Backlog BBQ – The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

A thing happened – I actually finished a game. The original plan for tackling my video game backlog was to complete another play-through of Marvel Spider-Man on the hardest difficulty to get its Playstation trophy percentage to 100%. Instead of swinging with Peter Parker, however, I made a connection with Link. As if Hyrule’s troubles weren’t enough to keep him occupied, Link apparently felt the need to hit the open sea in a dinghy. You know what dinghies aren’t good for? Sea storms. That little tunic-clad bastard went and got himself stranded on Koholint island. Then, he had the audacity to need my help to guide him through the adventure. And dang it, if I didn’t have fun.

Prior to Link’s Awakening, I’d played through two prior Zelda games, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I’ve spent a fair bit of time on others, most notably Ocarina of Time, but could never see them through to completion. Part of the poor completion percentage stemmed from getting stuck on puzzles and not having the external resources available to find a solution. Another factor was always simply getting pulled into a different game; Zelda games just seemed to take too long. My blunt force, trial-and-error puzzle solving method typically doesn’t lend itself to expeditious solution identification. This time, however, the Nintendo Switch version’s beautifully appropriate cartoonish graphics pulled me into a cozy embrace, and the internet’s abundant library of tips and tricks kept the flame of engagement fanned to make sure no dungeon’s puzzles would permanently end my journey.

Something Zelda games always seem to do better than their cohorts is creating a strong sense of immersion. Koholint island isn’t enormous. You won’t find time-lapse videos of players spending hours walking from one end to the other. It doesn’t have any scenic vistas or real-world landscapes that tap the artistic potential of the “photo mode” so popular in modern releases. Those features aren’t necessary. Koholint, like every world Link has explored, is packed with color, diverse characters, secrets, and fantasy. As a player, you develop intimate knowledge of every nook and crevice while still encountering hidden rooms and buried treasures. The characters are all uniquely silly and share small segments of their lives with Link, enough to wonder what they’d be like with broader interaction. Even through those small moments, the Koholint population is memorable, and as a player, you drive Link forward to meddle in their foibles or solve greater issues plaguing their livelihood. The experience is both chill and purposeful – it’s highly consumable. Link’s Awakening feels tuned down compared to other Zelda games as you’re just trying to awaken the Wind Fish and get home rather than having to stop Ganondorf from bringing forth a reign of terror and darkness. The stakes are subdued. Zelda games are obviously steeped in fantasy, but Link’s Awakening is some kind of trip. Link just completely buys into his mission without asking questions despite the surreality, getting instructions from a talking owl, “Hey man, you just gotta get the band back together, play a song to hatch an egg, and then you’re home. No problemo, my dude.”

So I did the thing, and it was fun. Wave upon wave of Nintendo nostalgia rolled over me as I popped rupees, blasted holes in walls, and cracked open treasure chests to the validating three-tone jingle that diehard Zelda fans hear in their sleep or, maybe, even when they open doors. Nintendo gave me numerous wonderful memories during my childhood, and the root of what made those memories special are still enjoyable to me as an adult. Link’s Awakening kept me engaged through to completion because it hit all the right buttons, buttons that I wasn’t sure could be hit anymore. Once again, I was agog like a tourist on their first visit to Disney World. Like any good tourist, I took photos.

Here’s me in a spooky cave hoping to get “spelucky”: