Link is stranded. No Zelda. No Ganon. No Triforce. Just a talking owl and a giant egg sitting on top of a mountain.
When you think about the heavy hitters in the Zelda franchise, your mind probably goes straight to the rolling hills of Hyrule in Ocarina of Time or the sheer scale of Breath of the Wild. But The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening occupies this strange, fever-dream space that shouldn't work, yet somehow, it’s often cited as the peak of the series by those who grew up with a Game Boy in their hands. It started as an unsanctioned after-hours project by Nintendo employees. They were basically just messing around with Game Boy dev kits to see how far they could push the hardware.
That experimental energy is everywhere. It’s why you can find Yoshi dolls, Goombas, and a Chain Chomp that you actually have to walk like a dog. Honestly, it’s the kind of game that feels like it was made by people who knew they might get in trouble, so they threw every weird idea they had at the wall.
The Dream Logic of Koholint Island
Koholint isn't Hyrule. It's better in some ways, mostly because it feels more intimate and, frankly, a bit more claustrophobic. In The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening, the world is a 16x16 grid. It’s tiny by modern standards. But the density is wild. You can’t walk five screens without hitting a puzzle or a secret cave.
Takashi Tezuka, the director, famously said he wanted the game to feel like Twin Peaks. He wanted a small cast of characters who all felt slightly "off." You have a man who only communicates through telephones scattered across the island because he's too shy to talk in person. You have a mermaid who lost her necklace (or her scale, depending on which version you’re playing). And then there’s Marin.
👉 See also: What Can You Get From Fishing Minecraft: Why It Is More Than Just Cod
Marin is the heart of the game. She’s the first person you see when you wake up in the house of Tarin (who looks suspiciously like Mario). Unlike Zelda, who is often a distant figure of royalty or a goddess incarnate, Marin is just a girl who wants to see the world. She sings. She follows you around. She even gets mad if you dig in her house. Her presence makes the eventual revelation of the game’s "truth" actually hurt.
Why the 2019 Remake Changed Everything (and Nothing)
When Nintendo announced they were remaking The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening for the Switch with a "toy-like" aesthetic, people were split. Some wanted the gritty, pixelated vibe of the 1993 original or the colorized DX version. But the tilt-shift photography look actually fits the "dream" theme perfectly. It looks like a diorama. It feels like something you could reach out and touch, which only makes the ending more bittersweet.
The Switch version didn't just update the graphics. It fixed the one thing that made the original Game Boy version a nightmare: button mapping. On the Game Boy, you only had A and B. You had to constantly pause the game to swap out your sword for the power bracelet or the Pegasus boots. It was tedious. In the remake, your sword and shield are permanently mapped to dedicated buttons. It’s a quality-of-life jump that makes the game feel fast—almost like a modern indie title.
The Secret History of the Development
Most people don't realize this game was never supposed to happen. It began as a port of A Link to the Past. Kazuaki Kyogoku, who was a scriptwriter, noted that the team felt like they were making a parody of Zelda. That’s why there are so many cameos. They weren't trying to build "lore" for a thirty-year franchise; they were just trying to make a fun handheld game.
✨ Don't miss: Free games free online: Why we're still obsessed with browser gaming in 2026
This "after-school club" atmosphere led to some of the most creative dungeon designs in the series. Eagle’s Tower is still a masterclass in spatial puzzles. You have to carry a heavy iron ball across multiple floors to smash pillars, which eventually causes the entire top floor of the dungeon to collapse downward. It’s brilliant. It’s the kind of 3D thinking that Zelda games wouldn't fully embrace again until the transition to the N64.
Getting the Most Out of the Trading Sequence
If you're playing The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening for the first time, or even the tenth, you can't ignore the trading sequence. It’s not optional. Well, technically some parts are, but you need to finish it to get the Boomerang, which is easily the most broken (and fun) weapon in the game.
- The Yoshi Doll: Win it at the Trendy Game in Mabe Village. It’s easy once you time the crane.
- The Ribbon: Give the doll to the lady with the baby in the northern house.
- The Dog Food: Take the ribbon to the tiny Chain Chomp house.
- The Bananas: Give the canned food to the salesman at the beach.
- The Stick: Give the bananas to Kiki the Monkey near the castle.
It goes on and on. Pineapple, Hibiscus, Letter, Broom, Fishing Hook. Eventually, you end up with a magnifying lens. This lens is the only way to read the book in the library that tells you how to navigate the final boss’s maze. If you don't do this, you're basically guessing your way through the dark.
Is it Better than A Link to the Past?
It’s a hot take, but yeah, for many, it is. A Link to the Past is the "perfect" Zelda game, but The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening has more soul. It deals with themes of existentialism. If the world is a dream, do the people in it matter? The bosses—the Nightmares—actually try to talk you out of your quest. They tell you that if you wake the Wind Fish, everything disappears. You, the hero, are essentially the bringer of the apocalypse for this little island.
🔗 Read more: Catching the Blue Marlin in Animal Crossing: Why This Giant Fish Is So Hard to Find
That’s heavy for a game that fits in your pocket.
The combat is snappy, the music (especially "The Ballad of the Wind Fish") is haunting, and the pacing is perfect. There is zero filler. No long tutorials. No hand-holding. You just wake up on a beach and start exploring.
Practical Advice for Your Next Playthrough
If you're jumping back into Koholint, keep these things in mind to avoid frustration. First, don't steal from the shop unless you’re prepared for the consequences. Yes, you can walk circles around the shopkeeper and run out the door with the Bow. It saves you 980 rupees. But the game will call you "THIEF" for the rest of the save file. Also, the shopkeeper will straight-up kill you with a lightning bolt if you ever walk back inside.
Second, pay attention to the walls. In most Zelda games, cracked walls are obvious. In the original version of this game, some walls that can be bombed don't have cracks. You have to poke them with your sword. If you hear a "clink" instead of a "thud," blast it.
Actionable Steps for Completionists:
- Hunt the Shells: There are 26 Secret Seashells in the original and 50 in the Switch remake. Getting enough of them rewards you with the Level 2 Sword, which shoots beams even if you aren't at full health in the remake.
- The Color Dungeon: If you're playing the DX or Switch version, don't forget the hidden Color Dungeon in the graveyard. You need to push the tombstones in a specific order found in a book in the library. Completing it gives you the Red Mail (double damage) or Blue Mail (half damage). Always pick Red.
- The Manbo’s Mambo: Get this song as early as possible. It lets you warp to any warp hole on the map and, more importantly, warps you back to the start of a dungeon. It saves hours of backtracking.
The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening isn't just a spin-off. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best creative work happens when the "rules" are thrown out the window. It's short, it's weird, and it stays with you long after the credits roll and the island vanishes.
Next Steps for Players:
If you've already finished the main story, try a "No Death" run to see the secret ending scene featuring Marin. For those on the Switch version, spend some time in Dampe’s Shack to unlock the +Shadow Link effect for your custom dungeons, which provides a significant challenge for endgame combat practice. If you are playing the Game Boy original, look up the "Screen Transition Glitch" to see how speedrunners skip half the game by clipping through the map boundaries.