Turn to News - A Homage to an Unsung American Hero

Here it is; a documentary to a part of my childhood that no one ever asked for.

I was deliberating whether or not this was the place to write about a part of the formative years of my life. After serious consideration, I thought there couldn't be a more appropriate place to do this, as this is about music, and it is, if but remotely, related to video games. If you're interested in sentimental, nostalgic, miss-my-hometown sappy pabulum, and American pop-culture history that no one ever talks about, read on.

There are some memories that just stay with you all your life. But then, I'm the kind of guy who just remembers a lot of trivial things most everyone else tends to forget. I'm the kind of guy who tells my friends "Hey, remember when this happened," and then my friends tell me "OMG! How can you still remember that."

I remember you...
There are all kinds of events that just stay with you in one way or another. I'm sure that psychologists have found a way to categorize them all and I'm just reinventing the wheel here.

There are things you remember as visions; something you saw that just always stays in your head. Some people call the ability to recall something you've seen in detail as a "photographic memory."

Sometimes, a memory exists as a taste or smell. When you smell or taste something, you think to yourself "Ah! I remember this. My dad used to make this. My mom used to have a cream that smelled like this. My cousin used to wear this cologne." I've heard that smell is probably the strongest trigger for memories.

Then there are things you remember because of how they felt to your touch. Or just you remember it because your body remembers it.

Finally, there are memories that I'm going to call here "aural memories"; these are memories of sounds that you've heard, be it the cry of an animal, the words somebody said, a noise, such as the crackling of fire or the patter of rain, the sound of an instrument, or the sound of a song, be it being played live or on the radio.

Let me tell you, I can remember things as far back as when I was 2. There are memories that will always just stick with me.

Some memories shape and influence who you are; we are who we are because of our past experience.

How does this connect to a blog about Japan, music and retro-gaming?

The thread that's going to connect this post to this blog is that of my love of music.

I can't speak for everyone, but some of my favorite music is the kind that reminds me of "the good ol' days," the days when I can recall everything was "better." (Although in retrospect, this is probably a naive delusion.)

I say that if there is anything that influences a person's musical tastes as an adult, it's the music one has heard as a child.

Today, I want to talk about a piece of music that has stayed with me since my days of elementary school; a piece of music I've always hummed to myself whenever I want to recall those days when my only worries were having to finish my homework and getting to school on time, when the happiest moments of my life were when the school day was over and I could come home to watch my favorite cartoons and TV shows. Just humming this tune to myself makes me recall those days when school was out and I was free to enjoy those long, hot days of summer.

I want to talk about my recent adventure in revisiting my past, and discovering who the composer to part of the soundtrack of my childhood was

The Curiosity to Scour the Internet for Child Memories Dawns
YouTube is such an ingenious, wonderful invention. The things one can find uploaded to their archives are simply amazing. Every once in a while, somebody will post a link on Facebook to a video of old commercials and/or TV shows to the effect of "Hey! Do you remember back when...?" I love these videos invoking nostalgia. This has caused me to spend countless nights on YouTube searching for old content to regain those childhood memories.

Who remembers "Ice Cream Cones" Cereal? :-P

In its early days, what one could find on YouTube was severely limited. All the nostalgic stuff I craved was very hard to come by. But slowly, little by little, one could see video after video of things like "commercials from the 90s... commercials from the 80s... opening sequences to shows from this or that era." And not just American content, but content from television around the world. It's amazing that you can find nostalgic content from countries around the world. YouTube is beginning to be a sort of repository; a collective memory for the world.

Another thing I'll aways remember; double-mint gum commercials...

How many of you remember that commercial for Zelda: Link's Awakening?



This must have played on Channel 35 countless times.

Or how about Dr. Mario and that long annoying "Daba daba dooba doobi do-boh!!!" song?



Almost any commercial for a Nintendo game; look it up on YouTube, and it's there. (That was it. The only thing on this post having to do with video games. LOL!)

It happened just the other day; I was sitting at my dining room table studying Japanese, when an old familiar tune started playing in my head. As of this moment, there was no real name to it, it was just the music that would play on my favorite TV channel back home on different occasions. In particular, I remember this music playing during my favorite time-slot coming home from school; the time-slot when all my favorite cartoons would play and birthdays of local residents in my city would be announced.

