A Link Between Worlds

“As the Princess of Lorule, it is my duty to save my kingdom.”

— Princess Hilda

A Link Between Worlds
Developer	Nintendo
Publisher	Nintendo
Genre	Action, Adventure
Platform	Nintendo 3DS
Release dates	November 22, 2013 November 26, 2013
Chronological Order
Previous	"Skyward Sword"
Next	"Tri Force Heroes"
Map

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is the seventeenth installment in the The Legend of Zelda series, released in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. It is preceded by Skyward Sword and succeeded by Tri Force Heroes. The New Hero of Hyrule is the main protagonist and Yuga is the main antagonist. Lorule's monsters are the villainous faction.

It is the seventeenth game in the series, and the fifth set in the Downfall Timeline. It is set a large amount of time after A Link to the Past, and features the same Hyrule. This time, the hero Link must unite the worlds of Hyrule and Lorule to stop the evil priest Yuga from reawakening Ganon and conquering both worlds.

Chronologically this game takes place between Link's Awakening and Tri Force Heroes.

Synopsis

It takes place hundreds of years after A Link to the Past, when forces from the parallel universe of Lorule invade Hyrule and turn its sages into paintings. Link can rent or buy key items from Ravio instead of finding them in dungeons, allowing him to complete dungeons in almost any order. Link finds the Seven Sages to stop Yuga, but yet again this was all a plot to resurrect Ganon. Ganon and Yuga fuse together and Link uses the Master Sword to defeat them, sealing them in the sword and saving Hyrule and Lorule.

Summary

After having a nightmare involving facing down a dark, shadowy figure, Link awakens to the sound of Gulley, the Blacksmith's son, calling for him. Having overslept again and shirked his responsibility to his master, Link follows Gulley to the Blacksmith's shop where he runs into the departing Captain. As the Captain thanks the Blacksmith for his new shield and departs, the Blacksmith's Wife quickly realizes that the absent-minded Captain has forgotten his sword and tasks Link with returning it to him. A guard at Hyrule Castle's front gate reveals to Link that the Captain intended on visiting the Sanctuary before returning to his duties.

As Link arrives at the Sanctuary, he walks in on a conversation between the Priest's daughter, Seres, and the gravedigger, Dampé. Seres offers to retrieve the Captain from inside as Dampé continues speaking to Link, before the doors to the Sanctuary slam shut and Seres screams in terror. Dampé informs Link of a secret passage into the Sanctuary beneath one of the graves and urges Link to use the Captain's sword to navigate the passage and rescue those inside. As Link arrives, he witnesses a strange sorcerer by the name of Yuga casting a spell on Seres to transform her into a painting. The Captain - having failed to defend the Priest and Seres - met with a similar fate on the Sanctuary's wall. As Link charges to confront Yuga, the sorcerer transforms into a painting himself, yet retains his mobility. Link loses consciousness after hitting the wall, and Yuga escapes with Seres' portrait in tow.

Link awakens in his house once more, this time with a strange person in a rabbit hood greeting him as he regains consciousness. The person introduces himself as the merchant Ravio. After learning what happened to Link and asking permission to stay in his house a while, Ravio gifts him with an old, musty bracelet and suggests Link report the happenings to Princess Zelda so something can be done about it. At the gate, a guard laughs at Link's story and gains the attention of Impa, Princess Zelda's attendant. Impa allows Link entry into the castle as she announces Link's arrival to the Princess.

Princess Zelda quickly recognizes Link from her dreams, and gives him the Pendant of Courage - something Link at the time believes to be a simple good-luck charm - and tasks him with finding the elder of Kakariko Village, Sahasrahla. Upon meeting him in his home, he urges Link to warn his student Osfala of Yuga at the Eastern Palace, since he is also a descendant of a Seventh Sage. Link finds him at the entrance, but Osfala is sure of himself and does not view Yuga as a problem.

After navigating through the palace, Link sees Yuga turn Osfala into a painting before his very eyes. After Link manages to get the upper hand in their battle, Yuga furiously turns him into a painting as well. Leaving him there, Ravio's Bracelet lights up and frees Link, granting him the ability to merge into walls freely. He finds Sahasrahla at the entrance of the palace shortly before hearing an earthquake near Hyrule Castle.

