Link's Awakening Remake: Modern Title Logo

The new remake of Link's Awakening also comes with a fancy new logo for the game:

What's interesting about this new logo is that it follows the same white flat design of the logo from Breath of the Wild has. Instead of the Silent Princess on the "Z" it has palm trees on a tiny island with seagulls above them next to the "A", but it's overall the same style. Both logos also got introduced against a landscape:

Well, the Breath of the Wild logo isn't entirely flat, because it still has the Master Sword going through the "Z", but there is a variant where the Master Sword is in the flat style as well.

These similarities also exist in the Japanese version, where they've moved completely away from the stylized "ZELDA" for their newest games:

It still translates to "The Legend of Zelda: The Dreaming Island" and it's very similar to what they've done with the first four games in Japan, including the original Link's Awakening, but also the recent Breath of the Wild:

What does this mean, exactly? Usually, when two Zelda games appear on the same system or use the same art style in some form, they often come with a similar logo. This could be the case for Link's Awakening and Breath of the Wild, but so far the only thing these two Zelda games have the common is the same system: the Nintendo Switch.

Let's first take a look at the history of Zelda game logos over the years:

It really follows the paradigm of Zelda games appearing in pairs. It's most notable in the first four generations up to the Oracle games. But even later on there are clear pairs like Four Swords and The Minish Cap, The Wind Waker and Four Swords Adventures, and of course the two Nintendo DS Zelda games.

It starts to divert somewhat with games that are drastically different like Twilight Princess, but another quite quite interesting exception are A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes. Both games appeared on the same system with the same engine, but they have different art styles, which even shows in the logos, where the latter is more similar to the style of the Nintendo DS games.

But despite the differences in various places, there has been a clear logo design ever since A Link to the Past. The new Link's Awakening and Breath of the Wild logos, however, set themselves really apart from the rest of the series. Their modern look feels almost as different as the ones for the NES games.

It really feels like Breath of the Wild started a new era for the Zelda series and the flat design is standing for this new era. And every new Zelda game might be using it from now on, which even includes the remake of an old Zelda game. In a way this goes hand in hand with the title of the remake, which is the exact same title as the original instead of "Link's Reawakening" or "Link's Awakening HD". This is the Link's Awakening of the new era. (I would not expect remasters to use it as well, so the logo for Skyward Sword HD will probably look similar to the one for Twilight Princess HD).

It could also be a thing just for the Nintendo Switch era, we won't know for sure until it's over. But it's certainly a fresh new look for the Zelda brand.

Link's Awakening Remake: Photo Quest & Color Dungeon?

From the looks of it, Link's Awakening for the Nintendo Switch will be quite the accurate remake of Link's Awakening for the GameBoy. That game already got an enhanced version in 1998, however, with Link's Awakening DX for the GameBoy Color. The colored version came with a couple of additional features, most notably the Camera Shop and the Color Dungeon. And there is the question right now, whether these things will make it into the remake or not.

Camera Shop?

In case of "the Travels of Link", the Photo Quest, this doesn't seem likely. The whole photo feature was added to promote the GameBoy Printer hardware, where you could print out the twelve little pictures if you wanted. Some of the moments also felt a lot like they were tacked on to a point, where the GameBoy original felt a little bit better because of it (see Link's Awakening vs. Link's Awakening DX).

Now, it doesn't seem likely that this will return, but it's entirely possible that some of the photo moments will be translated into ingame cutscenes. The different scenes with Marin come to mind, especially the one where she drops on you in the well. Otherwise they could capture the moments, where Link returns to ghost to his grave or where Link gets overwhelmed by BowWow in greater detail as well.

So, in the end moments like this:

Could be shown like this:

It's certainly interesting, how in Link's Awakening DX all photo sequences are in a chibi art style, which back then created a stark contrast to the more realistic portrayals of Link in the beginning and the end of the game. But this even might have been an inspiration for the remake, where the game starts with the anime cutscene from the trailer and could possibly end in the same style, but everything on Koholint during the game is portrayed in this cute chibi art style, as if it's all part of some dream. *cough*

Anyway, the photos themselves wouldn't be a huge loss and it might even be for the better, since four of the photos could be missed and one required you to become a THIEF. They could even go as far as giving you your own camera this time, so you can look around in first person and take some memorable photos yourself.

