I made it well known that I hated Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. I've also heard that many people consider it the best Zelda game in the franchise. I've read that many fans put hundreds of hours into this tiny, handheld product. For the life of me, I can't figure out how it's so beloved. I guess it's one of those "you had to be there" things. But, maybe, ya know, a modern retelling is just what I'd be into.
Let me quickly explain why this review is several days late. I've been watching videos of the Switch version of Link's Awakening. One of my favorite Youtube channels, Outside Xbox, played the updated game in early 2020. I'll get more into that in a moment, but I'm going to let my second person experience compare the two games. I think it's worth discussing.
But before that, let's discuss the GBA version.
What does it do bad?
Everything.
It's a painfully tedious game because of the amount of time you'll spend in the menu. Like all good adventure games, you'll gain a wide assortment of items to explore and battle across your game world of choice. That's super rad, but the GBA is limited by buttons. You can only equip two items at a time. One will likely be your sword, and the other should probably be your defensive option. So how do you use the hookshot, boomerang, or power bracelet? The bracelet, especially, is an item you'll want to have equipped consistently, but that accursed button limit prevents it. This means you'll be switching gear out every four seconds. I hated it, and it brought the game down. Tedious is not a game mechanic. It slowed down the action to a crawl.
This ruined the sense of adventure in all the dungeons. Nothing felt smooth or consistent. It wasn't fun, nor did I feel like spending most of my time in the menu was worthwhile. I'd switch the Roc's Feather out for a moment, only to reequip it as soon as I threw aside the jar. And then I'd do it again in the next room! To say nothing of the times it was needed in the boss battle...
Moving on now...
Link is a silent protagonist. This makes it tough to get a lot of points for my character review. Usually, though, SPs gain a decent amount of points. This Link, though, has scored the lowest I've seen. According to official lore, LA's Link is the same as LttP's Link. Of the three Zelda games I've really sunk my teeth into, this one is the worst. The other two got eight points but only six this time around.
This is a problem with the Gameboy as a whole, but I can't deal with the sound quality. It's tinny and hurts my ears. If you're into it, rad, but I get a headache. There's some good variety here, though, so it's worth giving it a listen, but I can't recommend it.
There are hints of goodness within there, but I don't care to dig through all the trash to find it.
So let's talk about the Switch.
It's amazing!
The Switch Version of Link's Awakening fixes (as far as I could tell) everything I hated about the GBA game.
The Power Bracelet is automatically equipped just as the flippers are. This cuts down on the menu simulator aspect of the game a millionfold (slight hyperbole). And then the additional buttons you have access to makes it even better. You can keep your sword and shield out while having the Roc's Feather and another item at your beck and call. The Pegasus boots also get their own button press, which I can go either way with. Considering how often I used them in LttP, this might be rad! The tedium is gone, and you have access to the full experience! Dungeons look fun again!
The music is vastly improved. Its style is more varied, too. Sometimes there are orchestrated pieces with a few toned down melodies for the dungeons. I've been listening to it as I wrote this, and I'm headache free! I can't tell how much the tracks have changed, but everything is as you'd expect in a mainline Zelda game. There are fun bits and exciting tunes. The dungeon themes are creepy and suspenseful, and the songs in battle are frantic. The game's worth playing just to fully experience Face Shrine. I'm halfway through, and I already want to keep coming back to the Youtube video.
Sadly, Link's still boring. In fact, I don't think there's much additional characterization for anyone. The photographer guy is gone, so it's possible it went down. Which reminds me, I missed most of the pictures, so I should go look into them. Maybe they'll help Link? UPDATE: It did, but only for the GBC version.
I want to keep this short, so I'll end this review by saying one thing. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is either a terrible game or a top notch experience depending on what platform you're playing it on. I'd avoid the Gameboy at all costs. However, I suggest giving the Switch version a play if you're into the Zelda franchise or action/adventure games. I can understand why this is a well regarded experience now.
Story: Fun but with bland characters. LA is not a narrative focused game and revolves entirely around Link getting off this island. It has a fun twist that makes you think about your actions, and I still don't know if I did the right thing. 6/10
Gameplay: Tedious. I can't stress this enough, but a game of this genre shouldn't have you spending that much time in the menu screen. If you ignore that flaw (which I am for this portion), then it's a perfect game. 10/10
Art: Nintendo don't sleep on Zelda. If you can get past the dated looks of an early aughts handheld, it's what you'd expect a game from this fabled franchise would be: vibrant and variyed. 8/10
Music: Handheld. If you can get passed the compression needed to fit into a handheld game, then it's probably a lot of fun. There isn't a great hook here besides the Zelda theme, but that's played in every game, so I can't let it be the defining song all the time. 7/10
Charm: Exists. Butterflies float around you in Mabe, and the side characters are really fun. Marin deserved better! Sadly, Zelda games only really have one way to play them, and the awful mechanics made the game feel longer than it needed to be. 6/10
Negative: Seriously, it's tedious. It's so bad it gets a negative seven and afflicts two possible categories.
This means Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Gameboy Color gets a score of 30 out of 50. You can tell the pieces are there because I'm giving the Switch version 42 out of 50. From a D- to an A-...
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