And then, just there and then, I thought "HEY! Why not check if by any chance, somebody has uploaded this to YouTube. You an find almost anything else. Who knows! Maybe somebody out has thought to upload it."

So I go to my computer, go to YouTube and type in "KCBA 35 song."

I wasn't even sure what I was looking for; I just wanted to see if anyone uploaded something from that channel that might have that music on it.

And sure enough, there it was; a video titled: "KCBA Turn to 35 Promo 1987"

I click, and all of a sudden I was a 2nd grader again, waiting for the KCBA Kid's Club to start so I could watch Ducktales, Thundercats, Silverhawks and GIJoe.

The names Wendy and John Van Camp return to memory, as the hosts of the TV broadcast.

In one way or another, this tune was used on Channel 35. This promo clip would play, or an instrumental variation of it would play during a dedicated slot to announce kids' birthdays.

I remember that it was nice to listen to this familiar melody day in and day out, until one day, it was different.

The birthday announcements would come on and I noticed something was wrong.

"They changed the song!" I thought... "What could have happened???"

Incidentally, there are a couple videos of the birthday announcements, only, it's with the new weird, dorky song.




I must have been in the 2nd grade when this happened.

It was rather traumatic and I still remember the change to this day.

Curiouser and Curiouser!
So here I am, 30 years or so later, this melody still in my head.

My curiosity led me to search YouTube, but it didn't end with the discovery of this video.

After that trip down memory lane, I scrolled down to see the comments, as you do after watching a video on YouTube, and I was delightfully amazed to find out that people in my city weren't the only ones who grew up listening to this music.

Apparently this song, or as somebody might say, "jingle," was used in promotional material at TV stations all across the country; other stations across the US incorporated this song in one way or another, modified to fit local life.

In a sense, this was not only the soundtrack to *my* childhood, but the soundtrack to American people's lives throughout the 80's and early 90's.

"Turn to News" Package, by Frank Gari
Having read the comments, I did some more digging. This music had to have had an author, and I was determined to find out who it was. I wanted to find out exactly where this music came from, and more about where it was played. My search did not disappoint!

I now know that that childhood tune was part of a "package" called "Turn to News", composed by one Frank Gari back in 1983.

The first TV station to use it was WXYC-TV in Cleveland. It was called "Turn to 3" back then.



The jingle was so good that another station, WXYZ-TV in Detroit asked Frank Gari to rewrite it for them. It was re-written as "Stand Up and Tell 'Em You're From Detroit."



This promotional campaign became so successful it was used in other stations across the country thereafter.



It was so popular that it was even used in other countries, such as Argentina, Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Sweden and Venezuela.




You might say it was an "international success."

I'm just amazed by the age of information we live in. Just a few days ago, this was a nameless melody, and now, I know exactly who wrote it, when it was written and where it was broadcast. In addition, I've become more educated on a little bit of unspoken American pop-culture history.

A Brief History of Frank Gari, the Father of the Image Campaign and News Music Package
It's a little-known fact, but this man, Frank Gari, has been writing the soundtrack to people's lives all around the world. Credit has never been given to him, and it seems he has never really cared to claim it; he just produces music and it's used in media without any mention of him.

Gari began as a pop singer, writing hit songs like "Utopia," "Lullaby of Love" and "Princess" in the 50's and 60's, all of which hit the US Billboard top 40 charts in 1961.




He performed on shows such as The Merv Griffin Show, The Steve Allen Show and American Bandstand. It wasn't until he moved to Cleveland when he began writing jingles for commercials, and music packages for news networks and image campaigns for TV stations.

Some of Gari's early jingles were for Ohio Bell telephone company, Genie garage doors and early commercals for Wendy's. According to interviews with Gari (Links at the end of this post below.), he wrote "With a name like Smuckerss, it has to be good" for Smucker's jams and jellies, and "You deserve a break today" for McDonald's.




It was in Cleveland, Ohio, where, Gari broke into the television broadcasting business, and he pioneered the idea of the "music package" and the "image campaign." According to an interview with NewsCast Studio (link below), up until the 1970's. it was common for news broadcasters to use random cuts of music from movies using vinyl records. Broadcasters would actually drop a needle onto a record and that would be the theme. It was Frank Gary who introduced the idea of the "music package," which included a theme and variations of that theme in different styles for different times, news segments etc.

