Link's Awakening Retrospective

I wanted to address something: I've recently moved into a new house, if the audio sounds weird that's simply me attempting to adjust to my new surroundings. There's nothing wrong with me, I'm perfectly healthy: thank you for your concern!

About the story: I always took the ending of Marin being a seagull as a strong implication that the residents of Koholint were other living beings trapped in the Windfish's dream, similar to Link.

My favorite thing to do was to go to the wind fish egg after each dungeon and play the song with one more instrument than last time.

Zelda Timeline is a myth. All games are recurring dreams of the Wind Fish.

Funfact: This game had bomb arrows before Twilight Princess.

Did you know you can use the stick to burn the bomb and open the shortcut.

I want to agree with the "no wasted time" point, but if I have to read "Wow, this is pretty heavy! It looks like you won't be able to pick this up with just your bare hands..." any more than I already have I'm going to punch something.

What I think I love most about Link’s Awakening is how tight-knit it feels. The game was developed essentially as a passion project from devs just wanting to throw in their own ideas as it expanded from a simple test of trying to port LttP. So cute stuff like “throw in Goombas” or “what if Wart from Mario 2 were an NPC” were thrown in really early, and eventually the kitchen got a bunch of cooks in it all just trying to contribute their best and tighten it up, so much so that Nintendo just let them keep their passion project and release it as a full game. I love the sense of camaraderie the game provides, weaving the trading quest into story progression so that you really do get to bond with the islanders and just enjoy this wacky world where there are pet Chain Chomps and the guy from Sim City really wants to have a girlfriend. It all just feels so playful and fun, and like everyone will have to go their separate ways after this project is over, but they’ll always have this project to learn from and grow from. Probably one of my favorite reflective meta-narratives in games. I really do adore Link’s Awakening, it’s in my Top 3 Zeldas somewhere with Majora and the NES Original, all of them because they deviate from the formula (or I guess were deviated from in the case of Zelda 1) and are just so proud of their own identities, so unabashedly happy to be their own games instead of the “next great Zelda”. Love your points on the items, something I didn’t even consider during my playthrough, and how that limits unnecessary or underutilized mechanics supremely elegantly. And just… yeah, I wish more Zelda games were more neat and compact whilst also having a strong bond with the world around them. As for the dream ending, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance actually does something rather similar. The entire world is changed from a realistic place where shit sucks, a kid’s dad is a loser alcoholic, and your brother is crippled to a fantasy world where that alcoholic loser dad is like a superhero knight policeman, everyone can get cool magic powers, and your brother isn’t crippled anymore. And the main character has to wake everyone up because turning to your fantasies isn’t realistic, which… feels a bit mixed and muddled since he’s re-crippling his brother, but y’know, it’s a similar message here. But I prefer it here, as the regret feels organic - Marin isn’t a seagull who wanted to be human please don’t make me a seagull again, you just want her to be okay because you really like her and no one seems any the wiser. I really prefer and enjoy that kind of organic world building and connection - I dunno, I just thought it was an interesting point of discussion and something to look into. Vid’s good. That’s pretty consistent feedback from me, I know, but vid’s good!

"I don't envy the child that had to contend with something this complex." Oh yeah, that child right here. i remember being stuck in that dungeon for what felt like ages. navigating the dungeon wasn't the problem. i didn't put two and two together and realize u had to use the iron ball to knock down the pillars. once i figure that out, the rest of the dungeon was pretty easy. love the boss fight as well.

I had a dream when I was a teenager that lasted two weeks over a single night. I made these friends and we were fighting to save this town. It was dark, magical, and colorful in ways I wish I could describe. We hit a setback, but we all still had hope that we could win. And then I woke up. I started crying as I realized I would never see my friends again and that I'd eventually forget who they were on an individual level. And that's what happened. I still remember scenes vividly to this day. The giant grey snake on the moon who offered us guidance. The city made of colorful cardboard that looked like a diorama contrasting with the real and expansive night sky. The people are gone. The enemy is gone. But the places and what I felt are something that drift back into my head every now and then. I remember waking up having this understanding that this was what death is like. A sharp ending and eventual peaceful forgetting. I obviously can't know if that is true, but I like to think it is. I've had many strange and esoteric dreams before and since, but they all were usually a day or two and none felt like the loss of a living life the way that one did.

Did you know that you can jump on the goombas with the roc's feather for an instant kill and a guaranteed heart?

This video is about to blow up

I had the original game (black&white). This is definitely one of my top 5 games of my childhood. Watching this video bought back some really good memories.

My favorite Zelda ever. Such a unique feeling to this Zelda with enemies not seen in any other Zelda. Also, the island and it’s people have a very sad, fatalistic aura about them. Such a great game.

To this day, one of my greatest accomplishments was beating Link's Awakening (original version) with no help whatsoever when I was 6.

If you don't cry your eyes out when you see Marin turned into a seagull: you're a monster.

"When you have to go back to Kokiri forest and get Saria's Song to cheer up Darunia, there aren't many hints available that would lead you to that conclusion." What are you talking about? Doesn't Navi, the designated hint-giver, nag you constantly to go talk to Saria during that part of the game? That's what I remember happening anyway.

Link’s Awakening DX is my favorite Zelda game... ever. Out of all other 2D games, and even all of the 3D ones, I always enjoy this game over every other Zelda. I am so happy you made this, and I hope you remember happy that you made this analysis aswell.

I once dreamed up an entire person and came to care about that person deeply. Waking up and realizing that person never existed was a strange feeling to say the least.

3:37 - 4:45 Love the way you phrase that, it's how I felt when playing the game. Although I disagree about the implication that Marin "survived" as a seagull. The more I think about it, I see it as a bleak ending where Link sees an ordinary seagull and imagines it's Marin because of what she said in the dream, about wanting to fly away. Beautiful.