Koholint Island isn't real. That’s not a spoiler—it’s the entire point. Most Zelda games are about saving a kingdom, but The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is about destroying one. You wake up on a beach, a talking owl tells you to wake a giant fish in an egg, and by the time the credits roll, you’ve basically committed accidental deicide on a dream world. It’s heavy stuff for a Game Boy title from 1993.
Honestly, the first time I played the original, I didn’t get the gravity of it. I was too busy trying to figure out how to jump. See, Link's Awakening was the first time Zelda went portable, and it changed everything. No Zelda. No Triforce. No Ganon. Just a stranded hero and a bunch of weird cameos from Mario enemies. It felt like a fever dream because, narratively, it actually was one.
The Weirdest Origin Story in Nintendo History
Most people assume this game was a massive, planned blockbuster. It wasn't. It started as a "shisaku" (a prototype) created by Kazuaki Kyogoku and Takashi Tezuka. They were basically just seeing if they could port A Link to the Past to a handheld. It was an after-hours "club activity" for the developers. Because it wasn't a "main" Zelda project initially, they felt they had the freedom to get weird with it.
That’s why you see Kirby. That’s why there’s a Chain Chomp named BowWow that you have to take for a walk. Yoshi shows up as a plush doll. It feels like a fan mod because the developers were literally just having fun. Yoshiaki Koizumi, who joined the team later, was the one who brought the darker, Twin Peaks-inspired narrative to the table. He wanted a world that felt "off." He succeeded.
You’ve got this melancholy hanging over every interaction. You meet Marin, she sings "Ballad of the Wind Fish," and she tells you she wants to be a seagull so she can fly away. It’s sweet until you realize that if you succeed in your quest, she disappears forever. That’s the core tension of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. To save yourself, you have to end the existence of everyone you’ve met. It’s a guilt trip wrapped in a colorful action-adventure game.
Gameplay That Broke the Top-Down Mold
The 2019 Switch remake did a lot to modernize the feel, but the bones of the game are still rooted in 1993. This was the game that introduced the "item on a button" mechanic. Before this, your sword was usually hard-coded to a button. In Koholint, you could unequip your sword. You could put bombs on B and the bow on A to fire bomb-arrows. It was revolutionary for its time.
💡 You might also like: Hogwarts Legacy PS5: Why the Magic Still Holds Up in 2026
Dungeon design in Link's Awakening is notoriously tight. Eagle's Tower is still a nightmare for people who hate backtracking. You have to carry a literal wrecking ball around to smash pillars and collapse the top floor of the dungeon. It’s physical. It’s tactile. It’s frustratingly brilliant.
Think about the trading quest. It starts with a Yoshi doll and ends with a magnifying glass. You aren't just fetching items; you're learning the social fabric of the island. You give a hibiscus to a goat who is catfishing a guy in another village. It’s absurd. But it makes the island feel lived-in, which makes the ending hurt even more.
Why the 2019 Remake Actually Worked
Usually, "toy-like" graphics are a lazy way to describe a game. But for the Switch version of Link's Awakening, it was a literal design choice. The developers at Grezzo used a tilt-shift effect to make the world look like a miniature diorama. It fits the theme perfectly. The world is a toy. It’s a dream. It’s something you can hold in your hand and then let go of.
The remake added some Quality of Life (QoL) stuff that we desperately needed:
- Dedicated buttons for the sword, shield, and power bracelet. No more pausing every five seconds to swap items.
- A map that actually lets you place pins. If you played the DX version on Game Boy Color, you know the pain of forgetting where that one Heart Piece was.
- The Chamber Dungeon. Honestly? This was a bit of a miss for some. It was a "Zelda Maker" lite mode hosted by Dampé. It was fine, but it didn't capture the magic of the main quest.
The "Dream" Theory and the Ethics of Link
Is Link the villain? Some fans have argued this for decades. The "Nightmares" you fight in the dungeons—the bosses—actually talk to you. They aren't just mindless monsters. They plead with you. They tell you that you’re the monster for waking the Wind Fish.
📖 Related: Little Big Planet Still Feels Like a Fever Dream 18 Years Later
"We were here first," they essentially say.
If you look at the game through a purely mechanical lens, you're just clearing levels. But if you look at it through the lens of a hero's journey, Link is a disruptor. He enters a stable, peaceful (if illusory) ecosystem and systematically dismantles it so he can go back to his real life. It raises a question that most games in the 90s weren't brave enough to ask: is your reality worth more than someone else's entire existence?
Small Details You Might Have Missed
The game is packed with secrets that most casual players breeze past. For instance, did you know you can steal from the shopkeeper? If you circle around him fast enough and run out the door, you keep the item. But the game remembers. Everyone calls you "THIEF" for the rest of the playthrough. And if you go back into the shop? The shopkeeper straight-up murders you with a lightning bolt. It’s a one-hit kill. Total karma.
Then there’s the secret ending. If you complete the entire game without dying once, you get a special scene after the credits. You see Marin’s face in the sky, and then a seagull flies away. She got her wish. It’s the one bit of hope the game gives you—a suggestion that maybe, just maybe, something survived the dream.
Technical Legacy of Koholint
It’s easy to forget how much Link's Awakening influenced the "big" Zelda games. The fishing minigame started here. Using the hookshot as a primary traversal tool for puzzles was refined here. Even the way Zelda games handle musical instruments as keys to the world was solidified with the eight Instruments of the Sirens.
👉 See also: Why the 20 Questions Card Game Still Wins in a World of Screens
Eiji Aonuma, the longtime series producer, has cited this game as a massive influence on his approach to the series. He loved the "town" feel—the idea that NPCs had lives and schedules. You can see the DNA of Mabe Village in Ocarina of Time's Kakariko Village and Majora's Mask's Clock Town. It proved that Zelda didn't need a sprawling kingdom to be epic; it just needed a soul.
How to Play It Today
If you want the best experience, the Nintendo Switch remake is the way to go. It’s gorgeous, the music is orchestrated, and the controls are infinitely better. However, if you want that raw, melancholic 90s vibe, the Game Boy Color version (Link's Awakening DX) is available on the Nintendo Switch Online service. It includes an extra "Color Dungeon" that gives you a red or blue tunic for a permanent power-up.
Avoid the original 1993 monochrome version unless you're a purist. It has some "screen-warping" glitches that speedrunners love, but for a normal person, the lack of color and the constant item-swapping is a chore.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Playthrough
If you’re diving into The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the first time—or the tenth—here is how to get the most out of it:
- Don't Rush the Main Quest: Talk to the NPCs in Mabe Village after every dungeon. Their dialogue changes, and it's where the heart of the story lives.
- The Trading Sequence is Mandatory: You literally cannot finish the game without it because you need the final reward to navigate the Wind Fish's egg. Start it early by winning the Yoshi doll in the Trendy Game shop.
- Hunt for Seashells: In the remake, finding 40 shells gets you the Koholint Sword, which does double damage and shoots beams at full health. It makes the final bosses a breeze.
- Go for the No-Death Run: If you're on the Switch, use save states or just be careful. The secret ending is the only "true" closure the game offers for Marin's character arc.
- Listen to the Music: The soundtrack is a masterpiece. Each instrument you collect adds a layer to the final song. Pay attention to how the "Ballad of the Wind Fish" evolves from a simple melody into a full symphony.
Link’s Awakening isn't just a side story. It's a meditation on loss. It’s about the fact that some things are beautiful precisely because they don't last. Whether you're playing the pixelated original or the shiny remake, the message is the same: wake up, even if it hurts.