Zelda: Link's Awakening Switch Review - A Remake Gem

🏝️ Introduction — A Beloved Dream, Beautifully Rebuilt

🗡️ This review is part of our The Legend of Zelda Hub — every mainline game reviewed and rated, plus the movies and the LEGO Zelda sets, all in one place.

Some games are too good to leave on ageing hardware, and Link’s Awakening on Switch is the proof. Back in 1993, the Game Boy original proved a portable Zelda could be every bit as essential as a console one — we cover that landmark in our Link’s Awakening (Game Boy) review. In 2019, Nintendo rebuilt that classic from the ground up for the Switch, and the result is a masterclass in how to remake a beloved game: reverent where it matters, modern where it helps, and gorgeous throughout. For the Dadnology community, this is a 10/10 — the definitive version of one of the best adventures in the series.

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The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo Switch) (opens in a new tab)

The definitive version: the 2019 ground-up remake with gorgeous toy-like visuals, modern controls and quality-of-life fixes. Plays on Switch and Switch 2.

The headline is the look. The remake reimagines Koholint Island in a stunning toy-like diorama art style — a world that resembles a beautifully crafted tabletop model, with tilt-shift focus, soft rounded shapes and adorable figurine characters. It is a genuinely jaw-dropping transformation from the original’s green-tinted monochrome, and it suits the game’s dreamlike, slightly unreal tone perfectly. This is the art style Nintendo loved so much it later reused it for Echoes of Wisdom, and you can see exactly why.

The Toy-Box Transformation

Let us linger on the art, because it is the soul of this remake. Reimagining a Game Boy game in three dimensions risks losing its character; instead, the diorama style amplifies it. Koholint becomes a place that looks handcrafted and loved, like a model village under glass, and the effect is immediately, deeply charming. Mabe Village, the beaches, the dungeons — everything has the warmth of a cherished toy, and the tilt-shift blur gives the whole island a dreamy, miniature quality that ties beautifully into the story’s themes of dreams and unreality.

It is not just pretty; it is thematically right. The original Link’s Awakening was always a game about a half-real, dreamlike place, and rendering it as a literal toy box — something small, precious and not-quite-tangible — deepens that feeling. Characters animate with delightful personality, the Mario-enemy cameos are funnier than ever in 3D, and the world is a constant, gentle joy to look at. Few remakes have used a visual overhaul this expressively. It is one of the best-looking games on the system.

Koholint Preserved: The Heart Is Intact

Crucially, beneath the new coat of paint, this is faithfully the same game. The map of Koholint, the dense interlocking dungeons, the inventive items, the trading sequence, the secrets tucked into every screen — all of it is preserved with real care. If you played the original, you will navigate the remake on muscle memory; if you did not, you are getting the exact, brilliant adventure that made the 1993 version a classic, just far easier on the eyes.

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Nintendo Switch 2 (opens in a new tab)

Plays the Link's Awakening remake beautifully, with the extra horsepower smoothing the original Switch version's occasional framerate dips.

That fidelity extends to the things that matter most. The dungeon design — still some of the cleverest in the series, with the Roc’s Feather jump and its platforming-flavoured puzzles intact — remains a highlight. The dreamlike strangeness of the island, the oddball cast, the sense that something is gently off about this paradise, all survive the transition perfectly. Nintendo understood that the remake’s job was to enhance the presentation without touching the design, and it shows a discipline that lesser remakes lack. The magic is fully intact.

Quality-of-Life: Modern Conveniences Done Right

Where the remake quietly improves things is in the modern conveniences, and they make a real difference. The controls are updated for a proper controller, with dedicated buttons for items — gone is the original’s constant menu-swapping to equip the right tool, replaced by mapping items to face buttons, which streamlines the whole experience enormously. The map is clearer, hints are gentler, and the general friction of a 1993 design is smoothed away without dumbing anything down.

None of these changes alter the substance of the adventure; they simply remove the small annoyances that came with the era. It is the textbook approach to remastering a classic — keep the design sacrosanct, modernise the interface around it — and it means the remake is not just prettier but genuinely nicer to play than the original, moment to moment. For a returning fan, that polish is a quiet pleasure; for a newcomer, it removes every barrier to falling in love with the game.

Chamber Dungeons: A Creative Extra

The remake also adds a brand-new mode: Chamber Dungeons. As you clear rooms in the main adventure, you unlock them as building blocks, and you can then arrange those rooms into your own custom dungeons to play through. It is a light, creative bonus — a “make your own Zelda dungeon” toy box sitting alongside the toy-box world.

