Link's Awakening Becomes Europe's Fastest-Selling Switch Game Of 2019

Just waiting around for the announcement that the Oracle duo is coming in 2020!

I'm kind of mad at myself for not buying it already, but I was trying to be mature and pace myself. It's so aggravating seeing the gazillion posts on Reddit and other places about how much fun it is. Hopefully I can find a copy when I'm out this weekend.

That's kind of sad, that a remade game is more popular than any other game. It's a shame people don't give original titles more of a chance. Hell, faster than even Mario Maker 2? I mean... just... weird.

It's okay. It's one of my favorite Zelda games but really, I don't care much for the remake. I had an okay time but not much of a spark. I agree that Ages/Seasons would be at least a bit more interesting. I think I only played those once.

I've got to admit, I'm absolutely loving this.
I missed out on it the first time around for a ridiculous reason, in Europe it had pretty much the same cover as Link To The Past.
I wasn't particularly old and just assumed it was the same game.
Obviously in years to come I realised I was wrong.

Anyways better late than ever I'm loving this.
It's just classic zelda, pick up and play and easy to get into.

Breath Of The Wild is amazing, but it's so time consuming.

@TobiasAmaranth,

We do have to realize that for a lot of Switch owners this will be brand new game, as they would have never played the original.

@TobiasAmaranth I would say that for a lot of people it's got that nostalgia appeal to it as well.

Brilliant game, one of my top three Zelda games and I love the remake.

I don't think the sales of this are as high as they could have been, from that headline it really had little competition this year so far and Pokemon will blow it away. Look at the Japanese charts and Dragon Quest doubled its week 1 sales and in fact it was lower than BOTW at launch was. It's a good game but they played it far too safe when they had an opportunity to create a truly special game

I picked it up, but it's sitting in my backlog. Along with several other games. No slight against it, I buy more games than I can play.

"That's kind of sad, that a remade game is more popular than any other game. It's a shame people don't give original titles more of a chance"

I tell you what is sad. That any game should be knocked off the top spot ever by a game made by that bunch of money grabbing T##TS EA.

I bought it with my Switch Lite and am loving it just like when I played it on Gameboy as a teenager.

Great remake of a classic. One of my favs this year.

Breath of the Wild has helped peak the Zelda series commercial success, so I’m sure subsequent releases will continue to do well.

Woah, this beat Super Mario Maker 2?

@JasmineDragon Since it is selling so well we can soon pick up an used copy for cheap

Loving it! Got caught up in the hype before launch and went ahead and preordered at the last minute for those double Gold Points. Never played it before and it’s a joy.

I’m at the fifth dungeon. Still love the game.

But... it is short. I’m working slowly and looking everywhere for new stuff. I’ve played for 10 hours now.

That doesn't bode well for Switch games and players. This is sending a very loud message: "we want more remakes, not new stuff."

@BitLounger It would be an instant pre-order if they manage to cram both seamlessly into one game AND add the 3rd one about the oracle Farore that was dropped half way through development.

I was going to pick this up day one as I’ve never played it before, but ended up getting Dragon Quest instead. But once that’s out of the way...

Good to hear it’s doing well. Going by what I read on this site, it was going to struggle as everyone has already played it, it’s a very basic re-skin and it’s ridiculously overpriced. Yet here we are.

@BarefootBowser I agree. I can see something else Metroid being announced next year.probarbly the trilogy remaster. An Ocarina remake would be amazing too.

For some context, Link's Awakening has sold ~85,000 retail copies at launch in the UK and Spain alone.

In Spain in particular, Link's Awakening had a bigger launch than Breath of the Wild on Switch.

@TobiasAmaranth:

I think you are underestimating how many people never played the original game. And how many people owning a Switch that were not even born yet during the first (or second for that matter) release.

I haven’t played it (I was born long before the first release, but I didn’t fancy Zelda all that much in the 90’s) and Links Awakening is now my most beloved game this year. I really love this game and play it with a big smile on my face.

Yes, I’d rather see original games than remakes (or worse, remasters). But at least RE2 Remake/Spyro/Links Awaking prove that making a true efford on a remake, pays off eventually.

My favorite Switch game is and will probably always be Super Mario Odyssey. I do have high hopes for Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Animal Crossing. As long as they keep the original games going, a couple of great remakes won’t be a problem for me.

@koekiemonster:

I'm almost done 100% and it took me like 19 hours. Long enough for me.

Congratz to Nintendo on this one!
Is there any news about memory leaks/bandwidth issues? Will be a while before I'll be able to get to it, so I hope it'll be addressed by then.

I don't like it much for the moment but I completed only 2 dungeons. I played before ALTTP, ALBW, and the Minish Cap and i think they are all better games.

