Playing Link’s Awakening DX For The First Time – Heather’s Adventure, Part One

I have been a long time fan of The Legend of Zelda series, and I’ve tried to play through as many of the games as I can get my hands on. When the remake of Link’s Awakening was announced, I was immediately excited because Link’s Awakening was a game that I missed growing up.  The game first released in 1993, and a DX version in 1998, but I had passed both in my childhood. (I was too busy playing Pokémon Yellow!) 

During a writers meeting, the team was encouraged to play through Link’s Awakening either again or for the first time so that we could be prepared to produce content about the original and remake in comparison  upon the release of the new reimagining. Luckily, my husband had Link’s Awakening DX on his 3DS, so I fired it up and got going! 

As I booted up the game, I got giddy. The opening sequence started and I didn’t want to press a single button as I watched Link wash up on Kohilent Island. Seeing Marin walk up to the castaway hero brought me so much joy; a new adventure was beginning. I really love the Zelda games where I can choose my own save file name. Since my husband had a file named “Link” I went with “Lonk” and I’m glad I did. Character interactions have been a complete joy! 

Getting started, I felt a little lost. I’m more attuned to 3D Zelda games, but once I found my sword, I became more at home with the game. I made my way through Mabe Village, and the mysterious forest and learned that the holes in this game are not my friend. If you step just one pixel too close you’re doomed. I originally planned on playing the game blind with no help, but the raccoon in the mysterious forest tripped me up so I opened the handy dandy Zelda Dungeon guide and finally got on my feet! The guide is extremely thorough, and as I play through the game I will recommend it time and time again. After figuring out what to do with the raccoon (and after falling in more holes), I was in the first dungeon. 

As far as dungeons go, the first one was really, really easy. I was a tad bit shocked because I was expecting it to be tougher. It was an enjoyable first dungeon though. The mini boss, Rolling Bones was far more memorable than Moldorm. I felt really satisfied, though, for getting through my first dungeon of the game! I blazed through Tail Cave and soon enough I was headed to Bottle Grotto. 

Dungeon two became an issue quick because I used a key in the wrong door and seemingly locked myself out of getting anywhere else. (Don’t worry, I’ll do this again) Thanks to the virtual console “create a load point” I was able to start over and be smart this time. Getting through the dungeon was easier as I was relying less on the guide, and more so making sure I wasn’t walking in circles. I got really excited when I saw the mini boss for this dungeon because it’s the same sprite for a mini boss in Cadence of Hyrule! It was also easy; I really love when a mini-boss is easy. Soon enough, I found the nightmare key and made my way to the Genie! Being completely lost is already a theme, and I should have mentioned that old Zelda games do not come naturally to me like the 3D ones do. I grew up on Ocarina of Time. This was new. I checked the guide for the tip to beat the Genie and after a few tries (six of them…because I was dumb and created my load point with only 3 hearts) I was done and headed to Key Cavern! 

I really loved the Kanalet Castle bit. It was a nice break in my “I want to power through the dungeons” mentality. I had started the trading sequence earlier on, and giving away the bananas and watching the monkeys make a bridge for me was satisfying. Finding a few of the Golden leaves proved a bit of a task so this section took me a little longer than I would have liked. Nevertheless I finished, went through the process of finding the Slime Key and made my way to Key Cavern. 

The name Key Cavern should have sent up some rad flags. It didn’t dawn on me until the second key that this place was FULL OF STINKIN KEYS!!! Once again I took the wrong door and soft locked myself. I’ve now made a habit of creating a load point with full hearts at the start of the dungeon so I just started over. I checked the guide to make sure I took the right door and then was on my own! Until I softlocked myself with 4 bombs in the Dodongo Snake room… I let myself die, exited the dungeon, went ALL the way back to Mabe Village, bought 30 bombs and went back to challenge the snakes. By this point I was annoyed with the hundred keys and the birds that blipped around the room. I kept trucking through Key Cavern, found the Pegasus Boots, even more keys, and finally found myself eye to eye with Slime Eyes. 

Slime Eyes was a really easy boss to grasp. I had some difficulty working the boots to my advantage because I kept turning Lonk around. Unlike the Genie, this boss only took me two tries in order to obtain victory! As I grabbed the third instrument and met my friend the owl again, I became excited. I had three instruments and was heading for the fourth. I knew that I was nearing the halfway point of the game though. It felt kind of sad to be going so fast. 

As I made my way back to Mabe Village, I completed another section of the trading sequence, found a fairy fountain, and another piece of heart! (I REALLY suggest following the Zelda Dungeon guide for heart pieces if you’re like me and accident prone with enemies and holes!!) As I entered the village I went north and went to the Dream Shrine and jumped in the bed! When I woke up again I had the ocarina! I then found Marin and she taught me The Ballad of the Windfish. Up to this point, hearing the song and playing it with Marin is my favorite part of the game!

After playing a few ballads, I headed towards Animal Village. I absolutely love the animal sprites! I talked to everyone, traded with the Chef Bear, and finally went back to Mabe Village to fetch Marin. Activating the warp portal became really handy as it took a lot of the walking out, as well as the getting lost factor out… Marin was nowhere to be found in the village and after some talking (and getting lost again) I learned that she had gone down to the coast. Remember how I said playing the ocarina was my favorite part? Well the scene speaking with Marin on the coast is another favorite. I really love this story. I find Marin’s desire to see what’s beyond the sea relatable. I like Marin as a character too. I understand why now why this game is loved so much by Zelda fans. It’s just good. Now that “I got Marin!” we walked back to wake up Mr. Walrus and left Marin among the animals. 

And we’re off! I hope you have enjoyed the start of this amazing adventure and thanks for coming with me as we journey to wake the Windfish! Part two is coming soon!

 

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