Now, I feel I should make one thing perfectly clear, I am by no means a professional gamer, or game critic. Heck, I would only say I’m slightly good gamer. But when I heard that not only was the the 1993 sequel to the hit The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past being brought to the Switch but being completely remastered, well I just had to get it. And after playing it I certainly had to write about it.
This game holds a special place in my heart, it was the first Zelda game I ever played in my life, way back years ago on my cousin’s Gameboy. To revisit this game hit all the right nostalgia buttons in way that didn’t feel like it was simply a means to cash in on older gamer’s memories (you know, like the live-action Disney remakes are currently doing). No, there’s effort put into this, there’s love put into this.
For those of you who don’t know the original game, the plot is pretty simple. Our hero Link, having saved the land of Hyrule in the previous game, now finds himself shipwrecked on the Koholint Island. In order to leave he must awaken the island’s guardian the Wind Fish. And to do that he must gather the magical Instruments of the Sirens hidden away by nightmares that plague the island. Along the way, he learns more about the odd yet charming residents of Koholint and unravels a mystery regarding the true nature of the island. All of which leads to a surprisingly emotional climax.
The game’s look has been massively overhauled, gone away are the old character sprites and in their place are character models that look almost like molded clay or plastic figures. Instead of a pixelated overworld we now have one in a distinct, diorama style much like the earlier released Yoshi’s Crafted World. There’s a tangibility to this game’s look that sets it apart from all previous Zelda games, you almost feel like to pluck anything from the game like a character, a piece of scenery or even the water itself and hold it in your hands.
As I said before I’m not an expert in gaming, whether it’s playing or recognizing bugs or problems in the game’s production. The only noticeable drop in frame data was for a short moment in Goponga Swamp, an area that appears early in the game for a brief time and then isn’t revisited much in the future. If there are other moments like this I must’ve been too enwrapped in the game itself to notice, because this is a beautiful game.
One new feature added to the game is the Chamber Dungeon where players can create new dungeons of their own and play through them, a feature indicative of the level designs of Super Mario Maker. Unfortunately these dungeons can only by uploaded through amiibos rather than online. While some may not see the point (and the reward for completing the challenges isn’t exactly satisfactory) if does lead to a future game based on potentially creating your own Zelda world I can’t discourage them for taking the first step. Heck I’d say this whole game is worth it if they end up remastering older Zelda games in a similar fashion.
One final note, the music has been similarly revamped and it really tugs at the heartstrings to not only hear one of my absolute favorite songs from the series, Ballad of the Wind Fish, fully orchestrated but with lyrics attached too.
In short, this game is not only a proper remake for a new console but an excellent stepping on point for new gamers as well.
Matt the Media Hunter 