Yuga puts a barrier around the castle, upsetting Sahasrahla, who believes the Pendant of Courage is still inside. This is relieved when Link reveals he already has it; he is then tasked in finding the other two pendants in the House of Gales and Tower of Hera so he can obtain the Master Sword to break the barrier and save Zelda.

After obtaining all three Pendants of Virtue, Link ventures deep into the Lost Woods and pulls the Master Sword from its pedestal. Returning to Hyrule Castle, Sahasrahla tells Link to destroy the barrier and save the sages. Link confronts Yuga. Near the top of the highest tower, Yuga turns Zelda into a painting as well. Link and Yuga battle again, and Yuga then flees through a crack on the wall.

Link follows him, only to find himself in Lorule, a dimension opposite to Hyrule that is on the verge of ruin and Yuga's homeland. In the throne room, Yuga revives Ganon with the paintings and fuses with him to obtain his Triforce of Power. Becoming a beast, Link is almost doomed until Princess Hilda appears and imprisons Yuga. She tells Link he must save the Seven Sages if he wishes to save their worlds from Yuga's threat.

When all Seven Sages are saved, Link is gifted with the Triforce of Courage. He returns to Lorule Castle to confront Yuga for the final time, only to have Princess Hilda end up betraying him, shortly after explaining Lorule's history of how it too once had a Triforce, but the people destroyed it due to the conflict it caused. While it was done with good intentions, it had terrible consequences on the state of their world. Wanting Hyrule's Triforce in order to save Lorule, Hilda takes Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom and is ready to take Link's Triforce of Courage as well.

After Link and Yuga battle once more, Yuga betrays Hilda and takes the Triforce of Wisdom from her, now having two pieces. Planning to take Link's to remake Lorule in his image, they have one final battle. Zelda grants Link the Bow of Light, which he can use to get Yuga out of his painted form. After a long battle, Yuga is finally defeated.

Zelda is freed, but Hilda is still desperate to save her kingdom. After a brief argument between the two, Ravio shows up and reveals himself to be Link's Lorulean counterpart. He explains to Hilda that this sort of chaos is exactly what led to their Triforce being destroyed in the first place. Realizing the error of her ways, Hilda sends Link and Zelda home through Lorule's version of the Sacred Realm. It is revealed that through the crack on the large slab there is where Hilda and Yuga first felt the presence of the other Triforce, which led them to devise their plan to steal it. Ravio, being a coward at heart, was too scared to confront them himself and came to Hyrule to find a hero who could stop them. After Link and Zelda's departure, Lorule grows dark, showing that it is at its end at last.

Returning home, Link and Zelda find themselves in Hyrule's Sacred Realm, with the whole Triforce up ahead. They both touch it, with the wish for Lorule's Triforce to be restored after all they had seen. It is granted and then reforms right in front of Hilda and Ravio. They are surprised and grateful to them both as light shines on Lorule once again, saving it and Hyrule in the end.

