Koholint, Island of No Return

We have to go back!!

Ah, Link's Awakening, my first Zelda game and still one of my absolute favorites. Christmas 1997 turned me into a Zelda fan and for me it was a small tradition to replay the GameBoy classic each year around Christmas.

But we have 2018 by now and Breath of the Wild happened. The game really opened the next level for the Zelda series. It's not perfect and might still learn a thing or two from past Zelda games, but overall it's so much more extensive and modern than anything that came before it that the older games simply aren't as interesting any longer.

Before the game got released, I also had made it my mission to replay all Zelda games on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS (see here for the final list). With that came a certain closure and this certainly is another factor, why I didn't have much desire to return to any of the previous games since then.

And Link's Awakening is the prime example here, where this came apparent because of my Christmas tradition. I already tried to replay the game last year at Christmas (which leads me to talk about the game around this time of the year once more), but I only finished the first dungeon. Now, one year later, I tried picking up from there, but then stopped at the entrance of Level 2.

It kind of felt pointless. I've replayed the game so many time that I know it inside out. I remember it so well that I can replay the game in my head, whenever I want to, with frightening accuracy. And I've already got two fully completed savegames on my Nintendo 3DS, covering different choices like the first photo posture and the color of my tunic (though the latter can be changed at any time). And there was no point in adding a third. Instead I chose to play another game on 3DS with "Awakening" in its title, which I haven't beaten yet - Fire Emblem: Awakening.

So, part of the fatigue is probably that I do have completed savegames for all my copies on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS (the sole exception being Zelda II - The Adventure of Link on my Wii U). And that was exactly the point of the whole endeavor - to complete all the games once more to gain closure. I've achieved what I wanted and can hardly complain.

Of course, if Nintendo were to release new versions of the old games, especially some remasters with new features, I would be absolutely interested in playing them and the fire would burn again. It's probably also a reason, why I liked the idea of remaking Link's Awakening on the 3DS earlier this year and why I'm currently looking forward to Skyward Sword HD - I would be eager to play it, despite its limitations in face of Breath of the Wild.

So, let's see when I will finally return to Koholint for real.