You look at Link’s Awakening, and you go, “Yeah, this is a Zelda game.”
It’s got all the hallmarks.
Items to gather, dungeons to delve, NPCs to question, and that iconic music.
But despite the familiar mechanics, and the very Link to the Past aesthetic, this is one
strange ocarina-summoned bird.
Despite being called The Legend of Zelda, she doesn’t show up in this title at all.
Y’know who does?
The dude from SIMCITY.
And Chain Chomps.
And there are side-scrolling sections, complete with piranha plants and goombas.
And that dude Richard, from the Japanese-only Famicom Disk System title “Kaeru no Tame
ni Kane wa Naru.”
And there’s a Yoshi doll, and a goat trying to pass herself off as Princess Peach, and
that piece of music that keeps popping up in Mario Paint and Animal Crossing...
… This is the fever dream of Zelda games, pure
and simple.
And this, more specifically, is the Game Boy Color remake of same, featuring...
COLOR.
In fact, a whole bonus dungeon devoted to COLOR, which grants the POWER OF COLOR.
(Okay, so it’s just a tunic upgrade that gives you either double defense or double
attack.)
And it’s available on your 3DS via the Virtual Console!
So, should you indulge in this rather off-kilter tale of a shipwrecked Link, trying to awaken
the Wind Fish with a series of eclectic instruments?
OF COURSE YOU SHOULD.
Consider: the Game Boy ran on an 8-bit processor, and somehow this thing managed to replicate
the advancements of the 16-bit Link to the Past, despite massive hardware limitations.
Sure, this version removed color as a major stumbling block, but there’s the matter
of buttons to consider.
You’ve got two action buttons, which can be mapped to any weapon or item you like,
Start brings up the menu, Select brings up the map... and if you want to save, you have
to hit all four at once.
(Which is a bit of a wrench on the 3DS.)
But once you get the hang of it, it’s as sound an adventure as Link’s ever had, complete
with innovations like pieces of heart (though the maximum health in this game is 14 as opposed
to the usual 20), combination attacks like dashjumping, and - in this version - a cameraman,
who documents your quest (but, unfortunately, never asks you to say “Fuzzy Pickles”).
Some have called the Legend of Zelda series a rehash-tastic series of samey experiences.
But while the formula in Link’s Awakening feels very similar - Obtain key to dungeon,
raid dungeon, obtain item instrumental in completing dungeon, beat boss, get hearts
- the abject strangeness lying about the periphery is enough to jostle even the most jaded gamer.
And with the 3DS offering a restore point, you have no excuse: You’re kinda obligated
to get the good ending.
And oh, that ending.
Link’s adventure on Koholint Island may be an aberration compared to the standards
of the series, but it’s certainly worth appreciating in its own right.
After playing enough of this game, I may have loaded “Ballad of the Wind Fish” as my
new ringtone.
Just for those feels.
Just sayin’.