Windows Zelda: Link's Awakening DX HD (PC) Windows Linux MacOS Android

[CSmith327]

Game Description:​

Port Credits:​

Released by: linksawakeningdxhd, BigheadSMZ
Status: Completed and receiving new improvement updates
Initial Release Date: 13 Dec 2023
Patch Version: v1.7.0
Patch Date: 29 March 2026

Source and details: https://archive.org/details/links-awakening-dx-hd (original itch.io download taken down by Big N)
Patch source and details: https://github.com/BigheadSMZ/Zelda-LA-DX-HD-Updated

Original description from itch.io:

Dive into the enchanting world of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX as you’ve never experienced it before, with this meticulously crafted PC version that breathes new life into this classic adventure. Immerse yourself in the nostalgia of Koholint Island with enhanced graphics and widescreen support, bringing the charming landscapes and characters to vivid detail on your modern PC display.

But that’s not all – we’ve turbocharged the gameplay with high framerate support, ensuring that every sword swing, puzzle solve, and enemy encounter feels smoother and more responsive than ever. Rediscover the magic of this timeless Zelda title with improved performance, letting you explore dungeons, uncover secrets, and engage in epic battles with unparalleled fluidity.

Whether you’re a long-time fan of Link’s Awakening or a newcomer to the series, this PC version offers a fresh take on the beloved classic, combining the essence of the original with cutting-edge enhancements. Embark on a journey across the mysterious island, solve puzzles, meet quirky characters, and relive the adventure with a level of polish and finesse that pays homage to the legendary legacy of The Legend of Zelda.

Besides creating ports for additional systems, the updates done by BigheadSMZ has produced a lot of changes and improvements. Since it's a bit too much to list here check out the changelogs mentioned on the releases page.

Main Features:​

• Ultra-Widescreen Support: The game is expanded to fit modern displays, allowing you to see much more of the map at once.
• Zoom Features: You can zoom the camera all the way out to see the entire active world map, or zoom in closer.
• High Frame Rate: Supports up to 120 fps for smooth scrolling and gameplay.
• Seamless Transitions: Unlike the original, which used screen-by-screen transitions, this version features a continuous, scrolling overworld.
• Improved Legibility: Features HD text with an optional alternate font and menus that are easier to read on high-resolution screens.
• Multi-Language Support: Includes support for various languages beyond the original release.
• Modern Lighting: Includes a new lighting engine for dungeons and visual effects like enemy electrocution.
• Post-processing Effects: Shadow outlines on enemies and characters along with fog effects.
• Expanded Item Slots: Adds extra item slots (mapped to 4 buttons), significantly reducing the need to constantly pause and swap items.
• Customizable Redux and Modifier Settings: Change various properties of the game to suit your preferred playstyle.
• Setting Presets: Easy and quick presets based on Modern, Classic, or Hybrid styles.
• Touch-Screen Controls: Android port has on-screen controls via an overlay but can be played with a controller as well.
• Probably some more I've not thought off

Forget the Switch remake, this here is the definitive experience for the game. It's probably the best way to play the best retro feeling game in the series, offering a stellar retro Zelda experience. Words honestly can't describe how amazing this port is tbh. It's a definite must play for any Zelda fan.

Thanks to BigheadSMZ this can now be played on all the main systems people use these days. So there's no excuse not to play it at this point lol

Original Release Trailer:

Some details about the update patch:

Download Links​

• Zelda: Link's Awakening DX HD (PC) Windows Linux MacOS Android

 

[Angry Goy]

The complaint comes from having to download the patcher then generate, prepare, arrange and then upload 7 separate versions and then update the post accordingly. Doing that process every 3 days or so gets annoying very fast. Especially if you gotta do it multiple times in a row. That's what I'm complaining about. Not the actual game itself. It's the reason why I'd rather not adhere to updating the post literally every time BigheadSMZ puts out a new release for it and instead just update it whenever

