Link's Awakening



The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is the fourth installment in the The Legend of Zelda series, released in 1993 for the Game Boy. It is preceded by A Link to the Past and succeeded by Ocarina of Time. The Hero of Legend is the main protagonist and Nightmare is the main antagonist. Shadow Nightmares are the villainous faction.

It is the fourth game in the series, but it is set hundreds of years before Zelda I in the downfall timeline. This timeline branch starts with Ganondorf successfully defeating Link in Ocarina of Time and obtaining the complete Triforce. Link's Awakening is the sequel to A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages. It takes place in the "Downfall" split timeline after Ocarina of Time, where Ganon defeated the Hero of Time. The prologue speaks of Link defeating Ganon and saving Hyrule, an apparent reference to A Link to the Past. Link journeys away from Hyrule to embark on a "quest for enlightenment". The "quest for enlightenment" away from Hyrule is the story told in Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. After defeating Ganon once more at the end of the Linked Game, Link leaves Labrynna on a boat. This leads to the events of Link's Awakening. Link's Awakening is followed by A Link Between Worlds centuries later.

A colorized update, titled Link's Awakening DX, was released for the Game Boy Color in 1998.

During a Nintendo Direct on February 13, 2019, an eponymous remake of the game was announced for Nintendo Switch. The remake was released on September 20, 2019.

Synopsis
In Link's Awakening, the player is given advice and directions by non-player characters such as Ulrira, a shy old man who communicates with Link exclusively by telephone. The game contains cameo appearances by characters from other Nintendo titles, such as Wart, Yoshi, Kirby, Dr. Wright (renamed Mr. Write) from the Super NES version of SimCity, and the exiled prince Richard from The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls. Chomp, an enemy from the Mario series, was included after a programmer gave Link the ability to grab the creature and take it for a walk. Enemies from Super Mario Bros. such as Goombas and Piranha Plants also appear in underground side-scrolling sections; Link may land on top of them much as with Super Mario Bros., or he can attack them in the usual way: the two methods yield different bonuses. Director Takashi Tezuka said that the game's "freewheeling" development made Link's Awakening seem like a parody of The Legend of Zelda series. Certain characters in the game break the fourth wall; for example, little children inform the player of game mechanics such as saving, but admit that they do not understand the advice they are giving.

Summary
Link, who had defeated the evil Ganon and regained peace in Hyrule, had not enjoyed the tranquility he had worked so hard to achieve for long, and eventually became restless. Feeling in need of training or enlightenment, he embarked on a journey and sailed across the oceans in a small sailboat. Eventually, Link completed his training in foreign countries and began to sail back to his home, Hyrule. But suddenly the seas turned rough and the skies became dark. Link tried valiantly to fight the strong currents of the waves, even tying himself to the ship with some rope. But a bolt of lightning struck the ship and everything went dark.

Later on a faraway Island, a young girl named Marin is walking along the Shores of the Island's beach. She suddenly spots someone laying on the sands. Upon looking closer, she finds an unconscious Link and tries to wake him, but to no avail. Unwilling to simply leave him lying on the beach, Marin takes Link back to her house in Mabe Village. From beyond the darkness, Link hears the voice of a girl. He first mistakes the voice to be that of Princess Zelda, but wakes up to discover that it was instead the voice of Marin. It turned out that, miraculously, Link had been washed ashore on Koholint Island. Link starts his preparations to leave Koholint Island, and Tarin gives him back his Shield. He also tells him of another thing that washed up on the beach.

Yet Link's Sword is nowhere to be found. Searching on Koholint Island's beach, Link eventually finds it. Just before picking it up, a mysterious Owl flies down to him. The Owl explains that high on the mountaintops of Koholint Island is a giant Egg, and inside sleeps a being known as the Wind Fish. The Owl says that the Wind Fish must be awakened, for that is the only way Link can leave Koholint Island. He tells Link that he needs to go into the Mysterious Forest to find a Key and then flies away. Left with nothing but a puzzling riddle and his questions, Link heeds the Owl's words and heads into the Mysterious Forest. He eventually finds the Tail Key. The Owl reappears and tells him to go into Tail Cave and to use the Tail Key to get inside.

Link does so and fights his way through this early Dungeon. After defeating the Boss, Link finds a magical Instrument, the Full Moon Cello. Although Link does not know what it is at first, the Owl reappears and explains that this instrument is one of the Instruments of the Sirens. The Owl explains that Link must retrieve the remaining seven Instruments of the Sirens if he is to awaken the sleeping Wind Fish. Link, still full of questions about this strange world, must explore the rest of Koholint Island and find the remainder of the Instruments of the Sirens.

