Link’s Awakening

August 1993 - Shipwrecked!

Link’s first Game Boy adventure tells of a time shortly after his first great victory in A Link to the Past. Returning home after a bold journey throughout the known world, Link’s small ship was caught in a fierce storm and he was cast ashore on a mysterious tropical island.

Questioning and Trading

Link’s Awakening displays the same attention to graphical detail as a Link to the Past, including lush forests and intricately detailed stonework in towers and dungeons. The game emphasizes exploration, as Link must interview the human and non-human denizens of exotic Koholint Island and engage in elaborate trading cycles to obtain the items he’ll need before he can solve the mystery of the Wind Fish that dominates the island. The game contains many secret areas, such as Faerie Springs and trees concealing treasures, and even more unusual characters, including the irascible Shopkeeper in Mabe Village, the Legendary Flying Rooster of Koholint and Crazy Tracy, bearer of a mystical ointment. You’ll even encounter Goombas, those pesky troublemakers from Super Mario Bros!

Enter the Ocarina

Link’s Awakening marks the first appearance of an ocarina in a Zelda game. As in The Adventure of Link: Ocarina of Time, Link’s mastery of the instrument is vital to solving the game’s many mysteries. Link must learn such tunes as Mamu’s Frog Song of Soul, used to awaken the dead.

Released in 1993, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has long been one of the most popular Game Boy titles. A new version with Game Boy Color enhancements and a never-before-seen dungeon area is scheduled for release in late 1998.