The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was the very first handheld game in Nintendo’s popular adventure franchise. Released for the original Game Boy, it was a black and white world of surreal wonder that captivated a generation of gamers.
26 years later, the Game Boy classic is being remade for the Nintendo Switch, complete with a gorgeous makeover that replaces the pixels of the original with a fun, stop motion toy box style aesthetic.
The surprise reveal came towards the end of last night’s Nintendo Direct. Most of us were definitely expecting a first look at the new Animal Crossing, so it was a real shock to instead be greeted with a Zelda title.
Link’s Awakening will be the first Zelda title for Switch since Breath of the Wild in 2017, and the first “top down’ game in the series since A Link Between Worlds hit the 3DS back in 2013.
While the brief teaser didn’t give a whole bunch away, it looks like the odd spirit of the original Game Boy title remains intact. Mario enemies like Chain Chomps and Goombas are still present in the game for some brilliantly mad reason, for example.
If you’ve never played the original, here’s a brief rundown for you. Link’s Awakening was concieved as a sequel to A Link to the Past, and saw our green clad hero shipwrecked on a mysterious island.
Because it’s a Zelda game, it’s not long before Link is given a quest. He has to gather eight instruments to awaken the Wind Fish and find a way back to Hyrule.
I won’t spoil much more for newbies, but rest assured; there’s a pretty cool twist and one of the most melancholic endings in any Zelda game ever.
It’s just a really damn good game guys, and I can’t wait to revisit it, okay? Check out the trailer below.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has a release window of 2019, so we should get more details soon. If they could remake every 2D Zelda in this style, I’d be very happy.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.