Zelda–Link’s Awakening, Sheer Awesomeness! *Heavy Spoilers*

[ST Dragon]

Recently, I bought a used Black & White Gameboy with the Zelda cart for 5 Euros at a flea-market sale.

Soon after when I started playing it, I was shocked by the sheer awesomeness of the gameplay, the nicely designed 4-grey scale graphics, the gorgeous music generated by the tiny GB speaker and the cool Boss fights!
It took me 3 months to complete (I took my time there) and enjoyed every single detail of the game.

The story line and plot were very deep, sad and dramatic.
The Koholilt realm was just an allegory, a dream of another being. It would all end and fade into nothingness once the wind fish awakes.

I had an inclination, about the island not being quite right, especially after defeating the Slime Eel Boss at the Catfish dungeon and hearing its dying cries:

Slime Eel: TSSSK, TSSSK! You don't ssseem to know what kind of island this
iss... KEEE-HEE-HEEE! What a fool... KEE-HEE-HEH!!

But I was shocked when I first read the legend about the island, on the ancient tablet at the face shrine.

TO THE FINDER... THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT, IS BUT AN ILLUSION... HUMAN,
MONSTER, SEA, SKY... A SCENE ON THE LID OF A SLEEPER'S EYE... AWAKE
THE DREAMER, AND KOHOLINT WILL VANISH MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE...
CAST-AWAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!

The Owl then appears and tells you that the only one that knows for sure is the Wind Fish it self! The Owl was the most enigmatic character of the game. I think it's an allegory and represents the Wind Fish’s (or maybe even Link’s) Consciousness!

Later on, The Facade Bosses’ agonizing death cries supported the terrifying truth:

Facade (end): Okay, listen up! If the Wind Fish wakes up, every-thing on this island will be gone forever! And I do mean... EVERYTHING!

And the dramatic inevitable end described by the Boss of the 8th Dungeon.
It’s so dramatic of how anxious and determined he is to prevent you from playing the instruments:

Hot Head: CRACKLE-FROOOWSH! You're finished! I will never let you play the
Instruments of the Sirens!!

+++(END)+++
Hot Head: C-C-CRACKLE! Why did you come here? if it weren't for you, nothing
would have to change! You cannot wake the Wind Fish! Remember,
you... too... are in... ...the dream...

When the Wind fish finally awakes, the dialogue that follows is very hopeful and sad at the same time:

Wind Fish: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I AM THE WIND FISH... LONG HAS BEEN
MY SLUMBER... IN MY DREAMS... AN EGG APPEARED AND WAS SURROUNDED BY
AN ISLAND. WITH PEOPLE, ANIMALS, AN ENTIRE WORLD! ... ... ... ...
BUT, VERILY, IT BE THE NATURE OF DREAMS TO END! WHEN I DOST AWAKEN,
KOHOLINT WILL BE GONE... ONLY THE MEMORY OF THIS DREAM LAND WILL
EXIST IN THE WAKING WORLD... SOMEDAY, THOU MAY RECALL THIS
ISLAND... THAT MEMORY MUST BE THE REAL DREAM WORLD...

The best element of this game must be Marin’s song, “The Ballad of the Wind Fish”, This is one of the nicest tunes I have ever heard! I would sit there and play it just to enjoy the melody. The full version of the song, when you play the 8 siren instruments in front of the Wind Fish’s Egg, is poetry!
Yes, music is very important in my book and I was deeply touched by this specific song. I'll definitely look for an mp3 re-mastered version of this tune!
I felt sad when Marin tells you that she knew you were going to leave for ever and that she didn’t want you to forget her.

Earlier at the beach, she tells you:
“If I was a sea gull, I would fly as far as I could! I would fly to far away places and sing for many people”.

I guess her wish was granted when at the end sequence, Marin comes onto the screen, a seagull flies through her, and she disappears.

I was deeply touched by this game and it definitely deserves to be placed in the hall of all time classics.

[Ganelon]

Yeah, the whole game came off as deeply ephemeral and sad, a perfect RPG atmosphere IMO. I still think that this game has the best story of any of the Zeldas, despite how simple it is. After all, simplicity is never by itself bad. I was even spoiled the story beforehand but still felt mesmerized throughout; the harmonic music used throughout the island perfectly portrayed the mood. Ahh, you're giving me nostalgia...

[Specineff]

Whoa. FF X and all the dreaming Fayth and Tidus do not sound that hot anymore. Take that Squeenix.

