The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch)
| The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Grezzo |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| System | Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | September 20, 2019 |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Rating | ESRB: E |
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a 2019 remake of the Game Boy game of the same name for the Nintendo Switch.
Development[edit]
The game seems to have originated from the success of Super Mario Maker. Shigeru Miyamoto talked to Eiji Aonuma about creating a Zelda equivalent of the game. This would involve designing dungeons, but it was decided that it might be too complex. Aonuma felt that the better approach would be to allow players to arrange rooms of existing dungeons, and Link's Awakening was an ideal candidate due to featuring dungeons that mostly had single-screen rooms. This would make it easier to sort out and arrange individual rooms of a dungeon.
Information[edit]
The game is an updated version of Link's Awakening and Link's Awakening DX. Most notably, the graphics have been updated and feature a distinct art style. The sound has also been updated, including the addition of small voice clips for characters as in other Zelda games. The gameplay has received modifications to match more recent Zelda games. Although the player still has two slots for inventory items, some of the items (specifically the sword, shield, Power Bracelet and Pegasus Boots) are now assigned to their own buttons. One thing was retained is that Link's movement is still restricted to moving in eight directions, rather than having free movement in any direction. The Color Dungeon from the Game Boy Color version was retained, but the Camera Shop and its connected sidequest have been replaced by Dampé's Shack. While the structure of the game is mostly the same, there are now more Pieces of Heart and Secret Seashells and collect, as well as the addition of Empty Bottles and chamber stones.
The chamber stones are utilized for one of the game's new features: the chamber dungeons. Run by Dampé, chamber dungeons are customized dungeons that are created by arranging chambers (individual rooms). There are some rules to follow for the creation of every dungeon: all rooms must connect, there must be both an entrance and a boss room, there must be at least one treasure chest for a Boss Key, and there must be more treasure chests than locked rooms. Dampé presents a series of challenges which involve creating dungeons that fit certain criteria (some of which must be completed without a sword or with only three hearts). After each dungeon is completed within the game, Dampé will add rooms from that dungeon to the available chambers, and more chambers can be added from chamber stones. These also include bonus tiles that can insert Wall Masters or downpours of Rupees or hearts into one room of a dungeon.
The game also has amiibo connectivity. A player's chamber dungeons can be saved to an amiibo and then be played on another player's game by scanning the same amiibo. The amiibo of Link from Link's Awakening specifically unlocks the option to place Shadow Link in dungeons.