Characters

The New Hero of Hyrule

Princess Zelda

Princess Hilda

Ravio

Yuga

Bosses

Image	Enemy	Description	Dungeon
	Yuga	Link travels to the Eastern Palace, but once again arrives too late to save Osfala from being turned into a painting by Yuga who informs Osfala that he is the latest work of art to be added to his collection of Sages. Yuga takes notice of Link and attacks him, but the young hero soon overpowers him. Upon being defeated, the sorcerer casts a spell on Link and turns him into a wall painting, then leaves, implying to the young hero that he is heading to Hyrule Castle to turn Zelda into a painting next. However, unbeknownst to Yuga, a bracelet given to Link by Ravio for allowing him to live in his house allows Link to escape from his imprisonment as a painting. Subsequently, it also allows the young hero to merge with walls at will.	Eastern Palace
	Moldorm	Moldorm returns as the Boss of the Tower of Hera, but guards the Pendant of Power instead of the Pendant of Wisdom. It is fought in the same manner as in A Link to the Past, except that it does not regain its health if Link is knocked off the platform. Moldorm's only attack is to glide around the area in an attempt to bump Link off the platform to the floor below, where a series of Blade Traps guard several recovery Hearts.	Tower of Hera
	Margomill	This creature consists of a giant eyeball on top of several cylindrical platforms resembling a gearbox. It is located at the top of the dungeon, and can be accessed once Link finds a Small Key and unlocks the path leading to its lair. Once defeated, Link will be rewarded with the Pendant of Wisdom.	House of Gales
	Yuga	After transforming the four remaining sages into paintings, Yuga travels back to Hyrule Castle to capture Impa, a sage, and Princess Zelda. However, Link obtains the Master Sword from deep within the Lost Woods. The young hero, wielding the legendary blade, heads to the castle and manages to successfully break the magical barrier surrounding the structure and heads inside. While scaling the castle's central tower, Link encounters Princess Zelda asking Yuga to stop his evil rampage. Yuga informs her that his plan is almost complete as he has possession of all seven Sages and proceeds to turn her into a painting despite her protesting and questioning of what he intends to do with the sages. After praising his painting, Yuga notices Link and is puzzled at first as he left the young hero to rot as a painting in the Eastern Palace, then the sorcerer summons four soldiers to buy him time and proceeds to the top of the castle. At the top of Hyrule Castle, Yuga informs Link that he refuses to let him delay his departure from Hyrule any further and attacks him, however, the young hero once again manages to best the sorcerer. Unfortunately, Yuga manages to escape to perform his ritual in another world's counterpart of Hyrule Castle, stating that once he releases Ganon, creatures like Link will not be worth his time.	Hyrule Castle
	Gemasaur King	The Gemesaur King's lair, deep within the Dark Palace, is a compact, rectangular room with unlit Torches in the northwest and southeast corners. When Link lights these Torches using the Lamp or the Fire Rod, a series of candles along the surrounding walls will light up, and the Gemesaur King appears by falling from the ceiling.	Dark Palace
	Arrghus	In A Link Between Worlds, an Arrghus is the Boss of the Swamp Palace, where it protects the Painting of the Sage Oren. Arrghus is fought much the same way as in A Link to the Past, as Link must pull off the Arrgi from its body using the Hookshot and defeat them one-by-one. As before, Arrghus will also occasionally send the Arrgi diving down towards Link in attack. After defeating all the Arrgi, Arrghus's eye will open and it will attempt to crash down onto Link, as well as attempt to shoot streams of laser beams that boil the water beneath Link. It can be attacked by any weapon when it lands. After it is defeated, it will leave behind a Heart Container as well as the Painting holding Oren.	Swamp Palace
	Knucklemaster	Knucklemaster's main attack involves clutching into a fist and ramming Link. This attack can only be avoided by jumping out of the way with the Tornado Rod, or Wall Merging. This causes Knucklemaster to crash into the wall and get stunned, exposing its vulnerable eye. After recovering, it will attempt to squash Link repeatedly. This is not only dangerous on its own, but it also destroys the fragile parts of the floor, making it harder to maneuver. After sustaining enough damage, Knucklemaster will change colors, get faster and attempt to squash Link more often, but the strategy to defeat it remains the same. Upon the monster's defeat, a passageway will be revealed, leading to Seres's Painting.	Skull Woods
	Stalblind	Stalblind is battled on a large platform surrounded by a bottomless pit, in a room adjacent to the entrance of Thieves' Hideout, which cannot be entered until Link rescues the Thief Girl, then makes his way back to the entrance and obtains a Big Key with her help. When Link enters the room and crosses the small bridge to the platform, the bridge raises behind him, slamming the door shut and trapping the Thief Girl in the previous room.	Thieves' Hideout
	Zaganaga	The battle against Zaganaga takes place in a large, enclosed pit of Quicksand residing in Misery Mire, which is accessed by a Fissure placed just outside the final room of the Desert Palace in Hyrule. The enclosure features eleven scattered columns which act as platforms Link can stand atop, using his Sand Rod to create bridges between them.	Desert Palace
	Dharkstare	Dharkstare guards the Painting of Rosso in the lowest part of the Ice Ruins, on a hexagonal, Ice-covered platform with a hole in the center. It exhibits many similarities with Kholdstare from A Link to the Past, like encasing itself in Ice for protection. However, it is capable of movement, and will float a short distance above the ground.	Ice Ruins
	Grinexx	The battle against Grinexx takes place on grated metal platform above a pool of lava, with larger holes in its center and four corners. Grinexx begins the fight swimming in the lava underneath the arena. It attacks Link by erupting lava from its back, which passes through the floor grates. During this phase, Link must use the Ice Rod to hit Grinexx as it passes under the larger holes of the arena, while also taking care not to get hit by the erupting bursts of lava. Grinexx will occasionally retaliate by chasing Link around while erupting lava, though this attack can be stopped by using the Ice Rod.	Turtle Rock
	Yuga Ganon	In Lorule, Yuga uses the descendants of the Seven Sages along with Princess Zelda to resurrect the Demon King and holder of the Triforce of Power, Ganon, who Yuga claims will help him attain true beauty. After releasing Ganon from his seal in darkness, Yuga proceeds to fuse with Ganon's form and the Triforce of Power,, transforming into a being that takes on the physical attributes of both Yuga and Ganon. Now possessing the Triforce of Power, Yuga Ganon attacks Link, but his attack is restrained by the magic of a mysterious princess named Hilda, who informs Link that she can only hold Yuga Ganon at bay for so long and welcomes the young hero to her kingdom, Lorule. She informs the young hero that she knew of Yuga's plot to abduct Hyrule's Sages and Zelda, but had failed to stop him, allowing Yuga to use them to siphon Ganon's power in order to gain enough power to destroy both Hyrule and Lorule. Hilda asks Link to awaken his full potential in order to defeat Yuga by stealing back the Paintings of the Seven Sages, which have been sent to different locations throughout Lorule as a backlash from Yuga's transformation.	Lorule Castle