[Xexyz]

Still my favorite Zelda game. It will probably stay that way too, as all the recent Zelda offerings seem to ruin my interest in the series. Minish Cap? Kind of fun, but I disliked it a lot at the same time...

[Vexorg]

I'd have to put Link's Awakening among my favorites in the series as well (The two Oracle games were quite good as well, but I ran into a brick wall on the Goron dancing part and never could finish Ages.) I actually found it somewhat more accessible than LTTP (which came out around the same time.) Minish Cap was decent too, but not quite up to that level. I look forward to seeing how Phantom Hourglass turns out though...

[sjewkestheloon]

i love all zelda games but links awakening was my first and i feel will remain my favourite. somes real horrible stuff in there wiht some evil puzzles that took me months to get (the arrow on the floor pointing to a weak point in the wall that i obliviously walked over for about two months?!?!?) but overall i found it superb.

in fact this has made me want to get it again. i think i'll have to pick myself up a gba sp for old gb and gbc titles as well as gba on the move. much more compact than my trusty ds too.

[ST Dragon]

So, are the rest of the Zelda games on the GB colour & GBA worth buying & playing?
Are they any better than Link's awakening on the B/W GB, based on the values described above? (Gameplay, storyline, sad/dramatic plot with a lot of twists)?

Zelda - Oracle of Seasons (GB Colour)
Zelda - Oracle of Ages (GB Colour)
Zelda - Link's Awakening DX (GB Colour)
Zelda – The Minish Cap (GBA)

Regarding Ages & Seasons, does it matter in which order you complete them?
I’ve heard that they’re linked in some way…

[Vexorg]

Ages and Seasons are definitely worth getting, and it doesn't matter which you play first. Minish Cap is decent, but not quite up to the standards of the GBC games.

[FatCobra]

It's defintely one of my favorite Zelda games.

Just be careful not to abuse the select button glitch.

[ST Dragon]

The what glitch?

[FatCobra]

The what glitch?

There's a glitch in the game involving pressing the SELECT button (to bring up the world map) right when Link is about to walk off the edge of the screen. If you time the button press right, Link will end up on the edge of the next screen he enters! You can use this to skip barriers, cause graphical errors, and in general make the game do weird and glitchy stuff. It's a very powerful glitch that may damage your game and erase your files!

They removed this glitch with the DX verison however.

[Turrican]

easily my favorite Zelda. Best plot in the series by far.

[Blade]

http://www.zeldalegends.net


^ Check out their Manga/Art collection.

[Ganelon]

The other GB Zeldas are a lot more gameplay oriented. DX just features color, an extra dungeon, and printer compatibility IIRC. Better in every way than the original but not necessarily worth getting.

[Rob]

Best plot in the series by far.

Ganon stomps this garbage.

Not really garbage, but seriously the plot is about as deep as Super Mario Bros. 2 (U.S., thanks). "Oh, that was a dream!"

[FatCobra]

Best plot in the series by far.

Ganon stomps this garbage.

Not really garbage, but seriously the plot is about as deep as Super Mario Bros. 2 (U.S., thanks). "Oh, that was a dream!"

Heck, Wart is in both games. Also, did you notice all the Mario enemies strewn about? Even Kirby is in the game!

[sethsez]

Best plot in the series by far.

Ganon stomps this garbage.

Not really garbage, but seriously the plot is about as deep as Super Mario Bros. 2 (U.S., thanks). "Oh, that was a dream!"

There's more to a narrative than the basic story. The presentation is what makes Link's Awakening so great (how it hints that this is all a dream from about halfway through rather than holding it as a big twist for the end, the way everything from individual people to the entire island vanishes when Link wakes up, the way the ending implies that parts were real or at least entered into reality, etc). If the entire game just progressed like a normal Zelda and then Link woke up at the end and said "oh wow, what a dream! Oh well, time to go eat some breakfast" then I'd agree with you.

[Rob]

The presentation is what makes Link's Awakening so great (how it hints that this is all a dream from about halfway through rather than holding it as a big twist for the end, the way everything from individual people to the entire island vanishes when Link wakes up, the way the ending implies that parts were real or at least entered into reality, etc).

Well, whatever makes you guys happy.

To me it just seemed like an excuse to roll out another Zelda without having to tie it in to the "main storyline" (lol?).

[Turrican]

Well, whatever makes you guys happy.

