Legend of Zelda: A link to the Past
How is that a Zelda like?
Cross Code
I think a bigger difference is the perspective. Metroidvanias tend to focus on plataforming challenges and the battle mechanics focused on jumping; while Zelda-likes have little to no jumping, so the challenges come from positioning and timing for puzzles and battles.You'll want to be clearer about whether you're drawing a distinction between side-scrolling and top-down perspectives (where the idea of a 2D Zelda-like would be something like Hyper Light Drifter—but Zelda II, oddly enough, wouldn't qualify), or between different types of structure, segmentation, and openness (where many games that are casually talked about as "Metroidvanias", like Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, are substantially closer to Zelda's separation of overworlds and self-contained dungeon maps).
I tend to mentally separate them the second way, and prefer the Metroid school: full-scale backtracking and connectivity over a game that might be divided into zones, but still feels like a contiguous space, and which encourages you to traverse it accordingly.
There's too much design diversity and cross-pollination in this cluster of genres anyway for a separation to ever be clean. In some important respects, like character power progression, Metroid and Zelda (the official lines, I mean) have more to do with each other than Metroid does with the vast majority of so-called Metroidvanias.
I would say that Metroidvanias have zones that focus one one item/ability too, though.One distinction that came to mind is 2d Zeldas have dungeons that typically focus on one item/power up or concept. Metroidvanias seem to mix things up more, but not always.
My gut reaction to the OP is Metroidvania, probably bc I've played more of them.
3d Dot Game Heroes
I don't get why this is a hard question. Alundra, Blossom Tales, Ittle Dew, Hyper Light Drifter and 3D Dot are all zelda like.How is A Link to the Past a "2D Zelda-like?" It's literally a 2D Zelda.
Maybe a game like Blossom Tales or 3D Dot Game Heroes would be a better example of what you mean?
I don't get why this is a hard question. Alundra, Blossom Tales, Ittle Dew, Hyper Light Drifter and 3D Dot are all zelda like.
Monster collecting JRPG.