Link's Awakening

Link’s Awakening is Zelda’s mobile debut and the fourth installment in the franchise. It’s been remade for the switch which is great. The remake is a lovely recreation of the game, and notably gives you lots of dedicated buttons (sword, shield, lift/talk, and boots all get their own buttons) which is a massive quality-of-life change.

Link’s Awakening innovated Zelda in three major ways. One: the trading sequence, which has all been forgotten in modern games to their detriment. Unlike future installments, the trading sequence is required to beat the game. Two: whimsy. Lots of furries and goofball antics in this game, especially in the trading sequence. Three: Mini-Bosses and Mini-Dungeons!

Link’s Awakening has a series of really fun, well-crafted dungeons and challenging bosses/mini-bosses to fight. Each dungeon has its own fun concept and often takes some thought in how to approach it. There are even a couple of mini-dungeons like Kanelet Castle and the Moblin Keep.

The trading sequence is a ton of fun. There are colorful characters throughout the world and they trade things around. It's pretty straightforward but it's also very charming and rewarding. Nearly every NPC in the game has some purpose, so the trading sequence let's them add several more. This gives the game a much more compact feel, where there aren't any extraneous details around.

This game is not as long or complicated as A Link to the Past, almost certainly because of the limitations of the Game Boy. But nonetheless it's incredibly impressive just how large the game actually is.

It is no wonder that Nintendo chose this game to remake. It has a ton to offer, and the quality-of-life changes are more than worth it. They even added a "Dungeon Maker" which is it's own little series of puzzles. The game is absolutely top notch.