The 25 best Nintendo 3DS games | Digital Trends

In many ways, there are two types of Zelda games. There are 3D adventures, beginning with Ocarina of Time, a game type that has gone on to become the standard for subsequent home console Zelda adventures. The other type is the classic 2D adventure games like the original The Legend of Zelda and its SNES follow-up, A Link to the Past, the latter of which is often cited as the best Zelda game in the series. Serving as a sequel to A Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds returns players not only to the 2D perspective but to A Link To The Past’s map of Hyrule. The kingdom has been relatively peaceful in the decades since the previous game. That peace is threatened when a dark sorcerer, Yuga, traps the young Princess Zelda — a descendant of the princess from A Link to the Past — in a magical painting. Link, a young apprentice swordsmith with no relation to the previous game’s hero, then embarks on a quest to save the princess. Fans of A Link to the Past will enjoy the familiarity, but A Link Between Worlds also turns the Zelda formula on its ear, opening up the entire world from the outset and offering all items through a rental shop. This allows players to choose their own path through the game’s numerous dungeons and challenges.