User blog:TheIkranRider/My Perception on Link's Awakening

With the Switch version underway, as well as an emotional opinion from Fandom, I'd decided to release my own thoughts on Link's fourth adventure, as well as the first handheld quest.

Sadly...I'm not really interested. I mean, yeah, it does demonstrate on what the Gameboy was capable of (like a humongous adventure that's been cut into tinier pieces for processing. Yet, Pokémon can get away with so much more!), as a game on the go...which is not very effective. I wasn't really into the Zelda series then, nor the Gameboy excepting Dr. Mario and Yoshi Cookie; ironically, this was the game that was released b4 my favorite, Ocarina of Time which really set things forward! I can easily ignore the achievements on what LA was.

But, the only thing that turned me on was the intro, that Link got caught in some devastating storm in the middle of sea and got shipwrecked (or perhaps that and struck by lightning). This resulted him to wash up on the dream island of Koholint and gets restored to health by some Malon lookalike. The concepts we're all too familiar with are pretty much gone; instead we got those major bosses called Nightmares, as well as the final boss with the same name, and Link must collect seven instruments in order to awaken its deity, the Wind Fish.

As the adventure progresses, people tend to see some misplaced baddies, such as Bloopers, Chomps, and hell even a malicious version of Kirby as a boss. The way people see it is a psychedelic experience, almost close to a drug trip. But from how I see it? They're just nothing but homages to other enemies from numerous franchises, nothing to special.

Also, people said that the game impacts them more on an emotional level, those that bawled their eyes before Majora's Mask came out. As soon as Link awakens the Wind Fish, everyone/everything he went thru disappears from existence as they were fragments of dreams created solely by the great deity; much like how the Fayth dreamed up Tidus, Jecht, as well as Zanarkand from 1,000 years ago until Sin was finally vanquished which awakened them. Plus, Sin may have a close semblance with the Wind Fish as well. So, yeah, it may seem emotional as Link permanently loses the people and places he cared for; however...to me, it's nothing more than fragments created by Link's subconscious mind, rather than the Wind Fish's. I can only see it as Link's mind being separated from his body after he gets close to death by that storm, like a sort of war in limbo, a line between life and death. This was supposed to be Link's final journey, if he decides to stay in Koholint, or simply fails to achieve his destiny.

I mean, Koholint is like a parallel universe, much like Termina was in Majora's Mask, but it's all a dream created by Link's experiences and twisting and distorting them as he literally fights to stay alive. After all, he does face his inner demon, Dark Link merged with Moldworm and Ganon/Aganhim from past experience. Again, this could be another homage, but it's still rather surreal. But the question is, why did he leave Hyrule in the first place? Did he decide to go on a new adventure and explore the unknown? Or was it something more personal; since it was released after A Link to the Past, my theory could be him on finding himself from all the troubled events that transpired, such as always being a target from the brainwashed Hyrulean knights and Kakariko townsfolk from propaganda on kidnapping the princess (which in reality, he escorted her to Sanctuary temporarily). And also having a measly handful of allies/emotional support; that can definitely scar me! This...might've taken place after ALTTP in the timeline, but I could be wrong.

Regardless, it's unknown on where Link'd go to next, even though it's been implied he returns to Hyrule, and probably ends the timeline till BotW.

Even so, I had some ideas in the distant past, when I was still immersed in OoT as a teen. Of course, it was a crossover with Pokémon; however, there was something different, to have them merged somewhat, like the Fakemons. Perhaps have Link be the Trainer capturing/recruiting Koholint's own inhabitants by his side similar to Alola's, like the style in the GBC games, and use them in a PMD setting. And yes, I'd prefer to have the Hero of Time go thru this subconscious journey, (as an adult, of course) rather than the Hero of Legend. That this whole thing was caused by Gyarados' Dragon Rage and he unexpectedly got caught in the middle of it. He pretty much does the same things, though, even escaping from Hyrule after what transpired in ALTTP (like I said, by using Adult Link). Then, he has a choice to whether or not stay in Koholint instead of having it vanish, like if the player should make a choice in PMD. If he doesn't, he soon reunites with Zelda II and her loyal Water Pokémon, and she becomes emotional as to why he wanted to leave Hyrule and his friends behind; they could've lost him forever in that powerful maelstrom. They escort him back to shore (cue the credits theme) and they joyfully race each other back on the beaches leading to Zora's Domain.

And that's it, guys. Those are my feelings/thoughts on Link's Awakening. Other than those random ideas, I found this game to be pretty weak. Though the orchestral theme was rather nice. Still, I wish there'd be an official title with the 2 universes immersed w/ one another.