The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (GB/C Review) by Zeypher

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
System: Gameboy/ Gameboy Color
Release: August 1st, 1993 (US) / December 2nd, 1998 (US)

Link's Awakening was the first Zelda title to be released on Nintendo's popular Gameboy handheld. The original was black and white and the DX version had full color, but both versions are the same game and have the same gameplay. With that said, was the first handheld Zelda a hit or a miss?

Story
The story follows the events of A Link to the Past. Link is traveling by boat to train and battle other evils. During a storm Link gets shipwrecked, and wakes to find himself on the mysterious Koholint island; saved by a man named Tarin and his daughter Marin. Link is informed by a strange owl that nobody can leave Koholint island, unless they wake the Wind Fish; guardian of the island. Link thus sets out on a quest to collect the 8 mystical instruments and wake the Wind Fish.

Sound 12/15
Link's Awakening's soundtrack is solid. Nothing amazing done with the limited power of the handheld system, but not terrible either. There are some really good tunes however, like the Ballad of the Windfish; which is one of my personal favorite songs in the whole Zelda series. Overworld themes vary from place to place, such as the intense tune of the Tal Tal Mountains and the calm tunes of the Animal Village.

Graphics 16/20

The original version of Link's Awakening was in black and white, with the later released DX version in full color. In both, most of the sprites are quite detailed, albeit simple. Animations all look clear and there are never any awkward looking movements.

Appeal 23/25
For a Gameboy/Gameboy Color game, Link's Awakening has a lot of play value. There are 8 dungeons in the game, all of which get longer and harder as players progress through the story. Something that was new to the series was first in Link's Awakening: the Trading Sequence. For the most part, a lot of the trading sequence was required to progress through the game (such as giving monkeys bananas for the to build a bridge), but the rest of it can be completed until eventually players obtain the Boomerang. There's also a long shell collect side quest to upgrade Link's sword, and there's of course heart piece collection. Other than that, there isn't a whole lot to do after you complete the game. That's fine though, because as stated above, the game is long and you'll be doing most of the side quests during your main playthrough. The items were good, and many were new to the series (ie: Roc's Feather). There are a lot of Mario references thrown in the game, from Goombas in underground portions to the Mario look-alike Tarin. The story is quite possibly one of the most bizarre or "trippy" in all of the Zelda series, and will keep players coming back just out of sheer curiosity. In the DX version, there is an extra dungeon that lets players choose from increased offense or defense after completion.

Gameplay 37/40
As I said above, there are eight dungeons in Link's Awakening, and they all increase in difficulty with Turtle Rock (the 8th dungeon) being the hardest. The world is very large, but the paths are mostly linear in fashion and not completely open like its predecessor, A Link to the Past. Following the Zelda formula, a new item is found in each dungeon and aids in the boss fight, and many of the items are particularly useful as players go through the game, with the biggest example being Roc's Feather; an item that allows Link to jump over obstacles. Items classic to the Zelda franchise, such as the Bow and Bombs, are also present in Link's Awakening, but are bought in the shop instead of found in a dungeon. A nice little option players have is that they can steal from the store instead of paying, but there are consequences: upon the next visit, the shop keeper will kill the player, and if players steal then the townsfolk refer to Link as "THEIF" instead of his actual name. Being the first handheld Zelda game, it has a new engine and it works great. Items can be equipped to either the A or B buttons at any time, and swapping items at certain times when player need them is really easy. Player health is measured by hearts as in other Zelda games, and once they run out Link dies. A new little feature that was added into the game were power ups that lasted a limited amount of time: the Guardian Acorn and Piece of Power. These were found randomly after enemied are killed, and the Guardian Acorn raises defense while the Piece of Power raises offense, both for a limited time.

Overall88/100
Link's Awakening is an amazing portable adventure title. It's also one of the greatest Zelda games to date, with its bizarre story and enriching gameplay, makes it a timeless classic that will be enjoyed over and over again.

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