The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo Switch)

From Zelda Wiki, the Zelda encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Quick Links
This article is about the remake of the original Link's Awakening. For other uses, see Link's Awakening (Disambiguation).

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a Nintendo Switch remake of the Game Boy game, Link's Awakening. It was officially announced during a Nintendo Direct on February 13, 2019,[3] and was released on September 20, 2019.

Changes and Additions

Graphics

  • The game features HD, 3D graphics with a fully modeled world rather than a sprite based one. The game also features a new diorama-like art style.
    • On a similar note, Link is now depicted as having blond hair throughout the game. In the original and DX versions, the blond hair was only apparent in the opening and ending cutscenes (and in the case of the latter, during the photograph quests), with his sprite depicting him with dark hair due to a limited color pallette.
  • The game's introduction and ending cutscenes are fully animated.
  • Enemy models resemble their A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes counterparts.
  • Doors that require a pot to be thrown at to open show a picture of a pot on it.

Gameplay

  • The overworld no longer has screen transitions as areas are loaded in their entirety.
    • Many dungeon and caves that have big rooms no longer have separate screens in each zone; instead, the screen scrolls with Link continuously within the big room.
  • The new Hero Mode is available at the beginning of the game and can be selected upon the creation of a new save file.
  • Link can slash his Sword in eight directions, instead of only the four directions of the Game Boy's D-Pad.
    • Link now swings his sword with his left hand all the time; in the original, when facing east, he would use his right hand due to his sprite being flipped. The only exception is on sidescrolling sections where Link always swings his sword downwards when facing left or right.
  • The maximum amount of Heart Containers Link can have has been increased from 14 to 20.
  • After defeating bosses, the doors leading to the Instruments of the Sirens open before collecting the Heart Container, making a Three Heart Challenge possible.
  • Link can now receive a quarter heart of damage (most damages at minimum is half-heart, but quarter damage can be done via Guardian Acorn).
  • Markers and Pins can be placed on the Map.
  • A new Memories screen can be accessed from the Map, which shows previous conversations with characters, such as the Owl and Marin, and the location of already obtained Pieces of Heart and Secret Seashells.
  • New Warp Points have been added, and Link can choose where to warp instead of there being a preset sequence.
  • The Sword, Shield, Power Bracelet, and Pegasus Boots are always equipped and have their own dedicated buttons.
  • There is a new dungeon creator in Tal Tal Heights called the Chamber Dungeon.
  • amiibo functionality has been added: The Legend of Zelda series amiibo unlock content for the Chamber Dungeon.
  • Doors in dungeons that require all enemies in the room to be killed will permanently be open even when they respawn, no longer requiring Link to re-kill enemies when backtracking.
  • The number of arrow hits in order to defeat DethI have been reduced from 16 to 10.

Locations

  • The interior of houses are much more decorated and feature tropical styled furniture, such as palm trees and hammocks.
    • Some of them also have stands where figures based on characters and enemies can be placed.
  • The size of the patch of grass near BowWow has been reduced.
  • The Town Tool Shop sells six items instead of four.
  • The Trendy Game has been completely revamped, having still items and small platforms moving from left to right.
    • Items grabbed by the Crane are subject to physics.
    • Pieces of Heart, Secret Seashells, and Figures can also be obtained as rewards.
  • There are more Trees and Bushes outside of Sale's House o' Bananas.
  • The Fishing Hole features a new green variation of the big Fish, Bloopers, and Cheep Cheeps. A Fairy Bottle can also be found in the bottom of the pond.
  • The entrance to the Mysterious Forest has more Trees but less grass.
  • A Piranha has been added near the entrance of Bottle Grotto.
  • One of the plants around the entrance to the Bottle Grotto has been replaced with a rock, allowing access to it even without the Magic Rod after BowWow is taken home.
  • The size of the island where a bush with a Secret Seashell is located in Ukuku Prairie has been reduced.
  • The spot where a Secret Seashell is buried on top of the Key Cavern has been moved up.
  • Dampé's Shack replaces the Camera Shop from Link's Awakening DX.
  • Kanalet Castle's second floor has ledges where Link can drop off.
  • Some Rocks have been replaced by wooden crates in the Signpost Maze.
  • The Rapids Ride has been altered.
  • One of the skulls in the Yarna Desert has been moved slightly upward.
  • There is a new Waterfall north of Kanalet Castle, with a Secret Seashell beneath it.

