The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds / YMMV

Accidental Innuendo: The ending has one if you put Link in the right position. Warning, spoilers.
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Is Yuga really meant to portray the Lorulean counterpart to Ganondorf? Or is he an original character with no clear Hyrulean counterpart? Ravio and Hilda have black hair but otherwise appear to look exactly like their counterparts, Link and Zelda, while Yuga really has very little aesthetically similar to Ganondorf.
- On the topic of Ravio, is he really the coward he proclaims to be, or simply executing a different kind of courage, having to stand up to his best friend and confidant but unwilling to fight her directly? Or, is he actually as courageous as Link in any other circumstance but is berating himself for not being able to stand up to his beloved princess?
Alternate Self Shipping: Hilda/Zelda and Ravio/Link is dangerously close to selfcest. They're technically counterparts but have enough comparisons to blur the lines. Nevertheless, both became very popular shortly after the game’s release.
Awesome Music: The game's music has been widely praised, with many of the tracks remixed from A Link to the Past. Composer Ryo Nagamatsu aimed to have the music sound as much as possible like live recordings^note, and it did manage to fool some people.
Best Level Ever: Skull Woods, a maze through ancient ruins where you trick the resident Goddamned Bat into stunning itself, solving puzzles and killing enemies in the process, and Thieves' Town, where you partner up with a thief on an escape mission.
Breather Boss: Margomill (the boss of House of Gales) can be this on Hero Mode due to a few factors. The quadruple damage only applies to enemy attacks, and Margomill doesn't hurt you by directly damaging you but by trying to knock you into the Bottomless Pit surrounding the arena. In other words, the fight hasn't really changed between difficulty modes.
Broken Base:
- Fans are split as to whether "Lorule" is a clever pun or just cheesy.
- The issue of Ganon returning after a seven-year absence and not doing anything, as Yuga possesses him. Some love it for inverting Hijacked by Ganon, other think it disrespectful to the series' overarching Big Bad.
- There is also disagreement on whether the short length of the game compared to the immediately preceding 3D games is because of Padding being by shortening dungeons or because of laziness on the part of the developers in terms of adding content.
- Clearing the Endless Mode at the Cucco Ranch, which requires you to dodge Cuccos for 999.99 seconds (that's 16:39.99 minutes), unlocks a very trivial and minor reward: a giant Cucco sits near the ranch, and talking to it heals your hearts. Because of how tedious it is and how minor the reward is, fans are split whether or not getting it counts towards 100% Completion or not.
- The game's art style, which uses fairly undetailed textures and Super-Deformed models even during cutscenes, which differs from its slightly more realistic official art. Some fans love it for its color and character, helped by the fact that the game runs at 60 frames per second^note, while others (including a few reviewers who otherwise like the game) claim that it's hideous.
Complete Monster: Yuga is the Sorcerer of Lorule, bent on kidnapping Princess Zelda and the Seven Sages—some of whom are children—in order to resurrect Ganon. Arriving in Hyrule, Yuga turns numerous soldiers into paintings that are fully conscious, yet unable to move or speak, and does the same to Link, intending to leave him to rot on a wall for the rest of eternity. After successfully capturing the Sages, completing his ritual, and merging with Ganon himself to obtain the Triforce of Power, Yuga is temporarily subdued by Princess Hilda of Lorule. Eventually revealed to be a servant of Hilda in her conspiracy to steal Hyrule's Triforce and save the dying land of Lorule, Yuga gleefully betrays her, steals the Triforce of Wisdom, and reveals his true plan: to use the completed Triforce to destroy Lorule and recreate it in his own image, while also dooming Hyrule in the process. A treacherous fiend obsessed with his own desires over the needs of his people, Yuga engages Link in a merciless final battle to gain the full power of the Triforce and condemn both worlds to oblivion.
Demonic Spiders:
- The bomb-throwing Hinox in Lorule is far more dangerous than its A Link to the Past Dark World counterpart. It throws bombs at a much faster rate, and the explosion radius from these bombs are larger and stronger too. The only guaranteed safe way to take it out is from a distance using the Bow or the Master Sword's Sword Beams.
- Death Mountain has Ice Hinox, which throw freezing snowballs instead of bombs making them even more annoying to deal with. It also does not help that both have the ability to grab Link for heavy damage as well.
