This year Nintendo - in its partnership with DeNA - will be endeavouring to make its brands a major success on iOS and Android with its own official games and apps. It'll discover, if it hasn't done so already, that the platforms are already flooded with its IP - or lousy versions of them, in any case.
An example to emerge recently is The Legend of Zeldo: Lonk's Awakening, which has wittily changed one letter in its name and is a simplistic Flappy Bird clone. You guessed it, you tap to boost flight and try to fly through gaps.
It's available now on iOS and is apparently also coming to Android. Bizarrely it's free and without ads on iOS, but its website - which we'll refrain from sharing here - has a version playable in browsers that seeks donations, or you can pay for downloads on various formats. Quite whether Nintendo will bother to tackle this one or let it rest alongside its various other clones and rip-offs is unclear.
It's safe to say that Nintendo won't be alone in releasing its IPs on iOS and Android.
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[source itunes.apple.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments (70)
Are those screenshots below the article from the real Link's Awakening?
"Bizarrely it's free and without ads on iOS"
Not really bizarre, if you consider it's supposed to be a JOKE. #nofunallowed
(I expected better from a British journalist, really...)
What an abomination!
It is a parody. (Think those are protected certainly in the US).
yeah it's a joke - "irony boots"?
@arronishere Yes they are from the real links awakening.
I found it funny tbh, but maybe thats just me
@Xenjamin no, made my day too
Honestly, I'm more annoyed that they decided to use a lesser known Zelda games and did nothing to actually reference that specific Zelda game. Outside of basically ripping off the title screen. That's just wasting your game as a parody. Look, I can do that. Watch.
collects 30+ notrupees "You got (#) rupees! Is this your big chance?"
You can buy the Mock Feather item, let's you jump better.
Have the owl interrupt when you get a high score.
srsly, it's not that hard.
MADNESS!!!
Lonk? THIS Lonk?
As in, THE LEGENDARY LONK???
Forget a cease and desist order. They should sue them to kingdom come, make an example out of them. That's the only way to make all these rip-off developers take notice and seriously think twice about being so blasé.
I much prefer Lunk. It would be a flappy bird clone as well...
A more concerning matter is that the game wants to know your location. Even while the app is not being used. Sometimes location data is used for targeted advertising but there is not need to harvest the info while the app is not running and there is no advertising here anyway.
It reminds me of how many free apps on the google play store just harvest information because they can (why does a flashlight app need to copy your contacts list for example).
@Sligeach Hear hear,finish him.Take everything he's got and don't stop until he's out on the street with nothing but the clothes on his back,in fact take them too.That'll teach the scum
Haha this is genius. Harmless fun
In this comments section: people who don't understand how copyright, trademarks or court proceedings work.
This will be left up because its a parody. Those are allowed. And its not actually a terrible one either, minus the flappy bird gameplay.
DeNA has already started the madness! I knew that it would come down to Flappy Bird clones!
lol such a rip off of 2 games
The title screen makes you think you are in for an epic adventure, and then all your hopes are destroyed once you realize it's a flappy bird clone.
you don't know it but the next Legend of Zelda on wii u will feature a flying epona based on the gameplay of lonk's awakening.
Should have been Legend of Birdo
Still better than Angry Birds.
Well, the next Legend of Zelda is looking promising.
Lonk is a good guy.
@Prof_Clayton
"In this comments section: people who don't understand how copyright, trademarks or court proceedings work."
Well, Mr. Know-it-all, most people in this very comment section actually said the same thing as you did or at least shared the sentiment. Actually aside from the news writer there doesn't seem to be ANYBODY here who thinks it should or could be taken down.
@DarkmarkUnited Still there. Just click the link in the news.
@Obito_Sigma The only way to succeed in the mobile industry, flappy bird clones or match 3 puzzle games.
Great, the world needs more parody games...
Wake me when that trend is finally over
@scamander Hahahaha that last part was a test right? Well I understood you were joking there at least since I'm American.
I get the vibe that the writer isn't aware that Lonk and Zolda are—in fact—already a thing.
I don't even...what?
Then again I don't get the weird Zelda memes like ben and lonk. If it weren't for miiverse I wouldn't have even heard of them. More power to stupid I guess.
