Why Modern Zelda Sucks: A Link Between Worlds

[@ThePlinkster]

So a few of y'all have commented that the background music in this video is really loud. I am sorry about that, and will work on that for future videos. In the meantime I have added full captions to this one for those of you who are unable to understand what I'm saying. I know it's a band-aid solution, but that's the most that I can do short of reuploading the video, which I don't want to do since this is my best performing video by far (thanks for that btw).

[@pagingdoctorsideburns]

I was about to comment something, but, please understand the reason I was going to make the effort was because your production quality is otherwise very good considering your channel is so new! So don't be discouraged!

[@ThePlinkster]

@ thank you!

[@pagingdoctorsideburns]

Thanks for the content :)

[@inverse_of_zero]

You really should reupload; the loud music really ruins the experience. At least provide a link to an alternative version, even if you don't want to publicly release it, it can be hidden and accessible only via URL.

[@KelvinShadewing]

You're making people have to keep their eyes on the screen and preventing multitasking while also sacrificing accessibility to people with poor vision because you want to preserve your metrics? Lame.

[@-DeScruff]

As a kid, finding the items in dungeons was by far my favorite part. LttP, OoT, MM, and I think the Oracle games? My saves looked weird, as I would get the item, then leave the dungeon to play around with the item, often going to the next dungeon and get the item from that one. Even as an adult, in LttP as soon as I get the PowerGlove, the first thing I do is leave the dungeon, so I can get the Flippers, and upgrade the Shield, Boomerang, and get whatever other goodies before I fight twinmold. I remember reading about the item rental in A Link Between Worlds and thinking... "They took away literally the best part of Zelda?".

[@ThePlinkster]

@@-DeScruff It’s odd because that was an intentional aspect of the series for a while. In MM Tatl will even nag at you for doing the dungeons out of order that way. Starting with Windwaker they just decided to not let you do that anymore for whatever reason.

[@Jdudec367]

I mean no there are still dungeon items really and was that the best part? It made figuring out how to defeat the bosses pretty obvious really.

[@SlushRush77]

I never used items like that, but that actually sounds really fun! I also agree with you on A Link Between Worlds, having access to everything whenever is cool in theory, but I just ended up buying everything ASAP and then steamrolling the game.

[@pitshoster401]

7:42 holy shit THANK YOU for actually being able to see through the nuclear levels of gaslighting that's been going on since BotW released. There aren't anywhere near enough of us!

[@ekutyPlays]

Facts!!

[@camplifi3d466]

I definitely do not prefer breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom and they are not my favorite zelda games but i definitely did enjoy them

[@orions2908]

100% agree with you that the whole "skyward sword flopped because people were tired of the formula" argument only became a thing retroactively after botw released Skyward sword is a deeply flawed game but the formula is the one thing it didn't fuck up. Everyone who's played it always says the dungeons were the highlight of the game because of how well designed they were

[@ThePlinkster]

I wouldn't even say that Skyward Sword "flopped" per se. It sold incredibly well given the circumstances of its release.

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

Yeah you are right about that. Skyward Sword has its issues but its dungeons are all amazing. Definitely some of the best in the series.

[@devonm042690]

Personally my biggest problem with Skyward Sword is that with only three overworld areas the parts of the game between the dungeons become same-y. Especially in the third act where there are no dungeons to break up the overworld traversal. Even with the little things done to shake up the monotony slightly such as Faron Woods extending into a lake, the stealth section in the midst of a terrain-changing eruption, and the Sand Sea, it's just not enough.

[@cherubin7th]

Agree, SS is actually disliked because it broke some of Zelda's formula. The older games were not that annoying and handholding.

[@midnightcoffee6463]

Yeah, I remember that in 2011 it was the motion controls in reality that most people were mad about with SS

[@stefanssmellsvictory105]

Nintendo get away with this because people shower their games with perfect scores when first released, and people only critique them 5-10 years later, once they've made their treasure chest of money. Everyone was giving Breath of the Wild 10/10 when first released. The few of us who immediately pointed out it's flaws were met with countless interactions from people saying that we didn't want change, evolution, etc. Honestly, until fans learn to look at things from a critical view from the very beginning, these latest, lesser Zeldas are probably what most fans deserve.

[@giganticmoon]

purists like you need to stop being overly cynical, and others need to quit mindlessly praising games. all zelda games are good, you can’t argue with that, but when you nitpick all this shit, it really tells me that you need to learn how the world works.

[@RueLangston]

You might be right, but from an outsider's perspective it looked like it was the opposite was happening until breath of the wild. Majora's mask was too different, Wind Waker looked too kiddish, Twilight Princess was too similar to Ocarina of Time, etc... But then after a couple years everyone starts praising those games. It looks like the Zelda fanbase just kinda sucks either way😅 me personally, I think every game in the mainline series has some level of enjoyment to it

[@giganticmoon]

@@RueLangston the guy is the problem.

[@giganticmoon]

@@RueLangston i agree

[@zerothehero.takeasip6612]

Not even a zelda fan but to add to what you say at around the 7 minute mark. The whole thing of people dunking on an old style of a franchise after an entry in that same franchise releases and shakes things up is unfortunately pretty common with mainstream discourse. Look at God of war, people started shitting on the old games cause they weren´t like the new games even though the classics are pretty beloved. Honestly it just feels like the average person just only cares about the new thing with no criteria of their own and has to resort to shitting on old stuff to justify playing the new. A bit of a pessimistic take but you can´t tell me it doesn´t line up with what happened with both Zelda and GOW, which arguably got worse with their reinventions despite adding some cool concepts, yet are universally praised by the wider public.

[@billx6545]

I think the idea of the formula being "overdone" and the need to change honestly is something Aonuma has pushed himself on several occasions. And that sort of spilled over into the cummunities. He pretty much told everybody Twilight Princess was going to be the last of it's kind. He's also be adamant about the "it's just a video game guys who cares about story and world building" Approach to games. I dunno it just seems to me that he got tired of making these game after Wind Waker. and he probably believes if the series isn't doing something new it's not worth it. He didn't want to do a link between worlds, and only became interested when the wall merging was invented. And I'm betting Link's Awakening on the switch wasn't his idea either. The guy is integral to Zelda for sure, but I feel he prevents the series from being itself as well.

[@jacobjude6319]

I frikin love A Link Between Worlds, the jump into walls mechanic, the (kind of but not really) remake of A Link to the Past. It’s just so fun, although my favorite 2D Zelda is Minish Cap 😅

[@ThePlinkster]

That's great! I'm not trying to tell anyone that they're wrong for liking this game, I just wanted to share why I personally don't think its a very good entry.

[@zenithquasar9623]

Same!!! I just wanted a little more of A Link Between Worlds, but still loved it so much!

[@kaboomslays6028]

To be honest I really hated breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom since it completely scrapped the old routine of the older games, like in the older games you get all your tools through out the game, but then the new ones just gives you all your tools straight at the start

[@TheJadeFist]

About items, you complain about having them from the start rather than finding them in the dungeons. Yes you can buy or rent them from the start (most), but you didn't even mention that you can upgrade them. Through the whole game you're collecting money to buy them out, and finding Maiomais to upgrade items you like, and you're free to pick which you upgrade, but there's a sense of discovery in simply seeing what they upgrade into and maybe deciding to keep that as your main weapon and exploring the new way they function. In the dungeons, you find upgrade materials, so it's still worth exploring, maybe it'll be another ore piece you need to upgrade your sword again, or a personal power upgrade, or a stamina upgrade. There's still stuff in there that is compelling and worth exploring for. The whole game is constantly rewarding you for exploring. Sure eventually you don't need the rupees anymore, but most Zelda games have that issue, so w/e. Of course you also chose to skip upgrading anything for extra challenge if you wanted, or lack of patience.

[@bgc1081]

ALBW made exploration much more meaningful and rewarding than any of the games that came afterwards (and arguably before too) so I'd say that's a huge advantage this game has despite of some of it's flaws.

