I couldn't dream up a better Game Boy game if I tried. It's so different for a Zelda game, but it works, and its almost psychedelic moodscape works well for the portable platform. This is one game I'd recommend playing the original or DX version over the remake, as the remake's visual style, while very cute, ruined the atmosphere of the game itself.
An incredible experience on the GameBoy, perfectly capturing the addictive exploration of the original.
Incredible how a game without colors is so immersive. The island setting is lovely, the dungeons are short and sweet, the characters are memorable, the music is good and the difficulty is fair and balanced. Things get a bit out of hands with the trading quest without a guide, but that's okay.
2D Zelda games>>>
Genuinely one of the most fun and charming games i have ever played. The overworld is fantastic, with a bunch of interesting areas and characters in a way that both makes it a joy to explore, but also makes you feel at home in a number of the areas. Mabe Village is of course the highlight here, but there's also Animal Village and a handful of other fun and charming characters throughout the island. This is of course crucial to the story since the island is a dream, a dream that you must end. This completely different angle on the traditional quest is really interesting and gives the story, particularly the ending a really beautiful and melancholic tone. I also think that the game is able to do this because it was a handheld game, coming out only 2 years after a Link to the Past it would be pretty boring to just rehash the same story in the same setting. The quote from director Takashi Tezuka that it was like they were making a parody of Zelda. On top of all that, this game actually features some of the most creative design in the series. There are only 8 dungeons here which is on the short side compared to the in A Link to the Past, but I actually think that's beneficial, since Link's awakening really doesn't outstay its welcome with it's shorter length, making for a more impactful finale. It also makes you much less likely to be burnt out as you get to the last two, much more complicated dungeons as well.
This is the second LoZ game I've completed after the NES original. I didn't like this one as much! I'd heard really good things but I actually prefer the original to this one. A lot more open-endedness and non-linearity. The sequence of events in Link's Awakening is very linear by default. Every item you get allows you to progress in each successive dungeon. Some people might like that constant upgrade drip feed, slowly building an arsenal of helpful tools and gadgets to solve more and more puzzles – I wasn't feeling it here.
For the first few hours I was really into it. The monochromatic, hazy Gameboy visuals really do contribute to the surreal, dreamlike feeling of playing the game, to great effect. The Overworld theme is legendary, genuinely surprised at the quality of music in a Gameboy game of all things.
There was a few dead ends, at first; then, even as I started to make progress through some dungeons, I started running into more and more dead ends. More and more areas where progress would be halted by items I didn't have yet (hundreds of textboxes worth of "come back when you find this item, idiot"). This wasn't annoying until I'd walk into a dungeon or something only to learn that I needed another item that I didn't have yet. Don't even get me started on the trading sequence. It's relatively inoffensive if you complete it in the right order, but if you don't, you're kinda left traveling across the world map to figure out who needs what and where and it was very tedious.
Probably not a terrible experience if you're playing with a walkthrough pulled up, but like, where's the fun in that?
I spent weeks, sometimes months, where I wouldn't pick this game up, and by the time I'd get back to it, the whole island was completely foreign to me again. There's a map that helps sometimes, and Ulrira's hints do give you some direction as the story continues, but...
For me, and what I believe is the main problem, is that Link's Awakening doesn't play like a Gameboy game, for better or for worse. It's not a pick-up-and-play experience. It's a long, sprawling adventure across an island! This one took me forever. By the time I was finished, I was more than ready to put it down.
There are a hundred little gripes I have with this game. Gripes like, for instance, how many times I softlocked myself by picking up an object too fast (playing this on the original Gameboy, I expected some amount of glitches but this was always so annoying); the bow and arrow becoming useless as soon as you get boomerang; there's a boss that sends you back to the start of the dungeon when he hits you once (!!!); and a hundred even more granular little gripes that are neither here nor there but, at the end of the day, man, I guess this just wasn't for me.
For the first few hours I was really into it. The monochromatic, hazy Gameboy visuals really do contribute to the surreal, dreamlike feeling of playing the game, to great effect. The Overworld theme is legendary, genuinely surprised at the quality of music in a Gameboy game of all things.
There was a few dead ends, at first; then, even as I started to make progress through some dungeons, I started running into more and more dead ends. More and more areas where progress would be halted by items I didn't have yet (hundreds of textboxes worth of "come back when you find this item, idiot"). This wasn't annoying until I'd walk into a dungeon or something only to learn that I needed another item that I didn't have yet. Don't even get me started on the trading sequence. It's relatively inoffensive if you complete it in the right order, but if you don't, you're kinda left traveling across the world map to figure out who needs what and where and it was very tedious.
Probably not a terrible experience if you're playing with a walkthrough pulled up, but like, where's the fun in that?
