Suggested musical pairing: Link’s Awakening – Title Screen

From the first second of the Link’s Awakening remake teaser video, I knew exactly what I was looking at. It’s no wonder, considering just how many times I’ve played through Link’s Awakening, and the fact that it was my first Zelda game ever when I was a 6 year old. That entire opening scene is forever ingrained in my mind, as it absolutely blew me away in 1993, despite the fact that it was in black and white on a 2.6″ screen.

I would later revisit this game upon the release of the DX version in 1998 for the Game Boy Color, and it was like having my blown mind reconstructed to perfection, only to blow it up all over again. I’ve always been a nostalgic person and adding freaken full color to my already incredible memories of this game, and on a brand new console (the Game Boy Color!) no less, was too much for young me to handle.

Has that ever happened to you? I cannot recall a single other time that I had a memory in black and white that was brought back in full gorgeous color.

Of course, I blasted right through that game multiple times, nabbing every collectible along the way, and even writing my first GameFAQ about it, purely from memory! What I would give to be able to find that walkthrough again… unfortunately it was never actually published to GameFAQs and probably lives on an old computer hard drive that was thrown out decades ago.

A couple of years later, I’d go on to start Twitch streaming every Zelda game starting with Link’s Awakening, and it was one of the most fun two months of recent memory. I played through the Oracle duo (more on that later), The Minish Cap (probably my next favorite, next to the Game Boy titles), the DS games (despite having a burning disdain for Spirit Tracks), and of course, Link to the Past. It was an incredible look back to my childhood, practically hitting fast-forward through it, as I finished each game in only about ~8-12 hours due to having played them all countless times before.

It’s hard to describe a connection to a video game, particularly when you first experienced something as a 6 year old, and the strongest way to communicate the feeling of this game is… to ask you to play it yourself, honestly. You may have adult things going on, but something about this game in particular, paired with the chiptune-esque music that the Game Boy put out, really pulls you in deep.

You’re probably starting to see the type of connection I have to this game and the series in general – it jump-started the love I have for the franchise that is Zelda, and though I’d find some more incredible games along the way, nothing ever really compared to the whimsy of Link’s Awakening. I simply cannot wait to revisit Koholint Island.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some gameplay footage from the new Link’s Awakening–

wait, hold on a second. Is it Link’s Re-Awakening? Or is it just being presented as “Link’s Awakening”? “Re-awakening” would be a great name and a missed opportunity if they didn’t call it that. Then again, Nintendo invents video games much better than they name them. Looking at you, New Nintendo 2DS. XL. Plus. Extreme Edition. 2.

As I was saying, I was pleasantly surprised at the gorgeous aesthetic in the gameplay footage. Link is adorable as ever and I want to eat the freaken game it looks so tasty. Side-by-side comparisons show it’s staying loyal to the original map, presumably with some extra flair thrown in now and again, akin to the DX version adding a new color-themed dungeon

Of course, for a remake of a game that’s so dearly beloved by many, one must respect the origins, but Nintendo and partners have shown time and time again that they respect the memories of those who have experienced their games before, while offering something modern and magical for those who haven’t.

Knowing that this remake will be arriving some time in this calendar year fills me with pure joy, and I know that I’ll be dropping everything to experience the magic again when it releases. Hopefully in physical form. Will you?

Let’s reminisce about the good ol’ days that we’ll get to revisit soon – drop me a comment below!