[@DiamondDM13]

I never played Link World. Are serious? Items are just rented? Omg...

[@nebuladog]

That bit about BOTW seeming to have something more interesting over the horizon that never actually comes is so true. I thought the 4 divine beasts were a warm up to the main plot and dungeons, and I was so excited to see what came next (going into the game almost completely blind) I thought they were passing far too quickly to be the main focus. About halfway through the game I realized they *were* the main focus and simply thought, "That's it?" Great video, super informative for someone like me who hasn't played A Link Between Worlds yet (and doesn't have any means to). Items not being utilized outside of their respective dungeons is bad enough in any Zelda game, but buying the items is crazy, it really does remove a lot of the mystery and adventure that a dungeon is supposed to create.

[@devonm042690]

And the biggest problem is, the design of Hyrule Castle in BotW shows that they could translate traditional dungeon layouts well into BotW's free-roam gameplay style. Then they managed to screw even that up in Tears of the Kingdom.

[@nezuminora9528]

People born in 2001 shouldn't be allowed to be 23. It makes me a legitimately old boomer

[@ThePlinkster]

@@nezuminora9528 hah, don’t worry, It’ll happen to me someday too.

[@Orange_Swirl]

Hahaha old.

[@enzoforgets9456]

As a 23 year old can we compromise and move the date further to 2005? I already feel old so it counts right?

[@Amferam]

Our perception of old has been screwed by the internet. People in their late 20’s and thirties think their old when they’re not.

[@wolfzend5964]

​@@Amferam To be fair, a hundred or so years ago, 30s and 40s were considered "old." Technology and modern medicine just bumped up life expectancy by a few decades.

[@KeyleeTamirian]

I did all 136 shrines in BoTW, did all the DLC dungeons, completed the freakin survival dungeon to get endless Master Sword (It was... rather satisfying.), and i collected ALL 900 Korok Seeds. (The final one i got in LonLon Ranch, i still remember... heck, final 10 Korok Seeds were a freaking comparing game with the interactive map). I even planned to upgrade all equipment, which meant to grind dragons... but got bored midway. All that Breath of The Wild wastness became a chore just 10 hours into the game. I'd rather play Skyrim, at least it has dungeons and underground areas... rather than Test Rooms from Portal in Breath of the Wild.

[@RareSeldas]

I will just say for now because there's a lot one could say otherwise that being part of the discussions during the late 2000s and early 2010s there was definitely a huge growing frustration at the linearity in Zelda that people saw a deviation from The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Fantasy. Games like Skyrim and Dark Souls and their potential really cemented this feeling as well, which is why Zeldas like BotW tried to mimic them.

[@rhombusx]

As an old dude, I respect your appreciation for the entries in the series that came out before you were born. However, people have been complaining about the Zelda formula getting stale since at least Wind Waker - this is not a recent phenomenon and it certainly wasn't manufactured retroactively. One could certainly argue that the top-down Zeldas peaked with LttP and the 3d ones with Ocarina and that everything since have been somewhat derivative and never quite reached the same highs. My main problem with Link Between Worlds isn't its openness per se, but the way Nintendo approached its openness resulted in a game that was exceedingly easy with less layered puzzle designs and solutions.

[@mozydiaz8296]

I know it's not the topic but for me Twilight Princess is the king of Zelda games, check everthing and was the culmination of all the Zelda games released before and after it (even SS), OoT was just the rough draft (even though it was OoT that made me fall in love with Zelda )

[@mandatorial]

I think ALBW came close to the real solution: just remove the rental system and have items in dungeons like the old games, but still have the order you beat them in be optional (basically ALTTP. It doesn't have to break the game, so I don't know why they didn't try it out before completely blowing up the formula and reinventing the series with Botw, as if there was nothing to salvage. Older 3D games, like OoT, MM, TWW, and TP, could theoretically be modded to be open world, if it wasn't for the story, because most dungeons largely (with some exceptions) only use the item you get there. I think that could be the baseline for a version of the series, if not the main one.

[@Chevywolf30]

I just did the first dungeon in Twilight Princess last night, and I was idly thinking as I went through it about how it hints at the boomerang before you get it then it really pushes you to use it in creative ways after you do get it, so your 9 steps in dungeon design really stuck out. I do disagree to an extent about the two styles not being compatible, I think it'd be possible to have a fully open world with traditional sequential item-based dungeons and puzzles (dungeon and overworld.) Heck, you could argue it's been done in Wind Waker. Good video overall tho, you've got a knack for this.

[@cherubin7th]

Of course. The girl called Sano who was unable to finish Ocarina of Time because it was "too hard", is not the measuring stick used by Aonuma as representing the fans. Aonuma started well when he picked up from Miyamoto because he at first had to follow the old design thinking, but it shows, he is against deep moving stories and against challenge. Everything must be light fun.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@cherubin7th Yup. Sano is basically the reason why Zelda can’t be interesting anymore. It’s a shame.

[@rdfarley89]

I must just suck because BotW and ToTK kick my ass.

[@ItApproaches]

Aonuma himself said he got bored with the Zelda formula. So clearly all he plans on doing is whatever the heck he wants with Zelda. Meaning there is no longer a formula. Cause for him a formula is "restrictive" which is actually just saying Aonuma isn't creative like Miyamoto was. We got a big empty world in BOTW where the only thing you could do was increase your health, your stamina and inventory space....we got making weird abominations with rockets as a penis in TOTK.....and now we get playable Zelda just cause.......I wouldn't be surprised if Aonuma makes a Zelda platformer or Zelda kart racer next. He just doesn't care about what made Zelda, ZELDA.

[@GoldenLeafsMovies]

​@@ItApproaches I think it's clear he does listen to feedback, TP was a direct result of WW's artstyle dislike, BotW was a direct result of SS's linearity, TotK was a direct result of BotW's lack of story. It's very likely he's more focused on this new direction of open ended exploration as he has expressed disinterest in returning to the traditional game structure. But he has been perceptive to feedback.

[@ItApproaches]

@@GoldenLeafsMovies He literally insulted the die hard Zelda fans when we made it clear we want tradition Zelda. He said something along the lines of those who want traditional Zelda don't know what they're talking about.

[@tutekki]

I although I really love "A Link Between Worlds" I completely agree in your assessment. At the time I was happy to see a return to form for handheld Zelda game after the DS era games. For a while it did seem like Nintendo would be up for making more of these types of Zelda games, but they never really did.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@tutekki It’s funny you say that, because I love the DS Zeldas, and vastly prefer them to A Link Between Worlds.

[@tutekki]

@@ThePlinkster That's cool. It's just one of those things. Those games were very experimental with the controls which alienated a lot of people at the time. I wasn't keen on scratching up my DS screen by just walking around so it was a pass.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@tutekki yeah, I’m kinda hit or miss on the controls. They’re either wholly unnecessary or incredible. Either way they’re not the reason I love the games so much.

[@LauraVlrs]

I love hearing unpopular Zelda opinions, so I'd be very interested in videos about each game !

[@ThePlinkster]

@LauraVlrs Will do!

[@OnlineVideoSurfer]

I do have to back up some others here that are saying that the criticisms about the old Zelda formula were not manufactured or a rationalization for the modern games or whatever. If you check out the old message boards from back in the day you will see that people were ripping into the linear dungeon structure at least starting around the Gamecube era, especially so with Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. Now as someone who misses the old Zelda structure, I do think these criticisms were shortsighted. But it also doesn't mean those criticisms weren't any less common or sincere. That said, I agree with most of your criticisms for Link Between Worlds and (probably) a lot of your criticisms for the more modern Zeldas too. I do respect Link Between Worlds for allowing more choices in how you approach the dungeons as well as for stripping a lot of the filler than hurt the DS Zeldas, Twilight Princess, and especially Skyward Sword. But as you noted Link Between Worlds strips out so much content out that the Lorule Dungeons suffer as a result, which as far as I'm concerned is the supposed reason to even play the game. So while there's little that's bad here, aside from the game's final dungeon there also isn't much that's memorable either. Whatever faults there were with Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, at least their highpoints made them a joy to visit.

