The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It is the seventeenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series and a successor to the 1991 Super Nintendo Entertainment System title The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Announced in April 2013, A Link Between Worlds was released in Australia, Europe, and North America in November 2013. A month later, the game was released in Japan under the title The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods 2.
Players assume the role of a young boy named Link, who is tasked with restoring peace to the kingdom of Hyrule, after a malevolent sorcerer named Yuga captures Princess Zelda and escapes through a rift to the ruined world of Lorule. Yuga seeks to kidnap the Seven Sages and use their power to resurrect the Demon King, Ganon. Link is granted with the ability to merge onto walls as a painting after obtaining a magical bracelet and encountering Yuga. This new ability allows Link to reach previously inaccessible areas and travel between Hyrule and Lorule.
Concept development for the game began with a small team in 2009. During this phase, the unique gameplay mechanic of Link merging onto walls was prototyped. However, development suffered several setbacks with production of the game ceasing entirely in late 2010, as core team members were reassigned to different projects. A year later, development restarted and after several failed pitches to series creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, the game entered full production in 2012. Changing the established conventions of the series became a goal for the game's designers; this led to a change in the game's structure, allowing players to tackle and clear the majority of dungeons in any order they choose, and the introduction of the item rental system.
Upon release, the game received critical acclaim and sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide within five months of release. The game's audio, dungeon and puzzle design, open structure, and level of difficulty were highly praised by critics. The introduction of new features such as the wall-merging mechanics and item rental system were well received, with reviewers complimenting how well they integrated with the existing gameplay formula. The game also received multiple awards and nominations from video game and media publications.
Cast[]
| Image | Character | Actor |
|---|---|---|
|
Link | Mitsuki Saiga |
|
Princess Zelda | Ayumi Fujimura |
|
Ravio | Mitsuki Saiga |
|
Princess Hilda | Kei Hayami |
|
Yuga | Seirô Ogino |
|
Ganon | N/A |