The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom marks the first time the series’ titular character is the main playable one: it’s finally Zelda’s moment to shine, and she doesn’t disappoint, for her game manages to blend the modern Zelda ethos of favoring player expression with the series’ classic dungeon template even more successfully than the recent 3D outings. Her game …
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The remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening presents an old classic with a new but problematic coat of paint. It still offers the same adventure set in a memorable setting that is both mysterious and tragic, but now with an art style that robs the narrative of some of its impact. The game opens with Link sailing alone …
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Experimentation has been a common ethos in The Legend of Zelda series. Whether it’s by introducing the third dimension in Ocarina of Time, changing the structure of exploration in The Wind Waker, or shaping the gameplay according to the peculiarities of each console with Phantom Hourglass and Skyward Sword, Nintendo is always demonstrating a clear desire to evolve the franchise …
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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess offers a much more complex and cinematic version of the formula adopted by the series after A Link to the Past. With a story marked by melancholy, and with more elaborate dungeons than its predecessor, the game impresses with its epic scope, although, for that, it gives up the element of mystery that surrounded …
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The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker boasts a unique art style – a wondrous cel-shaded look that simulates a cartoon – and a great story – with the best antagonist in the series to date –, but it is sadly bogged down by some uninspired dungeon design and an overly repetitive structure that focus too much on combat. The …
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“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?” the Happy Mask Salesman – his name both mocking and reinforcing his creepy disposition – asks Link, when we meet him in a strange world, cursed, spooked, and incredibly lost. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask remains to this day the most narratively ambitious game in the franchise: establishing an oppressive atmosphere …
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Released in 1998, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has become one of the most influential titles in the action-adventure genre. The game surprised players at the time by reinventing the Zelda formula established in A Link to the Past, adapting it to accommodate the arrival of the third dimension in gaming. Despite a couple of flaws, Ocarina of …
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