A Link to the Past or A Link Between Worlds: Which do you prefer?

[The Dashing Darknut]

I just wanted to know. Of the two games, which one do you prefer? I prefer A Link to the Past because I just generally prefer having a magic meter and getting items in a dungeon over the item stamina and rental items mechanics in A Link Between Worlds. I also just overall find A Link to the Past to be more fun and charming.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

ALBW, I just think its a more fun game overall

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

There are aspects of albw I prefer, but if I could pretend that alttp had a remaster with the same design and style as albw that would be the far better game 10/10 times
I didnt like the item rental, I thought the dungeons didnt deliver on their premises emphatically enough (excepting dark dungeon), and I overall felt that alttp did a much better job of marrying story with gameplay

 

[MW7]

I like both games a lot but prefer ALTTP because I think it has better dungeons. I liked the item rental mechanic as a way to let players do dungeons in a variety of orders, but ALTTP has a lot of player freedom already so ALBW wasn't much of an improvement in that regard anyway.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

A Link to the Past. I'm probably nostalgic, but even tearing away from my nostalgic view I still feel like it's the better game overall. Decent story, plus solid gameplay, and really good dungeons.

A Link Between Worlds has a lot going for it that still makes it unique, despite being a distant sequel set in the same version of Hyrule. But as others have said, I don't think its dungeons stack up in comparison to ALttP, even if I do think ALBW has decent dungeons in its own right.

 

[The Dashing Darknut]

A Link to the Past. I'm probably nostalgic, but even tearing away from my nostalgic view I still feel like it's the better game overall. Decent story, plus solid gameplay, and really good dungeons.

A Link Between Worlds has a lot going for it that still makes it unique, despite being a distant sequel set in the same version of Hyrule. But as others have said, I don't think its dungeons stack up in comparison to ALttP, even if I do think ALBW has decent dungeons in its own right.

I think that the Ice Palace from ALBW was better just because of the fact that it had better ice physics. I also think that Dark Palace in ALBW was better than the one from A Link to the Past because it had a much cooler atmosphere and was overall more interesting. I agree that other than that, A Link to the Past has better dungeons.

 

[Turo602]

I played A Link to the Past for the first time before I played A Link Between Worlds and while I thought it was great, it felt a bit dated after having played something like The Minish Cap years before. Not in any major way, but it definitely felt of its time.

I have no real nostalgia for it either, though had I played it before I played something like Ocarina of Time, my answer would probably be different. But when I played A Link Between Worlds, I just had so much more fun with it. There's so much more to appreciate in it and the art style and 3D graphics just add so much more charm to it.

 

[Uwu_Oocoo2]

I would probably have to go with ALBW. It was a really fun game, not too difficult and simple enough to navigate. In ALttP I've always had trouble trying to get where I'm going, there's never a clear cut route. I love the plot of ALBW, there's a lot of twists that you don't expect until they're staring you in the face and the character of Yuga is fun and interesting. Not to mention the soundtrack, which is very TLoZ meets Final Fantasy in the best way. ALttP is a good game, but I just don't enjoy playing it as much.

 

[CreeperMaster343]

ALBW, i just find it so much more fun than Alttp, characters are more fun, i love the art style, wall merging is one of, if not the best gimmicks in Zelda, this game is the best 2d Zelda IMO. Though i do appreciate what Alttp contributed to the series, and i am very happy i did play Alttp before i played ALBW.

 

[Moblinking5000]

A Link to the Past. I'm probably nostalgic, but even tearing away from my nostalgic view I still feel like it's the better game overall. Decent story, plus solid gameplay, and really good dungeons.

A Link Between Worlds has a lot going for it that still makes it unique, despite being a distant sequel set in the same version of Hyrule. But as others have said, I don't think its dungeons stack up in comparison to ALttP, even if I do think ALBW has decent dungeons in its own right.

This.

Both games are top tier Zelda games for sure, but I'd go with ALttP. To add on to what you said, it was also more challenging than ALBW(yes, even on Hero Mode), has some of the best bosses in the series, introduced many mainstays for both the franchise and lore(The Master Sword, Ganon having once been a man, the Sacred Realm, Malice, etc.), and has some of the best weapons/items in the series.

 

[MapelSerup]

ALttP for sure. This certainly is not an opinion created by nostalgia either, as I played ALBW in my childhood and did not play ALttP until somewhat recently. I enjoy the items, progression, secrets, music, and themes in ALttP more than the other, as well as it establishing much of what was to come. I did however enjoy ALBW's dungeons much more, and the painting mechanic was very cool. ALttP's age counterintuitively made it feel like a breath of fresh air as the Zelda experience was streamlined in the future, and I definitely enjoyed it.

 

[Azure Sage]

I liked ALBW more than ALttP. I did play ALBW first so I don't know if that affected my opinion at all, but I just found it a more enjoyable game. The items and the dungeons were really neat, and the wall merging was a really unique and fun mechanic. Overall I just liked it better. ALttP was definitely worth playing, but it just felt really dated and the hitzones were so wonky to the point it felt like artificial challenge. It was impossible for me to go anywhere without losing half my hearts, so when I'm just trying to find stuff that gets to be a massive pain. Good game, just more frustrating that I'd prefer.

 

[thePlinko]

While I don’t think that LttP was a particularly good title, it was leagues better than LBW.

LBW and TFH are like the New Super Mario Bros of Zelda aesthetically. Everything looks, sounds, and feels generic, and none of it looks good. I can legitimately only think of a single new background track in the entire game.

Nearly every mechanic in LBW is botched in some way. Wall merging was a neat idea, but you can only move in 2 directions making it feel less like a neat tool for exploration and just a way to cross gaps. The stamina meter is literally the worst one in the entire franchise, easily being worse than BotW and SS combined.

None of this would put LBW in my bottom 5 Zelda games if it weren’t for the item rental system. The item rental is literally the worst mechanic in any Zelda game. The entire point of having dungeon items is so the player is motivated to explore the dungeon so they can find the unique new ability. That motivation is no longer here (and it’s not like the dungeons are particularly good either). Now instead you have something you have to farm thousands of rupees for. Why is this ok in LBW but not WW?

TLDR: LttP meh, LBW bad

 

[Hero of Pizza Time]

I prefer A Link Between Worlds. It's one of my favorite games of all time. Triforce Heroes is kinda of meh though (at least by Zelda standards).

 

[Vanessa28]

I only played ALttP once and after ALbW. I don't remember too much of it but I enjoyed ALbW a huge lot. Replayed it many times. So my pick is ALbW because I feel more connected to it