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The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Publisher	Nintendo
Designer	Shigeru Miyamoto (producer), Takashi Tezuka (director)
Series	The Legend of Zelda
Released	JPN June 6, 1993 US December 31, 1993 December 1, 1998 (Game Boy Color)
Genre	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Ratings	ESRB: DX version - E (Everyone)
Platform(s)	Game Boy, Game Boy Color
Media	4-megabit cartridge (Game Boy version) 8-megabit cartridge (Game Boy Color version)

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島, Zeruda no Densetsu Yume o Miru Shima^?, lit. "The Legend of Zelda: Dreaming Island") is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for their handheld Game Boy. It was released in Japan on June 6, 1993 and in North America on December 31 of the same year.^[1] The title is the fourth official installment in The Legend of Zelda video game series,^[2] as well as the first game from the series to appear on a handheld game console. Despite originally being a monochrome title, the game made numerous contributions to the series, including the ability for the protagonist Link to jump.

Unlike most other Zelda titles, Link's Awakening does not take place in the land of Hyrule, nor does the Triforce or nemesis Ganon make an appearance; rather, the player fights monsters and solves puzzles in order to find eight instruments which will awaken the 'Wind Fish' and allow Link to leave the island he is marooned on. A remake called The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX for the Game Boy Color was released in 1998, and features compatibility with the Game Boy Printer as well as an exclusive color-based dungeon to capitalize on the Color's palette. Upon its release, Link's Awakening proved highly successful, selling over four million units,^[3] and paved the way for later handheld Zelda games to follow. Most publications rated the game positively, despite the technical restraints imposed by the Game Boy's black and white screen; the DX version went on to receive even higher scores than the original. IGN rated the title as one of the top 100 games of all time.^[4]

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Synopsis 2.1 Setting 2.2 Characters 2.3 Plot 3 Development 3.1 DX version 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links

Like all games in the Legend of Zelda series, Link's Awakening is an action-adventure game, most similar to its predecessor, A Link to the Past.^[5] Most exploration and combat takes place from an overhead perspective.^[6] The player explores the overworld of Koholint Island, fighting monsters and entering special dungeons. The dungeons vary in size and the puzzles needed to beat each one, but all end with a powerful 'nightmare' which the player must defeat.^[7] Success earns the player another 'heart container', which increases the amount of damage the player can take; when a player loses all heart, the game restarts from the last door that Link walked through before dying.^[7]

In addition to the main quest to awaken the Wind Fish by completing a total of eight dungeons, Link's Awakening also offers numerous side quests and diversions. For example, hidden across the overworld and dungeons are 'secret seashells' which can be collected; if a majority of the shells are brought to a special shrine, the player receives a more powerful sword which shoots beams.^[8] In addition, Link's Awakening was 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 to someone else.^[7] Link's Awakening even allowed players to abscond with items from shops without selling, although the price to pay if the player ever returns to the store is instant death.^[6] In addition, the player would then be referred to as "THIEF" by the inhabitants of Koholint Island for the remainder of the game.

Like A Link to the Past before it, Link's Awakening introduced numerous new game mechanics to the series, for instance allowing the player to jump.^[6] This allowed for Link's Awakening to feature sidescrolling puzzles and elements, similar to those found in the earlier Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.^[6] The player can expand his or her abilities with items, which are discovered in dungeons and through character interactions; in addition to allowing access to previously unreachable areas, some items are often crucial for reaching or successfully completing a dungeon. Link's Awakening was also the first Zelda game in which both A and B buttons could be assigned to different items, neither of which had to be the sword, allowing for more inventive play styles.^[6] While the button assignment method was only used for subsequent handheld Zelda titles, jumping was only one of several mechanics which have since become standard in all Zelda games; also appearing for the first time in a Zelda game are fishing, flying around using a rooster, and the learning of special songs which are played on an ocarina (which would be central to the next Zelda game released, Ocarina of Time.)^[9]

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.^[6][10] Instead, Link's Awakening takes place entirely on Koholint Island (コホリント島, Kohorinto-tō^?)^[6] an isolated landmass which is cut off from the rest of the world. There are two major towns, located to the west and east portions of the island; the former, Mabe Village, is where the player begins their quest. The latter, Animal Village, is named due to its non-human inhabitants. In addition to a large mountain range to the north, Koholint contains a forest, plains, castle, swamp and desert; game reviewers noted that the island, though small, contained a large amount of hidden secrets and interconnected pathways.^[3] Scattered across the world are eight dungeons which contain the instruments needed to wake the 'Wind Fish', which sleeps in a giant egg at the top of the island's mountain range.^[7]

Main article: List of characters in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The protagonist in the game is the titular Link, a defender of Hyrule who arrives on the island of Koholint after his ship is damaged in a storm. There, he is found by Marin, who nurses him to health. During his travels, Link is aided by an Owl who serves as a guide throughout the game, and informs Link of the mysterious Wind Fish, whom the player must awaken for Link to leave the island and finish the game.^[7]

