The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

The first in the Zelda franchise's nearly 40-year history to put the title character in the leading role, Echoes of Wisdom is also seemingly an attempt to reconcile the newer, more immersive style of Zelda with the classic dungeon crawling format that made it a hit to begin with.  But does it strike a solid balance between old and new, or is this a surprisingly unwise outing?

Breath of the Wild (and its followup, Tears of the Kingdom) were of course highly successful and well-reviewed games, but to many long-time Zelda fans they felt like a departure, stepping away from the tightly designed puzzles, gadgets and dungeon-oriented design in favor of something open world and based more on emergent design.  I can certainly understand that - I found Breath of the Wild a bit underwhelming myself - but Nintendo proved they weren't abandoning the old format entirely with a remaster of Skyward Sword and a full-3D remake of Link's Awakening.

Echoes of Wisdom is a game that utilizes a very similar visual style to the Link's Awakening remake, though it's made clear pretty quickly that it's not a full return to form - while you do play the intro as Link, utilizing a very familiar arsenal of weapons and moves, the game quickly shifts to you controlling Zelda and the gameplay changes up dramatically.  The main gimmick this time is utilizing the Tri Rod to create "echoes" - by scanning objects or the icons left behind by defeated enemies, you earn the ability to make duplicates of them.  Each object has slightly differing properties to utilize, while enemies behave much like their normal counterparts; just that they target and harm other enemies instead of you.  As you move through the game and complete dungeons, you also unlock new abilities.  One is that Tri allows you to pick up and move objects as though they were weightless (much like the Ultrahand ability in TotK), while completing dungeons earns you upgrades, like being able to have more active Echoes at the same time or create them at further distances, opening up new avenues to explore and overcome obstacles.

The central gimmick is certainly a clever one, and being able to improvise with the tools you're given to solve various problems makes the gameplay quite fun and rewarding.  That said, I think they made a mistake by making one of the first powers you get a limited time transformation to essentially just become Link again.  You even start out with his sword and unlock his bow, hookshot and bombs as the game progresses, like they were afraid to stray too far from the old staples despite the game ostsensibly starring a new character with a very different gameplay centerpiece.  Granted it doesn't completely upend Zelda's gameplay - it runs off a fairly short timer and you still need to use Zelda's toolset to expose boss weak points - but it feels like a bit of a copout that Zelda's first adventure still basically has you play as Link.  I found the game most enjoyable when I used the Link morph only when it was absolutely necessary to and just stuck to improvising clever solutions with echoes whenever I could; it gives the game a charm similar to doing a swordless run of 1986 Legend of Zelda.

While the game does return to a linear style of storytelling and progression by requiring you to complete dungeons in order to progress to new areas, some trappings of the open world style Zeldas remain in Echoes.  One is that there are many optional areas to explore and side-missions given to you by NPCs, which often have useful rewards.  BotW's cooking system returns in a more limited format - rather than being able to cobble together almost anything into a potion or a meal, you now combine two ingredients to create "smoothies" with various effects like elemental resistance, temporary damage reduction or restoring some of your energy.  Outfits also return in a more limited format, divided into Clothing and Accessories that grant various beneficial effects or are just cosmetic.

As in the Link's Awakening remake, performance does gets a little choppy in places (particularly when there's a lot of water effects) but I never found it severe enough to hamper the experience; a constant framerate is certainly necessary for games like fighters or racing games that require frame-perfect inputs, but in a leisurely, slower paced adventure like Zelda it's not a serious hindrance.  Something the game could have used is a Favorites list for your Echoes; having to scroll through a single-file list that runs dozens deep gets pretty tedious, and the various sorting options you're given only alleviate it to a point.  Being able to set a few Favorites in designated slots at the top of the list (or a separate list entirely) would have helped quite a bit.

So, is Echoes of Wisdom a return to the classic style of Zelda?  Yes and no.  It certainly returns to the more linear, puzzle-oriented format of the classics, but the core gameplay is more of a hybrid, taking the emergent approach to puzzle design from BotW/TotK and downplaying direct combat in favor of finding creative ways to outwit and defeat foes.  So if you like to make your own fun but want a more straightforward approach to dungeon puzzles and storytelling while you do it, Echoes of Wisdom is one you'll probably want to pick up.

 

Developer: Nintendo EPD, Grezzo

Publisher: Nintendo

Released: 2024

Platforms: Switch

Recommended Version: N/A

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The long-awaited followup to Breath of the Wild ultimately took six years to be released, blending in numerous new gameplay elements and vastly expanding the size of its world and the scale of its narrative over its already huge predecessor.  But was this heavily anticipated sequel worth the wait, or does it just bring a tear to the eyes of fans?

Despite being a cross-platform release, Breath of the Wild was the breakout title for the Switch, and really affirmed Nintendo's commitment to the platform after the very lackluster reception (and sales) of the Wii U.  The game ultimately sold over 25 million copies and was very strongly received by new fans, but had a more mixed reception among long-timers, who criticized its lack of traditional Zelda dungeons and boss battles, comparatively bland overworld and constantly-breaking weapons, among other things.  I had somewhat mixed feelings about it myself; while I commended Nintendo for a noble first attempt at something they'd never really attempted before - an open world RPG with a focus on slower-paced emergent gameplay - the lack of tangible reward for most quests (unlike a good Elder Scrolls or Fallout) and the overworld lacking a lot of the hidden side areas and secrets of earlier Zeldas ensured that while I enjoyed the experience overall, I didn't love it.  I've compared it unfavorably to Skyrim on several occasions - another game with some very prominent shortcomings and a lot of missing elements compared to its predecessors, but having a much more well-crafted world and rewarding gameplay loop than Breath of the Wild ensured it was a game I played a fair bit more.

Tears of the Kingdom was announced not long after the original game's release, and though they were tight-lipped about it for a long time, it still generated a considerable amount of fan interest.  They seemed to have taken fan criticisms into account in a big way - in addition to heavily retooling the original overworld from BotW (now with many more caves, wells and hidden areas to discover, major changes to existing locales, as well as a whole new set of temples to earn upgrades from), there's floating ruins in the sky and even a vast, dark underground world to explore that you gradually light up by activating giant roots.  Essentially, there are now three different worlds to explore, so the game is absolutely dense with content before you even get into the quests and storyline.

The core gameplay remains essentially unchanged - weapons still break after a few good whacks, and it's easy to stumble into powerful foes who can take you out in one or two hits - but the powers you're given to improvise solutions to these problems are much different (and far more versatile) than they were before.  Right away you're given the "Ultrahand", which can be used to pick up and manipulate heavy objects, and even attach them together with supernatural "glue" to create structures.  This lends itself to a heavy focus on building things; both from pre-fab parts like gliders, planks, wheels and even weapons like flamethrowers and beam cannons - but also plays heavily into problem solving, allowing you to improvise creative means of crossing over obstacles, reaching out-of-reach objects, and so forth.  Basically Zelda now has a touch of Garry's Mod to it, which as you can imagine has already led to all sorts of bizarre and amazing player creations to deal with enemies and solve puzzles (or just getting laughs on social media).  As the game progresses you'll also unlock more battery capacity, letting you power more complex creations for a longer period of time, and even unlock the ability to save your creations and recreate them instantly later (either from raw ore or available parts).

