Link has been awakened!

[Pharad]

So, on the weekend I grabbed my Switch, secured a copy of Link's Awakening and relived my childhood (to a degree!). Honestly, I had a blast - the kind where you turn off your brain and smack things around till they spit out the rewards. Not the most glamorous thing ever, but it's bright and colourful and has almost adorable art style, and hits the right nostalgia cords!

So, any game similar to that one? Maybe not Zelda related, but something of a remake series? (the good kind, of course).

 

[Falksi]

Ironically, you're link to Link was broken.

 

[Siobhan]

I really don't get the point of that game. From all I've seen, it's the video game equivalent of Gus van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. There's apparently more gameplay differences between the GameBoy and the GameBoyColor version than between the original game and the Switch version. They couldn't even be bothered to fix annoyances like the text pop-ups each time you pick up an acorn. What does it add over the original?

For comparison, something like the PSP remake of Rondo of Blood at least had several reasons to exist. 1) It was the first western release for the game, 2) emulation support for the PC Engine Duo was pretty bad in 2007, 3) they added some new secrets and collectibles, 4) it included the original game as an unlockable. The remake is still strictly worse than the original because they do not compensate well for wide-screen vs the original 4:3 aspect ratio, they couldn't resist "tweaking" the controls, and the 2.5D graphics are completely devoid of any atmosphere.

Remakes are pointless unless they do their own thing. Like the fan remake of Ultima 5. 100% faithful video game remakes with minor usability and graphics improvements shouldn't be a thing. There's source ports for that (JA 2 Stracciatella, Arx Libertatis, DXX Rebirth, and so on).

 

[Steamboat Willie]

Yep, great game. Finally playable now that you don't have to constantly swap items between A and B.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I was going to get this as I have fond memories of the original, but was shocked when I went to pick it up and saw they priced it at $60. I mean, what the fuck? 60 bucks for a screen for screen remake of a 25 year old game? And one of the smallest Zelda games at that? Pricing seems absurd.

 

[YldriE]

Can you people stop answering shill bots? For fuck's sake, half that guy's posts have a link to that eneba store.

 

[Comte]

Zelda games are for children

 

[JDR13]

Gay

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

There's apparently more gameplay differences between the GameBoy and the GameBoyColor version than between the original game and the Switch version.

This is not true.

I will not bother listing all the differences between the games because they're a lot, as an example just look at this videos and compare the enemy design of each game.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Zelda II was the only Zelda game I ever liked.

I read years later it's the one that Nintendo lovers hate the most.

 

[Bricker]

I like the 2D games best and ALTTP is my favorite among them

 

[FreshCorpse]

I previously played the DX version on the gameboy way back when it came out in the late ninties so I have a few memories which remind me, eg, that there's something to do with the monkey at the castle, or that I need to find a mushroom before i can get through the forest. Even then, I think the game generally is a bit inscrutable about where to go next on the world map. Occasionally the phone guy gives meaningful tips that are pretty much required if you want to figure out precisely what you should be doing next but sometimes he is pretty useless. I have to admit I had to look up where to find the entrance to animal village -

Spoiler

under a bush somewhere on the world map

. His tip was "the desert is southeast" which tells you nothing about the need to go to animal village first.

That said I think the dungeon design is still really good. I also think it's a million times better to play this game when your sword and shield are always-equipped rather than having to constantly mess about in the menu to equip them on the gameboy. The graphics are great but I get a lot of slowdown, especially in the village and the forest which I feel shouldn't happen when Nintendo are designing the game for a single piece of hardware.

Switch games are so expensive though that I'm probably going to sell it when I complete it because I know this thing is great, it doesn't have more replay value than once in a couple of decades.

 

[Black]

Can you people stop answering shill bots?

Let's not make this about Infinitron.

 

[taxalot]

I cannot be the only one thinking the remake looks much worse than the original who doesn't look bad at all. There are more pixels, but somehow the action on all the trailers I saw looked less readable.