Later in his journey, Link arrives in Animal Village. The Owl had told him to venture into Yarna Desert to find an important item that will aid him. Unfortunately, a large, sleeping Walrus blocks his path. However, one of the six rabbit siblings of Animal Village tells Link that Marin and her beautiful voice can awaken those who hear her. Link returns to Mabe Village and eventually gets an Ocarina from the Dream Shrine. He finds Marin on the Toronbo Shores who tells him of her wish to be a Seagull so that she can fly around the world and share her songs with many people. She hopes that she can make this wish to the Wind Fish. Afterwards, Link learns from Marin how to play the Ballad of the Wind Fish on his Ocarina, a song of awakening. However, since it is not enough to awaken the Walrus, Marin tags along with Link to Animal Village. Marin decides to stay in Animal Village after the Walrus awakes, and Link finds the Angler Key in Yarna Desert.

Sometime before getting the sixth Instrument of the Sirens, the Owl flies to Link and tells him to go to the Southern Face Shrine. When Link arrives there, he learns the horrible truth about Koholint Island. On a wall depicting the Wind Fish himself, the words read "TO THE FINDER... THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT, IS BUT AN ILLUSION... HUMAN, MONSTER, SEA, SKY... A SCENE ON THE LID OF A SLEEPER'S EYE... AWAKE THE DREAMER, AND KOHOLINT WILL VANISH MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE... CAST-AWAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!"

Link now faces a dilemma, whether he should awaken the Wind Fish or not. But the Owl tells him that none know if the inscription is true, and advises him to trust his feelings. Link continues on, finding the remaining three Instruments of the Sirens. Eventually, he discovers Marin on Tal Tal Mountain Range being attacked by monsters. Link saves her, and for a moment, she tries to tell Link something... but changes her mind. The Owl knows about the song that she always sings, the Ballad of the Wind Fish, and wonders if she was trying to awaken the Wind Fish.

After Link obtains all eight of the Instruments of the Sirens, the Owl says that now is the time to awaken the Wind Fish. Link heads up the mountaintop and encounters the Wind Fish's Egg, in which the Wind Fish sleeps. With his Ocarina in hand and the other Instruments of the Sirens, Link plays the Ballad of the Wind Fish. The Wind Fish's Egg cracks open, and Link ventures inside.

Inside, Link finds the true mastermind behind all of the chaos on Koholint Island, the Shadow Nightmares who have the power to transform. The monsters were created by the Shadow Nightmares to prevent Link from awakening the Wind Fish. After a long battle, Link defeats the Shadow Nightmares, the last of Koholint Island's evils. Suddenly, a stairway opens and Link climbs up, where he finds himself in a strange black room filled with rainbow clouds and stars.

There the Owl comes to see Link one last time. The Owl explains that he is in fact part of the Wind Fish's spirit, and thus was the guardian of his dream world. All was peaceful in the Wind Fish's dream, until Nightmares began to invade it. Many of the Nightmares that Link had faced were the ones in the dungeon that had guarded the Instruments of the Sirens. But now Link had defeated the last one, and the Wind Fish's dream was at peace once again. With the Nightmares gone and the eight Instruments of the Sirens retrieved, the Wind Fish could finally be awakened. The Owl then states that his role in this dream is now complete and says farewell to Link before vanishing.

Suddenly, Link hears a wail and the Wind Fish appears before him. The Wind Fish says that in his dreams, a whole world had existed. Yet he could not awaken due to the Nightmares. It is only natural that dreams are to end, and when he awakes, Koholint Island shall disappear. He says that Link may someday recall this dream in the waking world, the only remaining memory of Koholint Island.

The Wind Fish then fades away and says that they should awaken together, and commands Link to play the Ballad of the Wind Fish one more time. Link does so slowly, while Koholint Island and its inhabitants fade away. Link is then forced out of the Wind Fish's room by a stream of water.

The sky above shines brightly as Seagulls fly overhead. Link awakens on a wooden board in the sea, part of his ship. Just as it was predicted, Koholint Island is gone and Link is back in the real world. As he recalls all of the events of his latest adventure, a shadow looms over him. Looking up, he sees the Wind Fish flying above him in the sky. Link smiles, realizing that he actually helped awaken the Wind Fish. Link's dream journey had finally come to an end.

