And don't forget that you can steal from the shop keeper by grabbing something, and running around him. This is the way you can get the Bow for free, but if you do, Link's name will be THIEF permanently. And if you go back into the shop, the shopkeeper will outright 1-hit kill you for stealing from him.
Actually, Link's name will only be "thief" when he returns to the shop after stealing. Which is actually quite convenient because after getting the bow there's really no need to return to the shop as the other items sold there can usually be restocked in areas where you need them as these are usually lying under a pot.
The Shop Keeper is the strongest of the whole Zelda franchise. Even Ganon does not kill you in one hit and he can be beaten, but not the Shop Keeper. Hoping that the final boss for the next Zelda will be the Shop Keeper, link need his revenge!
Fun Fact about this game: it was originally meant to be a remake of A Link to the Past but was scrapped part way through and got developed into what it is today.
These 3 games, SEASONS, AGES and AWAKENING, are so engaging and so game that they make you forget that that are limited somewhat colored handled games. I wanna see a Link/Mario shared dream centered game franchise.
I think the reason why this game is cherished aside from it's story of course which is kind of heartbreaking and dark when you think about it. But from gameplay the level of progression. As Link's inventory grows the puzzles, enemies, and traps become more elaborate. As such no dungeon item is under utilized when it's introduced and the use of the items carry over. This makes future dungeons increasingly more elaborate and complex until you get to the final dungeon where everything comes full circle and you have a very massive and elaborate labyrinth that combines everything. While this game isn't all that hard when you know what to do the progression sense is still there and that's probably what I like most about this game.
aeo Humans have dozens of senses Sense of balance Sense of equilibrium Sense of gravitational direction Sense of location of their extremities Sense of temperature (technically it's split into two iirc) Sense of pain Sense of vibration Sense of time Sense of self And lots more
Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, includes claimed reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as intuition, telepathy, psychometry, clairvoyance, and their trans-temporal operation as precognition or retrocognition. Very cool.
This game surprised me by how much game they crammed into the little cart. They did so many things in it that were unique to the series, making the game feel like a Zelda "Gaiden" or side story, which I guess it is. The dream thing was fairly obvious from the start and the fact that Wart and 3 or so other characters from SMB2's Subcon universe were there, really made it clear. Best overview of this game on the net. Great job!
Sequence breaking is possible in this game, using the Pegasus Boots to dash past the fire you're supposed to block with the Mirror Shield in dungeon 7 allows you to skip dungeons 6 and 7 and go straight to 8 (you'll still have to go back and beat them to enter the Wind Fish Egg)
I just want to say after this review I was super interested in this game and now I can finally play it. This game is a little short but was amazing. Thanks for the expoure
I played the DX version of this game a few years ago and fell in love with it. It wasn't my first Zelda game by any means but it's up there with the favorites. Looking forward to playing the Switch version sometime.
Jeah mate. This game is something else. It started as a side project by some devs over at Nintendo without any backing or approval at all (which explains the Mario baddies). It brought a fresh spin and quickly got adapted as a main title. Furthermore the Title was so good it went on to inspire Aonuma to pretty much every key aspect of Ocarina Of Time, arguably THE Zelda game todate, key elements have been transferred like a focus on musical instruments, an idea Eiji apparently liked that much, that he created an entire game around it, basically. The remixed Zelda main melodies in this title, albeit being gameboy chiptunes, which I particularly only like fairly few of as they tend to get noisy and beepy all the time are stellar! (My favourites on the top of my head would include The Red fight theme in Silver Gold and Platinum, the boss battle theme from Dragonball Z Legendary Super Warriors and some tracks from Super Mario Land 2, alongside this games music!)
The dungeons in this game are indeed pick and choose to a certain extent you can screen wrap here is an example. When going north open your map during a screen transition if done correctly Link will stay on the tile most north which skips some travel events and obtain some powerful items early on. This glitch was patched on the DX color version. Great video!
The gameboy is full of lite versions of NES titles. Link's awakening proved that it didn't have to be. The gameboy was fully capable of making large, thoughtful and compelling titles in its own right. Nintendo did a better job of this on the Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance. Titles on those systems dont have the same LJN cash grabby feel as most of the Gameboy library.
Mario and Megaman got it's good unique GB titles. Mario Land 1 feels like GB SMB but Mario Land 2 got it right. Mega Man on the other hand? Took em' till the 5th try to make a good unique GB title
@MultiTarded you're allowed to like super mario land and GB mega man, but your nestalgia glasses are fogged up. They are both clearly shorter and clunkier versions of super mario bros and mega man 2. Its probably fair to say that mario land 2 is an exception.
Personally I feel like the Pokemon games were the ones that really pushed the Gameboy to it's limits back then, ESPECIALLY GSC on the Color. Their scope was pretty insane for a handheld game at the time.
You actually can sequence break the dungeons in this game but only the seventh dungeon, a friend showed me this way back in the day when I had this when I was like 10 years old. You can do the eighth dungeon first and get the fire wand and it makes the seventh dungeon and boss way easier.
Is link actually the one that is asleep? I thought it was just the Wind Fish, and Link had to wake it up to escape the island. Yes, there are parts of the game where Link is in bed sleeping, but I thought the island was the Wind Fish’s dream intruding on reality. Granted, the Wind Fish does say they will wake up together, but that could be metaphorical for Link. I’m probably over analyzing this, but the game does kind of encourage that.
i think the windfish has pulled link into his dream. when they wake up link sees the windfish. and if you complete it without dying once, you will see a seagull while Marin's theme plays implying she was somehow incarnated as a bird like she had dreamed about herself. (in the dx version you actually see Marin and her image fades revealing a seagull)
I feel like the fact link sees the Windfish after waking up, eliminates that possibility. Though if you never complete the game then I can understand that interpretation. I suppose link could be hallucinating at the end, though.
How is there not a reference to Super Mario Bros. 2? This game made me think of how SMB2 ended with it being only a dream... Not to mention the character references such as the Chain Chomp, Yoshi, or a giant egg on an island! Hell, I swear that the SMB2 boss made an appearance in some of your footage... Otherwise I see some resemblance to Star Tropics. Maybe I should check this game out sometime, it looked pretty decent and you made it very compelling with your commentary. Keep up with the solid work, your videos are definitely enlightening and I am enjoying the highlights of lesser known games from my childhood! Thanks.