Other powers include being able to Rewind time for specific objects, leaping upwards through ceilings to reach new areas (so long as the ceiling is fairly close and the surface relatively flat), and Fusion - the ability to combine weapons, shields and objects together into new forms.  This lends an entirely new dynamic to your arsenal and the gameplay as a whole, as for story reasons most metallic weapons in the land have decayed and become near-useless in battle. But if you take, say, a rusted Claymore and fuse it with a heavy piece of wood, or a metal spiked ball, or a Lizalfo horn, or even another claymore, you not only combine their offensive properties to make a more powerful weapon, but you get something with greater reach to boot.  Shields can also be Fused in similar fashion, allowing you to weaponize them or bolster their defense, and you can plop nearly any object on the game onto the end of an arrow - from bombs that explode on impact to flame fruits that ignite things to mushrooms that bounce whatever they hit a fair distance backwards, or even Keese eyeballs to give arrows homing properties, the possibilities are vast and great fun to experiment with.  One can also freehand throw any object, so unless you're incredibly wasteful, you're never caught without at least something to defend yourself or create a means of escape with.  Weapons also have a considerably wider variety of bonus effects now too, such as more energy-efficient usage when fused with building components or added durability or elemental effects, so while there are still essentially only a small handful of weapon types (thrusting, slashing and two-handed blades), they manage to feel distinct nonetheless.

Tears of the Kingdom also addresses my major complaints with its predecessor, giving it that heavy focus on secrets that earlier Zeldas had and making the exploration element feel much more rewarding.  As mentioned, there are effectively three different maps to explore now, all of which are ridiculously dense; packed with hidden caves, alcoves, wells and miniature dungeons, and all have a surprisingly unique feel to them and give some useful rewards for your trouble.  Whether it's a new piece of armor, a few potions and food items, some leads on a new quest or just some rare crafting materials, they all do their best to make it worth your while to explore them.  Hunting down specific crafting components is made easier with the addition of a compendium for all of Hyrule's sights, which you add to by snapping photos, and can set your radar (which normally homes in on shrines) to detect anything else you fancy as long as it's in there.  Rain is much less of a momentum-killer than it was before, as you can create potions and equip armor that makes you slip less frequently on wet surfaces in addition to the vehicle-building element.  The worlds as a whole also feel much more dynamic and alive, with nice touches like NPCs traveling between towns and even fighting monsters on occasion, talking you up and giving hints on potential item locations, and even occasionally taking part in quests with you.  Dungeons are once again distinctly themed and feel more like proper Zelda, focusing on puzzle solving, battling monsters and having large-scale, amazing boss battles.  Even the story scenes are cinematic, wonderfully acted and amazingly staged, making it feel like your (and Zelda's) actions are having a tangible impact on wresting Hyrule from the grip of a looming evil.

While the game is a massive improvement in just about every respect - music, visuals, gameplay, physics and features - it's not without some minor technical issues.  The framerate does get a bit choppy at times, particularly in some of the busier locations (like towns) and during some of the more chaotic fights.  There is also a slight delay to the controls that takes a bit of getting used to, but the game in general moves at a fairly leisurely pace, so it's not as much of a problem as it would be in something based more around intense action like Ghost of Tsushima.  Still, the fact that it's such a massive, complex game with a very robust physics engine, keeps track of dynamic events going on for miles around, yet runs as smoothly as it does on a handheld system that's over six years old at this point, is nothing short of incredible.  It also manages to do all of this without making my Switch's fan run at full blast constantly, unlike some games (*COUGHShinMegamiTenseiV*).  It also doesn't have some QoL you'd hope it would (being able to favorite items or outfits for quick access), but that's a minor concern.

In closing, Nintendo's second attempt at an immersive sim style game (with their own brand of off-beat creativity blended in) hits all the notes its predecessor missed, taking the experimental elements the series has tinkered with going all the way back to Ocarina of Time and melding them together with what works into a brilliant and cohesive whole.  The fact that it has so much content, so many added features on top of highly polished core mechanics, and such amazing worldbuilding and storytelling, all polished to virtual perfection, is nothing short of breathtaking, and that it's all happening on a six-year-old handheld system and runs as well as it does stands as proof positive that the hardware it's on ultimately has little to no bearing on a game's quality.  Tears of the Kingdom is a massively deep new well for the genre, to the point where it makes Breath of the Wild look almost like an unfinished beta in comparison.  A wonderfully addictive, ingeniously executed and highly entertaining game that deserves every bit of praise it's gotten; Nintendo once again proves they're the true kings of gaming.  

Developer: Nintendo EPD, Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2023
Platforms: Switch

Recommended Version: N/A

Link: the Faces of Evil / Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

Famously created as part of a business deal that originally would have had Philips developing a CD-based addon for the Super Nintendo (which ultimately never came to pass), the CDi Zelda games have since become noted as perhaps the only Zelda titles that can objectively be considered "bad".  They certainly do their best to look and sound the part with some quality music and colorful hand-painted backgrounds, but both of them play like bad Game Maker games - everything technically functions, but nothing is polished.  Movement is sluggish and awkward, hit detection is dodgy, and the lack of invincibility frames after contact with an enemy or projectile means that any hazard you encounter can easily drain all of your health and cause the loss of a life in an instant.  Pair that with the fact that one must grind for long periods of time just to afford basic amenities like bombs, ropes, lantern oil and snow/fireballs to defeat specific enemies, and you have two games which prove to be masochistic exercises in frustration much more than the epic adventures that the series built its name on.

But of course, no review of the CDi Zeldas can go without mention of their cutscenes, which have become a phenomenon in their own right.  Made on a very small budget and noted for their bizarre, chaotic animation and cheesy acting, these factors have made them the central focus of countless mockery pieces and "Youtube Poop" remixes over the years, and they're honestly much more entertaining than anything else associated with the games.  So, if you want to have a good laugh at some classic gaming kitsch, look them up on Youtube and have a ball.  If you want a good game to play, though, save your money for something else.

A fan has also remade both of these games for PC and Linux; while still not great, they are much more playable, and the tongue-in-cheek nature of the whole project is pretty amusing in itself.  Check em out!

 

Developer: Animation Magic
Publisher: Philips Interactive Media
Released: 1994
Platforms: Philips CDi

Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Yep, it's another attempt at a multiplayer Zelda, this time for the 3DS.  That effectively mitigates the boneheaded design flaw of the original (being a console game yet requiring handheld systems and link cables to play), but it has some screwups of its own; like only being able to play single player or three players, but having no option for two.  Aside from that, it's basically the same experience as Four Swords, being stage-based, linear and full of simplistic combat and puzzles - mostly based around stacking atop one another and tossing each other over gaps or up onto ledges.  There is an attempt in adding some replay value with a plethora of unlockable costumes for your Links, but it adds little to the longevity of the game unless you're a die-hard completionist.  It might be a bit of fun with two friends, but overall it's a short, lackluster and generally forgettable game that ranks among the series' worst.  There were plenty of better co-op games out there before the 2010's rolled around, so this one just felt dire by 2015.

Developer: Nintendo/Grezzo
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2015
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

 A sequel to Phantom Hourglass and utilizing the same engine and touch screen control setup.  The concept this time is an interesting one - Zelda accompanies you throughout the journey as a disembodied spirit, and can possess certain enemies to fight strong foes for you or solve certain puzzles, which I thought was a pretty cool gimmick and a nice flip on the played out damsel-in-distress scenario (as well as an odd parallel to the cartoon series from the 80s).  Sadly, the rest of the game fares much less well, with dragging pacing overall, some very irritating dungeons and an element I absolutely despised - the titular Spirit Tracks.  As in the previous game, you plot a route on the touch screen and then move down it, but along the way you have to switch tracks to avoid demonic train enemies that will kill you on contact (and hope you don't just go down another track that leads you right into the jaws of another one).  These appear between every dungeon and only get longer and more convoluted as you go, and making contact with one of the enemy trains results in an immediate death and forces you to start over.  I absolutely hated doing these segments, and got only about two dungeons in before I ended up facing another one and quickly decided I never wanted to play the game again.  Never, ever again.

