The new The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Nintendo Switch remake is the same price as Breath of the Wild, but we’re not sure why since the content of the game doesn’t match the value of its cost.
Link’s Awakening is almost a direct remake of the Game Boy game of the same name from 1993. The original version of Link’s Awakening is a tremendous game, but that comes with the caveat of it being hindered by the technology of the day and pushing against the limits of the Game Boy’s hardware. The Nintendo Switch remake had the chance to improve upon the content of the original, but it doesn’t, yet it’s still a full-priced game.
Link’s Awakening for Nintendo Switch costs around sixty dollars/fifty pounds at launch, which is the same price as Breath of the Wild. The biggest problem that Link’s Awakening has at launch is this price point, as the content of the game doesn’t match the value of its cost.
The original version of Link’s Awakening takes roughly ten to twelve hours to complete and the same is true of the Nintendo Switch version of the game. There is optional content in the form of the fishing minigame and collecting all of the seashells, but these amount to little more than busywork. The Nintendo Switch version of Link’s Awakening improves upon the original in many ways, but it’s essentially still the same game.
Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy was an astounding achievement for the time, as it pushed the hardware to its limits and offered an expansive story that was only topped by a few other titles on the system. The developers of Link’s Awakening showed that the Game Boy could transcend as a system, which it proved by becoming the third best-selling video game console of all time.
The problem with the Nintendo Switch port of Link’s Awakening is that it wasted the opportunity to add new content and improve upon the original in order to justify buying it again. The dungeon creator mode is the only major addition to the game and it’s a total waste of time, as it mostly reuses content from dungeons that the player has already completed. The fact that players can’t even share their dungeons online and have to rely on trading amiibos with friends just makes the mode even more pointless. Link’s Awakening had the chance to do so much more with Koholint Island, yet that opportunity was squandered.
A more appropriate price point for Link’s Awakening would have been in the forty dollars/thirty pounds range, as it doesn’t offer the same value for money as other first-party titles that are available on the system. The Nintendo Switch has had an absolutely packed summer filled with amazing releases, with titles like Astral Chain, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Super Mario Maker 2 all offering way more content than Link’s Awakening for the same price tag.