You really ~should~ go back and try the bow, I won't give it away but if you equip it in one item slot and the bomb in another you can create a combined secret item! *Edited to say: I also recommend you play the Dx version to play both the Color Dungeon and collect the 12 pictures (even if no longer useful with the Gameboy Printer).
JSenator06 He did play the DX version, but he played it on Super Game Boy, it appears. Sure, you can't beat the color dungeon that way, but you can get the photos.
@@ZipplyZane You can still beat the colour dungeon with trial and error. The one thing that bothered me about the picture thing is that they made it really difficult to 100% the game and not get any deaths. I've been meaning to see if it can even be done. You have to steal something, get labelled a thief, and never go back into shop--just to get that one picture of you stealing something. I don't know if the picture is activated though once you steal or once you get killed for the act.
That's a Nice Story, Grandpa Not without bypassing the check at the beginning of the dungeon, where those guys who would ask you what color they are instead simply tell you that you can't enter. I know: I tried it back when I played the game on Super Game Boy or on my old Game Boy Pocket. They say something about needing the power of color to continue. And they don't go away until after you beat the dungeon. Only after it is beaten on GBC can you try to play through. However, you can't beat the dungeon again because the boss will already be defeated. You'll just get to the place where you get your reward (which I'm being intentionally vague about). It would be nice of you could just guess the colors of those two guys and get in, but that's not how it worked on the real gamecart. At least, on the only English a language version I know of. Maybe the Japanese version didn't have the check, and would let you guess.
@@ZipplyZane I'll take your word for it as it's been years--22 to be exact. I remember playing it on my Super Gameboy and able to bypass it by guessing just to see if I could, and it worked. I could be mistaken though.
My brother has the GBC copy of this game. Unfortunately, he never finished it probably it was too cryptic to him when he played it years ago. I downloaded this game on my 3DS VC and had to stop playing it during that time because my START button stopped working on the original 3DS. 4 years ago, I found my brother's old copy in a container filled with old games (PSX, Sega Genesis, GB, etc.) and I played it while watching a walkthrough of ZeldaMaster's videos for the overworld. The first 6 dungeons were pretty easy to figure out on my own. As for the last two, I had to watch Luke's (ZeldaMaster) videos or go to Zelda Dungeon website. It's a great game. As of this day, I now play it on my 3DS XL.
I had the dx version back in the day, sadly it dissapeared at some point. Have it on 3ds vc again, I bought happily to support the game, considering having played it via emulator more than a few times. I'd like to get my hands on a real copy again, although it's a real chore to play gameboy games these days, I don't understand how I ever did play those things. No backlight, having to hold the thing at odd angles for extended periods of time. I really want a consolized version of a GBA or something. If you liked this game, you should check out the Oracle games, they are well worth it, and take and expand on everything Link's Awakening had. Seasons the easier of the two, Ages had quite possibly the most annoying water level in zelda ever, in the form of Jabu Jabu's Belly. Raising and lowering water levels in loops of the dungeon, and they completely change if you can move a block, swim over a hole or even dive.
I remember how struggling it was to play a GB/GBA (especially the original GB) without a backlight when I was a kid. Fortunately, I have a GBA SP and it has a backlight making it easier to play games. And yeah, I played Link's Awakening on the GBA SP especially at nighttime. I feel more comfortable playing games during that time. My brother also had a copy of Oracle of Seasons, but I don't know where the copy is. I also have Oracle of Ages and Seasons downloaded on my 3DS. I played Ages first and that game has the toughest puzzles for a Zelda game. The last two dungeons are so brutal (worse than the final two dungeons in Link's Awakening and the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time 3DS) that I written a guide to keep track of my progress.
@@TomboyGamerGal A GBA SP would be a decent option. I've been eyeballing the Retron 5 which is supposedly capable of gb/gbc/gba games. At a 150 dollars, it's not the cheapest. But playing the Oracle games with an NES controller sounds like it might be worth it.
Litle know fact about the hammer in LttP: if you use it to breake frozen enemy, it's aninstant kill and you get frozen enemy in return. In combo with the ice rode or the Ether Medallion, it becomes a really powerful attack.
Oh wow! I honestly just never thought of it this way. growing up I did enjoy this game, but I kept getting stuck and it felt like I was getting stuck a lot more so than I ever did in A Link to the Past so I ended up not liking this game as much, but I would like to go back to and give another chance. I believe I still have the cartridge of the original Link's Awakening for Game Boy.
I know a huge part of my feelings for this game are rooted in nostalgia but nevertheless this is still my favorite Zelda game. Followed by Zelda 1, Zelda 2, then ALTTP. Those early games are some of the best games of all time. I still play them all at least 3 or 4 times a year. Thanks a lot for these videos! They're G-R-R-R-REAT!
You can sequence break the dungeons! I happened to me. I got to angler tunnel (or whatever it was called) and got the flippers and everything, I just could not get the boss key (I had trouble figuring out you were supposed to stand on the platforms in a certain order). I gave up eventually and left and beat the other dungeons. I got to the end of the game, played my ocarina in front of the wind fish egg with 7 instruments and it didn't work. I had to finish the dungeon first.
Also with a well placed diagonal throw in dungeon 7 you can get the L2 shield early( in the room with the chest there are switch blocks blocking your path.. use the boomerang to throw at the "Switch armor" to get the chest right then and there.
Not to mention the super Mario characters being a cool touch and a mention of the extra level in the DX version should have been mentioned! Maybe the other features and add ons from that version
I don't find the end of the trading sequence obscure at all. When I was on the library the first time, I saw he book that you couldn't read, setting myself up to come back there. And of course I was going to go see what the mermaid was about after I saw her. And I dived one every screen since it's the only thing you can do in deep water, and removes your hitbox. I also adored the boomerang, as it felt a proper reward by the time you get it, without really breaking anything since you're almost finished with the game. I also never found I kept the acorn or triforce long enough to care about the music: you lose them after a number of hits. Still, I'll admit I only beat the game with the help of the color dungeon item, which you can't remove.