- Lynels, centaur-like beings that previously appeared in A Link to the Past, are back with a vengeance. With the Forgotten Sword, they take an insane 30 hits to shut down (that's eight with the Golden Master Sword). Their fireball attack has also changed to a long-lasting, flamethrower-like stream of fire, which tracks your movement, preventing you from circling around or even reaching them unless you have the Hylian Shield to No-Sell it. They also dish out a shocking amount of damage: three hearts per hit in the green tunic (in Hero Mode, you're looking at TWELVE hearts damage). If you're facing them without item upgrades or the Hylian Shield, it would be best to simply avoid them, and if forced to fight anyway, never engage more than one Lynel at any one time. Unlike most enemies, Lynels cannot be stunned; even the Sand and Tornado Rods only serve to give them a free hit on you. Only the Ice Rod can momentarily freeze them on the spot for a few seconds, and if it doesn't have the "Nice" upgrade, you'd have to get well inside their attack radius to use it. Worse, there are tougher versions located within the Treacherous Tower, which, in addition to the flame stream, have the fireballs of their ALttP counterparts. Counterintuitively, however, the Nice Fire Rod shreds them, since the column of fire hits them repeatedly, causing them to flinch and stop attacking each time. And of course, knocking them over a ledge kills them immediately.
Ensemble Dark Horse: The Thief Girl for being the core mechanic of the Best Level Ever, as well as for being an effective Red Herring for players of the original A Link to the Past.
Epileptic Trees: Because Gramps from StreetPass seems to have all of the same skills Link has as revealed as him being the Superboss of the StreetPass challenges, many believe that he is the Link from A Link to the Past.
Evil Is Cool: One of the most-memorable parts of this game is its Big Bad Duumvirate, Yuga and Hilda. The former for his unique powers, his Love to Hate personality, and the fact he's able to hijack Ganon for once; and the latter for being a compelling Alternate Self of Zelda, and having an understandable motive for threatening Hyrule.
Fan Nickname:
- Yuganon for the fusion between Yuga and Ganon.
- Ravioli for both Ravio and Ravio/Link's Portmanteau Couple Name.
- With the cel-shaded design being officially known as "Toon Link", some Smash Bros. fans have taken to calling the returning classic design "Classic Link".
Fandom-Enraging Misconception: Thinking that this game is actually a remake of A Link to the Past instead of a sequel doesn't sit too well with certain fans. Saying that it's different enough that it could almost be considered its own game is probably enough to make a fan's head explode.
Fanfic Fuel: Lorule. Is there a Lorule counterpart to any of the main series Hyrules? What would the resident Hilda and Ravio look and act like?
Fanon: While the game never gives the Sages associated elements, based on their elemental affiliations and resemblance to the Sages in Ocarina of Time, it's generally accepted that Osfala is the Sage of Light, Gulley of Forest, Rosso of Fire, Oren of Water, Impa of Shadow (again), and Irene of Spirit, while Seres is the "elementless"^notesuccessor to Zelda.
Game-Breaker:
- The Tornado Rod. It stuns most enemies around you for a considerable amount of time, and outright kills most flying enemies. The Nice version increases the area of affect, ensuring that almost nothing can reach you short of surprise or stun immunity.
- The Nice Fire Rod is incredibly powerful. It can hit multiple times, burns away any enemy shields, and hits multiple enemies, making it an excellent ranged item. If used correctly, you can even rip apart Lynels with it. The only downside is that the flame hurts you as well (pretty hard, might we add) if you walk into it by accident, since it sticks around for a while and moves pretty slowly compared to Link.
- The Great Spin has great range and power, especially when combined with the Level 3 Master Sword. It also makes Link invincible until it finishes and isn't affected by enemies that can block or deflect Link's slashes or electrocute him when hit, and covers half the screen. Between this and the other two aforementioned items, it's pretty easy to clear the Treacherous Tower, a 50 floor survival match. The only drawback is that using it on multiple enemies that push Link around when he hits them (like Hardhat Beetles) will often end with Link being pushed into a pit.
- The Nice Ice Rod. Drops four large chunks of ice on enemies, with both a fairly decent range and the bonus of being able to hit things on higher ledges and in the air. Oh, and because it's ice based, enemies get frozen solid upon being hit (with a few exceptions), allowing you to one hit kill them afterwards with any melee or fire based weapon.
Goddamned Bats:
- Red and Gold Bari can become this if you're not patient. The Biri they split into when killed immediately electrify themselves upon splitting, making them more time-consuming to kill than in other 2D Zelda games.
