The Legend Of Zelda Link’s Awakening: Longtime Listener, First Time Caller (Spoilers)

The Legend Of Zelda is a dream come true. I am just one of the many who can attest to the quality of the series as a whole, there’s a reason it’s among the most popular and revered in the medium of gaming. I too consider it to be one of my favorites if not my very favorite series in any artistic medium. After Twilight Princess so effectively stole my heart, cementing itself as my favorite game of all time, it’s been a personal mission of mine to experience as much of the series as I have access to (the count is currently at 8).

I have been peripherally aware of Link’s Awakening for many years. Unfortunately as is so often the case with older video games, finding access to an original Game Boy and a working cartridge of the 1993 original game on the cheap wasn’t exactly the easiest or cheapest task, especially when the collective nostalgia for that era of gaming was strong, so the cost was also a prohibitive barrier keeping me away. Nintendo to the rescue! Modern gloss, a charming visual style, and true to the original, Link’s Awakening was remade in 2019. Clearly the game means a lot to the lifers at the company and since most things with Legend Of Zelda branding will sell it was most likely a perfect match.

Lovely box art

Often times in storytelling art forms the “it was all a dream” can feel like a complete waste of time. If it didn’t happen then why did I bother investing time and emotional energy to nothing more than meta-imagination? One of the more worst kept secrets in the medium is that Link’s Awakening takes place just about entirely within Link’s resting mind. It is not only one of the better examples of this narrative device being used in tandem with the esoteric nature of an individuals dreams as well as the brevity in which a dream takes place within. 

We’re greeted with an amalgamation of Nintendo characters, enemies, whimsically represented just as you would expect, only this time in a game that they don’t logically belong in. All of these seemingly disconnected elements reinforce the commonality of our dreams often involving disparate elements of life extremely relevant to our experiences at that time. The charmingly quaint safe-havens of Mabe Village and Animal Village function as somewhat of a familiar analog to Link’s real world counterparts of places in which he would find on his travels, only providing even more refuge from the immediate and unfortified threats waiting just outside of the town’s respective boundaries. Marin, the girl that he first meets, bares an odd similarity to a Princess Zelda with her innocent honesty and reassuring appearances reminding you that you are not alone in this fight.

And what is this fight? Well, it is to wake up of course! Naturally it’s a bit more complex than simply opening your eyes. The egg of the wind fish, sat atop the mountain, is the being that keeps the island safe in order to escape we must collect the instruments that allow us to play the only song capable of waking the wind fish. And through this adventure we encounter multiple story beats that reinforce the messages being conveyed.

A famous one of these is Link’s date with Marin. Sitting on the beach looking out at the endless ocean, in which she discussing with Link her desire to see beyond the island’s borders, with him providing proof to her that there has to be, otherwise how could he find himself here? Ultimately he will have to leave some day too, right?

The most memorable of images

Another example of which involving a ghost who starts to follow you around shortly after you finish a dungeon. He asks to be taken to his old house, he floats to each area of the house, reminiscing about the times of his life he spent living there, “nostalgia…unchanged.” Content with putting his past to rest he asks to be taken back to his grave where he can finally be at peace with his life and begin his next journey, whatever and wherever that may be.

These stories in particular are central to the message that the game is conveying and reminding us of through the experience. Moving forward from our lives and experiences. Dreams have endings just as much as certain periods of time in our lives do, periods we look back on fondly, strongly, poignantly. Memories do not end as long as we do not let them. Rather than living in circles trying to meticulously recreate these valuable experiences, enhancing your life with the drive to find new ones. Let the cycle continue, it’s okay, so much of our lives are cyclical to begin with.

In many ways this idea synchronizes with Nintendo’s very space as the creative juggernauts that they are. It embodies the spirit of their identity. Rather than endlessly chasing after “the next Zelda” and clinging to that success for dear life they are an entity that lives and dies through their unwavering ambition to push forward. There will only ever be one Legend Of Zelda series, but that doesn’t mean that the incredibly talented people behind it cannot create more works of art and experiences that captivate, fascinate, and uplift as only they can. Link’s Awakening is a reminder of that very philosophy.