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Link's Re-Awakening - Are you beach body ready?

Started by Kelvin, September 19, 2019, 12:39:02 PM

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Kelvin

One of 8 Zelda games people think is the best, and of those games, the only one I've never played.

Sounds like it's a very faithful remake indeed. So will it be a delightful, quirky return to Zelda's classic formula, or a game out of time following years of evolution in the series?

Anyway, it's out in the early hours of Friday morning. I'm guessing people here are interested?


Consignia

I played it on the original Gameboy, and it was quite good as far as I remember. I'm not even considering it though. Not because it's bad, on the contrary, it looks neat. But because it's so faithful, and as I remember is quite a short game and it feels small so not worth me revisiting.

madhair60

Yeah, best in the pre-BOTW series, and by a country mile. The original was a gorgeous, compact puzzle box of secrets and delights. The new one will be inferior by virtue of being expanded to LttP-style scrolling - it didn't need that and the screen-by-screen craft will be lost as a result. The extra buttons on the Switch will mean control is a breeze, as that was one of the original version's two flaws (the second being the hare-trigger repeated text on Power Bracelet rocks, Guardian Acorns etc).

Timothy

Maybe in a few months. I really enjoyed the original but full price for such a short remake it's quite overpriced.
Not really font of the new graphics either.

Twed

Quote from: madhair60 on September 19, 2019, 01:49:29 PM(the second being the hare-trigger repeated text on Power Bracelet rocks, Guardian Acorns etc).
Five sentences about why you can't pick up a rock

How did that ever happen?

Didn't think about the scrolling, that is a bummer.

Mantle Retractor

Really looking forward to it. A Zelda game I never played first time around.

This version looks gorgeous. I've pre-ordered it for collection tomorrow. Buying a Zelda game on day of release, whether it's brand new or a shiny remaster, is always one of life's pleasures.

Twed

Apart from scrolling and QoL updates it looks painstakingly true to the original Mantle, so this will be a good way to enjoy it.

Bazooka

Quote from: madhair60 on September 19, 2019, 01:49:29 PM
Yeah, best in the pre-BOTW series, and by a country mile

Don't worry lad I've made crazy statements before, after a brain injury.


Replies From View

Quote from: Timothy on September 19, 2019, 01:56:15 PM
I really enjoyed the original but full price for such a short remake it's quite overpriced.

It's like Crystal Kingdom Dizzy on the ZX Spectrum all over again.  I wonder if they have bothered animating a forward-facing jump.

Twed

Quote from: Replies From View on September 19, 2019, 03:38:17 PM
It's like Crystal Kingdom Dizzy on the ZX Spectrum all over again. 
How? That wasn't a remake of one of the best-received games in history. It's just a bad, overpriced game.

Replies From View

Quote from: Twed on September 19, 2019, 05:08:49 PM
How? That wasn't a remake of one of the best-received games in history. It's just a bad, overpriced game.

Never mind it was a fleeting joke.

Twed

Well, I'm not letting you get away with that. Link's Awakening demands accuracy and respect.

Never played this but I'll be playing it. Let's hope it's a good game. Worst case scenario, if it's not great, it'll be OK. Could be really something though if it's up there. Can't be sure til I've played it but time will tell.

madhair60

Quote from: Bazooka on September 19, 2019, 02:47:47 PM
Don't worry lad I've made crazy statements before, after a brain injury.

I don't like any of the others nearly as much as Awakening

Pdine

Definitely my favourite Zelda, even including BOTW. I've pre-ordered but tbh I've steeled myself to the possibility that this remake will lose the magic. Link Between Worlds: Tilt Shift Edition

Twed

Quote from: The Boston Crab on September 19, 2019, 05:25:18 PM
Never played this but I'll be playing it. Let's hope it's a good game. Worst case scenario, if it's not great, it'll be OK. Could be really something though if it's up there. Can't be sure til I've played it but time will tell.
Full price though. Even though I love this game and will promote it at every opportunity, that's a damned steep price for a non-fan.

I like Link's Awakening more than BOTW. Not sure if I like it more than ALTTP, but they at least sit together in the top spot. (yeah yeah I know Ocarina of Time, it's great, just not my top spot)

NJ Uncut

If you can't press Select just as Link edges onto the next screen in order to teleport I'm no bothered as remakes shouldn't be worse!

Quote from: Twed on September 19, 2019, 06:34:20 PM
Full price though. Even though I love this game and will promote it at every opportunity, that's a damned steep price for a non-fan.

I like Link's Awakening more than BOTW. Not sure if I like it more than ALTTP, but they at least sit together in the top spot. (yeah yeah I know Ocarina of Time, it's great, just not my top spot)

I don't care about the price, might not have kids.

Twed

I just don't want you to judge my ninth birthday present too harshly because you paid 60 quid for it.

