Links Awakening is stunning. To imagine this game coming out on the Game Boy blows my mind. Back when I was a kid I had a grab bag of all kinds of Game Boy games that I’d haul with me everywhere, so I’m fairly familiar with the limitations, tropes, and patterns that era of gaming emits. Around every corner of Links Awakening I was surprised at the level of detail, the depth of the mechanics, the sounds, the sprites, the MINIGAMES. It is beyond impressive to me that this pocket-sized RPG was able to fit on a Game Boy cartridge all those years ago. The “adventure” that I had here, rivals every other Game Boy experience I have ever had. I’ve got a soft spot for Pokemon Yellow as my favorite game for the Game Boy (it was my first portable game EVER), but after playing Links Awakening, I have to say… it has been dethroned.

It’s incredible how Nintendo was able to pull me in so quickly to the world with their brief animation of Link in a storm, then waking up on the beach. From there, you’re let loose on the island of Koholint, where you eventually begin on your quest to wake the Wind Fish. No Gannon, no Triforce pieces, no Zelda… As a fan of the Zelda games that I have played… Ocarina, Link to the Past, Ocarina 3D, Breath of the Wild, and The Original on NES… it was kinda fun to not see some of the major defining tropes. To me, that made it immediately interesting, as I couldn’t predict where I’d go or what I would do. Even still, its identity still felt like a Zelda title through its gameplay and execution. Was absolutely hooked from the beginning to the end.

Along your journey, you’ll find that you won’t be able to progress to other areas of the map which require certain items, almost in a Metroidvania kind of way. Totally different thoughts here but uh. Were original Zelda games just top-down Metroid games with a fantasy setting? Or are Metroid games just side-scrolling Zelda games with a sci-fi setting? Huh… Maybe the defining difference beyond the setting and perspective is not having to fumble with so many items in Metroid. Weird thought. Anyway.

The game world is so perfectly designed that the items you need and the activities you do have to be pretty linear in order to get to the finish line. But if you’re stuck and don’t know what to do, you can check in at these locations with a phone in them where an NPC will give you a really on-the-nose hint about what to do. This was honestly such a nice inclusion, as sometimes I’d completely forget what I was doing before I had to turn the game off. So I’d come back, feel completely lost, find a phone booth and get back on track. I suppose they acted like a modern quest log more than anything. A nice, creative way to give you clairvoyance no matter how confused you might be on the road. I liked it.

I really enjoyed the dungeons. I think some of the early dungeons were a bit simple in their designs and puzzles, but near the end in the final 3 dungeons, I had some genuine moments of complete confusion about how to proceed. Had some real head-scratchers in there, and I really appreciated that! It’s not a super difficult game, but I was happy to experience something a little harder in the end, truly testing how well I knew the mechanics and my gear.

Definitely a huge fan of all the items, and the clever boss combat puzzles. Big fan of the incredible sound work on display here as well the music was lovely, and the sounds were perfect as far as GameBoy standards go. I also think it’s really fun to see the Mario enemies visit this world (not to mention a surprise appearance of Kirby). It’s just such a fun, cute game, everywhere you go on Koholint, every NPC you talk to, every little secret seashell you find, you can just tell that the team who worked on Links Awakening put their heart and soul into every tile of every screen. It is incredibly well done and it was impossible to not feel that as I played through the game.

I still don’t think it can beat a Link to the Past as my favorite 2D Zelda. At least… not yet. After this, I can’t help but be interested in the faithful remake of Links Awakening that they released for Switch a year or two ago. I would love to jump back into this game with its fresh coat of paint (and the DX inclusions). I would love to experience it all over again. I think that’s just a testament to how incredibly rich of an experience it is. Sure, it might not have the scope or scale of future Zelda games. But that’s only because of the limitations of the hardware. They crammed everything they could into this original game cartridge and it shows.

I would wholeheartedly recommend The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening to anybody! I think this is the perfect 2D Zelda game for anyone to jump into because I feel like it’s a jam-packed game full of incredible moments, and your journey is excellently paced. You may start on the beaches of Koholint lost, dazed, and confused. But by the end of your journey, you’ll feel like you’re truly well-equipped to complete your quest, even if you’re not emotionally prepared to do so.

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