Characters

  • The name of a character appears when talked to.
    • Some previously unnamed characters are given names.
  • The Raccoon has been moved to the left of the grass.
  • Dampé appears in the game, running the Chamber Dungeon in his Shack.
  • Christine's photo no longer has her name on it when it is shown to Mr. Wright, and the photo itself has been altered to utilize promotional artwork of Princess Peach with a parasol.
  • When returning to the Town Tool Shop after stealing from it, the shopkeeper now has a furious facial expression when saying "Now you will pay the ultimate price!" and promptly killing Link, only returning to his default facial expression after Link dies.

Enemies

  • Enemies with shields can now be staggered to make them vulnerable by blocking their attacks first.
  • Moblins appear as pigs instead of dogs, making them less distinct from Boarblins.
  • Cukemen no longer shock Link when slashed with the Sword.
  • Moldorm's room is now squared and there are less holes for Link to fall in.
  • Genie's battle has been changed.
    • It will throw fireballs, which Link can stand under, while circling around the room instead of flying from left to right.
    • Visible cracks are now displayed every time Genie's bottle is thrown, indicating how much more damage Link has to inflict until it breaks.
    • The room is squared instead of having corners.
  • The rooms where Master Stalfos is fought no longer feature blocks showing the fight number; instead, tiles on the floor are colored to reflect this.
  • In addition to Hardhit Beetle changing colors to indicate health, cracks are displayed on its shell.
  • Many bosses are now able to face in any direction instead of just south, removing such limitations like Master Stalfos unable to use his shield if Link is on the right side of the boss.
  • Angler Fish now moves from side to side of the room.
  • The pre-fight scene for the Shadow Nightmares now has them emerging from within Link. Originally, they appeared beneath Link immediately after the boss fight started.
  • Contact with and fighting against enemies that can fly now operate on the Z-Axis as well as X- and Y-Axes, with enemies not on Link's plane only hurting him through contact if they are low enough to the ground.

Items

  • New Pieces of Heart and Heart Containers have been added.
  • The number of Secret Seashells was increased to 50.
    • All Secret Seashell are no longer Permanently Missable Items:
      • The Secret Seashell near the entrance of Kanalet Castle has a Tree Stump that Link can Hookshot to, no longer requiring the Flying Rooster to cross. Additionally there is now an opening on the railing that Link can use to escape into the moat.
      • The Seashell Mansion now awards Link if he has a certain amount of Secret Seashells at minimum; in the original and DX version, he must have exactly five or 10 Secret Seashells to obtain the additional two Secret Seashells.
  • The maximum Rupee count was increased from 999 to 9,999.
  • The values and locations of Green Rupees and Blue Rupees have been swapped.
  • The regular Shield takes the appearances of the Hylian Shield.
  • The Hookshot can grapple from Trees.
  • The item traded to the Item Trader such as the Bow or Shovel can now be bought for 300 Rupees after obtaining the Boomerang.
  • "Manbo's Mambo" can now be played to warp Link to any Warp Point.
  • The Secret Medicine is now modeled after a cream bottle.
  • Three Fairy Bottles have been added, which can hold Fairies.
  • A Seashell Sensor has been added to help Link find Secret Seashells
  • A Middleweight Lure can be obtained when reeling a big Fish in the Fishing Hole. It allows Link to cast into deep water.
  • A Heavyweight Lure can obtained when reeling a Blooper in the Fishing Pond. It drops much more quickly than the other two lures.
  • Figures of Super Mario enemies can be collected and placed on stands inside houses.
  • Red and green Apples can fall down when dashing into Trees. These can be collected and eaten by Link.
  • Items in the inventory remain fixed at all times, with the Boomerang obtained through the Item Trader occupying the remaining slot, while the item used to trade for it disappearing from its respective slot.
  • The item to give the Mermaid is now the Necklace across all versions rather than outside Japan (and in the case of the DX version, within Europe).

