So I was toying with the idea of buying the remastered Link’s Awakening for a while, the main reason I wasn’t set in stone was the price.
When it comes to remasters, they’re not usually the full price of a triple A title (£50), but Zelda was, and I wasn’t sure about it.
However, I bought it due to my interest and intrigue, and I don’t think it is worth the hefty price tag.
Of course, if you’re a die-hard Legend of Zelda fan, you probably won’t mind having to pay it, but for someone who’s first Zelda game was Breath of the Wild I wasn’t very impressed.
That’s not to say I don’t like the game, I’ve enjoyed the hours I’ve put into it so far, but it feels too small to justify £50.
The art-style is gorgeous and great to look at, but the controls feel clunky at times and with little tutorial as to how you’re supposed to even operate Link you might feel a bit lost.
After you get into it, the game does become a bit smoother, but you still end up lost as to what you’re doing.
There’s no quest tracker so if you weren’t paying attention to what the annoying Owl was telling you then good luck. You’ll be wandering in circles for half an hour.
When it comes to combat, it’s quite slow, it takes time for Link to swing his sword and his hesitation often means you’ll get hurt by whatever enemy you’re facing.
It’s clear that this remaster does take some inspiration from Breath of the Wild, with some similar audio cues and enemy designs however it doesn’t reach the same hieghts.
The other, slightly odd, side to this game is the Mario elements.
There is a moment early on when you’re walking a Chain Chomp as well as the first person you meet effectively being a knock-off Mario. For me, this was very jarring and took me out of the reality of the game.
I don’t want to give this game much of a hard time because I did enjoy most of what I played, but if you have the choice between Link’s Awakening or Breath of the Wild (both are about £50) you should 100% pick the latter.
Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening: 3/5
Connor Mountford 