[@robertgamer3112]

I really like A Link Between Worlds because I really enjoyed the wall merging mechanic and thought the dungeons were a lot of fun despite being simpler than previous games. That said, I agree that the biggest issue by far is the item rental system. Obtaining all the key items at a shop is pretty underwhelming compared to finding them as part of your adventuring is pretty underwhelming and it is unfortunate that few of the puzzles can assume that you have multiple items.

[@juliox9]

breath of the wild and tear of the kingdom, are very good games, but they are not zelda games in my book.

[@FennekinFox326]

Thank you for being one of the only people on this website with the correct opinion on Zelda. I have no idea why Nintendo is trying so hard to constantly reinvent the Zelda formula, when that formula is what made the games so good in the first place. I can at least respect everything before Breath of the Wild for keeping all of the core elements fun, and instead being more creative with how they build around it. However Breath of the Wild and its sequels do the opposite, all in exchange for a big open world with nothing to do. Oh joy.

[@Kpub44]

One thing is for sure new youtubers in 2024 are much better starting out than us old guys.. Background music was addressed but you are doing well with your thoughts.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@Kpub44 thank you!

[@HyrulianTimelineTraveler]

For most of your points on ALBW I agree, but for some reason it’s literally my favorite video game ever after ocarina of time and Majora’s Mask. I love understanding video game design a lot, but I don’t understand why I love ALBW so much. Anyways as someone who has played and loved almost every game of the series, I’m interested to hear such unique takes especially ones that aren’t afraid to point out the problems with the games. I believe that the people who love something should understand its flaws best.

[@ThePlinkster]

I totally get it. It's not unreasonable to like things in spite of or even because of their flaws. If you love this game than more power to you!

[@HyrulianTimelineTraveler]

@@ThePlinkster thank you. I actually might like Phantom Hourglass more than ALBW so I’m replaying it, but they’re hard to compare. Also my reason for liking ALBW can’t be nostalgia; I first played it last year.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@HyrulianTimelineTraveler Ha, there’s no need to justify your tastes! Also, Phantom Hourglass is a top tier Zelda, so I can fully agree with you there.

[@HyrulianTimelineTraveler]

@@ThePlinksterI like being detailed.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@HyrulianTimelineTraveler fair enough.

[@Semudara]

Heya! I like your (based) hot takes, combined with some pretty solid game analysis. I do feel the Zelda series has... been on a weird track, lately, and it's nice to hear fresh perspectives on that whole situation. Looking forward to what's next!

[@TheJadeFist]

Personal opinion on BOTW, is the best thing that came from BOTW, is Age of Calamity. Ya it's a spin off, but it was a great game. I like the warrior style games, especially Age of Calamity and Three Hopes, both Warrior spin off games on the Switch, and both took an established world and setting and managed to build on it and add alot more depth where the original games kinda lacked. Also Master Khoga just having apparently being cyclops from X-Men with that face laser that instantly exposed stun gauges and broke through them super fast.

[@TheJadeFist]

7:00 Turtle Rock Switched places, because it got up and walked away, and followed the river. Not sure why the Ice dungeon ended up on death mountain though... that's a bit of a head scratcher.

[@joshuab6261]

I've been saying this, only to be met with confusion and disagreement; the best part of Zelda games is the fact you start with nothing. It's a game about progression and growth. You can't get past that boulder right now, but you know when you finally find the item, then that part of the world opens up. The newer games (in my opinion) allow for too much freedom from the start. I played both BotW and TotK once all the way through, and while I really enjoyed them, they didn't provide me with the same "sense of accomplishment" as older Zelda games. Maybe I've just become too old for the target audience...

[@ScaricoOleoso]

Your age has made me shut this video off so I can go throw up.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@ScaricoOleoso I’m… sorry people younger than you exist?

[@dashannsche8460]

I can't hear what you are saying. The BGM is too loud ... 😣

[@ThePlinkster]

@@dashannsche8460 a lot of people have had the same complaint. I’m sorry about that. I’ve added captions to the video, but it’s something I’m going to have to work on in future videos.

[@dashannsche8460]

@ThePlinkster Didn't want to be rude. For the future you know what to do. It's only a shame, because it's diminishing your good content. 🙂 Take care!

[@ThePlinkster]

@@dashannsche8460 no I’m glad people are pointing it out, thank you!

[@nebuladog]

I didn't notice myself. It might be a bit better if you listen without headphones, I wonder if the headphones mix things a bit differently.

[@omicron3012]

Oh no, no, no, nothing ever destroyed a gameplay loop in Zelda the way weapon durability did in the open world Switch games. For TotK, the loop broke so hard because of weapon durability that the game's rating among fans litterally dropped from an 11/10 in the first months to a 5/10 at best since then. The game now gets an incredible amount of hate from players who stopped having fun with it the moment the gameplay loop stopped rewarding their engagement in combat and exploration with stuff that was worth the trouble of seeing their hard earned weapons break after a couple of swings. ALBW's item shop is the result of a compromise between open exploration and dungeon puzzles. Was it good? Not necessarily, but once bought, you can at least upgrade them if you engage in further overworld exploration. Plus, the dungeons hold some goodies like master ore to upgrade the master sword or the hylian shield that can block fire and magic. Compare that to the whole bunch of nothing sprinkled on more nothing you find in TotK's dungeons.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@omicron3012 While I agree for the most part, I don’t think weapon durability by itself is what made the fanbase start to hate TotK. I also don’t think that weapon durability is conceptually as bad as item rental. Regardless of how it was implemented in BotW/TotK, weapon durability _can_ work as a mechanic. Item rental can’t.

[@1fanofpeople]

Hope this blows up!

[@CalamitousProphet]

Refreshing to hear I'm not alone in feeling this. It still blows my mind how many people think nonlinearity was worth the things it cost us. Zelda no longer iterates, no longer meaningfully grows in any way. Our experience at the start and the end are fundamentally the same, with little to nothing to offer between the two points. It's like... we used to have a seven course meal. We couldn't ask for other dishes, and we got them in the order we were served, and some dishes might not have been to our specific taste. So instead the restaurant *improved* it, and now we can eat the dishes in any order we like, at any time we like. The tradeoff is that now all the dishes are cardboard cutouts with the picture of the food printed on their surface, and they all taste and feel like exactly what they are; unsatisfying paper thin facsimiles of things we once enjoyed.

[@Zaknodsama]

i have played NEARLY every LoZ game, i refused to play Windwaker, mostly because of the droned out sailing and empty void of water between islands. I remember Nintendo hyping up A link Between Worlds as a direct sequel of A Link To The Past, and was extremely disappointed when it came to the whole gameplay itself. I felt that the dungeon generation was lackluster and didn't do LoZ justice. The Item Rental was a massive pain and the constant "You have found (insert color rupee) which is worth (insert 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500)" The fact that I was able to beat it in a single day in my late teens/early 20s left me a bit vacant for my need to fill that void. Twilight Princess was GOOD, but it could have been GREAT. BoTW was.....lacking in lots of aspects. After getting EVERYTHING and completing every sidequest, getting every collectible, beating the Hero's Ballad and getting the Master Cycle Zero was.....disappointing. I already had everything I needed, and that ATV Bike was a massive turnoff, especially when the map was just so empty. I mainly spent the majority watching Link's arse run around and occasionally fight a small group of enemies. Skyward Sword disappointed me with the Stamina feature that NOBODY wanted. But the biggest disappointment of Link Between Worlds was the Wall Merging; It was overused, even as a core mechanic of the whole game. At least Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass had fun aspects during travel. The Echoes of Wisdom at least made an attempt at getting back to the original formula, but fell short with how broken the Echo Staff is. Like, putting a bed down anywhere to cross gaps made it easy to skip puzzles. It took me a total of 10 hours to 100% it going in blind. Replay value of LoZ games AFTER Majora's Mask went down, fast. I barely want to play Twilight Princess again, but remembering the headache of the failure horseback fighting keeps me from doing it and that was a MASSIVE step-up for Epona, though I did like killing everything with wolf Link, and barely played as regular outside of dungeons or finding hear pieces.

