The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening REMAKE — 20th September 2019

[Agent Gibbs]

I do and I don’t get peoples issue with the art style; the art style is faithful to the original, it was in places cutesy, with odd elements from other games and slowly gained more darker elements as it went along. This was obviously because you were trapped in the dream of another. However on the other hand due to the lack of graphics at the time we had to use *dum dum duum* our imaginations! And it led many of us to shift how the game appeared in our minds eye, we found the game dark, we were fighting against a nightmare to wake a being which would in turn destroy the place we’ve just been travelling around and getting to know the people. The problem being that didn’t fit with the intended style of the developers and that is on us really.

The issues with the intro style and the game play again I get, but it was just as jarring back then, it had a particular style which was worlds away from the pixel graphics we got a s game play, so again they’ve gone to keep that ‘faithful’ look, but I do think they missed and opportunity to have a uniform style.

I think a minor texture (whites of links eyes) and lighting change could make this game better and more in line with what people envisioned, but I do wonder, that trailer was concentrating on the beginning of the game when everything was much more bright and centred around the beach area. As you progress the game and the dream become darker and I suspect that a visual change in lighting and atmosphere will happen in the game too.

 

I know people wanted a new game, but I think people are missing the point here – Nintendo are playing it safe! They are using a new engine that they will intend to cover future 2D Zelda games  on the Switch, new games will come! Producing a remake of a beloved game allows them to test this but also minimise losses by playing on the nostalgia/remake element, so if it doesn’t work out due to style or other reasons they will minimise losses due to this.

 

Personally I’m extatic, I cannot wait to replay my beloved first portable Zelda game, I can’t wait to go back to Kohlint and go down that surreal story once again and I have fiath that it will be darker as it goes along and progresses the story.

 

Lets just hope it does well and we get new games in the engine and the Oracles remade too, so we can have a stop gap between 3D zelda’s.

[Kav]

I think the art style is absolutely full of charm!

It almost looks like it’s stop-motion, loads of little dioramas. I like it.

[Nicktendo]

30 minutes ago, Agent Gibbs said:

I know people wanted a new game, but I think people are missing the point here – Nintendo are playing it safe! They are using a new engine that they will intend to cover future 2D Zelda games  on the Switch, new games will come! Producing a remake of a beloved game allows them to test this but also minimise losses by playing on the nostalgia/remake element, so if it doesn’t work out due to style or other reasons they will minimise losses due to this.

This is a very good point. 

[BowserBasher]

I think this style would really do well for a Minish Cap remake. I know lots probably never played that game and this looks perfect for that. 

[EEVILMURRAY]

The environment looks good. But it's the eyes which are really putting me off. The Pokémon remakes (and all other remakes of that time) were able to give characters whites in their eyes so it's not an unheard of thing.

There's something a bit off with the perspective in my mind. The characters are either really small or the environment is enhanced somehow. Link looks like he's one mushroom off becoming the size he should be. Link Between Worlds already has a delightful character model.

[RedShell]

It's a shame that some people aren't digging the look of this game, especially those that are fans of the GB version.

Personally, I adore the art style and think it looks absolutely beautiful!  I really love it when this type of realistic rendering is applied to fantasy design, it's one of the reasons why I was so captivated with The Tomorrow Children, not that this is on that sort of level from a technical standpoint (what that game was doing with lighting tech was quite frankly insane ) but the end result is kind of similar, in that it appears like a world made of toys has actually come to life!

I also have very fond memories of playing Link's Awakening on the original brick Game Boy back in the day, and it has always been one of my favourite Zelda games. So yeah, very much looking forward to experiencing it again with this incredibly gorgeous remake.  

Guessing this will be a Christmas time release, but if it's any sooner then that's fine with me.

[Shorty]

I was surprised to find this one so divisive seems the perfect throwback to the old style. Personally I love it, I can't wait for an excuse to replay it and get my other half to play it.

[bob]

My first thought when watching that trailer was 'OMG is that a chain chomp?! I can't imagine the backlash there's going to be about adding Mario things into Zelda game! People are going to be piiiiiissed!'

