Developer/Publisher: Nintendo Released: November 2013

Played on: 3DS, baby!

Within the first 5 minutes of A Link Between Worlds, you are battling your way through a dungeon. The game is immediately familiar but the rapidly smooth animations and complete lack of filler-content is a total shock to the system. There is an immediacy here, an unbridled freedom, a celebration of traversal – a game that in every digital bit of its makeup is a warm embrace of imagination and fun. I spent a whole weekend playing this game with a stupid grin on my face. If you haven’t bought this game already, do so NOW!

By looking to their past, Nintendo have managed to deliver the freshest Zelda title in years. A Link Between Worlds is a sequel to 1992’s A Link to the Past, set six generations later and using the same top-down perspective and Hyrule map of the former classic. A Link to the Past‘s alternative Dark World is paralleled in A Link Between World‘s Lorule (oh, I see what you did there!), an alternative universe where shit went real sour. Fans of the former game will feel immediately at home in this modern Hyrule, but A Link to the Past throws in a bunch of new features that launch it beyond even the heights reached by the original.

A rental store, run by the mysterious purple rabbit-man Ravio, gives protagonist Link access to almost all of the game’s items early on, a stark contrast to previous titles’ long questing through dungeons to unlock the next item you need to progress. Renting from Ravio (and eventually buying it if you can save up the rupees) means you can tackle any of the game’s available dungeons in any order you want! This is a freedom Zelda fans haven’t had in over 20 years, and it works so well it’s hard to imagine the series ever returning to its more linear progression. Combined with A Link to the Past‘s deliberate reluctance to signpost your next destination but providing just enough clues to prevent you from ever being too lost, the game feels like the perfect balance of free exploration and structured plot and dungeon progression. Traversing Hyrule and the treacherous Lorule is such a pleasure that working out where to go next becomes half the fun.

The dungeons themselves are small, but all expertly designed, not a dud among them. A perfect combination of minor baddies, clever puzzles and the ever-enjoyable boss battles. Criticism can be levelled at some of the derivative boss designs and the overall easy nature of the game, but these are minor flaws that you don’t even have time to care about as you venture off to your next discovery.

Lucky I’ve got so many hearts and a full energy meter to deal with this HUGE METROID!

The need to replenish usable items such as bombs and magic is circumvented in A Link Between Worlds by a regenerating Energy Meter. This is another feature that makes the game feel a lot easier but also changes the dynamic of the gameplay, making it faster and more immediate rather than a desperate scrounge for resources.

Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the fact that Link gains an ability to merge with walls, opening up a whole new way to approach dungeon puzzles and discover hidden parts of Hyrule and Lorule. It feels so satisfying to snap in and out of walls, and it soon becomes a tool you use instinctively. Here, the 3D capabilities of the hardware are used wonderfully to provide a real sense of depth, and this is only the second game on the platform where keeping the 3D on truly enhances the gaming experience (the other game was Super Mario 3D Land).

Screenshots of A Link Between Worlds do not do it justice – when seen in full smooth motion on the 3DS screen the game looks remarkable. I found the character design initially a bit odd, but with each new endearing character you meet along the way, the further you are charmed by the game’s irrepressible world and story. Put headphones on to hear one the finest soundtracks in gaming history, and the deal is sealed.

A host of optional upgrades and collectibles keep you exploring both of the games’ realms

After completing the game in 17 hours in a single weekend, I didn’t even blink as I immediately started the game from the beginning again. A Link Between Worlds is an addiction, a beautifully crafted masterpiece reminding us why Nintendo defined so many childhoods.

Verdict: A Link Between Worlds is the distillation of everything you love about the Zelda series, with the chaff shed and some bold new experiments paying off in spades. The best Zelda game in years, and quite possibly my new all-time favourite.

Should Bradley play this: Yes. He should buy a 3DSXL and get this, Mario 3D Land, Fire Emblem & Animal Crossing and never be sad and alone on the train ever again.