The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019 video game)

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The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Artwork of a boy in a tropical island environment, with a mountain capped by a purple-spotted egg in the background; the game's logo printed in the center
Icon artwork, featuring Link on Koholint Island
Developer(s) Grezzo
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Mikiharu Oiwa
Producer(s) Eiji Aonuma
Artist(s) Masaki Yasuda
Composer(s) Ryo Nagamatsu
Series The Legend of Zelda
Platforms Nintendo Switch
Release date(s) September 20, 2019
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening[lower-alpha 1] is an action-adventure game developed by Grezzo and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on September 20, 2019.

Link's Awakening is a remake of the 1993 game for the Game Boy. It retains the original's top-down perspective and gameplay, along with elements from the 1998 re-release Link's Awakening DX. The game features a "retro-modern" art style unique within the series with toy-like character designs, diorama-like world designs, and tilt-shift visuals that evoke the original game's presentation on the Game Boy. It also features customizable dungeons which the player can create and then complete for rewards.

Gameplay

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See also: Gameplay of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is an action-adventure game with a top-down perspective.[2][3] Its story is set on Koholint Island, where Link, the player character, is stranded after his ship is caught up in a storm.[4][5][6] After being rescued by a girl named Marin, Link embarks on a quest to collect the eight instruments of the Sirens and awaken Koholint's legendary Wind Fish in order to escape the island.[6] Similar to other Zelda games, the player traverses an open world with dungeons scattered throughout, featuring puzzle-solving sections and boss fights,[7] along with trading sidequests.[8] In contrast to other top-down games in the series however, Link's Awakening allows the player to jump over obstacles and onto platforms,[9] and also features side-scrolling platforming sections.[10][11]

The "Color Dungeon" from Link's Awakening DX, which features color-based action and puzzle gameplay, is included.[12] In the Link's Awakening remake, Link's sword, shield, and upgrades are permanently equipped, allowing more items to be equipped to action buttons in comparison to the original game.[13] Various minigames also received updates, such as realistic physics in the claw crane minigame.[14] As players progress in the game, rooms from completed dungeons can be collected as pieces that the player can use to reassemble their own dungeons by visiting the non-player character Dampé at his shack.[15][16][17] The player can then complete these dungeons in a time attack mode to earn rewards such as a life-replenishing fairy bottle,[15][18] contributing to an increased replay value over the original game.[19]

The use of Amiibo figurines in a customized dungeons activates "plus effects" that enhance the gameplay of the dungeons.[20][21] Using the Link figurine from the Link's Awakening series of Amiibo summons Shadow Link, who chases the player through the dungeon and increases the value of rewards earned upon completing the dungeon.[21][22] Other figurines from the Zelda series of Amiibo and Zelda-themed figurines from the Super Smash Bros. series of Amiibo have their own plus-effects in Link's Awakening.[23]

Development

File:Links awakening switch.jpg
Dungeon rooms designed for the original game's 1:1 presentation on the Game Boy do not fill the remake's widescreen presentation

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a remake of the 1993 game developed for the Game Boy.[24][25] Link's Awakening had previously been remastered for the Game Boy Color in 1998 as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.[2] While the original game was presented in 2D graphics in an almost square ratio on the Game Boy, the remake is presented in 3D graphics and a widescreen ratio on the Nintendo Switch.[7][24] Some sections of the game's dungeons do not fill the width of the screen though, as certain puzzles and boss fights were designed to work with the tile count of the game's original square ratio.[7]

The game adopts a "retro-modern" art style distinct from other Zelda games,[3][9] departing from the original game's A Link to the Past-inspired art style while retaining its simplicity.[26][27] The toy-like plasticine character designs also depart from the Wind Waker-inspired designs typical of many top-down Zelda games since the release of Four Swords Adventures.[2][28][29] It features a tilt-shift effect that exaggerates the camera's perspective and depth of field.[11][30] The effect was inspired by the appearance of the original game's "small [...] but very vast" world on the Game Boy's 66 millimeter screen;[31] series producer Eiji Aonuma chose a diorama-like art style to help achieve this effect.[31]

Dampé's shack, which houses the player's customized "Chamber Dungeons", replaced the Camera Shop from Link's Awakening DX, which served as a Game Boy Printer hub.[17] The Chamber dungeon came after Shigeru Miyamoto inquired with Aonuma if there was any way to implement Super Mario Maker-like gameplay into the Zelda series. Feeling that simply allowing players to create their own dungeon would be too difficult, Aonuma instead introduced Chamber Dungeons, by way of letting players rearrange dungeons as a way of achieving this goal – purposing it as a puzzle itself for players to solve. [32][33]

While the original game and DX use sprite graphics for the cutscenes,[citation needed] the remake features hand-drawn cutscenes,[citation needed] directed and storyboarded by Junichi Yamamoto.[34] Oswald Katou handled the concept art, backgrounds, and color design.[35]

Release

File:Nintendo Switch Zelda Gamescom 2019 (48605743186).jpg
Demo booth at Gamescom 2019

