One of the biggest announcements during Nintendo’s recent Direct is undoubtedly the remake of Link’s Awakening for Switch. A top-down, 3D rendered remake of the classic Game Boy title, Link’s Awakening is sure to be a huge hit on Switch and is certainly a game to look forward to.
Nintendo’s description is;
Originally released for the Game Boy system more than 25 years ago, one of the most beloved games in the Legend of Zelda series returns.
In this modern re-imagining, players travel to the mysterious island of Koholint to guide Link on a perilous adventure.
The trailer shows an animated introduction, just like the original Game Boy title, which then gives way to the new visuals and gameplay of the remake. It’s a chibi-style that’s cute and suits Link’s Awakening, but I can’t help but feel Nintendo could have gone in a better direction.
Link’s Awakening Switch
Ever since the release of Wind Waker, Nintendo has used two distinct visual styles for The Legend of Zelda; Toon Shaded and “realistic.” I put “realistic” in quotations because through the different iterations, the realistic Zelda titles have still used a wide range of artistic styles.
Skyward Sword, for example, would be classified as a realistic Zelda, even though it used an impressionist art style.
With that in mind, it feels like a missed opportunity to not have Toon Link as the protagonist and the visual style to mirror that of Wind Waker. It also makes sense thematically, as in Link’s Awakening, Link washes ashore having been shipwrecked.
That’s not to say that the new visual style isn’t good. It looks fine and certainly stands apart from other Zelda titles. I simply think that toon shaded would have been much more enjoyable.
In any case, you can look forward to playing this remake on Switch in 2019.
