I bought the recently released Zelda bundle and I've played the game for maybe an hour or so. To put it in perspective I completed the first dungeon and I was able to buy up a ton of gear from the rabbit dude who is 'renting' my house. My main issue with the game is that it's doing a really poor job of explaining what's going on to me.

I'll give an example. I'm supposed to cross a river to get to the next dungeon (I believe it's the tower of hera but it could be the other one). There was a dude close to the tower that told me I should learn to swim from the master swim dude up north. I went there and found his assistant who told me a bridge was broken and now we're both screwed because he can't swim either. I honestly don't know what to do now. I've went around the map trying to find things to do (I found power gloves, which seem useful) but I feel like I'm wandering around. I have a bunch of items that I don't really know how they work or when they are useful.

I keep getting the feeling that the game expects a certain level of back knowledge from me that I just don't have because I'm new to the Zelda series. I'm fighting the urge to just look up a guide because that seems shitty but if the game continues like this I'm going to have to.

I know this series is beloved so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt. What am I doing wrong here and what can do to start enjoying this game?

Tip : use the merge ability all the time, the game is based around it.

You spend a lot of time in most Zelda games wondering around trying to figure out what to do next.

Merging as in turning 2D and sticking to a wall?

I feel like every Zelda game has this moment. It's kind of the "a-ha" puzzle moments. Oh and ya, merge yo.

@twigger89: Yep, since there's no set items progression, this game uses the merging ability most of the time.

To answer your more general question, I think part of the fun is finding where to use which item. You have to think the world in game-like fashion. It is the best way to enjoy the game for me. If you're stuck and don't like it, don't feel bad about asking tips on the internet or looking up a FAQ. If you still don't like it, then it's probably just not your game :(

I'm about halfway through the main part of the game where they give you the seven dungeons and just say "go for it" and I occasionally still brain fart on the "merge" power, forgetting that I have it. I'll get stuck on a puzzle or part of the dungeon for a while, and then figure out the obvious solution eventually.

The part you are referring to, where you have to cross the river and go up north, I had the exact same problem; ran around for like 20 minutes, then came back and used the Hint Glasses (which you can get from the fortune teller in the northwest, might be helpful for you if you are occasionally getting frustrated) and the ghost was all "JUST MERGE YA DUMMY". Don't get me wrong though, the merging is a very cool and clever mechanic. I'm currently working through the dungeon where you use the Sand Rod, which allows you to do some neat stuff in conjunction with the merging.

Just stick with it! :)

My only problem with the game so far is that the bow can only be aimed in eight directions. Makes it harder to target someone. Other than that I'm really enjoying it. This is the first Zelda game I've played for real. The atmosphere is well realized.

Also, is there no way to quickly switch between items rather than going into the item menu?

@aegon: The rabbit dude eventually lets you in on how to quick switch... I dont find it that much faster though.. Im probably doing something wrong

Merge all day Err day.

(specifically for that Zora assistant scenario, as well as in general)

@vikingdeath1: @aegon: There is another feature of the Quick Switch where you can set a little arrow on the item box to highlight items that will actually appear in the quickswitch menu, so it will be just 4 items you choose, or 8, or whatever. I don't really use it but it seems like it could be useful.

And man I wish you could aim the arrows more than 8 ways.

You've been spoiled by modern video games holding your hand and guiding you through candy-ass glorified movies with a modicum of interactivity. LBW is harkening back to the old days, when games gave you the freedom to explore and figure things out for yourself instead of having a super companion pop up and explain every little detail for you, and I LOVE it for it.

This, this, and this. The way to play is to explore and find the secrets on your own. No fairy to point you in the right direction, no hour long session of tutorials and exposition to ease you into the game, no bullshit.

I have played about five hours of the game and love how little it holds your hand. It's like the complete opposite of Skyward Sword. It let me just roam around doing whatever, marking shit on the map from really early on. I have had a bunch of those "oh shit!" moments after figuring how to do a puzzle. (Using the merge probably...always the merge.)