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2009
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Wii U (Virtual Console)

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Right from the get-go, it seemed like Nintendo was kicking themselves for not including an analog stick on the Nintendo DS; Super Mario 64 DS was the first to suffer for it, and every game since then had to find some weird way to work around it.  Enter Phantom Hourglass, which awkwardly uses the touch screen for virtually everything - moving, attacking, switching items, plotting sailing routes and interacting with almost everything requires you to make gestures on the screen with the stylus.  Other DS features are used too, like using the microphone to stun Pols Voices (a nice callback to the first game) or having to close the screen to transfer a stamp from the top screen to a map on the bottom one.  Some of the puzzles are rather clever too - I always mention one where you stretch a rope between two pegs, then bounce an arrow off it to hit an eye switch behind you that closes when you face it.  They did an admirable job with what they had to work with, but all in all, Phantom Hourglass just ends up being an average, once-and-done game, which is pretty weak by the standards of the Zelda series.  I'd love to see another game set in the Wind Waker universe, but I hope it ends up being on hardware more suited to the task than this one was.

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2007
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Virtual Console (Wii U)

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons

 The Oracle Games were rather odd beasts, being developed by an outside studio and released on the Game Boy Color in the months leading up to the Game Boy Advance's release.  The concepts were relatively novel, too - Ages has you hopping between past and present similar to Ocarina of Time, while Seasons has you cycling between the four seasons to reach new areas and solve various puzzles.  That's all good, and they're built on the same engine as Link's Awakening DX, so fans of that game will be right at home here.  Unfortunately, a lot of the change-ups here aren't really for the better - many familiar items are recycled but used in strange new ways with little explanation (being able to pick up and throw enemies with the power bracelet, for example), which can lead to a lot of unclear puzzles and frustration.  Animal friends are used to reach new areas and clear paths, though their controls and collision detection are frequently awkward.  Bosses also don't feel well-designed a lot of the time, either having weird hit detection or requiring spot-on timing to overcome, and I generally just found them annoying to fight.  The ideas here are interesting and occasionally pretty clever, but the execution is lacking; I can't help but wonder if they just needed a bit more playtesting before their debut, but regardless, I don't rank them among the Zelda franchise's best.  Give them a look, but try before you buy.

Developer: Capcom/Flagship
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2001
Platforms: Game Boy Color, Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console)

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Capcom's second attempt at an original Zelda was Minish Cap, and it has a pretty creative concept - Link shrinks down to sneak into areas he couldn't before and encounters a miniature race called the Minish along his journey.   Like their first attempt, though, the execution leaves some things to be desired.  The game feels rather short and unsatisfying overall, with only six short dungeons and some rather tedious sidequests in the form of Kinstones and Figurines, both of which just feel like cheap filler rather than a well-implemented mechanic.  Most of the end-game bosses are annoying as well, requiring the player to strike numerous targets at the same time and punishing them with damage or prolonging the fight until they get it right.  Finally, Ezlo is easily the franchise's worst sidekick, constantly interrupting the game to blather unfunny dialog or explain extremely basic mechanics to you; if you thought Navi was annoying, you haven't seen anything yet.  I did ultimately finish the game, but I really have no desire to play it again.  If you want a good portable Zelda, stick to Link's Awakening.

Developer: Capcom/Flagship
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2004
Platforms: Game Boy Advance, Wii U (Virtual Console)

Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure

 Released a year after Capcom's Game Boy Advance port of Link to the Past, which included a multiplayer minigame called "Four Swords", this was Nintendo's attempt to create a more full-fledged version of the concept.  Unfortunately, it ends up being much more of a hassle than it's worth. You can't use standard controllers in anything but single player mode; instead, each player is required to have a system link cable and a Game Boy Advance.  This does allow for the larger game to be interrupted when players enter caves and houses and such, but still; why not just have split screen as an option?  Even beyond that, though, the game is pretty shallow, split up into strictly linear stages and mostly just consisting of farming items or simplistic monster-slaying, or having to split up and stand on various buttons to open a door.  It's a great looking game, utilizing a more detailed version of Link to the Past's aesthetic, but it's a mediocre co-op experience and definitely one of the weakest Zeldas.  Unless you have a lot of money to burn or are just intent on owning every Zelda game regardless of its quality, skip this one and read the manga adaptation instead.  And if you want a good couch co-op experience for the Gamecube, play Phantasy Star Online Episodes 1 and 2 instead. 

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2004
Platforms: Gamecube

BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishi no Sekiban

 In the same vein as the original BS Zelda, Inishi no Sekiban (translated as "Ancient Stone Tablets") is a reworking of Link to the Past, this time with an added narrative (voiced in Japanese and in text at the bottom), reworked episodic gameplay, a time limit and a score table, challenging the player to complete two dungeons and collect as many rupees as possible before time expires and possibly (in the 90s when it aired) earn prizes.  Also somewhat unusual is the fact that the player doesn't control Link in the original release, instead utilizing their avatar from the Satellaview's BIOS menu in game and some of the text changing accordingly.  Other than that, this is much in the same vein as the original, with reworked dungeons, timed events that can grant the player bonuses like temporary invincibility or unlimited bombs for a short while, and a clever new twist on LTTP for those who know the original game like the back of their hands.  Like the first BS Zelda, it's only available nowadays through emulation, but it's a great piece of history that's well worth a look for any serious franchise fan.

Developer: Nintendo R&D2

Publisher: St. GIGA

Released: 1997

Platform: Satellaview

BS Zelda no Densetsu

Arguably the most obscure Zelda games ever made, the BS Zelda games weren't ever released on a physical format; rather, they were produced for a Super Famicom addon by Bandai called the Satellaview and broadcast to the system at very specific times in the mid-90s. During those times, a unique soundtrack and voice narration would convey a story while the player tried to complete an "episode" consisting of two dungeons within a time limit of about an hour.  Whether they successfully did so or not, once the broadcast ended, the game was over.  The first two of these were essentially remixed versions of the original Legend of Zelda, just with visual and audio updates befitting the hardware, and unique dungeon formats that are considerably easier than the main game's (no surprise owing to the time limit).  The only way to play them nowadays is via emulation (which surprisingly even manages to preserve the voice tracks on some emulators), but for die-hard Zelda fans, it's most definitely worth the effort.

Developer: Nintendo R&D2

Publisher: St. GIGA

Released: 1995

Platform: Satellaview

Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring the Legend of Zelda

A spinoff title built on the same engine as Brace Yourself's Crypt of the NecroDancer, Cadence of Hyrule is a rare example of the Zelda license being lent out to a third party. But does it provide the same timeless brand of fun that the series is known for, or is this another flop on par with the infamous CDi Zeldas?

Crypt of the NecroDancer was an oddball fusion of genres, combining roguelike elements with a rhythm game - all combat in the game is timed to music, either the game's default soundtrack or MP3 files provided by the player.  It proved to be quite a popular game as a result, being released across just about every major platform available since 2015.  I don't think too many people - the game's developers included - expected it to get an official tie-in to Zelda, but it eventually happened too, becoming a Switch-exclusive release in 2019 (with a physical release following in 2020 that included all of the DLC released for the digital version).

