Nintendo has announced a remastered version of Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which it says is “reborn as a new experience”. A specific release date was not announced.
Details have been scarce about the remastered game, which was originally released for the Game Boy system over 25 years ago. In the game, players travel to the mysterious island of Koholint to guide Link on a perilous adventure.
This isn’t the first remaster of the 1993 Game Boy title. In 1998, a version was released for the Game Boy Colour, which was dubbed “Link’s Awakening DX” by fans. This game diverges from the other games in the series, in that it is set in Koholint Island instead of Hyrule.
The trailer showcases gameplay, which has been tilted slightly from the original game’s top-down view and has made the world come alive with 3D animation. Nintendo also shows off the game’s new art style, and has redesigned characters and worlds to match this new style.
No additional gameplay details have been released, although the trailer seems to keep the essence and story of the game of 25 years ago.
The game will be available for purchase from various gaming outlets, as well as for download on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
While the main topic of Nintendo’s announcement was this game, it also revealed other titles to be launched this year.
The announcements include Mortal Kombat 11, which is expected to launch in April, and Super Mario Maker 2, which is expected to be released in June.
Click here to watch the Nintendo Direct announcement video, and to read more about other games to come this year.
The following games were also mentioned in the Nintendo Direct announcement:
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
For the first time in 10 years, the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series returns with four-player action style game. Assemble your dream team from a huge cast of , including Marvel’s ultimate cosmic protector, Captain Marvel. Players can save the world together with up to four players in TV mode, with four separate systems locally or online. A dynamic zoomed-in Heroic Camera will give players the option to get closer to the action. As characters level up, they’ll learn new skills they can use on the fly, and also perform powerful Alliance Extreme attacks. The game is expected to launch in the second half of the year, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
Astral Chain
Astral Chain is an action game from PlatinumGames, directed by Takahisa Taura, known for his work as the game designer on NieR, and supervised by Hideki Kamiya, creator of the Bayonetta series. As part of a police special forces unit in a multicultural futuristic city, players work together with a special living weapon, the Legion, in a synergetic action system of battle and exploration. The game launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on 30 August.
Fire Emblem
Three Houses: The Black Eagles. The Blue Lions. The Golden Deer. These houses are part of the Officer’s Academy, an elite facility that trains students in the ways of weapons, magic and special skills. As a professor, the player must choose one of these houses to lead its students in grid-based battles with life-or-death stakes. Each house is comprised of many different students to meet and train, each with her or his own personality and skills. These students can interact with each other at the academy, strengthening their bonds and supporting each other on the battlefield. The game will launch exclusively for Nintendo Switch on 26 July.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Side-scrolling action returns in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Play as Miriam, host of the Alchemist’s Curse, as she steals the abilities of enemies, bends gravity to her will and darts around the game’s elaborate castle at lightning speed. Here, the laws of reality – and 2D side-scrollers – don’t apply. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night emerges from the shadows in the second half of the year for Nintendo Switch.
Yoshi’s Crafted World
In the Yoshi’s Crafted World game, players can explore the Front and Flip-Side of stages of Yoshi’s World while rafting, racing solar cars, tearing through the sky on a plane and experiencing many other wild gameplay sequences. Using coins collected through the secret-filled levels, players can unlock 180 different crafted costumes that Yoshi can wear. Before the game launches on 29 March, Nintendo Switch players can download a demo from the Nintendo eShop today.