Tag: The Legend of Zelda

I Played the Link’s Awakening 2019 Switch Remake

August 3rd, 2025

…and it reminded me why I love Zelda.

Playing The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake for the Nintendo Switch was an absolute blast! After a week of being so obsessed with this game I practically couldn’t put my Switch down, I finally finished my first ever play through of this Legend of Zelda classic. I had bought the game about a year ago (leading up to Echoes of Wisdom’s release I think), but I had never actually gotten around to playing it. When I realized that the game had updates to run better on the Switch 2, though, it finally pushed me to make the wonderful decision to revisit this game. Now I only wish I had played it sooner, as I was seriously missing out.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The biggest reason I hadn’t finished Link’s Awakening before was that, especially in the first hour or so of gameplay, the game’s instructions on where to go aren’t exactly clear. Similar to many of the Zelda games from that era, the main way this game directs you is through long monologues given by an owl. This was an issue for me because I find that owl very annoying, so I often clicked through the owl’s dialogue without actually reading it. I found myself stopping by the telephone booth for hints way more frequently than I’d like to admit. Even those hints were vague, and there were a few times I had to turn to google. Like how am I supposed to know that I have to go talk to a witch and have her make me powder out of a mushroom to throw at a racoon who is blocking my way to a chest that I didn’t even know about? Looking back, if I had the patience to explore for a while, there would have been enough clues for me to figure that out. In a lot of ways, I think it’s cool that the game encourages you to solve puzzles and discover things for yourself. It just gets a little tiresome when I need to trade my Yoshi doll up to a magnifying glass, and I have no clue who to give the broom to.

The confusing parts were definitely worth getting through, though, because this game is just so fun to play. Koholint Island truly feels like one giant puzzle to be solved, and it’s awesome. I guess I’m biased because I’m a big fan of puzzle games, but I love how the overworld is so intricately laid out. The map itself isn’t really that big, but it feels huge because it’s so tightly packed with obstacles and secrets to uncover. There are certain areas of the map that you need specific items to access (yes, this game has real Zelda items, it’s fantastic), which would seem annoying to some, but I think it keeps the game interesting. Finding Animal Village for the first time, for instance, was very interesting (and that isn’t even the goofiest thing about this game). I also had so much fun traversing through this game’s dungeons, which were just as well thought out as the overworld. I’ll admit, the boss fights were on the easier side, but getting to the bosses is hard enough that it makes up for it. This game’s world just feels so alive, and it makes exploring it so immersive and, well, fun!

The game’s story was also surprisingly deep. I’m not normally a fan of “it was all a dream” endings, but this game handled it really well. It’s so bittersweet when you finish the game because, while you know you have to wake the Wind Fish, it’s sad to see this island you’ve become so attached to disappear. I went into this game knowing the general story, but it was different watching it play out for myself. Just as a side note, apparently there’s a secret ending that you only can get if you don’t die at all, which is crazy because this game is hard. Link’s Awakening is not the most story-driven game I’ve played, but the story made this already entertaining game come to life. That being said, I will never understand why the Wind Fish would willingly dream about that insufferable owl.

I think Grezzo did a fantastic job remaking this game! The updated soundtrack sounds absolutely amazing, the graphics are so clean, and the art style is so cute. They also added specific buttons for the sword, the shield, and the Pegasus Boots, which reduces the menu time switching between items and makes the gameplay a lot smoother. The biggest new feature added is the Dampe’s dungeon maker, which is pretty cool, although I didn’t spend that much time playing around with it.

There’s something so magical about Zelda games, and Link’s Awakening is no exception. I really enjoyed sitting in my bedroom, cuddled up with pillows and blankets, navigating through Koholint’s dungeons. There were frustrating parts for sure, and I died just under thirty times, but when I finished the game, I felt like I had really gone on an adventure, and it’s so refreshing to play a game like that. This game just has so much personality and such a great atmoshpere! From the world and dungeons to the characters and the soundtrack, this game is everything you could want from a 2D Zelda game. At the end of the game, the Wind Fish tells Link “SOMEDAY, THOU MAY RECALL THIS ISLAND; THAT MEMORY MAKES THE DREAM WORLD REAL.” I like to think that through writing this article, I’m helping the memory of Link’s Awakening live on.

