About this game
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993) is a top-down action-adventure for the original Game Boy and the first Zelda game on a handheld console. Link has been shipwrecked on Koholint Island and must collect eight instruments to wake the Wind Fish — a dream being sleeping in a giant egg atop the island's highest mountain. Written by Yoshiaki Koizumi, the game's central revelation — that the entire island is a dream — gives it a melancholy and philosophical depth unusual for the series. It remains one of the most critically celebrated Game Boy titles ever released.
Key Features
Eight dungeons plus an overworld connecting Koholint Island's varied environments — forests, mountains, swamps, beaches, and a village. Koholint Island's inhabitants are drawn from other Nintendo universes: characters resembling Mario enemies and characters appear throughout, acknowledging the dream logic. Dimensional shift: the Cane of Somaria and other items produce gameplay effects that would appear impossible on the cartridge's hardware. A photography side-quest available in the DX version. Trading sequence: a chain of 14 items traded between Koholint's NPCs leading to the Magnifying Lens.
The Story Behind
Link's Awakening began as an unofficial side-project by Nintendo EAD staff who were experimenting with programming a Zelda game on the Game Boy in their spare time. When the project was shown to management, it was greenlit as an official title. The team — led by director Takashi Tezuka — worked with the hardware's limited 160 × 144 display and 4-colour palette to create a game that felt complete rather than diminished compared to the Super Famicom's A Link to the Past (1991). The decision to set the game on a self-contained island, outside the established Hyrule mythology, was made partly because the hardware could not support the breadth of A Link to the Past — and became the game's defining creative choice.
Tricks & Tales
The game's final twist — that Koholint Island and all its inhabitants are a dream of the Wind Fish, and that waking the Wind Fish will erase everything — was written by Yoshiaki Koizumi. It is one of the earliest examples of a Nintendo game using its premise to ask a philosophical question: if a world exists only in someone's dream, was it real? Link's Awakening was developed for the original black-and-white Game Boy; the Game Boy Color DX version (1998) added colour to the whole game and a dungeon accessible via a link to the Game Boy Printer. The game also appeared on the Super Game Boy accessory for Super Famicom, where a special border frame and limited colour were added.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The original 1993 Game Boy version (monochrome) is separate from the DX version for Game Boy Color (1998). Collectors distinguish between the two. The Japanese original uses the DMG-AZLJ label. The DX version (CGB-AZLJ) is more common but the original 1993 cartridge is sought by purists. The game's story and gameplay are identical across regions; minor text differences exist between the Japanese and English versions.
Maintenance Tips
Link's Awakening uses a CR2025 3V coin battery for save data — same as Pokémon. Batteries from 1993 originals are likely depleted or near depletion. Replacement requires a 3.8 mm Game Boy security bit and soldering. Symptoms of a dead battery include save files vanishing after power-off. The 60-pin connector should be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. Game Boy Color DX version uses the same battery type and exhibits the same failure mode.
Available in our shop
Hand-cleaned and tested units shipped worldwide from Toyohashi, Japan. HP direct purchase exclusive: we include a printed shop owner's note card with every order.
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