The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was an interesting game and the first title released specifically for the Nintendo 3DS. This game was fairly well-received by gamers and critics, getting a 91% on IGN and a 94% on Metacritic. Many players found it charming, fun, and different. It was a fantastic hand-held game that got you to think a little differently.

A Link Between Worlds sported a lot of unique gameplay elements, especially for the Zelda universe. For example, it introduced the idea of renting items. As a result, the game was pretty non-linear since you weren’t restricted by not having an item yet, which was a common element in many Zelda games. But the most unique aspect of this game is that Link gains the ability to merge into walls, like a painting. This was an interesting element that let the player mess around with the 2D and the 3D world. It was a great way to make puzzles more complex and interesting.

And yet for its unique elements, it sports some familiar themes of Zelda such as hiding secrets and references to previous games. This game sports a lot of interesting secrets and facts that you likely missed if you weren’t looking closely. So here are some interesting facts and secrets that you likely didn’t know about A Link Between Worlds.

Do you think I missed any secrets? Did you find some interesting references to previous Zelda games, or even other games? Be sure to let us know!

15 A Familiar Familial Face

Via: goombastomp.com

If you remember the beginning to A Link to the Past, you’ll recall Link’s uncle, who was mortally wounded after fighting off monsters. While we don’t know much about this relative of Link, we do find that he seems to hold a special place in Link’s heart. What’s cool is that this character shows up again in a Link Between Worlds! Well, sort of.

If you look around Link’s house, you’ll notice a few paintings hanging there. One of those paintings bears a remarkable likeness to Link’s Uncle in A Link to the Past. Why would he be on Link’s wall? Is this the same uncle from the previous game? Regardless, it’s a great reference to the game that this one is more or less a sequel to.

14 The Proof Is In The Portrait

Via: zeldauniverse.net

This game actually has a lot of fun references hiding in portraits and paintings. There are two areas where you’ll find some interesting paintings. If you go to the Milk Bar, and look around the walls, you’ll see paintings of Medli’s and Makar’s instruments. These two characters were the newly awakened Earth and Wind sages that used their instruments to revive the power in the Master Sword in Wind Waker.

Another area is in Kakariko Village. If you look around in some of the houses, you’ll find portraits of Makar himself and the crawfish symbol from Wind Waker as well. These Wind Waker characters are popping up everywhere! It makes for some interesting speculation as to why these characters would be showing up.

13 Shh! It’s A Secret!

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If you’re familiar with Zelda, you’ve likely heard of the phrase “it’s a secret to everybody” that tends to pop up in practically every Zelda game. It’s a reference to the Secret Moblin in the original The Legend of Zelda, where a Moblin hiding in a cave would give you rupees to not slay it. It then warns you to keep it a secret.

Well, this phrase shows up not once but twice in this game. One time is in a small cave in eastern Lorule, where a hinox is hiding. It will ask you to spare it, offering rupees, and then warning you to keep it a secret. The other time is after you rescue the thief girl from the Thieves’ Hideout. You can find her in a cave south of Vacant House where she’ll thank you and reward you with a treasure chest. She’ll then ask you to keep it a secret from everybody.

12 It’s All About Perspective

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Have you noticed something interesting about the perspective in A Link Between Worlds? While it does retain a top-down perspective that many of the original 2-D games had, there’s something a little different in this one. In this case, the perspective is slanted.

The reason for the different perspective was to grant the gamers a better view. The creators found that the top-down perspective focused only on the tops of heads, houses, trees, enemies, etc. It made for a boring picture. So, they slanted everything so that the gamer could get a better look at the world around them. What’s even more interesting is that this perspective was also used in one other Zelda game, which was A Link to the Past. Just one more thing these two games share.

11 A Familiar Tune In Hiding

Via: hiddentriforce.com

Zelda is known for using some familiar themes in music throughout various games. For example, Zelda’s Lullaby and the Main Zelda Theme have become rather iconic and generally show up in many of the Zelda games. So, it’s not that surprising that a familiar tune would be lurking in one of the themes of A Link Between Worlds.

The theme for Lorule Castle is a great tune, but it also is hiding a secret tune. If you play the Lorule Castle Theme backwards, you soon find that some sections sound similar to the Hyrule Castle Theme. This was a popular theme that eventually was used as Ganon’s Theme in many of the Zelda games. It’s a clever way to sneak in an iconic melody without it being obvious.

10 This Bar Is Playing Something New

Via: zeldadungeon.net

Hero Mode is a fun element in A Link Between Worlds, where you can play a harder version of the game. Along with the more difficult enemies, Hero Mode offers a few fun secrets you wouldn’t get in the regular version. One example is the music in the Milk Bar.

Normally when you go into the bar you hear a few fun tunes. But things change a bit when you’re in Hero Mode. If you walk into the Milk Bar in Hero Mode, you can hear a familiar tune being played by the musicians there. It’s actually the Ballad of the Goddess, which is the main theme for Skyward Sword. It’s a great reference to a previous game, yet it’s so subtle, you might miss it if you’re not paying attention.

9 Hey, Where Did You Get That Mask?

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Ravio is an interesting character that ends up being quite helpful to you throughout the game. His store holds many items that you can rent out, which is an interesting element that was introduced in this game. It’s a slightly odd store that matches the slightly odd character perfectly. But if you look around Ravio’s store itself, you may find some even more interesting things.