@Sligeach This game is completely free; it doesn't even have ads—meaning they make absolutely no money on this project.
Not only that, but this is based off of an already-circulating meme-of-sorts (Lonk, from Pennsylvania), not the Zelda series itself.
Suing the developer would be both stupid and cold-hearted.
@Ryu_Niiyama Ben isn't a meme, he's a creepypasta—which is completely and utterly different.
Whim waker...gave me a chuckle.
I downloaded it, you get items but do they do anything? I can't seem to use them...
I'm not so sure Nintendo will take this one down. It's not explicitly copying one of their games like Mario 64 HD. It's not using any of their models.
To be honest, all those "references" in the game are pretty cool.
Awesome, I've been eagerly awaiting the latest Legend of Zeldo game. I'll play it as soon as I'm done with Super Bash Sisters.
LOL I like the way they named the games.
What's next? Super Maria Sisters? Princess Beach? Monkey Dong? Fappy Bird?
@arronishere Of course. Did you really think this would have it's own game page?
@Prof_Clayton Parodies are funny. This is just Angry Birds with Zelda assets. It'll be taken down in a week.
@LemonSlice why does a news article need a game page?
They'll soon discover that "it's dangerous to go a-clone"... ahem
@Kaze_Memaryu this right here just made me chuckle aloud on my morning commute. Let's be friends.
@Prof_Clayton They might frown upon those donations though...
@Sligeach Its a parody. They aren't even getting profits on the iOS because of no ads. I say let it be.
@Butt Me too.
@Einherjar Soooooo... life-long coma?
Finally! Mobile games with Nintendo characters!
I hope Nintendo and DeNA make a version of this on their own. For the lawlz.
Not gonna lie, this made me laugh pretty hard.
@russellohh Except for, ya know, Angry Birds plays nothing like this
Lonk. Who comes up with this dubdibdab?
While it's pretty funny, having the guts to release it and ask for money is just in poor taste.
@Nintendian "Monkey Dong" haha.thats brilliant man,made me laugh.
Hilarious!!!! Day one buy on Android
Whim Waker and Irony Boots. Brilliant.
looks more like mario than zelda!
Isn't it funny that a parody game is apparently more likely to be taken down by Nintendo than a certain browser game with a penguin-like character?
I bet there are like a hundred of this already, it's got a lot of old jokes and memes. What a waste, at least is free. I'd probably get it for a chuckle or two but once those are done, so is the game.
@Kaze_Memaryu I guess sigh
Lets at least hope that stuff like that will eventually get a little less PR someday.
I mean, we live in a world, where "Goat Simulator" is hailed as the next best thing since sliced bread....
...disgusting...shameful... "Stop ruining Zelda Marik!" XD
@Einherjar Considering the incredibly short attention span fans of these kinds of "joke games" tend to have, it will probably keep losing significance with each new contender, until the oversaturation kills the appeal - which will take time...
They don't seem to be ripping assets or anything, so whatever.
Meanwhile Nintendo Life still supports Super Mario 64 HD which stole assets from Galaxy unlike this game which is completely original when it comes to graphics. The game don't even look that bad in it's on right, it kinda look like something I'll play when I bored.
Nintendo's IP is SERIOUS STUFF folks. On the same day that people in Africa died of malnutrition and animals were experimented on in labs and killed for people's entertainment, this little iOS game is what's most newsworthy of the title ABOMINATION.
I got a nice chuckle from this one. Thanks for showing me this. Oh, and nice clickbait, NL.
@SomeBitTripFan how is this clickbait?
I'm going to play this.
Pathetic article.
Thanks for showing us this game anyway.
@TheKingofTown: It's an article that serves little more purpose than to bash an iOS parody/joke game. It's barely informative, except for bringing attention to the game. It's a meaningless article added to this site (currently swamped in computer-lagging video ads) that's mean to get reader's attention.
Ehhh... I'm not really mad over this, TBH. This is quite clearly a parody made by someone who obviously admires the Zelda franchise. It actually looks quite slick.... Not that I'll ever actually play it.
Nintendo should focus its legal ire over those nasty apps that are filled with viruses and stolen art assets .
This article only draws attention to this game and gives the creators of it more support. There's no such thing as bad publicity.
Irony boots...okay that was funny!
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