9.5/10

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Review

September 17th, 2023

I recently beat the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the first time and, wow, it is great! I am on a journey to complete all of the Zelda games. If you’ve read some of my other articles, you might be thinking, “Claire, how come you haven’t played the other Zelda games, but you claim to be a huge Zelda fan.” To that I say, half of you people claiming to be Zelda fans only have played Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. And really, I’ve always wanted to play them, I just haven’t been mentally mature enough to get through the dungeons by myself. It’s like something magical happened when I turned thirteen, and somehow, I’m able to play and appreciate all of these harder games now. Anyhow, I finished the Wind Waker and I’m going to review it. There will be plenty of spoilers of course, so this is your extreme spoiler warning. This review ended up being a lot longer than I originally intended, so I separated the review into the following categories: Gameplay, Atmosphere, Storytelling, Side Notes, and Conclusion. So, without any further delay, let’s dive into the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Gameplay

I’m going to start by talking about the Gameplay.

First and foremost, sorry to all of you naive Breath of the Wild fans out there who haven’t played real Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is open world. Not just semi-open world; actually open world. The only load screens you’ll encounter in the entire game are while going into buildings or dungeons. The load screens into the dungeons also allow for the game to have expansive dungeons without actually having to fit it inside a mountain or something. It actually works really well, considering this game had some amazing, classic Zelda dungeons.

The gameplay outside the dungeons is really entertaining as well. For those of you who haven’t played the game, the map is made up of islands connected by the ocean. Each section of the map has a different island to explore. Link sails between these islands on his boat, The King of Red Lions, who turns out to be the former king of Hyrule (more on that later). The biggest drawback of having the game take place on a fairly empty ocean is that it can get a little annoying to sail back and forth between islands. Though, later in the game, you can unlock the ability to fast travel to a few different spots on the map.

The late game “Triforce quest” was also a little tedious, but supposedly it’s fixed in the HD version. I played it on GameCube, so I wouldn’t know. Not that I don’t have access to a Wii U and a copy of Wind Waker HD, it was just more convenient for me to play it on GameCube.

Overall, the game was a ton of fun to play. 3 out of 3

Atmosphere

Next up: the Music, Environment, and the overall Atmosphere. Let me just start by saying that this game’s atmosphere is AMAZING. And keep in mind, I played the original GameCube version.

The Wind Waker has such a lively and fun soundtrack, possibly one of my favorite Zelda soundtracks (second only to Skyward Sword). The music always matched whatever feeling the location or scene was supposed to have. A lot of the music is really upbeat and fun to listen to in the background of the game. The Wind Waker has some really memorable music, too, such as (but definitely not limited to) Dragon Roost Island, Outset Island, and the Great Sea theme. Also, can I just mention that the credits music was epic?! Because it was. The credits music was so epic!

The game also had a really bright and colorful environment. It really captured the ocean vibes and matched the tone of the game perfectly. When the game first came out, people complained about how kiddie the game’s art style was, but I really liked it. The game has a distinct feel to it; very bright and lively, and sometimes kind of silly.

I love the atmosphere of The Wind Waker. The soundtrack was spectacular, and the environment was so much fun to explore. 3 out of 3

Storytelling

Moving on to Story and Characters. This section will almost certainly have more spoilers than any of the rest of the article, so I’m just going to reiterate; this is your(second) EXTREME SPOILER WARNING.

I’m going to try to explain the beginning of the game for context. The game opens with Link asleep and his sister coming to wake him up because it is his (12^th, I think) birthday. His grandmother gives him a green tunic because it is their island’s tradition to have all boys wear the tunic on the birthday that they “come of age” (supposedly they do this because they want one of the boys to turn into the next “Hero of Legend” because they have passed down a legend about the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time). A giant bird holding a pirate, Tetra, in his claws shows up and drops her in the forest. Link saves her, but then the giant bird kidnaps Link’s sister. Link decides to join Tetra and her pirates to save his sister.

Later, he gets separated from the pirates and washes up on Windfall Island, where he meets the King of Red Lions, a sentient boat who talks out of a red, wooden lion head at the bow of the boat. After you beat the Tower of the Gods, it is revealed that the King of Red Lions is actually the ghost of the former King of Hyrule (did I mention that Hyrule was flooded?). At the same time, it is also revealed that Tetra is in fact the reincarnation of Zelda, which would have been a bigger plot twist than the former if I hadn’t already known about it going in.