[@augustbornone]

That was a good review, tho I really found The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds a great time and would definitely play this over The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I will adment that I too hate the Item Rental. I like the idea of having the ability to rent any items and play any of the Dungeons in any order you want, it gives The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds TONES of replay value, but there's nothing more frustrating than getting a game over at a sertent part of a dungeon or at a boss and having nearly EVERYTHING that you rent be taken away, then going back to Ravio's shop to rent back everything before going back to that Dungeon, there were two times were after getting a game over I wanted to restart my save file.... only to then remember that I last save before the start of the Dungeon and so I was like "Argh never mind..." and just let me restart the game. Despite that, I still really like The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and definitely saying that this si one of my all-time favorite The legend of Zelda games next to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

[@TheJadeFist]

2:44 Can't help but notice you didn't include the Oracle games in either list there. If you like Link's Awakening, you should play the Oracle games, if you haven't yet.

[@ThePlinkster]

I have played them, it’s just been years and I’d been hoping they could get the Link’s Awakening remake treatment since then.

[@TheJadeFist]

@@ThePlinkster I'd like to see them get a remake, but I don't want them to be remade with the same engine or look as the Link's Awakening remake. I'm not crazy about the toy look.

[@Kaijudomage]

@@ThePlinkster Ask Capcom, they made them, technically Flagship did but they were merged with Capcom 17 years ago, this would also apply to Minish Cap/Four Swords

[@wolfzend5964]

I feel like it's important to address some of the things going on around the game's release for some of the changes. While you brought up the Dungeon Formula and how it makes or breaks a dungeon, ALBW came out around a time when people called the Zelda games too formulaic and linier. Some points of criticism were the entire Dungeon layout you presented. So Nintendo brought in a fan favorite game, ALTTP, and made a modified remake of it. It was filled to the brim with easter eggs from the original game, such as heart piece locations and dungeon design, and made an attempt to bring the world of Hyrule more to life. To fix the criticisms of Linearity and dungeon formula, they tried to incorporate the Item rental system, which was meant to help the player tackle any dungeon, aside the first, desert and Lourule Castle in any order. To which, I honestly say they did very well. While I agree the dungeons are easier, the Rupees are easy to farm, the rental system is love it or hate it and it relied too much on ALTTP at times, not to mention it came out around the time games held your hand, in the end it was an experimental game that took some valid criticisms at the time and experimented with them. It was the "Last" classic Zelda game before BOTW changed the formula and direction as a whole. Plus, in a way, it is somewhat funny. ALTTP helped finalize the standards of a Zelda game, ALBW tried to experiment with it when people claimed it got stale. Overall, ALBW comes across as the Zelda games. Let's Go pokemon games. They're based on an iconic game, dungeons, bosses, equipment, and plot, but the mechanics are altered enough with focus on the criticism at the time to try and make something new and refreshing. Or at least that's how I always took it.

[@starlight3072]

I recently just got link between worlds after wanting it for so long, because LTTP is my fav Zelda game. Hopefully i can enjoy it at least for the kid in me

[@ThePlinkster]

Don't let my opinions be the thing that prevents you from enjoying it. Like I said at the beginning I don't hate the game, I just think that it kinda misses the point of what made the older games so great.

[@caoistico669]

5:49 basically the new smb series copying the same world theme sequence as mario bros 3

[@Tom020894]

I like a Link Between Worlds a lot,but I personally dont care for modern Zelda,I feel that the focused narrative with the dungeons made it fun and replayable,if I personally want to spend over 50+ hours playing a game ill play a JRPG instead

[@Vladimir-u3o7x]

I personally have no issues with a link between worlds, twilight Princess, wind water, and echos of wisdom. These Zelda games are at the heart of it still Zelda. Every single Zelda game has changed up the formula to keep things fresh. In my opinion, these specific Zelda games are not modern Zelda games; they are classic Zelda games. The only Zelda games that I consider modern are breath of the wild and tears and of the kingdom. Those games do not stick to the traditional Zelda formula. And I have a laundry list of issues with that.

[@robertlauncher]

Ocarina and Majora are tied for my favorite, and both are in the more linear style to some extent. I love BotW, but that’s because I usually don’t like open world games and I’m glad it just has stuff to do between areas. That’s not a high bar for me. My main experience with the genre was GTA style games where the most fun thing to do is harass NPCs, something that only connects to the main gameplay when it becomes an obstacle, when you didn’t mean to trigger the punishment it comes with. To me, clearing the low bar I’d been accustomed to was something wonderful and worth playing for.

[@Eldrick_]

Liked the video, but man the music is way too loud

[@ThePlinkster]

I know, its been an issue I've been trying to work on. I'm sorry about that.

[@jamesk1868]

​@@ThePlinksterIt is loud but I was able hear everything you said just fine.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@jamesk1868 that’s good. I’m still working on getting proper subtitles right now for those who can’t hear me though.

[@dylarper]

​@ThePlinkster I liked that I could hear you and the music. I hate when the music is too quiet. Though I get that there is a balance. Good video

[@Ep1cBramb10]

there are ALBW dungeons that have "dungeon items" kinda. Turtle rock gives you the hylian shield, allowing you to block the wizrobes. The ice palace has the energy scroll, which is required to reach one of the chests.

[@ThePlinkster]

That’s true, but none of those items really affect the dungeon design all too much so I didn’t feel like they were worth mentioning.

[@willlauzon3744]

Good Lord you were 15 when the switch came out? Damn bro now I feel old. I grew up with the original Zelda. Probably one of the best in the franchise. I have a map I made that covers a small wall. It's grid paper with every tree, rock and secret area marked taped together so that each piece of paper is one screen. Maybe I was autistic or something but it's pretty cool. Also links awakening and oracle of ages were bomb and wind Waker was also fantastic. For me everything after wind Waker is crap. I love sailing so of course wind Waker would be sweet

[@PydraxAlpta]

Great video! Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds are some of my favourites in the series, and in general I prefer the 2D ones. I do think I am not great at dungeons in Zelda which means that the easier ones of ALBW showed me the cooler aspects without frustating me and so ended up being one of my favourite ones, but I think that is exactly why someone who does like the more intricate and difficult dungeons would find them forgettable and boring, and the lack of multi item use in them is certainly a weird choice given that they could just indicate X dungeon will need like three or five items for that matter, the way it indicates the one item it is centrally designed around at the start. I like the rental system and the flexibility of the dungeon order, and I do want to say there are some items in the dungeons, though more of the permanent upgrade kinds like blue mail or larger meter. Still, I think this is a good video about its shortcomings, while I still think this is the zelda game I enjoyed playing the most, it sure is a weird one with some of it's choices. I haven't played enough modern Zelda to comment on how this game represents shifts in modern Zelda, because from what I understand BotW or TotK are different from the "core formula" in different ways than what deviations ALBW makes, which is fairly similar in the larger structure while changing how you approach dungeons themselves.

[@ZetaCancri]

I was born in 82 and my favorite has always been a link to the past

[@rockowlgamer631]

I feel like you forget the fact that A Link Between Worlds is basically a sequel to A Link to the Past. The reason why the overworld is very similar to begin with. Item rental gave a new purpose to all those rupees that were sitting in our pockets this whole time, plus it only really comes into play if you die alot which surely most don't in a Zelda game of all things. Plus, it allows us to go to any of the dungeons whenever we want unlike older games. Go watch Egoraptors video to see why he likes it. Lorule is a nice change of pace plus seeing a what if scenario where Lorule's royal destroyed their triforce to stop the fighting only to realize that the triforce is what kept the land together is a grim aspect of the game and when Hilda tries to fix it by attempting to steal Hyrule's triforce. Desperation can make even a kind ruler like Hilda fall to hard times. I think ALBW did a better job at open world then what BotW and TotK ever did.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@rockowlgamer631 the problem is that the use for rupees is completely arbitrary. It’s basically the triforce quest in Windwaker all over again. Doing things in any order is to the game’s detriment, not an advantage.