Cadence of Hyrule bills itself as a roguelike, and it does retain a few elements of that genre while working in many of Zelda's familiar design cues.  The world is heavily reminiscent of Zelda's with its numerous hidden secrets and puzzle rooms, though its overworld and dungeons are procedurally-generated to a point.  The overall aesthetic of NecroDancer is reworked to resemble Link to the Past, utilizing many iconic songs from that games and other Zeldas near that era, and most of the playable cast is comprised of Zelda characters; indeed you can play as Link or Zelda at the start, with more characters becoming gradually unlocked as you play (including Cadence from the original Crypt of the NecroDancer, Impa and the Skull Kid, among others), each having their own slightly different movesets.  One also has the option to enable Mystery Mode (making all items unidentifiable until used) and Permadeath to incorporate more of a roguelike feel, though neither one is required; dying with the latter disabled will simply restart you from any Shiekah Stone you activated, taking your rupees and some of your items away.

NecroDancer's central gimmick remains in place too.  Rather than the traditional turn-based design of most roguelikes, "turns" are now is synced to the beat of the music (with some visual cues in the form of a metronome at the bottom and a movement grid that alternates colors in time with the beat).  Enemies and traps all move in distinct and predictable patterns to the beat, allowing the player to learn their patterns, evade damage and strike when they are vulnerable - an answer to the prevalent element of many roguelikes where the player could be doing well, but still die to an overwhelmingly powerful enemy or a cheap trap they simply couldn't avoid.  The player is expected to move to the beat too; missing beats can cause them to flub an action, while going for long periods without missing a beat and avoiding all damage will give them greater rewards than normal.  A nice touch in this regard is the ability to calibrate the game to account for TV delay (which can vary heavily from model to model), so that the game can still be played regardless of what hardware you have. One can also change to "Fixed Beat Mode", which operates more like a traditional turn-based roguelike - the action pauses completely until you take a turn, so enemies and traps will only move when you do. (This is perfect for those with some accessibility issues as well.) 

In addition to the usual Zelda mainstay of utilizing various items to solve puzzles and uncover hidden items, there are a number of random treasures in the form of expendable items and weapons.  Weapons are of course your main asset in combat, though they come in a variety of forms.  You begin with a simple dagger that does a single point of damage and has one space of range, but others will be found, upgraded or unlocked over the course of the game; two prominent examples are the Spear (which has a two-space range) and the Broadsword (which hits three spaces in the direction the player is facing, potentially damaging multiple targets or hitting around corners while staying safe from harm).  Utility items like the shovel (digging through dirt) and torches (burning stumps and lightning up dark areas) surface too, as do limited-use sub-weapons like bombs and boomerangs and scrolls like the Scroll of Fire or the Scroll of Need (which purportedly gives you whatever you may need at that moment), as well as Zelda mainstays like the Hover Boots, Hookshot, Boomerang and empty bottles to store potions, bees and fairies.  Dying will remove most of your expendable items and equipment, but you will be taken to a shop where you can spend diamonds (earned by clearing screens) to purchase some back and make things easier for yourself on the next attempt.

Cadence of Hyrule is also one of the handful of Zelda games to support co-op play, and it's fairly unintrusive as the series standard goes - one can begin a game with two players, or drop in or out at any Shiekah Stone in the world.  The core game remains the same either way, just with two players operating in tandem to clear enemies and puzzles - no extraneous item collecting or dopey "press two switches at once" puzzles.  That alone puts it a leg up above games like Four Swords in my book.

I didn't know what to make of Cadence of Hyrule at first, but I'm glad to say that it was a pleasant surprise.  The classic Zelda format is a surprisingly good fit for a roguelike engine, and whether you want to play it as a traditional one or not - utilizing permadeath, secret item effects and a traditional turn-based structure are all optional - it's quite a fun game.  Being able to predict and avoid enemy attacks and traps cuts down on the "cheap deaths' of many roguelikes, and as a long-time franchise fan, it's quite fun to hear a lot of the remixes of classic Zelda tunes.  An experiment that paid off for both companies involved.

• Developer: Brace Yourself Games
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Platform: Switch
• Released: 2019
• Recommended Version: I recommend picking up the physical release of the game if you can, as it contains all of the DLC released for the digital version.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The first entry in the Zelda franchise crafted specifically for the Wii and its hardware, it is also regarded by a number of fans as one of the weakest games in the series.  But does Skyward Sword prove to be a enjoyable if flawed adventure, or is it really as much of a black sheep as many people claim?

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was a game caught between generations.  Beginning development not long after the release of Wind Waker on the Gamecube, it saw numerous delays and setbacks, only finally being released in 2006 - at the dawn of Nintendo's next console, the Wii.  As a result of that, it was ported to both platforms, with the Wii version having motion controls pasted on top to take advantage of the platform's much-touted Wii Remote functionality.   Both versions of the game proved to be quite popular, though many were left wondering what a game built more fully around the motion control element would play like.

For better or worse, Skyward Sword set out to answer that question.  Being one of the handful of games to require the Wii Motion Plus peripheral, which provided a much tighter brand of motion controls than the standard controller could allow for, it really did incorporate that element into every facet of its design.  Sword-fighting, aiming one's bow, navigating menus, playing various minigames, and flying and swimming all incorporate the 1:1 movement from the Motion Plus into the game.  Some even take it slightly too literally, like having enemies whose shields can only be destroyed by slashing at them from specific angles (and frequently rotating them throughout the fight).

For the most part the Motion Plus controls do work relatively well, though it can be frustrating to get it to register exactly what it wants you to do at exactly the right moment; I recall more than a few instances of Link doing a straight-downward or straight-sideways slash rather than a diagonal one I was trying to perform, for example.  Navigating in 3D, particularly during the swimming segments, was also irritating, as the close-in camera and direct-aiming movement end up being more frustrating than intuitive, getting me snagged on walls frequently.  I also failed more than a few times at the roller-coaster minigame for the same reason - having to quickly switch between "left" and "right" with no tactile feedback or the convenience of quick button presses to do so sent me plunging to my doom constantly, and I eventually just gave up on it out of frustration.  Aiming in general was also a pain, particularly as the cursor frequently wanders out of the screen, forcing the player to re-center it by pressing Up on the D-pad.  I did adapt to it for the most part after a fair bit of trial and error, but I still couldn't shake the idea that motion controls aren't a good fit for an action-oriented game of this type (or at least, not for being used in every element of their design like this).

It's pretty hard to make a good impression with the rest of the game when fundamental elements like controls aren't nailed down, but Skyward Sword definitely tries its best to live up to Zelda standards.  In addition to swordplay, bombs and bows, there are quite a few creative new items to use too.  The whip is one of the more prominent ones - while it can be used in battle to defeat weaker foes and steal items from stronger ones, it sees quite a lot of use in puzzles too, doing things like flipping over platforms, swinging from branches or grabbing switches that are otherwise out of reach.  Digging mitts allow Link to burrow in sand and dirt to reach items, activate switches or break rocks.  The Beetle is a relatively creative one too - a travelling device steered by motion control that can grab distant items or activate switches, or even sever the stems of Deku enemies.  As per series standards, these all get put to quite a lot of creative use throughout the game and end up being really fun to play around with.  The dungeon designs are certainly up to series standards too for the most part, integrating the series' trademark quality puzzle design and having some very inventive elements to them.  My personal favorite being the ruins in Lanaryu Desert, where the player must activate "timeshift stones" to transform small areas of the dungeon back to their pristine, new state, but only as long as that stone remains in proximity to them; seeing these elements transform in real time as the stone travels past them is honestly really cool to see and makes it one of the most creative dungeons in the entire series.