At the time, there were only three television news networks; ABC, NBC and CBS. Having heard Gari's work in commercial jingles, WEWS-TV 5 (ABC) approached him about writing a song to promote their TV station. Thus the "Catch 5" image campaign was born.


 

According to Gari, this was the very first TV station image campaign of its time. Channel 5 ABC was 3rd in ratings, but it shot up to No. 1 soon after the Catch 5 image campaign. It was such a success that NBC asked him to write a song for them, and then CBS followed suit. So there was a time where he was writing music for all three networks.

In another instance, WABC in New York approached Gari about recording a new, fresh recording of the Eyewitness News theme they were using at the time, which came from an old, worn vinyl record. The original recording was a song from the album for the movie "Cool Hand Luke," which had become scratchy and overall poor quality.



WABC wanted him to record a brand new recording using a full orchestra. This was the time when he put together his first "music package" which consisted of 12 different recordings for say, sports, weather and traffic. According to Gari, it's still the No. 1 news theme in broadcasting and is still being used today at most ABC news station to promote Eyewitness News.





It was from the 1970s onward that news networks would begin to be identified by their own particular theme. Up until that point, they didn't have a unique identity, but the creation of original music began to establish definite images and an identity for each network.

In his interview with NewsCast Studio, Gari says that what sets his music apart was his privilege to record all of his music packages with the best studios with the best orchestras. He laments that nowadays, with budget cuts, the trend of news music has headed in a direction of doing everything electronically, which means no live musicians. In his time, more time was dedicated for opening themes, which could be as long as 20 seconds. In the past, this length of time served to introduce and develop a theme that would serve as a memorable image and identity. However, nowadays, this time has shrunk down to 5 seconds at most, so the importance of a theme which would develop a news network's unique identity has declined.

Other music packages that can be accredited to Gari would be the "Hello" and "This is home" packages, which have also been played across the country. What is very memorable of the music in these packages is that they all had this theme of having a common goal, of working together and being proud to call one's hometown a "home." In some cities, these songs became a sort of "Town Anthem." For this reason, it can be said that Frank Gari is truly the composer for the soundtrack of America.

In his interview, Frank mentioned that one of his favorite packages that he wrote was the "Stand up and tell 'em you're from Detroit" package. This was the package that will have served as a basis for the music package used at my local TV station. Although "Turn to 35" never became our city's "anthem," I can't help but remember my hometown and the memories I had there.

Gari talks about his lament in the decline of the image campaign. Campaigns like "This is home," "Hello" and "Stand up and tell 'em you're from..." really do seem to instill these ideas of a common goal, working together to build a community and being proud of the place you came from. I think I can agree with Gari, that if the image campaign was brought back, it could help Americans today, especially now, more than ever with the current pandemic.

I'm happy and satisfied to have gone down this rabbit hole of a memory. I'm glad to know that the composer to the soundtrack of my childhood, of my hometown, of America, has a name. I'm glad to know the name of a person who not only touched my life, but indirectly touched the lives of others and changed the face of television in America and even the world.

Frank Gari, thank you for the work that you've done.

Eternal Links:
Fandom - The Annex - Turn to News

Frank Gari's Wikipedia Page

People Pill - Frank Gari

Mental Itch - The Story of Frank Gari

Music Weird - Interview with Frank Gari

Studio Daily - Warner/Chappell Production Buys Frank Gari’s Music Assets

NewsCast Studio - A Conversation with Frank Gari

Animal Crossing and Corona Virus Blues

I'm one of the many people who are spending their coronavirus lockdown at home playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I managed to nab a copy just in time too; I had checked other stores in my area and they were all sold out; Yodobashi Camera happened to still have copies so I locked out. Then I saw it in the news; stores were going to be out for a while. YESSS!!! I feel so lucky to have gotten a copy.

While I was at Yodobashi, I also managed to see the posters announcing reservations for Final Fantasy VII, the complete remake. The day was bittersweet, as I did get my copy of Animal Crossing, but I lamented the fact that I may never get to play this game for which I've been waiting for years. I just threw down ￥30,000 on a Switch and I wasn't about to throw more money down on a PS4 just to play one game. I need to face it; I'm a Nintendo guy.