Sometimes, less is more and this remake perfectly illustrates that.

 

[Ash]

This...thing is fucking disgusting. the art style in every respect makes me want to gouge my eyes out, sound effects are extremely lame and the soundtrack is dullard typical modern ochestrate all the classics snoredom.
And as others have mentioned, it doesn't even fix issues like the acorn text every pickup. The one seeming bit of brains or talent here is the ability to swap equipment without bringing up the menu, but there's probably a romhack mod for that anyway like there is for Link to the Past.

Yet another to file under the defiled classics via reboot or remake list.

I'd by far rather play the very original black and white version than this.

Fuck it makes me mad. The original was a fine little game.

I haven't looked deeper but I bet they casual-ified many aspects of the challenge or complexity too. It's pretty much standard with these modern butcheries.

Let's take something entirely unique like this:



And turn it into some boring everyday shite like every other modern game does.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

So Ash has a switch? Updated my text.


Also, really not trying to have a go at you because you are a quality modder, but “challenge and complexity”? In Link’s Awakening? Fucking lolling to the hills on that.

 

[Ash]

You seem to misunderstand. This game was never notably hardcore nor particularly complex, but that doesn't stop modern devs dumbing down to modern standards. What I mean is, for example, they'll add objective markers, remove the trading quest for being "too complicated", dumb down some of the puzzles (which certainly can be headscratchers late in the game), add a rewind time mechanic, add built in cheats to the menu, all the standard remake retardation.

Nonetheless, even though you misunderstood me you're still wrong. This game was released in 1993 on the goddamn gameboy. It was and still is pretty complex for what it is. And while it isn't notably challenging, relative to modern games it sure as hell is. Kids games required more brains and patience than the so-called "adult" games of today.

 

[HansDampf]

I haven't looked deeper but I bet they casual-ified many aspects of the challenge or complexity too. It's pretty much standard with these modern butcheries.

I haven't played it, but according to reviews, they did add signposts and helpers everywhere that always tell you where to go next. Combat is also easier unless you are playing hero mode without heart drops.
Old LA is the best 2D Zelda game.

 

[FreshCorpse]

The original (GBC at least) game had the telephone guy, I completed the original and have completed most of this release and I don't see any "helpers" that have been added

 

[Goi~Yaas~Dinn]

What was wrong with Link's Awakening DX?

 

[FreshCorpse]

What was wrong with Link's Awakening DX?

The main problem is that you can only equip two items as a time (to A and B), and your sword and shield are part of that. That entails a lot of menu-based item swapping given how common enemies are in the game (and how quickly they respawn) as you pretty much always need at least your sword if not the shield too, though IIRC the shield is a lot less necessary in the "DX" version than it is on the switch.

I'm not convinced that really anything has been "dumbed down" between DX and Switch.

 

[Goi~Yaas~Dinn]

What was wrong with Link's Awakening DX?

The main problem is that you can only equip two items as a time (to A and B), and your sword and shield are part of that. That entails a lot of menu-based item swapping given how common enemies are in the game (and how quickly they respawn) as you pretty much always need at least your sword if not the shield too, though IIRC the shield is a lot less necessary in the "DX" version than it is on the switch.

I'm not convinced that really anything has been "dumbed down" between DX and Switch.

90% of the time your combo is going to be <SWORD> + <ITEM>. The game knows this, knows its inherent strengths and limitations. That's why the puzzles are designed as they are. Why did this need a full-blown remake?

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

I paid $50 for this. Oh my god.

 

[FreshCorpse]

I paid $50 for this. Oh my god.

The ebay resale price has fallen considerably since I sold mine. I got something like 90% of the purchase price back. No real regrets about spending ~£10 net. The bird dungeon later in the game is one of the better ones in the series

 

[Bigg Boss]

Nintendo prices are so bad but their mainline games are always so solid.