I spent weeks, sometimes months, where I wouldn't pick this game up, and by the time I'd get back to it, the whole island was completely foreign to me again. There's a map that helps sometimes, and Ulrira's hints do give you some direction as the story continues, but...
For me, and what I believe is the main problem, is that Link's Awakening doesn't play like a Gameboy game, for better or for worse. It's not a pick-up-and-play experience. It's a long, sprawling adventure across an island! This one took me forever. By the time I was finished, I was more than ready to put it down.
There are a hundred little gripes I have with this game. Gripes like, for instance, how many times I softlocked myself by picking up an object too fast (playing this on the original Gameboy, I expected some amount of glitches but this was always so annoying); the bow and arrow becoming useless as soon as you get boomerang; there's a boss that sends you back to the start of the dungeon when he hits you once (!!!); and a hundred even more granular little gripes that are neither here nor there but, at the end of the day, man, I guess this just wasn't for me.
It's impressive they put a Zelda experience on the Game Boy. It's just disappointing.
Honestly, probably my personal favorite Zelda game and the one I've spent the most time with
It's a shame about the Switch remake, though...
It's a shame about the Switch remake, though...
I'm not crying you're crying
I like the music, but never wanted to play it.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a quirky and surprisingly poignant adventure that stands among the best handheld games of its era. Stranded on the mysterious Koholint Island, Link explores charming environments, faces off against bizarre enemies, and tackles brain-bending dungeons in his quest to wake the Wind Fish. Despite its compact size, Link's Awakening weaves a captivating story and packs plenty of classic Zelda puzzle-solving and exploration, making it a captivating experience that still shines brightly.
It's not worth playing this specific version anymore, but this is still an absolutely outstanding Game Boy game
Literally just DX but a little bit less.
blkack and white
Simple, short, and straightforward, but very charming and atmospheric, and easily one of the best games for the original Game Boy, one of the few to still hold-up by today's standards.
This review contains spoilers
8/10
I preferred this one to LttP in a lot of ways. Secondary items are much more useful, although that does come with the downside of going in and out of the menu all the time to switch them out. NPCs have a lot more personality in this one as well, and I thought the dungeons were generally more well designed, feeling less like frustrating mazes and more like big puzzles to solve. A couple of overly obscure things later on in the game dampened my enjoyment a little bit, but this is still a great game.
I preferred this one to LttP in a lot of ways. Secondary items are much more useful, although that does come with the downside of going in and out of the menu all the time to switch them out. NPCs have a lot more personality in this one as well, and I thought the dungeons were generally more well designed, feeling less like frustrating mazes and more like big puzzles to solve. A couple of overly obscure things later on in the game dampened my enjoyment a little bit, but this is still a great game.
When the remake was announced in a direct, I immediatly dug out my gameboy and my battered copy of this game. I replayed it for the first time in a long time and felt so emotional while I did, I honestly don't entirely know why, but this game has and still does mean a lot to me.
The map loading in squares made me get lost a lot, the puzzles confused me and would have me stuck for days, but as a kid that all made it feel weirdly magical somehow, so, seeing a remake trailer made me nearly tear up and desperately replay the game that I remembered. It held up I think, but the magic wasn't magic anymore, it was nostalgia, but I don't think that changed the experiance.
The map loading in squares made me get lost a lot, the puzzles confused me and would have me stuck for days, but as a kid that all made it feel weirdly magical somehow, so, seeing a remake trailer made me nearly tear up and desperately replay the game that I remembered. It held up I think, but the magic wasn't magic anymore, it was nostalgia, but I don't think that changed the experiance.
I was finally awake playing this
This is a very cool game with a great story and amazing dungeons. I just couldn't really get into to it. I did enjoy the remake quite a bit more though.
game and watch
I’m still mad at the EB Games (Gamestop) employee that allowed 10 year old me to trade this game in. They should be ashamed of stealing one of the greatest Zelda games ever made from me. Anyway, the top down action adventure really showed what the Game Boy was capable of.
This review contains spoilers
This game is extremely impressive for an OG Game Boy title. It has all the things we've come to expect from Zelda (cool dungeons, great music, fun bosses, a wide open world to explore) with an added layer of GB charm and a surprisingly deep and emotional story. I love how this game questions whether experiences and emotions in a dream world can truly be considered 'real' or not. When Link defeats the final boss and escapes from the dream world, he must also, in a way, destroy all of the friends he made and adventures he had. That satisfying, yet somber ending truly sets this game apart from the rest of the series, and is something I've yet to experience again in a video game.
The owner kamehamehaed me
I don't get the love
The Zelda That Makes You Feel Something™
The only way this game could possibly be better is if it were in color.
its like ok
the best version of link's awakening
the goat of 2D zelda games
Forget the lack of color. The worst part about this version is the true ending looks goofy as hell