Content review for this game:
Pertaining to content listed in the upper left corner of this site.

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Violence: The story is set about 100 years after the events of Ocaria of Time, and follow the adventures of Link's descendant. The overall violence consists of combat, and results in very cartoony animations and reactions when you or enemies are hit. Link has access to many devices through the game that function as partial weapons, but his main weapon of choice is his sword, with a shield to protect from incoming blows. You use the B button to swipe, and continue to do so, which result in simple combos, until you defeat the enemy. The downed enemies then fall to the ground, and disappear into various puffs of smoke and particle effects. The only visible damage is when you or an enemy is hit, which results in you or the enemy's body flashing bright red for a split second, each time. Again, the overall violence is more mild than any current/popular kid show being shown on tv.

As I said, the overall violence is similar to a Saturday morning cartoon, and the majority of the game is very kid-friendly content-wise. However, there are a couple of instances that could mildly disturb younger kids. First of all, there is an enemy later in the game that resembles a mix of a large wooden mannequin and a mummy, and it sleeps in a casket. When it sees your character it will make a hideous scream, paralyzing your character with fear--and if you don't snap out of it in time, the creature will straddle your character's back and drain your health by sucking on your neck. Second, there is the last scene of the game, where your character plunges his sword into the boss' forehead. Neither of these elements have any blood or gore, but they are worth mentioning.

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Content-wise: Overall content-wise I recommend it for 6- because the majority of the game is watchable for kids in this age group (though the story is exclusively in text). The game also has a large non-linear overworld, and you can spend as much time as you want on the islands that make up the world. So, in other words, if your kid is 6- they could run around many of the island towns and explore, without having to play the story mode or fight enemies, and since the game looks like an interactive cartoon, they're sure to like it.

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Difficulty-wise: The series is known for it's long, epic story mode, and complex (but streamlined) gameplay mechanics and is very deep, with a large overworld, non-linear gameplay, hard bosses, and complex dungeons. The main pattern of the game is set somewhat like an RPG, and early on has your character gain his equipment, and then set out for the main quest. You then traverse the overworld, locate each dungeon and make your way to its core, while fighting enemies and solving puzzles. When you come to the end you fight the boss and receive your reward. That's pretty much the core structure of every Zelda game.

Now difficuly-wise, it takes at least 20 hours to beat, and some of the puzzles are moderately complex. The button interface is completely customizable, which means you have to go into a menu and assign the wanted item to a button every time. Also, you travel by sailboat in the overworld to get around, so you have to change wind direction by using your conductor's baton, and count out a specific song every time you want to go north, south etc--and since the overworld is so huge, younger kids could get lost, bored and/or frustrated because the next place to go isn't always obvious. So, in other words, all these issues can and will frustrate and stump a younger audience.

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Fun for: Despite the cute graphic appearance, the overall gameplay is suited to an older more patient group, which means it has many gameplay elements, and an overall patience factor that some younger kids just don't possess. So, adults (and kids 10+) are probably going to get the most out of this game, as in completion and comprehension.

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Closing comment: This is a masterpeice of a game, with a unique graphic style, long, deep gameplay and an involving story. It takes everything from the previous Zelda games and expands upon those ideas in a unique way. Though it may not be better than The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it's at least as good, and very different in many ways. Content-wise it's very mild, but difficulty-wise, expect to help kids 7- pretty much all the way through if they want to play the story mode. Kids 6- can watch you play it, and many of the elements are playable by that age group. Content-wise I'd say 6-, but difficulty, and complexity-wise 10+.