- The Wallmaster can get on your nerves if you're not careful. Luckily, in this game, you can Hoist It By Its Own Petard.
Good Bad Bugs: Early Ravio Shop Glitch. After completing the sanctuary, you get two Ravios in your house.
Harsher in Hindsight: One of the things Ravio may say after you buy all his items and revisit him is a nonsensical song he created about the weather, with him remarking afterwards that it's been a while since he's been in a "singing mood." While this may seem like a lighthearted, silly moment, once you reach the end of the game, it suddenly becomes more poignant with the reveal that Ravio himself is Lorulean and knew firsthand of the plot to steal Hyrule's Triforce.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- The Wonderful 101 made a Zelda shout-out by naming one of its areas "Lowrule". Come this game's revelation that there is a world called "Lorule" and it makes you wonder if Eiji Anouma was talking to Hideki Kamiya.
- Hilda's appearance is remarkably similar to Zelda's in the infamous Japanese commercial for A Link to the Past.
- The princesses are named Zelda and Hilda, the same names as Sabrina's aunts on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
I Knew It!: In the August 7, 2013 Nintendo Direct video, Satoru Iwata confirmed the existence of the Dark Triforce fans had been speculating about since first seeing the logo. However this only represents that their Triforce was destroyed. In intact form, it looks just like the normal Triforce except pointing down.
- Hilda is indeed the Big Bad, though she also has a Heel–Face Turn at the end.
- This is the first time that the Master Sword is part of the main plot in an original handheld title.
- This is the first game since the Oracle Series to take place in the Decline Timeline.
- This is the first game set in the Decline Timeline to feature the Hylian Shield and the Light Arrows.
It's Easy, So It Sucks!: Another common claim about the game. Since you're able to tackle most dungeons in any order you want, they all have roughly the same difficulty level, rather than having a proper difficulty curve. This makes the game easier and easier as you become more proficient. On top of that, there's the upgrade system, which exacerbates this to ridiculous levels. Hero Mode makes an attempt at offering a bigger challenge by making enemies deal four times as much damage as in normal mode, but the fact that it's locked until the game is completed at least once (and especially game producer Eiji Aonuma's justification for it) is in turn criticized as well.
It's Short, So It Sucks!: Many people claim that it is one of the shortest games in the series, even if you go for 100% Completion.
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: Although the reception of the game is positive, some lament the rehashing of the world map of ALttP.
Love to Hate: Yuga is a condescending, treacherous Narcissist who spends all of his scenes being a power-hungry Jerkass and upgrades to becoming a full-blown Omnicidal Maniac at the end. And yet these traits, combined with a distinctive design and cool powers, make him a memorable villain, with many fans wishing he'd gotten more time to shine.
Memetic Mutation:
- "Mumbo jumbo, mumbo jumbo..."^Explanation
- "GIMME BACK MAH RUPEES!"^Explanation
Moral Event Horizon: Yuga crosses it either from kidnapping the sages, one of them being a little boy, or his eventual betraying Hilda when he reveals he doesn't care about Lorule's fate and plots to become a God and bring further destruction.
Narm: After rescuing all seven sages, the game gives you an orchestral arrangement of Lorule's overworld theme as you prepare to enter Lorule Castle and confront Yuga for the final time. Which would be great...except for the fact that nothing about the landscape of Lorule has changed by this point. The grand new song comes off as a jarring case of Soundtrack Dissonance when it's being played over such a destitute, ramshackle kingdom that's overrun by rogues, monsters, and ne'er-do-wells.
Older Than They Think: The concept of temporarily renting items first appeared in the Japan-only Satellaview Mission-Pack Sequel to A Link to the Past, Ancient Stone Tablets.
Player Punch: When players reach Lorule for the first time, they get a look at the paintings of Zelda and the Seven Sages that Yuga has set up to perform his summoning ritual. Among the Sage paintings are Irene, who's been serving as a Warp Whistle and building a friendship with Link; Rosso, a stout miner who gives Link the Power Glove free and is generally kind to him; and—hardest of all—Gulley, Link's surrogate little brother and a young child. Seeing people who Link (and, by extension, the player) cares about trapped in paintings and used for evil purposes serves as a solid punch, and reminds you that Yuga is a serious threat.
Portmanteau Couple Name: Fans have dubbed Link/Ravio, hilariously enough, "Ravioli".