Color Dungeon?

Like the Photo Quest, the Color Dungeon was mainly there to promote hardware. While Link's Awakening DX was backwards-compatible with the GameBoy, the Color Dungeon with its color puzzles could only be played on the GameBoy Color. This was achieved by two skeletons at the entrance that were asking for their color, though you had a 50:50 chance to get in anyway.

In any case, there won't be no need for the gatekeepers any longer, but overall the Color Dungeon still could have its place. The puzzles and enemies are mainly about colors, but this shouldn't be a reason not to include the dungeon, even if these puzzles lack some novelty. But Oracle of Ages has many color puzzles as well, for example.

Alternatively, they could use this place for a dungeon of their own, maybe even something that makes use of some Nintendo Switch gimmicks like the HD rumble, but then again, they could still bring back the Color Dungeon and then add a bonus dungeon somewhere else in the world.

In any case, it would be nice to get the Red and Blue Mail back, especially if the Piece of Power effect is as satisfying as it was in the original.

Link's Awakening Announced

Wait, what's happening? Did this blog travel back to the year 1993? It is quite unusual that Nintendo releases a game of the same name again. Usually they add something like "DX" or "3D" or "HD" or they change the title around like they did for Metroid: Samus Returns. They could have called this "Link's Awakening HD" or "Link's Reawakening" or even "The Dreaming Island" as a nod to the original Japanese title, but this game is just called "Link's Awakening", exactly like the GameBoy original.

But it also looks pretty much exactly like the GameBoy original, if you see through its new clay graphics. It's like a one-to-one conversion of the original game's environments, like every bush and every tree and every sign is in the same place.

And this feels almost odd. In the past, whenever Nintendo attempted to truly remake a Zelda game, it turned into its own thing. When Capcom remade the first The Legend of Zelda for the GameBoy Color, it turned into Oracle of Seasons. When Nintendo remade the overworld of A Link to the Past for the Nintendo 3DS, it turned into A Link Between Worlds. And with Link's Awakening it was only natural to expect something similar, a "requel" for the game. But we're getting probably the most accurate Nintendo remake ever here (not counting remasters like Ocarina of Time 3D).

The new clay visuals also take some getting used to. They are cute and it explains why Grezzo was looking for experience in Unreal Engine and Unity, because it looks a lot like modern topdown adventures with this art style. Let's see, where they will go from here. Remakes of Oracle of Ages & Seasons immediately come to mind as well and hopefully we're also getting a new multiplayer Zelda in that style.

But maybe this will also feature some sort of multiplayer. From what we've seen so far, it really is just an accurate remake, but they could add some features on top of it. After all Link's Awakening was a game, where Link had many companions, with the Chain Chomp, Marin, the Ghost and the Flying Rooster. Maybe they'll add a special companion for a coop mode or so.

What I really like is the seamless overworld. It makes a big difference, if you can peek over from Mabe Village into the Ukuku Prairie without any transitions between screens. In a way this is even somewhat a realization of the environmental teasing in the original game, where you had screens that showed you what's ahead of your current area. You could even take a peak at the final dungeon's area before visiting the second dungeon... And it is nice that this has been brought to the next level with this remake. You can even see the soldiers at the bottom of Kanalet Castle while on top of the castle.

There also seems to be one item-based change compared to the original: Link is always auto-shielding, like in the Nintendo DS games. This was not the case on the GameBoy and there are probably some more changes for convenience in item handling, e.g. placing the Pegasus Boots onto a shoulder button or so. Also, he's using a Hylian Shield for the job, but it does make sense considering that he brought it from Hyrule.

What's also interesting and unusual for Zelda are the anime style cutscenes. We've never had this before, but it looks like Nintendo is cooperating with some studios here, since Fire Emblem: Three Houses is getting lots of anime cutscenes as well.

Anyway, at the end of last year, I have expressed troubles about replaying my beloved GameBoy classic (see here), because I've played through the game so many times already. But this is exactly what I needed to get back to Koholint, where I certainly will replay the original once more before getting into the remake, just to have the comparison.