Contrary to the gameplay, and aside from the fact that you can pick which order to do the Wind Temple and Earth Temple in, the game’s main storyline is quite linear, in a great way. Unlike Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom where they leave the player to find the memories (possibly out of order), the Wind Waker manages to take the player on a quirky Zelda adventure as a well-planned story unfolds, while still maintaining an open world.

In my Tears of the Kingdom review, one of my biggest compliments about the game’s story was that it has a book ending, but, surprise, surprise, the Wind Waker has a book ending too. At the beginning of the game, when link joins the pirates to save his sister, there is this scene that plays as they depart from Outset Island (Link’s home island) where you see Link running to the back to the pirate ship and waving goodbye to his grandma and all of the villagers that live on Outset Island. In the post credits scene, you see Link leaving Outset Island with Tetra and her pirates in a similar fashion (the same music and everything), except this time, Link is on a now non-sentient King of Red Lions boat, and you see his sister (who is now saved) waving goodbye.

The Wind Waker’s story is one I certainly won’t forget. It really felt like a classic Zelda story, just on the ocean. The story isn’t really as complicated as I probably make it seem. It’s so lighthearted and playful. 3 out of 3

Side Notes

One of the things that I love about classic Zelda games in general is the use of music in the gameplay and story, and the Wind Waker is no exception. In fact, it is part of the reason I love the game. While the Wind Waker is the title of the game, there is also an item in the game called “the wind waker,” a baton link uses to control the winds and perform other tasks. In the second half of the game Link uses the wind waker to conduct the characters Medli and Makar, the sages of the Earth and Wind respectively, while they play either the Earth God’s Lyric, or the Wind God’s Aria, again, respectively. Fun fact: the first section of the game’s title theme is the Earth God’s Lyric, and the second part is the Wind God’s Aria. Isn’t that cool? As I hope you can see, almost every aspect of the game relies on music, and I absolutely love it.

Conclusion

As a whole, the Wind Waker is an amazing Zelda game, and an amazing game in general. It has a perfect balance between open-world gameplay and a linear story, something a lot of open world games struggle with. It feels like a real Zelda adventure and is certainly a game to remember (plus one point). If you have a way of accessing it, you should definitely give this game a shot. If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’ll love it.

10 out of 10 stars
Tears of the Kingdom: An Amazing Game, but is it an Amazing Zelda Game? (Full Review)

June 25th, 2023
“Oh my god, I can’t believe Tears of the Kingdom topped Breath of the Wild” is what people are saying. And I’ll give them that; Tears of the Kingdom is far better than Breath of the Wild. What people don’t understand is that Breath of the wild isn’t objectively the best Zelda game, and it’s possible for a game to be better that Breath of the Wild but still not the best Zelda games. These people call themselves Zelda fans and won’t even take the time to play and appreciate the other Zelda games. I could honestly go on for hours explaining why Breath of the Wild isn’t actually that great compared to the other Zelda games, how it has no story, no dungeons and much less life than the others. So, in my mind, it would have been embarrassing for Nintendo if Tears of the Kingdom wasn’t better than Breath of the Wild. The real question is, “is Tears of the Kingdom the best Zelda game?”, and if it’s not the best Zelda game, “how does it compare to the Zelda games older than Breath of the Wild?”

There’s going to be a ton of spoilers in this article, including spoilers about the game’s ending. It would really be a shame if I spoiled this game for you, so, please, if you haven’t played the game, and plan on playing it ever, please don’t read the body of this article until you do. If you want to know my opinion on the game without spoilers, skip to the last paragraph.

The first category I’m going to compare is Gameplay. The Gameplay is quite honestly the best part about the game. From Link’s abilities, to the side quests, to the depths and the sky islands, there’s almost too much to do—in like the best way possible. It’s extremely fun to fuse weapons together and to build vehicles. There are a ton of side quests throughout the game. My one complaint is that, though the dungeons are themed like classic Zelda dungeons, they still feel more like divine beasts, and aren’t exactly what long time Zelda fans were hoping for. The gameplay is still the best part of the game, though, so it would be unreasonable to give it anything less than a 3 out of 3.

