Edit: Oracle games and A Link Between Worlds will be featured in separate videos. Covering the Zelda games in release order for a smoother viewing experience :) Link’s Awakening is in my Top 3 Zelda games 💨 🐟
The theory I like the most about Link's Awakening is the idea that the Nightmare isn't the Windfish's, but instead Link's, infecting the dream after he inadvertently entered it. That's why the forms of the Nightmare and the monsters on the island aren't based on anything the Windfish had seen before, but instead what Link had seen. Its Link overcoming his own greatest fears. It feels like a very satisfying explanation.
Can't be, as Link has never ever seen Mario enemies, Yoshi or Kirby. The windfish on the other hand, being some kind of spirit or even demi-god, may very well have.
@@sidnew2739 I mean, we don't know how long had taken place between ALttP and LA. Link could've very well came across enemies like that duirng his travels after the events of ALttP.
The characters of link's awakening are proxies for the makers of the game. Games are temporary, fleeting, often forgotten, much like a dream. It's them speaking through Marin when they say "don't forget about us" when the game is beaten, don't forget the experience, but its also a plea not to forget the care and devotion that was put into making this game.
It is actually part of twin peaks that it all happens in a dream, specifically i think thats from the film. And while not literal, it draws from david lynchs more buddhist beliefs that reality is simply a projection of comsciousness and shared between everyone
This game, the Kirby's Dreamland games and the Super Marioland games have even more in common. Not only do all of these show signs of enemies and objects from each others worlds but but the Mario and Zelda both have elements that feel off for their world. Mario has a castle of his own and Link leaves the kingdom unprotected for any reason at all? We also see wart who has never shown up anywhere else because he was the viallian of a DREAM mario had. Yep. The hypothesis is that all of these games are actually taking place on islands in dreamland. Link passed out in the wreckage and was thus in a dream within a dream. Mario had already had an entire adventure in his dream so the land series being in one too is not too far fetched. Since the dreamscape exists as some kind of alternate dimention in the ninetendo universe or (more likely) multiverse, it is a place between places where these properties can potetentially spill over. We actally saw something similar, but a little different later on in smash brothers. Instead of a litteral dreamspace with islands, everything takes place in a realm of imagination where toys become the characters and it is also bordered by an expansive sea.
What an amazing and in-depth job you did covering two of my all time favorite Zelda games! You really gave a lot of great info though I was hoping you’d mention the “The Link to the Past,” comic that ran monthly in Nintendo Power magazine in the early 90s. They even have all of the stories in a graphic novel you can purchase. It’s an interesting take on the story with a few unique additions too. Check it out if you haven’t already! Once again awesome job! I’ll look forward to your next video! :)
love the link's awakening content, it's the true underdog of the franchise to me, although it's gotten some more love in recent years. i especially appreciate you mentioning the LA manga and how it touches on link's emotional journey. the part where link tries and fails to leave koholint with marin, only for marin to console him by saying him how, even if only for a short while, she's glad she got to experience an adventure with him, has been living rent free in my head for almost a decade. not to mention the overall atmosphere of koholint, like idk if it's my own imagination, but there's an invisible pressure, and things feel just slightly off. truly a masterpiece
Correction 6:23 koizumi didn't "Sneak" that Story into SMG, he wrote it in secret, and when it was time to show it, miyamoto approved of it, in fact he liked it.
@@TheMentok i posted this comment forgetting you made a video on it it a while back, so i don't remembers all the details i probably should go and re watch it again, my bad.
