Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Review - A 3DS Triumph

🖼️ Introduction — A Return to Hyrule, and a Quiet Revolution

🗡️ This review is part of our The Legend of Zelda Hub — every mainline game reviewed and rated, plus the movies and the LEGO Zelda sets, all in one place.

Some sequels arrive two years later; A Link Between Worlds arrived twenty-two years later, and it was worth the wait. A direct 3DS follow-up to the SNES masterpiece A Link to the Past, it returns to the very same Hyrule map, generations on, and then proceeds to be one of the smartest, freshest games the series has ever produced. It honours its beloved predecessor while quietly tearing up one of Zelda’s oldest rules — and in doing so, it sketched the blueprint for Breath of the Wild years before that game arrived. For the Dadnology community, this is an effortless 10/10, and one of the finest handheld Zeldas ever made.

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo 3DS) (opens in a new tab)

The 3DS original — the only way to play, with the wall-merging mechanic and the lovely stereoscopic 3D depth effect intact. Playable on all 3DS systems.

What makes it remarkable is that it is, on the surface, the most traditional-looking Zelda imaginable — top-down, item-driven, set on a nostalgic map — and yet underneath it is one of the most radical. Two ideas drive it: a brilliant new traversal mechanic that turns walls into a playground, and a structural revolution that hands you the keys to the whole adventure almost from the start. The result is brisk, joyful, and deceptively forward-thinking.

A Return to a Beloved Map

The first thing that hits any A Link to the Past fan is the map. This is the same Hyrule, lovingly recreated and updated, set generations after the SNES classic. The thrill of recognition is immediate and warm — there is the Sanctuary, there is Death Mountain, there is the layout you knew by heart, now rendered with 3DS polish and clever depth. For returning players it is a beautiful piece of fan service done with real care, a homecoming rather than a retread.

Crucially, it is not just nostalgia. The familiar overworld gets a dark mirror once again — this time Lorule, a crumbling, corrupted parallel kingdom that serves the same structural role the Dark World did in the original, while telling its own distinct, melancholy story. Returning to a place you love and then discovering its tragic shadow gives the game an emotional resonance that a brand-new map could not, and it threads the connection to its predecessor through the whole adventure.

Wall-Merging: The Genius New Mechanic

The signature idea is pure Nintendo: Link can merge into walls, flattening himself into a painting and sliding along any vertical surface. It sounds simple and it is anything but. Suddenly walls are not barriers but pathways — you slip through cracks too thin to walk through, cross gaps as a 2D image, round corners that have no floor, and view the world’s geometry from an entirely new angle.

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The home of the modern Zelda era — where the open-world freedom this game pioneered reached its full form in Breath of the Wild.

It transforms puzzle design. Dungeons are built around thinking in two planes at once — the floor you walk and the walls you can become part of — and the “aha” moments come thick and fast as you learn to read every room for merge-able surfaces. It also pairs beautifully with the 3DS’s stereoscopic depth, which gives the wall-merging real spatial clarity. It is one of the most original mechanics in the entire series, and the game wrings an astonishing amount of clever, satisfying play out of it.

The Item-Rental Revolution

Here is where A Link Between Worlds quietly changes everything. For its entire history, Zelda had gated progress behind items: each dungeon gave you one new tool, which you then needed for the next area, locking you into a fixed order. A Link Between Worlds throws that out. Near the start, a merchant named Ravio sets up shop in your house and lets you rent or buy almost every item in the game right away.

The consequence is profound: with the tools in hand, you can tackle the dungeons in almost any order you choose. The world opens up, the sense of agency soars, and the game trusts you to chart your own path. It is a radical break from decades of Zelda tradition — and, in hindsight, an unmistakable preview of the open-ended freedom Breath of the Wild would build its entire identity around four years later. That a humble 3DS game pioneered this philosophy is a big part of why it deserves a 10. It is genuinely ahead of its time.

Pace, Polish and the Joy of Freedom

Beyond its two big ideas, A Link Between Worlds is simply a brilliantly made game. It moves at a wonderful clip — there is no hand-holding, no bloated tutorial, no padding. It respects your time and your intelligence, dropping you into a world full of secrets and then getting out of your way. After the guided sprawl of some console entries, that briskness is a tonic.