Miscellaneous

  • The soundtrack has been re-arranged, using a mixture of live instruments, synthesised and electronic instruments, and samples from the original Game Boy soundtrack.
    • DethI is given a new musical theme when it is fought. Originally, it reused the Sub-Boss theme music.
    • Angler's Tunnel has a new original melody for the majority of the song, incorporating the original theme into the background of the track. This is was likely done to give the dungeon a more unique piece of music, as the original song was almost identical to the regular cave theme music.
    • In addition to re-arrangements of the secret file select screen songs that play when the player enters their name as "Zelda" or "Totakeke" respectively, a third, new song has been added for when the player enters their name as "Marin".
    • The Overworld, Mysterious Forest and Tal Tal Heights themes receive an additional re-arrangement for when Marin is following Link.
    • The Tal Tal Heights theme receives an additional re-arrangement that plays in the Tal Tal Mountain Range area after Marin has been rescued from the bridge.
    • The Mabe Village Fishing Hole, the Trendy Game and the area under the bridge at Martha's Bay, which previously shared their background music, now have unique re-arrangements of the song for each respective location.
    • Mr. Write's house and Christine's house, which previously shared their background music, now have unique re-arrangements of the song for each respective location.
    • Southern Face Shrine features dynamic music, where strings are added to the song only once Link observes the relief at the end of the shrine.
    • The Owl's theme receives an additional re-arrangement that plays before Link enters the Wind Fish's Egg.
    • While the majority of music cues are identical to the original game, the opening cut-scene where Link is caught in a storm no longer features any music.
    • Brand new music has been composed for all content related to Dampé and the Chamber Dungeon gameplay.
  • The Sea Urchin near Link's Sword on Toronbo Shores have been moved between the rocky structures.
  • New Signs have been added to the overworld.
  • Some stone stairs are made of wood.
    • Stairs leading into water and some taller cliffs have been changed to ladders.
  • Some platforms in side-scrolling areas are made of rock instead of bricks.
  • The Angler Keyhole is no longer part of a wall but rather a fish-shaped stone.
  • The message that appears when Link tries to lift something without the Power Bracelet only appears when pressing the A Button.
  • Horse head puzzle pieces that appear in certain dungeons now must be placed on holes found on the floor. Their movement when thrown also resemble the knight chess pieces movement.
  • The Color Dungeon adds geometric patterns to all the colored puzzle elements, making them understandable for players who have difficulty discerning color. Orb Monsters now bear patterns on their sides; Red Orb Monsters bear circles, Blue Orb Monsters bear squares, and yellow Orb Monsters, which replace the Green Orb Monsters, bear triangles. Switches that change from red to blue also follow this pattern, though they no longer appear as yellow. Goo Specters emerge from squares on the floor with specific patterns. Red Camo Goblins emerge from square patterns, Blue Goo Specters emerge from diamond patterns, and Green Camo Goblins emerge from square patterns. The breakable floors which change from green to yellow to red to indicate their durability also now bear increasing signs of damage when stepped on. Yellow floors are cracked into four pieces while red floors are cracked into 10 pieces.
  • Because of the 3D mechanics of the game, Link and enemies moving vertically (jumping and falling) no longer counts as their hitboxes moving north and south in top-down perspectives, only on the Z-axis.
  • The boomerang can now move above ground on return, eliminating the ability to have it hover below you when flying with the Flying Rooster.
    • Its use against DethI is seemingly no longer a one-shot kill.
  • The Magic Powder and Magic Rod can no longer kill Cuccos or Mutts.

Game Information

Development

Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch was first teased by series producer Eiji Aonuma during an interview with EDGE magazine in 2016.[4] The game was officially announced during a Nintendo Direct on February 13, 2019.[3] Its release date was announced during E3 2019.[5]

Eiji Aonuma decided to remake Link's Awakening as he considers the original game hard to get many years after its release.[1] The miniature diorama-like art style was chosen as the original game had a tilt-shift perspective,[6] which is commonly used in miniature faking.

