Link's Awakening Ultra Deluxe!

[A Black Falcon]

The only "challenge" not having the sword and shield presents is that you have to constantly pause the game to get them. You still have the sword and shield whenever you want in the original, it's just that every 5 seconds a player has to pause the game to switch. I didn't actually grasp how much this got in the way of the flow of the game until I didn't have to any more. Don't worry ABF, it doesn't reduce the challenge, it just makes it easier to control. I mean, I suppose it comes down to how one played the original game. In the original, any time, and I mean ANY time I had to use a different item, I paused, switched to the item, used the item, then paused, switched back to the sword and shield, and kept playing. Rinse wash repeat, forever. I suppose if you found that flow breaking enough that you'd rather just keep the secondary items around for a while than have to pause again, then yes, it would add to the challenge, but that's just not how I played the game. This, for me, is basically the way I was playing the original game but without constant pausing.

See, I didn't do that. I remember only sporadically using the shield in LA -- I liked having a weapon (sword most of the time, but maybe the bow, rod, boomerang, or such instead, sometimes) and the Roc's Feather best, I think. Being able to jump was great! LA does have the first good shield in the franchise -- remember, before LA the shields protected from many fewer things -- but it balanced that by making you not always have it. I've always really liked that LA doesn't make you use the sword and shield all of the time, and was hoping that if it ever got a remake they'd just add more buttons you could equip items to. Unfortunately, they instead decided to standardize LA's controls by removing that choice and locking the sword and shield to buttons, like most Zelda games not on GB/GBC do. Oh well...


As for hints, I guess I'd recommend that people try to not use the hints, but if they feel they need them go ahead, they're in the game to help. You don't need them,