Date played: September 17th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 8/10
Somehow, I got into a conversation with some friends about Link's Awakening, the classic portable Zelda game from the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. I've never played it, so my friend pulled out his 3DS and booted it up. I liked what I saw, so I bought it when I got home from work.
Link's Awakening feels like a real Zelda game, even though it's shrunk down to the Game Boy's screen. Link wakes up on the shore of a tropical island, Koholint Island. It seems he was in a ship wreck and has lost his gear. A young girl named Marin rescued him and gave him a place to rest.
According to a mysterious, yet friendly owl, I must wake the Wind Fish if I am to ever leave the island and return home. I explored the island a bit, but of course, much of it is blocked off until I have more items. The village is full of cute characters and even has a few Super Mario references like a Yoshi doll and a chain chomp!
I got my shield and sword and headed to the mysterious forest to find a key to a dungeon. There was a raccoon at one end of the forest that makes it impossible to continue. He says he reacts to "powders", so I tried to find some. There is a witch that says she can make powder with a mushroom, so I figured I had to find that. I destroyed every bush, chopped all the grass, entered every door, talked to every person and still, I wasn't able to find the mushroom.
I tried the fishing mini-game, thinking I might score a mushroom there, but that wasn't it. At least I scored a piece of heart from it. Then I went to the Trendy Game shop, a crane game. I tried getting a pouch on the conveyor belt that looked interesting. The timing on this thing sucks, and it costs rupees to play, so I tried many times before I got the timing right. When I failed, I would reload a save state. Finally, I got the sack and it contained powder! I stuffed it that fucking raccoon's face and got the key. I never did find that mushroom...
Later, I learned from my friend that the mushroom was found in a cave, but that I had to push rocks around. I didn't even know that I could push rocks! Either way, I made my way to the first dungeon. It's very straight forward and very similar to other Zelda games. Fight monsters, open door, find map, compass, key, press switches, etc. I found my first upgrade, the Roc's Feather. It allows Link to jump at will (holy shit!) to navigate puzzles and take shortcuts.
I fought a mini-boss that rolled a large spiked log around by jumping over it at the right time. Then I fought the last boss, a fast moving caterpillar thing. I was rewarded with an extra heart and a one of the 8 instruments required to wake the Wind Fish. For such an old game, it really holds up well today and I'm excited to see the other dungeons.
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 8/10
Somehow, I got into a conversation with some friends about Link's Awakening, the classic portable Zelda game from the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. I've never played it, so my friend pulled out his 3DS and booted it up. I liked what I saw, so I bought it when I got home from work.
Link's Awakening feels like a real Zelda game, even though it's shrunk down to the Game Boy's screen. Link wakes up on the shore of a tropical island, Koholint Island. It seems he was in a ship wreck and has lost his gear. A young girl named Marin rescued him and gave him a place to rest.
 |
| Marin rescues Link |
I got my shield and sword and headed to the mysterious forest to find a key to a dungeon. There was a raccoon at one end of the forest that makes it impossible to continue. He says he reacts to "powders", so I tried to find some. There is a witch that says she can make powder with a mushroom, so I figured I had to find that. I destroyed every bush, chopped all the grass, entered every door, talked to every person and still, I wasn't able to find the mushroom.
I tried the fishing mini-game, thinking I might score a mushroom there, but that wasn't it. At least I scored a piece of heart from it. Then I went to the Trendy Game shop, a crane game. I tried getting a pouch on the conveyor belt that looked interesting. The timing on this thing sucks, and it costs rupees to play, so I tried many times before I got the timing right. When I failed, I would reload a save state. Finally, I got the sack and it contained powder! I stuffed it that fucking raccoon's face and got the key. I never did find that mushroom...
Later, I learned from my friend that the mushroom was found in a cave, but that I had to push rocks around. I didn't even know that I could push rocks! Either way, I made my way to the first dungeon. It's very straight forward and very similar to other Zelda games. Fight monsters, open door, find map, compass, key, press switches, etc. I found my first upgrade, the Roc's Feather. It allows Link to jump at will (holy shit!) to navigate puzzles and take shortcuts.
I fought a mini-boss that rolled a large spiked log around by jumping over it at the right time. Then I fought the last boss, a fast moving caterpillar thing. I was rewarded with an extra heart and a one of the 8 instruments required to wake the Wind Fish. For such an old game, it really holds up well today and I'm excited to see the other dungeons.