The dungeons are uniformly excellent, the combat is fast and responsive, and the new energy-meter system (your items draw from a recharging gauge rather than consuming finite ammo) keeps the freedom flowing — you never have to stop and farm for arrows or bombs. Everything is in service of momentum and player choice. The whole package has the feel of a master craftsman revisiting their most famous work and finding it somehow even tighter the second time around. It is Zelda design at its most confident and economical.

Availability: A 3DS Original

The practical reality mirrors the other handheld entries. A Link Between Worlds is a Nintendo 3DS title, built around the system’s two screens and especially its stereoscopic 3D, which gives the wall-merging its spatial pop. It is playable across all 3DS-family hardware, and that is where it lives — there is no Switch port, and the design leans enough on the 3D effect that a straight re-release would lose something.

That makes it a slightly more deliberate game to seek out than a Switch title, but 3DS systems are plentiful and affordable second-hand, and this is one of the very best reasons to own one. If you already have a 3DS gathering dust, A Link Between Worlds alone justifies charging it back up. It is a game perfectly matched to its hardware, and all the better for it.

Replay Value and the Joy of a Tight Adventure

There is a particular pleasure in a game that knows exactly how long it should be, and A Link Between Worlds is a masterclass in it. At twelve to eighteen hours it is tight — no filler, no padding, no overstaying its welcome — and that economy is a feature, not a shortcoming. Every dungeon earns its place, every secret feels deliberately placed, and the brisk pace means you are always making meaningful progress. For a dad whose gaming time comes in fragments, that respect for your hours is worth a great deal.

It also rewards going back. The item-rental freedom means a second playthrough can unfold in a completely different order, and the game layers in collectibles, upgrade quests and a hard “Hero Mode” for those who want more. The streamlined energy-meter system, which lets you use items freely without hoarding ammo, keeps even repeat runs flowing smoothly. It is the kind of game you finish and immediately think fondly of, the sort you happily revisit every couple of years the way you might reread a favourite short novel.

That combination — brevity, freedom and polish — is exactly why it lands a 10 despite its modest length. It is not trying to be the biggest Zelda; it is trying to be a perfect one, and within its chosen scope it very nearly is. In an era of bloated open worlds, there is something genuinely refreshing about a game this confident in doing exactly enough and not a minute more.

Family Fit: A Brisk, Friendly Adventure to Share

A Link Between Worlds is a lovely one for families. It is rated E10+ with only mild fantasy combat, its bright top-down style is clear and appealing, and crucially its brisk pacing and lack of hand-holding suit kids who get bored of long tutorials. The wall-merging mechanic is intuitive and delightful — children take to the “become a painting” idea instantly and love spotting where to use it.

The item-rental freedom is a quiet bonus for young players, too: being able to choose which dungeon to tackle next gives a kid a real sense of agency rather than being marched down a corridor. The 3D effect adds a little extra magic on the handheld screen. Whether a child plays it themselves or you puzzle through the wall-merging dungeons together, it is a friendly, fast, rewarding introduction to top-down Zelda — and a natural follow-up to sharing A Link to the Past.

Do I need to play A Link to the Past first?

It is not required, but it adds a lot. A Link Between Worlds is set on the same Hyrule map, generations later, so returning players will recognise locations and feel the connections. It stands alone as a complete adventure, but playing A Link to the Past first deepens the experience.

What is the wall-merging mechanic?

Link can flatten himself into a painting and move along walls. It opens up an entire dimension of spatial puzzles — slipping through cracks, crossing gaps as a 2D image, and seeing the world from a new angle. It is the game’s signature idea and one of the cleverest mechanics in the series.

Why is the item-rental system a big deal?

Instead of finding items one per dungeon, you rent or buy almost every tool from a merchant near the start. This means you can tackle the dungeons in nearly any order you like — a radical break from Zelda’s traditional linear gating, and an early preview of the open freedom Breath of the Wild later embraced.

Where can I play A Link Between Worlds today?

It is a Nintendo 3DS title, playable on all 3DS-family systems. Its wall-merging puzzles and stereoscopic 3D were designed around the 3DS, and it has not been re-released on Switch, so 3DS hardware remains the way to play it.