I need to be honest and say that I'm not a real, genuine Animal Crossing fan. I happen to have the GameCube version which I still play from time to time, but only because my kids kept asking to play it. I didn't even buy my copy of the game; a friend of mine gave me this copy over a decade ago and I happened to hold on to it. It only ever slipped into my GameCube system because a cousin kept coming over to play, he happened to start playing it and happened to like it. In all honesty, more people have played my GameCube copy of Animal Crossing than I have, and I think it's hilarious. X-D

It's one of those games that the more I saw other people play it, the more I got into it. When My cousin came over to play, I started a character and I'd play it only while he was there. Then I went off to college, my cousin stopped coming over, and I'd forget I even had the game.

Fast-forward to today, and my son discovers I have a GameCube with a bunch of games and he starts exploring them one by one. He's automatically a fan of Mario Sunshine and Luigi's Mansion. He plays the Sonic the Hedgehog collection and he likes it. He isn't too captivated by my Megaman Collection. He can't really play any of the Metroid Primes either, but he loves to watch me play. And then he got a hold of Animal Crossing, and I'm automatically taken back to those days when my cousin would come over. My son can't speak English very well, so he needs me to sit with him so that I can translate it for him into Japanese. I'm a bad father in this respect, I know, but at this point, what can I do? He wants to play the game and he can't read English since he's not being exposed to it as he should.

At any rate, I inevitably start my own character, and every time I play, I'm transported back to the days of my youth. I recall all the work I had to do to pay Nook off and to fix up my house just how I wanted it. I remember how much I liked listening to KK play different tunes.

Soon my wife starts asking what this game is all about and she wants to start a character of her own.

It's always amazing how much people are more drawn to this game than I am. I'm just playing around because they like it, not because I think the game is amazing in anyway.

And then announcements for Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Switch start appearing on TV and social media, and my whole family is immediately captivated. My son starts bugging me about how much he wants to try it. And then school is cancelled and my wife starts talking about how the kids will need to be entertained while we ride out the coronavirus. My wife, who normally holds the drawstrings to the family purse tight, is suddenly OK with me going out to buy this game. I decide to strike while the iron is hot and decide to visit our local electronics stores. First I went to the nearest Yamada Denki, and no cigar. Then Edion and it's the same thing. I went to Joshin only to find out they were sold out too. Finally, I thought to myself, I'll try Yodobashi Camera, and if they don't have it, I might as well give up. I go up to the gaming floor and they seem to have their decoy boxes on the shelves. I grab a box and take it to the register, and I'm delightfully surprised to find out they had it!

And now, the whole family is hooked.

Well, almost; the youngest is 3 and he can't play yet.

The game is AMAZING.

My eldest, our second, my wife and I all have our own characters, all living on the same island.

Since the Switch can switch (ah hah hah!!!) back and forth between languages, it's possible for me to play the game in English, and the rest of my family in Japanese. My family is thrilled to finally be playing Animal Crossing in a language they can understand.

We love the multiplayer mode, which allows more than one player to play simultaneously in the same session.

We're all customizing our houses and our clothes just how we want them. It's amazing to see all of our personalities shine through the game. I didn't know just how stylish my 2nd was, and I didn't know how artistic my first was. My wife is as girly as you can get.

The things you can do in this game are amazing so far.

We're trying out this online feature, where others can visit our island and vice-versa. My son is having fun going to his friends' islands and play hide and seek. A co-worker of mine also happens to play and we visited his island; it was AMAZING. It gave us ideas for sure.

As I've said, we love the multiple player feature.

This has allowed me and my wife to go on dates...

 Yes, even in the game, I'm wearing a mask to help prevent coronavirus...

My son and I went fishin' together...

My wife just love to fish! She also likes to make money selling the catch.

One night, she went on a fishing spree, and since she refused to sell the fish through the ATM for a lower price, she placed all the fish around the shop. The next day, I woke up to this. LOL!

And speaking of money, the game and the fact that it's online has spawned what I can only describe as its own little economy. People meet each other and pay each other in "bells," the game's currency, for things like services, goods found on their islands etc. The game's economy has become such a talking point that Tom Nook, the game's head entrepreneur made the front page of the Financial Times.