Great and fair review but I should point out that the story description is a bit inaccurate. Koholint island is the product of the Wind Fish's dream and not Link. Since it's a divine being its dreams create actual worlds which Link ends up in (thus he's trapped in its dream). The reason the Wind Fish's dream is established like this is because the nightmares within wanted to continue to exist and not vanish when it wakes so they trapped it in an eternal sleep so Koholint may exist forever. The game purposefully makes it obvious that Koholint is not real even going as far as to directly spelling it out to you before you enter the Face shrine. Link's moral conflict is that he can either let Koholint island be and have the Wind Fish be trapped forever in sleep and also be trapped forever on the island himself while the inhabitants are harassed by the nightmares who now rule the dream, or he can defeat the nightmares, wake the Wind Fish, save himself and release Koholint's inhabitants from the nightmare's grasp but this also means destroying Koholint and everyone on it. The ending sequence's music is a very bittersweet melody, somehow managing to sound both tragic and triumphant reflecting the ending itself. You saved everyone, you escaped, you beat the bad guys but now all of those characters you met are no more than a memory in the back of your mind. The final scene has Link waking up wondering if it was all a dream when he spots the Wind Fish soaring the skies letting him know that even if the world was the creation of a god's dream...it was still real in some sense. If you beat the game without dying you're treated to an extra scene (made even more explicit in the DX port) where you see that in some form, Marin's dream of being able to fly like a seagull and see the world beyond Koholint was realized as she's reborn as a seagull herself. I really love the game's story and how it turns the tired "it was just a dream" trope into an engaging story about moral conflicts and questions about what is real and what isn't.
The hammer in alttp is way more desirable than you give it credit for. Very useful for bosses due to it doing the same damage as the 3rd sword. Check out some alttp speed runs for more information on the game.
When playing the original GameBoy games, if playing to more simulate original game play, I prefer a color pallet that beige and green dual tone scheme rather than black and white or black and green because I had an original GameBoy and the screen looked like that. I think it was how the screen was made. It had like a goldish color reflector, and the LCD pixels had a green tone.This kind of made the screen appear more colorful than it was. On Link's Awakening, the trees were green with hay colored grass. When you go to black and white like with the GameBoy pocket, you lost that. I really don't know why they didn't use that as the default pallet for original GameBoy games on the GameBoy Color. They gave you a sepia tone pallet instead. They gave you an all green pallet and a black and white pallet, but not one that looked like the original GameBoy. Sure, I didn't miss the smearing of the screen during fast movement, the low contrast, or even the lack of a back light, but I did miss the colors that were just the properties of that crappy LCD screen. A fun fact about the original GameBoy is that it was 60Hz. The LCD screen wasn't fast enough for that, but the programmers took advantage of that to give screen shades beyond four. In Link's Awakening played on a GameBoy Pocket or more advanced screen including an emulator, if you cut grass, leaves flicker. If you cut grass on the original GameBoy, it looks like a shade that you can't see on any other screen because the LCD was too slow to show the flicker. I never even noticed until I played Link's Awakening on a GameBoy Color since I never got a GameBoy Pocket. I kept wondering why the leaves flickered when you cut grass. Unfortunately, most people won't be able to experience that unless they have a real original GameBoy. I guess people aren't missing much. I still prefer playing on the GBA-101, N3DS Virtual Console, or on an emulator.
For sequence breaking, you can do Dungeon 7 and 8 in reverse order, easily if you get the Mirror sheild from dungeon 7 first, but even if you don't, you can just get past the fire that normally needs the mirror sheild with a pegasus boot jump, you'll get hurt but you can get past. Doesn't break the game though since you're just reversing the last two dungeons and there is no final story bit between them and the final wind fish egg boss.
love this game so much. but i have to correct something in the video. link is not dreaming all of this. when he awakes at the end he is looking to the sky and seeing the wind fish.
This game was the 1st zelda I ever played and my 1st gameboy game. blew my mind and ive replayed it easily 20 times or more. it was a pseudo top down “metroidvania” before that term ever came to be oh, and you can sequence break this game...like super hard. its a screen warp glitch on the original GB (non dx) version or rom
I honestly believe that once people realize this it will seem so incredibly obvious and a newfound understanding and respect for Link's Awakening will be reached. The game was never quiet about the island being a dream because that was exactly the point: the developers wanted you to believe that it was all a dream. To some degree, it was a dream. The Wind Fish was asleep and dreaming throughout the entire game. When Link awoke the Wind Fish, however, it was revealed that the Wind Fish was not only a part of the dream but also a part of the waking world. And the magnum opus of the game was executed when a player made it through the entire game without dying. Spoiler alert here: if a player beats the entire game without dying, Link is treated to the elation of finding out that Marin is not only a part of the waking world like the Wind Fish, but that she got her wings in the end as well. When I was young and beat this game, I thought Link's Awakening pulled off the ultimate twist at the end, as we knew that it was a dream from the very beginning of the game, but at the end of the game, you realize that it wasn't only a dream but there is something real about Koholint as well.
Story wise, I think this game happened between SEASONS and AGES> I think this because at the end of SEASONS we see Link set sail and this game starts off with Link sailing already but thats just my thoughts, anyone else??
Actually I hate the power up music from the guardian acorn and that other item so much that whenever I manage to pick those items up *accidentally* I run into enemies deliberately to make that terrible jingle go away.
I'd love to see you cover The Legend of Zelda: Oracle games on Game Boy Color. Kind of unique that that game went the Pokemon route and released two different games simultaneously.
Watched a bunch of these Zelda reviews and one thing that never seems to get mentioned is how when you die the games only start you back with 3 hearts, regardless of how many you actually have. This is really frustrating as you then have to go around fighting pointless enemies and smashing pots just to get your health back up. Seems to be something overlooked in these videos but is another way a lot of Zelda games would waste a players time.
