A fansite called ZeldaForce is currently hard at work on a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, swapping its visual style to suit that of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES.
The project is called 'A Link to the Dream' and is planned to be released on platforms like AmigaOS, Windows, and MacOS in 2020. It's still very much a work in progress, but the project's website has shared several images and videos showing how it's all coming together. And it's looking lovely.
The site has hours and hours' worth of footage showing the project's creators doing their thing; most are spoken entirely in French, but this one below has been presented in English. You can get a good look at the game running here and even check out how it all comes together.
If you're interested in keeping an eye on the project's progress, you can check out the website here. Of course, Nintendo has its very own official rerelease of the game coming this year for the Switch, too - it's definitely not a bad time to be a fan of Link's Awakening.
What do you think? Would you love to get your hands on this SNES-style remake? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[source zeldaforce.net]
Comments 65
Insert "cease and desist" comment... etc etc... the morale high grounders will be in force as usual with threads like this... .
And Nintendo will send their Ninjas out in 3... 2... 1... And this time, they won't take prisoners.
I'm sure Nintendo will be thrilled.
Yep, I’m also counting till Nintendo’s ninjas arrive to shut that project down - unfortunately. Make a Sony, Nintendo, and hire those people!
And this was the re-release I was waiting for, not the new one from Nintendo, which looks awful
Nice. The remake we deserve.
@Fuz
Pretty much what I was gonna point out.
There's no point in making it look like Link to the Past unless it were a romhack of the original SNES game.
This is a PC game using LttP assets, and doing so is honestly just unimaginative, Link's Awakening deserves so much better as the game is its own unique entity, it shouldn't merely look like Hyrule from LttP.
@Stocksy Insert "fair use" comment... etc etc... the bootlegers will be in force as usual with threads like this...
Maybe if these talented devs would make something original, they could get access to The Legend of Zelda, like Cadance of Hyrule.
Just finish the damn game before spreading any information online, those guys are basically begging for a C&D e-mail.
.3DS/.cia format or FRO.
So the real question here isn't quality, is how will Nintendo deal with it? Will the C&D come before or after release like AM2R? Nintendo only attempted a shutdown on Metroid2 for the PC after the release and seriously only after the bug fix of it no less too. It's almost like they were fine with the release and quality of it, but because of IP protection eventually wrist slapped it just to cover their end. As you know once it's online it doesn't go away. Will they give them the courtesy too or just stomp it out.
The Metroid 2 remake was given a release clock and updates over the years too, so there was warning yet it got killed well enough after.
Kinda reminds me of AM2R. Honestly, the worst time to make this would be when Nintendo is officially working on their own remake. Some will obviously see it as competition (although I’d wager the majority would try both if this sees completion, and treat them as their own things). I played both MSR & AM2R and felt they were their own unique retelling a of Metroid II. Also, as much as I like the LTTP 16 bit graphics, the official remake’s design is growing on me and has the chance to experience the game in a whole new way.
@NintendoFan4Lyf
N are garbage wrt fans.
they treat fans like crap.
this is nifty but i really like the new look they're doing so whatever. honestly i'd like to see them remade in a more cartoon/higher quality sprites look. sure the snes game holds up but it'd look much better being animated more like shantae and the more animation looking higher res stuff.
When will these people understand that this kind of project needs to be entirely in secret until it’s complete? Only reveal when you can dump the finished product on every corner of the internet, at a point where a C&D can’t stop it.
I think there been a couple like projects that actually did that, a remake of Metroid II and a completely fanfic Pokémon entry, If I recall correctly? Both sites were taken down, but those can still be found and downloaded if you search for them.
Would love link's awakening more in this style. The official remake just doesn't look good.
Good luck stopping them. Speaking as someone that lives in France if the developers are French then they will just keep going. Stubborn as over here (which is not a criticism btw).
"Hey guys, I'm showing off how lazy and uninspired I am whilst simultaneously trying to grab some of that hype from Link's remAmakening. Also the only reason I'm getting attention is because of some vocal outcry against the kiddy art style of the remake.
My wrists hurt from all the exercise. Nintendo, could you please end my suffering so the 'homebrew' community can have fresh red meat in making me a martyr? Merci bien, au revoir."
