The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the seventeenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series and a spiritual successor to the 1991 Super Nintendo Entertainment System game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Officially announced in April 2013, A Link Between Worlds was released in Australia, Europe, and North America in November 2013. A month later, it was released in Japan as The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods 2 (Triforce of the Gods being the Japanese title of A Link to the Past).
The story is officially set many years after the events of A Link to the Past. Players assume the role of a young adventurer named Link, who sets out to restore peace to the kingdom of Hyrule after the evil sorcerer Yuga captures Princess Zelda and escapes through a rift into the parallel world of Lorule. Yuga desires to kidnap the Seven Sages and use their power to resurrect the demon king Ganon. Shortly into his adventure, Link is granted the ability to merge into walls as a 2D painting after obtaining a magic bracelet from the eccentric merchant Ravio, which allows him to reach previously inaccessible areas and travel between the worlds of Hyrule and Lorule.
Concept development began with a small team in 2009, shortly following the completion of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. During this phase, the game mechanic of Link merging onto walls was prototyped. However, development suffered several setbacks and ceased entirely in late 2010 as core team members were reassigned to different projects. A year later, development restarted and, after several failed pitches to series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the game entered full production in 2012. At Miyamoto's request, the game's world and setting were based on A Link to the Past, though with many of the areas significantly reworked. Rethinking the established conventions of the series became a goal for the game's designers. This led to two key changes in the game's structure: allowing players to clear the majority of dungeons in any order they choose, and the introduction of the item rental system.
A Link Between Worlds received critical acclaim and sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide in its first five months and by 2020, the game had sold over 4.16 million copies worldwide. The audio, dungeon and puzzle design, open-ended structure, and level of difficulty were praised by critics. The introduction of features such as the wall-merging mechanic and item rental systems were well received, with critics complimenting how well they were integrated with the existing gameplay formula. The game also received multiple awards and nominations.
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