On one of the walls of this store, you can find a familiar mask hanging there. Yep, Ravio apparently has Majora’s Mask hanging on his wall. I wonder if it’s the real deal, or if it’s just a replica. It also makes you wonder where he got it. Ravio may have been up to more than we initially thought...

8 This Tune Pops Up Everywhere!

Via: zeldadungeon.net

This game has all sorts of familiar music and sounds hiding in it! If you’ve played A Link to the Past, you likely remember the flute that allowed you to harness the whirlwinds and warp to different areas in Hyrule. The tune that this flute played was a haunting, yet light and whimsical tune. Throughout other Zelda games, this tune has popped up in various formats and songs. And it has shown up again in A Link Between Worlds.

When you’re saving the game, the weather vane makes a little jingle. This jingle is the same tune that the flute made in A Link to the Past. This is a great way to carry on a tune that has become rather iconic over the years.

7 There’s A Connection, I Know It

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Ravio is certainly a very memorable character in this game with his interesting personality, and initially odd appearance. But you may notice something rather familiar about the way he looks.

Many gamers have noticed a similarity between Ravio and the Nabbit from the New Super Mario Bros. When asked about it, the creators said that the two characters didn’t directly influence each other’s designs. But since the Zelda games and the Mario games are often developed on the same floor, it would make sense if the creators of these games were influencing each other indirectly. That being said, it would be interesting if there was a connection between Ravio and the world of Super Mario. We’ve already had several references to Mario in the Zelda games.

6 I See Your True Colors

Via: digitaltrends.com

This is just a fun little fact about some of the mechanics of the game. One element is the energy gauge. In this game, the gauge is a purple color and runs out when Link runs out of stamina. It’s an interesting gameplay element that has to make you plan your moves without tiring out Link too much.

What’s interesting is that during development, the energy gauge was colored green instead of purple. This could be reminiscent of Skyward Sword, since the stamina gauge in that game was also green. But later, the color was changed to purple. We don’t really know the exact reason to why the colors were changed. Maybe they wanted to make it unique from Skyward Sword, or they thought the green didn’t work.

5 What’s He Saying?

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The Zelda games have had a wide array of shopkeepers, all clamoring to get you to buy something of theirs. In the original The Legend of Zelda game, the shopkeepers all had a distinctive phrase. Whenever you talked to them, they always started the conversation with “Buy something, will ya!” You have to give them credit for their aggressive sales tactics.

This phrase actually shows up again in A Link Between Worlds, though not quite like you’d expect it. If you talk to the Lakeside Item Seller without buying anything, he will say an unusual phrase: “... Ay lliw nihtemos yub...” If you arrange this backwards, it translates to “Buy something will ya.” It’s a great reference to the original game and the way they hid it was pretty clever.

4 A Secret Diary

Via: youtube.com (YTSunny)

I mentioned before that the Hero Mode of A Link Between Worlds offers some fun secrets and elements that weren’t present in the normal mode. In this case, we have a chance to look at some new information in the Hero Mode.

If you go to the Vacant House in the normal mode of the game, you won’t really find much there. But if you go there in Hero Mode, you’ll find a book. But it’s not just any book, it’s Ravio’s diary. Yep, the strange shopkeeper Ravio has a diary and you can read it. While it doesn’t necessarily give any important information, it is fun to take a look inside Ravio’s head through the diary. It’s a great little piece of extra information for the gamers to find.

3 It's Time To Mix It Up!

Via: zeldauniverse.net

You may or may not remember the infamous commercial that released in Japan promoting The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Showcasing a hilariously bad rap and an interesting tune, this commercial was certainly memorable for years to come. But it’s actually shown up again several decades later.

To promote A Link Between Worlds, Japan released a commercial that was essentially a remix of the original commercial for A Link to the Past. This is actually a smart way to show how the two games are connected, since A Link Between Worlds takes place in the same world as A Link to the Past. It’s also a good way to appeal to the older generation that may have grown up with the older game. What makes me wonder is how many people actually recognized the commercial.

2 I’m Feeling Blue

Via: gameskinny.com

The Zelda games are well known for relying on text for speech and having very little voice acting. In fact the only games to have some voice acting are Hyrule Warriors and Breath of the Wild, and even that was limited to cutscenes. But besides those two games, most of the information you got from people was in text format.

But often throughout the games, information that was important in text dialogue was often highlighted in red. This made it stand out for you to remember. However, A Link Between Worlds does things a little bit differently. While it sticks with text dialogue, it highlights important information in blue instead of red. So why the change? Well, we don’t actually know. Maybe the creators got tired of red and decided to mix things up.

1 This Bunny Looks Familiar

Via: game-art-hq.com, kevinbolk.deviantart.com

Ravio is an interesting character to put it mildly. One of the big things that stands out to him is his outfit, which makes him look like a rabbit. Why is he dressed that way? Does he really like rabbits? It’s a bit of a mystery.

While we don’t know why he personally chose that outfit, the design of Ravio is a little reference to A Link to the Past. In that game, when Link had to go to the Dark World, he initially was transformed into a pink bunny (this is likely where Twilight Princess also got its inspiration to put Link in a wolf form while roaming the twilight). So Ravio’s outfit is a little shout out to that game element to A Link Between World’s predecessor.