All valid points. Kris, I would say that just about every detail expressed in this video very much mirrors the experience I just had with the game. In preparation for this review, I had _just_ beaten this game yesterday for the second time ever since I was a kid! The Color DX version, if you must know. And in these hours upon hours of revisiting Link's first truly surreal and deceptively melancholic adventure, it was a smooth, at times rough, sometimes dare I say even, eye-opening experience of puzzles, item-swapping, and slightly angsty, annoyance-ridden introversion. Throughout this quest, I found a decently well-realized marvel of design that only Nintendo in their heyday could develop so casually for their simple, green screened handheld contraption. To take this to be a mere Game Boy game is unflattering, as it defies expectations thereof. _Link's Awakening_ absolutely goes beyond that and forges its own identity beyond just another Zelda for the Game Boy. Like Genthe said, it could've just been _A Link to the Past_ in 4 shades of green, but for Nintendo, that would've been way too luxurious of an undertaking. The deep thought-provoking philosophy of the existential nature of this game's plot and setting surely reflects to me the company's brilliance and ingenuity throughout this era of gaming. Is it GOOD that the little green-hatted shoplifting castaway basically caused the island, a mere dream and by extension, its inhabitants to disappear for eternity, reduced to but a mere memory of the subconscious upon awakening the Wind Fish at last? We just will never receive a direct answer, and that's the beauty of it. It comes across as a very "Japanese" way of thinking and these existential sensibilities are present in quite a few games later on too. Not just in Zelda, either. In this way, I consider LA to be rather ahead of its time, where plot and symbolism are concerned. It very much is the first Zelda game to defy tradition, at least plot-and-setting-wise, and I love it. Very much the original _Majora's Mask,_ in that fashion, if you will. I will NEVER, EVER tell you that _Link's Awakening_ is perfect, or even a masterpiece, or EVEN one of the greatest games of all time, for that matter! I'm not sugar-coating anything: like the previous Zelda, this game's design decisions are starting to show their age. Whenever you do something as insignificant as walk up to a pot or green crystal thing an annoying text box will come up, basically saying "WOW look at this! Find the right item in order to get past it, stupid!" And like Kris pointed out in this review, I just made the EXACT SAME mistake of going through that annoying sign maze, talking to Wart _without_ the Ocarina in hand, and basically just wasting my time. The game does do a good job of directing the player _sometimes,_ but other times...ehh...it could've just done better in that regard. And the item-switching is as monotonous as ever, always demanding the player to press Start, pick another item in the menu in order to do something as mundane as jumping, perhaps only due to limitations of having only two buttons. Don't get me wrong: I love this game, just for what it is. It inspired me as a kid, it really did. The dungeons and bosses and even just the world in general are perhaps the best-realized up to this point. And the music. Is. Awesome. Especially the mountain theme and the Ballad of the Wind Fish! Just beautiful, touching moments this little Game Boy offered. It has some of the most heart in the series, I would argue, despite its obvious limitations. The ending is something that I cherish deeply. Just how Link smiles as he looks up and sees the Wind Fish flying majestically overhead is iconic. Even if at times it can come off as one of the most primitive post-NES games in design: This game is special. And may the Wind Fish fly again!
I always liked the Zelda 3 progression and by extention Links Awakening. The Non linearity of Zelda one didn't do much for me and not knowing where to go is very annoying
Ima huge zelda fan been playing for as long as I can remember on starting on the nes. I cant stand how inconvenient LA was . Having to pause constantly to switch item to just get through one panel on the overworld screen ,and having to redo puzzles every time you revisit a part of the map where in over zelda games you get rewarded for progress and you are given shortcuts or the obstacles dont respawn
He posts this video and then Nintendo announces it for the Switch four days later
He posted this video and then I ended up getting my hands on a copy of Link's Awakening DX the day after.
Your long form reviews like this are the best hidden content on RUclips. Keep up the awesome work!
Hey man thanks for the kind words!
I played this so much 20 years ago that I memorized all the conch shell and heart piece finds. Now they are forgotten memories!
I can't wait for you to cover Wand of Gamelon!
So true!!!
sure you can bux healing potions. crazy tracey next to ocarina warp point sells it
Just wanted to say that I really enjoy your videos, and I'm glad I was able to discover your content! Keep up the good work!
Will do, thanks!
So glad I found this channel. You're videos are so insightful
Thanks man!
And don't forget that you can steal from the shop keeper by grabbing something, and running around him.
This is the way you can get the Bow for free, but if you do, Link's name will be THIEF permanently.
And if you go back into the shop, the shopkeeper will outright 1-hit kill you for stealing from him.
Actually, Link's name will only be "thief" when he returns to the shop after stealing. Which is actually quite convenient because after getting the bow there's really no need to return to the shop as the other items sold there can usually be restocked in areas where you need them as these are usually lying under a pot.
@@NameThatNobodyTakes incorrect, you'll be renamed thief regardless if you return or not. What returning will do is result in an inescapable death.
The Shop Keeper is the strongest of the whole Zelda franchise.
Even Ganon does not kill you in one hit and he can be beaten, but not the Shop Keeper.
Hoping that the final boss for the next Zelda will be the Shop Keeper, link need his revenge!
I completely forgot about the stealing aspect, I hadn't done it since I was a kid haha :) Thanks for refreshing my memory!
Fun Fact about this game: it was originally meant to be a remake of A Link to the Past but was scrapped part way through and got developed into what it is today.
It would've been a disappointment if this was a port to A Link to the Past. Good thing Nintendo changed their mind when they made this game.
I love your videos, especially these recent Zelda ones 😍❤
There’s a shop near the graveyard where you can buy the secret potion whenever you run out.
The power up theme is practically burned into my brain. I practically hear it in my dreams at night.
I really like the ghost. It is another memorable islander with which to create a connection and memories, just as we help him revisit his.
Great video! I enjoy re-visiting Link's Awakening at least once a year.
Thanks mate!
These 3 games, SEASONS, AGES and AWAKENING, are so engaging and so game that they make you forget that that are limited somewhat colored handled games. I wanna see a Link/Mario shared dream centered game franchise.
I think the reason why this game is cherished aside from it's story of course which is kind of heartbreaking and dark when you think about it. But from gameplay the level of progression. As Link's inventory grows the puzzles, enemies, and traps become more elaborate. As such no dungeon item is under utilized when it's introduced and the use of the items carry over. This makes future dungeons increasingly more elaborate and complex until you get to the final dungeon where everything comes full circle and you have a very massive and elaborate labyrinth that combines everything. While this game isn't all that hard when you know what to do the progression sense is still there and that's probably what I like most about this game.
I thought I played every zelda game made, I missed this one and I want to play it!
Keep this coming it's absolutely sublime.From a 4 year subber.
