I know I keep mentioning that February Nintendo Direct, but it was a really freaking awesome direct, man! Demos dropped that day, the Astral Chain reveal, and Tetris 99 for Nintendo Switch Online owners made it one of the best reasons so sign up for the service. Nintendo ended that direct with the divulging of a remake to the fan beloved The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.
You have no idea how happy I was to see that Link's Awakening was getting remade. Like many a fan of the game, I love Link's Awakening. It was the first Zelda game I owned, bought with money from my own allowance. I never beat the game, but I still loved it to death for a myriad of reasons that still apply to this splendid remake. We'd seen remakes and HD versions of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Wind Waker. I'd think that if any of the first four Zelda games needed a remake, it would be The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I greatly enjoy Adventure of Link but that game could certainly be improved and suffers from some bad design choices. Ditto for the very first Legend of Zelda. It amazes me how much BS fans and critics let that game get away with either due to nostalgia or because it was "one of the first". As much as I love Link's Awakening, it was not without faults.
Anyone that has played the 1993 handheld or the 1998 DX version knows that as outstanding as the game was, it was limited by the hardware it was on. In this case, I'm talking about the two face buttons on the Game Boy. Being a Zelda game, you amass a lot of items and you could only map them to either the A or B buttons, which included your often needed sword and shield. What this meant was that you often had to hit up your inventory and swap items. Earlier this year I was playing Link's Awakening DX on my 3DS and the constant stopping to change items was very cumbersome. I was reminded how irritating this was once more when I recently began playing Final Fantasy Adventure via Collection of Mana. I had no idea you would have to switch out weapons, magic and items so frequently. Link's Awakening on the Switch has no such annoyances. Link always has his sword and shield equipped and once you get the Power Bracelet, it is always used by pressing the A button. Pegasus Boots are always mapped to the ZL triggers. You can map two items of your choosing to the X and Y buttons so while there is some switching involved in this remake, it isn't anywhere near as bad as the GB and GBC versions and that alone could be enough to elevate it above the '90s versions. Thankfully, the improvements don't end there.
When the game was revealed back in February, opinions were split on the art style. I don't think it was as bad as that of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (a game that has since been praised by both fans and critics for the gameplay and unique cel-shaded visuals), but just as it took time for people to warm to Wind Waker, the passage of time could be needed for people to view Link's Awakening's. Or maybe not because I cannot stop hearing how adorable Link's Awakening on the Switch looks and I wholeheartedly concur: Link's Awakening is disgustingly cute. If it is possible to die from cuteness overload, Link's Awakening could very well be what triggers it. The claymation art style, which is very much in line with the stop motion classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, feels like a natural evolution of the original game's sprites. All of the game's human/human-like characters had black eyes with no pupils and chibi designs and those appearances are perfectly replicated here.
As nice as the more anime-like art style from A Link to the Past is, I think it would have been a great disservice to the game if the gameplay of Link's Awakening went with that style. Besides, even with the chibi characters, they still manage to pull of of myriad of emotions. The shocked look on Link's face when he wakes up in Marin and Tarin's home is but cute and funny. Marin now shows a look of concern on her face in the opening cut scene when shakes Link to wake him to no avail, a look that was not present in the original game. That stupid, goofy smile on Link's face when he catches a fish never gets old. Richard strikes a pose and glows every time you speak to him, giving you a bit further insight on what type of character he is in the Japan only For the Frog the Bell Tolls. Grandma Yahoo smiles as she sweeps and even pulls off a Link when she gets a new broom, holding it proudly overhead. That the developers at Grezzo went that extra mile really makes these characters all the more lively.
Link's Awakening's outstanding visuals are accompanied by a wonderful musical score and sound effects. You may have expected orchestral music for this remake but the game's arranger, Ryo Nagamatsu decided to go a different route. Even without orchestral treatment, Link's Awakening music for the Switch sounds amazing. I've caught myself humming tunes at home and at work. Some tracks even have the original chiptune songs tucked inside of the arranged tracks. It may not stand out as much as the music but the small addition of character voices is one of my favorite additions to this remake. Link's grunts when he pushes blocks is almost as precious as Marin. She is now cuter than ever with the best giggle you will ever hear. (Please forgive me, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Zelda)
In case I have not made it abundantly clear, I love The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on the Switch. You can buy the original game on the 3DS eShop for $5.99 or you can spend $60 to get the definitive version of Link's Awakening. It is a wonderful showcase of how a remake can and should be done improving upon the original in every aspect. If this is your first Zelda game or your first time playing Link's Awakening, please, don't watch any walkthroughs unless you get stuck and do your best to avoid spoilers.
Til next time, kids.
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