Hacker News Reader

Comment by mrguyorama | Hacker News Reader

I was very sad when I bought the Switch Link's Awakening game, because it looks beautiful and plays well but the music went in a direction I really don't like. They took gritty and energizing chip tune music and replaced it with breathy, gentle wind instruments. It fits the aesthetics of the game but it's so boring.

I'll have to grab this before nintendo kills it.

View on HN

>They took gritty and energizing chip tune music and replaced it with breathy, gentle wind instruments. It fits the aesthetics of the game but it's so boring.

I felt the same but I didn't really know what was wrong with it until I read your comment. It is beautiful, but it's just... lacking something for me.

I'd previously described it as a "soul-less remake" but I think perhaps it's just taken in a direction that didn't sit true to the original. Whereas, if you look at the recent Super Mario RPG remake, it's got the same vibe and soul as the original game.

I think that’s largely attributable to the very wise decision to not mess at all with the game’s character animations. Very keen understanding of one of the most charming aspects of the original game.

> I was very sad when I bought the Switch Link's Awakening game, because it looks beautiful and plays well but the music went in a direction I really don't like. They took gritty and energizing chip tune music and replaced it with breathy, gentle wind instruments. It fits the aesthetics of the game but it's so boring.

Same with Super Mario RPG's music. Yoko Shimomura didn't quite capture the same feeling with a lot of the tracks, such as Forest Maze [1, 2]. It's cool that they rehired her and it's cool that they let you switch the music between the two versions in the remake.

I wasn't a fan of either art style reimagining, either. The mood of both games was changed entirely.

[1] old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmbqeMTfoXs

[2] new: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYiRpciZ6_g

The whole aesthetic of Switch Link's Awakening, even the janky movement, reminded me of old Ivor Wood stop-motion animations, and I was so there for it. Especially as a nice contrast to the grand epic scope of BotW and TotK.

I didn't notice this but thinking back, you are right. Still an amazing remake though. 100% faithful yet has great graphical upgrades and adds a bit (but not too much) extra content to play through.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com