Link’s Remakening.
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| Console: Nintendo Switch |
Link’s Awakening is the latest 2D, top-down style Zelda game, a remake of the old Gameboy game of the same name. That game was a pseudo-sequel to the Zelda game before it, A Link to the Past. It uses the same general gameplay and art-style but switched the setting away from Hyrule, a first for the series. From all of the Zelda games, Link’s Awakening has arguably been the game that time had forgotten most about. Link’s Awakening got a port to the Gameboy Colour a few years later but even that didn’t manage to make it remembered more.
That’s why this remake is so welcoming. It finally puts the game into people’s eyes and allows them to experience one of the most unique Zelda games. Is the game worth a purchase though? It is a good remake or could you just as well stick with the, much cheaper, original. All in all, Link’s Awakening is a pleasant game that is a bit too pricey for the content that it is offering.
Let’s dive in.
The game starts with our hero Link getting
shipwrecked. He ends up on the shore of a mysterious island where he’s found by
a young woman named Marin. He brings Link to Mable Village, where she nurses
him back to help. After waking up and venturing to the beach to reclaim his
sword, Link is approached by a mysterious talking Owl. The Owl informs Link
that the only way for him to leave this island is to wake the Wind Fish, a
deity that sleeps inside of the giant egg that lies atop of a mountain. To wake
him up, Link first has to find the eight magical instruments which have been
hidden in Koholint’s most dangerous places. Thus, Link sets off to collect all
eight instruments to wake the Wind Fish. However, Koholint Island is not at all
what it seems…
The best way I can describe Link’s Awakening is
‘pleasant’. Unlike some of its 3D counterparts, Link’s Awakening keeps a
light-hearted and fun attitude throughout the game’s story. The world is
colourful and bright. The soundtrack/sound design is a combination of happy,
upbeat yet calming tracks. The NPC's have funny dialogue, but with a mysterious
undertone to help set up the game’s underlying mystery. Even when the cat’s out
of the bag about the nature of Koholint island this ‘twist’ is treated less
like a dramatic reveal which huge ramifications. It's more a bittersweet
development that doesn’t dissuade you but gives you more or less something to
ponder about. And yeah, I’m comfortable with telling you that Link’s
Awakening’s plot has a big twist in it. The fact that the game has is no
secret, though what it is exactly I’ll naturally won't tell you.
The story of Link’s Awakening, now that we’re
talking about it, is fine. It’s a very simple affair with the immersion coming
from the island’s inhabitants and the twist. The former is one of the game
strong points. The characters of Koholint Island, along with the island itself,
has their own enjoyable little personality and design that make them fun to
interact with. I especially like the fetch-quest as it makes you interact with
each of the island’s inhabitants in a more meaningful way, helping them out
with some of their daily problems. I do have a minor complaint in terms of
characters when it comes to Marin. She just pops up a few times too few to
really justify the strong emotional connection the game has them build up I
feel. Just a minor nit-pick, but still. One or two more moments with her would
have been nice.
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| Comparison of the GameBoy Colour version and the Nintendo Switch remake. Credit to Eurogamer for the image. |
The gameplay is exactly as you expected from a
top-down Zelda game. You traverses an open world with dungeons scattered
throughout with a boss fight at the end. Unlike other games in the series,
Link's Awakening allows the player to jump over obstacles and onto platforms
using the feather item. Aside from that Link has his trusty sword and shield,
as well as a plethora of other classic Zelda tools like the Hookshot. One
complaint that I have with the items is that the feather should have been given
its own button. The original Link’s Awakening biggest flaw was the lack of
buttons. The Gameboy necessitated that the player constantly had to switch
between their items due to the low amount of buttons. The Switch has many more
buttons so items such as the sword have been given their own button However,
with how much the jump of the Feather is required in the game, I would have
given that its own button too. Now, you’ve basically lost the use of one of
your item slots.
Link’s Awakening also features side-scrolling
platforming sections ala Super Mario. Whereas other Zelda games you would appear
on the other side of a stairwell in a second’s notice, here they are often
interconnected by a 2D-side scrolling section. These aren’t long, not even 30
seconds, but fun nonetheless. There are even some boss fights which use the
side-scrolling style, so that offers you some variety there as well.
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| Behold: a chain-chomp in the Legend of Zelda! |
Completely new to this remake is the Dungeon
Builder. As revealed in the trailers, you can create your own dungeon at
Dampé’s little shack. Well, sort off. Unlike Super Mario Maker which lets you
build a stage from scratch, the dungeon maker of Link’s Awakening is more of a
dungeon aligner. After finishing a dungeon, you can use its different chambers
to create your own dungeon. You can either participate in challenges for prizes
or build a dungeon freely, which you can then save & share online. It’s not
as robust as many would’ve liked but it’s a fun distraction nonetheless.
Lastly, some technical stuff. Before the game
was even released, many complained about how the game looked. While similar to
the previous top-down Zelda game, A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS, this game
art-style looks, for a lack of a better term, ‘plasticy’. Like everything in
the world is a plastic toy, from the trees to the characters. I myself didn’t
like it when I first saw it, but I quickly got used to it.
There were also reports about performance
issues. When Link’s Awakening was first sent out for review to multiple
publications noted some performance issues. Slowdown, badly loaded in textures
etc. In my experience though, I only experienced this slowdown in one section
and one section only where there are just loads of stuff on screen. There are
indeed some technical problems here but they’re (in my experience) not as grave
nor frequent as people say it is.
Conclusion
Link’s Awakening for the Nintendo Switch is a
good, pleasant game. It’s top-down Zelda at its finest with enjoyable
characters and a twist that’ll definitely make you think. It also got the
Dungeon maker that, while not as robust as I would have liked, is still a fun
activity to delve into. It is a bit pricey though. For the 60,- price tag there
isn’t enough content I feel. However, if you can pick this game up for less,
either second hand or through a (Black Friday) deal like I did I definitely
would.
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