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Use an empty in-game file to start a new run without touching existing progress. To move your progress to another Nintendo Switch, use the consoles’ built-in save-data transfer: the save moves to the receiving console and is deleted from the sending console, rather than copied. If the receiving console already has a save for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, you must choose whether to cancel or overwrite it; overwritten data cannot be recovered.
Choose the right method first
Your goal determines which menu to use. Starting a new adventure, moving an existing adventure, and wiping every adventure are different operations.
| What you want to do | Use this method | What happens | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start another adventure while keeping an old one | Select an empty file on the game’s player-select screen | The new run uses its own in-game slot | Deleting a populated file is permanent |
| Keep old progress separate from a new run | Use a separate Nintendo Switch user profile | The profile has an independent set of saves associated with that user | You must create and select the additional profile |
| Move progress to another Switch | System Settings > Data Management > Transfer Your Save Data | The save is sent to the other console and removed from the source | A save on the target can be overwritten and cannot then be recovered |
| Remove all Link’s Awakening progress for a user or the software | System Settings > Data Management > Delete Save Data | The selected title save is deleted from internal system memory | Nintendo says deleted save data cannot be recovered |
How Link’s Awakening stores progress
There are two layers to keep straight: the game’s own file-selection screen and the Nintendo Switch system’s save-data controls. The game lets you begin a new run in an empty file. The system settings let you transfer or delete save data for the title as a whole, with the user selection determining whose data is affected.
Save data is stored in the Switch’s internal system memory. Nintendo states that it cannot be copied or moved to a microSD card. A microSD card can hold downloaded software and screenshots, but it is not a manual save backup for Link’s Awakening.
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Deleting or archiving the downloaded game software is also separate from deleting its save data. Removing the software does not, by itself, erase your progress. Conversely, deleting save data does not mean you have uninstalled the game; you can launch the title again and create a new file afterward.
Start a new game without deleting your old file
Use an empty in-game slot
- Launch The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
- At the player-select screen, look for an empty file slot rather than selecting a populated file.
- Choose the empty slot.
- Enter the character name when prompted.
- Confirm the name. The game starts the new adventure in that file.
Your existing file remains in its original slot. When you next load the game, select the file you want to continue; do not select the new slot by mistake.
If every visible slot is occupied
When there is no empty slot, you must either keep the current files and use another Switch user profile, or remove one populated file before starting. To remove a single file from inside the game:
- On the player-select screen, highlight the file you no longer need.
- Choose Delete.
- Press and hold the buttons shown on screen for three seconds.
- Release only after the game accepts the deletion, then confirm the resulting prompt if one appears.
Deleting an in-game file is irreversible. Check the file’s name and progress before holding the buttons. If you are uncertain, cancel and preserve the file; there is no undo command for a deleted file.
Use a separate Switch user to keep independent saves
A separate user profile is the practical option when you need a completely independent set of Link’s Awakening saves and do not want to delete an occupied in-game file. Nintendo’s general save-data rule associates saves with the user account that created them. The game-specific profile workflow is not documented as a separate Nintendo tutorial, so treat the profile choice as the boundary for each independent set of saves.
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- On the Switch, create or select another user profile through the console’s user-management screens.
- Launch Link’s Awakening with that profile selected.
- At the player-select screen, create a file in the new profile’s available slot.
- When switching back to the original adventure, start the game under the original profile and select its file.
This approach requires an additional profile and careful attention to which user is active before launching the game. It is useful for a second player in the same household, a challenge run, or a fresh playthrough that must not share the original profile’s files.
Transfer a Link’s Awakening save to another Nintendo Switch
Requirements before you begin
- Have both Switch consoles available and nearby.
- Connect both consoles to the internet.
- Use the source console that currently contains the save and the target console that should receive it.
- Make sure you know which Switch user owns the save you intend to send.
- Inspect the target first. If it already has Link’s Awakening save data for that user, decide whether that target data can be replaced.
Nintendo says a Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required for this nearby console-to-console transfer. The transfer uses the system settings on both consoles rather than a microSD card.
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Start the send operation on the source console
- Open System Settings on the Switch that currently has your Link’s Awakening progress.
- Select Data Management.
- Choose Transfer Your Save Data.
- Select Send Save Data to Another Console.
- Choose the user whose save data you want to transfer.
- Select Link’s Awakening when the software list appears.
- Follow the on-screen instructions until the console searches for the receiving Switch.
Receive the save on the target console
- Open System Settings on the other Switch.
- Go to Data Management > Transfer Your Save Data.
- Choose Receive Save Data.
- Keep the consoles nearby and follow the pairing prompts.
- When the title and user are displayed, verify that they are correct before accepting.
The consoles complete the transfer as one operation. Do not treat this as a copy process: Nintendo’s support guidance says the save file is deleted from the source once it has been sent.
