And in another episode of "Nintendo has a bigger nuclear arsenal than Russia", in recent days we have followed the evolution of a remake called Link's Awakening DX HD. Its appearance on itch.io definitely caught attention, and those who decided to download it found an almost perfect port, with improved graphics, widescreen support, and scrolling at 120 FPS. To no one's surprise, Nintendo opened its silos and fired missiles until the remake disappeared… but this is the Internet, and we all know how things work…
The The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening debuted on the original Game Boy between June and December 1993 (Japan first, United States, and finally Europe). It immediately became a kind of "required game" for owners of that console, and 30 years later, it is still considered one of the best in the franchise.
In fact, Nintendo decided that the game would receive two remakes, the first in 1998 for Game Boy Color under the name Link's Awakening DX (preserving backward compatibility, always a win), and the second in 2019 for the Switch, completely updated. Anyone who wants to relive this adventure must search for the original cartridges, or enter the crystal castle of Nintendo Switch Online. However… in recent days we discovered a small act of rebellion, in the form of a remake named Link's Awakening DX HD.
(Editor's note: I don't know how long the trailer will last, take advantage!)
Link's Awakening DX HD, the remake with widescreen support and 120 FPS
Everything began a few days ago with the appearance of a user named "linksawakeningdxhd", who published his remake on itch.io. The game barely needed a few hours to go viral, and players were impressed with the technical quality of this conversion. In addition to enabling widescreen support, automatic scaling, scrolling at 120 FPS, and customizable controls, the most impressive thing about Link's Awakening DX HD is the possibility to zoom out on Koholint Island, and observe all its details while enemies remain active. In other words, real time.
But good things don't last. Nintendo sent one of its dreaded 'cease and desist' orders, the game vanished from itch.io… and as expected, the Web didn't sleep. Link's Awakening DX HD has already been backed up on different platforms, and I imagine that all interested parties will not find great difficulties if they want to locate those copies.
In summary, it's the classic cat and mouse game with Nintendo. It has happened before, and it will certainly happen again when a new conversion arrives on the Web. Now, I perfectly understand that Link's Awakening is available via Nintendo Switch Online, and that the company has every legal (and commercial) right to defend its intellectual property… but for once I would like to see Nintendo come out of the hermetic shogunate it lives in, to recognize a fundamental detail: There is an unsatisfied demand here. If the most important games of its franchises always offer a superior experience when emulated or "ported" to PC, there's a reason for that.