Links awakening in the Gameboy was my first Zelda game but I was too young to figure out how to beat it so the first one I really consider my first is ocarina of time cuz I was 7 instead of like 4 or 5 so I was actually able to figure things out and beat the game but I went back to awakening later when I was older and it was great but idk if it's even in my top ten zeldas
From what I understand, A Link Between Worlds takes place centuries after A Link to the Past. Same Hyrule, different Link. But I'll fully cross that bridge when I get to it 😂
@@TheMentok I think he is talking about Gramps, the old man in A Link Between Worlds. There are some subtle hints which imply he could be a previous Link
I think 4 Swords Adventures occurs late in the timeline specifically because Fujibayashi wants it to. The mirrors and Dark Links are important in his new internal plot outline. Hero Of Light is the "human" version of that Link, whose "pink rabbit" version is King Rauru. Dragonification is actually your soul being pushed into another timeline or realm, and King Rauru was created through separating the dragon form from the human form, Sage Rauru. By Sonia. Yes, I'm saying Sage Rauru is an old Link, and a lingering spirit much like King Rhoam and The Hero's Shade. Next to them there's also Phantom Ganons and Ganondorf's puppets. These apparitions like Dark Link exist as a reflection of their counterparts in other timelines, shifting their troubles into the occurring timeline.
@@TheMentok What I meant was he appears as a character named gramps. He is sort of like a mentor figure and makes references to his past as an adventurer.
something struck me, it is possible that link awakening is NOT related to ALTTP , the spirit of the triforce states that ganon is not destroyed. But link awakening talk bout ganon death and ashes. which are something we can only SEE in TLOZ . Adventure of link imply that link traveled for a moment between TLOZ and AOL.
When Link's Awakening came out a few years ago on Switch I had to play it as I absolutely loved that game on GB. Went on down to GameStop, bought a Switch, bought the game, played the game for two weeks, beat it a few times before selling the Switch and game for a loss. My point? Even if you've played it before, Link's Awakening is worth going out of your way to play.
Aganhim is probably a Gerudo descended from Ganondorf before he got sealed away with the triforce. Aganhim and others were working to bring their old master back from the underground and eventually succeeded after generations diluted the bloodline of the 7 wise men. After losing to Link in Hyrule castle, he escaped to the dark world, but in his hast, he accidentally brought Link with him. While in the dark world, he reconnected with his long lost master he wanted to free and gained some power from him (which is why he had slightly more magic for the second battle). When he did, the power Ganon bestowed on him left his body, revealing Ganon's identity and escaped to the great pyramid in such hast that it broke through the top of the pyramid to get back to Ganon. My theory anyway and since Aganhim is robbed and covered, I don't even know if he's a he or a she. I think canonically, he's a he, but so was Samus before she took off her helmet so given that most Gerudo are women, the chances are higher in my mind that Aganhim could've been a woman in disguise.
While Ocarina of Time is my first Zelda game, I have a strong amount of admiration towards a Link to the Past. I just wish there was at least one more adventure starring those versions of Link and Zelda. By the way, I know the guy who drew the artwork at 25:29! He's a swell guy who even drew me an image of Princess Zelda!
well there was supposed to be that third oracle game which got cancelled. lol. but im kinda glad we got minish cap in its place... capcom zeldas are just as good as nintendos.
I assume that judging by how things are going we'll be getting Ganon's character video* later on once we've examined him in more games since he's the exact same character in nearly all of them? *Or videos plural given that Four Swords Adventures` and Tears of the Kingdom have separate versions of Ganon `Only according to the official timeline; it makes way more sense IMO if FSA is a direct sequel to Four Swords and prequel to A Link to the Past since we see the debut of blue pig Ganon and his trident in that game.
Great and Entertaining Zelda retrospect but tbh, was Aghanim really Ganons alte ego and not an existing individual that had been overtaken by Ganons Power/Mind?
You bring up a good point and I should have spent a little more time on that revelation tbh. It’s implied he is his own person and the encounter Link has with Aghanim in the Dark World is when Ganon took over but still somewhat vague.
I assume they changed the order of Link's Awakening and Oracle of Seasons/Ages on the timeline due to many people assuming Link died at sea. Putting the Oracles after LA assures everyone that he makes it back home. Though personally I liked the original order better since we see Link leaving on a ship at the end of OoX which was a nice segue into LA's opening.
LA being a sequel to aLttP is canon no matter what actually! It was made to be that, and features agimenon (can't spell his name sorry) as one of the nightmares. Also, the Oracle games were meant to depict the distant land Link was in before doing the sailing that got him involved in the events of LA.
Fantastic overview man! The lore is very interesting, I can see where they got references from the Bible and many other religious views like Gnosticism. Keep up the great work
Despite better graphics, despite more open world-tendencies, despite more weapons and more rooms and more characters ... no Zelda will ever be more Zelda than this game.
