just looking for paths on the floor; you were looking at the walls as literal highways. You see a ledge you can't reach? Merge into the wall and walk behind a waterfall to get there. It felt like a magic trick every time. This mechanic also served as the bridge between Hyrule and Lorule. Finding those purple cracks in the geometry felt like finding secrets you weren't supposed to see.
Lorule: More Than Just a Dark World
Lorule isn't just a "Dark World" skin. It has its own history, its own tragedy, and a counterpart to Princess Zelda named Princess Hilda. The lore here is actually pretty heavy if you pay attention to the subtext. You’ve got a kingdom that decided to destroy its own Triforce to end a war, only to realize that the Triforce was basically the battery keeping their world from rotting away.
The characters in Lorule are mirrors of Hyrule’s citizens, but they’re twisted by despair.
- The Master Ore hunt is actually worth the effort here.
- The dungeons are significantly more complex than their Hyrulean counterparts.
- The music... man, the Lorule field theme is an absolute banger. It takes the classic Zelda theme and turns it into this driving, desperate march.
It’s easy to forget that this game runs at a rock-solid 60 frames per second, even with the 3D effect turned on. That’s a technical feat for the 3DS that often goes unmentioned. The movement feels buttery smooth. When Link swings his sword, there’s zero lag. It’s precise. This precision is why the "StreetPass Battle" mode was actually fun—you could test your build against a shadow version of other players.
Why the Ending Still Hits Different
No spoilers, obviously, but the narrative arc of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds hits a level of emotional resonance that the series rarely touches. Usually, it's just "Ganon is bad, save the girl." Here, the motivations are murkier. You find yourself actually feeling for the "villains." They’re doing the wrong things for arguably the right reasons—trying to save a dying world.
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It’s a game about the consequences of choice.
Most people don't realize that this game was originally supposed to be a straight remake. Eiji Aonuma, the longtime Zelda producer, pushed the team to make it something more. They spent about six months just experimenting with the "Link becoming a drawing" idea before they even had a story. That’s why the gameplay feels so baked-in and natural. It wasn't a story looking for a game; it was a mechanic looking for a world.
The Difficulty Curve and Hero Mode
If you think the game is too easy, you probably haven't played Hero Mode. In the standard run, you can basically tank hits. In Hero Mode, you take quadruple damage. That changes everything. You suddenly have to care about blue mail vs. red mail. You have to care about catching fairies in bottles. It turns the game into a survival experience where every merge into a wall is a calculated risk.
Actionable Steps for the Modern Player
If you're looking to revisit this or play it for the first time, don't just rush the main quest. There is a lot of "meat" on these bones that people miss.
1. Find all 100 Maiamais. Seriously. It sounds like a tedious fetch quest, but it’s the only way to upgrade your items. The "Nice" versions of the items (like the Nice Fire Rod) are significantly more powerful and make the late-game dungeons feel like a power trip. Plus, the sound the little creatures make is adorable.
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2. Don't buy everything immediately. Rent first. Use your Rupees to explore. The tension of trying not to die because you’ll lose your gear is part of what makes the early game special. Once you hit the mid-game and the "Treasure Hunter" caves, you'll have more money than you know what to do with anyway.
3. Pay attention to the soundtrack. Ryo Nagamatsu did the arrangements, and he used a mix of live instruments and high-quality synthesis. It’s widely considered one of the best OSTs in the franchise for a reason. Use headphones. The spatial audio helps you find hidden secrets when you’re merged into walls.
4. Check the cracks. Not every crack leads to Lorule. Some are just hidden rooms with massive Rupee chests. If you see a suspicious seam in the wall, try to merge. The game rewards curiosity more than almost any other Zelda title before the "Open Air" era.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a masterclass in game design. It respects your intelligence, it respects your time, and it proves that 2D Zelda is just as vital and "epic" as the 3D entries. If you have a 3DS or a 2DS gathering dust in a drawer, this is the reason to dig it out. It’s a perfect bridge between the old-school challenge of the 90s and the modern freedom of today’s gaming.
Go find Ravio. Rent the bow. Get lost in Lorule. It’s worth every second.