Skyward Sword is also one of the first games in the series to heavily emphasize its crafting system.  Link can collect items from certain foes, plants and fauna to create potions with varying effects - not just a standard healing potion, but also some beneficial ones like Air Potions (which increase the amount of time Link can remain underwater) and Guardian Potions (which temporarily halve damage taken).  In addition, components can be used to upgrade almost every type of equipment at his disposal.  For example, the Slingshot can be upgraded to the Scattershot, letting it fire a handful of pellets at a time instead of just one.  The bow gets two upgrades that boost its power and range, while Link's shields can all be upgraded several times, granting more durability with each pass.  These ideas would later be more fully fleshed out in Breath of the Wild, but it is interesting to see them get their start here, if nothing else.

Some clever new twists on norms for the story appear too.  While Link remains a mostly-silent protagonist, it is nice to see him interacting on a personal level with characters in Skyloft, and even having a rival of sorts in Groose, who frequently antagonizes him in the early stages of the story but later becomes an ally.  Zelda herself plays a more active role in things too, undergoing her own journey concurrent to Link's instead of being a passive part in the story's events.  Being a prequel set before every other game in the series, it is also interesting to see where the story goes in absence of the series' iconic villain, Ganon, and how it ultimately ties itself into the later games and their iconic themes.

That stuff is all good and even treads some ground that prior games in the series didn't before, but other key elements of the design definitely feel lacking in comparison.  The world design in particular is underwhelming, with its areas generally feeling a lot smaller and more cramped than your average Zelda world, and many of them don't directly connect, instead only being accessible by going to the sky area and flying there. The sky-based exploration is also a bit of a letdown; there simply isn't a lot to do there that isn't strictly plot related, and it somehow feels even more barren than the overworld area in Ocarina of Time, which is not a good thing.  Many actions in the game, such as dashing and carrying things, are now tied to a stamina meter, which can get a bit annoying to deal with since in practice it mostly just forces you to stop and wait a few seconds, sometimes several times over, before you can complete whatever task you're trying to do.  The game also begins to feel padded, particularly toward the end; dungeon elements start to get recycled wholesale and you end up repeating the same overly long boss fight three times throughout the run, as if they just ran out of ideas for things to do but still had to meet a length quota.  There is also a well-documented bug in the game that can bar progress if you do things in a specific order, which required Nintendo to send a patched savefile to players (or, if that wasn't an option, simply restart the game), which is more than a bit odd for a company with such exacting quality standards in their products.

As with most of the Zelda games before it, Skyward Sword reinvents the aesthetics once more, with a brightly-colored visual style inspired by impressionist art.  There is a touch of cel-shading too, though it's nowhere near as overt Wind Waker's and almost very few instances of cartoonish slapstick are involved.  Characters are once again very expressive in their animations, lending a lot of personality despite the lack of voice-over, and bosses are, as ever, enormous and intimidating (with the notable exception of the Sealed Beast, which just looks and acts too goofy to take seriously).   Honestly, my only major complaint is that the whole thing hampered by the Wii's low resolution; this game would look absolutely gorgeous in HD, but when viewed through the port of the system's low resolution and grainy Component output, it definitely loses some of its magic.

So, is Skyward Sword really the worst Zelda game?  I don't think so.  It's definitely one of the series' more odd and experimental entries, with some of those elements definitely working in its favor.  I honestly enjoyed the motion-based combat once I adapted to it (though the focus on using the Motion Plus for literally everything else got old quickly) and the dungeons, puzzles, enemies, aesthetics and overall world-building remain as strong as ever.  However, many elements of Skyward Sword's design feel underdeveloped and/or underutilized, making it feel like it's simply not living up to its full potential, and that's a pretty grievous sin for a franchise that is almost uniformly praised for its games' immaculate quality.  What we get is far from a bad game, but one that could definitely benefit a lot from an HD upgrade and mechanical retooling along the lines of those received by other entries in the series.

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Wii, Switch
Released: 2011, 2021
Recommended Version: The Switch version retains the motion controls if you use the Joycons, but you also have the option to use the Pro Controller.  It's not without some odd choices, though - you swing your sword by flicking the right stick (with left-right-left or up-down-up inputs for spin attacks) and have to hold the L button to rotate the camera, which took me a bit to get used to.  Other improvements include running at a higher resolution and framerate (900p and 60 FPS), an autosave feature, skippable cutscenes and shorter tutorials, and the ability to use a special Amiibo to instantly transport between the sky and the surface (a controversial addition for sure).  Still, the Switch remaster is a major improvement over the original Wii version.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

The Nintendo 3DS saw updated rereleases of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, but A Link Between Worlds marked the first original outing for the series on the platform and was a throwback title in many ways, being very heavily based on Link to the Past.  But does it prove to be another worthwhile title in the Zelda line, or is it just one you can safely avoid?

The Nintendo DS is a highly-acclaimed system among fans, but its shortcomings were evident right out of the gate; lacking any kind of analog control hampered the port of Super Mario 64 on the console, forcing gamers to make do with either the D-pad and a run button or just the clumsy method of trying to utilize the touch-screen for movement in 3D space; neither of which was particularly great.  The Zelda games on the platform were similarly hampered, relying instead on stylus-based movement and mechanics; while it worked considerably better there considering the top-down viewpoint those games utilized for the most part, it still left most people wanting for a more traditional setup.

Fortunately, the 3DS addressed this flaw straight away, giving players an analog stick to utilize that would allow for some more seamless ports of the two Nintendo 64 Zeldas (both with a plethora of added features), as well as some new games in the series that could make full use of the system's features.  A Link Between Worlds was the first of the new Zelda games on the platform, and it went in hard trying to appeal to long-time series fans, bringing the overall world design and aesthetic of Link to the Past to a 3D engine (in fact, in Japan, it was billed as a direct sequel to that game, having the subtitle title "Triforce of the Gods 2" in reference that region's title).  This may have felt a bit pandery to some, but as LTTP is one of my favorite games of all I time, I certainly wasn't going to complain.

I'm certainly happy with the way it was handled, too.  While the overall feel and layout is similar (retaining almost all of the dungeons and respective themes as well), a lot was done to make Link Between Worlds a distinct game in its own right.  The most prominent of these is a new gameplay element that allows Link to flatten himself against a wall, becoming a 2D art piece that can move horizontally across unbroken surfaces; this proves to be a clever mechanic as it lets you reach new areas, evade attacks or sneak up on some foes to hit them from behind, as well as seeing integration into many of the game's puzzles.

The game's structure is also heavily reworked; in fact, unlike Link to the Past, it's almost an entirely non-linear experience, letting you visit virtually any place in both the light and dark worlds (here rebranded "Hyrule" and "Lorule") at your leisure and complete dungeons in almost any order.  Fitting this, dungeons have a relatively "item-neutral" philosophy of design, requiring few (or no) special pieces of equipment to complete them.  Similarly, dungeon treasures are relatively limited, mostly just being varying quantities of Rupees; key items are instead acquired at a central shop from Ravio, where one can pay a small amount of Rupees to "rent" them (which causes them to be taken away if Link dies), or pay a larger sum in order to keep them permanently.

