UK Charts: Zelda: Link's Awakening Scores Nintendo Another Number One

Not a surprise, but good news nonetheless. Thoroughly enjoying the journey on Koholint Island again. Didn't Ni No Kuni have a release this week as well?

@ShaiHulud Ni No Kuni Remastered charted lower than the Switch version. I havent seen much if any marketing outside of Nintendo DIrects so that may be why.

But god on Zelda! When do we get to the point where Switch has more UK #1s than all other Nintendo systems combined? Especially the 3DS and Wii U didn't manage any, and the last one before Switch was a DS game in 2011.

Well done Zelda and Grezzo!!!

@ShaiHulud Switch Ni No Kuni was 23rd and PS4 Remaster was 26th....

Doesn't take much skill to know this would happen. Just look at the LE editions selling out and the NA Dreamer's Edition that never lasted on PreOrders when it was available. And I got Dreamer and EU LE version coming hopefully.

And also a side anyone not notice BOTW is still listed on charts 2+ years after it's release as well. And this is a March 2017 released with the start of the Nintendo Switch console.

Great result and also the biggest Switch release so far this year. MK8 Deluxe remains a beast.

Next week Fifa will conquer all so will be interesting to see how Nintendo games hold up with the like of Dragon Quest releasing.

Any idea on how the Lite sold?

@SwitchForce no because i was too busy scratching my head at GTA 5... how its still top 10 and its been nearly 7 years now.

No game will ever come close to doing this. I doubt even GTA 6 will be as god like.

@Knuckles-Fajita 3DS didn't get any for Pokemon even? I thought those sold like a motherf**er

Some games don't need reviews because they are on preorder long before the embargo is lifted.

I sometimes wonder if the average gamer would not have picked up on the issues this game has if they were not pointed out in the review.🤔

I got Links Awakening, but I downloaded it from the eShop

@frabbit Nope. I remember when...I think it was MK8D got number 1, it was noted it was the first for Nintendo since Pokemon White.

Also, Link's Awakening is only the third ever UK number 1 for Zelda, the others being Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

Ni No Kuni Switch the best selling version, and in Switch's weakest market.

It's been smashing in the US. #35 on Amazon while PS4 version was #200 or something. Even now it's still in the top 100 and probably will remain there at least another week or so.

It's a clear and present signal to Bandai Namco: you know where the market is now.

Looks like my fears of 2D and traditional 3D Zelda being completely killed off in favour of BotW Zelda style only for the future were unrealistic. Very good to see Link's Awakening doing well, hopefully Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD comes to Switch next.

Also impressed about Gears 5 staying in the top 5.

Next week onwards will very likely be FIFA dominating the charts and probably EA saying the Switch version sold badly so they won't be supporting Switch anymore.

I contributed to the Ni No Kuni numbers at least

I can't believe that Link's Awakening beat Borderlands 3!!!

@Knuckles-Fajita Yes, I've hardly seen any marketing for it either. Hope it does well though, still can't believe they've decided to release it in the same week as a Zelda game.

Great to see Link's Awakening sell well. I was worried after Breath of the Wild that traditional Zelda gameplay would go the way of the Dodo.

Haven't brought Ni No Kuni yet as my backlog is still growing (have not yet finished all the routes of FE3H, nor started Astral Chain yet). Link's Awakening was my exception. I will always make room for Zelda. Have completed, but did not get the perfect ending, nor have I done it in Hero Mode, so will be playing through it again before marking it as complete.

@zool Are you referring to Link's Awakening and it's performance issues? If so, you don't need a review to spot them. You'll notice them 5 minutes into the game. They're not gamebreaking or anything but they're there.

Glad to see LA take the number 1, it's such a lovely game. I'm sure I'm going to replay it a couple of times in the years to come. Playing this made me regret not having played it on the GameBoy as a kid. I definitely missed out.