Dude, you have 6th sense.
aeo
Humans have dozens of senses
Sense of balance
Sense of equilibrium
Sense of gravitational direction
Sense of location of their extremities
Sense of temperature (technically it's split into two iirc)
Sense of pain
Sense of vibration
Sense of time
Sense of self
And lots more
Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, includes claimed reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as intuition, telepathy, psychometry, clairvoyance, and their trans-temporal operation as precognition or retrocognition.
Very cool.
Great video kris, this is one of my eariest gaming memories. Loved this game.
This game surprised me by how much game they crammed into the little cart. They did so many things in it that were unique to the series, making the game feel like a Zelda "Gaiden" or side story, which I guess it is.
The dream thing was fairly obvious from the start and the fact that Wart and 3 or so other characters from SMB2's Subcon universe were there, really made it clear.
Best overview of this game on the net. Great job!
Thanks mate!
This is one of the best reviews I’ve seen on RUclips. Well done.
You need more subscribers, man! These videos are amazing! I'll wait with baited breath for the next videos!
Great video, as always. Keep up the good work, friend.
Wow, I thought I was the only one who avoided the power ups because their crappy tune.
This is the only channel I allow notifications from.
:D
3:34 - The Witch and Crazy Tracy are two separate people.
Mind blown.
Sequence breaking is possible in this game, using the Pegasus Boots to dash past the fire you're supposed to block with the Mirror Shield in dungeon 7 allows you to skip dungeons 6 and 7 and go straight to 8 (you'll still have to go back and beat them to enter the Wind Fish Egg)
I just want to say after this review I was super interested in this game and now I can finally play it. This game is a little short but was amazing. Thanks for the expoure
I played the DX version of this game a few years ago and fell in love with it. It wasn't my first Zelda game by any means but it's up there with the favorites. Looking forward to playing the Switch version sometime.
Fantastic commentary on a fantastic game. Really enjoyed it, many thanks.
Thank you for the kind words!
Jeah mate. This game is something else. It started as a side project by some devs over at Nintendo without any backing or approval at all (which explains the Mario baddies). It brought a fresh spin and quickly got adapted as a main title. Furthermore the Title was so good it went on to inspire Aonuma to pretty much every key aspect of Ocarina Of Time, arguably THE Zelda game todate, key elements have been transferred like a focus on musical instruments, an idea Eiji apparently liked that much, that he created an entire game around it, basically.
The remixed Zelda main melodies in this title, albeit being gameboy chiptunes, which I particularly only like fairly few of as they tend to get noisy and beepy all the time are stellar! (My favourites on the top of my head would include The Red fight theme in Silver Gold and Platinum, the boss battle theme from Dragonball Z Legendary Super Warriors and some tracks from Super Mario Land 2, alongside this games music!)
The dungeons in this game are indeed pick and choose to a certain extent you can screen wrap here is an example. When going north open your map during a screen transition if done correctly Link will stay on the tile most north which skips some travel events and obtain some powerful items early on. This glitch was patched on the DX color version.
Great video!
The gameboy is full of lite versions of NES titles. Link's awakening proved that it didn't have to be. The gameboy was fully capable of making large, thoughtful and compelling titles in its own right. Nintendo did a better job of this on the Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance. Titles on those systems dont have the same LJN cash grabby feel as most of the Gameboy library.
You seem to forget that at that time it was a huge deal to play videogames on the go, other than those shitty tigergame handhelds.
Mario and Megaman got it's good unique GB titles. Mario Land 1 feels like GB SMB but Mario Land 2 got it right. Mega Man on the other hand? Took em' till the 5th try to make a good unique GB title
@MultiTarded you're allowed to like super mario land and GB mega man, but your nestalgia glasses are fogged up. They are both clearly shorter and clunkier versions of super mario bros and mega man 2. Its probably fair to say that mario land 2 is an exception.
John Grotegut
And Mega Man V
Personally I feel like the Pokemon games were the ones that really pushed the Gameboy to it's limits back then, ESPECIALLY GSC on the Color. Their scope was pretty insane for a handheld game at the time.
You actually can sequence break the dungeons in this game but only the seventh dungeon, a friend showed me this way back in the day when I had this when I was like 10 years old. You can do the eighth dungeon first and get the fire wand and it makes the seventh dungeon and boss way easier.
Is link actually the one that is asleep? I thought it was just the Wind Fish, and Link had to wake it up to escape the island. Yes, there are parts of the game where Link is in bed sleeping, but I thought the island was the Wind Fish’s dream intruding on reality. Granted, the Wind Fish does say they will wake up together, but that could be metaphorical for Link. I’m probably over analyzing this, but the game does kind of encourage that.
i think the windfish has pulled link into his dream. when they wake up link sees the windfish. and if you complete it without dying once, you will see a seagull while Marin's theme plays implying she was somehow incarnated as a bird like she had dreamed about herself. (in the dx version you actually see Marin and her image fades revealing a seagull)
I interpreted the Wind Fish as a metaphor for Link's sleep. Others have interpreted it differently.
I feel like the fact link sees the Windfish after waking up, eliminates that possibility. Though if you never complete the game then I can understand that interpretation. I suppose link could be hallucinating at the end, though.
This is what I first played. I love this game to death.
The secret medicine is not that secret, you can get it from Crazy Tracy. She's right at the pond you warp to when you play the second ocarina song.
Dude, you're a psychic.
Fantastic video BTW.
Heh, kinda funny how close your review came out to the reveal of the remake
ruth mcnally 🤔🤔
Some of the most in depth analysis on games are on this channel
How is there not a reference to Super Mario Bros. 2? This game made me think of how SMB2 ended with it being only a dream... Not to mention the character references such as the Chain Chomp, Yoshi, or a giant egg on an island! Hell, I swear that the SMB2 boss made an appearance in some of your footage... Otherwise I see some resemblance to Star Tropics. Maybe I should check this game out sometime, it looked pretty decent and you made it very compelling with your commentary. Keep up with the solid work, your videos are definitely enlightening and I am enjoying the highlights of lesser known games from my childhood! Thanks.
You mean Doki Doki Panic? :D :D
I’m here from a few days in the future to say, I can’t wait to play this again on my Nintendo Switch
You really ~should~ go back and try the bow, I won't give it away but if you equip it in one item slot and the bomb in another you can create a combined secret item! *Edited to say: I also recommend you play the Dx version to play both the Color Dungeon and collect the 12 pictures (even if no longer useful with the Gameboy Printer).
