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

[ST Dragon]

By the way, where could one get the midi or mp3 remixed tracks of "Ballad of the Windfish" song?

Thanks.

[Turrican]

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

Where do exactly you put the advent of this "modern era"?

[sethsez]

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

Where do exactly you put the advent of this "modern era"?

Somewhere around ALttP/LA, where the focus was taken off exploration and put more on puzzle solving. The games became more linear and there was a more clear distinction between what was needed and what was just useful (in the first Zelda you never needed the magic wand, for example, yet it was still the treasure of dungeon 6, but in later Zeldas you'd get the boomerang in the boomerang dungeon and you'd need it to kill the boomerang boss). If you want to do the dungeons in a different order you have to do things the developers didn't intend, while in the original Zelda the ability to do them out of order was one of the more defining aspects. Sidequests started to provide non-linearity rather than the entire design being non-linear. This is the formula the series has followed ever since (and the one Minish Cap took to an extreme).

[Turrican]

Somewhere around ALttP/LA, where the focus was taken off exploration and put more on puzzle solving. The games became more linear and there was a more clear distinction between what was needed and what was just useful (in the first Zelda you never needed the magic wand, for example, yet it was still the treasure of dungeon 6, but in later Zeldas you'd get the boomerang in the boomerang dungeon and you'd need it to kill the boomerang boss). If you want to do the dungeons in a different order you have to do things the developers didn't intend, while in the original Zelda the ability to do them out of order was one of the more defining aspects. Sidequests started to provide non-linearity rather than the entire design being non-linear. This is the formula the series has followed ever since (and the one Minish Cap took to an extreme).

Very well said, although I get the impression that modern era does therefore include each Zelda game besides the first one. Even AoL was more focused and non-linear compared to it.

[Rob]

Um, while it's true that there is a little more freedom in the original, there's still a necessary progression. I can't recall at the moment what items are required for latter stages aside from the raft and ladder lookalike, but a new player can't tackle stage 7 right away even if they could access it (flute?). The heart system* and progressively difficult enemies make that very difficult and you still have to clear all dungeons and get the silver arrow, etc. I don't see that much of a difference with, say, Ocarina of Time. Some are required in a certain order, to access others, while others aren't. And you can go places you don't have any proper mission to accomplish.

*which also limits sword upgrades...

[ST Dragon]

Here is a great site with all the Zelda Midi tunes as well as other GB classics:
http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/ni ... assic.html

It has all the GB Zelda tunes with the exception of the original Windfish Ballad when you play it in front of the Egg with all 8 instruments. :(
It could be “Ballad of the Windfish (Arranged).mid” but it doesn’t quite sound the same.

The 2nd best tune of the game imo:
“Tal Tal Mountain Range” especially the Remix version available at the above site:
http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/ni ... ersion.mid

And of course, the classic “Overworld” tune, obviously.
Specifically, I find the “Overworld (5).mid” to be one of the best compositions of this song.
Probably even better than the original SNES SPC version.

Here are quite a few mp3 remixed tracks for all the Zelda games:
http://www.ocremix.org/
http://www.ocremix.org/z/
http://www.ocremix.org/game/68/
http://www.mirsoft.info/gmb/search.php? ... &submit=OK
http://www.zophar.net/gbs/

[Turrican]

remixes aside, does anyone know if LA soundtrack was ever officially published entirely on a cd?

[WarpZone]

I was playing through LA again a while ago (second time), and am still finding that I somewhat prefer LttP. I don't think any dynamic in LA is quite as fascinating and engrossing as the light/dark world idea, and I didn't quite like how LA's mandatory trading sequence was integrated in an arbitrary way (sometimes unfortunately relying on the telephone booth to know what needs to be done next).

On the other hand, there's no doubt that LA has a rather quaint little narrative, one that actually fits the black and white aesthetic of the original gameboy over the DX version. Its tile-based design is also extremely clever and economical (perhaps moreso than LttP, and almost by necessity due to the resolution and screen size).

[Vexorg]

Oddly enough, just a couple of days ago I was on the way to work and stopped for a garage sale along the way and managed to come up with a GBA SP for $15, and a copy of Oracle of Ages for $3. I'm currently in the process of playing through it, but I find it does have a bit more stuff to do than LA does, but I think LA is overall a better made game. I need to see if I can come up with a copy of Seasons (I played most of the way through Ages on an emulator some time ago, but haven't played Seasons much.) I'm also working on finishing up Minish Cap, which I bought a couple of months ago and got most of the way through...

(irrelevant aside: 800th post.)