Zelda – Link’s Awakening, Sheer Awesomeness! *Heavy Spoilers*

[retroborg]

Recently, I bought a used Black & White Gameboy with the Zelda cart for 5 Euros at a flea-market sale.

Soon after when I started playing it, I was shocked by the sheer awesomeness of the gameplay, the nicely designed 4-grey scale graphics, the gorgeous music generated by the tiny GB speaker and the cool Boss fights!
It took me 3 months to complete (I took my time there) and enjoyed every single detail of the game.

The story line and plot were very deep, sad and dramatic.
The Koholilt realm was just an allegory, a dream of another being. It would all end and fade into nothingness once the wind fish awakes.

I had an inclination, about the island not being quite right, especially after defeating the Slime Eel Boss at the Catfish dungeon and hearing its dying cries:

Slime Eel: TSSSK, TSSSK! You don't ssseem to know what kind of island this
iss... KEEE-HEE-HEEE! What a fool... KEE-HEE-HEH!!

But I was shocked when I first read the legend about the island, on the ancient tablet at the face shrine.

TO THE FINDER... THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT, IS BUT AN ILLUSION... HUMAN,
MONSTER, SEA, SKY... A SCENE ON THE LID OF A SLEEPER'S EYE... AWAKE
THE DREAMER, AND KOHOLINT WILL VANISH MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE...
CAST-AWAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!

The Owl then appears and tells you that the only one that knows for sure is the Wind Fish it self! The Owl was the most enigmatic character of the game. I think it's an allegory and represents the Wind Fish’s (or maybe even Link’s) Consciousness!

Later on, The Facade Bosses’ agonizing death cries supported the terrifying truth:

Facade (end): Okay, listen up! If the Wind Fish wakes up, every-thing on this island will be gone forever! And I do mean... EVERYTHING!

And the dramatic inevitable end described by the Boss of the 8th Dungeon.
It’s so dramatic of how anxious and determined he is to prevent you from playing the instruments:

Hot Head: CRACKLE-FROOOWSH! You're finished! I will never let you play the
Instruments of the Sirens!!

+++(END)+++
Hot Head: C-C-CRACKLE! Why did you come here? if it weren't for you, nothing
would have to change! You cannot wake the Wind Fish! Remember,
you... too... are in... ...the dream...

When the Wind fish finally awakes, the dialogue that follows is very hopeful and sad at the same time:

Wind Fish: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I AM THE WIND FISH... LONG HAS BEEN
MY SLUMBER... IN MY DREAMS... AN EGG APPEARED AND WAS SURROUNDED BY
AN ISLAND. WITH PEOPLE, ANIMALS, AN ENTIRE WORLD! ... ... ... ...
BUT, VERILY, IT BE THE NATURE OF DREAMS TO END! WHEN I DOST AWAKEN,
KOHOLINT WILL BE GONE... ONLY THE MEMORY OF THIS DREAM LAND WILL
EXIST IN THE WAKING WORLD... SOMEDAY, THOU MAY RECALL THIS
ISLAND... THAT MEMORY MUST BE THE REAL DREAM WORLD...

The best element of this game must be Marin’s song, “The Ballad of the Wind Fish”, This is one of the nicest tunes I have ever heard! I would sit there and play it just to enjoy the melody. The full version of the song, when you play the 8 siren instruments in front of the Wind Fish’s Egg, is poetry!
Yes, music is very important in my book and I was deeply touched by this specific song. I'll definitely look for an mp3 re-mastered version of this tune!
I felt sad when Marin tells you that she knew you were going to leave for ever and that she didn’t want you to forget her.

Earlier at the beach, she tells you:
“If I was a sea gull, I would fly as far as I could! I would fly to far away places and sing for many people”.

I guess her wish was granted when at the end sequence, Marin comes onto the screen, a seagull flies through her, and she disappears.

I was deeply touched by this game and it definitely deserves to be placed in the hall of all time classics.

[doppletwo]

Strangely this is actually the longest Zelda game, unless you count side quests.

[yoda313]

Zelda was a great series. One of the best.

[retroborg]

So, are the rest of the Zelda games on the GB colour & GBA worth buying & playing?
Are they any better than Link's awakening on the B/W GB, based on the values described above? (Gameplay, storyline, sad/dramatic plot with a lot of twists)?

Zelda - Oracle of Seasons (GB Colour)
Zelda - Oracle of Ages (GB Colour)
Zelda - Link's Awakening DX (GB Colour)
Zelda – The Minish Cap (GBA)

Regarding Ages & Seasons, does it matter in which order you complete them?
I’ve heard that they’re linked in some way…

[retroborg]

By the way, where could one get the midi or mp3 remixed tracks of "Ballad of the Windfish" song?

Thanks.

[BJ_M]

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Ballad+of+the+Windfish&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

[anitract]

Ah, the memories. Links Awakening was one of my favorite games for the longest time. I remember playing the original on my b/w gameboy over a family vacation & beating it (AND finding all of the sea shells). Great, great, game.

The music was great too. Nothing like hearing such pretty melodies through such tiny tiny speakers. ^_^;;

[retroborg]

Here is a great site with all the Zelda Midi tunes as well as other GB classics:
http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/gameboy/index-classic.html

It has all the GB Zelda tunes with the exception of the original Windfish Ballad when you play it in front of the Egg with all 8 instruments.
It could be “Ballad of the Windfish (Arranged).mid” but it doesn’t quite sound the same.

The 2nd best tune of the game imo:
“Tal Tal Mountain Range” especially the Remix version available at the above site:
http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/gameboy/Zelda_gameboy_mountain_long_version.mid

And of course, the classic “Overworld” tune, obviously.
Specifically, I find the “Overworld (5).mid” to be one of the best compositions of this song.
Probably even better than the original SNES SPC version.

Here are quite a few mp3 remixed tracks for all the Zelda games:
http://www.ocremix.org/
http://www.ocremix.org/z/
http://www.ocremix.org/game/68/
http://www.mirsoft.info/gmb/search.php?search=link%27s+awakening&submit=OK
http://www.zophar.net/gbs/