After all, it will be the differences that make this interesting.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Stage Builder in 3.0.0?

In the latest Nintendo Direct something unusual happened: Nintendo teased an upcoming update for a game without any real details. While version 2.0.0 mainly added Piranha Plant to the game, version 3.0.0 will do more than simply adding Joker, where Nintendo showed two pixelated screens of a Nintendo Switch system.

And one of these screens stands really out:

It looks like the generic Battlefield stage but with more "mass" and with a sidebar to the left. Could this really be it? Could this be the long-awaited Stage Builder?

For me personally the Stage Builder is the biggest omission in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It was possible that they didn't bring back this feature, because some functionality would only work in handheld mode, where you have the touchscreen available. But since this isn't an issue for Super Mario Maker 2, there is no good reason to keep a Stage Builder away from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The redacted "screenshot" above even is shown on a Switch in handheld mode, which might not be a coincidence. So, maybe this will get added with version 3.0.0 and be even a part of the Smash World app, which will probably be released around the same time.

The fact that the background resembles the one from Battlefield might also lead to the option to use any backgrounds from any stage this time. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here...

In any case it's likely that there will be a dedicated Super Smash Bros. Direct near the end of March or in April with the following topics:

• Joker
• Additional features in version 3.0.0
• Smash World app
• More amiibo
• Maybe additional DLC like Echo Fighters or stages
• Teaser for Challenger Pack 2

Nintendo Direct February 2019 Predictions

We're finally getting a new Nintendo Direct after half a year...! It's about time. According to the announcement, it will focus on upcoming Nintendo Switch games, so no 3DS this time around.

What to expect? Well, if we were to believe "king zell", the new popular leaker on Resetera, who predicted the date for the Direct (see here), we can look forward to at least one interesting title. He posted a listed of Switch games last Friday that we can expect in 2019 (here), including:

• Pikmin 3 port
• Super Mario Maker 2
• New 2D Zelda
• Metroid Prime Trilogy port

Of those, the latter will "probably" be at the Nintendo Direct. This seems somewhat weird, because if they had a Metroid Prime Trilogy HD ready to be announced for Switch, they could have done so earlier this year, when they gave the development update for Metroid Prime 4. But you never know with Nintendo and this is a title that I'm expecting sooner or later for the Nintendo Switch anyway.

But likewise I'm expecting Skyward Sword HD. If Aonuma goes on stage and teases an audience with that title, it should be nearing completion. And next to Skyward Sword HD, a new 2D Zelda (developed by Grezzo) also has been on the list of possible games for 2019, where something with a coop mode would be nice.

As long as we're getting some Zelda game for Switch this year, I will be excited, because it could lead to the Nintendo Switch Special Edition hardware that I've wanted from the start.

As to the rest, if there really is going to be a Mario Maker for Switch, it will be interesting to see, how they handle the controls.

As for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I doubt that we'll get any new information, except for maybe some new amiibo announcements. Joker is probably still in the middle of development and it will probably take some time for them to show him ingame and to reveal the second Challenger Pack. Maybe in a dedicated Smash Direct in Spring.

The Super Mario Land Trilogy

Inspired by this video and the recent release of Piranha Plant for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I want to talk about my personal gaming origins: the Super Mario Land Trilogy for the good old Game Boy.

The Game Boy was my first own console and Super Mario Land, next to Tetris, was my first major video game experience. This would led to the sequels and eventually to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, making me a Zelda fan for life. And because of this those three titles will always be my original Super Mario games, despite the outings on the NES and SNES.

These three Mario titles probably couldn't be any more different to a point where the one major thing they have in common besides the Jump'n'Run action is the "Land" in the title. And there is certainly a big emphasis on the lands in these games. Just look at the covers:

cover images source

Sarasaland, the actual Mario Land, and Kitchen Island. They are all the real stars of these games and are there featured quite prominently on the covers of the Super Mario Land games. The pyramids and Moai statues on the cover of Super Mario Land, the castle and different islands on the cover of Super Mario Land 2, and finally Mt. Teapot and Syrup Castle on the cover of Wario Land – it's all intriguing and exploring these worlds was a part of the excitement about these games.

