A Link Between Worlds - Underappreciated?

[Terminalprp]

I loved it! I really appreciate how difficult it is to take a familiar world and transform it by merely changing a couple of game mechanics. It's like being a musician and creating something new while using chords and structures that have existed for years, and that's even harder when trying to transform your own songs. ALBW did that for ALTTP in spades!

 

[MW7]

Pretty much every hand held Zelda doesn't get the attention that the console games do. I agree that ALBW is an exceptionally good Zelda game though. The compromise between an open world and still having structure was very well executed.

 

[Din.Farore.Nayru]

It might not be a favorite of YouTuber's, etc but ALBW definitely got love from the critics, and I think it will be remembered positively. Out of the more recent handheld games, it's received the most critical acclaim. It was the second best reviewed 3DS game of 2013 behind only Fire Emblem Awakening and the fourth best reviewed 3DS game of all time. It's the ninth first-party Nintendo 3DS title to surpass 1 million units sold in the United States.

Some called it the best handheld Zelda in 20 years. Others praised its innovative approach.

I don't really think it's underrated. I think it's the best handheld Zelda in a while (even if its modern counterparts set the bar fairly low), and I personally I think it's received plenty of praise and recognition.

 

[MeltedNoodlez]

albw was a really good game and is my favorite handheld game.

 

[ToonJake]

I think this game is one of the best in the series. The good handheld ones seem to be underappreciated. The Oracle games always seem to rank surprisingly low on Zelda lists.

 

[Emrys412]

It's a great game, and was ranked highly in reviews. I just don't think that many people played them.

 

[Cartoonmaniac]

I have never played ALTTP, so ALBW felt like something completely new to me! Before, I had only just started my Zelda craze, playing WW and TP, so 2D Zelda was a whole new experience

 

[Zora the Greek]

Perhaps the fact it is a literal sequel in the way most Zeldas aren't means it doesn't immediately come to mind as being a distinct installment when people make those top 10 lists or whatever. It reminds me a little of Phantom Hourglass's relationship with Wind Waker. Wind Waker is "the one on the water" and PH is "the other one on the water." One just sort of naturally neglects it.

 

[Jamie]

No. It's most people's top 5 zeldors

 

[Adventurer of Hyrule]

Its The best 'classic' top down Zelda game, it just doesnt have all the nostalgia older games have since its so recent.

 

[Sicarius]

Ever since playing Alttp I was hoping it would get a sequel or something. ALBW was an instant buy for me and I never regretted it. I enjoyed the mechanic of being able to go into walls. It gave exploration a new face. Also perhaps people didn't like it because the Moldworm is back! Stupid things...pushing me off the ledges all the time....

 

[PuzzleMaster7]

A Link Between Worlds was a great adventure, albeit it a little on the short side. The dungeons were easier in comparison to its predecessors, but I thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. I also was fond of the game's gimmick of merging into walls to explore new places. All in all, the game is one of my favorites on the 3DS.

 

[Seystuff]

IDK, I feel like Link Between Worlds is actually one of the most popular Zelda games. I often have this problem with pokemon games where I think they are not that popular, but it's just that people don't talk so much about their 3DS and the games they have on them, but everyone seems to have one and everyone seems to play pokemon and love LBW.

That said, I don't think the game is flawless by any means, but I do think it's on the list of best zelda games, and very high, mostly because it gets all the most important stuff really well, and recaptures something everyone loves in zelda and that had been needed for quite some time, that is the non-linearity.

A Link Between Worlds was a great adventure, albeit it a little on the short side. The dungeons were easier in comparison to its predecessors, but I thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. I also was fond of the game's gimmick of merging into walls to explore new places. All in all, the game is one of my favorites on the 3DS.

The wall merging mechanic is nothing short of brilliant. When I try to think "main zelda game mechanics" that top or get close to it, I can only think of Majora's Mask time travel mechanic, and it's hard for me to even say which one is better (I would say wall merging in general as it's more integrated in the game and in many smarter ways, but as a single mechanic in and off itself, time traveling in MM). I would even go as far as saying that wall merging has been the best and best implemented game mechanic ever. Period. Though that's just my opinion, and just off the top of my head, I'm subject to changing my mind eventually.

 

[VikzeLink]

I wouldn't say that it's underappreciated, it's just still a bit too new to make it into a lot of lists, especially lists that are older than the game
I just wish Game Grumps would finish their Let's Play of it... They stopped almost a year ago, but they've talked about finishing it at least 2 times while playing other games, so I'm crossing my fingers!

 

[Balzier]

I love this game too, spent so many hours with it. I think it is perfectly at home on the 3DS.