Limited Editions

In North America and Japan, the Dreamer Edition (called Artbook Set in Japan) included a copy of the game plus a 120 page artbook.[7] The limited edition, released in Europe and Oceania, included the game, a steelbook case, and the artbook.[8]

Awards

Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch was a nominee for the 2019 edition of The Game Awards in the Action/Adventure and Art Direction categories.[9][10]

Speedrun Records

Main article: Speedrun Records
Category Runner Time Date
Any% (Normal Mode) TGH 59m 59s September 26, 2021
Any% (Hero Mode) EDL666 1h 12m 56s March 16, 2021
Any% (No Hinox Warp) Birdmandrew 1h 10m 30s June 6, 2022
Any% (Glitchless) TGH 1h 38m 18s June 23, 2022
100% TheLimeFilms 2h 56m 4s March 28, 2022
Rapids Race Adamo 17s 290ms September 2, 2020
Rapids Race (Glitchless) Adamo 21s 590ms December 24, 2020

Downloadable Content

Updates

Update Release Date Content
Version 1.0.1 October 24, 2019[11]
  • Fixes error regarding Marin

Listings

Characters

Bosses

Minibosses

Enemies

Dungeons

Locations

Items

Translations

Credits

Reception

Sales

As of December 31, 2021, Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch has sold 6.08 million copies worldwide.[12]

Nomenclature

ZW Nomenclature Asset.png Names in Other Regions ZW Nomenclature Asset 2.png
LanguageNamesMeanings
Japan
Japanese
ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島 (Zeruda no Densetsu: Yume o Miru Shima) (LANS)[13]The Legend of Zelda: The Dreaming Island
This table was generated using translation pages.
To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Gallery

External Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Jason Schreier, Breath Of The Wild Is Getting A Sequel Because The Team Had Too Many DLC Ideas (And Other Info From Zelda's Producer) , Kotaku, published June 18, 2019, retrieved June 18, 2019.
  2. Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 10
  3. 3.0 3.1 Nintendo, Nintendo Direct 2.13.2019 , YouTube (Video), published February 13, 2019, retrieved February 13, 2019.
  4. "Actually, Nintendo has been telling me to create a new IP. But then, they're also telling me to make more Zelda games, I can't really share much; I'm not sure I'm allowed to say anything. But I really like the idea of a game where I can live as a thief. That's all I'll say." —Eiji Aonuma (Eiji Aonuma Admits He Teased The Zelda: Link’s Awakening Remake Back In 2016.)
  5. Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening - Nintendo Switch Trailer - Nintendo E3 2019 , YouTube (Video), published June 11, 2019, retrieved June 11, 2019.
  6. "So, when I played the original Game Boy version, it was in this small screen and it felt like a small world but very vast as well, and so, it kind of had this tilt-shift perspective, and so that's why I thought this miniature diorama-like art style would be perfect for this game." —Eiji Aonuma (The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Gameplay - Nintendo Treehouse: Live.)
  7. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: Dreamer Edition - Nintendo Switch , Amazon, retrieved June 12, 2019.
  8. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Limited Edition , EB Games Australia, retrieved June 12, 2019.
  9. "The Legend of #Zelda: Link's Awakening, #FireEmblem: Three Houses, and #ASTRALCHAIN are just a few of the #NintendoSwitch nominees at #TheGameAwards, including a Game of the Year nomination for Super #SmashBrosUltimate!

    Which games this year were your favorites? @thegameawards
    " — @NintendoAmerica on Twitter, November 20, 2019 (Archive)
  10. Eddie Makuch, The Game Awards 2019 Winners: Sekiro Takes Game Of The Year , GameSpot, published December 13, 2019, retrieved December 13, 2019.
  11. "Ver. 1.0.1 (Released October 24, 2019)"How to Update The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening , Nintendo.com, retrieved October 24, 2019.
  12. 2022 CESA Games White Papers, Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association, [which page?]
  13. "ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島" (Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch box)