I have been keeping a mirror of these files on Archive.org. I was getting ready to update it the past two times and noticed this problem. I'm just going to let them sit for a while, besides I swore the author said a few updates ago that that should be it, yet here we are. :)

 

[Ikagura]

The complaint comes from having to download the patcher then generate, prepare, arrange and then upload 7 separate versions and then update the post accordingly. Doing that process every 3 days or so gets annoying very fast. Especially if you gotta do it multiple times in a row. That's what I'm complaining about. Not the actual game itself. It's the reason why I'd rather not adhere to updating the post literally every time BigheadSMZ puts out a new release for it and instead just update it whenever

Now I agree I'd like to either have a zip file for the patch or just have a built-in downloader.

I will probably only install major updates.

 

[CSmith327]

Making a nightly build and a major release in parallel?

I wouldn't complain when said fan game is free though.

Shame about the Oracle games not getting the same treatment but I can understand since both basically have two maps each (the Past for Ages and Subrosia for Seasons) and how more complex they are in term of how it progresses (like the sections where you follow a character without getting noticed).

The complaint comes from having to download the patcher then generate, prepare, arrange and then upload 7 separate versions and then update the post accordingly. Doing that process every 3 days or so gets annoying very fast. Especially if you gotta do it multiple times in a row. That's what I'm complaining about. Not the actual game itself. It's the reason why I'd rather not adhere to updating the post literally every time BigheadSMZ puts out a new release for it and instead just update it whenever

 

[Ikagura]

Already? That's so damn annoying. I don't get why he can't just find a good stable place to stop at. He said he won't create versions of Oracle of Ages and Seasons like this, but yet he'll spend enough time tweaking this over and over 3 times a week to the point that it makes you wonder if he has a regular job or not. Rage Burner said he should do it like quarterly and only update it 4 times a year whenever major milestones are reached instead. I agree and think that would have been a much better idea instead of constant updates every other day.

Making a nightly build and a major release in parallel?

I wouldn't complain when said fan game is free though.

Shame about the Oracle games not getting the same treatment but I can understand since both basically have two maps each (the Past for Ages and Subrosia for Seasons) and how more complex they are in term of how it progresses (like the sections where you follow a character without getting noticed).

 

[CSmith327]

Every time this gets uploaded, it's out of date. Might as well sit on it a month. The author updates too much.

Already? That's so damn annoying. I don't get why he can't just find a good stable place to stop at. He said he won't create versions of Oracle of Ages and Seasons like this, but yet he'll spend enough time tweaking this over and over 3 times a week to the point that it makes you wonder if he has a regular job or not. Rage Burner said he should do it like quarterly and only update it 4 times a year whenever major milestones are reached instead. I agree and think that would have been a much better idea instead of constant updates every other day.

 

[Angry Goy]

Every time this gets uploaded, it's out of date. Might as well sit on it a month. The author updates too much.

 

[Nooby]

Un immense merci pour ce portage. J’ai eu la chance de jouer à ce Zelda sur ma Game Boy dès sa sortie le 1er décembre, en monochrome. Je me l’étais offert pour mon noël 1993 du haut de mes 14 ans. J’ai usé un nombre incroyable de piles. Quelle aventure extraordinaire ! Ça me fait monter les larmes aux yeux. Merci encore de partager un tel petit bijou — et qui plus est, sur mon écran 32:9 en mode plein écran exclusif, il tourne en natif à 5120x1440, ce qui est un pur luxe pour moi et mes vieux yeux de joueur.

A massive thank you for this port. I was lucky enough to play this Zelda game on my Game Boy right when it came out on December 1st, in monochrome. I bought it for myself for Christmas 1993, back when I was 14. I went through an unbelievable number of batteries. What an extraordinary adventure! It honestly brings tears to my eyes. Thanks again for sharing such a little gem — and on top of that, on my 32:9 screen in exclusive fullscreen mode, it runs natively at 5120x1440, which is pure luxury for me and my old gamer eyes.