I bought it when it came out but my first play will be when I get on the plane for my holiday trip. Really looking forward to settling down and immersing myself in this during the flight

This game is fantastic. I have put down my MM2 (60 hours) and now I can't put down Link's Awakening.

I certainly hope Nintendo sees this success as encouragement to remaster more Zelda games!

Hopefully this leads to a totally new topdown Zelda, with the same artstyle. No multiplayer affair (like Triforce heroes), just a totally new single-player!

@westman98 always enjoy your additional sales information, thank you

The thing with the term 'fastest selling' is that it can be a bit misleading.

A game like Zelda appeals to a hardcore crowd. The sort-of people (like most folk on this website) who want to play a new Zelda straight away. That's why it gets a fancy special edition, because we're an audience who will pay extra for it.

Core games tend to sell really well at first, and then fade away quicker than a more mainstream game.

Mario is a more mainstream game. It's why Mario Kart is still in the Top Ten.

It is not surprising Zelda sold so quickly. I expect Luigi's Mansion 3 and Pokemon will also sell quickly, because they're games with hardcore fans who have to get it day one.

Mario Maker, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing... these are more longer term games. They tend to sell well at first, and then they just keep selling and selling and selling.

So a Zelda remake selling faster than a Mario Maker game isn't surprising. I will be surprised if that pace is maintained over the course of these titles' lives.

I hope the next remake is adventure of Link. Seriously that game really got pushed aside for trying to be different and it's a crying shame. With a propper touch up it could finally be something special!

The first one really shouldn't be messed with. Keep it classic. Link to the past is fine the way it is. Why mess with perfection am i right? Yeah lets do an adventure of Link remake and get on with it already!

@TobiasAmaranth How is that weird? Wouldn't you technically consider Super Mario Maker 2 a remake with added features? What's really weird is that FIFA 20 sold faster than Link's Awakening.

At the risk of being lynched I have never liked a Zelda game. Played a few originals and remasters and....meh. That was the case, at least, until I played BOTW. Simply one of the best games I have played in my life. Whilst I might take a look in on the original I dont like the the cutesy graphic style on this remaster.

Like the original gameboy game wasn't cutesy or heck darn near all of em. The guy you play as looks like peter pan for goodness sake! Even the most creepy ones can be quite cutesy. Majora's mask had some pretty cutesy moments and that one will give you nightmares. How about malo mart in twilight princess in the castle town?

Now tell me that's not cutesy! Just seems like a strange criticism for a series that's always been that way.

Gem of a game, well deserved, now bring on all the other 2D Zelda remakes.

@JasmineDragon Or, you can play the Gameboy version...again!

Gasp is that a apple? worth it.

@Rhaoulos That would be heaven! I can just imagine the special editions they could come up with on this.

After Ocarina of Time, all 2D Zelda games were relegated to being exclusive to handhelds since Nintendo probably thought they wouldn't be able to succeed alongside their 3D counterparts on Nintendo's home console.

So it's great to see a 2D Zelda game (let alone a remake) sell so well even on a platform that already has a big 3D Zelda game (and will get another one soon).

I just started it over the weekend and it is sublime. After playing through BoTW at launch, putting 250 hours into it, it’s a nice throwback to play an old school Zelda, complete with all the old school charm that originally dominated that franchise. I have to remind myself every night to go to sleep as I could keep playing it on and on, sleep be damned.

AAA release for me.

@Preposterous

The two best selling Nintendo games on Switch, outside of Mariokart which is evergreen, are Odyssey and Breath of the Wild. Both brand new entries. BoTW sold the Switch to a large audience out the gate and helped start its success. So I think you’re way off here, new entries are selling well and even brand new franchises like Astral Chain have sold very well from what I’ve gathered. I’d also argue that for many, this Zelda is brand new. I’m 43 and never played the original. So it’s new to me.

I'm still waiting for Base.com to get more stock! and for them to send me this. Come on Nintendo send them a few hundred because the game is obviously selling....

It's an extremely well done remake so it's great to see it selling well. Looking forward to getting some info on North American sales performance. Hopefully it's a big enough seller that Nintendo decides to do more old-school style Zelda games. Another brand new entry in the 'A Link' universe would be awesome.

Hope this success inspires other remakes.. not too many tho! It took me approx 20 hours even though I’d completed the OG many moons ago. Once I’d got used to the performance dips they stopped bothering me and I loved every minute of this game!

Seems like the actual numbers have leaked via a now deleted Tweet.
Link's Awakening sold 430,000 copies at launch in Europe.

Global launch sales should be well above 1 million copies, likely around 1.2-1.3 million.