It’s a long time coming, but here we go!

This game was absolutely phenomenal. I’m honestly trying as hard as I can not to hyperbolize this whole review, but this game was excellent.

The first thing that I noticed when starting (and throughout the whole game) was how dark it all was. Not even the color palette so much, although the bright hues of Hyrule were certainly few and far between, but the tone was noticeably more subdued than in other games in the series. I realize this may be a detractor for some people, but as a huge fan of the horror genre, I was immediately onboard with this change. I expected it to get more outright scary, but it never really built up to that, which I was okay with. Too much horror probably would have alienated longtime fans of the series.

I was impressed with the game’s ability to handle subjects like death in a more mature way than I expected: the Zora guitarist, Goron ghost, and skeleton army all come to mind. Helping people pass away comfortably is never something I thought a game would ask me to do, but they were beautiful sequences (especially the Zora one) and really solidified my respect for the game’s willingness to be different.

Speaking of different, let’s talk about the clock mechanic. I can see where it would get annoying for some people, but only a few times did I ever really feel hindered by it. Otherwise, I thought it was a cool, unique mechanic that really aided the concept and feel of the game – you can’t help everybody because the end is coming. Unlike in other games, you don’t have time to fart around and do nothing for hours on end during an apocalypse, because the game’s world doesn’t progress based on how many missions you’ve completed. There’s a real, impending sense of urgency and danger, because that moon is coming down on you whether you’re ready for it or not, and this really connected me to the world in a way that not many other games have.

The music is great as always, and like I said, the general aesthetic is wonderful. Graphics are pretty good, especially for a Nintendo 64 game ported to a handheld, and I’ve never been one to care much about graphics anyway so long as they’re serviceable. The story, as I’ve already hinted at, is my favorite of the franchise, I think because everything seems so much more real and involving than in other entries.

I’ve said this in other posts, but I was only a little disappointed by the smaller number of dungeons. Somehow, it managed to be as long as or longer than the other entries I’ve played; and in any case, the game is more about Termina and Clock Town than dungeons and Hyrule history. The dungeons it did have were very well made (I even liked the water dungeon!), and I’m glad they spent more time making four really good dungeons than spreading themselves thin on ten where only a few stand out.

I’m honestly not sure if this game can be considered a great Zelda game. It strays incredibly far from the formula, even compared to the gimmicks of other entries, and it only has a handful of dungeons. Hell, I’m not even sure what significance Termina has to Hyrule (or if it exists in the first place – I love the five stages of grief theory). What I do know is that, taken by itself, this game is phenomenal. It has a great story, and even creates its own mythology outside of the normal Zelda stuff. The characters are just deep enough for you to care about them. The setting and tone are spot on – enough horror is established that it sets the mood for the game without ever becoming overbearing. Most importantly, it’s fun to play. Zelda fans proceed with caution (if you somehow haven’t played it yet), but video game fans owe it to themselves to play this.

– Aaron

Rating

Yes. Absolutely. Must play.

In Short

A great game that manages to be different in a series known for its formula.