The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening remake for the Nintendo Switch is a beautiful reimagining of the classic title, whichwas released for the Game boy back in 1993, brimming with the same charm that made the original one of the best games in the series.
In a recent entry on the official
The Legend of Zelda website, Graphic Refining Director of
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Yoshiji Haruhana, has recently shared some interesting information about the remake's new art direction; revealing why they wanted to go for the dirorama-like art style.
According to Haruhana, the team opted out of using modern graphics to make Link's Awakening, as their goal was to recapture the look and feel of the original game's pixel graphics.
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Instead of recreating the game with very modern graphics, we aimed to capture the simple universality that the pixel graphics of the time had. I hope that each person playing the game will project their own idea of Link’s Awakening onto the game as they play," reveals Haruhana.
Haruhana also mentions that they wanted to make the remake's world feel like a diorama, where Link would be like a figurine wandering around this diorama-like open world.
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We also aimed to make the game world feel as though you’re peeking into a little diorama. Our vision for this game during development was to create a diorama world in which Link would be a 10cm-or-so tall figurine."
When it comes to the designs themselves, Haruhana says that they decided to go for a rather minimalistic design instead giving them too many details that would not be possible to add in real life; especially when they think about the 10cm tall figurine they had in mind.
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We developed the game while imagining the world as if it might actually exist in miniature form, and so we aimed for a balance between two really contradictory ideas; to pursue the charm of a richly detailed creation, while also considering the scale we’d imagined for Link and being careful to avoid adding in too much detail beyond that. It turned out that finding this balance was much easier said than done!"
While the world in
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening looks fantastic, Haruhana does encourage players to visit the houses and really take in all of the details that the developers have added in order to enhance the gameplay experience and go beyond the main story.
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Turning back to the game, I’d just like to say that I hope you’ll take breaks from exploring the island and its dungeons to just stop and have a peek into some of the houses. Plenty of this richly-crafted diorama feel has been packed into each of them. We’ve put in little details everywhere, even in those parts of the game that aren’t part of the main story, and I would be ever so happy if you’d take the time to have a look around."
Anyone who's had the chance to play
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on the Nintendo Switch knows how beautiful the game looks. Now that Haruhana has revealed some interesting details about the game's art style, it would be wise to go check out some of the houses like he recommends; perhaps you'll find some interesting easter eggs that weren't present in the original game.
Link has washed ashore on a mysterious island with strange and colorful inhabitants. To escape the island, Link must collect magical instruments across the land and awaken the Wind Fish. Explore a reimagined Koholint Island that’s been faithfully rebuilt in a brand-new art style that will entice fans and newcomers alike. Battle enemies as you conquer numerous dungeons and uncover the hidden secrets of the island. Encounter Super Mario enemies like Goombas, Piranha Plants, and more, and interact with unique locals who help Link on his adventure.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is currently available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.