The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was originally released on the Nintendo Game Boy in 1993. As with most games in The Legend of Zelda series, it is an action-adventure game in which players control Link and fight through a large overworld and maze-like dungeons. Link’s Awakening began as an experiment to see if a game like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System could be recreated on a handheld system, and it stemmed into its own adventure. Eventually, the game was reworked for the Game Boy Color as The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, released in 1998. This version was colorized and even included a new Color Dungeon along with some other additions. After all these years, Nintendo decided to revisit Link’s Awakening a third time. It was already a great game when it was originally released, but it was sadly limited by the Game Boy systems and consequently has not aged well. So, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has been remade from-the-ground-up for the Nintendo Switch, and it aims to overhaul the entire game for a modern console. It reminds old fans and enlightens new ones as to why this is such a beloved entry in the series.
For me, this quiet moment that Link shares with Marin is somehow one of the most memorable scenes in the history of Zelda.
Even as smaller-sized Zelda adventure, Link’s Awakening was a surprisingly large step forward for the franchise in terms of its writing. This was the first game in the series to not feature the titular character, Zelda, although she is referenced in her resemblance to the island girl named Marin. Previous Zelda games have always had Link rescuing Princess Zelda as his call to action. This time around, Link winds up in a shipwreck and is stranded on Koholint Island. After being found by Marin, he quickly learns that the only way to escape Koholint is to defeat the Nightmares of the island, gather the Eight Instruments of the Sirens, and wake the deity known as the Wind Fish. It is a simple story that becomes deeper as it progresses. I would say that its conclusion has been more impactful to me personally than most other games in the Zelda series. Not only that but Link’s Awakening exemplified the quirky humor and characters that the franchise has become known for. The personality of the game is more defined now that it has been remade in high definition.
Link is guided by an owl, who tells him awaken the Wind Fish, a deity that sleeps in a giant egg.
Most of the changes to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening have been mainly focused on the graphical and gameplay enhancements that make the game feel modern, but the remake adds a few things to this outing. There are now more Pieces of Heart and Secret Seashells than ever. Pieces of Heart, of course, increase the capacity of Link’s maximum health. While the original Link’s Awakening capped Link’s health at 14 Heart Containers, the new maximum is 20 Hearts. There are now 50 Secret Seashells. Bringing these items to the Seashell Mansion will yield rewards such as a Piece of Heart and the Koholint Sword. Finding enough Seashells will even get Link the new Seashell Sensor to help him find more; this tool will ring when Secret Seashells are nearby. Another new item that has been added is the Fairy Bottle, which can store Fairies that can be used to heal Link when he is in need of health. There are also some figurines of Mario characters that can be earned from the Trendy Game in Mabe Village. On top of that, there is now a harder difficulty mode called Hero Mode. The biggest addition to the remake is perhaps the Chamber Dungeons, which are dungeons that players can create using pre-set room designs.
There are more items to discover to make the adventure feel bigger than before.
The charm of Link’s Awakening is overflowing in everything that it does, which is in no small part thanks to its visuals. It opens with a beautifully animated cutscene that mirrors the opening sequence of the Game Boy version. The actual in-game graphics are made to look like a toy playset. Nearly everything has a slight shine on it to appear like plastic. This style was perhaps created to capture the spirit of the Game Boy’s aesthetics while simultaneously being something new. Characters are proportionate to their original sprites; they have beady eyes to mimic how they would have been seen on the 8-bit screen. Of all the games in the series, I feel this art direction works best for Link’s Awakening because it features several cameos of Mario characters. They look like they were ripped straight from the Mario series, and yet they do not feel out of place in this game. The only thing that bothers me is the blur effects at the edge of the screen, which I feel are unnecessary. I have always been a fan of retro graphics, and they never turned me off from the older games, but the new visuals are excellent.
I am very pleased that Nintendo chose to recreate the opening of the original game with a fully-animated scene. It shows Link sailing on his boat, braving a fierce storm.
Nintendo did not stop at updating the graphics, as the music has been rearranged from its 8-bit soundtrack. There are several great remixes to be heard here. Tal Tal Heights, which is one of my all-time favorite Zelda themes, is more booming and epic than ever. The theme of the Mysterious Woods is now subdued and better fits the mood of traveling through a dark forest. Not all of it is better than it was; Animal Village theme is somewhat grating and repetitive, but after going back and listening to the original, I realize that has always been the case. I am also not fond of the theme that plays when picking up a Piece of Power or Guardian Acorn, items that increase Link’s attack and defense respectively. This is not because I dislike the theme itself, but I can still hear the area’s theme music playing under it, and the clash of sounds bothers me to the point that I actively avoid these items. Most of the music is an improvement, though, and their new sound serves the new art style with the kind of bubbly tunes that evoke the childlike joy of playing with toys.
Exploring Koholint Island is really like playing around in a giant toy set.
The game may have had old-school graphics and music, but the real reason that Link’s Awakening needed to be remade is its dated gameplay. On the Game Boy, it had a clunky inventory system, and items had to be equipped to the A and B buttons. Link’s most basic actions (grabbing, running, using his shield, and even swinging his sword) were only possible when the proper items were set to those two buttons. The Nintendo Switch has far more buttons than the Game Boy, so those problems are easily remedied by designating the four actions listed earlier to their own buttons. As much as I have played the old Link’s Awakening, I occasionally found myself opening the menu to equip something like the Pegasus Boots, only to be reminded that I can simply press the L buttons to use them now. Some items still need to be equipped, now to the X and Y buttons, but it is a more streamlined experience that is not done as frequently. This one change is a significant improvement that keeps the game going.