I'm interested in Ni No Kuni as I never played the PS3 version but DQ11 is right around the corner and I don't want to add yet another JRPG to my already big backlog

I got my original copy somewhere. I went head and just emulated the original and saved myself $60.

@hoopderscotch That happens a lot round here, some people just like peeing on Nintendo's parade whenever they get a chance. Don't even know why they come here.

@Knuckles-Fajita I'm pretty sure Pokemon X & Y and Sun and Moon hit the top spot

I never did bother completing the GBC version of Link's Awakening on 3DS. The irony is that I might actually get around to completing it once I complete the Switch version.

It's a sweet little game, and I would like to see more traditional handheld-style games like this in future. We haven't seen as many like them since the Switch launched.

I would hate for all smaller-scale games to become toxic free-to-play mobile fodder. It's bad enough that Nintendo have already released TWO microtransaction-ridden Kirby games.

still waiting for my copy to be delivered. Royal mail are getting worse!

@BenAV agreed, the blur effect is really unnecessary. It would probably help the frame rate to get rid of it honestly.

Link's Awakening is the fastest-selling Switch game of 2019 thus far.

I personally think it shouldn’t have shipped in the state it’s in with regards to the slowdown issues. Reviews here & there saying it’s not a gamebreaker.......... it totally is.

If it wasn’t zelda/nintendo they wouldn’t get away with it.

@KevTastic84 It didn't. For X and Y launch in 2013 the top 4 was:
1. GTA V
2. FIFA 14
3. Pokemon X
4. Pokemon Y

Meanwhile for Sun and Moon launch in 2016 the top 4 was:
1. FIFA 17
2. CoD Infinite Warfare
3. Pokemon Sun
4. Pokemon Moon

I bet combined sales would have made them hit top spot. We'll never know i guess.

@SBandy the lite combined sales sold on it first day on shelves better than the regular switch did the whole week in the USA, that’s all I know (and the switch selling amazingly there

I bet if link's awakening didn't hit number one, haters would be talking about the game's downfall.

@BenAV honestly, the frame rate is astonishingly bad. I'm never really bothered by it, but it's all over the place. They really should lock it at 30

@BenAV Yeah I can see that. Maybe I’m just easily impressed, but for me it has some of the best art direction in a game I’ve seen this year. With a couple of tweaks it would be better, but I think this remaster and Minish Cap are the best looking top-down Zelda games.

How much you want to bet luigi will take first soon lol.

@BenAV the thing is that it goes to between 30 and 60 and has a lot of dynamic resolution magic and other sh*t that goes on when you transition between indoor and outdoor areas. It noticably adjusts constantly. I think it's the dynamic resolution stuff that's causing this because every time you die or transition to another area there's like 3 seconds of the game trying to adjust and then it's fine.

It's really weird. I've never seen a game do something exactly like this. There's no issue really when you're just in one area, it's just after a transition.

@hbkay It's really strange because the issues are consistent, but not constant. It really only every happens when you transition from an indoor area to an outdoor area. Similarly, it happens when loading the game for the first time into an outdoor area or just after dying. It last for about 2 seconds and then the game is good until the next time you go outside or die. It's super strange.

My theory it's how the game handles scaling the resolution, but it also doesn't lock the frame rate anywhere so you have something between 30 and 60 constantly. This is one of those times I hope they lock a game to 30. Hell, if it is just loading the island what they could do is hide it behind a black screen for a second, though that might be annoying, too

@BenAV you can complete it in twelve hours.

@Tantani

Cheers, that is good to hear. More Ninty success can only be good.

Great job, Link's Awakening! Another jackpot from Nintendo, four great games in a row.

Nintendo makes another old port and hits #1. BN, makes a Ninokuni port and does not even chart. Unfortunate.

Great for Borderlands3 in becoming the fastest selling UK game of 2019 in just 5 days (Most fun I have had playing co-op in ages)

Wonder how many of those 5 million were in the UK 🤔

I think whats even more shocking is a six year old game GTA V is still in the top 10.