They did pizza in McDonalds that year, you know.

Thursday

Really don't like the artstyle for this, didn't have much interest in playing an old zelda anyway, so I guess this isn't for me.

DocDaneeka

I got it, it's good. Never played the original so I'm glad they remade this and not The Minish Cap or something.

I like the weird feel with all the Mario enemies and oddities. Odd the way it's 8 directions when everything else is so smooth but it plays really well.

Kelvin

#21
Played up to the second dungeon, and it's mostly very good, but with a couple of fairly big niggles.

First, the good; the little island is a real pleasure to explore. Because everything is so close together, you very quickly learn the geography of everything, and I've yet to get lost when exploring. The focus is inevitably more on dense, compact screens full of puzzles and obstacles which offer up more rewards when you pass through again with new equipment.

The music is also excellent - not grand and sweeping like many Zeldas, but stripped back and whimsical. It really suits the quirkier, more intimiate style of the game.

Now the bad; the game really does not run well. Certainly much worse than i would ever expect of a first party Nintendo game. There's a really noticeable chug at times - very, very brief, but very frequent - and even as someone who doesn't usually mind a bit of slowdown, I really do find the frequency here distracting.

Like DocDaneeka above, I also find the 8-way directional movement a minor annoyance - especially because it feels wrong and unresponsive when forced to play with a control stick. I also wish they offered one other button for items - I know they already added one to the game, but it's still less than most subsequent games in the series. In fact, the feather item should be grafted permanently to a shoulder button once you get it.   

Anyway, I'm liking it a lot, and the gameplay seems to be holding up so far, with a distinct enough feel to other top down Zeldas. I'm just finding the frequent slowdown to be very distracting, to the point I'm surpised Nintendo thought it was acceptable. I really hope it gets patched at some point, like BoTW's was. Although, due to the frequency of the frame drops, I'm finding it far more annoying than the longer lasting, but more infrequent slowdown when that game launched.       

   

Timothy

Seems like they rushed it to get it out in time with Switch Lite. Thats not very Nintendo is it?

Kelvin

Quote from: Timothy on September 21, 2019, 09:00:39 AM
Seems like they rushed it to get it out in time with Switch Lite. Thats not very Nintendo is it?

Generally speaking, no, but it's not unheard of. The main Switch also had a number of games in its first year that could gave done with more time, but presumably had to hit a date - Xenoblade 2 had performance issues despite looking worse than Xenoblade X, and although they ran fine, 1-2 switch, Splatoon 2 and Arms were all content lite.

madhair60

Kelvin pretty much hit on my problems. The inability to use the D-pad is baffling and the performance is far from Nintendo's usual calibre. I have a handful of small niggles about changes to the original game, too - the Trendy Game is different! The already easy difficulty has been made even easier! etc. The latter can be mitigated by Hero Mode. The performance problems will hopefully be patched.

Consignia

I'm surprised the performance issues are so perceptible. I did watch that Digital Foundry video, but when they when say performance problems they usually only noticeable to savants. Even Nintendo games where you can see them, they are usually enough to let them fall into the background because the core game is ace.

Kelvin

Quote from: Consignia on September 21, 2019, 10:08:29 AM
I'm surprised the performance issues are so perceptible. I did watch that Digital Foundry video, but when they when say performance problems they usually only noticeable to savants. Even Nintendo games where you can see them, they are usually enough to let them fall into the background because the core game is ace.

The problem is how frequently if occurs. In the first dungeon it was dropping frames every 10-30 seconds, I reckon. Literally only for a second each time - but it's noticeable every instance.

As I mentioned before, Breath of the Wild had some slowdown issues at launch (and it still does, to a much lesser extent post-patch), but it was never so intrusive that it spoilt my experience of the game. In Link's Awakening, it's just a constant little thing taking you out of the experience.

Great as the gameplay might be, I'd say that, if you haven't bought it yet, wait for a patch to come out before getting it.

I thought it would be the usual wanks wankin on but no, frame rate lurches are pretty distracting. Shame because the game seems wonderful so far, only done one dungey but I love the look and feel and music. The feather totally surprised me! I got enough shit I'm enjoying at the moment so I'll probably leave it for now. Defo a rush job because of the Lite. Shame Nintendo finally got aids but should be able to sort it with an antiretroviral patch.

Kelvin

The remake's soundtrack is really good, isn't it. Probably stands with Majora's Mask and BotW as the most distinctive in the series.

It's a shame the puzzles might be a bit hard for young children, because the look and sound of this game really would make it perfect for kids.

madhair60

It loses something without the echoey Game Boy sound imo but it's probably because that's what I'm familiar with. There's something ethereal and downright emotional about those instruments in the Game Boy version:

https://youtu.be/UQlP9sHf5Ho?t=1300