A Link To The Past 2's wall movement will introduce new ways of solving puzzles

Nintendo's 3DS sequel to The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past will allow Link to "merge" with walls, which Nintendo spokesperson Bill Trinen says will create "new opportunities for puzzle solving," and change the way players interact with the game world.

The sequel to A Link To The Past was announced by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata at yesterday's Nintendo Direct. One of the new gameplay mechanics introduced in the 3DS version of the game is the ability for Link to switch into a 2D sketch mode and merge with walls. When Link merges with a wall, the camera shifts from an overhead perspective so players can see Link on the wall as he moves around. If the wall turns a corner, Link turns a corner.

"Even if you've played [A Link To The Past] and are familiar with it, this is going to feel different," Trinen told Polygon. "Typically, you think of a game world in terms of how you played it before, which is, 'Where does the path lead? What am I going to find this way?' Now you have to rethink the way the world is structured in terms of how the walls connect to one another and how you could use those walls to move around differently.

"So it's going to create some new opportunities for puzzle solving. You couple that with a new story and you'll have a fun Zelda experience that you really can't do on another platform."

Trinen said that the game will be set in the Kingdom of Hyrule and, while he couldn't reveal the game's story, he said there will be some narrative connections to A Link To The Past.

The game will release on the Nintendo 3DS later this year.