I don't think this a good game for Zelda beginners because it does not train you in the core Zelda mechanics, those are expected. The reason why so many people are hyped about getting all the equipment up front is because those people already know how to use it all. This game has no training wheels in regards to mechanics it introduced in the litany of other great 2D zelda games. A smoother intro to 2D Zelda is Link's awakening. It's on the eshop and is fantastic.

This game is poor for beginners (so is Link to the Past, to be fair. That game can be esoteric!!). Hope you get over the learning curve or find a way to enjoy the game. It has some of the coolest puzzle mechanics with the merge ability being game-changing. After so many Zelda games, it feels fresh to have a new tool in the toolbox.

Yeah I'd prefer this over a 5 hour tutorial. And its paying homage to a SNES game and SNES games didnt hold your hand either, they just assumed you were smart enough to pick up on the patterns.

This isn't entirely untrue, but when you apply this complaint you almost always apply it to the Blockbuster-style AAA games like Uncharted, Call of Duty, Gears of War, etc. If you get deeper into gaming you find that there are a lot of games that don't hold your hand and do let you explore. Fire Emblem Awakening, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Dark Souls, X-Com, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Minecraft, Terraria, Super Meat Boy, Dishonored, Dragon Age Origins, and more do not hold your hand at all.

In the meantime, Zelda games - and any game that really asks the player to explore the world around him - almost always includes a few moments where the player just doesn't know what to do next. The best thing to do when you just can't figure out what the game wants you to do is to shut it off and go do something else for a while and come back to it with a fresh mind and, hopefully, some fresh ideas on how to get past an obstacle. It's almost always a pretty obvious solution that just didn't cross your mind when you were getting mad at the game.

After taking the advice in this thread (I didn't realize I could merge cliff faces) I was able to beat the second dungeon pretty quick (the one with the sand rod shit, and the eyeball boss). It was definitely a fun experience (though the boss was just dumb). I do find a lot of the comments about the game holding your hand to be a little patronizing though. You guys are making it sound like the game is imparting information to the player that it just isn't. I feel like I have to use adventure game logic and just use every item on every thing in the world to see what has an effect. I personally don't find that to be a good game mechanic.

That being said I had a lot of fun beating the second dungeon and I feel like I better understand how the game works. Now I just need to find a character I like and I'll be good to go.

Lol I got stuck at the exact same part. Such an obvious answer in the end.

You're still really early on, the game gets a lot better as you go. Don't forget you can use the help glasses if you get really stuck and there's usually a ghost nearby to give you a tip. The fortune teller is also useful if you are having trouble.

Also when in doubt: merge! A lot of solutions involve it, just gotta think outside the box.

You're probably missing the rose-tinted nostalgia goggles that were included with A Link to the Past.

Here's a tip: Be a teenager in the early 90's, and play A Link to the Past. Then, be in your thirties now, and start A Link Between Worlds over from the beginning. That should do the trick.

I surely did get a bit tripped up by this part too. I walked around looking to see if there was some other place I could go to get around it or head to another dungeon entirely, but then I remembered to merge. I haven't played all of the recent Zelda titles, but I will say the way the game is designed to just let you figure it all out on your own is something there hasn't really been in quite a while.

You're be missing quite a lot.

I've got those! They're pretty great.

Maybe it's as simple as you don't like puzzle solving, which is what the majority of Zelda games are all about. To which I say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It may not be for you.

Zelda is nearly 76% nostalgia goggles. Nobody likes to admit it, but there it is, the game is mostly very old creaky game play. Sure there is some quaint family friendly story telling, well presented art aesthetics, yet so much of all those things are nostalgic throw back game elements, story parts, and aesthetics bits.

If you're new to the game, much of the game makes you ask, "What is supposed to be so special of compelling about these characters or game elements?"

If you think you have to apply adventure game logic you're probably missing something. I haven't played a link between worlds yet, but generally Zelda games are fairly good about having a marker for things you can hit (eyes, or targets for arrows for instance). If it works like other Zelda games you should be able to recognize a pattern for how items get used which makes playing through it a lot easier.

