Released: 19981231 Publisher: Nintendo of America Developer: Nintendo Co. Ltd Genre: Adventure

Review by: Dahli

Zelda, Zelda, Zelda... I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of people talking about Zelda because this game is great and Zelda does not even appear in Link's Awakening. All the games that Link has been a hero of have been called "Legend of Zelda". I know Nintendo called this game "Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening" because of name recognition and it makes me feel not so good inside. All the games Link has taken the lead role in have been great and this one is the best game for Game Boy. Like it or not, nearly every Game Boy site you will go to has a review of Link's Awakening. Why? Because people who know video games have played it. Follow the carriage return for more praise.

In Link's Awakening, the story begins with Link being washed ashore on Koholit Island. He gets saved by local people and finds out that the only way to get off this mysterious island is to wake something called the Wind Fish. The only way to accomplish that task is to collect eight instruments that are located in dungeons which are scattered all over the island. With that the quest begins, and what a quest! "That's not a quest, that's an umbilical cord. It's a girl." Link's Awakening does everything right, from the storyline, to graphics, to sound, to control, to the difficulty level. Graphics are as good as the Game Boy is gonna do and it is not bad at all. Each part of the island looks different and you feel that you have traveled someplace new. Sweet weapons and items are available at your disposal, from your trusty sword to the fabled hook-shot. There is nothing like firing your first arrow bomb and finally being able to acheive the boomerang rooster combo. Sub-quests are available to make the game less linear, they include collecting seashells (from the game: "If you collect enough of these, something good is bound to happen") and heart pieces to pump up your life. A fishing game is also there, but do not expect it to be anywhere close to the one in Ocarina of Time, I mean Game Boy is almost as powerful as a Nintendo 64, right..... right? Hitting your sword against a wall produces a different sound if the wall can be bombed through which demonstrates the time Nintendo has put in this game, no wonder they made a new color version. Do not expect to get through this game in one day (and in my case, one day, one night, one more day, passing out, and one more day). Dungeons are filled with complicated puzzles and actually getting into the dungeons is a tricky task. Talking to people is essential, although there is not much dialog so you won't be bored.

Here is the deal on the DX version of Link's Awakening. It has an extra dungeon with color oriented puzzles (do not get this game just for the new dungeon, it is short and simple), more animations, a nicer looking ending, a camera shop where pictures that are taken all over the game will be stored. These pictures get taken only at certain areas so do not expect them to be on the way, it is a sub-quest just to find those areas. I beat the game and only got four out of twelve pictures.

I really do not have anything against Zelda, she is a fine woman and more power to her but is she and Link going to "you know what" or not?

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