The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, known in Japan as Zelda no Densetsu: Yume o Miru Shima (ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島, lit. "The Legend of Zelda: Dreaming Island"^?), is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld console. It was released in Japan in June 1993, with the North American and European versions released later that year. It is the fourth official installment in The Legend of Zelda series, and the first for a handheld game console.

Link's Awakening is one of the few Zelda games that does not take place in the fictional land Hyrule, does not feature the fictional relic the Triforce or the primary antagonist of the series, Ganon. Instead the player's character Link begins the game stranded on Koholint Island. Learning that the island is watched over by a mysterious creature known as the Wind Fish, Link fights monsters and solves puzzles in order to find eight instruments that will awaken the slumbering creature— if the Wind Fish is not awoken, Link will be trapped on Koholint Island forever.

Link's Awakening was critically and commercially successful on release. Critics admired the number of features in the handheld game and the depth, despite the absence of color graphics. Complaints included the limited two-button control scheme for using items. A remake called Link's Awakening DX was released for the Game Boy Color in 1998. The title featured color graphics, compatibility with the Game Boy Printer, and an exclusive color-based dungeon. The DX version went on to receive higher scores than the original. Together, the two versions of the game have sold more than 6 million units worldwide,^[1] and have appeared on multiple game publications' lists as one of the best games of all time.

Gameplay

Like most games in The Legend of Zelda series, Link's Awakening is an action-adventure game.^[3] Most exploration and combat takes place from an overhead perspective.^[4] The player explores the overworld of Koholint Island, fighting monsters and exploring dungeons. The dungeons vary in size and difficulty, and feature a boss called a Nightmare that the player must defeat.^[2] Success earns the player another heart container, which increases the amount of damage the player can take; when a player loses all their heart containers, the game restarts from the last door they walked through before dying.^[2]

Link's Awakening is the first top-down view Zelda game which allows Link to jump; this allows the game to contain sidescrolling puzzles and elements, similar to those found in the earlier Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.^[4] The player can expand their abilities with items, which are discovered in dungeons and through character interactions. These items can open previously unreachable areas, and many are crucial for reaching or completing dungeons.

In addition to the main quest to awaken the Wind Fish, Link's Awakening also offers numerous side quests and diversions. For example, hidden across the overworld and dungeons are collectible "secret seashells". When the player brings most of the shells to a shrine, he receives a more powerful sword which shoots beams.^[5] Link's Awakening is the first Zelda game to include a trading sequence side quest. This mini-game consists of giving a certain item to a character, who in turn gives the player another item to trade with someone else.^[2] Link's Awakening also allows players to steal items from shops, although Link is referred to as "THIEF" for the rest of the game.^[4] Link's Awakening is the first Zelda game in which the A and B button can be assigned to different items, allowing for more varied puzzles and item combinations.^[4] Other game elements appearing for the first time in a Zelda game are fishing, flying around by rooster, and learning special songs on the ocarina (which is central to the next Zelda game released, Ocarina of Time).^[6]

Synopsis

Setting

Unlike most other Zelda titles (and all Zelda titles up to the release of Link's Awakening), the game does not take place in Hyrule, and does not involve any of the characters or locations of previous games, besides a passing mention of Princess Zelda in the opening portion of the game.^[4][7] Instead, Link's Awakening takes place entirely on Koholint Island, (コホリント島, Kohorinto-tō^?)^[4] an isolated landmass cut off from the rest of the world. The island, though small, contains a large amount of hidden secrets and interconnected pathways.^[8]

Link's Awakening features non player characters who help the player figure out where to go next, including Ulrira, a shy old man who communicates to Link exclusively by telephone. Other characters Link meets on his quest include cameo characters from other Nintendo titles, such as the scholar Mr. Write and exiled prince Richard, who first appeared in the Super Nintendo version of SimCity and Game Boy title Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, respectively.^[9][10] The island is also inhabited by characters who continually break the fourth wall; for example, little children inform the player of game mechanics such as saving, although they have no idea what this means.^[11]

Plot

After the events of A Link to the Past, Link travels abroad to train to combat further threats. After a storm destroys his boat at sea, he awakens on Koholint Island,^[12] and is taken to the house of a kind man named Tarin and his daughter Marin. Marin is fascinated by Link and the outside world across the sea, and tells Link wistfully that she would like to one day travel across the sea. After recovering his sword from Koholint's beaches, a mysterious owl tells Link that in order to return home, he must awaken the guardian of Koholint—the Wind Fish (かぜのさかな, Kaze no Sakana^?) who is dreaming in a giant egg on top of Tal Tal Mountain and can only be woken by gathering and playing the eight instruments of the Sirens. Throughout Koholint Island, nightmare creatures attempt to obstruct Link’s quest to awaken the Wind Fish as they wish to rule his dreamworld.

