Link's Awakening Remake Restored This Altered Dialogue
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on Switch is a pretty faithful remake of the original Game Boy classic. But did you know something rather interesting changed when Link's Awakening was re-released on the Virtual Console? For reasons unknown, Nintendo made this alteration for the re-release. Thankfully, Link's Awakening on Switch undoes it.
Reddit user Frocharocha noticed while playing that the grandmother-type figure you encounter during the game got her personality back. Back in the Game Boy days, you'd get (what we assume was) a fairly hearty, "YAHOO!" whenever speaking to the grandmother. But when Link's Awakening came to the Virtual Console, that greeting was inexplicably changed to "HELLO!"
Zelda: Link's Awakening uses the original uncensored translation. from
NintendoSwitch
Now when you strike up a conversation with the woman, she once again exclaims, "YAHOO!" before getting to the nitty gritty details. Even better: Link's Awakening has names above the characters you speak to, and she's called Grandma Yahoo.
So why the change? And why is this grandma saying "YAHOO!" exactly?
Some on Reddit believe that the original Link's Awakening was meant to include the phrase as "ya-ho," which is a Japanese greeting. Somewhere along the way, however, that intent got lost in translation. It's then assumed Nintendo changed the word in the re-release of Link's Awakening on the Virtual Console so that it made more sense. But clearly Nintendo has a sense of humor. The "YAHOO!" coming back, and Grandma Yahoo, to boot? We have a feeling those were added as jokes that also pay homage to the original Game Boy title.
If you loved the first Link's Awakening as much as we did, you'll definitely find a lot to enjoy about the remake. The game was completely reimagined through a more modern lens while still retaining the feel and the charm of that 1993 title. You probably won't find it on sale anytime soon, which is unfortunate. But you could get it and a few other games at a great price if you shop around — but only if you're quick.