Moving on to the game’s Music and Environment. Tears of the Kingdom used the same world as Breath of the Wild, but a lot has changed. There are many new towns and places to explore. I especially enjoyed seeing how Hyrule has developed since the events of Breath of the Wild. The world is certainly livelier and more lived in (I don’t know how much of an achievement that is, though, considering most of the old Zelda games had extremely lively towns). The depths are also kind of empty, and most of the sky islands are the same. As for the music, I have mixed feelings. Compared to games like the Wind Waker or Skyward Sword, there does seem to be a slight lack of music throughout the main part of the game. The main theme is really epic, though, and there is still a bit more music in Tears of the Kingdom than in Breath of the Wild. I like how there are a lot of riffs on Zelda’s Lullaby and other classic Zelda songs in the soundtrack. I only wish they played some of these songs outright instead of hiding it in the new music. I mentioned this in my pre-Tears of the Kingdom article, but I miss how music was part of the gameplay in games like Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks, and, well, Ocarina of time, of course. Overall, the world was really lively, and the music that the game had was good, but I wish there were more music, possibly as part of the gameplay, throughout the game. 2.5 out of 3

Finally, I’m going to go over Tears of the Kingdom’s Story and Characters. Most of the game’s story was repetitive. Each time you completed a temple, they’d explain the same plot all over again, adding hardly any details. There were a few twists and turns involving Zelda in the past, but that’s what it was: in the past. Not once does Link travel back in time, and the only way to see the interesting parts of the story is through memories. Also, can someone explain to me how Zelda is a descendant of Rauru and Sonia if they both died. That seems like a plot hole to me. I do respect how Zelda draconified herself, and I think the way her character developed since Breath of the Wild was good, but I still don’t understand Nintendo’s choice for her voice actor. I actually dislike all of the voice acting in Tears of the Kingdom (and in Breath of the Wild) because it feels kind of cheesy and awkward. Whereas if it didn’t have voice acting, it would have been sillier and more comedic. I also want to point out that there was no mention of the Triforce whatsoever. On a more positive note, I did really like how the game came to a book ending, with Link catching Zelda, after missing her hand at the beginning of the game. The whole ending sequence was great, and the way Ganondorf draconified himself was epic. I think Skyward Sword’s story was better, but Tears of the Kingdom’s story wasn’t bad, and it’s great that there even is a story, unlike one of the other Zelda games (looking at you, Breath of the Wild). I’ll give the game’s story a 2.5 out of 3.

In the end, Tears of the kingdom is an amazing game. It has a lively world, is fun to play, and it has a pretty good story. It’s a huge improvement from Breath of the Wild, and it’s definitely a memorable game (plus 1 point). Above all of the minor flaws I’ve mentioned, my biggest issue with the game is that it doesn’t really feel like a classic Zelda game (and neither did Breath of the Wild). If you’re not looking for that, then it’s a great game. I just can’t get over the magic of the older games. Compared to Zelda games other than Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom is not bad, but compared to games that aren’t Zelda, it’s amazing, and maybe that’s what counts. So, to answer my original question, “is Tears of the Kingdom the best Zelda game?” no, it’s not, but disregarding the other games, Tears of the Kingdom an epic game and I would totally recommend it. Overall Score: 9 out of 10

Rating: 9 out of 10.
Tears of the Kingdom Pre-launch Thoughts

April 30th, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases in less than two weeks, and I couldn’t be more excited. In case this article doesn’t make it obvious, I’m a really huge Zelda fan. Popular game reviewers have already played the game at this point, but I haven’t, and I assume you likely haven’t either, so I think now’s a good time to think about what we actually want this game to be like.

First of all, I would really like it if Tears of the Kingdom were more musical than Breath of the Wild. Breath of the Wild’s soundtrack was pretty, but the game as a whole was not as musical as the other games. In the other Zelda adventures, there was amazing music in the background almost constantly. Breath of the Wild would have felt lot less empty and barren if it had a more lively soundtrack. Music was also literally part of the prior games’ story and gameplay. In fact, Link often even played instruments himself.