After collecting all eight instruments from the eight dungeons across Koholint, Link climbs to the top of the Tal Tal Mountain range and plays the Ballad of the Wind Fish with all eight instruments.^[2] This causes the egg where the Wind Fish sleeps to break open, and Link enters to face off against the Nightmare, who takes the form of Ganon and other enemies from Link's past.^[13] After Link successfully defeats the Nightmare, he plays the Ballad of the Wind Fish and both Link and the Wind Fish awaken; Koholint Island and all its inhabitants slowly disappear.^[14] Link finds himself lying on driftwood in the middle of the ocean, with the Wind Fish flying overhead. If the player did not lose any lives during the game, a winged Marin is shown flying after the ending credits finish.^[15]

Development

The Legend of Zelda director Eiji Aonuma speaking at Game Developers Conference 2007

Development of Link's Awakening proceeded directly following the completion of the Japanese-only Game Boy game, Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru; as a result, Link's Awakening shares a game engine and design elements with this earlier title. The game was directed by Takashi Tezuka, who had worked on the earlier Zelda games and directed Super Mario Bros. 3. In an interview, Tezuka stressed that his intent has been "to make games so that anyone —as many people as possible— can enjoy."^[16] The game's background music was composed by Yuichi Ozaki, Kazumi Totaka, Minako Hamano and Kazue Ishikawa.^[17] As in most Zelda games, it includes the recognizable overworld theme, which has become a staple of the franchise.^[18] Eiji Aonuma, director of all the 3D Zelda games, called Link's Awakening "the quintessential isometric Zelda game", in an interview about the evolution of the Zelda series.^[19]

To promote the game for the North American release, Nintendo sponsored a crosscountry train competition, called the Zelda Whistle Stop Tour.^[20] The event, which lasted for three days, had selected players test Link's Awakening in a timed race to see who would complete the game first.^[21] The event was a way to showcase the new Zelda game, but Nintendo also wanted to tout the Game Boy's superior battery life and portability,^[20] which would make or break the accessibility of a portable Zelda title.^[4] The company-owned Nintendo Power published a complete game guide in its July 1993 issue.^[9]

In 1998, to promote the launch of their Game Boy Color handheld, Nintendo re-released Link's Awakening as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.^[8] Tezuka returned to the project as supervisor, along with Yoshinori Tutiyama as director.^[17] Like Super Mario Bros. Deluxe and other "deluxe" games, the most noticeable addition is that the game is fully colorized. The game introduces an entirely new dungeon, with unique enemies and puzzles based on color. The DX version also features the ability to take photos. After the player has visited the camera shop, the cameraman will appear in different places around the island. A total of twelve photos can be taken, and they can be viewed at the shop, or printed using the Game Boy Printer accessory.^[22]

Reception

Link's Awakening was well-received by critics, with a reviewer average of 90% on aggregate site Game Rankings.^[23] In a retrospective, Electronic Gaming Monthly declared Link's Awakening the "best Game Boy game ever, an adventure so engrossing and epic that we can even forgive the whole thing for being one of those 'It's all a dream!' fakeouts."^[24] The Washington Post declared that Nintendo had created a "legend that fits in the palm of your hand", praising the portability and depth of gameplay.^[25] The Mainichi Shimbun praised the game's music and story.^[26] The title was touted as an excellent portable adventure for those with little time for more sophisticated role-playing games.^[27][28]

Link's Awakening won several awards, including the Graphics and Sound, Challenge, Theme and Fun, Play Control, and Best Overall categories for the Game Boy in the 1993 Nintendo Power Awards decided by readers.^[29]The title made multiple top games list as Nintendo Power's fifty-sixth best Nintendo game,^[30] IGN reader's 40th best game of all time,^[31] and IGN staff's 78th best game. IGN singled out Link's Awakening, saying that "while handheld spin-offs are generally considered the low point for game franchises, Link's Awakening proves that they can offer just as rich a gameplay experience."^[32]

Complaints with the game included the graphics, which William Burrill dismissed as "Dim Boy graphics [that are] nothing to write home about."^[33] The monochrome graphics occasionally made it harder for critics to see what was going on,^[34] leading reviewers to wish the game had some color. The two-button control scheme was called awkward to use, having to constantly switch items almost every screen.^[25][34]

Link's Awakening DX received slightly better reviews than the original; Game Rankings rates the DX version of Link's Awakening with an average score of 92%, based on ten media outlets.^[35] IGN gave the title a perfect score, noting that "throughout the color-enhanced version of Zelda DX, it can easily be inferred that Nintendo has reworked its magic to fit new standards", removing nothing from the original game and adding in new adventures.^[3] Cameron Davis of Gamespot applauded the camera support and attention to detail in coloration and style,^[36] while reviewers for the Courier Mail credited the camera features with added gameplay depth and allowing players to show off trophies.^[37] Reviewers for The Daily Telegraph said that the addition of color made the game easier and reduced deaths caused by the player not being able to see what is going on.^[38] Despite the improvements, publications such as AllRPG.com took issue with parts of the gameplay that remained unchanged, including the awkwardness of the two-button format.^[39] RPGFan felt that the colorization, though adequate, was not as fully detailed as possible.^[39]

Link's Awakening and its rerelease were commercially successful; the game remained on bestseller lists for more than 90 months after release,^[40] and went on to sell 3.83 million units by 2004. The DX version sold another 2.22 million units.^[1]

References

External links

• Official Nintendo website (Japanese)
• Official Nintendo website (DX version) (Japanese)
• Link's Awakening page at Zelda.com