 

[roundtree]

Already out of date, again.

Just for that 9000 more updates! But seriously, this guy does update a lot.

 

[Ikagura]

the new in-game "cheats" menu is so convenient.
i hate to cheat usually but i've played this game so many times on GB and GBC doesn't matter
disabling clipping (walking through walls) is a huge option when you don't really wanna go the long way around lol

Personally I'd experiment with sequence breaking.

I love cheat codes in older solo games just to mess up with things and see how far a game can be pushed.

 

[Rocket2049]

the new in-game "cheats" menu is so convenient.
i hate to cheat usually but i've played this game so many times on GB and GBC doesn't matter
disabling clipping (walking through walls) is a huge option when you don't really wanna go the long way around lol

 

[CSmith327]

Updated to v1.8.8:

The "Animations are Finally Flawless" Update​

• The "jump-fix hack" has finally been removed for a proper solution to jump => landing => jump animations.
• Instead of parsing the "advanced" file on every reference, cache it using a dictionary on game load.
• Make the "Mirror Shield Reflects" option reflection check much more robust to eliminate false positives.
• When entering the Moblin Cave after BowWow was kidnapped, the first moblin will start attacking immediately.
• Fix issue where standing on/raising the barriers in dungeon 7 would clip through Link not lifting him up.
• Fix the Boomerang potentially getting "stuck" due to a desync between ObjLink and ObjBoomerang references.
• Fix crash when collecting Dungeon 7 instrument (and potentially other places that modified follower list).
• Fix alignment of sword in upward attack animation and fix alignments across all sword spin animations.
• Fix sword offset on File Selection Screen when a player has the Level 2 sword in the selected save file.
• Fix walking and blocking animation in 2D so that Link does not appear like he is "sliding" when walking.
• Fix playing the song in front of the Egg with less than 8 instruments multiple times concurrently.

Something important to note for MacOS users: the patcher is incapable of creating .app files for the Launcher and Links Awakening DX HD binary files when not processed through a Mac host. Meaning that since we used Windows to build the MacOS versions, they don't have the .app files needed to execute the game. In order to create the .app you'll need to use the script as described in the included readme file. If you have trouble using the script from the .txt file the original markdown (.md) format of the readme can be found here.

 

[parse]

I see it as a nice thing for those who already have beaten the original once.

I am not asking for the whole map being visible all time but even a slightly larger view angle will always be a plus.

Personally it's having X/Y + L/R for weapons and items that seals the deal as you often went to the pause menu just to be able to lift a heavy rock or just to be able to jump.

One of the nicest thing about this port is that you can customize almost everything. There's a long list of options.

If someone doesn't want to view the whole map, just enable "classic camera".

And even if you can't customize exactly the way you want, you could ask the developer on github and he probably would make that as an option.

 

[Angry Goy]

Already out of date, again.

 

[Ikagura]

I mean, it is fine if you don't like it but that's it.

I see it as a nice thing for those who already have beaten the original once.

I am not asking for the whole map being visible all time but even a slightly larger view angle will always be a plus.

Personally it's having X/Y + L/R for weapons and items that seals the deal as you often went to the pause menu just to be able to lift a heavy rock or just to be able to jump.

 

[007J]

This is fun and novel but there is something wrong with people who insist that having half the entire game map on one screen or on an ultrawide display is fun for the whole playthrough.

I mean, it is fine if you don't like it but that's it.

 

[nexy]

This looks very nice!

 

[Ikagura]

the entire PC port was rebuilt from the ground up, the screen scrolling is nothing like the GB or GBC versions. (game doesn't pause while scrolling to another map section and you can already move before screen stops scrolling) i have not tried the non-dx mod just assuming.

It's like Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance right?