Astonishingly, the game has many ways in which players can earn "bells," from selling items to the local store, to finding money lying around, to players giving each other money, to investing in the turnip or what I'd like to call "stalk market," to growing a money tree to... Yeah it's amazing.

Having played the original Animal Crossing on GameCube, I've got to say, I'm just blown away by this upgrade. In many ways, it's just like that old game I played a while back. A lot of the aspects of the same, except there's a whole lot more to do. Not only are the game's graphics more visually appealing, the entire island is customizable in one way or another. Whereas in the first game, you basically had to live with the "town" you were given, you can change the entire island on the Switch to your liking. You can do things like build bridges, to dig moats and lakes, to move houses and stores around, to place pools and baths where you want...

I like to play this game just for the scenery. The game is in real time, which means that the day changes with the hours in real time. The game has stunning sunsets and sunrises, as well as misty moons. I love how the water becomes transparent or reflective depending on the time of the day and the position of the sun.

You can pick up this game at any point in the day, and the time of day will be reflected in the game.

Even the seasons change.

My family has played this game for about a month, and so far, we're all still rather hooked.

Personally, I like this idea that we have this island to customize and make it exactly how we want it. We can design the interior and exterior parts of our homes, we can choose from a wide selection of flowers and trees to have on our island, furniture, flooring, walls, light fixtures, wall decoration... so many aspects we can customize...

And I haven't even gotten into all the delightful villagers you get to meet.

All in all, I can say, my family and I are all very happy with our purchase.

Zelda: Link’s Awakening Switch Remake - My Review

Here is my rather late review of the Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake for the Switch.

I originally intended to buy the game last year, but financial constraints made it a bit difficult. I didn’t even have the Switch to play it on, which means that to play the game I had to invest in both the console and the cartridge

The opportunity to play the game finally presented itself, when my sons all decided they wanted to pool their Japanese New Year Money to buy a Switch. My son is a Pokemon enthusiast, and he had been wanting to get the latest Shield from the Shield and Sword series. Even after pooling all their resources, they still didn’t have enough. So I decided to take the plunge and tell them that I’d help pay for the Switch, but that I also had rights to it. It was a done deal, and not only did I help buy the Switch and Pokemon Shield game for them, for them, I also seized the opportunity to buy the Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake!!!

I was so happy!

There was only one reason I wanted to buy a Switch; to play this game.

Fast-forward two months later, I’ve managed to clear the game at least three times, each with a different goal in mind.

For my trial run on any game, I always play the game one time through. Always on my first try, I don’t really concentrate on collecting every single item or how many lives I lose; just a play-through to the end of the game to see what’s in the game, what it feels like, etc.

For my second , I always concentrate on finding everything there is to find, doing everything there is to do. This is where I take my time to make sure I find every item, visit every spot, talk to every character in the game.

Finally, the third time I play I game is always the end-all, be-all speed run. This is where I play the game collecting every last item, being careful not to lose lives etc. In particular, the Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has a slightly different ending for players who take care not to lose lives. In this regard, the Switch remake did not disappoint!

So now, I think I’m ready to give my review of this game.

I want to cover the good before I touch on the bad. And don’t get me wrong, the “bad” is really just me nitpicking. The game was an improvement all-round.

The Good

Beautiful Anime Cutscenes

The remake is surprisingly delightful! First off, I like the opening scene which was done in anime style. The opening and ending scenes were done this way, and the programmers connected the anime with the actual game seamlessly.

Shiny New Graphics, Same Classic Feel

One of the first things I noticed was that, even though the game was rendered in better graphics, it still felt like I was playing it on the Game Boy. I was half-expecting it to be a carbon copy of the original Game Boy game, and in a lot of ways, the original game is preserved. If you played this game before, the Switch version almost feels as if you’re playing the exact same game, only rendered in better graphics. For the first few scenes it feels that way. But then, there are things here and there that let you know that this could almost be an entirely new game that stands on its own. There are lots of new sights and sounds that weren’t there before.

As with the Game Boy edition, the game is played with an overhead perspective, however in the new edition, graphics are rendered in a 2 1/2 D setting, so the feel of the game isn’t exactly the same. The angle changes only slightly at some parts of the game, but it’s for the most part fixed, unlike 3D games like Mario 64 or Super Mario Galaxy. I think this is a good thing as it helps preserve the feeling of the original game.

