'Zelda: Link's Awakening' Remake Release Date, Trailer, and Switch Gameplay

It’s time to return to Koholint Island! A stylized high-definition remaster of the 1993 Game Boy game The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is coming to the Nintendo Switch “later this year” in 2019. Watch the trailer above and read on for everything else we know about the upcoming Zelda remake.

On Wednesday, as the final announcement of the February 13 Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Nintendo Switch. The game is a fully 3D remake of the original, featuring new graphics and mechanics while retaining the top-down perspective and the miniaturized look of classic Zelda.

Also read: 16 Video Games to Look Forward to in 2019.

It is unknown if appearances by other Nintendo characters — a feature in the Game Boy original — will return for the remake. However, enemies such as Goombas and a giant Yoshi egg were shown in the announcement trailer.

A smash hit when it was released in 1993, Link’s Awakening is set outside the kingdom of Hyrule and instead takes place on the mysterious island of Koholint. Set after the events of A Link to the Past, the game follows Link as he is washed ashore Koholint Island, a landmass guarded by a sea deity known as Wind Fish.

The game distinctly features appearances by other Nintendo characters like Yoshi, Kirby, and even Dr. Wright from SimCity. Goomba enemies that Link encounters can be defeated by jumping on top of them, just like Link’s colleague Mario. This particular feature will return in the remake.

The announcement trailer featured a brand new (wordless) anime introduction, which showed Link being shipwrecked off Koholint.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening will arrive on the Nintendo Switch in 2019. An exact release date is currently unknown.