Items are similarly reworked as well.  While several series staples remains (Bombs, Bow, Boomerang, bottles for carrying various potions and items), a couple new ones appear as well.  The Sand rod lets Link create raised platforms on any sandy surface, while the Tornado rod will launch Link into the air, letting him reach higher platforms and stun nearby enemies.  Nearly every item now also has a "Nice" variation, generally granting more powerful effects, that can be unlocked by finding "Maiamais" and bringing them to Mother Maiamai.  This can make some mundane items into surprisingly deadly weapons; the Lantern, for example, the Nice Boomerang grants increased throwing range and speed, and up to three can be thrown at a time.  Perhaps as a suble nod to Link to the Past, where the bug net could be used to deadly effect against Agahnim, the Super Net also deals eight times the damage it normally would, making it into a deadly weapon.  These upgrades aren't always necessary or particularly practical, but they are a always a good bit of amusement, making it worth finding all the Maiamais to try them out.

Most bosses in the game are recognizable parallels Link to the Past counterparts, but like everything else in the game, have been reworked to utilize the new mechanics and items.  A few entirely new ones appear as well, like Margomill and Zaganaga, while others are a creative fusion of two familiar series enemies; one prominent example being "Knucklemaster", a fusion between the Wallmaster enemy and the Iron Knuckle.  As per usual for the series, bosses are less about raw combat and more about pattern recognition - finding a means to expose the bosses' weakness and exploit it, which oftentimes requires creative use of your items.

So, is A Link Between Worlds another worthy Zelda game?  I certainly won't argue that it's not.  While it is very obviously based upon a fan favorite game (and even billed as a direct sequel to it in Japan), it does a lot to change things up; dungeons are familiar but remixed enough to keep things fresh, items gets some creative new uses and upgrades, and the overall non-linear design make it an experience you can experiment and play around with at your leisure.  That design decision all but ensured it would be compared to its predecessor (often unfavorably), but I certainly don't regret purchasing and playing through it, as I had a blast every step of the way.

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Released: 2013
Recommended Version: N/A

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019)

Released twenty-six years after the original Game Boy game and twenty-one after the Game Boy Color update, the 2019 remake of Link's Awakening brings it to a new generation with updated visuals, controls and some token new content (and Amiibo support for more of the same).  But does this remake prove worthy for long-time Zelda fans and relative newcomers alike, or is it just one to skip?

I was more than a little surprised when a remake of Link's Awakening was announced for the Switch.  Being a big fan of the original (it being the first Zelda game I ever owned, and I still have that very same copy to this day) and it also being regarded as one of the best Game Boy games and Zelda games of all time, it seemed like the epitome of an unnecessary thing for Nintendo to do.  But of course, being a dedicated follower of the series, I went and picked it up on launch day to see how the game ultimately came out.

Thankfully, the game did still make a good impression on me, even at first glance.  The visual style has naturally been updated to take advantage of the Switch's 3D capabilities, and it honestly looks very nice - the colors are bright and vibrant, and despite the dimensional shift, the characters, environmental objects and overall style are surprisingly faithful to the simplistic but charming Game Boy style.  Cel-shading is surprisingly not utilized, but the characters do still move in an exaggerated, stretch-and-squash cartoon style that translates over surprisingly well from 2D sprites and perfectly suits the more humorous tone of the game.

The remake does take advantage of the more powerful hardware in other ways too.  The game is no longer broken up into distinct "screens" with a pause and manual scroll between them, though oddly the game still treats it as such - enemies will not follow Link beyond the area in which they spawn, and bushes, trees and holes will reset once Link ventures far enough from them (generally just enough to scroll them out of the camera's view).  Having more buttons available does significantly streamline the gameplay, with the sword and shield being available at all times (via the B and R buttons respectively) and being able to equip two other buttons to the X and Y buttons to use as needed.  Additionally, once once gets the Power Bracelet, one can just press A to lift and throw items without needing to equip it, and the Pegasus Boots are always mapped to L, resulting in a lot less inventory management on the whole.  The map screen comes with a few new features too, allowing the player to mark specific places so that they can more easily remember to come back later when they have the proper item to solve a puzzle, automatically tracks seashells and heart pieces that the player has collected, and even snippets of dialog can be replayed to remind them of their current objective.  And of course, for those seeking a greater challenge, the modern Zelda trope of "Hero Mode", causing Link to take double damage and enemies to no longer drop hearts, is available right from the start.

I was also quite surprised at how much remains similar to the original game - not just in terms of visual design, but in the behavior of enemies and mechanics.  A few do have subtle differences (blocking enemies swords will knock them back and stun them a moment for an easier hit) and some of the bosses have been reworked to be more challenging, but for the most part they're very faithful to their Game Boy counterparts.  The overall layout of the map and dungeons are very similar, though with enough subtle differences to keep long-time players invested, and when things do change, they make sense and work to the game's benefit rather than against it.  There are many more secret seashells to find (and associated rewards for doing so), rupees now drop from enemies in multiple denominations, and there are a few more hidden teleportation spots to discover now, making travel to far stretches of the map considerably more efficient.  Acorns of Defense and Pieces of Power still spawn under the same conditions, but are somewhat toned down in effectiveness, lasting about 30 seconds rather than vanishing after the player takes more than a few hits.

The side-quests of the original Link's Awakening have seen substantial upgrades too.  The fishing and crane games have been substantially reworked to have more depth and provide more rewards, and the color dungeon does make a return as well, letting the player get a significant boost to their attack or defense (but not both), and they even went to the trouble of integrating its visual style better into the overall aesthetic.  But the main draw is a new minigame led by Dampe the gravekeeper (first seen in Ocarina of Time), where one builds their own custom dungeons out of parts that are found, purchased, won in other minigames or just earned by completing pre-made dungeons in the game.  This lets you earn a bit of extra reward by completing pre-made challenges, or just save your own custom-built dungeons to Amiibos to challenge your friends with later.  And while it's ultimately not a huge addition to the experience, it does add a bit more longevity and replay value to the game.  It does effectively add a bit more purpose to the in-game shop too, as some dungeon tiles can only be found there by shelling out a significant amount of cash.

I do have some small nitpicks, though.  First being that the game controls much the same as its Game Boy counterpart with eight-directional movement, yet does not support the D-pad - only the analog stick.  I personally didn't have any issue with this, but I can see why some wouldn't like it.  More pressingly, though, the game does have a somewhat inconsistent framerate, with more busy areas of the map causing frame drops as the player moves through them.  Both of these may be addressed through later patches, though it is a bit strange to see them in a first-party Nintendo game, let alone a Zelda title.

But while I was skeptical at first, and personally I would have preferred to see one of my least-favorite Zelda games be remade instead - possibly the Oracle games or even the DS games - the 2019 Link's Awakening proved to be a worthy undertaking.  It keeps the original's design and charm largely intact while adding enough tweaks and side-content in to keep younger and older gamers alike engaged, and it's handled with the same care and attention Nintendo always gives to their beloved franchises.  Ultimately it's far from the most necessary of remakes, but I am glad to say it does the original game's legacy justice.  And hey, maybe we'll see a few of the underdog Zelda games get attention like this in the future if this remake proves to be a hit.

Developer: Nintendo EPD, Grezzo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Switch
Released: 2019
Recommended Version: N/A

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The Zelda franchise's first outing on the Game Boy had a lot to live up to, particularly as it was on a less-powerful platform than other games in the series.  But did Link's Awakening provide a good time for fans of the series, or is this just the series' first black sheep?

