The Switch version of Link’s Awakening is a from-the-base remake. Everything’s 3D modeled, although the game keeps a tilt-shift perspective so it plays like 2D (much like the DS games). The models look like little toys, and gosh, they’re cute. Screen transitions only happen through doors, meaning the overworld and large dungeon rooms are all seamless. There’s a blurring effect at the edges, which hurt my eyes playing in handheld mode, but once I docked the Switch and played on the big screen, it was all better.
The controls are touched up nicely, taking advantage of the Switch’s multitude of buttons. The sword, shield, and Pegasus Boots all have dedicated buttons, and the Power Bracelet is automatically equipped (for balance purposes, Link still can’t lift pots without it). There are still the two item buttons so bomb arrows can be used, but when I wasn’t using bomb arrows, I had the Roc’s Feather permanently equipped to Y. (Other items are much more situational – honestly, if Roc’s Feather on Y was locked in with bomb arrows activated as they are in Twilight Princess, I wouldn’t mind.)
There are twenty new heart pieces (plus one more heart container) and twenty-six new Secret Seashells. The Seashell rewards have been revamped: a heart piece at 5, a Seashell Sensor that pings when Link gets close to where a Seashell is hidden at 20, a Chamber Stone at 30, the Koholint Sword at 40, and another Chamber Stone for all 50. (In addition to the old Seashell rewards being gone, this is “or above” now – no more missing rewards for not checking in at the right time.)
New stuff with items: Link can collect bottles to keep fairies in. The fairies don’t auto-revive him (that’s left to the Secret Medicine [1][2]) and once bottled only restore about five hearts. Manbo’s Mambo can warp Link to any warp point from anywhere (in the overworld) – a vast improvement over the original version’s fast travel – and there are ten total warp points. Link can buy back the item he trades for the Boomerang (because with the extra Seashells and warp points, he’ll still need the Shovel) for 300 rupees. The Boomerang, Hookshot, and Magic Rod are nerfed. It hurts worst with the Magic Rod, which is needed for a few puzzles in the dungeon and to fight a couple bosses, and that’s about all it’s good for now. The Boomerang is no longer a one-hit kill, but can still kill enemies with enough hits, and stunlocks them in the process, so it’s still good. (The Flying Rooster trick is gone: the boomerang returns to Link rather than hover below him.)
All of the minigames have been expanded. The Fishing Hole isn’t just “catch the one fish with the heart piece and be done with it,” there are lots of types of fish, two heart pieces and two Seashells as rewards, heavier lures to unlock, and it’s a decent way to make rupees now. The Rapids Ride has a new mode in which Link needs to race to the end for prizes (that seem to get worse as his time gets better). The Trendy Game has the claw failing to grab the targeted item or the targeted item rolling out of the claw, and lots of new stuff to get. There’s a whole little sidequest of collecting figures from the Trendy Game and finding places to display them across the village, so that’s fun, except for the part where you try to grab the Piranha Plant figure.
Most of the boss fights have been improved. Moldorm adds cracked floors around most of the room so it’s harder to fall off. Angler Fish’s lure now bounces Link back when he attacks it, so he can’t just float and hit it until it dies, which at least makes the fight take longer. Facade moves around the room, and the flying tiles can knock bombs away from him. Evil Eagle doesn’t reset if Link falls off, and has his full range of attacks from the start so Link can’t just beat it in three hits before it starts doing more than flying overhead. The nerf to the Magic Rod makes Hot Head a little more dangerous. Hardhit Beetle recovers a bit more slowly and it’s easier to tell how much damage it’s taken. And the Shadow Nightmares feel more balanced in difficulty (again, the nerf to the Magic Rod mean the Lanmola form takes three hits instead of one) [3].
A few other minor changes: The horse head puzzles were changed to actual puzzles rather than just “toss them until it lets you stop.” The Color Dungeon added non-color indicators to everything, presumably to help accessibility for colorblind people. A few lines of dialogue are changed. I think the game’s easier than the Game Boy versions; part of that is because of changes that absolutely do make it easier (Link has more health – at least potentially), but I’ll allow that a good chunk is also that I’ve played it a few times so I’m better at it.
Next: Oh, and the Camera Shop and Photographer are gone, and someone else has set up shop.
[1] So bottled fairies act like other games’ potions and the potion acts like other games’ bottled fairies.
[2] The one change I outright hate: If Link finds a redundant Secret Medicine, he puts it back in the chest. This sucked with rupees in Twilight Princess, and we’re doing it again? My run of Turtle Rock got slowed down because I thought I missed a chest, so I went to get it, only to discover it was the Secret Medicine I left behind because I didn’t need it. Sigh. In Twilight Princess I used the magic armor to drain rupees so I could claim all the chests, but I’m not waiting for Link’s health to drain to zero to get another Secret Medicine.
[3] Most bosses get a splash screen with their name, but not the Shadow Nightmares, and especially not the final form, so it seems we’re stuck with DethI. Gah.
