Incitemaybe
Member
I enjoyed reading your OP, OP
The canon is one of the worst things about the Zelda series.
I have ALWAYS said about Link's Awakening:
+ more I can't remember right now.
- LA introduced learning songs and then playing them back on an instrument to change things (albeit automatically).
- LA introduced the Ocarina
- LA introduced actual memorable NPCs with several lines of dialog
- LA introduced the trading quest that results in a key item at the end
- LA introduced being able to actually use your shield
- LA introduced the Owl
A lot of people seem to attribute many or these things to OoT.
Good to see someone else notice.
I'm talking about the big book of bullshit and three timelines Nintendo released to indulge the fans, which happened long after the release of those games. Those games reference and built upon earlier games, which is cool, but now with the existence of the canon everyone is questions where and when games fit exactly into the timelines and nitpick things that seem to be accurate or doesn't fit well."the canon" gave us Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker, two supreme Zelda titles that work so well because they piggyback off of a previous game's (Ocarina of Time) plot and themes.
PreachI still see them that way.
What canon? There is no canon. Nintendo only said there's a canon to appease the fanfic fanatics like every other company that "admits" a canon even though it hasn't really existed.
This is the big one for me. None of the three Zelda games that came before it had all that many memorable characters. This was mostly because most of them weren't characters. They were personality-less ways of delivering exposition or tutorials. Link's Awakening had pronounced personalities and even cutscene scripting. Modern Zelda games may mechanically be rooted in A Link To The Past, but the way they present themselves to me can be traced to LA. The bigger focus on the puzzles, item implementations and visual theming is something that is usually attributed to Ocarina of Time, but I would also say this comes from LA. I'm pretty sure LA ramped up the puzzles and item use in the design because the sword became an optional item. In spite of being an audio-visually weaker game, I would say the dungeons in LA feel a lot more distinct than ALttP's.LA introduced actual memorable NPCs with several lines of dialog
We also hadIt's just a shame the Windfish hasn't been used again. Closest we got was Levias in SS.
We also hadin Phantom Hourglass, whoOshu the Ocean Kingis literally a flying whale.
Oh man I loved that. Link's Awakening actually had the gumption to permanently change the player's name to THIEF, so you'd always branded as the filthy cheater who didn't want to pay 980 rupees for a bow.Finally: I love the stealing mechanic and how it prevents you from seeing the "good" ending if you're a dumb thief. So good.
I didn't even know there was a Zelda canon until the internet started talking about it. I saw every game in the series as it's own self-contained story in it's own self-contained universe, save for direct sequels like Phantom Hourglass or Majora's Mask.
I still see them that way.
Same.
Me too.
Same here and I assume it would still be that way today, but Nintendo eventually felt they had to finally give in and give the fanboys what they'd been clamoring for ever since OoT- a definitive timeline that connects all of the games directly, sense of it be damned.
I'm talking about the big book of bullshit and three timelines Nintendo released to indulge the fans, which happened long after the release of those games. Those games reference and built upon earlier games, which is cool, but now with the existence of the canon everyone is questions where and when games fit exactly into the timelines and nitpick things that seem to be accurate or doesn't fit well.
This mindset just baffles me. Apart from a few games almost every game since the first has had a clear relationship to at least one other game.Preach
I adored reading this thread. I agree with all your points. In some ways I feel it's ignored simply because many people never played it. A lot of people really do cherish this game for what it accomplished. A seriously impressive game for it's hardware, everyone owes it to themselves to play DX.
This. Hardly anyone I know played it when it actually came out, maybe they picked up DX when the color came out and they re-released it etc. But even then, I think they shrugged it off because it was handheld. I think I was the only one at my school that even had the original game boy. It's honestly one of my favorite Zelda games of all time, up there with link to the past, ocarina etc.
INintendo didn't even know there was a Zelda canon until the internet started talking about it.
A Link to the Past (prequel to the first 2 games)
I'm pretty sure I cried as a kid when I realized that.everything was just a dream and that I wasn't going to see Marin again after I freed the whale
She gets her wish though and is reborn as a seagull.
I am not sure why Nintendo tried to make it an over archiving timeline. It is some really bad fanfic-ish bullshit.
Also, surely the Statue of Limitations is up on spoilers when a game is more than 20 years old, no?.
