Reviews from

in the past


The first Zelda game I played, an incredible achievement and still rarely matched in top-down Zelda. Gets a little too challenging in the last few dungeons (at least for kid me), but the dungeon variety was top notch and the overworld was great to explore. The ending always gets me too. The Switch remake was a lovely graphical update to an already great game.

The best 2D zelda game to exist

Just didn't get it as a kid. Maybe I'll come back

I understand why some don't like it, it's kind of difficult to see the appeal in. I guess a lot of retro is that way. Really awesome in terms of history, crazy that it fit on the gameboy.

It all just felt the same, I think I stopped after the 4th or 5th dungeon


Extremely ambitious in terms of size, storytelling and aesthetics. It is indeed a significant achievement in software development and game design that something like that even existed on the Game Boy so early in its lifespan. The black and white graphics are absolutely gorgeous--they fit the "dream" aesthetic wonderfully and leave a lot to be imagined by the player. Dungeons get extremely complex and labyrinthine near the end of the game, and the final boss fight is one of the coolest and most difficult I've ever experienced in retro gaming. Really well encapsulates the quintessential "frustrating and confusing, but satisfying and engaging"

Some of its structure frustrated me a bit; the overworld is filled with random cul-de-sacs and can be extremely frustrating to navigate even w/ the map and warps. Imagine Dark World in ALTTP but twice as difficult to navigate. At times this made me disconnect from the game and brought me significant frustration as there is so much backtracking and getting lost. Some puzzles in the dungeons are pretty dumb too, i.e. there is some Zelda 1-esque "go bomb this random wall that has no cracks" bullshit in some dungeons, which is unforgiveable in my mind for a game released after ALTTP.

Yet, Link's Awakening is indeed a statement in story telling for Zelda, it's difficult, and it's one of the most beautiful Game Boy games I've seen. It's a great game in many regards, and I definitlely want to try playing the remaster in the future.

Really good Game Boy game!
Good franchise installment, with interesting story.

This game has one of my favorite stories in the entire series and the game play is pretty good too.

Um bom jogo pro console e pra época, muitos segredos e itens, dungeons legais e cutscenes em pixel art muito atrativas além disso, caso se sinta preso em algo não sinta receio de pesquisar, algumas coisas necessitariam de um detonado de época pra se descobrir, vai tomar boas horas do seu tempo, recomendo!

idk why this one went so hard actually

One of the best Zelda games around. It's an incredible feat that they made such a large, fully fledged Zelda title fit on the Game Boy in the 90s. This is the title that I bought a Game Boy for.

I have, as a result of playing the 2019 remaster first, no desire to finish this game, as while I can see how its is fairly good, its is still flawed. Lots of quirks and issues that are only present due to the fact it is on such lessor hardware, even compared to A Link to the Past. Yet I do respect it, just find it slightly lackluster.

My first LoZ game. Long car rides at night trying to play by passing street lights. Fond memories.

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...

Para ser un juego de Gameboy se la sacaron de una forma ancestral

El final me dejo tostado

This review contains spoilers

Koholint Island is basically just one big lucid dream.

Não tenho como opinar direito pois a idade que eu joguei prejudicava o jogador, mas tenho boas lembranças desse jogo.

Should have called it "Link's siesta"

I liked what I played I got like 2 dungeons in but dropped it for like half a year and when I tried to get back into it I just got lost. I'll pick it up again soon just when I feel like it

Hated it the first time around, loved it after replaying. I wish I took my time with it during the initial playthrough because knowing how it ends will going through it the second tim cheapened the experience a bit.

I'm not crying you're crying

I was finally awake playing this

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.


What a banger can fit on such an ancient handheld. For obvious reasons the game looks and feels more simplistic than ALttP, but the world, the NPCs and the interactions with them are so much more interesting in LA. The dream island setting is so charming and a nice change between the classic Triforce/Zelda themed titles, also appreciated the references to other franchises.
The dungeons became less challenging, yet still really well designed and fun. Constantly changing items in two slots was a bit annoying sometimes, but that's understandable, considering that the Game Boy only has two face buttons. Some people don't like that you sometimes need to unequip your sword, but it actually adds flexibility - many puzzles would've been impossible if one of the buttons was strictly dedicated for the sword.
Easily my favourite game for the OG Game Boy.

They put a jump button in this one and it's game-breakingly good.

If not my first video game ever, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is my first Zelda game. I vividly remember playing this game on my dad's big clunky Game Boy with my mom over my shoulder watching what i did and giving me suggestions of what to do. If this game was terrible, it would still hold a special place in my heart as the game my mother and i went on an adventure through.

But this game is particularly good, despite being on the Game Boy. I think that's something to temper your expectations with before going into it. It's a Game Boy game, and those always pale in comparison to their console counterparts. But Link's Awakening is one of the best Game Boy games ever. It's a simplified Zelda game, but it holds its own. If you need proof of this, it's been remade twice (once in color on the Game Boy Color, and then a full on 3D HD Remake on the Nintendo Switch).

There's a lot that makes this game so remake-able, and to that extent, enjoyable to play, and the most noteworthy is the intriguing story. But that story would be slightly less interesting if there wasn't a colorful (considering this review is on the black and white Game Boy version of the game, i'm using colorful with a bit of poetry here) cast of characters to interact with and adore. Marin in particular is a very lovable character, and she's lovable enough to play through the game without getting a single game over. Do it for her. She deserves it.

Link's Awakening falters for me in an interesting way, but I have to explain the good part about it first. It chooses to let you use the two face buttons on the Game Boy for any item however you want. For example, you can equip the sword to either the A or B button, or neither of them because you have the bow and shield out because you're low on hearts and don't want to get in close. This trait actually lets you use the first instance of Bomb Arrows in a Zelda game, beating Twilight Princess to it by over a decade. (Just press the bomb button slightly before the arrow button).

The way the game falters is that because it's on the Game Boy, and you only have two buttons to work with, you're constantly pressing the pause button and waiting a split second for it to show up so you can swap items and then wait another split second for it to go away so you can go back to the game. It's a little thing, but considering how many times i pause to swap the Roc's Feather out for something else and then pause again to swap back to the Roc's Feather adds up.

This brings us to the Roc's Feather. I like the Roc's Feather in the same way a crackhead likes Crack. The Roc's Feather lets Link jump, and jumping diagonally increases Link's speed. It feels incredible to play. But at the same time, playing without it for whatever reason makes the game feel less fun. It feels stiffer, it feels stunted. It shouldn't feel that way, it's a fine game on its own. But that feather changes everything. It's Crack. Thankfully, the 2019 Switch remake doubles the face buttons you can use and then adds a few more for good measure, so your Roc's Feather can always be on hand.

Despite this, the original is still worth playing. Any shortcomings you might find are balanced with cuteness and silly charm.

I have played this game so many times I know it by heart. I've played every version of it multiple times. I've glitched the DX version to do a full Damaged Sprite Tunic playthrough just because i liked how it looks. I adore the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. My biggest gripe with it is that it's not long enough, i want more.

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.