The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Title: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Developer: Grezzo
Genre: Action/Adventure
Released: 2019
Rating: 8/10

In Link’s Awakening, play as Link as you try to escape Koholint Island after getting stranded there when your ship is destroyed by a terrible storm! Explore the island in order to discover dungeons that allow you to collect the eight instruments of the Sirens in order to awaken Koholint’s Wind Fish and leave the island! 

Pros:
Achievements → New Abilities and Assists 
In Link’s Awakening, you discover items that teach you how to jump, swim, lift objects, and more. You also can complete certain quests that let you gain a buddy to help you through the next stage of the game. One of my favorites was battling alongside BowWow. The mini games are also extremely enjoyable including fishing and rafting.

Ease of Gameplay 
From phone booths to the warp song, the game incorporates amazing guidance and usability features that are fun and enjoyable to use. Not sure what to do next? Head into a phone booth to talk to Ulrira who provides you with a hint. Want to easily get across the island? Play Manbo’s Mambo to access all of your warp points. 

Cameo Appearances
One of the funniest and most enjoyable aspects of the game is when you happen upon a character from another game. Kirby, Yoshi, and Princess Peach are just a few of the characters that you’ll find throughout the game. Speaking of Kirby… Link’s Awakening is what I wish Kirby and the Forgotten Land had been. Kirby’s environment is so beautiful and clearly a lot of work was put into the scenery so I wish the game had been a combination of open world gameplay and quest-based achievements. 

Cons:
Issues with Game Mechanics 
The issue I dealt with is something I’m putting under game mechanics… For example, you will suddenly fall into a hole that you don’t think you’re close enough to fall into. It’s almost like the sensitivity of certain parts of the game is too high so you’ll think you’ve dodged something but you haven’t. 

Remember Seemingly Trivial Details 
As you access new areas of the island, you gain abilities that need to be used at the starting areas of the game. So you’ve got to remember where you saw particular characters or blockades as you progress through the game. For example, there’s an important feature of the game where you find NPCs who want to trade an item with you. But the NPCs that you need to trade with could be from the very beginning of the game. They’ll say some seemingly trivial statement that you actually need to remember later in the game. 

Overall…
Link’s Awakening is no Breath of the Wild. But it is still one of the best Nintendo Switch games I’ve played so far. It is light-hearted, enjoyable, and funny. While we wait for BOTW 2, this is a great game to pick up and you can get some good deals on it since it was released a few years ago.