Whoever has followed this blog for a little while knows that Link's Awakening always had a special place in my heart, because it was my first Zelda game, my first big love in video gaming and the game I have completed the most. And this is why I'm especially excited to go into this remake today and share this journey with you. Just in time the blog is available to the public again, so let's go!
My first impression: I love it. I have been a little bit worried, because there has been so many complaints about the frame rate, but so far it was barely noticeable for me. But I'm probably just used to bad frame rates from the N64 days... And the game looks gorgeous and I love, how you can continuously peek beyond the borders.
I remember, how when I first played the game as a kid, I was always excited about what's beyond your current areas. What's in the Ukuku Prairie and so on. The game even had this little spots, where you could look ahead for about one screen – the most infamous one being the square in the Tal Tal Mountain Range that can be accessed just north of Dr. Wright's hut, where you can listen to the amazing music for the first time. Now all of the game is like this and it's quite beautiful to have this. Segmented areas probably would have been better for the frame rate, but I like the way it is, really...
Anyway, with this blog I won't be making one post per day as I did in the past. This wouldn't work, because I might already be finished with the game tomorrow. So, I will be making one post per dungeon instead.
Spoiler alert: don't read any of my posts, if you aren't finished with the respective dungeon already, if you don't want to be spoiled. This potentially includes side quest stuff like Pieces of Heart and Secret Seashell locations!
I'm not playing in Hero Mode yet, because I want to focus on how the game compares to the original in terms of difficulty. I also want to experiment and do silly things without worrying about dying. The game has still a death counter and I wouldn't be surprised, if the secret ending is still a thing, which doesn't happen if you died just once. If you're really not getting any hearts and fairies from mini bosses, this will be a tough ride in the early game, so it's good to get some practice first. I will play in Hero Mode right after my first playthrough!
You also have to get used to the new fighting mechanics and how the enemies now operate. It's not that different, but you can't just run around with a charged spin attack all the time, owning everything. The Mysterious Woods taught me that quickly. The Spear Moblin now will target you directly, instead of spamming spears randomly, and the Sword & Shield Moblins want to be deflected with your own shield. The shield seems to be a lot more useful in this version overall and the enemy placements in the woods have slightly changed, probably to adapt the difficulty. There is now a Moblin with sword and shield in front of the toadstool, while there aren't as many spear guys in the beginning. But these changes make sense with the new seamless scrolling.
Before each dungeon I will try to do as much as possible in terms of exploration and side quests. This is reminiscent of my first playthrough of the original GameBoy game back in 1997, where as a kid I didn't really like playing the dungeons, so I always tried to do as much as possible before them. I explored what I could and so on, which is why I have such an appreciation for the aforementioned spots in the world that let you take a sneak peak. Back then they were spots of longing and curiosity...
So, I've already spent quite some time in Mabe Village, grinding for Rupees, playing the new mini games, doing the first trades and so on. I haven't overdone it, so I haven't purchased the Bow or the Piece of Heart from the shop yet, but I already got the Shovel, done all of the fishing (from what it seems) and got all available rewards from the Trendy Game.
Overall I expected that I would hate the new Trendy Game and love the new fishing, however, it does seem like the opposite. The Trendy Game was a lot of fun and very rewarding for me, while the fishing had its frustrating moments, because I haven't fully gotten the hang of it yet, because you can't just mash the A button like a maniac any longer (it works for the fish right below you, though). The fishes now do respawn, which makes it a little harder to get the Fairy Bottle there, but you also won't be getting the "try your luck at the sea" message any longer... Hmmm.
Well, but I got the Fairy Bottle, the middle-weight lure and two Pieces of Hearts, where I assume that these are all Heart Pieces there judging from how they are positioned on the map. There is no counter, so there is two of them displayed there with the Fishing Pond right in the middle. I got also one from the Trendy Game and it's slightly to the left of the house, so this is a good indicator that there is a second Piece of Heart in this mini game as well (which we already knew from GameXplain).
But the Trendy Game worked very well for me, probably because I had so much practice with Nintendo Badge Arcade on the Nintendo 3DS already. But the Rupees are easy to get, because they fall down flat and then can't get out sideways. I accumulated enough money for the Shovel here quickly, much quicker than in the original, while I also got the first Piece of Heart, a Secret Seashell and the CiaoCiao figurine...
It did stop there, however, so I couldn't proceed with the figurines and the rest. This is probably tied to your progress in the game, where it's worth it to return to this mini game again and again, unlike the fishing, which you might only do once. But if it keeps being as fun, I don't really mind. Also, grinding Rupees above the Trendy Game's hut is now a little bit faster thanks to the blue Rupees that can show up. That's a good change.
Another change in the game is that you can't burn the foxes and Cuccos any longer... Probably to avoid problems with PETA because of needless animal cruelty, but in the original game these animals basically were enemies with unlimited health points, which would only attack you if you attack them. But burning them stops these attacks... I don't mind the change, but it's of note.
Weirdly enough, the bottle you get from the fishing is in the second spot, but I couldn't seem to find another bottle just yet... Also, after buying the Shovel you won't be able to buy Bombs next. This is new and maybe Bombs are more of an actual item that you need to find later on... Maybe in Kanalet Castle? This would make sense.
But this also means you can't get the one Secret Seashell in the Tail Cave early. I don't personally mind, because I wanted to see what happens if you haven't visited a room for the Chamber Dungeon. I'm guessing it won't be available, but it's interesting to find out such details for myself. Also, you have to return to the Tail Cave, once you got the Pegasus Boots, anyway, so I don't really mind going back there for two shells.
What's new in the Tail Cave is that you can now dig in the ground:
I found this out by accident, because I wanted to test, whether you can still flip the Spinies with your shield or not. I couldn't do it, but they are much quicker now and maybe my timing was just bad. And then I was surprised that I literally did some digging instead... But it doesn't seem like you can dig up hearts inside dungeons, only Rupees.
The Rolling Bones mini boss seemed a little bit tougher this time, because he is trying to avoid you a little better. Moldorm was easier than ever, because you have lots of room to charge your spin attack. Two hits and he is done.
So, off to dungeon #2 now... I will try to check out the Chamber Dungeon already on my way there.
Current Status:
- Secret Seashells: 3 (2 old + 1 new)
- Pieces of Heart: 4 (2 old + 2 new)
The number in brackets show the number of old and new Secret Seashells and Pieces of Hearts. Since many of them weren't in the GameBoy version, this statistic could be interesting. For example you couldn't assemble an extra Heart Container until after acquiring the Power Bracelet, but in this version you can easily get one before the first dungeon in Mabe Village alone thanks to all the mini games!
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