
The original game had 26 hidden seashells scattered across the map. You’ll find more seashells with the Seashell Sensor One can be found very early in the game as one of the rewards at the Crane Game house in the starting town. They appear in the remake, and they’re extra handy for taking on some of the game’s tougher challenges. But they weren’t in the original version of the game. These handy jars have been used in many Zelda games to store a fairy, saving Link from certain death. It’s hard to believe but the original Link’s Awakening didn’t have any Fairy Bottles. The X and Y buttons are still fully programmable, which means that you can, say, keep the handy Roc’s Feather (which allows Link to jump) equipped at all times, while using the other button for other items. In the remake, the Switch’s B button is always your sword, and the triggers are always your shield and (eventually) your dash attack. Given that one was almost always your sword, that left just a single button free for your various pieces of equipment.

The Game Boy had two, count ‘em, two buttons. The Link’s Awakening controls are vastly improved Better still, you can now mark up the map with a variety of icons, indicating suspicious holes and chests that you can return to later. The remake’s map is far more detailed, allowing you to zoom all the way in, picking out individual rocks and trees. The original Link’s Awakening had an overworld map with some vague indicators of dungeon and town locations. Sad news, though: Dampé’s stone shack is located where the Photographer’s house was in Link’s Awakening DX, which means there’s no camera mouse this time around (at least not that we’ve found so far). But if you’re looking to design a mish-mash of your favorite rooms from every dungeon in the game, head to Dampé. Like most of the dungeons in Link’s Awakening, the Chamber Dungeons you create are pretty simplistic. These “Chamber Dungeons” are hosted by Dampé, the gravedigger first made famous in Ocarina of Time. The Switch remake’s biggest addition is the ability to create your own dungeons using the pieces from dungeons you’ve completed already. But if you’ve played the original Link’s Awakening a few dozen times, you are liable to notice a few slight differences.

(Technically, it’s a remake of the 1998 remake Link’s Awakening DX, since it features that game’s exclusive dungeon.) But unlike the recent Metroid: Samus Returns, the gameplay in Link’s Awakening remains mostly untouched, with Nintendo paying the most attention to graphics and audio. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on Switch is a direct remake of the original 1993 Game Boy game.
