Link’s Awakening review roundup: Cuter than before, but still the same

Link’s Awakening has arrived on the Nintendo Switch, and everyone’s excited. We’ve highlighted some of the reviews from around the internet for you.

When The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was announced for the Nintendo Switch at E3, everyone was incredibly excited — especially when the trailer was all sorts of adorable.

And now it’s out for Nintendo Switch, and we’re just as excited as we were months ago.

So is the rest of the internet.

The general consensus online is this: It’s as thoroughly adorable as you’d hoped. And it’s the exact game you played on the Game Boy and/or Game Boy Color in the 1990s.

The game has definitely been given a glow-up, replacing the pixels of years past with top-down 3D images and the terrible MIDI music with an orchestral sound. Unfortunately, the frame rate will drop down in certain areas because it’s too much to handle. We Got This Covered writes:

"“While Nintendo aims for a lofty 60 frames per second, the game is prone to dropping frames all the way down to a sustained 30 when you enter a new area or return to the overworld. To be fair, the technical shortcomings are by no means a deal-breaker, but they are certainly noticeable.”"

IGN reports on the major changes they noticed, including the Camera Shop being no more (because Game Boy Printers aren’t a thing in 2019) and, “The crane game has a slightly different layout.”

One of the other lovely changes, as Kotaku points out, is the controls. Since there are more buttons on the controller compared to the original Game Boy, there’s less juggling of items and wasted time in pause screens:

"“Your sword and shield now have dedicated buttons, as do the Pegasus Boots, an item you’ll get early in the game that lets Link dash at super-speed. You no longer have to equip the Power Bracelet to pick up rocks. You just have to own it. These changes might sound minor, but they make a huge difference.”"

All in all, it all still feels like a solid Zelda game that goes back to basics. It’s an easy way to time travel that doesn’t involve time heists or getting up from your couch.

The only other main detriment? The cost. It’s priced at the standard $59.99 as almost every other Switch game — it’s the same price as Breath of the Wild, which is hundreds of hours of game play. Compared to the 10-20 hours for Link’s Awakening, that seems like a hefty price to pay.

Still, if you’re a Zelda fan and want a blast from the past, it’s worth the price. Plus, if you’re like me and still have the strategy guide for the Game Boy Color version, you’re ready to rock and roll.

Let’s go re-explore Koholint Island.

Have you played Link’s Awakening for the Nintendo Switch yet? What did you think of it?