Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

A couple of hours in...I've got mixed feelings. I never played the original LA so I'm not blinded by nostalgia but at the same time I would never doubt Nintendo to deliver something awesome. For the price I paid for this game, even with the double gold coins special offer, it almost feels like a cash grab. I know a lot of work went into remaking it and I never feel bitter about giving Nintendo my money but still...at $80 (AU store) this game is struggling to compete with others at that price point. Being an old-school Gameboy game, the problem is that it's extremely easy. I can see how it would've been hard on a small screen with pixel graphics and tiny buttons back in the day but with polished visuals, refined controls running on a modern console, it feels like there's no real challenge.

I'm still enjoying my first playthrough of what's obviously a classic but this really doesn't feel like a real Zelda release but more of a spinoff. I just think the asking price is ludicrously high for what it is. When you look past the nostalgia and sentimental connection (which a lot of people won't even have since they didn't play the original), this is a sub-par game.

Mine just shipped! I get lucky sometimes with Amazon so I might get it tomorrow...the delivery date hasn't updated yet.

My dreamers edition just arrived! Now i play not the actual game....but the waiting game...

Finally. Just finished work. It’s a beautiful box

...Huh, it's very mild, but the game has surround sound apparently...heh. lol

....Meanwhile...this place hasn't changed. >_>

A quick question guys.
Would you buy Tetris game on Nintendo Switch if it would cost you 60 USD instead the free price?
No? Then why did you buy Link's Awakening?
I am just curious.

While Tetris has it's following by millions, i don't think it justifies a $60 price tag like a zelda game would. I think we saw that with the physical of Tetris 99 being $30(With nso)

If that doesn't answer your question or help, I bought it because it's one of my favorite zelda games by far. Hopefully that helps.

@Joeynator3000
LOL 🤣🤣🤣
Did you just keep walking after you realized there was a hole in front of you ?
You can try to cut the grass first and see if there is a hole in front of you.

My mind just keeps telling me to keep going after cutting grass, like I'm stuck in "hurry mode" or something. lol

It was like this back on the original game. xD

@Mogruk Yeah, like I said above this seems largely like a cash-grab by Nintendo. Kind of let down, it's really not like them to rely purely on nostalgia or fanboyism to sell games. All of their titles are usually great games in their own respect even if you take away the franchise or series branding.

It's still a cool, if not gimmicky, experience but they're over-charging like crazy for it. If they were gonna put this much effort in remaking an old game then why not OoT or Majoras Mask? No matter how much magic you put into it, an almost three-decade-old Gameboy title is going to be crap by today's standards.

I would like to buy a $60 of Tetris 99 in physical release than a free digital form.
If i buy Link's Awakening Switch version for $60 that's because it's a Remake from GBC, looks completely different despite still have same gameplay.

@NintendoSlav
You can consider other games if you disappointed with Link's Awakening Switch version.
This game will appeals for new comers and not for complainers.

@NintendoSlav
I read your first couple comments and was like, "Alright, whatever. He's a couple hours in, seems really hung up on the asking price, strikes me as a somewhat newer gamer, live and let live." But then I read your last comment, and I just had to say something.

It's pretty obvious by your language that you've cemented your opinion not only on the game (after a "few" hours, which is laughable/a shame) but also on people who like it and have a different opinion from your own (you say you are not "blinded" by nostalgia - nice word choice, pal, but you're not gonna win any rhetorical awards from me). So I'm not here to debate the quality of the game with someone who doesn't seem open-minded, I'm just here to push back on your ridiculousness.

And now you've upped your grievance and you're whipping out the "cash grab" term? What a cheap shot to the dev team. This obviously took a hella long time to create, and you're gonna be one of those people who are gonna take cracks at the typical 60-buck asking price for a full-length game that people pour their lives into? You didn't play the original, and you seem to view that as a positive, but for those of us who have, there's a lot going on here even beyond the really cool aesthetic they've adopted.

Frame rate people, I'll say this: it's definitely noticeable. Don't let someone tell you it's not. If that's enough for you to trash this game, though, I better be able to check your post history and see you trashing BotW at release, because that had the exact same issue in many, many areas of the game. Don't be hypocrites.

If 60 dollars for a top-5 Zelda game not only remastered but added to in significant ways (seamless overland, dungeon creation/sharing/adventuring, added shells/benefits, added collectibles/minigames, etc.) is too much for you, trade it back to GameStop right now and you can probably get most of your money back.

Good to see that the Angler Fish tries to fight back this time.

Something else that I like that I wasn't expecting, each dungeon has it's own unique theme. I couldn't tell if the main bosses also do this, but hearing different music when going into another dungeon is nice.

The original Link’s Awakening started the unique dungeon music trend

@rallydefault Spending full-price on a game that I know nothing about (having never played the original) is a pretty clear show that I'm open-minded about it. If I wasn't open-minded I would'n't have bothered buying it in the first place, or I would've given up after my first few hours after seeing how hollow the game is. Despite that I'm willing to play it thru till the end (going by reviews that should take no more than 8 or 9 hours).

This isn't a matter of my opinion; it's an objective fact that this game delivers poor value (in game-time) compared to others at the price point. You can get BotW for the same price and enjoy over 100 hours of fresh gameplay. $60 for less than 10 hours of gameplay is a step-down from Zelda titles, which is proof that this game was clearly designed to sell copies based on its namesake and long-standing popularity. If you took the Zelda artwork off the box and replaced Link with another random character nobody would be praising this game as anything more than decent at best. I have no problem with this. I'll still play the game till the end and don't regret buying it, my only concern is that it's unlike Nintendo to resort to quick-wins like this.

...Wait was it really like that? I thought it was always the same, or that it had very minor differences.

@NintendoSlav I totally agree with your length:cost analysis and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I bought it and intend to sell it in a few days on the used market, which, thankfully stays strong for Zelda games. I realize they totally re-built the game from the ground up, but it really should have been around $25 and no more for the amount of content we got. Plus considering I bet they use the engine and framework to make the game to dump out another game somewhat soon, dev costs could seemingly be recouped without too much trouble.

I've never sold a game unless i absolutely hated it or was extremely dissapointed. Plus I'm not that desperate for the measly amount of money i would likely gain. I did however sell Superman 64. I think you all know why.

It also befuddles me how people think a games value is based on it's age and sometimes length. Some games that were made last week aren't worth 60 dollars but people will buy them like candy but a 60 dollar remake of a gameboy game? Oh that's not worth it. I paid 50 dollars for super Mario world and beat it in a day. Did i regret paying 50 dollars? Not one damn bit!

@NintendoSlav
I don't think Tetris is really a good comparison to Link's Awakening, Nintendo even at the time (famously) had Tetris as a pack in title with the Game Boy (pretty much giving it away).

Metroid 2 would probably be the better comparison point, M2 launched at the same price as Link's Awakening, yet the completely revamped 3DS remake is $40, while the completely faithful one that doesn't offer much new is $60.