The Best and Worst of Zelda: Remakes

Hello Readers! Brian here with the eleventh edition of “The Best and Worst of Zelda.” Today’s topic was suggested by Hero’s Shade, so much thanks to him! Don’t forget to write your ideas for next week in the comments below.

I thought this week a fitting time to release a post about remakes, with The Wind Waker HD having just come out, and hints of a possible Majora’s Mask remake from Aonuma himself. To clarify, this post is strictly about remakes, not new ports of old games, so while Ocarina of Time 3D will be covered, Ocarina of Time from the Collector’s Edition will not be. With that out of the way, let’s get right to it!

Link’s Awakening for the Game Boy was a wildly different game from its predecessors in terms of story, and as the first handheld Zelda title, it set brilliant precedents for future games. Well-deserving of a remake, the game was reborn as Link’s Awakening DX for the Game Boy Color. The most obvious difference from the original is of course the color, which we should remember, was a pretty big deal back when this game was released. Sure, in hindsight it isn’t so phenomenally gorgeous, but it was new technology, and new technology always tends to amaze. An extra dungeon was added as well, revolving around colors, and using them to solve puzzles. The design of this Color Dungeon is extremely intelligent, with its difficulty being relative to the amount of the game you have played through. The puzzles are neat, the mini-boss, Stone Hinox, is absolutely awesome, and the reward for its completion is decently helpful: a choice between extra defense or extra power. The last major difference between this game and the original is one I’m not so fond of, and that is the photography side quest. For those of you who don’t know, there is a mouse with a camera who runs around taking pictures of Link on his journey. The point of this was to utilize an add-on known as the Game Boy Printer, a silly, barely-functioning device that was meant to print these images for you… if you have six AA batteries. It was a marketing point that I didn’t so much appreciate, but it certainly didn’t ruin Link’s Awakening DX for me.

A Link to the Past is the first Zelda game I ever experienced. Growing up, I used to watch my older brother play it on the Super Nintendo, and I was mesmerized. I never got my own copy ofthe game until it was released for the Game Boy Advance eleven years ago, and I became instantly hooked. The changes made for the re-release were mostly small ones; the ability to dive, the spelling change for “faerie”, or the removal of the word LIFE from the health bar, but the changes that were larger were nothing but amazing. A new optional riddle quest was added, resulting in a new sword technique (my favorite reward for side quests) and three wood carvings in Link’s house. Of course, the new sound effects and remixed music are always a plus, and the enhanced save feature is helpful as it’s meant to be. Following Link’s Awakening DX, the game offers an extra dungeon as well, but this one is far more difficult to access. First one must beat the game, as well as the multiplayer Four Swords grouped with the game on the cartridge. And let’s be honest, who had friends who wanted to play Four Swords? The dungeon, The Palace of the Four Sword, was very interesting and extensive. It allows you to fight more difficult versions of previous bosses, as well as the Doppelganger Links from Four Swords. A really epic alternate ending, if you can find people who have the game that is.

Ocarina of Time has been remade as Master Quest paired with The Wind Waker, added to the Collector’s Edition, released on a disc along with Master Quest for GameCube, and once more remade as Ocarina of Time 3D, which of course came with Master Quest. Nintendo likes Ocarina of Time. The 3D remake is my absolute favorite version of this game hands down, with absolutely everything remodeled to look simply fantastic. I had always felt the scenery of Ocarina of Time to be gorgeous, but simply limited by the Nintendo 64’s lack of processing power. By remaking it on a system that is far stronger, It payed perfect tribute to the so-called greatest game of all time. The touch screen was very well used for item management and navigation, and the ability to assign a button for the iron boots made the Water Temple so much more enjoyable. If there were one thing I would have changed about it, it would be the addition of remastered music. The 3DS has very decent capabilities when it comes to sound, but I felt like it went completely unused. I will say that I loved the new credits theme, but that actually did little more than leave me desiring new music for the rest of the game. The ability to re-fight bosses is a great extra touch, and the debug staff did a fine job getting rid of all of the glitches that make Ocarina of Time remarkably broken. It’s one of my favorite handheld titles of all time, and I play through it rather frequently.

But lastly, the star of the show! The amazing, the fantastic, the beautiful The Wind Waker HD! I’ve gone on the record saying that The Wind Waker is my favorite video game of all time, so it’s no shock that I’ve been anticipating this glorious high-def remake for years. Booting up the game the day it came out, my hopes were set high and my intent was to beat it within the week. My first impression when I gained control of Link was simply “So much light.” The game came off as overly sunny and I thought the colors that I so much loved in the original had been washed out. How is this better? Will the whole game remain this way? Of course, it didn’t. I suppose it’s simply the beginning of the day that poses powerful sun, but it quickly goes away when you’re in an area that changes over time. So once I was over that minor detail, I was off into the game, and lord, was it stunning.The game utilizes the Wii U’s power in the perfect way; it doesn’t force the high definition on to character models, but rather entire islands. The atmospheres are absolutely gorgeous, and the music remains my favorite in the series. But the perfection of the remake lies in the subtle changes. The new grappling hook is so functionally well done, I can’t imagine why I enjoyed the original. The lack of reprise after playing the wind waker was fine by me, and the ability to use the D-pad for items like the wind waker, cannon and salvage arm was helpful and convenient. The larger changes were very well-implemented as well, with the Triforce quest failing to destroy the pacing of the game, and the swift sail helping fans who didn’t care for the sailing portions of the game. I actually didn’t purchase the swift sail until the Earth Temple, and even then I found it unnecessary. I so much enjoyed sailing that I often just used the regular sail anyway. The GamePad made for fantastic menuing and navigation, the latter being extremely important in a game as large as this one, and of course, Hero Mode provided a decent challenge from an otherwise easy game. The sign of a great game is the want to play it again directly after you’ve beaten it, and yeah, that’s exactly what I did. I’m currently working on 100% on Hero Mode and loving every minute of it!

Well that’s all for this week, but remember to check back every Tuesday at 11:00 AM Central Time for more! Don’t forget to put your ideas for next week below.