The handheld wars were beginning to kick into high gear in the '90s, with Nintendo easily taking the lead with a system that sported strong battery life, a surprisingly good library of games and, of course, being packaged with one of the most popular games of all time in Tetris certainly didn't hurt its appeal either.  But with the Atari Lynx and Sega Game Gear soon joining the fray, Nintendo had to compete with two systems that sported color graphics, backlights and respectable libraries of their own.  Naturally, they would turn to one of their most beloved franchises to answer that call, promising a Zelda adventure that would be exclusive to the Game Boy, but provide no less fun and content than its console counterparts. 

Thus came Link's Awakening, and to nobody's great surprise, it provided another worthy adventure in spite of the system's limited palette and graphical resolution.  While slightly restricted in design (being once again broken up into distinct, non-scrolling "screens" that load individually and not having the wider, open-world feel of the second or third Zeldas), you certainly weren't hurting for content.  The game's world is a vast one with a plethora of hidden secrets, NPCs to interact with and a wide variety of enemies who each require their own distinct strategies to deal with, and almost every screen has something interesting to see or interact with - very few don't have something distinct about them.  The world had just as much variety as its console counterparts too, with locations like a swamp full of carnivorous flowers, a mountaintop with falling boulders, a desert and a maze of rivers and waterfalls that serves as a minigame later in the quest.

Awakening has considerably fewer pieces of equipment to utilize than Link to the Past, but it ultimately gets more mileage out of the ones it has.  While LTTP's items often had specific uses and saw little function beyond a handful of places in the game, almost every item in Link's Awakening can be used in numerous ways, and can even have their effects combined together to create new ones.  For example, the shield must now be manually activated by assigning it to a key and pressing a button, but is generally more useful, blocking most every attack Link endures from the front and even being able to flip some enemies over to make them vulnerable to attack. Roc's Feather allows Link to jump over small gaps, but also serves its purpose in battle by letting him hop over enemies and attack them from a more advantageous position.  When combined with the Pegasus Boots, he can leap over gaps that are three squares wide instead of just one and reach areas he couldn't before.  Combining the Boots and sword lets Link smash through certain types of blocks and plow through enemies for heavy damage, and my personal favorite: Combining the bomb and the bow causes Link to fire a bomb-tipped arrow that explodes on impact and deals heavy damage.

Link's Awakening's dungeons also distinct.  While they do retain the theming seen in Link to the Past, it's not nearly as prominent - you see ice puzzles, for example, but not really a full-fledged ice-themed dungeon.  There is a water-themed dungeon and a lava-themed dungeon, but they don't really factor too heavily into the enemy designs and puzzles, instead mostly just serving as obstacles for the most part (and having bosses based on the theme).  What truly sets them apart is that they're fairly bizarre by Zelda standards, working in not just some sidescrolling platforming stages (taking the place of the nondescript tunnels from the first game), but actually having cameos from other Nintendo properties appear in them  Goombas, Thwomps and Piranha plants from the Mario games appear, with Goombas in particular providing a cute easter egg in that they will always drop a heart if Link defeats them by stomping on their heads with the Roc's Feather.  Kirby, surprisingly, also makes an appearance as a fairly dangerous enemy in the later stages, being immune to Link's sword and able to swallow him whole for significant damage.  Even Wart from Mario 2 makes a cameo as a prominent NPC, teaching Link an ocarina song he will need to finish the game.  Basically, Nintendo took the concept of a Zelda game set in a 'dream world' and ran with it by letting their game break the fourth wall a bit, which adds to its off-beat charm.

Link's Awakening's aesthetics take advantage of this too, with the exaggerated character designs and expressive animations giving even the mudane NPCs a lot of personality and a distinct feel not seen in earlier Zelda games.  Some animated cutscenes appear throughout the plot (moreso in the DX version of the game), adding a slightly more cinematic feel.  Even little touches like the Piece of Power making your sword flash on the HUD and changing the music to a more fast-paced, energetic theme contribute to the style, giving the game an overall energetic mood to compensate for its lack of color.  And of course, as per Nintendo's high standards toward all of their games, but Zelda in particular, the music is excellent, conveying a strong atmosphere of a grand adventure in a strange and captivating fantasy world, and a truly sinister feel to the dungeons and bosses.

So in short, being released on a system with much more limited graphical and technological capabilities did very little to weaken Zelda's charm.  With its expressive animations, highly polished gameplay and a world that is both bizarre and captivating, Link's Awakening provided just as much of a worthwhile adventure as any of its console counterparts of the time.  It may not be as highly-regarded as Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time among Zelda games from the 1990s, but it's just as good as they are, if not moreso.  Very highly recommended.

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, 3DS Virtual Console
Released: 1993, 1998, 2011
Recommended Version: I personally have more attachment to the original version, being the first Zelda game I actually owned, but the DX version is well-regarded by many, featuring color graphics, a new dungeon that grants one of two armors when completed (boosting Link's attack or defense) and some Game Boy Printer functionality, letting the player print pictures of various new scenes they can encounter.  This is also the version that was released on the 3DS Virtual Console.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Zelda franchise's third entry made the leap to the new generation and became the first (and only) Legend of Zelda on the Super Nintendo.  But does Link to the Past successfully capture the magic of its predecessors, or does it just stop short?

It would be a while yet before the franchise moved away from the gold-colored motif on the boxes

Link to the Past was of course one of the most anticipated games when the Super Nintendo was first announced; the first two Zelda games being as popular as they were, it was little surprise that Nintendo would want to keep one of their most popular franchises going.

They certainly made every effort to have it take advantage of the new hardware, too.  While the first two Zelda games were relatively light on storytelling with only a minimum of in-game dialog, Link to the Past makes efforts to have its world feel like a living, dynamic place.  The game is now replete with NPCs with numerous pages of dialog apiece, and the world as a whole feels much more alive, with locations like a sprawling lake (fed by a river and waterfalls), fields full of grass and bushes (which the player can cut down with their sword), a foggy forest with a shadowy canopy overhead (complete with parallax effect) and even a desert with cacti, vultures and bleached bones.  While previous Zelda games (2 in particular) had similar locales, the player didn't get to see and interact with them on anywhere near the same level.

Storytelling for the series has taken a definite upturn too.  While in the first two games the backdrop for the action was mostly told through the manual (and a number of colorful illustrations therein), Link to the Past instead opts more for an in-game narrative, with a gorgeously-illustrated storybook intro, a running narrative throughout with a few creative twists, and the aforementioned characterizations lending the game an epic, movie-like feel.  This only gets compounded further when one considers the soundtrack, which took full advantage of the SNES' capabilities to deliver an orchestral score that only compounded the cinematic presentation further and lent a lot of emotional weight to all of the in-game locales and events.

As Zelda II's change in gameplay style proved controversial among fans, Link to the Past opted to return to the top-down view and four-directional action of the original game, and even returned many of the familiar enemies that were left out of Zelda II, such as the Like-Likes and Zoras.  Things are certainly not constrained to single-sized square screens, though - maps can scroll both horizontally and vertically, and the world doesn't feel at all like it's built on a static grid, with nicely-rounded corners on cliffs, trees and even a lot of buildings.  Exploration is somewhat more constrained than in the original game, but this lends way to a much greater variety in LTTP's puzzle-solving - by completing dungeons and finding various hidden items, new paths will open and new methods for dealing with almost every enemy will be found.  For example, finding the Power Glove will let the player lift up rocks to open new paths and uncover secrets, while finding the Ice Rod will allow them to freeze enemies, letting them pass by unperturbed.  Others have a variety of effects - using Magic Powder on the normally invincible "Anti-faeries" will turn them into regular Faeries that restore the player's health, while the Flippers enable travel in the water.  The series staple of reusable bottles also debuted here; once the player acquires an empty bottle, they can use it to store purchased potions, captured faeries or even bees that, once released, will attack enemies for a short while before flying off. In total, there are over thirty items to be found in the game - quite a few more than any prior Zelda - and many have multiple purposes, leading to a lot of fun and rewarding exploration and experimentation for the player.