Then I read this thread and found that I'm 26 years late in having this thought.

[MindFreak]

Having slept on it, I'm still psyched. I've never played the original, tried to do it on the 3DS but lost interest quickly. This is perfect for me.

I understand the hate towards the artstyle but it has to grow on you. It looks like stop motion with plastic figures and from what I gather from the posts above, it's quite well suited for the game. I don't think it looks particularly good, but I imagine that I won't care at all when I get to play the game.

[Ronnie]

8 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

I understand the hate towards the artstyle

From what I've seen online, most people seem to love the art style.

[MindFreak]

5 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

From what I've seen online, most people seem to love the art style.

But there are haters and I understand them. That's my point.

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, bob said:

My first thought when watching that trailer was 'OMG is that a chain chomp?! I can't imagine the backlash there's going to be about adding Mario things into Zelda game! People are going to be piiiiiissed!'

Then I read this thread and found that I'm 26 years late in having this thought.

It's not a Chain Chomp, it's a Bow Wow. And it's a surprisingly good weapon!

[killthenet]

Having watched the trailer a few more times I'm definitely getting more used to the art style now, but it was a bit of a shock to begin with. When you hear that there's going to be a remake of a GB game from 1993 you expect that it will look completely different but this seems to be very faithful to the original in terms of its world and level design, it's pretty much a 1:1 conversion - just minus the screen scrolling and with polygons instead of sprites. That combined with the intentionally very cutesy production design meant to me it was weirdly disappointing at first but after getting over the initial shock I'm starting to warm to it. Was also disappointing that the next 2D Zelda is a remake rather than an entirely original game.

I only recently played through the original (well the DX version on 3DS VC) so I know first hand how well the gameplay still holds up, my main gripes with it were the constant item switching and the lack of buttons available on the original GB so if its basically just the same game just with modern conveniences then I'm all for it. 

[Mandalore]

Almost all the talk is about the art style so far. I'm more interested in how different it'll play. Will all the dungeons have the same layout and puzzles or will it get changed?

I'd love it if they made the item quest chain even longer, with even more bizarre items in between. 

[EEVILMURRAY]

2 minutes ago, Mandalore said:

Almost all the talk is about the art style so far. I'm more interested in how different it'll play. Will all the dungeons have the same layout and puzzles or will it get changed?

I'd love it if they made the item quest chain even longer, with even more bizarre items in between. 

I'm guessing it'll be a 99% carbon copy, with the DX colour dungeon thrown in. 

[drahkon]

The only thing I want to see is whether this version will keep the weirdness of the original German version or be "censored" like the DX version. This is what I'm talking about:

Spoiler

The German translator thought it was funny to include a couple of...well...controversial jokes/lines (for some they might be controversial, I think they're awesome).

Cukeman can say this, which translates to: "Never without a condom!"
One other line is: "Gib' mir deinen Saft, ich geb' dir meinen!", which is "Give me your juice, I'll give you mine!" in English. Okay...

Then there's this, which translates to: "Your hook (item) is now a sexy bikini-top! Wow! Drool..."

Even as a 6 year old kid I knew that this was weird  

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by drahkon

[Grazza]

Whilst I do like the graphics, I think it looks a bit too much like you're controlling a little model, rather than an actual character with expressions.  The Game Boy's limitations made the Link sprite very simple, but we could use our imaginations for his expressions.  Here, they've made it very explicit that he doesn't have any.  As I say, I do quite like it in general, but think some improvements could be made, especially with the eyes.

 

16 minutes ago, drahkon said:

The only thing I want to see is whether this version will keep the weirdness of the original German version or be "censored" like the DX version. This is what I'm talking about:

  NSFW? Maybe? (Reveal hidden contents)

The German translator thought it was funny to include a couple of...well...controversial jokes/lines (for some they might be controversial, I think they're awesome).

Cukeman can say this, which translates to: "Never without a condom!"
One other line is: "Gib' mir deinen Saft, ich geb' dir meinen!", which is "Give me your juice, I'll give you mine!" in English. Okay...

Then there's this, which translates to: "Your hook (item) is now a sexy bikini-top! Wow! Drool..."