You weren't just playing generic Jump'n'Run levels in the same generic plain, desert, forest, snow and volcano scenarios (looking at you, New Super Mario Bros. series). You were diving into interesting worlds, all completely unique within the Super Mario universe. That makes these games stand out and the exploration is certainly also part of what makes Super Mario Odyssey currently so successful.

Let's take a brief look at each of the Super Mario Land games individually:

 

Super Mario Land

This is the most straightforward experience out of the three games, but since this was one of the Game Boy's launch titles, you can't really complain about it. It's an entirely linear game with twelve subsequent levels divided into four worlds. No Warp Zones or other shortcuts.

Today I can beat the game within under an hour, but as a kid beating this game was considered a noteworthy experience. I still remember how I talked with schoolmates about the game's later levels, as if they were some far-off mystery...

We also talked about the various secrets within the levels, like the hidden elevators in World 1-3. And there was always a certain wonder about the worlds in Sarasaland, which were mostly inspired by real world locations from ancient history, like ancient Egypt.

But the graphics were quite basic at the time. Everything was designed around an 8x8 pixel grid, where Mario and his enemies were quite small when compared to other games in the series. The music on the other hand was really catchy and offers something that sticks with you for the rest of your life.

 

Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins

The sequel, dubbed Six Golden Coins, became graphically a lot more advanced compared to the first game to a point, where it doesn't have to hide from its big brothers on the console. It is quite the charming the game, where the music admittedly isn't as remarkable as in the first game, but still very good and catchy.

The world also became a lot more important, where you're exploring the eponymous Mario Land itself, an entire island. Yes, Mario has his own island with a castle at the center – something you never hear about in later Mario games again. And unlike the first game you get a real world map that you can navigate freely after the first level:

image source

It makes Super Mario Land 2 also one of the most non-linear Mario games ever created, where you can compare its overall structure to that of completely non-linear Zelda games. Wario's Castle is in the center, which is your ultimate goal, but to enter the castle you need to collect the "Six Golden Coins" first, which are earned from bosses in the six main worlds, the "Zones". And some of these Zones are also very unique within the series, where the most notable example would be the Mario Zone, where you play inside a giant Robot Mario and where the final level is even made out of N&B Blocks – Nintendo's own version of LEGO. Or in the Macro Zone you shrink down to a level where ants are the same size as Mario.

However, like with A Link Between Worlds, the non-linearity also came with the price of a washy difficulty, where everything is quite easy, since everything can be played in any order. This results later in a massive difficulty spike, once you finally enter Wario's Castle, which is by far the most challenging and demanding level in the game.

Some levels also offer hidden exists to secret levels, which are often quite rewarding, where it can be quite fun to explore the entirety of Mario's own island. There isn't really anything to discover beyond the secret levels, however, which is something that was done a lot better in the sequel...

 

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

With the final Super Mario Land game Nintendo took an interesting risk, where instead of following Mario's adventures, you were now playing as the antagonist from the second game: Wario. And it was a risk that paid off greatly, spawning the Wario franchise along with it.

This game can also be considered as the pinnacle of Game Boy gaming. For a Game Boy game, the visuals, the sound effects, the music, the atmosphere and everything else was absolutely superb. When it comes to presentation, I would put Wario Land even above Link's Awakening, which is saying a lot.

It's also the most explorative game in the Super Mario Land trilogy, despite the fact that the game course is overall quite linear. But there are quite a few secret levels and treasures hidden within the various levels, where finding them will reward you greatly at the end of the game. This gave you an incentive to explore every corner of every level to find all those treasures. And this made optional levels a lot more lucrative than in the prequel, where this goes as far as having an entire secret world in the game: Sherbet Land.

image source

Exploring the levels of Kitchen Island can be a lot fun and some worlds also have interactions, where one level can completely alter others. For example, you start the game on Rise Beach during a low tide, but you can later re-explore the levels there in a flooded state, which lets you find the secret treasures there.

The aspect of hidden treasures and secrets within levels also carried over to the sequel, Wario Land II, but the "land" was gone to a point where it can only be briefly seen on the title screen as an island. It has little to do with the actual levels within the game, which followed more a concept of alternate storylines... It was still a solid game, but not as a good as the original Wario Land, in my humble opinion.