I just finished A Link to the Past for the first time recently... amazing game. Zelda 1 was actually my first one, and i played it a BUNCH, along with Links Awakening and 100% Link Between Worlds, so was only fitting I got to this one finally. Also was great to see you talk about the BS Zelda titles, which Map 1 of the original BS I played as well, though still have yet to try Ancient Stone Tablet.
The BS version actually looks like fun (apart from the time limit). Would be awesome if Nintendo would put it into the Switch Online versions. (ofc they won't)
It crushes me that gems like the BS games exist and have no way to be played on official software/hardware. That it has taken the works of the community to recreate and jump through hoops to release. With the virtual console on the Switch already being an emulator, why couldn't they just adapt and release this kind of content? Make a calendar and sync the game up to it. Game preservationists have my undying support. ♥️
The Japanese Manual tells that the Master Sword was created long before Ganon was even born as a Weapon to protect the Triforce from any evil no matter how powerful. I just tell you that now before you claim that Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword did retcon this
It sucks that both DX and the remake. Forget the biggest twist in the game where link sees Marin in the waking world proving that it wasn't all a dream the way you've been told since you first bought the game and read the title, Link's Awakening. You're told the entire game all the way through that. Everything is just a dream and it becomes more and more overt as you play through. You're meant to think that it's all a dream from the very beginning and your beating over the head with it over and over again until the very end when you finally made the terrible decision to end the dream, but you later come to find out that, although it may have been a dream, at least in part, Marin is more than just a dream. That was the entire point of the game and both of the remakes totally forgot about it.
I was never good at the first game, and skipped the second. But Link to the Past was my jam, as was Super Mario World (the only SNES games I played). This was before the internet, of course, and I didn't have guidebooks either. I had to work thru it myself, and it was so worth it. I finished it maybe 3 times over the years, and recently replayed it via emulator. On GameBoy all I ever played was Tetris, until Pokemon. And the only other Zelda I played on console was Wind Waker. I also recently played Ocarina and Majorca on emulator, and now I really wanna play Awakening. Seems like it set the stage for the future as much as LTTP. I'd like to go back and play the first two thru, too. Excellent video, in spite of your non-standard, atrocious, inexcusable, sub-human pronunciation, you simpleton! lol Bye, Felicia!
BUT BOTH BS Zelda/Ancient Stone Tablets NEVER officially left Japan I never knew Links Awakening got a Manga Link to the PAST DID get one though but its manga added in a character NOT found in the actual game itself.
Yeah I have that book. Problem is, what they put there doesn't make sense when you look at the actual games themselves, and what they've put out since doesn't stick to it. @@msw0322
My top 10 all time: ⚔️🛡️ #10 A Link To The Past #9 Link’s Awakening #8 Twilight Princess #7 Minish Cap #6 A Link Between Worlds #5 TOTK #4 BOTW #3 Majora’s Mask #2 Wind Waker #1 Ocarina of Time Honorable Mention: Skyward Sword
There was also a 17-minute audio drama in the 1994 CD _The Legend of Zelda: Sound & Drama._ It's untranslated, so I can't tell if it's a prequel to _Link to the Past,_ a retelling of it, or set in the time of the Imprisoning War (since the VAs refer to Ganon only as "Ganondorf"). But it definitely adds new lore to the _Link to the Past_ world, like another depiction of Link's mother.
@@marcosgalvis3498 I stumbled across it on one of the Zelda wikis. You can confirm its existence on this RU-vid video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7xIPR52OYk8.html
idk why nintendo didnt port that over on snes instead of gameboy... smh. probably shiggy had something to with it. lol. only his zeldas get console hype. oh well. it was a good sequel to lttp and didnt have any zelda to rescue. crazy.
