The Nintendo Direct was expected for this month but one game in particular no one saw coming, Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. This will be the second remake of this beloved game and I am not complaining. I am always waiting to hear about a new Zelda game. Seeing this trailer during the announcement made this whole Direct special for me. If the trailer could be summed up into one word it would be “charming”. This new style of graphics makes Link’s Awakening more enduring than ever before and I can hardly wait for it to be released on the Nintendo Switch.
The visuals are beautifully adorable, it’s as if the developers and artists created the look of the game based on my mind’s idea when I played the DX version. The camera work makes it look as if the player will be looking down on a miniature world full of little characters, Link looks a bit strange in a simplistic chibi form, although a straight on shot of his appearance was purposely kept from trailer so it’s too early to judge his new appearance. It does appear that his eyes are only pupils and his iconic blue coloring and white around the pupils are missing which is causing Link to look so strange.
Just seeing the outsides of the dungeons (especially Bottle Grotto) and part of the world brings back so many happy memories of playing Link’s Awakening. I can only think that the reason Nintendo decided to remake this game is to use today’s technology to make Awakening look the way they really wanted it to back in the ’90s.
My favorite part of this trailer is the opening animation of Link struggling to keep his boat afloat during the storm, it shows off how amazing Nintendo’s artists are at setting up a story. Seeing Link’s expression of struggling against the winds gives more emotion than in the previous two versions. It would be fantastic if this animation is included throughout the game for the cut scenes. This animation combined with the new cute and fresh art style will make Awakening a beautiful experience.
Something that caught my eye is Link donning the Hyilan shield. Will there be a tie-in to another LoZ game or perhaps is the overall story going to be changed? The one thing I hope changes with this remake is I want the story to be a bit longer. Whether it is a new dungeon, a new character, or a whole new area, I sincerely hope there is an addition to the story to make Link’s Awakening for the Switch extra special. Perhaps there will be additional time to the opening or closing, or there could be new enemies. Whatever new changes they bring to the table, I am most contently looking forward to them!
Leave a comment below and let us know what you are most excited about the remake of Link’s Awakening or which game announced during the Direct is the one you are looking forward to the most!