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was announced via a trailer showcased during a Nintendo Direct presentation in February 2019,[5][36] and was showcased with a demo at E3 2019 that June.[37] The game is published by Nintendo, and was released on September 20, 2019,[38][39] distributed digitally via the Nintendo eShop, and on physical game cards through third-party retailers.[40] A "Dreamer Edition" of Link's Awakening included the physical version of the game packaged with a Dreamer Art Book featuring concept art.[41][42] A "Limited Edition" exclusive to Europe included the physical version of the game encased in a Game Boy-themed SteelBook packaged with an expanded 120-page art book.[42][43] A Link's Awakening-series Amiibo figurine of Link was released simultaneously with the game, replicating the character's design as he appears in Link's Awakening.[22][21][41] Aonuma described it as the first Amiibo figurine to faithfully replicate Link's in-game appearance.[44]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
Aggregator Score
Metacritic 87/100[45]
Review scores
Publication Score
Destructoid 9/10[47]
EGM 8/10[48]
Eurogamer Essential[49]
Game Informer 9/10[52]
Game Revolution 3/5 stars[51]
GameSpot 8/10[54]
GamesRadar 4/5 stars[53]
IGN 9.4/10[56]
Nintendo Life 9/10[58]
Nintendo World Report 8.5/10[59]
RPGamer 4/5[60]

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Most critics agreed that the main game needed little change, but that the quality of life updates were welcome. Forbes' review states that Link's Awakening is "an excellent remake of an already faultless Zelda game."[64] While USgamer stated that the remake "improves most of the flaws" from the Game Boy version while maintaining what made it a classic in the first place, they did note that "slowdown issues pop up from time to time."[62]

Sales

Link's Awakening launched at #1 on the UK, Japanese, and EMEAA physical all-format charts, becoming Grezzo's biggest debut and the fastest-selling Switch game of 2019.[65][66] It sold 141,375 physical copies in Japan and 430,000 copies in Europe during its first three days on sale.[67][68] As of September 30, 2019, the game has sold 3.13 million copies worldwide, and is currently one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch games.[69]

Awards

Year Award Category Result Ref
2019 2019 Game Critics Awards Best Console Game Nominated [70]
Best Action/Adventure Game Nominated
Gamescom 2019 Best Action-Adventure Game Nominated [71]
Best Nintendo Switch Game Nominated
2019 Golden Joystick Awards Nintendo Game of the Year Nominated [72]
The Game Awards 2019 Best Art Direction Nominated [73]
Best Action/Adventure Game Nominated
2020 New York Game Awards Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake Pending [74]

Notes

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References

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External links

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Nintendo 2019, 08:02, "Link is shipwrecked on this island, and Marin actually rescues him, and so then he has to go and try to find a way off this seemingly inescapable island by finding the eight instruments of the Sirens and awakening the Windfish..."
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Nintendo 2019, "5:42, "This Yoshi doll is actually part of a pretty vast trading quest in this game. [...] In exchange for that, I got a ribbon, and I can exchange the ribbon with someone else in this world..."
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Nintendo 2019, 12:07, "We're very, very excited to announce that the Color Dungeon is indeed in this version of the game [...] these camo-goblins sink into the ground in their various colors..."
  13. ↑ Nintendo 2019, 10:57, "...a huge UI improvement in this game is that your sword, shield, things like your power bracelet, pegasus boots, are always equipped, which is a huge improvement on the original because that frees up your Y and X button for whatever else you want to equip..."
  14. ↑ Nintendo 2019, 02:40, "...even fans who played the original game are going to notice a little bit of a difference here, because there are actual, real crane physics going on here.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Nintendo 2019, "14:32, "We see this new location; this is something that DX players might recognize as being that camera hub, but in this game it's something brand new. [...] It looks a little bit like a shack, and it's filled by our friend, Dampé here!"
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Nintendo 2019, 29:20, "He's going to add, into the Chamber Dungeon, what's called a "plus-effect". The plus-effects are layered on top of the chambers, and they add a new gameplay variant to what would otherwise be a familiar room."
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Nintendo 2019, 30:17, "There are other plus-effects in the game [...] In addition to the Link's Awakening Amiibo, there are other Legend of Zelda series Amiibo that will work with The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, but not just that; any Legend of Zelda character Amiibo will work with The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening."
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Marks 2019, "...the newly announced remake of Link’s Awakening is also moving away from the original’s Link to the Past inspired style and into something we’ve (again) never really seen before. The almost plasticine look and beady eyes of its characters is totally different than both A Link Between Worlds and the Wind Waker look that many previous 2D Zeldas draw from."
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Marks 2019, "Just after Wind Waker, the GameCube spin-off of the GBA Four Swords mode was the first 2D Zelda game to start drifting away from Link to the Past's look.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Marks 2019, "It even appears to be using a tilt-shift blur effect in some areas..."
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Nintendo 2019, 00:58, "When I played the original Game Boy version, it was a small screen, and it felt like a small world, but very vast. And so, it kind of had this tilt shift perspective; so that's why I thought this diorama-like art style would be perfect for this."
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Nintendo 2019, 16:20, "I've always wanted to create a way for players to create their own dungeon, but I didn't want to make it anything too hard, so just like a puzzle, or solving a puzzle, I wanted to make this Chamber Dungeon easy enough for people to play and feel like they're solving a puzzle."
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Nintendo 2019, 28:57, "This might be the first Amiibo where Link looks exactly like he's taken out of the game; he looks just exactly like what he is in the game."
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.


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