[@Immunity1080]

@ThePlinkster well that's not true. Being able to go anywhere was good and the rental system is how they let us do it. Not to mention it is the prelude to what the sheikah slate is for botw. The point of albtw is for the zelda team experiment with the freedom concept they gave us in their next big game

[@ThePlinkster]

@@Immunity1080 the problem is that total freedom is an inherently bad thing to design games around. It actively creates problems for little to no benefit.

[@Immunity1080]

@ThePlinkster that is not absolute. Elden ring is one very fine example. Unless you're saying that about zelda specifically then you can disregard my statement. Despite my disagreement with you about the quality of albw, I'm not a fan of open world zelda and prefer everything before botw myself. But albw works as is and is a fantastic game

[@Orange_Swirl]

Modern Zelda's biggest crime is being boring. Give me a great degree of freedom? Cool. Give me a great degree of freedom where the content that exists is boring and the freedom isn't balanced properly? Not cool. I got bored like 10-20 hours into Breath of the Wild because its core gameplay loop and content I found to be boring. I want to play a Link Between Worlds someday.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@Orange_Swirl couldn’t agree more!

[@Tiepobadaae]

Modern zelda isnt even true freedom. No choice actually matters, its just about whether you bother with the main quest and in which order. I dont expect zelda to be like bg3, but they seem more worried about abstrqct freedom than on an engaging story. Id take linear storytelling over this empty freedom anyday

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

Please do eventually. I think you would enjoy it.

[@Orange_Swirl]

​@Tiepobadaae See you're right, but I wasn't expecting Story Branching in a Zelda game, anyway. I WAS expecting a greater emphasis on resource management. The limited weapon durability and inventory management seemed to imply I would be forced to come up with interesting decisions in combat. And then the rune powers ruined everything with their limited cooldown.

[@ItApproaches]

I have played OoT like 50 times in my life. I never get tired of it. BOTW I managed two playthroughs and my god, first one was not fun, years later I thought I would give it a second try, even less fun then the first time. TOTK was a slight improvement but I have no intention of ever playing it a second time, which shouldn't happen with a Zelda game.

[@Feli_Heli_]

We just have to hope that indie devs start making more traditional style Zelda games, since Nintendo seems uninterested in doing so themselves anymore. I can see that Echoes of Wisdom was their attempt to appease classic Zelda fans, and I did find the game fun, but it still falls short in terms of classic style Zeldas.

[@_sparrowhawk]

"We just have to hope that indie devs start making more traditional style Zelda games" Games that don't sell? Just checking.

[@Feli_Heli_]

@@_sparrowhawk I'm not sure what you mean lol, there's a growing group of Zelda fans who miss the traditional style games, and would be more than happy to buy indie games made in that style, myself included. In fact, I have bought and played several already.

[@ASNS117Zero]

@@_sparrowhawk The problem isn't that the games don't sell, per se. The problem is that those style of games require a lot of work, a lot of talent, and a lot of time. That means money. There's a lot more risk to developing a Twilight Princess than there is a Breath of the Wild. For a Breath of the Wild, you can just have procedural generation do the start of the work for you by uploading in stock textures and assets, then having it do the first pass for the geography and biomes. Have a few graphics people do a quality control pass, then place in your handmade assets around the map as points of interest. If your map is pretty empty? That's a feature, not a bug, because it means there's plenty of room for DLC and expansions. Gotta make those pay pigs buy the game again and again after all! By contrast, something like a Twilight Princess or Majora's Mask that's entirely hand made? That requires a LOT more people doing a lot more work. That means comparatively more money, as well as time. If Ocarina of Time were to be released today, up to current standards, it would cost *several* times more to make than BotW or TotK. This is to say nothing of the higher degree of talent needed in the writing team, or the level design team - especially now that they can just cover up weak plot elements with melodramatic voice acting. It's would be a huge risk to try and make a current generation AAA old-style 3d Zelda, and it would cost a TON of money. Which means an indie dev is very unlikely to even try, even as demand goes up. Especially if it was a new IP. The best shot at getting one of those type of games would be as someone's passion project. We may see it some time in the next ten years, but its up in the air whether it would succeed or not. It may end up being a good game that just flies under the radar due to bad marketing.

[@theblindfoldedbirdwatcher570]

I appreciate your sincere review.

[@richardqustmrk]

I do agree on like everything in this video, although I will defend that the wall merging mechanic was very well used in ALBW. It's the best part of the game by far and was fully utilized in every way possible in the game imo.

[@rottencabbage2021]

Solid video even though I think A Link Between World’s is before when the series lost its magic. I can’t wait for you to rip into Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, because those games absolutely deserve it.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@rottencabbage2021 I agree, I still think LBW is an alright game for the most part, but it was the start of everything that made modern Zelda so awful.

[@dx-dragon4399]

Ya love link to the past hated the buying I explored the world at the start to find hidden stuff and u get so many ruby's I didn't bother renting just bought everything than felt overpowered like if u went and did the first 3 dungeons in link to the past but had all the games items they would be a joke that's how I felt with this

[@supahstarrallyah8360]

Triforce Heroes is great you should do a video on it!

[@mikenorris2165]

Personally, I’m waiting for a commentary on Link’s Crossbow Training

[@supahstarrallyah8360]

​@mikenorris2165 links crossbow is also pretty good for what it is

[@ThePlinkster]

@@supahstarrallyah8360 Maybe someday, but it doesn’t really fit the rest of the series. I don’t have as much to say about it as I do the singleplayer games.

[@amandaslough125]

​@@ThePlinksterIt's honestly good though. It's not connected story wise to the rest, but it certainly was a testing grounds for modern Zelda stuff. Costumes were a test for BotW armor. A costume that let's you talk to cats sounds like a very recent game inclusion but started there as well.

[@ItApproaches]

Stinky Wii U....the disrespect! I got BOTW on Wii U and said F U to the Switch cause there was no logical reason to buy a whole new system for a game when I have the system the game was already made for. Not like the Switch version was better outside of minor improved loading times. Till this day I will defend that the Wii U is a vastly superior console to the Switch. Though in the end, BOTW and TOTK were crap Zelda games and Aonuma has destroyed the Zelda franchise. I was a die hard Zelda fan since the NES days.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@ItApproaches Yeah, looking back it was really silly for me to wait for a Switch to play BotW, but to be fair I was also really looking forward to Mario Odyssey so I wanted a Switch anyway.

[@doofuscawt]

no

[@ItApproaches]

@@ThePlinkster I see. I personally hated Mario Odyssey. It looked great, but man, worst 3D Mario game in my view. Sure we had no idea if it would be good or bad before release, but after it was out, man...what a drag of an experience. I had to force myself to play the game to it's conclusion.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@ItApproaches I actually really loved Mario Odyssey, it’s one of my favorite Mario games in general. It’s kinda ironic how I liked it so much more than BotW despite both games making somewhat similar changes to their respective series.