Like the OP said, Link's Awakening would really benefit from a remake. I'd be happy to see a ALBW style reboot, but if they simply took Link's Awakening, gave it a facelift ala ALBW and let you carry more items simultaneously and ditched the power-up system I think it would be practically perfect.I'd love for them to write in a way to revisit Koholint Island. I know it was "All just a dream," but it was a fantastic dream. Link could have a second dream, right?
True, honestly I agree. It's a cute little addition to the plot that I like to think about.That was the sad wish of an isolated girl, though. It's not a normal thing to wish for, it was just a cry for some freedom. It's not a happy ending, it's a bittersweet one. Just like the game itself.
Also, surely the Statue of Limitations is up on spoilers when a game is more than 20 years old, no?
I'm pretty sure I cried as a kid when I realized that.everything was just a dream and that I wasn't going to see Marin again after I freed the whale
Also that beach scene and subsequent Marin tag along was one of the sweetest video game moments ever.
"Link's Awakening is widely considered to be one of the best (if not the best) Game Boy games ever released."
"The Story: The hero of Link's Awakening is actually the same Link from A Link to the Past. In other words, this one takes place about 100 years before the NES Zelda games, too. After Ganon was defeated in A Link to the Past, peace returned to Hyrule and all was well. Being the restless adventurer we know him to be, Link decided to hop on a boat and take a cruise into the unknown on a quest for enlightenment. Unfortunately, on the way back he ran into a fierce storm, and his ship was torn to pieces..."
I'm talking about the big book of bullshit and three timelines Nintendo released to indulge the fans, which happened long after the release of those games. Those games reference and built upon earlier games, which is cool, but now with the existence of the canon everyone is questions where and when games fit exactly into the timelines and nitpick things that seem to be accurate or doesn't fit well.
If I remember right and using the Wiki:
* Chain Chomp (Bow-Wow, but in Japan they're both Wan-Wan which means Bow-Wow)
* Yoshi Doll
* Tarin = Mario. Also turns into a Tanuki.
* A picture of Princess Peach used by the goat.
* Prince Richard from For the Frog The Bells Toll
* Mr. Wright from Sim City SNES
* Wart from SMB2US, called Mamu here, his Japanese name.
* Shy Guy called Mask Mimic, but their Japanese names are both Hei-Ho
* Anti-Kirby
* "Bloobers"
* Goomba
* Piranha Plant
* Cheep-Cheep
* Thwomps
* Boos
* Podoboo
* Pokey
* "Spiked Beetle", Spiny from Mario as in Japan both are Togezo (there's also a Kirby foe named this too)
* Boo Blah from Yoshi's Island in Link's Awakening DX
Fun Fact: According to the Japanese Manual of the NES Zelda, Digdogger in that game is a Unira from Clu Clu Land, and Manhandla is a Pirahna Plant from Mario.
Wow, that's really cool. Has any other Zelda entry come close to this amount of references or Easter eggs, if you will?
We also hadin Phantom Hourglass, whoOshu the Ocean Kingis literally a flying whale.
Wow, that's really cool. Has any other Zelda entry come close to this amount of references or Easter eggs, if you will?
She gets her wish though and is reborn as a seagull.
While it's true that the introduction can slot in after basically any Zelda game, the Final Boss would lose some of its impact if it didn't come after Alttp specifically.What I like about Link's Awakening's introduction is it could easily fit after plenty of games if you just go by the game.
I don't remember seeing anything outside of Hyrule Historia establishing this connection. Care to enlighten me?
What I like about Link's Awakening's introduction is it could easily fit after plenty of games if you just go by the game.
All you need is Link having met Zelda, fought Ganon or (since he appears as a Nightmare), and sailed off...
It could take place after Zelda 1. After Link's Adventure. After either part of Ocarina of Time. After Majora's Mask. After Link Between Worlds. After Twilight Princess. It has such a short and sweet opening that could fit almost anywhere.
In 1993 Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, A Link Between Worlds, and Twilight Princess didn't exist when Yoshiaki Koizumi wrote the story to Link's Awakening.
The final Nightmare of the game, DeathEye, that takes the forms of both Agahnim and Ganon, the Lanmola's in the desert, the Moldworm (Tail) in the first dungeon, the Armos Knight in the shrine with the exterior of the Eastern Palace, the level 2 sword appearing as the Master Sword, the secret spin technique being passed down by the hero's family, and the giant catfish entrance of level 5 are references to A Link to the Past, the game most of the staff had previously worked on.
Seriously. Read this people. This is why you come to neogaf is it not? To read about games instead of play them. Otherwise go play Link's Awakening now.