Scrappy Mechanic: The Save-Game Limits, to some. Unlike in Skyward Sword, where the Bird Statues are sufficiently plentiful even in the dungeons, those of A Link Between Worlds are completely absent in the latter areas; so if the player needs to pause their playthrough when exploring one, they will need to either use a Warp Portal if it has been unlocked, or backtrack all the way to the dungeon's entrance if it hasn't. Then there's the Anti Poop-Socking when the game is saved after a very long play time: "You've been playing for a while. Why don't you take a break?" (Beat) "You can end your game from the pause menu." On the bright side, the 3DS has a convenient sleep mode for taking a break.
Shipping: Link/Zelda and Ravio/Hilda as Ship Mates is almost omnipresent in the fandom. Alternatively, there's also the less prominent, but still common Link/Ravio and Zelda/Hilda.
Suspiciously Similar Song: The Yuga Battle theme has been frequently compared to One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII.
That One Boss:
- Zaganaga, the boss of the Desert Palace, is a tremendous pain. The arena is one big quicksand trap with small pillars that you can stand on dotted throughout it; the boss pops out of these pillars at random, and you have to use the Sand Rod to raise temporary platforms so you can get close enough to hurt him. Thing is, the temporary nature of said platforms means you may or may not have enough time to run all the way up to Zaganaga and slash him, and the whole time he spits out dozens of Peahats that fly into you and knock you into the quicksand. Making matters worse are the long-range beam attack he gains after he Turns Red, and the fact that he seems to have a lot more health than other bosses. At least the Sand Rod can be upgraded to the Nice Sand Rod so that the platforms it creates don't disappear, but it's not going to help too much with the Peahats if you don't also have the Nice Bow, and the beam attack will still give you trouble if you're not fast enough.
- Knucklemaster replaces Mothula as the boss of Skull Woods, and it's no less aggravating. Its punch attack is very difficult to dodge, and requires quickly merging into a wall to avoid so it can crash into a wall and be vulnerable. Damage it more, and it gains a slamming attack that's also difficult to dodge, and destroys the ground you fight on, making it even harder to avoid its attacks. When it Turns Red, things go downhill fast. Its slams are faster, most of the walking space will be destroyed at this point, and every time it's left vulnerable, you'll get maybe three hits in before it starts attacking again. It can be skipped, but unless you've got a specific item to dodge its attacks, good luck.
- Dharkstare, the boss of the Ice Ruins, is also a pain. First off, the arena is an icy surface, which means you'll slip all over the place, and is surrounded by a Bottomless Pit, and there's also a pit in the middle as well. Dharkstare never holds still, making it extremely difficult to melt its ice shield off with the Fire Rod, and it attacks by sending three energy balls out around your position in a triangular shape which, after a few seconds, freezes the area inside it. Unless you're already moving when it sends the triangle out, good luck not getting frozen. And when it Turns Red, it starts sending out a second triangle.
That One Level:
- The Ice Ruins. It's a very treacherous Slippy-Slidey Ice World with very narrow pathways and tough enemies throughout the dungeon. If you don't have trouble with it on Normal Mode, you're surely going to on Hero Mode. Amusingly enough, the game seems self aware of the level's status given that its predecessor in A Link to the Past, the Ice Palace, was also considered this, as several wooden signs proclaim your doom along the route you must take to reach it and by having it and Turtle Rock's geographical locations swapped.
- Skull Woods. It's pretty straightforward for a dungeon with multiple entrances and exits, but inside, you'll be constantly besieged by Wallmasters who will only be stopped for a while by killing one. Normally they'd just be a nuisance, but there's several points where you're walking on extremely narrow paths over pits, dealing with darkness, fighting White Bari who take time to kill if you don't want to take damage, standing on moving platforms over pits that move very slowly, or carrying an essential object that slows Link down - and more than once dealing with most of the above all at once as the Wallmasters relentlessly try to grab you. And while the Wallmasters can be defeated, giving some breathing room before eventually respawning, many puzzles in the dungeon require the Wallmasters, so if Link defeats one then finds a button that requires their assistance, there's nothing to do but wait for it to respawn. It doesn't help that your Skull Woods experience is capped off with what some players deem That One Boss.
That One Sidequest:
- After winning the piece of heart from the cucco dodging minigame, you unlock the minigame's "Endless" difficulty setting. It isn't actually endless. It ends if you are able to keep from being touched by a cucco for 999.99 seconds. For those that don't want to do the math, that adds up to just a little under 17 minutes. This unlocks a giant cucco that serves as an endless source of health, although there are plenty of Fairy Fountains serving this same purpose that are available right away. The whole thing is so ridiculous that it was considered an Urban Legend of Zelda before it was confirmed by the strategy guide. Completionists everywhere are settling for 99.9%.
