The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

It's easy to understate the freedom this game gives you. At first blush, the idea of tackling temples in any order you want is a big change up. But in a franchise centered around tackling eight or so temples every time out, the order of which you beat them in feels rather meaningless, making the whole "play the temples in any order you want" promise that this game was sold on feels like marketing ploy rather than the revelation it turned out to be. It's with that "any temple, any time" gimmick that gives the game an openness that ends up being damn near unparalleled in the franchise. Because it's not about the temples and what order you play them in. It's not about scoring the hookshot from Temple X so you can traverse to Temple Y. It's about going anywhere you want on the map from the word jump discovering all of the world's secrets whenever you want. This game lets the reigns go loose unlike any Zelda game before it.

And the combat! The old school, 2-D combat is better than any other 2-D Zelda. By throwing in a twist that makes weapons other than sword easy and fun to use on a consistent basis while still limiting the power of said weapons, the fundamentally simple yet often challenging combat (on Hero Mode, anyway) breathes life not only into the franchise, but 2-D action games across the board. Really. This game on Hero Mode is one of the finest 2-D action experiences I've had in recent memory. Though it uses A Link to the Past's coat of paint to get its story and aesthetic across, it feels far closer to Link's Awakening or Oracle of Seasons (and far, far superior to the latter).

This feels like one of the best Zelda games there is in so many ways and yet feels nothing like a Zelda game in so many others. It's a rare case in the franchise where the action matches the heights of the exploration, and both of those aspects are near the tip top of the list of when it comes to Zelda games.