 

[Rocket2049]

Did you try the non DX mod? Does this mod have this glitches as the original?

the entire PC port was rebuilt from the ground up, the screen scrolling is nothing like the GB or GBC versions. (game doesn't pause while scrolling to another map section and you can already move before screen stops scrolling) i have not tried the non-dx mod just assuming

you can just use "editor" mode to warp anywhere on the map on this PC port if anyone wanted to and sorta do the same "glitching" around.

 

[CSmith327]

Thank you so much

No prob, happy to help

 

[Nihon]

You need the patcher.exe from the Github releases page. It can generate apk files for installing on Android. If you place the exe in a Windows (or Linux/MacOS) version that has already been modded you can create an apk file that has the mods from it embed into it. Just pick Android from the list and check the box that says to pack the mods into it. Also v1.8.4 just came out but I don't plan to add it to this post. People will have to manually update theirs (which is easy and not hard to do at all)

Thank you so much

 

[CSmith327]

w

does that create a APK file?

You need the patcher.exe from the Github releases page. It can generate apk files for installing on Android. If you place the exe in a Windows (or Linux/MacOS) version that has already been modded you can create an apk file that has the mods from it embed into it. Just pick Android from the list and check the box that says to pack the mods into it. Also v1.8.4 just came out but I don't plan to add it to this post. People will have to manually update theirs (which is easy and not hard to do at all)

 

[Nihon]

w

Use whichever of the other versions that you're able to run (like get the Windows one) and use the Launcher exe to install whatever mods you want into it. Then get the patcher.exe from the releases page on Github and place it into the directory of the Windows one you just modded. Run the patcher.exe as admin (it usually works better if you do, I've had it give errors before when not in admin) and choose to create an Android apk from the drop down list in it. Click the checkbox to pack in the mods into the apk in order to put the mods you installed onto the Windows one into the app. Then when you install that apk on your device it should have the mods in it. Be careful tho since the Android version doesn't seem to work as well with the mods as the other ones do. Unless in the current versions it's been fixed

does that create a APK file?

 

[CSmith327]

i heard that the minish cap received android port full support, can someone uploaded it?.. the minish cap is another zelda game for Gameboy advance, but this is full decompilation just like dusklight (without touchscreen)

We don't have an Android content section yet. It would have to be the PC version that gets added and then have the Android one also be in the downloads like this one. The PC one is still very much a WIP and it's not really quite perfect just yet. There's bugs and it doesn't have much in terms of enhancements like this game does that would make it worth playing over using a GBA emulator. Here's a quote from Scarlet Bell on GBAtemp:

"Minish Cap has been decompiled for a few years now, but we've heard very little in the way of news when it comes to what most people want out of these decompilation projects: a PC port. A few weeks ago, footage surfaced online of the game running natively on Windows, and earlier today, a build was made available for you to try it for yourself. Hold your excitement though, it's still early days, with the port not having any enhancements over the original GBA release while also packing a whole heap of bugs. You should think of this release as a first look and a bit of a curiousity, as opposed to expecting a full playthrough in its current state."

So it would be best to wait a while for when both the PC and Android versions have been worked on some more and actually provide a reason for using them over a emulator.

 

[Gyro_5000]

i heard that the minish cap received android port full support, can someone uploaded it?.. the minish cap is another zelda game for Gameboy advance, but this is full decompilation just like dusklight (without touchscreen)

 

[CSmith327]

Can anyone idiot-splain this to me when it comes to the Android port adding mods to it?

Use whichever of the other versions that you're able to run (like get the Windows one) and use the Launcher exe to install whatever mods you want into it. Then get the patcher.exe from the releases page on Github and place it into the directory of the Windows one you just modded. Run the patcher.exe as admin (it usually works better if you do, I've had it give errors before when not in admin) and choose to create an Android apk from the drop down list in it. Click the checkbox to pack in the mods into the apk in order to put the mods you installed onto the Windows one into the app. Then when you install that apk on your device it should have the mods in it. Be careful tho since the Android version doesn't seem to work as well with the mods as the other ones do. Unless in the current versions it's been fixed