- Getting all 50 StreetPass medals too. Given that it's a Socialization Bonus, it's already impossible in many parts of the world, and some of the challenges are annoying even then (kill Dark Link in under 10 seconds, kill Dark Link without moving, use a Bee/Golden Bee/Sand Rod/whatever in the battle). While the game can generate Dark Links on its own, it takes 4-5 hours for each one and putting the system in sleep mode doesn't count, and due to the nondescript appearance of the NPC running the system, it's easy for players to end up ignoring him completely and never turning StreetPass on for the game which means that getting StreetPasses even via relays tends to be disproportionately rare. It's mitigated by the likelihood increasing if you go with your 3DS to game stores or just transit through populated urban environments, but only to a point. It doesn't help that Shadow Links vanish after losing against them too, giving only one chance per fight. So despite being able to get a Superboss out of the deal, many completionists are ignoring this one too.
- While the Advanced Treacherous Tower is a lot fairer than the above two, it can still be very challenging, especially if you go into it in Hero Mode without fully upgrading your sword and tunic.
- Some people have loads of trouble with the Octoball Derby minigame, probably in large part due to the rules not being fully explained. A player could be forgiven for assuming that hitting the golden pots is the main way to get rupees, with the valuable crows that spawn being a random bonus. In reality, it's almost the opposite: the crows appear after hitting several pots in a row, and thus doing so is the most important source of rupees. Going out of your way for the golden pots means you'll likely be missing more often, preventing the crows from spawning and making the game much harder.
- The Hotfoot race also gives some people trouble. While the first round is fairly easy, the second round requires the player to move at top speed near constantly. ^note
The Scrappy: Cucco Girl and her Rooster Level minigame. Taunts you whenever you lose and even if you are .5 seconds from completion, she doesn't offer the next round for free.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: For the first time in 15 years (if not even longer than that), a Zelda game averts this part of the Double Standard. The biggest change, the possibility to beat (almost) any dungeon in any order you want, has been unanimously praised. Some people argue that it contributes to the game being short and/or the story not being as engaging as some previous installments, but they mostly come from a tiny minority.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Or rather, "They Failed To Make A Perfectly Good Character To Reach Its Full Potential".
- Hilda's motivation and Anti-Villain archetype could have easily turned her into one of the most complex and fascinating characters in the Zelda mythos. But as she gets tossed to the side by Yuga in the final battle, she is "just" a plain good, if a bit underdeveloped, character.
- Yuga as a villain is novel: he's a savvy cross between Agahnim and Ghirahim, he fights Link as a Recurring Boss, and he actually usurps Ganon as the Big Bad. However, he merges with Ganon a third into the game, losing his distinctive appearance in favour of looking and acting just like Ganon, and Link doesn't meet him again until the final battle. One feels like they could have saved his One-Winged Angel form until later in the game.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The story of the game has one of the most morally ambiguous themes ever explored in the Zelda continuity: Is it justified to save a dying kingdom (Lorule) by condemning another one (Hyrule)?. The problem? It's only addressed in the last 20 minutes of the game. Before then, with the exception of some brief, few and far in between Foreshadowing moments, it had what looked like little more than an Excuse Plot, which felt like a huge step back in the improving narrative of the franchise. The ending resolution of a Deus ex Machina magically fixing everything, thus averting any sense of sacrifice or consequence, also cheapens the conflict. We also get nothing regarding a possible Lorulean version of the Master Sword. Granted, wielding it at the same time that the Hyrulean one might not be a possibility, but it's an interesting concept anyway.
Ugly Cute: Irene's concept art. Her in-game model is small enough to qualify for Regular Cute.
Viewer Gender Confusion: It's easy to mistake Yuga for a woman, what with his androgynous name, dress-like robe, very small waistline (on his ingame model), high-pitched laughing and screams, and bright red lips that make Yuga look like he applied lipstick.
Win Back the Crowd: While the Zelda series has always been acclaimed, ALBW's 2D throwback format and open-world exploration managed to win back fans disappointed with the linearity and handholding of other modern Zelda games, particularly its direct predecessor The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The same sort of freedom and open-world exploration would later help drive hype and anticipation for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

YMMV / The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

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