[@ItApproaches]

@@ThePlinkster My issues with Odyssey was the realism doesn't work, aka New Donk City. The hat gimmick with controlling things didn't do anything for me, the random realistic looking T-Rex made no damn sense in a Mario game. Replacing stars with moons? Why all of a sudden change that? The utter lack of bosses. You just fought the rabbit guys again and again then Bowser. Though my biggest issue was the gameplay loop was horrid. It was just you're in a level oh look a moon! Oh look another, oh another, and ooh look another. It was just collect all the ones you can see in an environment, then go to the next level and repeat. And the game was a prime example of the saying to much of a good thing. There was no reason for so many moons for 100% completion....you don't even get anything for them. Buying costumes? POINTLESS filler content. If each costume actually effected gameplay then that would be great! But going through all the effort just to change Mario's shirt or shorts that does nothing? Big old headache, nothing more. Galaxy 1 will always be peak 3D Mario. Then for me it goes 3D World/Bowser Fury. I really hope the next 3D Mario is more like Bowsers Fury style, that was great!

[@KevinVeroneau]

Didn't expect someone so young to have those Zelda games as a part of their top games in the series list. I grew up playing the original Zelda and Zelda 2 on the NES, and still play them from time to time, but A Link to the Past was what I played the most in the teen years, played that game way too many times, which is why I did originally love A Link Between Worlds, as it felt like A Link to the Past enough, but when I go back and replay it, I no longer find it as enjoyable as the first time. One thing you mentioned in your video that nobody ever seems to talk about, especially in any Zelda lore videos is the fact that Lorule looks too much like the Dark World(aka the Golden Land corrupted) from A Link to the Past, which makes no narrative sense, and it still leaves a really sour taste in my mouth, I think it may have just been Nintendo being lazy or something, but it is so off-putting after playing LttP so much growing up, and understanding the lore of the Dark World, then seeing what appears to be the Dark World in A Link Between Worlds, but instead it's now called "Lorule"??? Like what? Nintendo really has some lore to explain here. Great video, loved the perspective, and yeah, the item rental system really does take away from the charm of traditional Zelda. Growing up with Zelda, I always looked forward to what the next dungeon item was, I really enjoyed the surprise in each game, now that new item charm Zelda once had is unfortunately gone, which makes the next Zelda game less exciting to look forward to. To me, Zelda was always about exploration, cool items to use and play with, and the dungeons which combined both of those last two elements... *sigh*

[@ThePlinkster]

@@KevinVeroneau Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, I played a lot the different Zeldas all at once, and I just happened to find myself wanting to replay the older ones more frequently than the newer ones.

[@MaxRussel-m7t]

FINALLY somebody who agrees with me on this, I felt so alone

[@debugLog00]

Based points. Keep up with it

[@ThePlinkster]

@@debugLog00 thank you!

[@Detailingbud]

Great video man!

[@Manuca_Branco]

Link Between Worlds best Zelda game ever, never been topped ever since

[@ThePlinkster]

@@Manuca_Branco I’ll give you that it’s hasn’t been topped since, but that’s not saying much.

[@doofuscawt]

real

[@dx-dragon4399]

Watched this and your original zelda game video there really well made videos

[@ThePlinkster]

Thank you!

[@Immunity1080]

Saying a link between worlds isn't one of the best zelda games is bonkers

[@ThePlinkster]

@@Immunity1080 guess I’m a bit bonkers then.

[@Immunity1080]

@ThePlinkster quite

[@AlmyTheAlien]

I feel like the best way to do a "non-linear" Zelda game would be something like this: Starting semi-tutorial area, forest region, whatever, with two options for dungeons to tackle. In each one, you're given some kind of magic energy construct version of an item. It acts exactly like the real thing, but disappears if you leave and only reappears when you come back. In order to full earn the item, you need to clear the dungeon, at which point it becomes real and you can use it anywhere as normal. Both dungeon items are needed to fully exit the starting region. From there, every larger overworld region can be accessed at any time. There are three new dungeons you can access from the getgo. These are what we'll call the "easy tier dungeons." Every easy tier dungeon contains an item that grants access to a more dangerous area, within its region, in which *two* "hard tier dungeons" are accessible. In this way, while the game won't be able to account for *every* item you might have up until that point, it can at least be certain you'll have both starter dungeon items as well as the easy tier item of that region, which along with its own hard tier item would give them plenty to work with when designing puzzles. Different regions and dungeons can also have enemies and puzzles that don't REQUIRE, but can be made easier using, items from other regions, along with shortcuts and hidden bonuses that require them. Changes the experience significantly between playthroughs. Semi-adapt BOTW's concept of tackling the final dungeon at any time. You can't beat the final boss immediately, but it's a massive dungeon and there's always SOMETHING to do or find inside with every new item you get.

[@tamerkoh]

Echoes of Wisdom basically kinda does this. You have to do the 1st dungeon 1st to get rid of the fog on the overworld. After that pretty much the whole overworld is accessible, though you can only do the Gerudo or Zora dungeons next. After that it's Hyrule Castle, and then after that, it's 3 more dungeons in any order, then the final dungeon.

[@TheJadeFist]

A Link Between Worlds was a master piece though, I have very few negative things to say about the game, and that's kinda just me nit picking on maybe some of the mini games kinda sucked. It had the structure, but also the freedom to let you go do things in what ever order you wanted with some restrictions to what phase of the game you were in.

[@joemama-kj7qx]

I saw the title and was instantly interested in what people in the comments cause holy crap is that a hot take.

[@ThePlinkster]

Hey, if SkittyBitty can become an overnight success by naming a video “I HATE TEARS OF THE KINGDOM” I don’t see why I couldn’t too!

[@rockowlgamer631]

@@ThePlinkster People resonate with Skitty because we know TotK was not that great. Especially if you played BotW first. ALBW however is at least more interesting than TotK ever was, the story was nice and a fun twist of a what if scenario if the kingdom destroyed their triforce instead of hiding it.

[@gravitationalforce3258]

I thought totk was fun af​@@rockowlgamer631

[@RenSako]

@@ThePlinksterSkittyBitty is a whiny contrarian who weaves in a valid criticism or two here or there. Glad you're a bandwagoner though! Maybe if you guys scream louder and whine more the series will enter an eternal cycle of Twilight Princess over and over and over again. Long, corridor shaped overworlds with basically nothing to find or discover and too many dungeons, pacing issues, etc. Being conservative about gaming is so strange. Ocarina of Time still exists if you want to play it. You're allowed to play games again. It'd be one thing if there was some big departure from typical Zelda or they forced in monetization or something, but.. your tastes not specifically being pandered to, same with ShittyBitty, is not Zelda's problem. Zelda just outgrew you, and that's a you problem.

[@RenSako]

⁠@@rockowlgamer631Who "knows" TotK isn't that great? I know the internet is rebelling and whining and playing hipster because Nintendo bad and Twitter points come easy by shitting on their modern stuff, but you personally getting bored doesn't make it a worse game. Your opinion is not the standard because you're stuck in an echo chamber bandwagon circle jerk. I know some terminally online people have decided enjoying and appreciating TotK is a sin and doing so will get you hounded and harassed, but Christ, you people need to stop making games your personality. You were not slighted because you refused to engage with new Zelda honestly. Critiquing a game is fine but you folks are just so fucking arrogant about it, when half the time the issue is you either not engaging with the game or not knowing what the hell you're talking about. This is "BDSP just copied the code from Diamond and Pearl" all over again. People desperate to hate something and making up ridiculous bullshit to do so when there are valid critiques to be had that they're ignoring. So tired of fandom. I'd be happier with no new Zelda games if it meant channels like this and SkittyBitty would shut the hell up with this contrarian crap.

[@averysketchygamer3241]

One correction, it isn't true that Skyward Sword wasn't hated until post-BotW era Zelda. There was a larger movement to open-form Zelda that actually more than likely inspired the less linear formulas both ALbW and BotW adopted The movement was started by Ocarina of Time haters back in 2014 around the same time Egoraptor's infamous Sequelitis came out. If you go back to watching youtube around that period, you'll find a lot of general discontent with Nintendo constantly trying to pander to Ocarina fans. A massive outcry of fans started loathing a "Formulaic" and "Linear" formula, and started begging for a more open-form formula. Skyward Sword was an incredibly linear experience, and as such received a lot of backlash from fans around the 2012-2014 period. Personally, I like the linear formula more, but it's undeniable that this "open-form" movement started LONG before BotW even came out

[@ThePlinkster]

@@averysketchygamer3241 I never said that it wasn’t hated, just that the reason it was hated had nothing to do with the “formula.” Also, nothing about the formula inherently requires it to be linear. The series has always had varying degrees of openness, even prior to LBW.

