ArkaEvren

GAME · 1993 · JAPAN

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Original title
Zeruda no densetsu: Yume o miru shima

12 archived facts 2 topics

Turtle Rock's stone-turtle entrance, its ball-and-box puzzles and a boxing-glove mini-boss, plus the Egg's shifting maze and a final blob that falls to magic powder in 3 hits.

12 Interesting Facts About The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Interesting Facts (11)

  1. #001

    Mamu, the frog-like entertainer who teaches the third song, is none other than Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988). Since both Link's Awakening and Super Mario Bros. 2 unfold inside the protagonist's dream, this explains why Mamu/Wart never turns up outside dream worlds in any other Zelda or Mario title.

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  2. #002

    In the German release of the original Game Boy version, using the magic powder on a Buzzblob makes it utter strange phrases, some of them suggestive. They translate as "NEVER WITHOUT A CONDOM!", "!STOP THE WAR! GIVE PEACE A CHANCE!!" (sic), "Any worries, hardships or problems?" and "Give me your juice, I'll give you mine...". The lines were cut from the DX version and replaced with hints and gibberish.

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  3. #003

    Development began as a Game Boy port of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991), but the team chose an original direction instead, which forced a drastic overhaul of the design.

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  4. #004

    Turtle Rock's entrance is a sturdy stone turtle that stirs to life and extends its long neck only after Link plays Mamu's tune on the Ocarina.

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  5. #005

    Turtle Rock's puzzles revolve around a box-like device with a ball lodged inside, positioned at the edge of floor holes; pushing it transfers control from Link to the device, letting the player build a floor across the hole.

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  6. #006

    Turtle Rock's mini-boss wears boxing gloves and can send Link flying all the way back to the dungeon entrance with a single big swing, so the player has to dodge and hit from behind.

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  7. #007

    A dusty old book in the library, meant for players near the end of the game rather than beginners, holds the line about the Egg's winding passages and supplies the correct route through the Egg maze.

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  8. #008

    The Egg's directions shift with every playthrough and may involve only 3 different pathways; without the magnifying lens to read them, Link can wander east, west or north indefinitely, since going south just returns him to the entrance.

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  9. #009

    The writer fought the final blob about a dozen times before finding that magic powder kills it in 3 hits, and notes that simply staying alive and hacking at it for roughly an hour also gets the job done.

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  10. #010
    Contains a major spoiler — show

    The opening cinematic actually contains a clue that the whole game takes place in Link's mind. After you get the Ocarina and go to the bed to "sleep", a piece of music plays just before the surroundings fade out and give way to the "dream realm". Finish the Ocarina quest, restart the game and watch the opening: the moment the lightning strikes Link, that same music plays as the image fades. It reveals that the game is in fact a dream.

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  11. #011
    Contains a major spoiler — show

    The island's secret comes to light on a stone relief inside an eerie mausoleum at the end of the Ancient Ruins maze, once the player has finished five of the eight dungeons.

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Deeper Meaning (1)

  1. #012

    The Face Shrine dungeon's melody intentionally mirrors the Ancient Ruins theme, though it is reworked as a fugue that stacks the Game Boy soundchip's lower register into something mournful.

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