JSenator06 He did play the DX version, but he played it on Super Game Boy, it appears. Sure, you can't beat the color dungeon that way, but you can get the photos.
@@ZipplyZane You can still beat the colour dungeon with trial and error.
The one thing that bothered me about the picture thing is that they made it really difficult to 100% the game and not get any deaths. I've been meaning to see if it can even be done. You have to steal something, get labelled a thief, and never go back into shop--just to get that one picture of you stealing something. I don't know if the picture is activated though once you steal or once you get killed for the act.
The pictures are a waste of time imho.
That's a Nice Story, Grandpa Not without bypassing the check at the beginning of the dungeon, where those guys who would ask you what color they are instead simply tell you that you can't enter. I know: I tried it back when I played the game on Super Game Boy or on my old Game Boy Pocket. They say something about needing the power of color to continue.
And they don't go away until after you beat the dungeon. Only after it is beaten on GBC can you try to play through. However, you can't beat the dungeon again because the boss will already be defeated. You'll just get to the place where you get your reward (which I'm being intentionally vague about).
It would be nice of you could just guess the colors of those two guys and get in, but that's not how it worked on the real gamecart. At least, on the only English a language version I know of. Maybe the Japanese version didn't have the check, and would let you guess.
@@ZipplyZane I'll take your word for it as it's been years--22 to be exact. I remember playing it on my Super Gameboy and able to bypass it by guessing just to see if I could, and it worked. I could be mistaken though.
My brother has the GBC copy of this game. Unfortunately, he never finished it probably it was too cryptic to him when he played it years ago. I downloaded this game on my 3DS VC and had to stop playing it during that time because my START button stopped working on the original 3DS. 4 years ago, I found my brother's old copy in a container filled with old games (PSX, Sega Genesis, GB, etc.) and I played it while watching a walkthrough of ZeldaMaster's videos for the overworld. The first 6 dungeons were pretty easy to figure out on my own. As for the last two, I had to watch Luke's (ZeldaMaster) videos or go to Zelda Dungeon website. It's a great game.
As of this day, I now play it on my 3DS XL.
I had the dx version back in the day, sadly it dissapeared at some point. Have it on 3ds vc again, I bought happily to support the game, considering having played it via emulator more than a few times.
I'd like to get my hands on a real copy again, although it's a real chore to play gameboy games these days, I don't understand how I ever did play those things. No backlight, having to hold the thing at odd angles for extended periods of time. I really want a consolized version of a GBA or something.
If you liked this game, you should check out the Oracle games, they are well worth it, and take and expand on everything Link's Awakening had. Seasons the easier of the two, Ages had quite possibly the most annoying water level in zelda ever, in the form of Jabu Jabu's Belly. Raising and lowering water levels in loops of the dungeon, and they completely change if you can move a block, swim over a hole or even dive.
I remember how struggling it was to play a GB/GBA (especially the original GB) without a backlight when I was a kid. Fortunately, I have a GBA SP and it has a backlight making it easier to play games. And yeah, I played Link's Awakening on the GBA SP especially at nighttime. I feel more comfortable playing games during that time.
My brother also had a copy of Oracle of Seasons, but I don't know where the copy is. I also have Oracle of Ages and Seasons downloaded on my 3DS. I played Ages first and that game has the toughest puzzles for a Zelda game. The last two dungeons are so brutal (worse than the final two dungeons in Link's Awakening and the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time 3DS) that I written a guide to keep track of my progress.
@@TomboyGamerGal A GBA SP would be a decent option. I've been eyeballing the Retron 5 which is supposedly capable of gb/gbc/gba games. At a 150 dollars, it's not the cheapest. But playing the Oracle games with an NES controller sounds like it might be worth it.
Litle know fact about the hammer in LttP: if you use it to breake frozen enemy, it's aninstant kill and you get frozen enemy in return. In combo with the ice rode or the Ether Medallion, it becomes a really powerful attack.
I'm currently playing Link's Awakening via an emulator on my phone and i'm enjoying it immensely.
Great video bro 👍
Oh wow! I honestly just never thought of it this way. growing up I did enjoy this game, but I kept getting stuck and it felt like I was getting stuck a lot more so than I ever did in A Link to the Past so I ended up not liking this game as much, but I would like to go back to and give another chance. I believe I still have the cartridge of the original Link's Awakening for Game Boy.
You HAD to have known about the Nintendo Direct today when you first posted this! lol
Year after year and this one remains firmly in my top 3 LoZ games. High praise considering most entries in the franchise are excellent.
I know a huge part of my feelings for this game are rooted in nostalgia but nevertheless this is still my favorite Zelda game. Followed by Zelda 1, Zelda 2, then ALTTP. Those early games are some of the best games of all time. I still play them all at least 3 or 4 times a year. Thanks a lot for these videos! They're G-R-R-R-REAT!
You can sequence break the dungeons! I happened to me. I got to angler tunnel (or whatever it was called) and got the flippers and everything, I just could not get the boss key (I had trouble figuring out you were supposed to stand on the platforms in a certain order). I gave up eventually and left and beat the other dungeons. I got to the end of the game, played my ocarina in front of the wind fish egg with 7 instruments and it didn't work. I had to finish the dungeon first.
Amazing review and retrospective! I hope you can do the Oracles as well!
I never knew the boomerang was so op, I jusr used it foe cutting grass and retrieving items.
Also with a well placed diagonal throw in dungeon 7 you can get the L2 shield early( in the room with the chest there are switch blocks blocking your path.. use the boomerang to throw at the "Switch armor" to get the chest right then and there.
Excellent review to one of my childhood's most favorite titles.
My very first Zelda game I played. Thanks for the review and it is interesting that you are using the Gameboy footage instead of the Color one
Keep up the good work! New follower but really impressed with the quality of your videos.
Not to mention the super Mario characters being a cool touch and a mention of the extra level in the DX version should have been mentioned! Maybe the other features and add ons from that version
I don't find the end of the trading sequence obscure at all. When I was on the library the first time, I saw he book that you couldn't read, setting myself up to come back there. And of course I was going to go see what the mermaid was about after I saw her. And I dived one every screen since it's the only thing you can do in deep water, and removes your hitbox.