The "Super Mario Land" subtitle was also dropped for the second Wario Land game, where Wario ultimately became more his own thing with transformations and other gimmicks.

 

Off to Koholint Island...

Now, the focus of this article so far was clearly on the "lands" in the Super Mario Land trilogy and this should give you a clear idea that I mainly played and enjoyed these three titles not for their Jump'n'Run gameplay, but for the exploration. Especially the islands of Super Mario Land 2 and Wario Land fascinated me so much that I kept drawing them in my notebooks at school.

Of course the exploration of those islands was limited by the Jump'n'Run level-based nature of Super Mario Land games. But it wouldn't take long until I discovered a game that would allow me to explore an entire island from the bird's eye perspective in great detail – The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

So, in a way the Super Mario Land series is what ultimately brought me to Zelda, where still to this day I enjoy exploring the lands of Hyrule, Koholint, Termina, and co.

Twilight Princess Manga, Vol. 3 & 4

My collection of Zelda Manga has been expanded this week by volumes 3 and 4 of Twilight Princess. Those have been out for a while now - the German Volume 3 got released in December 2017 and Volume 4 in September 2018. So, I've could have gotten them much earlier, but it's not like I'm in a hurry to read these...

And apparently Akira Himekawa isn't in a hurry to finish this either. Originally the artist duo wanted to conclude the Manga with the fourth volume, but at the end of Volume 4 it places the story right after the Lakebed Temple, so about a third of the game. At this rate the complete Manga of Twilight Princess will most likely have as many volumes as the rest of Himekawa's Zelda series combined, which would be ten books in total.

Anyway, books 3 and 4 mostly continue the quality of the first two volumes, where this time the story follows the events from the game closer than usual, but it still deviates from the source material quite a bit. But no funny Hentai scenes with Twili Midna on all fours this time, I'm afraid.

What I liked is how much larger the Manga portrays the Hyrule. It takes a day and a half to travel from Hyrule Castle Town to Kakariko for example, instead of five minutes, which feels a lot more in line with what characters are even saying about distances in the game.

Kakariko in the Manga has quite a population, which is weird, because in the game it's really just Barnes, Renado, and Luda. Talking about the latter, the girl actually follows Link to the Gorons and even through the dangerous Goron Mines in Volume 4, which is simply ridiculous. Later in the same volume Ralis attempts to do the same at the entrance of the Lakebed Temple, but Link stops him like he already should have with Luda... On top of that, the girl can actually see Midna. That's a lot of attention for a character, who in the game is really just there and has absolutely no importance at all. Before the Manga I even kept forgetting that Luda was actually a girl.

What also changed about the Kakariko part was the "Colin on a stick" scenario, which doesn't happen here (but he was put on a stick earlier in the manga). Link fights King Bulblin on invitation, who simply drops Colin in Kakariko, and the whole Eldin Bridge duel feels a lot less epic, where Link would have died without the help of his horse.

In general, Link seems to receive support left and right, where Midna helps him out in parts that Link mastered on his own in the game. For example, she pushes the Gorons away during the sumo fights, instead of Link using his own strength and some help of the Iron Boots, which don't appear in the manga at all. Or during the fight against Morpheel the ghost of Queen Rutela appears and lets Link ride on her back, Sidon style.

Overall Link also seems really whiny here. He keeps doubting himself as a hero and everything is so much to bear. I suppose it makes for a better character than the dumbfounded Link from the game, but I personally prefer Breath of the Wild Link, who stays mute on purpose. The Link in Twilight Princess already showed too many emotional bonds with the characters for my taste, which made it harder to identify myself with him, because I didn't really care for these characters at all and I didn't make the same silly faces as him in certain situations. I prefer the more silent and carefree nature of other Links. But of course this wouldn't be the best manga material.

In the least the manga has intrigued me with a connection between the Hero's Spirit and Midna, who knows the guy and had his support back in the Twilight Realm. He should be the Hero of Time if the Manga follows the lore, but it probably does not and my bet is that it's simply Link's father or so. Also, Link doesn't originate from Ordon here, but comes from a town that has vanished near the desert. This could be interesting, so let's see how this continues in a year or so...