The Legend of the Wind Fish
It appears that the Wind Fish is a mere myth to the inhabitants of Koholint Island. The Wind Fish's Egg on top of Mt. Tamaranch is rather large and can be seen from a distance, making it obvious that some of the inhabitants of Koholint Island would know at least something of the Wind Fish, however. Marin is a very good example of a simple citizen of Mabe Village, yet she knows of the existence of the Wind Fish. She even dreams of wishing on the Wind Fish to turn into a Seagull. It's not quite obvious if she too believes it is just a myth or if it is real, however, Marin can be spotted on Tal Tal Mountain Range for no apparent reason. The Owl seems to believe that she may have tried to awaken the Wind Fish with her song. Only the Owl and possibly Marin seem to know of the actual existence of the Wind Fish. Shortly after Link clears the Face Shrine, a boy in Mabe Village was asked by Link when they had appeared on the Koholint Island but had no idea what Link meant by this, suggesting that the inhabitants of Koholint Island have no idea that they are part of a dream world.

The Southern Face Shrine is the only place that holds much information about the myth of the Wind Fish, and the script upon its walls, about Koholint Island being but a dream, is very much true. Judging by these writings, the Southern Face Shrine seems to have been built solely for the person who would awaken the Wind Fish.

The Perfect Ending
If Link completes his quest without dying, an additional scene can be seen after the ending credits. Both versions of the game show Marin as a Seagull (or simply having Seagull wings) while the "Ballad of the Wind Fish" theme plays in the background. This may either hint that Marin had her wish come true and was "saved" from the fading dream world, or simply that Link was thinking of Marin and her wish of becoming a Seagull.

The perfect ending varies between the original Game Boy release and the Game Boy Color release. In the original, a Marin with wings on her back will fly around the words "The End" while singing her song. In Link's Awakening DX, a full-colored image of Marin can be seen within the clouds, and her song will be playing in the background, although she is not the one singing. Shortly afterward, the image fades into a Seagull who flies away. In the Nintendo Switch version, it is largely similar to Link's Awakening DX, although Marin's image is animated slightly to have her briefly close her eyes and shudder in an apparent giggle before it fades away with a seagull flying past.

Trivia

 * The game's setting was partially inspired by the American mystery television series, Twin Peaks.
 * Princess Zelda is not featured at all in Link's Awakening, though she is referenced by Link, initially confusing Marin for her.
 * If the name "ZELDA" is used when creating a new game, a remixed Zelda theme will play in the background.
 * In the Japanese version, entering the name "ぜるだ" yields the same result. In addition, enting the name "とたけけ" will play an arranged version of Totaka's Song.
 * In the original German release, entering the name "MOYSE" will play a strange jingle. In the German DX release, "MOYSE" will instead play Totaka's Song.
 * The French DX version will yield the same result as "ZELDA" if the entered name is "LOLO". In the original release, "LOLO" will instead play a different song than "MOYSE" or "とたけけ".
 * With the exception of Eagle's Tower, every dungeon in Link's Awakening has a map that forms a picture of an object, such as a Moldorm in the case of Tail Cave or a Key in the case of Key Cavern.
 * Link's Awakening originally was intended to be a handheld port of A Link to the Past.

Continuity

 * The use of a location other than Hyrule as a setting.
 * A list of songs playable on the game's instrument that must be learned and have different functions, although unlike in Ocarina of Time and some later games the songs simply play when selected, rather than having to be played note by note.
 * The first occurrence of fishing.
 * Unique background music for each dungeon rather than reusing the same single theme or few themes, as its predecessors did. Most games after Link's Awakening follow its lead in this respect.
 * The first trading sequence in the series.
 * The first clear example of a lava or fire-themed dungeon in the series, with Turtle Rock.
 * The Roc's Feather.
 * An Owl who periodically meets Link and gives him advice on where to go or what to do next.
 * A set of well-hidden collectible items that have no use by themselves but can be redeemed at a certain location to receive useful items. (Secret Seashells in Link's Awakening, with Gold Skulltulas and Poe Souls as examples of successors.)
 * The boss theme for this game was later used for the miniboss theme in Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages, as well as a remix being used in the fight against Twinrova in the linked ending.
 * Some of the DLC outfits for the various characters in Hyrule Warriors were based on those of Link's Awakening, and one of the maps for Legend Mode is derived in appearance and plotline from the same game as well. Also, Marin is a DLC warrior in the game, with some of her attacks involving the Wind Fish.