In honesty, it is a modest extra rather than a deep dungeon-maker; the constraints are real, and it is not the robust creation suite some hoped for. But taken for what it is — a charming, replayable diversion that rewards your progress through the main game — it is a welcome addition that adds a little value on top of an already complete package. It is the kind of thoughtful extra that shows the remake was made with affection, not just obligation, and it is a pleasant way to spend more time on Koholint once the credits roll.

The Ending: Still Devastating

It would be a disservice to skip the thing that makes Link’s Awakening unforgettable, and I will keep it spoiler-free: the remake preserves the original’s extraordinary ending completely, and if anything the gorgeous new presentation makes its emotional gut-punch land harder. The slow realisation of what Koholint truly is, and what completing your quest really means, remains one of the most quietly devastating conclusions in all of gaming.

Seeing that story told through these warm, toy-like visuals adds a poignant new layer — there is something about watching a heartbreak play out in what looks like a child’s diorama that intensifies it. It is the reason the game endures, the reason it earned a remake at all, and the reason it sits among the very best in the series. Three decades on, Koholint still breaks your heart, and the Switch version delivers that ache to a whole new generation in the most beautiful way imaginable.

The Music, Reorchestrated

One of the remake’s quiet triumphs is its soundtrack. The original’s beloved melodies — the jaunty overworld theme, the eerie dungeon motifs, and above all the haunting Ballad of the Wind Fish — are reorchestrated with full, modern instrumentation, and the results are gorgeous. What the Game Boy’s three sound channels could only suggest, the remake’s score delivers in lush, emotional fullness, and it gives the island a richer, more cinematic sense of place without losing the original’s character.

It matters more than you might think, because so much of Link’s Awakening’s emotional power lives in its music. The Ballad of the Wind Fish carries the entire weight of the story’s ending, and hearing it swell in full orchestration — rather than chiptune — makes that final gut-punch land even harder. The remake treats the soundtrack as sacred, enhancing rather than replacing, exactly as it does with the visuals and the design.

It is the perfect audio match for the toy-box art: warm, expressive and a little wistful. Together, the reorchestrated score and the diorama visuals turn a fondly remembered handheld classic into a genuinely beautiful audiovisual experience, while keeping every note recognisable to anyone who played the original. It is craft and affection working hand in hand, and it is a big part of why the remake feels definitive rather than merely prettier.

Family Fit: One of the Best Zeldas for Families

This is one of the finest Zeldas to share with a child, full stop. It is rated E10+ with only mild fantasy combat, the toy-like art is irresistible to kids, and the modern controls and quality-of-life touches make it wonderfully approachable for young players. The bite-size dungeons are perfect for shorter attention spans, and the charming, slightly silly world — talking animals, Mario cameos, a dog you can pet — is pure delight for children.

The deeper, sadder themes of the ending will land differently by age, which is part of the game’s quiet brilliance: younger kids take it as a sweet, charming adventure, while older ones feel the melancholy underneath. As a cosy, beautiful, complete Zelda to play alongside a child — or to hand to one ready for their first solo adventure — the Switch remake is close to ideal. It is the version I would reach for to introduce a kid to one of gaming’s great stories.

Is the Link's Awakening Switch remake worth it?

Absolutely. It is the definitive version of a beloved classic: the same dense dungeons, dreamlike world and unforgettable ending, rebuilt in a gorgeous toy-like art style with modern controls and quality-of-life improvements. A minor framerate hitch aside, it is near-flawless. A clear 10 out of 10.

Should I play the Game Boy original or the Switch remake?

Both are wonderful. The Switch remake is the most accessible and beautiful version, ideal for newcomers and families. The Game Boy original has a specific intimate charm and historical value. If you only play one, the Switch remake is the easiest recommendation; purists should try the original too.

What is Chamber Dungeons in Link's Awakening?

Chamber Dungeons is a mode exclusive to the Switch remake that lets you assemble your own dungeons from rooms you have cleared in the main game, then play through them. It is a light but enjoyable creative extra that adds replay value on top of the main adventure.

Is Link's Awakening on Switch good for kids?

Yes, it is one of the best. The toy-like art is delightful, it is rated E10+ with only mild fantasy combat, and the modern controls and quality-of-life touches make it very approachable. The bite-size dungeons and charming world suit younger players beautifully.