I also adored the boomerang, as it felt a proper reward by the time you get it, without really breaking anything since you're almost finished with the game. I also never found I kept the acorn or triforce long enough to care about the music: you lose them after a number of hits.
Still, I'll admit I only beat the game with the help of the color dungeon item, which you can't remove.
10:15 The only one is doing dungeon 8 before 7, unless you want to use glitches.
how do you get past the fire without the mirror shield?
@@lostnumbr You can sort of squeeze your way past if you mess around with it, but you'll need a potion.
My first Zelda game as a little kid with a Gameboy Color. :) man I miss it.
Excellent video brother!!!
Thank you Sir!
Loving these Zelda videos! Keep doing them! (I mean, there's plenty of Zelda games)
Taking a small break, but clearly there is a demand for Zelda content haha.
@@implantgames I do hope you'll return one day. Your reviews are really, really good!
My favorite game of all time!
Thank you. Thank you so much
It's absolutely a must play. Looking forward to the remake later this year.
Nice spot...right on the beach
Great and fair review but I should point out that the story description is a bit inaccurate. Koholint island is the product of the Wind Fish's dream and not Link. Since it's a divine being its dreams create actual worlds which Link ends up in (thus he's trapped in its dream). The reason the Wind Fish's dream is established like this is because the nightmares within wanted to continue to exist and not vanish when it wakes so they trapped it in an eternal sleep so Koholint may exist forever.
The game purposefully makes it obvious that Koholint is not real even going as far as to directly spelling it out to you before you enter the Face shrine. Link's moral conflict is that he can either let Koholint island be and have the Wind Fish be trapped forever in sleep and also be trapped forever on the island himself while the inhabitants are harassed by the nightmares who now rule the dream, or he can defeat the nightmares, wake the Wind Fish, save himself and release Koholint's inhabitants from the nightmare's grasp but this also means destroying Koholint and everyone on it.
The ending sequence's music is a very bittersweet melody, somehow managing to sound both tragic and triumphant reflecting the ending itself. You saved everyone, you escaped, you beat the bad guys but now all of those characters you met are no more than a memory in the back of your mind. The final scene has Link waking up wondering if it was all a dream when he spots the Wind Fish soaring the skies letting him know that even if the world was the creation of a god's dream...it was still real in some sense. If you beat the game without dying you're treated to an extra scene (made even more explicit in the DX port) where you see that in some form, Marin's dream of being able to fly like a seagull and see the world beyond Koholint was realized as she's reborn as a seagull herself.
I really love the game's story and how it turns the tired "it was just a dream" trope into an engaging story about moral conflicts and questions about what is real and what isn't.
And with the remake coming out, I'm truly happy to be part of Zelda again.
The hammer in alttp is way more desirable than you give it credit for. Very useful for bosses due to it doing the same damage as the 3rd sword. Check out some alttp speed runs for more information on the game.
When playing the original GameBoy games, if playing to more simulate original game play, I prefer a color pallet that beige and green dual tone scheme rather than black and white or black and green because I had an original GameBoy and the screen looked like that. I think it was how the screen was made. It had like a goldish color reflector, and the LCD pixels had a green tone.This kind of made the screen appear more colorful than it was. On Link's Awakening, the trees were green with hay colored grass. When you go to black and white like with the GameBoy pocket, you lost that. I really don't know why they didn't use that as the default pallet for original GameBoy games on the GameBoy Color. They gave you a sepia tone pallet instead. They gave you an all green pallet and a black and white pallet, but not one that looked like the original GameBoy. Sure, I didn't miss the smearing of the screen during fast movement, the low contrast, or even the lack of a back light, but I did miss the colors that were just the properties of that crappy LCD screen. A fun fact about the original GameBoy is that it was 60Hz. The LCD screen wasn't fast enough for that, but the programmers took advantage of that to give screen shades beyond four. In Link's Awakening played on a GameBoy Pocket or more advanced screen including an emulator, if you cut grass, leaves flicker. If you cut grass on the original GameBoy, it looks like a shade that you can't see on any other screen because the LCD was too slow to show the flicker. I never even noticed until I played Link's Awakening on a GameBoy Color since I never got a GameBoy Pocket. I kept wondering why the leaves flickered when you cut grass. Unfortunately, most people won't be able to experience that unless they have a real original GameBoy. I guess people aren't missing much. I still prefer playing on the GBA-101, N3DS Virtual Console, or on an emulator.
good timing! with the switch remake
Looking forward to the remake :D
You and gaming historian are the absolute BEST🖖😄😍
Love your videos
For sequence breaking, you can do Dungeon 7 and 8 in reverse order, easily if you get the Mirror sheild from dungeon 7 first, but even if you don't, you can just get past the fire that normally needs the mirror sheild with a pegasus boot jump, you'll get hurt but you can get past. Doesn't break the game though since you're just reversing the last two dungeons and there is no final story bit between them and the final wind fish egg boss.
Is it really sequence breaking if you're taking the shield in level 7 though?
The witch sells you the potion as often as you want after having used it.
love this game so much. but i have to correct something in the video. link is not dreaming all of this. when he awakes at the end he is looking to the sky and seeing the wind fish.
This game was the 1st zelda I ever played and my 1st gameboy game. blew my mind and ive replayed it easily 20 times or more.
it was a pseudo top down “metroidvania” before that term ever came to be
oh, and you can sequence break this game...like super hard. its a screen warp glitch on the original GB (non dx) version or rom
How timely is this now? Given the recent Nintendo Direct. Fine work.
I honestly believe that once people realize this it will seem so incredibly obvious and a newfound understanding and respect for Link's Awakening will be reached. The game was never quiet about the island being a dream because that was exactly the point: the developers wanted you to believe that it was all a dream. To some degree, it was a dream. The Wind Fish was asleep and dreaming throughout the entire game. When Link awoke the Wind Fish, however, it was revealed that the Wind Fish was not only a part of the dream but also a part of the waking world. And the magnum opus of the game was executed when a player made it through the entire game without dying. Spoiler alert here: if a player beats the entire game without dying, Link is treated to the elation of finding out that Marin is not only a part of the waking world like the Wind Fish, but that she got her wings in the end as well. When I was young and beat this game, I thought Link's Awakening pulled off the ultimate twist at the end, as we knew that it was a dream from the very beginning of the game, but at the end of the game, you realize that it wasn't only a dream but there is something real about Koholint as well.