The merging mechanic looked like it could be used anywhere, though, so maybe thats a case where they expect you to use it pretty much anywhere (and the bridge out puzzle as an unstated tutorial for merging on cliff walls).

No, this game does not tell you what to do explicitly in every situation -- but, for the most part, it's because it has already told you once before.

If you get to an obstacle you can't get past, and everything in the game is pointing you that way, chances are you've overlooked something that, once realized, is completely obvious and logically sound. I had the exact same problem at the exact same spot, and I've played every Zelda game since the first.

Figuring it out is kind of a 'duh' moment, but the 'duh' isn't because the game isn't telling you things and you have to randomly guess at solutions until you hit the right one -- it's because you aren't thinking about the tools you have available. The game told you, showed you, precisely what you'd need to do in that situation -- your exit from the Eastern Palace is the tutorial for the mechanic and its uses. Zelda logic might not be entirely real world logic, but I think it's a far cry from the random nonsense of adventure game logic.

@chiablo said:

I've only ever played Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker and I think this game is fantastic.

@lyisa: @tidel:I mean, there is a pop-up that says "Merge" any time you get near a wall. I didn't think they made it that obscure.

Yeah you're overthinking it

just gotta merge to get over gaps because Link don't jump

look at that, someone stole GB's old site template again!

Wow such a specific statistic, and for a game you've never played? You've got quite the future.

@xeiphyer: Help glasses? I'm about to go into my second lorule dungeon and haven't run into these glasses.

@aegon said:

You get them from the fortune teller in Hyrule if you talk to him at all. Somebody hasn't been obsessively talking to every NPC, I guess :P

I really didn't care for A Link to The Past, and I certainly don't like A Link Between Worlds nearly as much as I like the 3d Zelda titles, but I am really enjoying this game. The story isn't there, but it makes up for it with tight gameplay. At first I didn't think the world was large enough to satisfy, but it is surprisingly dense.

Hope you end up finding what's interesting about this game.

I just beat the game and overall I enjoyed it. My biggest complaint (other than the 15 stage final boss fight that was tedious) was how shallow the story and characters were. I don't know if it's because the game is aimed at children or what but the good guys were so generic. Yuga and his princess were by far the most interesting characters because they had a motivation other than 'do the right thing'. They could have done so much with the dual world premise but it was barely touched on from a narrative perspective. I'm definitely interested in picking up Ocarina of Time 3D so the game did get me interested in zelda.

I'm starting to slow down on this game. I have maybe 3 dungeons left, but I'm finding it hard to bring myself care. I thought the game started out strong but as time wore on it just started to feel tedious and boring. It's a shame because it's one of those games I really want to like, but maybe because I never really got super into zelda as a kid I'm finding it hard to really get into it as a adult.

Freedom, so long neglected. In 2014 it's considered a bug.

A heart.

I'm gonna let myself out now.

@ghostiet said:

ZING!

Anyway, yeah, most of the complaints in this thread make people sound like whiny babies. Like, jeez, you wanna talk about boring, tedious dungeons? Try most of the dungeons in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. And good god were those dungeons plain and uninspired in their visual designs.

As someone who has never played a Zelda game before i've gotta admit, i'm getting kinda bored with this one. It just feels like a bit of a slog when there's no interesting narrative thread and really no character progression (since I can just rent everything within the first hour). Also makes it really tedious to have to go back and re-rent everything whenever I die. I'll probably finish it but, I dunno, finishing every dungeon gives me this sense of "Well, I guess i'll just wander around until I find the next one..", rather than "Oh man I can't wait to find the next location and see what happens next!" Because I know what's going to happen next, i'll use a certain item to solve some puzzles and occasionally fight an arena of dudes and then a boss at the end.

So you're a whiny baby for complaining about boring level design because a previous game in the series had worse level design? I don't really understand that logic. It's not like this game is that much better with distinctive visual design in each temple. Unless you're super into square rooms with brick walls, tiled flooring, chandeliers, prison-cell bars and cage-floors.

Not enjoying the game? Listen to more acoustic guitar and flute versions of Zelda songs in the Milk Bar!

@ghostiet said:

I was going to say 'a soul', but I like your rendition too.