Link's Awakening also features other characters who help the player figure out where to go next; this includes Ulrira, a shy old man who communicates to Link exclusively by telephone. Other characters Link meets on his quest include the scholar Mr. Write and the exiled prince Richard, who first appeared in the Nintendo title Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (For Whom the Frog Tolls).^[11] The island is also inhabited by strangely aware non player characters who inform the player of game mechanics such as saving, although they have no idea what this means.^[12]

After training abroad, Link is sailing back to Hyrule, but is shipwrecked in a violent storm. He awakens on Koholint Island,^[13] and is taken to the house of a kind man named Tarin, and his daughter Marin. 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 — by gathering and playing the eight Instruments of the Sirens. Marin, fascinated by Link and the outside world across the sea he represents, tells him wistfully that she would like to one day travel across the sea.

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. This causes the egg where the Wind Fish sleeps to break open, and Link enters to face off against a final boss; the nightmare takes the form of Ganon and other enemies from Link's past before it is defeated.^[14] Once the boss is destroyed, the Wind Fish awakes, and reveals that all of Koholint is in fact a dream; once the Wind Fish awakes, the island and all its inhabitants will cease to exist.^[15] Once Link plays the Ballad once more, both he and the Wind Fish awaken, with Link drifting in the middle of the ocean. Right before the ending credits roll, Link spies a seagull, which is Marin getting her wish to explore beyond the island.^[16]

Development of Link's Awakening proceeded directly following the completion of the Japanese-only Game Boy title, Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru. 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 stable of the franchise.^[17]

To roll out the game for the North American release, Nintendo sponsored a crosscountry train competition, called the 'Zelda Whistle Stop Tour'.^[18] The event, which lasted for three days, had selected players test out Link's Awakening in a timed race.^[19] Not only was the event a way to showcase the new Zelda game, but Nintendo also wanted to tout the Game Boy's superior battery life and portability,^[18] which would make or break the accessibility of a portable Zelda title.^[6]

In 1998, Link's Awakening was re-released as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX for the Game Boy Color on a black hybrid cartridge that is also compatible with the original Game Boy. This was one of the few "deluxe" versions of Game Boy games, along with Wario Land II DX, Tetris DX, Super Mario Bros. DX and the cancelled Metroid II: Return of Samus DX and Kirby's Dream Land 2 DX. As with other DX games, the game was fully colorized. In addition to the mere addition of color, the DX version added numerous gameplay features. One addition to the was an entirely new dungeon, based on color. The reward for beating the color-based puzzles is the choice of a red or blue-colored tunic, which offer a boost in offensive power or resistance to damage, respectively.^[20] The DX version also featured a camera shop where pictures are taken of the player's travels; these pictures could be viewed and printed using the Game Boy Printer.^[20]

Reviews
Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	8.25 (GB), 9.25 (DX)
GameSpot	8.7 (DX)
IGN	10/10 (DX)
Nintendo Power	4.18/5 (GB), 8.8/10 (DX)
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler	Score
Game Rankings	90% (GB), 92% (DX)

The original Game Boy game got generally positive reviews at the time of its release. Among the most significant, Nintendo Power gave it 4.18 out of 5 and Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it 8.25 out of 10.^[21] In a retrospective, EGM 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."^[22] The Washington Post declared that Nintendo had created a "legend that fits in the palm of your hand",^[23] with their two complaints being the lack of color and slightly awkward method of control.^[23] On Game Rankings, the monochrome title has an overall rating of 90%.^[24]

The Game Boy Color remake, Link's Awakening DX, received consistently better reviews than the original. 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.^[5] The game subsequently made #78 on IGN's list of the top 100 games of all time.^[4] Nintendo Power gave it 8.8/10, and Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it 9.25, all citing that the updated graphics and new additions to the content makes a significant difference; EGM also argued that with color, the title finally lived up to its promise.^[25] Despite the improvements, publications such as AllRPG still took issue with fundamental parts of the gameplay, including the awkwardness of the two-button format.^[26] Game Rankings rates the DX version of Link's Awakening at 92%, based on ten media outlets.^[27]

• Link's Awakening page at Zelda.com
• Map of Koholint Island
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening guide at StrategyWiki
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening at MobyGames
• Link's Awakening at the Legend of Zelda wiki, a wiki from wikia

v • d • e The Legend of Zelda video games
Games	The Legend of Zelda · The Adventure of Link · A Link to the Past · Link's Awakening · Ocarina of Time (Master Quest) · Majora's Mask · Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages · Four Swords · The Wind Waker · Four Swords Adventures · The Minish Cap · Twilight Princess · Phantom Hourglass
Spin-offs	Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland · Tingle's Balloon Fight · Link's Crossbow Training
Other	LCD games · CD-i games · BS The Legend of Zelda · BS Ancient Stone Tablets · Collector's Edition