Awful, these guys should not waste their time, work on original content....
this song is dedicated to everyone who makes projects like this and shows them off in early stages of development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9hwx-yn6-k
I'm suprised people who make these projects publicize them. I mean, they have to know Nintendo is going to crack the whip right?
@Lando_
😂😂😂😂😂😂 Why should Nintendo hire these people????? Did they bring some unique or even OWN game idea to the table? Sometimes I think some of you here are just trolling all the time. 😂😂😂😂
I'm far more thrilled by the official remake who looks so lovely, than this.
For me, the graphic style of Zelda 3 doesn't age on Zelda 3 because it's part of its charm, as a whole. But on another game, with other musics, another story, it looks very wrong...
@MrBlacky Nah, but they are talented, obviously.
I'm playing the original right now! There was nothing wrong with the GameBoy graphics, at all! It is still quite charming...can't wait to see the remaster on the Switch. This looks nice, but a bit too derivative...it looks exactly like Http (which I guess is what they wanted? idk).
Come on, "new Nintendo", here's your chance. Let this project live!
@Fuz The SNES cart is the bit that lead us to believe this was coming to the console as well - we’ve now updated the headline.
never really been a fan of the alttp art style so this is more of a downgrade to me
@Lando_
You think they are "talented", because they essentially copied a Zelda game and therefor are on the gaming news here on the interweb. Real talented people would make their own game and get on the news because of THAT.
@NintendoFan4Lyf He was proud of it, he worked on it for 8 years and made 0 money off of it.
It's interesting how Nintendo will often wait until a fan project is finished before shutting it down. It's like they want to make sure you've wasted as much of your life as possible before curb stomping on your dreams. 😒
Looks great, but why do this to yourself you know 100% it will get stopped.
@MrBlacky Talent hasn’t only to do with innovation. They copied the style of ALttP well, that’s also talent for me.
@NintendoFan4Lyf Well either way it was superior to Samus Returns anyways lol.
They never learn even after past debacles. I'm not going to even jump into the discussion of what would happen but hey there's no Zelda Maker yet so I guess this is to persuade Nintendo to make that happen.
I much prefer Nintendo’s work in this. It captures the “dreamy” world that was originally intended. That being said, this is coming along quite nicely. I just don’t expect it to actually release as intended; I mean come on... it’s literally a copyright nightmare. How can they expect to actually “release” this without proper authorization? Oh well, keep up the good work. I wish I could do something like this on my own time.
@NintendoFan4Lyf and how would nintendo enforce its cease and desist? Is not a company, its a group of fans who can switch names, web sites, etc....
I would prefer a Zelda I and A Link to the Past remade as the new Links awakening 2019 style!
Yeah this is definitely getting shut down soon lol, with Link's awakening remake hitting this year no way that's not getting touched when nintendo finds out about it lol.
People still do things that fly right in the face of C&D huh? Well, let me look at this in an alternate light with a possible positive spin: Devs must still do this with the hope that a company will appreciate their work and strike a deal rather than strike them down. It's ballsy to say the least, but no harm in trying. Worst thing that can happen is if a company tells you to stop, you stop, change assets/layouts/etc., and release an original game that winds up more of a homage.
Goodbye, visual identity! Seriously, if Super Mario All-Stars can bring Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, and 3 into 16-bit while still retaining their original look, I see no reason why a 16-bit remake for Link's Awakening can't do the same using original assets. And to compare it to another fan-made remake of an old GameBoy game, Another Metroid 2 Remake used very few assets from Super Metroid, if any, and took advantage of being on PC with visual effects not possible on a Super Nintendo. Sure, that game's development took a whole 10 years, but it was a labor of love, and it shows! Slapping together a bunch of tiles from a game that has its own distinct style... is not a labor of love, and a game like Link's Awakening deserves some actual effort.
...Also, not digging how Marin looks in LttP's pixel art style.
