This is a game quite beloved among The Legend of Zelda community, either because of the cute and goofy charm of its world, or also because of how incredibly well made it is for a game for a console as primitive as the Game Boy, I wouldn't exaggerate to say that it easily surpasses even most NES games, and almost equals many SNES masterpieces.
Link's Awakening is that kind of game that was made to be more than just a game for a handheld, unlike games like Donkey Kong Land, Mega Man World or Mario Land, which were simple adaptations that today leave much to be desired. This game on the other hand was made to match the quality of a home console game despite the major hardware limitations that the original Game Boy had, such as low resolution, low power, little storage space on the cartridges, lack of buttons, and lack of color, to name a few. This game is not only overflowing with excellence in the highly polished and well-groomed technical section, but it is also excellent in game design.
The gameplay is directly inspired and designed to emulate that of Zelda A Link to the Past (a Super Nintendo game), and you can tell on more than one occasion that the developers of this game just put some things in so they could say "See, like the SNES game, but on a Game Boy!", and the truth is that I won't deny that this is both awesome and cool, A Link to the Past is my favorite and the fact that this game is not only inspired, but is a sequel to it pleases me infinitely. However, due to the limitations of the GB small alterations were made that actually end up improving the inventory system in part, because given the limited amount of buttons on the console, in order to have a more flexible gameplay, we can now choose what items we want to equip on the "A" and "B" buttons, we can even leave Link without a sword, which is something that will be necessary in some cases and can serve to make some combinations between items, such as bomb arrows.
As for the design of the overworld, it was something that disappointed me at first, as this game lacks the freedom that previous Zelda games gave you and also the backtracking can sometimes be a bit exessive, although I think this is more annoying than it should be due in part to the map is divided to only a small area per screen at a time, and partly I feel it was also a decision taken to lengthen the game a little more. However, when you play it with the mindset that you're playing in a world with a small Metroid Fusion style main map (unlock abilities to unlock areas as you progress through the story) it's quite enjoyable, and more so because of the amount of optional Puzzles that are hidden. Also, this game started a tradition in the series which are the exchange sequences, which basically consist of starting with a useless item such as a stone, which you will be exchanging for all kinds of items until you end up with something big like building an entire bridge.
The dungeons that this game features are pretty well designed, they have puzzles that will require you to really think a bit and make you use the item you got in that dungeon in a lot of ways. At the end is the typical boss that will usually be an easy battle.
But hey, since I already talked about what makes Link's Awakening excellent as a video game, I'll talk about what makes it an even more memorable and special adventure: its charming personality. After saving Hyrule from the forces of evil in the previous adventure, Link finds himself on a strange island where everything has a rather relaxed and goofy tone, but in a good way, as it endows the game with a lot of grace and uniqueness, for example, there are kids who break the fourth wall and literally tell you "I have no idea how I know this, but if you press the Start + Select buttons you can save game" or other NPCs that say "I'm going to get lost in the mountains, so go look for me", even the bosses of the dungeons that I mentioned before, the great thing about them sometimes is not the battle itself, but how the boss looks and behaves. All of the above makes the game stand out from the rest of the era, as most games always had a "Save the world from evil" type story and not a simple but effective "Find a way to leave this strange, but lovely island".
Conclusion
To be honest, the first time I played this game I found it just "okay", but this time it was different, as I was actually hating it, as I was looking more for a more open game like Zelda 1 or ALttP. But still, because of expecting something from the game that I wasn't going to find in it, I was missing out on appreciating the things that it did do differently, the things that it did have and did well; its originality. And it was here that I realized something very important, and that is that a sequel doesn't necessarily have to be "the same but better" than the previous game. This game has taught me that a sequel doesn't necessarily have to be that way, because even if the changes mean losing things that I as a player love, they can also mean new things that can be just as great.
And having said that, the message of the game is about that, that things are not forever and sooner or later we will have to leave things behind to move forward, but not for that reason those things will be forgotten, because we must appreciate them and value them fondly for what they were and meant to us... Similar to the past (or a dream), we can not return to it, but the memory that it once happened is what gives it meaning and importance in our day to day.