The game would also benefit from a more fleshed out story. Throughout Breath of the Wild, the main story of the game is told through flashbacks, or, rather, Link’s “memories” (though they aren’t actually his memories because he wasn’t even in all of them). The memories are only barely enough to create a coherent narrative in Breath of the Wild. I’m hoping Tears of the Kingdom’s story is more like Skyward Sword’s. The game doesn’t have to be as linear as Skyward Sword, but Skyward Sword’s story was really memorable, intricate, and took the player on an epic adventure.

Since the final trailer dropped, I’ve heard some very interesting theories about the game’s story going around. I really like the theory that Hylia and Demise will be in the game. I also think some time travel would be very exciting to see. Any Zelda fan would be able to back me up when I say time travel is a bizarre, yet common theme in the Zelda series. It would be very fitting for there to be some sort of time travel in the game, possibly even some version of the gate used in Skyward Sword or something to do with the temple of time.

The most recent trailer has also gotten me really excited about the chance that dungeons might return to the Zelda series. Yes, I am one of those people who really want dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom, but how can you blame me? Dungeons have been a staple of the Zelda series for decades. Dungeons are always filled with enemies and puzzles and are, overall, really fun to tackle. The most recent trailer teased some awesome boss fights and, though it is not officially confirmed, I really am hoping this means there will be some epic dungeons in the game.

I just want to mention that the new enemies look really cool. My personal favorite is the rock talus with the enemy camp on top. We have also seen the new constructs, which sort of seem like Tears of the Kingdom’s equivalent to guardians and seem to be related to the Zoni (which is a tribe that is, to my knowledge, confirmed to have a large presence in the game’s story).

I also feel that Tears of the Kingdom needs to be more immersive than Breath of the Wild. In Breath of the Wild, there was no set goal (or at least, a very loose one), and you would think that would add to the game, but it can really break the immersion at times. Immersive games also hold attention for longer, and personally, I’m hoping this game holds my attention for at least a couple of hours at a time. It would really help with that if there were an interesting storyline along with plenty of side quests.

And, on the topic of side quests, I really am eager to see what side quests the new villages and towns being rebuilt could have in store. The trailer showed shots of some new villages being built, and, from the way I see it, this could very well mean there will be a plethora of new side quests and funny NPC interactions. These towns could also bring a lot of life to the world (which was maybe my biggest complaint about Breath of the Wild). It’s just so exciting! I mean, just picture it—the Tarrey Town side quest, but instead of that one town, it’s the whole kingdom!

The new additions to the map also seem promising. Some people worry that with Tears of the Kingdom reusing Breath of the Wild’s map, there won’t be enough to explore, but I doubt that’ll be a problem. With the new sky-islands, towns, and other kinds of additions to the map, I think we’ll be entertained more than enough. It’s even been rumored that there may be underground areas to explore.

Probably the most exciting gameplay news was Mr. Aonuma’s gameplay demonstration. In the demonstration, Eiji Aonuma showcased (what I hope is only some of) Link’s new abilities. I’m particularly excited for the abilities: fuse and ultrahand. Fuse, as demonstrated, is the ability to fuse items and weapons together to make better weapons. Ultrahand, on the other hand (pun intended), is the ability to attach objects to each other to create innovative ways to venture across Hyrule, such as vehicles and bridges. Nintendo has only scratched the surface when it comes to the extent of these abilities—which only makes me all the more excited to try it myself. The possibilities are practically endless.

On a side note, I’d also like to mention that I think it would be cool if Link had a sidekick (like Navi or Midna, for example). I doubt that will happen, considering we haven’t seen that in any of the trailers, but I still think it would be really cool (and fitting considering he’s had one in plenty of other games). I know a lot of people really thought Fi was annoying, and I understand their complaints. Fi was annoying, but I still think all of Link’s sidekicks (including Fi) added a lot to the games. Again, it’s probably not going to happen, but the idea makes me happy.

The most important thing is that Tears of the Kingdom feels like a real Zelda game. It needs to spark that feeling of adventure, to be full of life, to be immersive, and to take the player on an epic quest. If Nintendo manages to pull that off, then Tears of the Kingdom may very well be another great addition to the Zelda series. I sure hope it is.

What do you think? Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear anything you have to say about the topic. I can’t wait to play Tears of the Kingdom (and hopefully review it). If you’d like to hear my thoughts on one of the other Zelda games, let me know. And with that, stay tuned for my Tears of the Kingdom review!