When The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake was revealed for the Nintendo Switch many lifelong fans of Nintendo and the franchise were cautiously optimistic. It’s always a little nerve-wracking when a company goes back to the well of nostalgia to try and repackage something from their past people loved. With reviews hitting the internet it seems that the critical reception for the remake is overwhelmingly positive. Let’s look at 5 ways the remake of Link’s Awakening improves on the classic as well as 5 ways it doesn’t.
10 Doesn’t: Weirdness
The Legend of Zelda is a storied, beloved, but ultimately weird video game franchise. The craziest thing about Link’s Awakening is that it is the weirdest of the bunch. On top of not taking place in Hyrule, it features several enemies and characters native to other Nintendo franchises. Thankfully for fans of the original Nintendo didn’t shy away from the weird with the remake and in many ways have leaned into it during trailer reveals and marketing for the game. Just like Austin, Texas, the remake keeps it weird.
9 Improves: Controls
Thanks to the Nintendo Switch having many more buttons than the Game Boy, the remake has new and improved controls that make the game feel less cumbersome and awkward. The shield has been mapped to a bumper button which makes it feel like modern Zelda combat and a couple of the helpful items are now constantly on. This means that players don’t have to spend time managing their inventory as items like the power bracelet which helps lift heavier items will just work once you’ve acquired it.
8 Doesn’t: Difficulty
Difficulty in video games is currently a hot-button issue due to concerns about accessibility vs. artistic intent. Games in the Zelda series are never lauded as difficult games as it’s always been a game designed to provide a bit of challenge but meant to be beginner-friendly. Coming off the heels of Breath of the Wild fans may have been expecting a more complex or complicated experience, but that just wasn’t what Link’s Awakening ever was and the remake didn’t try and make the game more difficult.
7 Improves: Orchestral Score
The Legend of Zelda is a series that was one of the early cases of video games showcasing how great their music can be. The series has several iconic tunes that many people may not be able to name or pick out of a list, but the moment it starts playing they know exactly where it’s from. In Link’s Awakening, the score has evolved from the iconic sounds of the Game Boy and now features an orchestral score. New players and lifelong fans will be playing its updated soundtrack for years.
6 Doesn’t: Gameplay
Technically this isn’t true as some of the items have been modernized to make more sense in the current gaming landscape, but the base of how the game works is unchanged. Many of the changes are quality of life and don’t change the overall mechanics or fundamental design choices of the game. The series may seem simplistic in gameplay, but sometimes less is more as most of the games in the series are met with great reviews and the adventures create fans of the series for life.
5 Improves: More Detail
Thanks to the power of Nintendo’s current hardware it allows developers of the remake to pack in way more detail than they were capable of when the original game was released in 1993. Not only does the hardware help in providing more detail in the world, but the change from pixel art to 3D rendering gives artists added opportunities not available in the 2D plane. The remake is an example of a remake giving players the experience they imagined in their heads years ago.
4 Doesn’t: No One Talks
By now fans expect Link to never really talk as that’s been his thing throughout the franchise. Other characters in the world lacking dialogue isn’t something fans of the most recent entries would expect, however. The remake may have brought many of the weird and interesting characters into a new art style and perspective, but Nintendo decided to stick with them not saying anything. On the surface they may seem odd but once you dig into the story of the game the lack of dialogue will make a lot more sense.
3 Improves: Pseudo-3D
The original game was played from an over-the-top perspective which made the 2-dimensional pixel art feel more complex than it was. With the remake, they decided to go with a tilt-shift perspective in addition to making the game visually rendered in 3D. It still feels like a Legend of Zelda game, but the perspective and plane switch helps bring it into the modern era. For fans who loved the original, it also gives them a refreshing experience that makes the game feel like a whole new adventure.
2 Doesn’t: Level Design
As more and more information about the remake was hitting video game coverage sites a glaring concern centered around the level design of the game. Fans were worried that Nintendo might completely change how dungeons or areas were laid out to provide a brand new experience. It seems that the concern was legitimate but ultimately unnecessary. The remake sports the same level design which many fans and reviewers would say holds up and didn’t need any tweaking to make it feel modern.
1 Improves: Art Style
One glance at the remake will show you that the game now boasts an impressive new art style that makes it undeniably adorable. The remake trades in the classic pixel-art based look of the original for a chibi look very much inspired by the world of children’s toys. It’s very unique and does a good job at making the game feel new and fresh while also keeping it similar to the original. It strikes the balance of giving fans something they didn’t know they wanted while not deviating in a way that feels unnecessary.
NEXT: 10 Classic ’80s Video Games That Need A Modern Remake (Or Remaster)