I actually avoided the acorn and piece of power like the plague for the reasons you mentioned.
Story wise, I think this game happened between SEASONS and AGES> I think this because at the end of SEASONS we see Link set sail and this game starts off with Link sailing already but thats just my thoughts, anyone else??
Wow, congrats on the SEO my dude. I bet the announcement today will net you some views.
Actually I hate the power up music from the guardian acorn and that other item so much that whenever I manage to pick those items up *accidentally* I run into enemies deliberately to make that terrible jingle go away.
If you beat the whole game without dying once, you get an extra secret ending Easter egg.
I'd love to see you cover The Legend of Zelda: Oracle games on Game Boy Color. Kind of unique that that game went the Pokemon route and released two different games simultaneously.
8:35 Is that Wart? From SMB2?
Yea. Interestingly, both this game and SMB2 are just dreams of the protagonists...
Wart isn't the only character from other games appearing in this one.
yes a great many characters resemble or are inspired by other nintendo titles, including enemies. I think it has to do with this being a dream world.
@@lostnumbr And both are owned by the big N too.
@@lostnumbr Chain Chops have appeared also in the world of Hyrule too, A LINK TO THE PAST shows Link going between two of them in the dark world.
It's also noteworthy that the game brought back the side scrolling elements of Zelda 2 .
Watched a bunch of these Zelda reviews and one thing that never seems to get mentioned is how when you die the games only start you back with 3 hearts, regardless of how many you actually have. This is really frustrating as you then have to go around fighting pointless enemies and smashing pots just to get your health back up. Seems to be something overlooked in these videos but is another way a lot of Zelda games would waste a players time.
Magnificent work thanks 😍
All valid points. Kris, I would say that just about every detail expressed in this video very much mirrors the experience I just had with the game.
In preparation for this review, I had _just_ beaten this game yesterday for the second time ever since I was a kid! The Color DX version, if you must know. And in these hours upon hours of revisiting Link's first truly surreal and deceptively melancholic adventure, it was a smooth, at times rough, sometimes dare I say even, eye-opening experience of puzzles, item-swapping, and slightly angsty, annoyance-ridden introversion.
Throughout this quest, I found a decently well-realized marvel of design that only Nintendo in their heyday could develop so casually for their simple, green screened handheld contraption. To take this to be a mere Game Boy game is unflattering, as it defies expectations thereof. _Link's Awakening_ absolutely goes beyond that and forges its own identity beyond just another Zelda for the Game Boy. Like Genthe said, it could've just been _A Link to the Past_ in 4 shades of green, but for Nintendo, that would've been way too luxurious of an undertaking. The deep thought-provoking philosophy of the existential nature of this game's plot and setting surely reflects to me the company's brilliance and ingenuity throughout this era of gaming. Is it GOOD that the little green-hatted shoplifting castaway basically caused the island, a mere dream and by extension, its inhabitants to disappear for eternity, reduced to but a mere memory of the subconscious upon awakening the Wind Fish at last? We just will never receive a direct answer, and that's the beauty of it. It comes across as a very "Japanese" way of thinking and these existential sensibilities are present in quite a few games later on too. Not just in Zelda, either. In this way, I consider LA to be rather ahead of its time, where plot and symbolism are concerned. It very much is the first Zelda game to defy tradition, at least plot-and-setting-wise, and I love it. Very much the original _Majora's Mask,_ in that fashion, if you will.
I will NEVER, EVER tell you that _Link's Awakening_ is perfect, or even a masterpiece, or EVEN one of the greatest games of all time, for that matter! I'm not sugar-coating anything: like the previous Zelda, this game's design decisions are starting to show their age. Whenever you do something as insignificant as walk up to a pot or green crystal thing an annoying text box will come up, basically saying "WOW look at this! Find the right item in order to get past it, stupid!" And like Kris pointed out in this review, I just made the EXACT SAME mistake of going through that annoying sign maze, talking to Wart _without_ the Ocarina in hand, and basically just wasting my time. The game does do a good job of directing the player _sometimes,_ but other times...ehh...it could've just done better in that regard. And the item-switching is as monotonous as ever, always demanding the player to press Start, pick another item in the menu in order to do something as mundane as jumping, perhaps only due to limitations of having only two buttons.
Don't get me wrong: I love this game, just for what it is. It inspired me as a kid, it really did. The dungeons and bosses and even just the world in general are perhaps the best-realized up to this point. And the music. Is. Awesome. Especially the mountain theme and the Ballad of the Wind Fish! Just beautiful, touching moments this little Game Boy offered. It has some of the most heart in the series, I would argue, despite its obvious limitations. The ending is something that I cherish deeply. Just how Link smiles as he looks up and sees the Wind Fish flying majestically overhead is iconic.
Even if at times it can come off as one of the most primitive post-NES games in design: This game is special. And may the Wind Fish fly again!
Good comment :)
Sounds like a lot of people will be experiencing this game very soon
I always liked the Zelda 3 progression and by extention Links Awakening. The Non linearity of Zelda one didn't do much for me and not knowing where to go is very annoying
Ima huge zelda fan been playing for as long as I can remember on starting on the nes. I cant stand how inconvenient LA was . Having to pause constantly to switch item to just get through one panel on the overworld screen ,and having to redo puzzles every time you revisit a part of the map where in over zelda games you get rewarded for progress and you are given shortcuts or the obstacles dont respawn
I feel you'd do a good review of the Adventures of Lolo series...
11:50 "Skeleton Mini-Boss" . . . .sir that's what we Zelda fans call a Stalfos. *facepalm*
I realize that this game from my childhood is actually the same in this life dimension...I came in this dream to save from havoc aka AI
@implantgames You can buy Secret Medicine from Tracy above the Witch's hut...
2:13 So like the owl in Ocarina of Time?
except this came first, so the owl in oot is like this guy :P
@@lostnumbr I know, i just would assume most people would know who the owl was in OOT not in LA
As a kid this was amazing for the gameboy. I wasted so much of my parent's money calling the Nintendo hotline looking for help