A big move away from the GameBoy game is the seamless transitions between screens. Originally, the entire world was divided into a 16x16 map grid, and one could only see one screen at a time. The screen transitions between each grid were rather abrupt. But on the Switch, the map was consolidated at different points in the game for seamless play.

Better Controls

One of the first things players will notice in the controls is that they aren’t exactly the same, and in a very good way. On the original Game Boy, the player had to juggle 8 items, including the shield and the sword, on just two buttons, which meant bringing up the item screen quite often during gameplay, often many times within a minute. On the Switch edition, the sword and shield are fixed, and this alone cuts bringing up the item screen by a lot. The player can still assign items to two buttons as in the older game, but s/he doesn’t have to do it as often.

Old Foes, New Challenges

A big difference between the Game Boy and Switch remake are that a lot of the enemies, including bosses, behave differently. Many offer new attacks and have different weak points than on the original game. I welcome this change because new challenges that have to be handled differently keeps the game fresh and new; playing the exact same Game Boy game only rendered in better graphics would be rather boring and dull in my opinion. I know this game; I have it memorized backwards and forwards. However I’m finding that I can’t just turn off my brain and breeze through it thoughtlessly. Though the game is old, this new edition is new and different, and I find I’m a 15yo again exploring uncharted territory.

Graphical Improvements

Being almost 3D and in color, the graphics are fresh, new and beautiful to look at. All of the houses, dungeons and characters so far are recognizable, but their new renditions feel entirely new. I like the graphical details that were added to spice the game up. The trees, grass and ground are all shiny, the water is transparent and the surface of the water is realistic and seems to behave as large bodies of water should, with splashes and ripples. In the original game, link had to dive and search around for sunken items and hidden passage ways in the water; on the Switch, the player can see sunken items and underground tunnels because the water is transparent. The desert feels smoldering and hot due to the orange light, mirage effect on the screen, and the mysterious forest feels mysterious due to its low-lighting and newly introduced haze.

Newer, Better Mini-Games and Side-Quests

I’ve already mentioned some of the new features, including new controls, seamless moving between areas and new enemy behavior, but one of my most favorite changes to the game are the modifications to all of the mini-games and side-quests. You no longer just play the trendy claw game; there are now moving platforms on which items are placed, and the items can be “dropped” by the claw if not picked up properly. You no longer just get the Yoshi Doll for Papahl’s wife; there are a number of Mario characters you can collect, adding replay value to the Trendy Game!

You no longer just fish at the fish pond; every time you see a new kind of fish in the game, they appear in the pond! There are more items you can get here as you come back and play throughout the game. Not to mention, the more you play, the more styles of lures you unlock! I tell you, I’ve spent entire play sessions just playing this mini-game! 

But that’s not all! The raft ride has two modes, one in which you can play to get rich by collecting as much as you can, and another in which you beat your best record; both modes offer very good prizes! And, as if that weren’t enough, you can use the Roc’s Feather and Hook Shot within the raft ride game to get to places!!! And that’s not even talking about the increased heart pieces and shells to find.

Newer, Better Sounds

The Switch edition of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was an improvement, visually as well audibly. The game developers went all out in sprucing up the original Game Boy soundtrack. Real instruments replace the original 4-bit music (not that the original sound track wasn’t good on its own), and some sections repeat with variation. While the dungeon themes were mostly preserved, in some cases new themes were introduced where the music would get repetitive in the original. In the 4th dungeon, Angler’s Tunnel, for example, the theme was nothing more than the cave theme sped-up, so the new Switch version includes an almost entirely new theme, with a nod to the original 4-bit music. And that’s one thing I really like about what the game developers did for the music; in places here and there, one can hear cameos of the original 4-bit Game Boy music.

One thing I really liked was how certain themes were altered slightly to fit the scene. For example, the item finding theme was different depending on the item; it sounds different when you open a chest, find a seashell, a piece of heart and other items. I’m not sure how many players noticed, but the overworld theme is rendered in ocarinas or recorders for the short time Marin is following you around. And though the mini-game theme is the same at every game, it sounds slightly different at each game.

