Great googly moogly!

Not sure why, but I'm still not really interested. Maybe I'll just play Minish Cap again...

@sanj: Dan Ryckert over at gameinformer actually did the review, they're just reblogging it

I'm really interested to see what Dan has to say about it even though i'm not really planning on picking up the game, i'd just like to hear what's changed up and how it all works together

Dan Ryckert gave a Zelda game a 10? I'm absolutely shocked! I'll wait to see what others say before getting too excited.

Cool I wonder who'll have the lowest score? I'm getting the XL so I can out it next to the other one :)

Let the record show that Nintendo had the greatest launch [window] lineup in the console & handheld wars of 2013.

Gamespot with 8.8

@ruthloose: I dont know man have you seen OUYA ?

For some reason perfect scores make me the most cynical. But whatever, I'm sure it's great.

Critics on twitter have been singing it's praises. Seems like Nintendo has taken the criticisms of TP and SS to heart.

@ruthloose said:

Let the record show that Nintendo had the greatest launch [window] lineup in the console & handheld wars of 2013.

Dat Three-Year Launch Window

I didn't even realise this was out in just over a week. Who needs new consoles?

I'd been slowly playing through Link's Awakening (eShop) for the past couple of months in preparation but I haven't played it for a couple of weeks.

Right, haha. But I think this still looks pretty great.

I love the 3DS. I love a bunch of games on the 3DS. Hell, it's probably the most exciting platform in gaming right now. And I can't fucking bring myself to sit down and play anything. I barely even started Luigi's Mansion. I got about a week with Animal Crossing. Got to the tutorial area of Mario and Luigi. And only the third badge in Pokemon Y. They're all great games, but I just lose interest so quickly. Thing is, I'd probably have finished them all if they were playable on my TV.

And here comes yet another game that I'll inevitably buy and not play.

Bummed this is out the same day as 3D World. Looking forward to 3D World more then Zelda. Still getting both at launch though.

You seem to have Game Fatigue, it happens mate. I haven't played a game in months but you know what? I bought Ni No Kuni dirt cheap this week and am going to break my rut :)

I wish I could get a piece of that BIG DATA money I keep feeding Google/allcorporations because I'm starting to get overwhelmed by all the amazing games and consoles coming out so rapidly.

I want to play this soooo badly it hurts!!

I have the exact same experience here. Absolutely love a bunch of games on the 3ds but, I don't know why, I just cant seem to make myself sit down and play any for any period of time. Just something about handheld gaming never engages me in quite the same way as sitting down at my PC to play a game.

Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword got a lot of perfect scores, too.

Actually, so did, like, every Zelda game since Ocarina.

annnnnnnd?

Normally I don't trust reviews from sites like "Nintendo Everything" or "Playstation LifeStyle" for obvious reasons, but it seems like others are really digging this game as well. Maybe I'll throw it on my Xmas list.

@turtlebird95: as i said earlier the review is from gameinformer

This is the game I most want of all games out or about to BE out right now.

But I don't own a 3DS and, thusly, am not going to spend like 200 dollars on zelda.

Nintendo needs to stop trying to support two consoles. Everytime they release one great game for one console and one great game for another console, I want to smack them. Support one darn console and you will have enough great content to make everyone happy.

My bad. I was kinda busy with stuff so I didn't even check the link, d'oh!

Did you even read the first couple of sentences?

Don't be so damned lazy!

I don't want this. I don't want this at all!

Me neither. I own both and like having good stuff on both. Simple physics.

@hwy_61: Did you even read my latest reply?

Don't be so damned lazy! :P

Ahhhh damn it. Guess we're a couple lazy asses.

Hurray for lazy asses!

surpriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise

Eh. Can't get over the ugly graphical look and really don't like the whole "hey here's this store that carries all the items for you" formula. I prefer the classic Zelda progression system.

@kishinfoulux: So you don't like the fact that they're trying something new? Would you rather it be the exact same as every other Zelda game?

Reviews are trickling in, and it's sounding awesome! So far:

IGN: 9.4/10

EGM: 10/10 (apparently EGM still exists?)

GameSpot: 9/10

Game Informer: 10/10

Joystiq: 5/5

Eurogamer Italy: 10/10

Nintendo Life: 10/10

Edge Magazine: 8/10

The one real outlier so far is Destructoid with a 6.5/10. The reviewer, Chris Carter, seems to think the game lacks heart and is kinda bland and generic. That's not a sentiment echoed anywhere else, so I'm not terribly concerned about that...though Skyward Sword got mostly really positive reviews and I thought it was a bunch of hot garbage.

It's even worse for us Europeans, the new Layton is already out. "TOO MANY GOOD NINTENDO GAMES AT ONCE" is not a thought I thought I'd ever have but well here it is.

Jason Schreier of Kotaku, Chris Kohler of Wired, and Sam Machkovech of Ars all had some middling things to say about the game, too.

I'm curious about the statements made in several of these reviews. Some of them say the bosses are the best in the series and the game is refreshingly challenging. Others seem to suggest the complete opposite. I guess I'll see what I think for myself when I pick it up next Friday!

I've been on the side of thinking that the best Zelda games in the past ten years have been the portable games (Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks) and the console games have been seriously disappointing (Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword). The portable games seem a lot more willing to experiment with quirky design choices and mix things up in a fun way. I have a feeling I'll like this game a lot more than I did Skyward Sword. I'll have to rewrite my best to worst Zelda series list after the fact too.

Looking like a solid 8.9

I think I'm getting that Link Between Worlds bundle...anyone else?

Man, I can't wait to play this, just looks fantastic!

This game is the primary reason I bought a 3DS today. And if you're wondering why I didn't wait for the bundle? I don't really care for the look of that model.

Whatever man it still plays games :P

Zelda reviews are going to be good no matter what the game is like. There will always be those outliers that give it 6's or 3's but generally the populous tends to frown on those reviews. (You know...8.8, but let's not go there)

Link to the Past is not my favorite Zelda game by far, but I'm excited for this one. I like that Nintendo is gradually changing the Zelda formula so people can stop bitching that "they just made the same game again." Though I'm sure we'll still hear some.

You're right, Zelda games will get praise regardless of quality, but it seems almost every single reviewer is praising the item rental system, and consequentially the option to tackle dungeons in any order. That does sound like a far cry from the handholdy nature of recent Zelda games and even harkens back to the original in a way that really hasn't been done in over twenty years. That to me is the most exciting thing a new Zelda game could do.

It's almost ironic how a direct sequel to A Link to the Past may turn out the be one of the more confident and daring Zeldas in ages. On paper it sounds like the worst idea conceivable, banking on nostalgia while raising expectations to evergreen levels. I really can''t wait to play it and see for myself.

I'm with you there, that thing is so gaudy. I don't like the look of the XL in general, it looks like Fischer-Price manufactured it for them. A big blatant Triforce and sprayed on "gold" isn't really helping. I'll stick with my OG Aqua Blue.

To be blunt, Zelda games getting 9s and 10s from critics is about as useful as Jeff giving every single Halo game 4 stars because it continues to not be on fire and Jeff continues to think that Halo multiplayer is "ok".

I'll be picking this one up on Friday regardless because I think it does look great and exciting and whatnot, but you have to remember that Twilight Princess has a metacritic average of 95 and Skyward Sword a 93. Critical scores for Zelda games are always a rough patch because outside of a few outliers, the people who are reviewing the Zelda games are the same people who unabashedly adore the franchise despite it being in something of a rut recently.

9.5 on Polygon.

The ever-hated Arthur Geis called it the best Zelda game in the past 20 years. Pretty high praise.