Twelve years after exploring the kingdom of Hyrule on the Super Nintendo during “A Link to the Past,” the Zelda franchise returns to the same setting on the Nintendo 3DS with the sequel, “A Link Between Worlds.”

Taking place two hundred years after the events of the previous game, the player is once again thrown into the shoes of an unlikely hero destined to save the kingdom from the threat of the demon king.

The nostalgic feel of this new installment is a call back to gaming history. The kingdom of Hyrule has the same basic layout as the original game but feels like time has passed with the addition of new buildings and locations that have happened over time.

The graphics are crisp on the 3DS, and having the 3D feature turned on does not strain the eyes like most games that use this feature.

While the game plays great and the layout calls back to classic Zelda, the storyline and the progression system are stale. Just like every game in the franchise, the story is about as cookie cutter as they come. Unlikely hero needs to collect powerful objects and save the princess, making the game feel tedious as if jumping through the same hoops that players have been for several installments.

Progressing the storyline can be tedious, and not having any direction for an objective occurs regularly. While this edition is fantastic for die-hard Zelda fans, as a stand-alone title, it does not hold its own.

lkenney@mavs.coloradomesa.edu