Link's Awakening is that kind of game that was made to be more than just a game for a handheld, unlike games like Donkey Kong Land, Mega Man World or Mario Land, which were simple adaptations that today leave much to be desired. This game on the other hand was made to match the quality of a home console game despite the major hardware limitations that the original Game Boy had, such as low resolution, low power, little storage space on the cartridges, lack of buttons, and lack of color, to name a few. This game is not only overflowing with excellence in the highly polished and well-groomed technical section, but it is also excellent in game design.
The gameplay is directly inspired and designed to emulate that of Zelda A Link to the Past (a Super Nintendo game), and you can tell on more than one occasion that the developers of this game just put some things in so they could say "See, like the SNES game, but on a Game Boy!", and the truth is that I won't deny that this is both awesome and cool, A Link to the Past is my favorite and the fact that this game is not only inspired, but is a sequel to it pleases me infinitely. However, due to the limitations of the GB small alterations were made that actually end up improving the inventory system in part, because given the limited amount of buttons on the console, in order to have a more flexible gameplay, we can now choose what items we want to equip on the "A" and "B" buttons, we can even leave Link without a sword, which is something that will be necessary in some cases and can serve to make some combinations between items, such as bomb arrows.
As for the design of the overworld, it was something that disappointed me at first, as this game lacks the freedom that previous Zelda games gave you and also the backtracking can sometimes be a bit exessive, although I think this is more annoying than it should be due in part to the map is divided to only a small area per screen at a time, and partly I feel it was also a decision taken to lengthen the game a little more. However, when you play it with the mindset that you're playing in a world with a small Metroid Fusion style main map (unlock abilities to unlock areas as you progress through the story) it's quite enjoyable, and more so because of the amount of optional Puzzles that are hidden. Also, this game started a tradition in the series which are the exchange sequences, which basically consist of starting with a useless item such as a stone, which you will be exchanging for all kinds of items until you end up with something big like building an entire bridge.
The dungeons that this game features are pretty well designed, they have puzzles that will require you to really think a bit and make you use the item you got in that dungeon in a lot of ways. At the end is the typical boss that will usually be an easy battle.
But hey, since I already talked about what makes Link's Awakening excellent as a video game, I'll talk about what makes it an even more memorable and special adventure: its charming personality. After saving Hyrule from the forces of evil in the previous adventure, Link finds himself on a strange island where everything has a rather relaxed and goofy tone, but in a good way, as it endows the game with a lot of grace and uniqueness, for example, there are kids who break the fourth wall and literally tell you "I have no idea how I know this, but if you press the Start + Select buttons you can save game" or other NPCs that say "I'm going to get lost in the mountains, so go look for me", even the bosses of the dungeons that I mentioned before, the great thing about them sometimes is not the battle itself, but how the boss looks and behaves. All of the above makes the game stand out from the rest of the era, as most games always had a "Save the world from evil" type story and not a simple but effective "Find a way to leave this strange, but lovely island".
Conclusion
To be honest, the first time I played this game I found it just "okay", but this time it was different, as I was actually hating it, as I was looking more for a more open game like Zelda 1 or ALttP. But still, because of expecting something from the game that I wasn't going to find in it, I was missing out on appreciating the things that it did do differently, the things that it did have and did well; its originality. And it was here that I realized something very important, and that is that a sequel doesn't necessarily have to be "the same but better" than the previous game. This game has taught me that a sequel doesn't necessarily have to be that way, because even if the changes mean losing things that I as a player love, they can also mean new things that can be just as great.
And having said that, the message of the game is about that, that things are not forever and sooner or later we will have to leave things behind to move forward, but not for that reason those things will be forgotten, because we must appreciate them and value them fondly for what they were and meant to us... Similar to the past (or a dream), we can not return to it, but the memory that it once happened is what gives it meaning and importance in our day to day.