Another thing I liked was how the game developers added new sound elements to enhance the game. It goes without saying that newer, better sounds will be used for common actions, such as swishing your sword, banging your shield on things, splashing in the water, etc. but new elements that weren’t in the original game were added as well. For example, when you’re in the Mysterious Forest, the players can hear a Japanese tsuzumi drum when the raccoon bangs on its stomach. Only those familiar with Japanese culture might understand this cultural reference.

Additional Items and Features

I like the new features that weren’t included in the game before. You now have bottles to put fairies in. The map screen features the option to put down pins on the map to remind you of things. You can now choose what warp you want to go to, and Mambo’s Song allows you to warp anywhere, not just Mambo’s Pond. There’s an interesting new feature; a character named “Dampe” allows you to create and play through your own dungeons. Additionally, there are challenges that award you with decent items if you complete them.

I’ve talked a great deal of all the positives, so now I’m going to get into what I consider negatives.

The Bad

Left Out of the Game

Here and there, some features, some major, others minor, were left out of the game. For example, the opening storm scene was amazing. I really liked the anime sequence with Link. The only thing is, the musical theme for this scene was completely eliminated. Such an amazing opening sequence, only for it not to have the original opening music accompany was rather disappointing.

The ability to wield the mushroom as a weapon was left out. When you find a mushroom to give to the witch, you can’t assign it to a button. In the original game, he giant Buzz Blob in the Color Dungeon, as well as the first incarnation of the final boss were vulnerable to it.

This isn’t too big of a deal, when the monkeys built the bridge, what usually happened was they would leave a stick behind for Link to pick up; on the Switch, one of the monkeys just gives it to you.

An “OK” New Feature

Dampe’s Shack is a fun feature that allows you create and play through your own dungeons. It has some challenges that have you create dungeons with certain parameters. While I actually really like this feature, I do have a few complaints. First off, there is only so much you can customize; you have to work with rooms that have been pre-made. You can’t alter any of the enemies that appear, what chests are in the room and what items can be found. All the exits and what triggers the doors has been determined in each room. So pretty much it’s just putting rooms next to each other.

One of the things that is frustrating about this feature are the staircases. In order to place a room with a staircase, there has to be a corresponding room with another staircase; the game will generate a connection between rooms, and you can’t choose which one it is. To complicate matters, there’s no real way choose what staircases connect. If you have more than one pair of rooms with staircases, the paths that were hoping for may or may not happen. Or, if two rooms connected, and you liked the connection, this connection may be altered by placing an additional pair of rooms in. There’s no real way to change what staircases connect to which ones, you just have to place and hope for the best. Or if there is, I haven’t figured it out yet.

 It would be nice to be able to assign the staircase connections manually...

Sounds Lackluster at Places

Don’t get me wrong, I’m in love with this game’s soundtrack. I love the new, realistic renditions of the old music. However, I feel that some of the music could have been handled differently. At places where I expected emphasis, it feels kind of dull. For example, when opening some of the dungeons, including the very first dungeon, the iconic Zelda secret chime just doesn’t have the heavy ring it should when you finally, after long-last manage to unlock a door you’ve been trying to get open.

During my first run, when I finally opened the Tail Cave, I was expecting to hear a grandiose arrangement of the chime in something like tubular bells, but I was disappointed to hear it rendered in a dull, goofy, cartoony sound patch. And it’s used again at other major points, such as when you open the entrance Key Cavern. Like, where there should be climax, there’s just lull.

I think that certain sounds and pieces could have been done better. For example, Kanalet Castle's theme was rather unimpressive to me. In the original game, the piece was in a low register, giving it a rather creepy quality. On the Switch, the piece is written higher, and, again, sounds rather dull.

Some Sequences Were Changed
Perhaps it's because the programmers weren't that into the game, so they weren't paying attention to detail, but some of the ways in which things happen in the game were changed.

On the original game, after defeating a dungeon boss, the music stops, and the victory music doesn't play until you collect the resulting heart container, after which the player can hear anticipation music before collecting the instrument of the sirens.

On the Switch remake, the victory music plays right after defeating the boss, immediately followed by the anticipation music. Collecting the resulting heart container merely yields the "item found" music.

This new sequence isn't "bad," but I feel the original sequence caused a bit of eerie tension by cutting off the music after defeating the boss, and staying silent until the heart container was collected. This tension is lost in the original. Defeating a major boss is a key point in the game, and I feel that where there should be emphasis and climax here, the experience is a rather dull let-down.