What happens to the source and target saves
The source is emptied of the transferred save
After a successful send, the selected Link’s Awakening save no longer remains on the source console. The operation is intended to move progress to the other Switch, not duplicate it on both systems. If you want to keep playing on the source as well, create a new file there only after confirming that the transferred progress opens correctly on the target.
An existing target save can be overwritten
If the target has save data for the same software and user, the transfer process gives you a choice to cancel or overwrite. Choose Cancel if the target file contains anything you still need. Choose overwrite only after confirming that the target data is expendable. Nintendo warns that overwritten data cannot be recovered.
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Do not assume that a physical game card, a downloaded copy, or a microSD card provides a second copy of the target save. The save belongs to the console’s internal save-data system, so inspect the target through its settings and in-game file screen before approving replacement.
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Delete the complete Link’s Awakening save from system settings
Use system deletion when you want to remove the title’s save data rather than just one in-game file.
- Open System Settings.
- Select Data Management.
- Choose Delete Save Data.
- Select The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
- Choose the specific user whose save should be removed, or choose Delete Save Data for this Software if you intend to delete the software’s save data as offered by the menu.
- Read the warning and confirm only when the displayed title and user are correct.
Nintendo’s warning is unambiguous: once deleted, save data cannot be recovered. This system-level operation is broader than deleting one file from the game’s player-select screen, so use it only when you are certain that all affected progress is disposable.
What not to do
Do not use a microSD card as a save backup
Switch save data is stored in internal system memory and cannot be saved or moved to a microSD card. Copying the game’s downloaded software to a card will not create a restorable Link’s Awakening save.
Do not archive the game to remove progress
Archiving or deleting the downloaded software does not itself delete the save. If your goal is to free storage while preserving progress, software management and save-data management are separate decisions. If your goal is a clean start, use an empty in-game file, a separate user, or the explicit save-data deletion menu instead.
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Do not approve a transfer before checking the target
The target console may already contain a valuable file. Because an overwrite cannot be recovered, stop at the confirmation screen and verify the user, title, and direction of travel. A transfer that is accidentally started from the wrong console can also remove the wrong source save.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Practical decision examples
You want a second playthrough on the same Switch
Select an empty file at the player-select screen. If no empty slot is available, use another user profile rather than deleting a completed file. This keeps the original run available without involving system transfer.
You bought a replacement Switch and want to continue your current run
Use the nearby transfer procedure. Start the send action on the old console, receive it on the new one, and confirm the target’s existing save can be overwritten if the system presents that choice. Expect the old console to lose the transferred save after completion.
You want to give the old console away after moving your save
First complete the transfer and verify the save on the receiving Switch. Then review the old console’s users and title data separately. Do not rely on archiving the game to remove personal progress; use the system’s save-data deletion controls only after confirming that no remaining file is needed.
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There is no in-game undo step described for a deleted file, and Nintendo states that system-deleted save data cannot be recovered. Stop trying additional deletion or transfer operations, because they cannot recreate the removed file. If another intact copy exists on a different console, treat that console as the source and transfer it carefully, understanding that the transfer will move rather than duplicate it.
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Pre-transfer and pre-deletion checklist
- Identify the exact Switch user that owns the progress.
- Open the game and note the file name or other identifying information before selecting a destructive option.
- For a new run, look for an empty in-game slot first.
- For independent saves, decide whether a separate user profile is safer than deleting a file.
- For a console move, place both systems nearby and connect both to the internet.
- Inspect the target console for existing Link’s Awakening data.
- Cancel if the target data must be preserved.
- Remember that a sent source save is deleted and an overwritten target save cannot be recovered.
- Do not expect a microSD card or archived software to function as a save backup.
Quick troubleshooting
The other Switch is not found
Confirm that both consoles are powered on, connected to the internet, nearby, and currently inside the matching transfer menus. The source must be using Send Save Data to Another Console, while the target must be using Receive Save Data. If either console is in a different system-settings page, back out and restart the two-sided process.
The wrong user or title appears
Cancel before confirming. Return to the source user selection and choose the profile that actually contains the adventure. On the target, verify that the receiving user is the intended destination. A confirmation screen is the point to correct a mismatch; proceeding can remove or overwrite data.
You expected both consoles to retain the save
That is not how Nintendo’s nearby transfer works. It moves the save and deletes it from the source. If both consoles need independent adventures, finish the move, then create a new file or use a separate profile on the console where you want a different run.
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That behavior is expected because software removal and save deletion are separate. Reinstall or relaunch the game to use the existing progress, or open System Settings > Data Management > Delete Save Data when you deliberately want to remove it.
Quick Recap
The safest workflow
- For a same-console restart, try an empty file first.
- If the slots are full, protect the old run with a separate user profile instead of deleting it.
- For a console change, inspect the target and then use the paired send-and-receive transfer menus.
- Confirm the transfer direction and target overwrite warning before accepting.
- After the new console opens the expected adventure, decide whether any old-console data should be removed.
- Use system-level deletion only for a deliberate, complete wipe, and remember that Nintendo says deleted data cannot be recovered.
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