Your planned journey to Koholint island may have been cut short, as Nintendo has issued a takedown notice for the 'DX HD' PC port of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.
This should come as no surprise to anybody, but that Link's Awakening DX HD port that popped up on itch.io earlier this month is no longer available.
The native PC port of the Game Boy classic was first uploaded to itch.io on December 3rd, and quickly garnered plenty of attention. Of course, as with any Nintendo fan project such as this, it's only a matter of time before the lawyers come knocking.
Chris Brandrick
It's Game Over for DX HD
On early Friday, December 15th a notice was posted to the game's itch.io profile, outlining a request from Nintendo of America to have the port immediately removed.
The request from a legal representative for Nintendo of America notes how the 'DX HD' version "infringes and makes unauthorized use of Nintendo’s copyrights".
If you did manage to download the .zip file before it was nuked by the Nintendo ninjas, then we've got a guide on how to get Link's Awakening DX HD running on the Steam Deck!
Timo Schmidt
The full takedown notice can be found below:
To Whom It May Concern:
I am an authorized representative of Nintendo of America Inc., owner of the following copyrighted material:
PA0002212311 (The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening) and PA0000772666 (Legend of Zelda : Link's awakening (Game Boy version).
It has come to our attention that the following game, https://linksawakeningdxhd.itch.io/links-awakening-dx-hd, offered on Itch.io infringes and makes unauthorized use of Nintendo’s copyrights in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening video game.
For additional information visit Nintendo’s website at the following URLs
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/game-boy-nintendo-switch-online-switc...
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-legend-of-zelda-links-awakening-s...
Please act expeditiously to remove the download and information page for the infringing game.
I have a good faith belief that the material is not authorized by the intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law. The information provided in the notice is accurate, and I swear under penalty of perjury that I am authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the intellectual property owner.
Sincerely,
Nintendo Legal