The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島, Zeruda no Densetsu Yume o Miru Shima, lit. "The Legend of Zelda: Dreaming Island") fourth installment in the The Legend of Zelda series released for the Game Boy and later released for the Game Boy Color as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX. It has been rumored by fans that this game is nothing more than a dream of Link's.

Gameplay
The style that is used in Link's Awakening is similar to that of previous installments of the series, excluding Zelda II: The Adventure of Link which went on a completely different path that almost any other game in the incredibly popular franchise. You control the silent protagonist Link by having a bird's eye view of the area. With this view, you are able to see all of Link's surroundings, including enemies, secrets, and so fourth. Once our hero incounters an enemy, he will be able to defeat it by using multiple different abilities. The more you play the more abilities, or atleast items you'll obtain.

Obviously the most popular and most used weapon is the sword. With this, you are not only able to slash through enemies that are close to you, but you're also able to cut grass, solve puzzles, and even counter attack enemies (such as when an Octorock shoots out a boulder, you are able to slash your sword at the boulder, thus making it go right back to the Octorock).

Plot
After events in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past Link sets sail and is shipwrecked. He is woken up on Koholint Island, by a lady called Marin. A man called Tarin (her father) looked after Link's shield. The Owl explains to him he must awake the Wind Fish to escape the Island. Link must obtain all eight instruments to awake the Wind Fish. The question is whether the Island is a dream or not.

Major Characters
Link, as aforementioned, is the silent protagonist of the game. Right after Link defeated Ganon in the events of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, he sets sail on the wide open sea, where he is suddenly struck by a violent storm. After he wakes up, he finds himself on an island, where he meets the sweet Marin and her father Tarin. Throughout the game you'll control Link, seeing as he is the main character. Marin is the girl who saves Link once she finds him stranded and unconscious on the beach. While you progress through the game, she'll become more and more close to Link, and will eventually start to have a crush on him. Once Link awakens and sees Marin, he first assumes that she is Zelda on the account of the similarities of Marin and the princess.

Tarin is Marin's father. His name is obviously similar to his daughter's as the two names rhyme. His appearance is possibly a reference to a similar daughter and father Malon and Talon from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Thankfully, Tarin will give Link a shield once he wakes up, which is required if you wish to complete the game. He is an odd character who tends to act much like a child, often times hiding things from Link, and also thinking that he himself is a raccoon.

Ultria is an older man on the island. Being the shy person he is, Link can only talk to him via the many telephone booths scattered throughout the island. Once Link starts to talk to him, the man will give him hints on how to progress through the game.

Mysterious Owl is a Owl who helps you as you progress through the game. He hints to you where you should go in between every dungeon. He also explains a lot of the storyline to you. He explains about the Wind Fish and is a guide throughout the game.

Development
While looking over screens released by Nintendo Power, you can clearly see that the game was going to be more reminiscent to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. However, the game probably underwent a major change during development, thus resulting in the final version of the game.

Link's Awakening DX
A remake called The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX was released for the Game Boy Color in 1998. The game features color graphics, compatibility with the Game Boy Printer, and an exclusive color-based dungeon. The DX version received higher scores than the original.

Reception
The game was well received by critics, receiving several awards. However, the game's graphics were criticized for being mediocre, and the monochrome version received further criticism from making it hard to see what was going on. The game was commercially successful, selling a combined six million units. It was re-released under the Player's Choice label. It is the sixth best selling game on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color.

Trivia

 * Richard from the Japanese game Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (translated as For the Frog the Bell Tolls) makes an appearance. Many speculate that Link's Awakening's engine is actually a modified version of For the Frog the Bell Tolls' engine.
 * There is a shop in the game where you can sneak an item past the shopkeeper (who would normally stop you from doing so). However, upon doing so your name will thereafter be "THIEF". If you re-enter the shop, the shopkeeper will kill you.
 * Goombas appear in the game, as do Piranha Plants, in a secret area. The goombas can be stomped upon (as this area is in side-view as opposed to top-down)
 * A letter given to Mr. Write has a picture of Peach, labeled "Christine". Also, Mr. Write resembles Dr. Wright.
 * Kirby appears in the game, as an Anti-Kirby, and is able to suck up Link
 * Yoshi appears in a minigame, as a doll
 * Wart makes a cameo, called Mamu, and teaches Link the Frog's Song
 * A Chain Chomp (Bow-Wow) appears as a pet.
 * Kazumi Totaka's theme appears in the game. If you wait long enough in Richard's Villas, the theme will play. Perhaps even more interesting is that if you name Link Totakeke, Totaka's song will replace the overworld theme. In the English version, if you name Link ZELDA, the theme song will be a remix of the original The Legend of Zelda theme song. In the German version, if you name Link MOYSE the overworld song will also be different. Clause Moyse is the man who translated the game into German.