When I say 2D, I mean top down semi-3Dish 2D, as opposed to Ocarina of tIme.
This game is a sequel to the popular game from the SNES, A Link to The Past, it takes many elements that made that game great (Open world exploring, large amount of dungeons) and makes them even better.
This game is the first Zelda game to not have the dungeon items inside the dungeon. In every other Zelda game, the dungeon item would be found about halfway through the dungeon after fighting the mini-boss, the dungeon item would then be used extensively to finish the dungeon, and kill the boss. And depending on the item would be used outside of the dungeon too, some more than others.
This game scraps that idea, you now buy your items from Ravio for 800 or 1200 rupees a piece, then make your way to whichever dungeon you choose. This gives rupees a large use too, typically rupees in Zelda games are either barely used or used to buy some expensive item, in this game rupees are in constant demand, although getting the 15k+ rupees needed to 100% the game is not too hard, those who don't explore and rush will find themselves with a serious rupee problem. The game rewards players with rupees for finding chests in dungeons and the overworld, which goes towards the next item you're trying to buy which works perfectly. Rupees feel like a real use, rather than just stacking up in the hopes of some 4000 rupee heartpiece.
The game rewards those who played the original by having many secrets in Hyrule be the same, though they're not all the same, you will know where some are. This isn't a detriment to new players though, if anything those who didn't play the original will find even more exploration.
Lorule however, the somewhat unoriginal name for the dark world, will be new to everyone, and this is where you'll be spending majority of your time. The game takes place in both Hyrule and Lorule, after the first 3 dungeons of the game, you'll travel to Lorule and you're then free to fully explore and play whichever dungeon you wish, with the exception of one. I won't spoil it but one dungeon requires an item only found after another. It was an interesting twist, switched things up a bit.
There are 10 main dungeons, a final one and a semi-one. Unlike ALLTP where the dungeons could feel a bit samey, they all have a unique theme, there's your standard ice, desert, fire and all that, and a few other more interesting ones. There's a nice variety of dungeons. Dungeon wise, they're all well designed, with floors, another thing not seen much in the original is each floor having levels, although this was in ALLTP, every dungeon has 2 or even 3 levels, making it feel larger. Dungeons are typically 2 floors with a 3rd floor containing the boss. They're long enough, and since you have the item from the start, you get a good use out of it, that said, they could've been a bit longer, I think an extra floor would've made them perfect.
The music is a mixture of ok, decent and fantastic, the dungeon music is mostly good enough, its atmospheric and varied enough that you won't get bored of it. The overworld music is I believe, orchestrated and sounds fantastic, although nothing sounds bad, some sounds better than others. Some of the Dungeon music is plain catchy, others is just random piano keys that add more atmoshpere.
The graphics look beautiful, everything is full of life, arrows fly through the air, the fire rod burns the grass, water looks clear yet slightly opaque, and ripples. The game runs at a constant 60FPS and it's very noticeable, everything feels very fluid and responsive and I never raged because link didn't move or lag killed me. There was only one place in the game I experienced lag, and it was brief.
Items are done quite well too, there's the series staples, so you'll be throwing bombs, shooting arrows and whacking guys with the boomerang, the fire and ice rods return, and are great fun to use, watching the fire rod burn an enemy before flinging it into the air with it clutching it's butt was hilarious to say the least. Items are used with the new Energy Bar, which replaces the Magic Bar, I really love this bar, using an item ill use energy, which refills over time, in previous games I never really used more powerful magic weapons because I wanted to conserve my magic, in this game it gives you loads of options for combat, you can freeze an enemy with the ice rod, burn them with the fire rod, fling them into the air with a new item, the absence of magic also means you won't be leaving dungeons because of a sudden need for magic. Some may say it makes it easier, however yu can only use your weapon a few times before the bar depeletes, don't expect to destroy 20 enemies by spamming the fire rod.
The items can be upgraded using the new hunt for the miamais sidequest, in essence it's this games equivelent of gold skulltalas, every 10 you find you can upgrade a weapon, the upgrades are great, although a few can only be gotten after the item has been used in the dungeon. Finding them all is quite a task, and some of are hidden quite well, expect to slice every bush, and lift every rock if you wish to get all 100.
A new thing coming into this game is the ability to turn into a painting, at first people were skepticle, saying it's a ripoff of paper mario. However this mechanic adds alot to the game, it allows you to move along walls, and enter portals to hop between Lorule and Hyrule, hopping between the worlds is crucial, as Lorule is a mess of islands, and you can't reach everything without warping, the painting mechanic finds its way into every dungeon, and is used in more unique ways, you can slip through bars, avoid attacks, create wall paths and then travel along them. It never feels abused, and each time is used in a new way.
The upgrades previously obtained through sidequest are now in Dungeons, this work great too, the chests typically are a little out of the way, but you'll want to hunt for them.
The maps are easy to use, overworld maps allow you to zoom in and look at things in more detail, you can also use pins to mark an important location, if you come across an area you can't do anything in, stick a pin there and you won't forget. Dungeon maps are also easy to navigate, they show chests and each room, the dungeon map is available from the start, however the official map is needed to reveal treasure chests and your location. There's no compass, it comes with the map.
The story is interesting enough, with a few twists.
Overall, this game is the best 2Dish top down Zelda ever made, it offers close to 20 hours of gameplay and exploration. Difficulty wise the game is not too brutal, enemies take off anything from 1-2 hearts typically, however upon completeing the game, you'll access Hero Mode, which offers 4x damage, those looking for a challenge will find it here, suddenly Keese are doing 2 hearts of damage.
I recommend this game to anyone who loves Zelda.
Overall scores:
Gameplay: 10/10
Music: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Story: 8/10
A few bland tunes and a not too complex story.
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