Summary
As far as top-notchZeldagames go,The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worldsis almost as good as it gets. Not only isA Link Between Worldsone of the highest-scoring Nintendo 3DS games of all time, according to Metacritic, but it is also widely recognized as one of thebestZeldagamesever made. That’s what makes one of the PS Plus Extra and Premium games for September 2024 so special, as it hasZelda: A Link Between Worldswritten all over it. The game in question isThe Plucky Squire, an action-adventure title by indie developer All Possible Futures set to launch on September 17 alongside the rest of this month’s PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup.
The Plucky Squireis not aZeldagame by any means, but it utilizes a core gameplay mechanic ofZelda: A Link Between Worldsand features straightforward sword combat that would feel familiar to any fan of the longstandingLegend of Zeldaseries. With such a kinship toThe Legend of Zelda,The Plucky Squireis landing on PS Plus at the perfect time, just a little over a week before the launch of the next mainlineZeldainstallment,Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
PS Plus' The Plucky Squire Draws Inspiration From Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Plucky Squire Features Zelda-Like Combat and Puzzles
According to what’s been revealed so far aboutThe Plucky Squire, it features fairly simpleZelda-like combat, in which players control a character who wields a sword and what appears to be some kind of boomerang as well. For the most part,The Plucky Squire’s combatis done in real-time, but occasional turn-based battles have also been confirmed for the game. That may beThe Plucky Squire’s most significant deviation fromZelda’s combat.
As players make their way through each level inThe Plucky Squire, they will also be tasked with solving a wide variety of platforming puzzles that impede progress until they are solved. This type of gameplay loop has always been a major aspect ofThe Legend of Zelda, even thoughZelda’s puzzles may be a bit more complexthanThe Plucky Squire’s — at least, judging by what has been shown so far.
The Plucky Squire Borrows Zelda: A Link Between Worlds' Core Gameplay Mechanic
WhereThe Plucky Squirebegins to look specifically likeZelda: A Link Between Worldsis in itsregular transitions between 2D and 3D environments. Certain sections of the game see players traipsing across the pages of astorybook similar toPaper Mario, with storybook illustrations to boot, defeating enemies and progressing the story, all from a top-down point of view. Once those moments are over, however, players then emerge from the book and enterThe Plucky Squire’s 3D realm, which is viewed from an isometric perspective. InThe Plucky Squire’s 3D realm, players solve unique platforming puzzles, occasionally jumping in and out of the game’s 2D space when necessary.
This gameplay mechanic is identical toZelda: A Link Between Worlds' most prominent gimmick, which sees Link regularly becoming a 2D, painted version of himself to solve puzzles and reach otherwise unreachable areas. In light of that, it’s difficult to ignoreThe Plucky Squire’s obvious fondness forZelda: A Link Between Worlds, though there’s no justifiable reason to classify that as a bad thing. After all, the feature fits the storybook world ofThe Plucky Squireperfectly, so it’s hard to fault it for imitating one of the bestZeldagames ever made. At the very least, it givesZeldafans a placeholder forZelda: Echoes of Wisdomuntil it arrives, althoughThe Plucky Squirestill seems charming in its own way.
