ZELDA MARATHON- 4/20
One step forward and 2 steps back from A Link to the Past still makes a very good game.
The main progression that Link's Awakening has over A Link to the Past is the story. ALttP tells a pretty basic story of "Oh, shit! Aghanim is fucking shit up! Go stop him!", which is by all means fine, but Link's Awakening goes for a surprisingly mature story from a mid-90s Gameboy Zelda game.
It starts out with Link just trying to get off of Koholint Island, but as you crawl through the dungeons the bosses start letting on more and more- the island is all the dream of the Wind Fish, and to wake him is to doom the island to nonexistance. After you wake the Wind Fish at the end of the game, you're treated to shots of the entire island vanishing bit by bit. Two children playing with a ball in front of the town library, a woman and her two pet chain chomps (by the way, there are so many Mario enemies in this game, it's so bizarre) and the girl that rescues Link at the start of the game are all shown to be vanishing as the island is destroyed. The ending of Link's Awakening isn't triumphant like its predecessors, it's bittersweet and ends up being the type of the story that the series would follow more often than not in its mainline entries- and the darker, more mature stories that pop up in Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild owe a lot to Link's Awakening.
As much as I praise the story though, the gameplay is two steps back from A Link to the Past. For one, Link's Awakening is considerably more cryptic in direction than its direct predecessor- sure, there are telephone lines to call if you get stuck, but ideally I shouldn't be hemming and hawing over where to go next- the map being filled in square-by-square instead of being presented in full is an extension of this problem. The "Where do I go?" problem isn't enough to make the game unsatisfying, but nobody can blame you for consulting a guide during your playthrough.
Another issue I have with Link's Awakening is that the items you pick up over your journey, especially in the latter half of the game, just aren't used after their initial showing- the L-2 Power Bracelet, Bow, Mirror Shield, Shovel and even the Pegasus Boots just aren't used that much, while Bombs and the Roc Feather (both of which I love, mind you) hog all the screentime. It's a shame.
The dungeons themselves, while a huge step up from Zelda 1, fall short of the excellence present in ALttP. A lot of them are slogs with more backtracking than I would like, and the bosses aren't memorable like the previous three games' rosters are. A notable exception to this is the final boss of the game, Nightmare, who takes the form of some of Link's greatest fears throughout the fight. You get a rematch with Aghanim, Ganon, and that fucking worm boss from the Tower of Hera (Link's so real for that one).
Overall, despite me not enjoying it as much as its direct predecessor (What a shocker that a SNES game is better than a Gameboy game of the same series, I know), Link's Awakening is the crown jewel of the Game Boy's library and is more than a worthy instalment in the franchise.
(The DX version is by far the definitive one, by the way- not only is the game IN COLOUR YEAAAHHHH but it has a brand-spanking new extra dungeon that fully takes advantage of it.)
Next- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Previous- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
One step forward and 2 steps back from A Link to the Past still makes a very good game.
The main progression that Link's Awakening has over A Link to the Past is the story. ALttP tells a pretty basic story of "Oh, shit! Aghanim is fucking shit up! Go stop him!", which is by all means fine, but Link's Awakening goes for a surprisingly mature story from a mid-90s Gameboy Zelda game.
It starts out with Link just trying to get off of Koholint Island, but as you crawl through the dungeons the bosses start letting on more and more- the island is all the dream of the Wind Fish, and to wake him is to doom the island to nonexistance. After you wake the Wind Fish at the end of the game, you're treated to shots of the entire island vanishing bit by bit. Two children playing with a ball in front of the town library, a woman and her two pet chain chomps (by the way, there are so many Mario enemies in this game, it's so bizarre) and the girl that rescues Link at the start of the game are all shown to be vanishing as the island is destroyed. The ending of Link's Awakening isn't triumphant like its predecessors, it's bittersweet and ends up being the type of the story that the series would follow more often than not in its mainline entries- and the darker, more mature stories that pop up in Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild owe a lot to Link's Awakening.
As much as I praise the story though, the gameplay is two steps back from A Link to the Past. For one, Link's Awakening is considerably more cryptic in direction than its direct predecessor- sure, there are telephone lines to call if you get stuck, but ideally I shouldn't be hemming and hawing over where to go next- the map being filled in square-by-square instead of being presented in full is an extension of this problem. The "Where do I go?" problem isn't enough to make the game unsatisfying, but nobody can blame you for consulting a guide during your playthrough.
Another issue I have with Link's Awakening is that the items you pick up over your journey, especially in the latter half of the game, just aren't used after their initial showing- the L-2 Power Bracelet, Bow, Mirror Shield, Shovel and even the Pegasus Boots just aren't used that much, while Bombs and the Roc Feather (both of which I love, mind you) hog all the screentime. It's a shame.
The dungeons themselves, while a huge step up from Zelda 1, fall short of the excellence present in ALttP. A lot of them are slogs with more backtracking than I would like, and the bosses aren't memorable like the previous three games' rosters are. A notable exception to this is the final boss of the game, Nightmare, who takes the form of some of Link's greatest fears throughout the fight. You get a rematch with Aghanim, Ganon, and that fucking worm boss from the Tower of Hera (Link's so real for that one).
Overall, despite me not enjoying it as much as its direct predecessor (What a shocker that a SNES game is better than a Gameboy game of the same series, I know), Link's Awakening is the crown jewel of the Game Boy's library and is more than a worthy instalment in the franchise.
(The DX version is by far the definitive one, by the way- not only is the game IN COLOUR YEAAAHHHH but it has a brand-spanking new extra dungeon that fully takes advantage of it.)
Next- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Previous- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past