Link’s Awakening Remake vs Original: What Changed?

The 2019 Nintendo Switch remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening keeps the Game Boy adventure’s story, island, dungeons, and core puzzles, but rebuilds them with a new 3D art style, updated controls, added quality-of-life features, and extra content. The original is a compact monochrome handheld game; the remake is a more accessible, visually distinctive version rather than a new story or a wholesale redesign.

Which original is being compared?

The original Link’s Awakening came out for the Game Boy in 1993. Nintendo later released Link’s Awakening DX for Game Boy Color in 1998, adding color and a bonus dungeon. The Switch version, released in 2019, draws on the color edition’s expanded content while remaking the game for modern hardware.

That distinction matters when someone asks whether the remake adds a new dungeon: the Color-era DX version had already added the Color Dungeon before the Switch remake arrived. The Switch edition’s additional dungeon content is principally the Chamber Dungeon, a separate room-building activity, not a new main-story dungeon. The core adventure in both versions follows Link after a storm leaves him shipwrecked on Koholint Island, where he must gather the Instruments of the Sirens to awaken the Wind Fish.

Visuals and presentation

The biggest immediate change is how the game looks. The Game Boy original uses small pixel sprites and a top-down view, with the limited palette of the handheld. DX adds color. The Switch remake instead presents the familiar map as a miniature-looking 3D world, with rounded character models, bright colors, soft lighting, and shallow-focus effects around parts of the screen.

Many rooms and landmarks are recognizable, but the remake is not simply the old screen enlarged. It reconstructs areas in 3D and adds visual detail to beaches, forests, houses, and dungeons. The camera remains fixed in a top-down perspective for exploration, preserving the basic way players read the world and solve its room-based puzzles. Some transitions between areas have a brief loading pause in the Switch version, unlike the original’s nearly immediate screen changes.

Controls, equipment, and quality of life

The Game Boy has only two main action buttons, so the original frequently asks players to open the inventory and assign items to those buttons. That can mean pausing to switch between a sword, shield, Roc’s Feather, Power Bracelet, or other equipment. The Switch remake takes advantage of the system’s larger control layout: Link’s sword, shield, power bracelet, and Pegasus Boots can be used without constantly reassigning them, while other items can be mapped to buttons.

• Fewer inventory interruptions: Common equipment is available directly, making movement and combat flow more smoothly.
• More readable play: The larger display and updated presentation make characters, objects, and environmental details easier to see.
• Map and quest support: The remake provides conveniences such as map markers and a clearer way to track important locations and objectives.
• More forgiving options: Players can choose a regular difficulty or Hero Mode, which makes enemies more dangerous and removes heart drops from them.

These changes reduce friction, but they do not remove the need to explore. Koholint still relies on finding items, noticing clues, revisiting earlier areas with new abilities, and figuring out how the island’s regions connect.

Story, dungeons, and gameplay: what stayed the same

The remake follows the same central plot and retains the original’s major locations, characters, dungeon sequence, bosses, and progression. It is still an action-adventure game built around exploring an interconnected island, collecting equipment, fighting enemies, and solving puzzles in compact dungeons. Its distinctive mix of Zelda conventions and playful references to other Nintendo characters also remains.

That continuity makes the remake familiar to returning players, but the updated controls can change the feel of familiar challenges. A puzzle or battle designed around the Game Boy’s two-button limitations may be less cumbersome when Link can keep more equipment ready. The underlying solution and encounter are generally recognizable, though, so the remake is not a reimagined campaign with a different set of objectives.

The DX Color Dungeon is also present in the Switch remake. It remains optional and offers a reward tied to choosing between two tunics that affect Link’s abilities. Players comparing the Switch edition only with the black-and-white 1993 release may therefore see the Color Dungeon as new, but players coming from Link’s Awakening DX have encountered it before.

Chamber Dungeon and other additions

The remake’s most notable new activity is the Chamber Dungeon. After meeting Dampé, players can arrange dungeon rooms they have encountered into a custom layout and then take on the resulting challenge. It turns the game’s dungeon-room design into a small construction-and-completion mode, with rewards for completing arrangements and fulfilling certain conditions.

Chamber Dungeon is an extra, not a replacement for the main adventure. It does not add a new region to explore as part of the Wind Fish story, and it is not equivalent to a full set of new story dungeons. Its appeal depends on whether a player enjoys arranging rooms, meeting challenge requirements, and replaying dungeon-style encounters.

The Switch edition also supports amiibo functionality associated with this mode. Compatible figures can be used to access additional Chamber Dungeon room data, including Shadow Link-themed challenges. This feature is optional; the main story does not require amiibo.

Sound, difficulty, and practical differences

The remake replaces the original’s Game Boy sound presentation with a fuller soundtrack and updated effects, while preserving recognizable themes and musical ideas. The result suits the more detailed presentation but has a different texture from the original’s characteristic handheld sound. Players who value the old version’s limitations and pixel-art style may find that contrast part of its appeal rather than a flaw.

The remake’s Hero Mode is a meaningful option for experienced players, but the game does not become a different adventure on that setting. Enemies deal more damage, and they do not provide heart drops, so healing is less readily supplied through combat. Those who want the standard experience can select the normal difficulty. Both versions retain the series’ familiar exploration and puzzle-solving challenge; the remake’s conveniences can make navigation and equipment use less demanding without making every puzzle automatic.

Which version should you play?

Choose the Switch remake if you want a polished modern presentation, more convenient controls, the Color Dungeon, and a bonus room-building mode. It is also the straightforward choice if you want to play on a current Nintendo Switch system. The original Game Boy release is worth seeking out for its historical importance and for experiencing the game as it was designed around a portable, two-button system. DX is a useful middle ground for players interested in the classic format with color and the bonus dungeon.

For most newcomers, the remake is the easiest entry because its presentation and controls are more accessible while the core adventure remains intact. For returning players, the decision is less about which one has a completely different story and more about whether the new presentation and conveniences outweigh the original’s pixel-art character. Neither version makes the other obsolete: the original shows the design in its first form, while the remake adapts it for a newer audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Link’s Awakening remake the same game as the original?
It tells the same main story and keeps the same island, core progression, and major dungeons. The remake updates visuals, controls, sound, and interface features, and adds the Chamber Dungeon activity.

Does the Switch remake have new dungeons?
It includes the Color Dungeon, which was first added in the Game Boy Color version, Link’s Awakening DX. Its new Chamber Dungeon mode lets players arrange rooms from existing dungeons, but it is not a new main-story dungeon.

Is Link’s Awakening DX different from the Game Boy original?
Yes. The 1998 Game Boy Color edition adds color and the optional Color Dungeon, along with its related reward. The original 1993 Game Boy release is monochrome and does not include that dungeon.

Does the remake change the story or ending?
The central story and its major events remain the same. The remake presents the adventure with updated visuals and sound, but it is not a sequel or a new story.

Is the remake harder than the original?
It offers a normal setting and Hero Mode. Hero Mode increases the danger of combat and removes heart drops from enemies; the standard setting is intended for the regular experience. Differences in controls and presentation can also affect how challenging the game feels to an individual player.

Do you need amiibo to finish the game?
No. Amiibo support is optional and relates to Chamber Dungeon content. The main story and its ending can be played without using amiibo.

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