To me it just seemed like an excuse to roll out another Zelda without having to tie it in to the "main storyline" (lol?).

Even if I'd agree on that with you, you should be delighted that for once the pure princess Zelda is left out... I really can't stand her as a character. I truly felt for Marin though.

[sethsez]

The presentation is what makes Link's Awakening so great (how it hints that this is all a dream from about halfway through rather than holding it as a big twist for the end, the way everything from individual people to the entire island vanishes when Link wakes up, the way the ending implies that parts were real or at least entered into reality, etc).

Well, whatever makes you guys happy.

To me it just seemed like an excuse to roll out another Zelda without having to tie it in to the "main storyline" (lol?).

Consider when it came out. The storytelling in LA is far, far better than the games that came before it (LoZ, AoL and ALttP).

Now the Oracle games, those are lame. Minish Cap isn't worth discussing. But LA was a big step forward in Zelda's presentation.

[FatCobra]

Now the Oracle games, those are lame. Minish Cap isn't worth discussing. But LA was a big step forward in Zelda's presentation.

Yeah, the Oracle games were lacking most of LA's charm. I did like the ring system however.

Speaking of rings, I want to see the armor rings from the first Zelda to return in a newer game. It was cool buying the blue ring and seeing Link exiting out of the shop dressed in white.

Minish Cap was fun, but lacked something......

[sethsez]

Minish Cap was fun, but lacked something......

An overworld. Everything that wasn't a dungeon was a single linear path to a dungeon. Aside from the town and about four screens below it, everything in the overworld was just a linear obstacle course to a dungeon.

[FatCobra]

Minish Cap was fun, but lacked something......

An overworld. Everything that wasn't a dungeon was a single linear path to a dungeon. Aside from the town and about four screens below it, everything in the overworld was just a linear obstacle course to a dungeon.

I was going to say more dungeons, but now that I think of it, the overworld was really lacking. The overworld did feel like one big dungeon at times however, (like that part where Link can stand on the clouds).

[Rob]

Yeah, the Oracle games were lacking most of LA's charm.

Most portable games lack charm/effort. But the Oracle game I played was a competent rehash of the overhead Zelda formula. I played it back to back with LA DX and I didn't notice much difference. LA clearly was a little more special, seeing as how it was one of the only high quality sequels on the original Game Boy. But better than ALTTP? I don't hold that game in nearly as high a regard as most, but still think it's better graphically/musically and of course more expansive.

Lost Woods theme what?

[sethsez]

Well obviously ALttP was better graphically and musically (though Ballad of the Wind Fish is one of the best songs in the series and Zelda hasn't had a new song as good since). And it was bigger (though not as much as you might think... ALttP's overworld is quite small).

I like Link's Awakening more because it's tighter. The world is more interesting to explore for me, things tend to link together in a more logical fashion, places seem to have more context, etc. The dungeons also have more interesting puzzles and more unified design (remember dungeon 7, the one where you had to knock out the pillars to bring the top floor crashing down?).

[Rob]

(though Ballad of the Wind Fish is one of the best songs in the series and Zelda hasn't had a new song as good since)

Hm, I'm listening to the midis at vgmusic and it's really not refreshing my memory. Also, I'm not sure how much they count for songs, but Ocarina's dungeon themes are almost all excellent (I especially liked the forest and water temple themes). Zora's Domain?

[it290]

I actually prefer both Oracle games to Link's Awakening. Yes, the storyline was stupid, but I don't really care about that. Then again, I'm a bit different from most in that my favorite Zelda game is the original. The Oracle games felt more like that, with a large overworld and lots of secrets -- although in keeping with the modern Zelda formula, they were far more puzzle-heavy and had a fair bit of talking. The dungeons in the Oracle games were also really good -- LA's were excellent as well, but I think the Oracle ones were a bit more fiendish.

[sethsez]

My problem with the Oracle games is the same as my problem with Minish Cap (to a lesser degree). Dungeons take too long and require too much tedious backtracking, and the overworld is far too segmented and doesn't flow together well. It feels more like Ocarina of Time, where all unique areas are seperate and divided by a fade to black. It worked well in a 3D environment, but not well in a 2D one.

And the original is my favorite as well. LA is just my favorite of the modern style Zeldas.

[it290]

I thought the overworlds in the Oracle games were pretty good in that respect -- not any more segmented than LA or LttP.

[sethsez]

Well like I said, it's definitely not as bad as Minish Cap in that respect.