Even as a 6 year old kid I knew that this was weird  

 

 

I thought that was going to be about the nude hippo, but it was even stranger.  The original German translator certainly had fun with that!

[S.C.G]

I'm fine with the graphics, they generally suit the game and are faithful to the original, just not in ways that are perhaps immediately obvious until you look at them side by side.

This quick comparison video definitely fixes in my mind what I thought after a while of being able to reflect on it, I wasn't sure but I can see the details now.

With that said, I would also be OK with a feature that essentially shows you a HD version of the pixel graphics at the touch of a button but I'm aware this only works in some cases.

Either way, I'm just really happy to be able to hopefully get to play a modern-day version of a really brilliant Zelda title which is likely vastly overlooked by newer players.

That is of course understandable, as if the Nintendo Switch is the first Nintendo console for some people then they might not have heard of this game...

...I'd imagine that will change now though and I think it's great that a new generation will get to experience what a generations old Zelda game is like, possibly for the first time.

I can't wait to play through it again and it will be nice to see what improvements are made where they make sense and what extras are hidden away.

Oh and with that art style, you can guarantee that we're getting another Link amiibo though make one of Marin too please... and Bow-Wow... and the Owl of course.

[drahkon]

1 hour ago, S.C.G said:

 

I still hate it  

On 2/14/2019 at 4:54 PM, Grazza said:

I thought that was going to be about the nude hippo, but it was even stranger.  The original German translator certainly had fun with that!

How could I forget that  

[dan-likes-trees]

Personally I'm totally torn. Have to admit a massive grin came over my face looking at the first couple of shots of gameplay, and when the amazing woodwind music started playing, but upon reflection it's the same style that put me off playing a Link Between Worlds. Just wish they'd try something different for a change.

I'd love to see really detailed handrawn-y sprites, much like the Banner Saga or Hades, something still pixel-y like Hyper Light Drifter or even something a bit darker and more unusual like Below. Four Swords on the gamecube seemed to be going that way with those amazing cel animated explosion swirls like from Wind Waker. Would've loved if they followed the handrawn route!

Still. Psyched to play it. I played through some of LA on my phone last year. That game holds up!

[Grazza]

3 hours ago, S.C.G said:

 

Either way, I'm just really happy to be able to hopefully get to play a modern-day version of a really brilliant Zelda title which is likely vastly overlooked by newer players.

That is of course understandable, as if the Nintendo Switch is the first Nintendo console for some people then they might not have heard of this game...

...I'd imagine that will change now though and I think it's great that a new generation will get to experience what a generations old Zelda game is like, possibly for the first time.

I can't wait to play through it again and it will be nice to see what improvements are made where they make sense and what extras are hidden away.

Oh and with that art style, you can guarantee that we're getting another Link amiibo though make one of Marin too please... and Bow-Wow... and the Owl of course.

 

The owl was magical.  I remember playing this on my Game Boy in the '90s - it really was like going into a different world.  Like you, I can't wait to see what extras are hidden away, and though this is my favourite, I'd like to see A Link to the Past remastered as well.

 

23 minutes ago, dan-likes-trees said:

I'd love to see really detailed handrawn-y sprites, much like the Banner Saga or Hades, something still pixel-y like Hyper Light Drifter or even something a bit darker and more unusual like Below. Four Swords on the gamecube seemed to be going that way with those amazing cel animated explosion swirls like from Wind Waker. Would've loved if they followed the handrawn route!

 

Yes, I do think Four Swords GC is the best overhead style so far.  I feel a hand-drawn update of that has the most potential.

[S.C.G]

A few potential questions answered in this video, mostly just stuff that can be discovered from just rewatching the trailer a few times, some good observations though.

[Tim B]

Is there any chance that this will contain a Four Swords-style multiplayer? Or would they have announced it already?

[MindFreak]

I find that unlikely but we don't know what extras they've added to the game. There is definitely something new, though. 

[Tim B]

Thinking about it, I'd have much preferred a new top-down Zelda to any kind of remake. I would love a new dungeon or two, just like how they added a colour dungeon for the DX version.