[@KeyleeTamirian]

So... apparently Egoraptor ruined Zelda. I see. I also more fan of Pre-BotW formula.

[@averysketchygamer3241]

@@ThePlinkster I am aware of this. Wind Waker is the greatest example of this fact, though Egoraptor argued that post-ALTTP, the Zelda formula was complacent in being linear. This caused an uprising of Zelda fans arguing against the Linear formula, hence why they liked ALBW, as it returned to ALTTP's more non-Linear formula Of course I think this is silly, but this is the argument that was made back in 2012-2014. For those fans, BotW and ALBW were a breath of fresh air, as they wanted a formula that didn't restrict their progression. And they got a game where they could fight the final boss before even reaching the first village. As someone who thinks that BotW's "Fight the Final Boss immediately after the tutorial" is somewhat cheap and doesn't really contribute to the game at all, it didn't really give me much. But for other people, this was the case. I was just explaining people's thoughts during the time, as I've been a fan since about 2006.

[@robertgamer3112]

@@ThePlinkster yes, people often use the terms classic Zelda and linear Zelda interchangeably, but A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time the foundational classic Zelda titles both allow you to do many things in different orders.

[@poleon2003]

And also Egoraptor is wrong on a few things like having to wait out enemies to attack when dude just throw deku nuts at them if they're weak to them so I really hate when his stans take what he says as gospel smh

[@guiabel7]

I get your point. It's funny for me how a Zelda game is resumed to a lot of people by it's formula around finding new items in themed dungeons, but I get it, everything looks mysterious, "more magical" and adds to the identity of the game's "chapters". Like, water temple in ocarina = longshot = annoying water level system = morpha etc But there's so much beauty behind the level design of those new games that you so "hate". I love the oldschool Zelda temples + items, but, at the same time, for me at least, Link Between Worlds has an exquisite level design, so well thought, fun, organic, pleasant to play... For me, it's the best "2D" Zelda. Games with this kind of approach and level design have their downfalls, but, overall, are very fun and well made.

[@loremaster8158]

Critique: Music was too loud, it drowned out your voice. (especially 11:00 - 13:30)

[@ThePlinkster]

@@loremaster8158 haha yes, that has been made very clear. Thank you though!

[@loremaster8158]

@@ThePlinkster Your welcome. Your video was very well done, articulating why Link between Worlds didn't work. I'm interested to see what you have to say about the faults of modern Zelda and heights of classic Zelda.

[@daserfomalhaut9809]

Is it possible to thoroughly agree and thoroughly disagree at the same time? I absolutely demolished Worlds front to back. I bought it at 11am on it's launch day and had the game 100% by the following morning. I had hero mode 100% by the following day. I did a three heart/no fairy hero run finished that week. And I've gone through it several more times since. I ATE that game like it was my Death Row dinner. But watching this video, yeah you bring up some interesting things. Pitfalls of design? Not really something I want to discuss in a KZbin comment, but definitely things for me to think on more. I'll have to break the game out with a new lens. I do think the talking point around Skyward Sword is also an interesting thing you note because it's true and false at once. It's all very anecdotal but, as someone who grew up through Twilight Princess, there were certainly mumblings from communities who were calling Zelda a series of retreads even all the way back in 2007. Maybe not big reviewers because they praise anything big budget Nintendo and have no salient insight. But there were pockets of old fans that thought it was more of the same and online at least, that game is very polarizing because it's generally so safe. The exceedingly, laughably low difficulty of the game in a series only further losing it's teeth after 1992 only compounded that. Skyward Sword years later having a host of additional aggravations on top of being extremely easy (again) and following the classic mold made that mold stand out a lot more for people. He's no authority on anything but, EgoRaptor infamously called this out long before Wild to a lot of mixed reception. What I think is more accurate is that with Zelda being a juggernaut, people didn't really want to say their frustrations out loud until the big authority themselves, Nintendo, not only brought up the discussion of conventions but backed it up by breaking them in Wild. So it was technically a retrospective bit of commentary as you say, but that only became frequent when people felt emboldened to finally do so under the umbrella of Wild (and it's roaring success) shielding their criticisms of past entries. And I'm telling you, bad mouthing Zelda used to have dire consequences. When Jim Sterling gave Breath of the Wild a *generous* 7/10, he had his site DDOS'd and lost 48 hours of income. For a fucking *7/10*. Hell hath no fury like a Nintendo fan scorned. All that said, I can't wait for more from you. This was a good critique. And me personally, I cannot stand modern Zelda. I'm just glad to see I wasn't some crazy contrarian for the last decade for not liking Wild/Tears. There's more of this sentiment coming out about these games that I had 6 years ago and it's cathartic.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@daserfomalhaut9809 Thank you! It really means a lot!

[@Nintendofanboy101-yk8ro]

eh, I agree with some of your opinions but I felt like the dungeons were greatly designed in a link between worlds.

[@wizarddudereborn457]

Hey, _A Link Between Worlds_ is a good game that channels the same spirit as _A Link to the Past!_ I also like _Tri Force Heroes_ , even if it's a downgrade from _ALBW_ AND _Four Swords_ .

[@djinnspalace2119]

i dont like modern zelda but i do think albw is closer to classic than it is to modern. albw feels like the first game that was meant to be built upon and expanded, an old formula reimagined that needed to be refined. but instead of doing that, they threw it all away and made botw. also one thing u didnt menation is that there are still big treasures in albw dungeons to find that add to your inventory, albeit in a different way. but i do have to admit that having no items in dungeons at all was too much. they shouldve found a better middle ground than they did.

[@longlivethesecondplaceice2736]

I just finishes link between world for the first time and this vidoe is the first thing coming out in my recommendation. Well yes buying the items can feel boring but i use most of them all the time becues i 100 procent the game and needed them as much as posable. The fire and ice rod save me against enemy gang up on. And gives me more times to deal one after another. The tornado leave thing i forget the name was usefull for that to but not much it. The rods where alot of help agiens does gaint jellyfishs and i did use alot of bombs not just for damage but to slow down some enemy's. About the bosses there where arigrh in the start but got to easy the moments i found the orcs and upgraded the master sword to max and with the blue and red tonic. The boss's died the moment i thought the actual battle world wven start. Some dongunes where short you right but i took my time it less collected every chast. And yes alot of the puzzle ideas are not that complex but you have to be honest useing the floor master to press buttem and break stuff was an amazin idea i smile every time from it becues its smart. Byt the mini games are the real bitter part of the game. That octoball minigame is wrong in every way. And finally i like to know. Why is the ocean king tample bad ? Its the only real challenge in phantom hourglass and only dungeon i remember haveing personality well exapted for the ghostship but not by alot. English isnt my language so hope you can still understanding my text. It less i hope so.

[@pastapower69]

and yet this is my favorite Zelda game of all time.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@pastapower69 more power to you!

[@napkin8920]

Bad video!!! He didn't make enough jabs at TOTK!!!!! Anyway, it was fun to listen to a new perspective on these games. I don't think the notion people were "growing tired of the Zelda formula" is some conspiracy. Most of the praise I've heard for LBW is directed specifically at the design elements it shares with modern Zeldas - especially in regards to its 'cool idea!' mechanic of merging with walls that seems super novel at a surface level, and its willingness to let the player off the leash that is seemingly absent in later Zelda games before BotW. Personally BotW ranks among my favorites, and I only ever really thought LBW was okay.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@napkin8920 Oh don’t worry, the TotK hate will come eventually!

[@rtroyer33]

Excellent work. You’ve earned a subscription.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@rtroyer33 thank you!

