Legend of Zelda, The: Link’s Awakening
© 2019 Nintendo of America
Twenty six years after its original release on the Nintendo Game Boy, this new Nintendo Switch edition is quality Zelda fare. You help the inhabitants of a mysterious island, collect tools, explore dungeons and defeat monsters -- all to get Link home. Compared to the 1993 release (which we played) this 2019 remake doubles down with quality of life additions, including a revamped map with pins to mark important areas and conversation logs. Most of the '93 edition is still intact, while obsolete features, such as the photo side quest have been dropped. The spooky character Dampé has taken the camera shop's space, turning it into the Chamber Dungeon, where you can arrange rooms into new dungeon crawling challenges. You can't craft your own rooms from scratch, but each dungeon you conquer in the main game adds its rooms to the Chamber Dungeon selection. Zelda amiibos (the collectible figures) can unlock special chambers and store dungeons to save/load, but this is an underwhelming feature. Don't miss the chance to pluck prizes with a claw-grabber, go fishing, or fool the tool shop by sneaking out with an item. The next time you enter the shop, you'll be punished with a painful zap, and your name spoken in-game will be irreversibly replaced by the word "THIEF" as proof of your misdeed. The world is fun to explore. Koholint is a sunny, backyard play set where characters and creatures have a toy-like plastic sheen. Some Mario creatures make guest appearances. Little details like this make Link's Awakening a special experience worth revisiting in the modern age, and one perfect for your first Zelda, or your tenth, whether you’re five years old, or fifty.
$60, Nintendo Switch
Teaches: puzzle-solving, reading comprehension, spatial relations
CTR Rating: 95%