Episode 89 - Shopkiller - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

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I got the NOCLIP Podcast! This might be my chance!

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re taking a look at Link’s Awakening, a Gameboy game, that got a rerelease on the Gameboy Color, and then finally remade and released this last year on the Nintendo Switch. What has changed in nearly three decades since this game’s release? Not a whole lot, actually, but the game holds up to modern standards a lot better than that may imply. Playing through the game now, the somewhat opaque design of the game stands out but, barring a few hiccups, you can see why the early Zelda games really felt before their time. We’re going to talk about an appreciation for narrative and characters in a game as old as this one, puzzle design in a game with limited resources, and we rename one of Nintendo’s least beloved characters! Hoo? Er, who? You’ll have to listen to find out!

Thanks for joining us again this time, and keep an eye on the feed because next time we’re going to be talking about Blasphemous, an indie Soulslike Metroidvania, which is a pretty healthy genre who’s name couldn’t exist without like at least three or four other games.