Expanding upon this, after a set point in the game, the player is thrust into the "Dark World" - a twisted mirror of Hyrule whose inhabitants and monsters alike are twisted into new, bizarre forms.  The world itself is in the same state, with a number of subtle changes between the two hindering the player's progress at times (with many open paths in the Light World leading to dead ends in Dark World) and leading to secrets in the other.  For instance, an inaccessible high cliff in the Light world may be a flat piece of land in the Dark world, so if the player warps to the Light world at that point, they can appear atop the cliff and access the item within it.  As in previous Zeldas, uncovering clues and having a keen eye for subtle tells to the location of secrets are key skills to have, both for progression and for finding non-vital but useful items such as Heart Pieces and Bottles.

Link to the Past, like the two games before it, proved to be a monumental success, and it's easy to see why.  Its excellent presentation, epic feel and hugely expanded gameplay and design over the originals made it into something both familiar and very unlike anything seen prior for the franchise.  Its puzzles are many, but never too cryptic to figure out, and its smooth gameplay, creative bosses, enthralling world and overall satisfying design make it a joy to play.   It speaks volumes that, despite playing this game since the 1990s, I've still been finding new mechanics and design elements each time I revisit it, and I've also never once grown bored playing it.  A true masterpiece.

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, Wii Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console, *New* Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, Super NES Classic Edition
Released: 2019
Recommended version: Most later versions of the game are direct ports of the original SNES version, though the GBA version does have some slight changes, most prominently adding Link's voice from the later 3D Zelda games when he swings his sword or takes damage.  This version also has an exclusive multiplayer component called "The Four Swords" where up to four players work together to solve puzzles and defeat bosses in three short dungeons exclusive to this mode.

Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker

The Zelda franchise's third 3D outing went for a softer and more cartoony style while polishing up many of the rougher aspects of the N64 games' design.  But does it prove to be another title worthy of the franchise's name, or does it prove to be a detriment to Zelda's prestige?

Wind Waker naturally met with a lot of anticipation before its release, being the franchise's first outing on the then-new Gamecube.  However, fan reaction in the end was somewhat mixed; while the game carried on the series' format and brought a lot of improvements to the table in terms of its design, its heavy emphasis on sailing across a broad ocean-like environment, rather than the dense land-based worlds of previous Zeldas, met with criticism from fans.

Its visual style met with some controversy too.  In contrast to the realistic, darker aesthetic of the N64 games (which found appeal among older and newer fans alike), Wind Waker was very bright and colorful, with prevalent use of cel-shading to give it a much more cartoonish style.  This is present throughout the game's environments, but especially for the characters, all of whom are very expressive and fluidly animated; Link in particular has some amazing (and downright hilarious) reactions to in-game events, and enemies will often react in exaggerated, comical ways when the player has them at a disadvantage, further adding to the lighter mood.  Still, those who got on board with the series while it was building up its fanbase in a darker place saw this as a step back in some respects.

With the new hardware came a number of gameplay improvements, not the least of which was a fully-controllable camera via the C-stick, making combat and navigation much less cumbersome than in the N64 Zelda titles.  The context-sensitive action button returns, though is considerably less cumbersome than it was in Ocarine of Time and Majora's Mask, making performing precise actions (especially in combat) much simpler.  Link also controls much more smoothly on the whole, with actions like precise turning, jumping and aiming now proving much simpler to pull off.  A fun new combat feature is present in "counterattacks" - with a well-timed press of the A button, the player can have Link perform a special animation to simultaneously dodge an enemy's attack and do a powerful counter-move for heavy damage (though it may not always work - you can still be hit while the animation plays, which can be troublesome as you can't control the exact type of counter you will do).  And of course, the stronger hardware of the Gamecube ensured that the notorious "Nintendo 64 fog" to mask draw distance and keep the framerate steady was no longer present.  In fact, the game as a whole also feels much more cohesive, with almost no instances of visible "loading zones" and the environments feeling much like an open world instead of tightly-packed downs and dungeons.

The improved engine gives way to a number of new ways for Link to interact with his environment as well.  While the old mainstays of bow, bombs and the Hookshot remain, Link can now swing from branches and beams via a grappling hook, drift through the air on a magic leaf (and ride updrafts to gain altitude) and even use a unique take on the Boomerang that can lock on up to five targets, and will actually strike said targets in the same order the player locks onto them.  The sailing aspect ties into this as well, allowing for surprisingly smooth navigation between islands, through a number of obstacle courses, and even cannon battles with pirates and outposts.

The sailing does prove to be a detriment in some ways, though, primarily because you're doing so much of it over the course of the game; getting from place to place does take quite a while at times.  There are at least attempts to mitigate this by giving you a fast-travel option after a certain point in the story, and the HD version on the Wii U even goes a step further by allowing you to purchase the "Speed Sail", which lets you travel 50% faster than normal and even automatically adjusts the wind to always be at your back.  Still, you'll be doing quite a lot of travelling across open seas if you're going for full completion, especially as most of the items in the game can only be found by following "treasure maps" to specific locations and dropping your grappling hook to fish them up from the depths.  While I personally didn't mind this in either version of the game (and found it quite fun, especially with the sheer variety of locations to visit, enemies to face and secrets to discover), those more used to land-based exploration may not like it as much.

One thing I do take issue with, though, is the game's overall difficulty.  Simply put, Wind Waker is almost insultingly easy; outside of dungeons, enemies almost never do more than a quarter of a heart of damage per hit, and until late in the game, it's rare that they'll even do more than a single heart there.  Hearts, potions and fairies are plentiful throughout, meaning that you're almost never in danger of running out of health.  The Wii U version attempts to address this with "Hero Mode", which gets rid of heart drops and doubles the damage you take, but I still didn't end up dying once throughout my entire playthrough.  Of course, this is based on the words of someone who has been playing Zelda since the early 1990s, so your mileage may vary a bit, but this is definitely one of the easiest Zelda experiences I've had.

Despite a few shortcomings, though, Wind Waker was a huge leap forward for the series not just in terms of aesthetics, but design.  With its near-seamless game world, huge environments, creative levels and boss battles and a downright awe-inspiring storybook aesthetic throughout, Wind Waker is just as fun to watch as it is to play.  It's no easy task to take a beloved 2D franchise and make it work in the third dimension, and while I was still ambivalent about the franchise's future after playing OOT and Majora's Mask, the sheer amount of refinement Wind Waker had over those games made me a believer that a 3D Zelda could feel just as fluid and polished as its 2D entries.

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Gamecube, Wii U
Released: 2002, 2013
Recommended Version:  The Wii U version features a number of improvements over the original release, allowing the player to utilize the gamepad to quickly manage their inventory and view the world map in real-time as they navigate the sea.  Some animations (such as the grappling hook and crane) are now much faster, some quests streamlined (particularly the unpopular quest where one must track down pieces of the Triforce) and there are a few new features like the aforementioned Speed Sail and the Tingle Bottle (which lets the player take screenshots and post them to Miiverse).  On the whole, a significantly more streamlined and entertaining experience than the original release.