Two worlds in chaos, and a new villain comes into the picture who wants to wreak havoc on Hyrule and Lorule. Jay Snook reviews The Legend of Zelda’s new game.
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Welcome back to the land of Hyrule. It has been a good many years since fans have seen a new hand held Legend of Zelda adventure, and although this game may look a lot like A Link to the Past, there is enough differences to make it an awesome game. It is a game that everyone can play, and there is little to no violence in it so there is no fear of getting it for your kids.
I have been a fan of the Legend of Zelda series since the first game came out in America in 1987, and since then there have been tons of games on many different systems. There was even a cartoon series for a while that has built a cult following over the years. Most of the time the story is the same, Ganon comes back in some form to wreck havoc in Hyrule and Link is the only person who can traverse all these dungeons and stop his evil plans. In many of these games the Triforce has played a big part, a powerful item left behind by the goddesses, and if someone with a good heart gets it their wishes will come true, but if a person with a dark heart acquires it they can cause destruction to the land. This was seen in the game A Link to the Past, and this new game is a sort of sequel to it. But in many ways it is its own game and it is a blast to play.
The game also has a new villain by the name of Yuga, a sorcerer who seems odd and not that dangerous at first, but the plans they have are very bad. Yuga wants to collect a number of people and turn them into paintings to do some strange task for their master. This not only causes havoc in Hyrule, but forces Link to check out a new land called Lorule that is splitting apart at the seams. Many of the areas are no longer connected, and Yuga has evil plans to bring destruction and ruin to both of the lands if something isn’t done to stop him. Zelda gets turned into a painting, and it is up to Link to stop Yuga’s plans and save his kingdom. Can he save Zelda in time? What plans does Yuga have in store for Hyrule? And why is he turning people into paintings?
There are some familiar locations and bosses, but there are a lot of new ones too. You fight a giant hand, a very strong demon, a huge worm and many other bosses than can be very tough to beat. There are also a few new items like the sand rod that i helps you get to new areas and reach items in many different areas of the game by raising the sand into columns and creating a path to help the player advance in an area or dungeon. The biggest difference, besides the game being in 3D, is a new ability you get early on in the game where you can literally blend into walls. This gives players a chance to not only hide from bosses, but allows you to collect rupees and get to items that you cannot collect any other way. It also helps you get little creatures called Maimais, and when you collect certain amounts and give them to Mother MaiMai she will upgrade many of your items and make them stronger than before. Another cool feature is that you can rent items from a man named Ravio, which is a great way to use many items early in the game, the only drawback is that if you die you lose those items and will have to buy them again. It is an interesting new feature but it works well in this fame, and you have the option later on when you save a lot of rupees of buying the items for good.
The game has amazing graphics, and the player looks down on everything that is going on, which is a great thing for this game. It is also the first game where there really isn’t a set order of the dungeons, you can choose and take on any dungeon whenever you want. As long as you have enough hearts and items, you can give each one a try. In past games, you have to fight the bosses and go in a set direction, so this is an interesting change for the series. It was a little weird to me at first, but over time I did get used to it. There are also plenty of fun side quests like getting pieces of heart to increase your life, and places to acquire new items and abilities to make Link stronger for the challenges that lay ahead. It is a long game, but one that never seems to drag on or get boring.
I had a blast playing this game. It is the best Legend of Zelda handheld game I have ever played, and one of the best games this series has ever come out with. It had a true original story, and jumping between the two worlds was enjoyable each time it happens. The effects when this happens are awesome, and the new villain brought a welcome change that this series has not seen in years. The familiar soundtrack brought me back to older games, and made me very excited to play this one. By the end of the game, I enjoyed every minute of it. If you want to continue once it is over, there is a hard mode you can go through that is very challenging and worth giving a try.
If you are a fan of The Legend of Zelda, you must play this game. If you enjoyed playing A Link to the Past, this is a game you definitely should play. It is a wonderful game, and can be played by Zelda fans of all ages. Go out and buy it, you will not regret it.