The inventory is now more organized with room for all the items that Link can find.
Beyond that, the overworld and the dungeons of Link’s Awakening are more open than before. Similar to the first Zelda game, every section of the map was set up in small areas in a grid-like pattern. To explore, players had to go to the edge of the screen to move to the next area. In the overworld, these screen transitions have been entirely done away with. To me, it makes the world feel smaller than it did in the original, but the map was never that large to begin with. Besides, it is still packed with things to do. The only real problem is that there are noticeable framerate drops when moving between certain areas, especially where water is rendered. This is only an issue in the overworld and never seems to affect dungeons. In the dungeons, there are still plenty of rooms that are arranged in a grid, but some of the larger rooms are now connected without invisible barriers in the middle of them. Overall, this change gives exploration a greater feeling of freedom.
The world of Koholint is not especially large, but it is full of interesting scenery.
Dungeon design is one of the strongest elements of Link’s Awakening, and it feels even stronger in the remake. For example, the sixth dungeon, the Face Shrine, was full of doors that could only be opened by throwing objects at them. In the original, there was no indication of which doors need to be triggered by this action, but they are now clearly marked. Another slightly annoying problem with the previous versions of Link’s Awakening is that certain puzzles would reset each time entering a room, but now many of them remain solved, so there is no need to redo them. Also, there was always a compass item that can be found in every dungeon. With it, chests are marked on the map. In the DX version, it has also chimed when a key was nearby, but now, a compass icon also shows up on-screen. This was probably done to help those with hearing impairments. The only dungeon I would say has not felt better than before is the Color Dungeon. Its gimmick does not have as much appeal now that color has been commonplace in handheld games for a couple of decades now, and its design is relatively simple compared to every other dungeon in Link’s Awakening. Regardless, I am glad that it has returned from its appearance Link’s Awakening DX because it contains the best power-ups in the entire game.
The Color Dungeon was added to Link’s Awakening DX to take advantage of the new technology, and wow. Look at all that… color.
Another major improvement that the Link’s Awakening remake holds over the original is how it handles maps. Whether they are for the overworld or dungeon, the maps in the game are more detailed than ever, with locations very clearly displayed on them. Before, the map had to be uncovered little-by-little when entering each small section of an area, but now entire regions will be shown on the map when first visiting them. They are now marked with more icons that show places of interest throughout Koholint or its dungeons. You can also place up to pins to mark areas on the overworld and dungeon maps for whatever reason. Additionally, within the map menu, players can access the memories section which shows where two kinds of items, Pieces of Heart and Secrets Seashells, have been found. This feature is helpful for players who want to discover everything.
Dungeon maps now show the shape of the room and the placement of certain objects within.
It is easier than ever to traverse Koholint with the updated warping mechanics. The original game had three warp points. There was also a place Manba’s Pond that could be warped to with the Ocarina when learning Manba’s Mambo. In the Link’s Awakening remake, there are now ten locations that can be warped to via accessing warp portals directly, and playing Manba’s Mambo on the Ocarina will take Link to any one of them. While I am glad that the warping mechanic has been expanded, I do believe that warp points could have been more evenly placed around Koholint Island. At least they are located near many of the places where players will most often return.
Backtracking is common in Link’s Awakening, so the improvements to warping are welcomed.
This time around, a couple of mini-games have received more sophisticated mechanics with extra goodies to gain from them. While the original mini-game had few reasons to return to them, I kept coming back to the revamped versions in the remake. The fishing game now has several types of fish to catch within the pond, and reeling them in will earn rewards like Secret Seashells and different fishing lures. Unlike before, there are now Cheep Cheeps and Bloopers, enemies from the Mario series, to catch, too. The Trendy Game, which is a crane game, has been reworked to involve more realistic physics. The best part of the Trendy Game is the figurines that can be won from it. These figurines represent the various Mario characters that appear in Link’s Awakening, and they can be displayed in the homes within Mabe Village. They do not serve a purpose beyond looking cool, but it is not like I collect amiibo for their utility, so I do not mind their strictly aesthetic functions.
The fishing pond now has more swimming through its waters and deeper mechanics.
Speaking of amiibo, figures from The Legend of Zelda can be scanned in Link’s Awakening to receive bonus rooms and for the Chamber Dungeons. To elaborate, the Chamber Dungeon can be accessed at a certain point in the game by visiting Dampé’s Shack. Dampé will set up certain parameters for creating a dungeon that must be fulfilled by placing Chamber Tiles that represent rooms in the dungeon with a grid. At the very least, a completed dungeon needs an entrance, one room with a chest, and a boss room. The Chamber Dungeons are a nice glimpse of what a “Zelda Maker” could be like, but it is too simplified to be a deep side activity. The Chamber Tiles are copies of rooms from other dungeons in Link’s Awakening, rather than the player’s designs. You can get extra Chamber Tiles by completing dungeons. Unless you are in it for the mode itself, the Chamber Dungeons are not especially rewarding as completing Dampé’s challenges usually yields more Chamber tiles, but they do offer more useful items with a bit of work.
It takes a lot of effort to get anything out of Chamber Dungeons other than more Chamber Tiles.
It is easy to say that with this remake, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is better than ever, and it feels at home on a portable console like the Nintendo Switch. Its return is not without a few flaws, but these issues hardly matter against the major improvements that it makes to an already wonderful game. This remake is done so well that it already has me excited for future Zelda remakes. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild seems to have sent the Zelda series in a new direction, so I am glad that older games like Link’s Awakening are remembered. Nintendo decided to remind everyone of what has made the franchise so legendary in the first place by bringing back a classic.