Lego Graphics

This is the part where I criticize the graphics. Again, for an upgrade from a black-and-white 8-bit game, the game does not fail to impress, however, I do feel the graphics can be rather... toy-like... which... is OK I suppose... On the one hand, after a while, I’m totally absorbed into the game and I forget about it. However, at times the game does feel almost as if I’m looking at one of those toy dioramas made out of legos or otherwise. Sometimes the ground, trees and water are too shiny and it looks like I’m playing in a toy world. At times the ground looks like shiny plastic when it should be more “earthy.” I feel developers could have made the game seem more real and believable if the textures weren’t so shiny and reflective.

I Absolutely LOVE This Game!!!

After reading all the negatives, you might think I hate this game, but quite the opposite. As I said earlier, any negative thing I had to say about this game is really just nitpicking. On the whole, I really, really, REALLY love this remake. With it’s fresh new graphics, re-imagining of the characters, new approaches to old challenges, Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Switch really does feel like an entirely new game. I’m very happy with my purchase. I hope a similar remake for Zelda: A Link to the Past is in the works.

Related Posts:

Oshogatsu: Japanese New Year

External Link: Boss Comparisons
This video comparing boss battles between the original Zelda: Link's Awakening and the Switch remake is very revealing. This is how I found out the mushroom can be used to hurt certain bosses. Did you know, you can use the Ballad of the Windfish to force the spiders in the Catfish's Maw to open their eyes? When they named it "The Song of Awakening" they weren't kidding!

CORONAVIRUS: American Long-Term Residents Fare Better in Japan

There is a world-wide panic due to the spread of the coronavirus.

In Japan, where I currently live as an English teacher, Prime Minister Abe has recently ordered all public schools to close in attempts to prevent a mass contagion.

I work at a private school network, so following these orders is optional; I'm asked to continue coming into work. Parents are being told school is open but they're not obliged to bring their kids to school.

Some parents don't have a choice; they work and the kids can't stay at home.

Where I work, schools are taking precautions, asking children and visitors to first disinfect their hands with an alcohol-based solution.

All major events like assemblies and year-end recitals have been cancelled, which means the children go to their classes, consisting of about 30 students each, prepare for and take their final exams and go straight home.

The teachers have worked very hard for their classes for their year-end recital, so at least where I work, each class is going to perform their work in the auditorium separately, involving only their families. (Usually it's one huge recital where parents watch a recital for all classes in a grade.)

After their recitals, school is out until April, or until further notice; we still don't know how it's going to look next year.

There will be no graduation ceremonies at our schools.

Across Japan, 6th graders, middle and high schoolers in their last year won't have graduation ceremonies, which is kind of sad since this is supposed to be a huge "good-bye" before many children go on to different schools.

And, as if the government panicking weren't that bad, the natives are panicking as well.

Somebody started the rumor that toilet paper would run out "because all toilet paper comes from China", so Japanese citizens are in a frenzy trying to buy up all the toilet paper they can.

Wherever you go, hardware and supply stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, etc., all toilet paper racks are empty.

Even though it's really all for nought; there is actually plenty of toilet paper to go around.

The whole thing actually quite ridiculous.

 Store worker places sold-out notices for customers on toilet paper racks

So yeah, things are pretty sad in Japan right now.

But I was surprised to read on Facebook, that, according to one of my old professors with whom I keep in touch with, American universities are asking their foreign exchange students in Japan to come home "because of the coronavirus."

I understand people are panicking, but this is actually pretty stupid advice that hasn't been thought through.

Why?

Anyone in Japan staying long-term, be it students, workers or expats, are better off staying in Japan where they have access to universal health care.

Coronavirus cases have already been cited in the United States, however in the United States, coronavirus patients better be prepared to pay an arm and a leg.

One US resident apparently racked up a $3,200 bill for suspected coronavirus treatment. (Read article here.)

The virus test alone costs $1,261, if this report is correct.

A friend on Facebook has pointed out that for that much money, you can travel to Korea, stay a few days, GET TESTED and come back.

So yeah.

For any Americans reading this staying in Japan long-term, or any country where you have access to universal health care, do NOT go home.

You're better off staying in Japan where your bills are covered by the system.