These impressions are going up a bit late thanks in part to Amazon’s interpretation of “doorstep” being different than that of most people, but I’d be lying if I claimed that I wasn’t pumped to get into The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch; the original game is so firmly entrenched in my childhood memories that even 6 years after playing it, I subconsciously remembered minutiae about the trading minigame, secret seashell locations, and dungeon rooms. Having now spent a little over an hour with the remake of a game that I know like the back of my hand (and I also played halfway into the Game Boy Color version to refresh my memory), there’s no denying that it’s a bizarre experience. Quality of life improvements like your sword, shield, and power bracelets not needing to be equipped are a big positive because this keeps you from constantly having to enter the menu. I also like the art style for the most part despite not being on board when the Link’s Awakening remake was first announced. The jumping physics are terrible compared to the original, though, while the decision to make the overworld continuous rather than a series of connected screens results in some pretty significant slowdown. Still, I’d consider this a good remake despite its technical flaws.

Right off the bat, there’s one thing that I love and one thing that I hate about the Switch version of Link’s Awakening. In the “love” column is the script, which adheres to the original almost 1:1. In the “hate” column is the opening, which lacks the original’s music. The animation is great, yes, but the ominous song that plays in the original is one of the best opening songs in gaming history, and not having it appear when you start the game feels wrong. The song that plays when Marin finds Link on the beach is here, but without that track as context, it’s robbed of its impact.

I’m not going to get into the changes of Link’s Awakening on Switch too extensively here because there are a lot of little ones and I haven’t played far enough to discover all of them, but Trendy Game is an interesting case. The minigame has been totally reworked to make it a true claw game (complete with your prize shifting in transit and being lost), and while I appreciate the effort, claw games are infuriating BS—losing a prize because it moved slightly while coming to you is ridiculous, and the claws don’t grip prizes so much as they languidly brush up against their sides and bottom to various results. But then, on the positive side, the kid who stands outside of the shop tells you what you can do with the Yoshi doll in the remake. In the original, you had to figure this out by wandering around town and talking to everyone, and that can be confusing when you’re a child. This trading sidequest is mandatory, intersecting the main story at points and allowing you to find keys to boss dungeons, so adding clarity for new players without stomping all over the original translation is a good thing. The fishing guy’s dialogue when you stop fishing has been changed, though, and that’s a bad thing. I loved his “You need to have more passion! Live a little!” This new relaxed fishing guy is a monster.

Anyway, I’m still playing and just reached Key Cavern, which is the third dungeon. While the overworld lacks screen transitions in the Switch version of Link’s Awakening (which causes some serious frame rate problems), dungeons are structured much like they are in the original, consisting of a series of interconnected rooms. Some rooms have been consolidated, admittedly, which makes it a little weird when the compass makes a sound to indicate a key when you’re just walking around, but it’s a decent effort regardless. Seriously, though—the remake’s jump feels terrible. Attacking with the sword is also worse, with impacts lacking the satisfying chunky feel of the original Link’s Awakening. The first boss has been significantly improved, though, requiring fewer hits to beat and being easier to avoid. It had a reputation for being one of the most annoying bosses in the game, but now it’s as easy as a first-dungeon boss should be. Little things like that and item switching balance out the clunkiness.

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