ya kinda but not really that game. ...LTTP deserves a real remaster with nothing changed!! tho i like LBW. but lttp needs like the other console zeldas got. well maybe someday tho someone at nintendo will. @@MaxScheibenpflug
Excellent video as always! Here is my interpretation of Link's Awakening. When Link wakes up in Marin's house, either she or Tarin says that the monsters appeared at the same time Link did. I believe this is because Link is influencing the dream. When he entered the dream, it became not just the Wind Fish's dream, but a dream shared by the Wind Fish and Link. This is why the Wind Fish says "let's awaken together" at the end. The monsters appear at the same time Link does because they are based on the memories Link has of the monsters he fought in A Link to the Past. This is also why the Nightmare takes the forms of Moldorm, Aganhim, and Ganon, bosses from LttP. The dream is drawing from Link's memories of LttP. Link also mistakes Marin for Zelda when he first sees her. Her appearance is based on Zelda, but she is a commoner, someone Link could feasibly share his life with. She is essentially Link's dream girl, because she is shaped to be so by his subconscious. When Link defeats the Nightmare, who resembles Aganhim and Ganon, he overcomes his trauma, and by choosing to wake up and leave Marin behind, he lets go of his feelings for Zelda. I see Link's Awakening as a journey of healing for LttP Link, as Majora's Mask was for the Hero of Time. They both start the game wandering aimlessly because they are both mentally and emotionally lost. I prefer the Hyrule Historia timeline of LttP -> Oracles -> LA, because it explains the appearance of bosses recycled from LA in the Oracle games, like Facade and Gohma. Link first fought them in the Oracles, then remembers them in Link's Awakening. It strengthens the idea that old foes appear in the dream because of Link's memories. Other thoughts about the video: I find the lore of Zelda before Ocarina of Time very interesting. Some informarion, like Ganondorf taking the triforce in the sacred realm, is superficially similar but different from Ocarina's canon in interesting ways. Other bits of lore are just completely different. It's cool. I also wish Aganhim had more of a presence in the series. He should have been in Hyrule Warriors to rep the old games. EDIT: Oh yeah, I also really think the Wind Fish wouldn't let Link die at sea. In the Switch version Link lets out a giant smile when he sees the Wind Fish. Would be kinda awkward if it flew away and left him to die, after he saved its life. Also, Marin attempts to sing the Ballad to the egg and wake the Wind Fish. I don't know if her intentions were formed by the subconscious of Link, the Wind Fish, or herself, and I don't know whether her goal was to save the Wind Fish, Link, or both. But since she is part of the dream, and both Link and the Wind Fish know what the Ballad is for, some unconscious part of her must have known what waking the Wind Fish would do. She still tried it anyway. You could possibly interpret that as the Wind Fish subconsciously trying to help Link. Since she isn't real, it had to have been the result of either Link or the Wind Fish trying to save either the other or themselves. Unless she actually IS the seagull, and the seagull entered the dream too, like Link did.
I love this theory, haven't heard anyone interpret Link's Awakening that way yet. But I can definitely get behind Link influencing the dream. I will say I do like how A Link to the Past set up the events to Ocarina and I slightly prefer its interpretation of the Imprisoning War. Some say that its slightly different because in the Link to the Past era, it's a legend at that point so details were embellished. I just chalk it up to Nintendo being loose with the lore but interesting way of thinking about it nonetheless.
I really like that interpretation. It makes a lot of sense, and also makes it more meaningful, that the Wind Fish's dream was influenced by Link and his trauma. It does a lot to explain how all the enemies are ones Link fought before.
Marin is real, though. She's just not a girl. She's a sea gull. Hence why she wants to fly away so bad, and gets her wish at the end (if you get the no death ending). Why would Link be the only creature who got caught up in the Wind Fish's dream? And why would Marin, if she's just Link's attachment to Zelda, have existed before the monsters arrived?
The non-canon Zelda games are just so interesting, whether they be bad, like the CD-i games I want to see your take on (including the game nobody cares about, and for good reason, Zelda's Adventure), or good, like the BS versions of The Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past. They were such interesting parts of Nintendo's history, but due to one being remembered for almost all the wrong reasons, and the other being discontinued after it's exclusive service for only a year that Nintendo hasn't attempted to bring back (At least we have the fan recreations), it's why they aren't canon. By the way, I think you should wait to cover the CD-i games until Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore comes out.