[@ItApproaches]

Zelda games changed with Windwaker cause Miyamoto stepped down as the lead, and Aonuma took over. Though Windwaker was Aonuma's best work, then Skyward Sword. Twilight Princess was good...but oddly, forgettable to me.

[@Miguemnaco]

Awesome video! I'd love to know what you think on other games and franchises. Did you like TotK? Did you think it was better than BotW as many people seem to think? I hope your channel keeps growing!

[@ThePlinkster]

@@Miguemnaco Thank you! I’ll definitely get to TotK eventually

[@notavailable4891]

Weird, I agree with a lot of the flaws of A Link Between worlds you pointed out, but I would play it again any day over Wind Waker or Twilight Princess. My main gripe with the game is it is too easy, if they had the same design sensibilities as they did when they made ALttP that game would be my favorite by far.

[@MegaGameXtreme]

I really don't understand where you're coming from with link between worlds dude. You start by saying people praised the game for being different, then said it's actually not different because it reuses a formula, then go on a tyraid complaining about everything different about it. People liked link between worlds when it released because it was the first 2d zelda we had gotten in a long time, AND experimented with it's formual by changing how you get items, which opens up letting the player freely select the order to tackle the dungeons. You also didn't mention how every dungeon has a secret material for link to collect to upgrade link himself or his sword. You go on to say that a formula isn't inherently a bad thing and can be used for creativity it's own right, and I agree with you there. Because that's what LBW does. You also completely omitted that you can upgrade their items, which lets the player have better tools at their disposal and add incentives to explore the world and engage with the side content. I don't think LBW is the best zelda game, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it as a long time fan, and I really don't think it's being well represented in this video when your entier argument boils down to "Different thing bad". It's fine if you don't care for LBW, to each their own. But the way you represented it in this video feels very disingenuous.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@MegaGameXtreme I said people praised it for being similar to A Link to the Past, and then criticized the way it’s similar to A Link to the Past. I’m also saying that the way it “experimented with the formula” was a flop. It also wasn’t the first 2D Zelda in a long time, Spirit Tracks released just 4 years prior. I didn’t mention the upgrades to items or secret dungeon items because it wasn’t relevant. None of those items affect the dungeon design themselves, and upgrading individual items doesn’t affect much when the game is never designed around using those items outside of their respective dungeons.

[@computeredfemale]

Could you please upload version with quieter bg music? The script is super interesting but it's hard to focus

[@ThePlinkster]

@@computeredfemale I don’t think I can do that for this video, but I’ll try to add captions if that helps. I’m sorry about that.

[@sithlordmikeyp]

Good analysis. Your top hat, bowtie, and cane combo kinda remind me of Elton John.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@sithlordmikeyp Thanks lol. That wasn’t my intention. It’s supposed to be more of a Willy Wonka type thing. I only own the hat because of how much I love Professor Layton.

[@chrislevack405]

Luke warm? What about Leia warm?

[@RavenT7T]

I agree with this, nice video rip funny number, 70th sub

[@ThePlinkster]

@@RavenT7T thanks!

[@BerthramAldvonnormand]

W opinion right here at 2:40 Even if personaly i would let the oracle games replaced zelda 2 and majora mask in your list

[@LeopoldLitchenstein]

I got this recommended as a huge ALBW glazer, and I do think you made many valid points. Doesn't affect my opinion of the game but I do lean towards more classic styled Zelda and I've just come to settle for the "meet in the middle" approach something like Echoes of Wisdom has. Mad respect for loving Zelda 2 by the way, can't bring myself to replay that game over most of the other first 6 you mentioned

[@KingEDetail]

Keep it up!

[@ASNS117Zero]

I think this might be overthinking it a little. The problem with BotW and TotK is that they're chasing trends at the expense of identity. BotW is a direct result of the Witcher 3. It's the Zelda aesthetic and identity applied in a rather lackluster way to something that vaguely approaches the Witcher 3 design ethos, with some other open world mechanics thrown in for good measure. It's borrowing from a big fat number of other franchises so hard that it doesn't feel anything like what we grew up with. Unfortunately, that feel doesn't cater to us, and as part of the Zelda fanbase, we've effectively been replaced. There will never be another *good* old style Zelda game. At least until some other franchise steps in to take up the mantle for the game type.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@ASNS117Zero I think that might have something to do with it too, but I think a lot of what makes those games bad started in LBW too.

[@ReavinBlue]

Well... I liked it

[@ThePlinkster]

@@ReavinBlue More power to you!

[@WoxZ7]

Remember guys, zelda fans always hate zelda games.

[@ThePlinkster]

Only the bad ones!

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

I actually really like ALBW and while I disagree that its not a good game I do respect your opinion and you do make some points that I do agree with like with the item rental stuff. I am curious as to how you feel about Skyward Sword as its one of my favorite Zelda games and I would argue that its the most over hated Zelda game ever. Also the take you had from 7:29 - 7:53 was absolutely based lol.

[@ThePlinkster]

I love the first two thirds of Skyward Sword, but I think the last third starts to drag a bit and prevents it from being one of my absolute favorites. Still one of the better Zeldas though, and the last one that I can say I'm mostly positive on.

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

@@ThePlinkster Yeah thats fair enough. The last third of the Skyward Sword (until the very end at least) definitely felt like it was padded a bit.

[@starbonnie552]

@@ThePlinkster The finding the dragons part does kinda suck. Only plus is it can be done in any order (Though if you talk to the goron in Lanayru it can softlock the game on certain versions apparently) and getting the gauntlet

[@ThePlinkster]

@@starbonnie552 it’s kinda funny that you mention that, because “doing things in any order” is one of the big reasons why I think the new games suck, so I wouldn’t even say that’s a plus side per se.

[@starbonnie552]

@@ThePlinkster Being fair that's how a few of the older games were set up you can do some dungeons in any order you want as long as you have some prerequisites done first. I know the 2nd half of Link To The Past and Ocarina of Time have that. In Skyward it's mainly so you don't need go Forest, Fire, Electric in the same order. Especially since if I remember correctly you have to do the imprisoned fight back to back if you do it in that order, since you fight him before being tasked with getting the song and than again immediately afterward as well if you decide to go for that 3rd of the song first

[@kyj1147]

Sorry but to put the first and second Zelda over the newest one is ridiculous. I don't like botw but come on man... thisi s just stupid

[@ThePlinkster]

The first two games are fantastic, what are you talking about?

[@hrvstmn31]

I've actually been thinking about this but I actually like Hyrule Warriors aoc more than botw, the massive scale and limited tools work well as apposed to how it sucked in botw. I see you brought them up at 0400, I never played Cadence but I did try Necrodancer years ago it wasn't my thang, might have to try again.

[@ThePlinkster]

@@hrvstmn31 I’m just not into Warriors games in general, that’s mainly why I singled out CoH as a game I actually like.

[@hrvstmn31]

@@ThePlinkster fair the only reason I played these is Zelda. Just wish those cowards would give us a fishing game already.

[@ItApproaches]

You said you were going to cover BOTW later in the video, yet didn't? lol...

[@ThePlinkster]

@@ItApproaches no, I meant I was going to make a BotW video later

[@ItApproaches]

@@ThePlinkster Oh I see.

[@xRed5433x]

Interesting take on a Link Between Worlds. Personally it's one of my favorite games in the franchise and one of my top recommendations for someone who's never played a Zelda game before because it's not too difficult and shows the player a general idea of how the games work. I do understand what you've said about the dungeon design and do find it a little disappointing that they have to be designed the way they are. As for the world being the same, that's another understandable grievance to have with the game and I'm pretty sure it was done for nostalgia-pandering reasons. It's important to understand the context of a Link Between World's release. This was around the time when the 3DS and Wii U weren't selling particularly well and Nintendo was trying to draw in their core audience with some nostalgic titles like this and Yoshi's New Island, and even new entries to long-awaited IPs like Pikmin and Chibi-Robo.