Title Screen

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Media

OST

A Link Between Worlds Song Selection

Boxarts

Japanese

USA

Trivia

• While experimenting with a strict top-down view with 3D graphics, the team ran into a unique issue: the game "looked boring" because only the tops of characters' heads and buildings could be seen. In order to emulate the older, 2D, pseudo-3D graphics, all non-environmental models are skewed in their placement, to slightly face up at the camera. At certain parts in the map, this can be seen on statues and tall grass by wall-merging.
• A Link Between Worlds's Hero Mode is the only one in the series to include recovery hearts.
• This is the first Zelda game where the highlighted text is blue rather than the traditional red.
• Bosses in this game flash red when they are low on health to indicate that they are near defeat (Big Moldorm gradually turns red as it takes damage).
• A number of small changes made in A Link to the Past & Four Swords were carried over to this game. These include dungeon names displayed upon entrance, pots and signs breakable with the Sword and (for the former) Arrows, bushes able to be destroyed with the Hammer, sparkling stones that spit out Rupees, the ability to dive under water with the Zora's Flippers, and the Lamp being able to deal damage (albeit in minuscule amounts).
• The Japanese Zelda rap for A Link to the Past was remade for a new commercial.

Continuity

• A Link Between Worlds is a follow-up to A Link to the Past, set in the same version of Hyrule. In interviews, Eiji Aonuma stated that the game shows what happened to characters from A Link to the Past, but features new incarnations of Link and Zelda. The Hero and Princess of A Link to the Past are mentioned repeatedly, and their story is even narrated through a series of paintings in Hyrule Castle.
• A Link Between Worlds takes place centuries after the events of Link's Awakening, but before The Legend of Zelda in the "Downfall" branch of the Zelda timeline. The final cutscene of the game hints that it is likely to set immediately before Hyrule's Golden Age. The main story of the game ultimately concerns how all three parts of the Triforce are unified and enshrined again in the Sacred Realm. The game ends with Link and Zelda touching the Triforce together and wishing Lorule, along with its own Triforce, to be restored to its former state and lasting peace.
• A Link Between Worlds takes place in both the identical map of Hyrule from A Link to the Past and an alternate, corrupted version of Hyrule, called Lorule. Lorule once housed a counterpart to the Triforce of Hyrule, with similar powers and history. However, wars were fought over Lorule's Triforce, and the people ultimately destroyed it, resulting in Lorule beginning to fall apart. As a direct counterpart to Hyrule, Lorule also features many direct counterparts to Hyrule's citizens, including Hilda and Ravio.
• It's possible that the old man that trains you is actually the Hero of Legend, the previous hero in the timeline.

Gallery

A Link Between Worlds announced

ALBW End