The lawsuits are already in our sights
@Stocksy I thought it. Not because of a morality issue. Just, we saw what happened with AM2R. They HAVE a Links Awakening remake in the pipe, so of course they will aggressively enforce copyright. Nintendo is known for it, with I'd say Square Enix being the only ones in gaming that come close. It may get far enough along to leak in some form, but it's doomed. We all know this. Especially now that it is getting press coverage.
@NintendoFan4Lyf you can take a look at smwcentral.net , Nintendo will never shut them down, they learn from them. Find the story about the Captain Toad - treasure tracker, Nintendo has got the game from a hack.
Very nice for hobby work. If it does get shut down, maybe it’ll help them find work. AM2R opened doors for that particular guy. Not at Nintendo, but still work nonetheless. Fan art for Vinnie Vincent caused me to be approached by a member of Pretty Maids. You never know what will happen.
@RupeeClock They are actually developping this with an engine also developped by a french team, called Solarus. The Solarus Team originally developed some fan games for Zelda too. So for now, they can only use Alttp assets cuz I guess it's the most popular 2D Zelda game.
So the problem is not that they are not "imaginative", it's a lack of ressources, create your own assets for a fan game can be really hard and not everyone can do it
I don't understand why some people down here on the comments just say that it's "awful, it's not good, just do something original, there's no point in doing that, why do you trouble yourself", it's just a team of passionates who wants to spend their free time working on a fan game for a franchise they want. Who cares if they get their project shutdown, yes they talk a little about it on Twitter, so what ? When you do something you think is beautiful, ofc you will want to share it, maybe you will get encouraged to do more
I just don't understand why there's so much negativity there, some people are just doing what they like with what they have and some here are just doing that it's bad because they can't do more. It's a fan game ffs, it's not even meant to be sold
This looks so much better than Nintendo's attempt.
Looks over at it Eh.
@Lando_ Will they be people in Mario and Luigi costumes?
cant shut down something that hasn't been publicly released yet.
Feel like the oracle games make more sense for this than a game with a graphic upgrade remake coming out this year.
sighs
People just can't learn can they?
Well yes. I believe this was also done fifteen years ago.
Although just as a "to see if I can" project, not a grotesquely self-promoting marketing stint like this, which will have to close down for obvious reasons.
While it looks nice, these dudes are idiots revealing this before it's finished. They're begging for a C&D, especially with an official remake on the way.
Judging by the website I wouldn't call it a fansite, more a hackers site dedicated to Zelda.
I have to wonder what has the worse timing, if it's either one of the "we take it into our hands, because Nintendo won't" kind of remakes coming out in the wake of the actual remake, or the other way around - the actual remake coming out right as a promising fan project surfaces.
If anything, we'd get a crazy wicked rearrangement of Tal Tal Heights out of this game.
Tiles need more retexturing to make it more like awakening and it's own game. That could possibly be done at the end, though. Hopeful for this!
Even if Nintendo's lawyers step in they can release it anonymously on different websites and I hope that they do it because doesn't it look way better than Nintendo's plastic remake?
@NintendoFan4Lyf I agree, it's stupid to announce it before it is complete but I hope that it is released eventually.
Coming out first on 'AmigaOS'... i suspect april first... still, great to see some life in the oldmiggy left... www.sensiblesoccer.de still the greatest soccer game ever...
I think the lawyers should get involved. If you wanted to remake Link's Awakening to it's original style, you should have done it before Nintendo announced they were remaking it. And it seems like they're trying to sell it off as a physical cartridge? That's illegal. It's like the Soulja Boy console all over again. Also, if Link's Awakening was made in true HD, the remake that Nintendo showed off, is what it would look like today. Idk why people are unhappy on it. Reminds me of the Wind Waker complaining, and now look at how popular that game is. It's rude to try and take sales away from a game by making a version you prefer. Well, I'm sure it will get shut down like most fan games. So hey, if they want to waste their time on a copyrighted game, and have their work taken down, go for it.
This looks less like Awakening then what people say for the remake.
@BlueOcean Agree with you. This one looks better than Nintendo's. I don't know why Nintendo had to use an unappealing art style for this remake. They could have used an HD enhanced A Link Between Worlds engine.
@SamusLv7 Yeah, I think that even the GBC DX version looks nicer.
I prefer the original graphics.
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