A classic, reinvented
Link’s Awakening gets a first-class makeover for 2019
The Legend of Zelda:
Link’s Awakening
Nintendo EPD, Grezzo Available on Nintendo Switch In recent years the Zelda franchise has seen a number of remakes. Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess have all been recast to take advantage of more versatile hardware. Advances in technology have allowed the masterful game design of these titles to shine even brighter. Arguably, no game in the series has benefited as much from a visual overhaul as the The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which was originally released in 1993 on the Game Boy.
Link’s Awakening strikes me as a wonderful companion piece to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, probably my favourite game on the Super Nintendo. Both games ably create the illusion that one has fallen into a small, densely packed world like something out of a swaggering fairy tale.
At the start of the updated adventure, Link appears washed up on a beach. After waking up in the home of a villager he learns that he is on Koholint Island. Though the homeowner tells him that he retrieved Link’s shield, the man neglected to pick up Link’s sword on account of the monsters that cropped up around it.
After Link leaves to find his sword, a large owl lands on a promontory near him. The owl attributes the recent violent behaviour of the monsters to Link’s appearance on the island. He informs Link that the only way for him to get off the Island is to awaken the Wind Fish nestled in a large egg that rests on top of the mountain which overlooks the island. Link will have to thread his way through a number of dungeons in which there are instruments capable of stirring the Wind Fish.
Link’s Awakening is a testament to how well its developers have adapted, for gaming-onthe-go, the sprawling landscapes for which Zelda is known. Though I played a lot of Link’s Awakening on my TV, via the Switch’s docked mode, the game feels particularly suited to handheld play because of its snug environments.
The map, with its grass, forest, rock, desert and water regions, is geographically diverse, and these areas were obviously designed with a small screen in mind. Everything appears miniaturized and the screen is never overcrowded with enemies.
The appeal of Link’s Awakening lies more in the joy of exploration than in whacking some enemy over the head or the game’s writing, which is rudimentary. Any emotional attachment to the game stems more from the act of doing than in listening to something a character says. Sitting on a log on the beach or leading a lost, friendly ghost to its home are the types of sentimental moments that punctuate the story.