The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Reviewed by Kris Smith
After defeating Ganon and rescuing Zelda in Link to the Past,
Link decides he needs to learn more about being a hero, so he
takes a ship and ventures around the world. Unfortunately, a violet
storm causes his ship to wreak on an island. He awakens to the
familiar face of Zelda.. bit is it Zelda? The girl introduces herself
as Marin, and says she found you lying on the beach. Now, Link must
go on a journey to find out where he is, and how he can possibly
get back home to Hyrule.
Graphics 9 out of 10
The graphics for this game were really nice, especially for a
Game Boy game. The graphics are comparable to Link to the Past on
the Super NES, which is excellent for a Game Boy game to achieve!
They also show up nice, without any trouble in locating objects on
the screen (which can be a real problem in some Game Boy games).
They take good use of the limited 4 color, black and white palette of
Game Boy, making the fact that it IS a Game Boy almost unnoticeable
when playing with something like Super Game Boy (of course, you do
notice it's still only 4 colors). All in all, a good job on the graphics.
Music and Sound 10 out of 10
This game has some REALLY good music for a Game Boy game, almost
of the quality you might see in a Super Nintendo game. The songs really
add to the mood of whatever area you are in, and don't start getting
really annoying after a little while of playing. Some of the songs are
actually pretty catchy tunes, and can get stuck in your head for awhile!
Game Challenge 8 out of 10
One of the good things about this game, is it's challenge. It provides
many types of challenges, rather than the simple "bad-guy" challenge.
You also have to solve problems in order to enter certain areas. For
example, at one point of the game, you need to rescue Madame MowMow's
dog BowBow (actually, it looks exactly like a Chain Chomp from
Super Mario Bros. 3) who was kidnapped by Moblins. After you rescue
it, you can use it to eat some plants that are blocking the passage
into level 2. There is also a trading game that goes on throughout your
adventure, where you find an item, and then trade it for a better one,
until you eventually get an item that will allow to find a new weapon
(I won't give it away for those who haven't played the game yet). There
are also certain tasks you have to complete, such as the one where you
have to BowBow. And of course, the enemies do provide a lot of challenge,
including the bosses, many of which only have one weak! ness or method
to defeat them, making you actually use your brain! I thought that this
game provided a good amount of challenge, even for veteran gamers.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
I definitely give this a 10 out of 10! This game provided great game play,
and a lot of variety, so it wasn't just the same thing over and over. The
many quests you had to complete kept the game interesting, and all of
the different story elements present helped make the game that much
more fun. The enemies provided enough challenge that the game wasn't
too easy, but weren't impossible, which would make it too hard.
Frustration
There aren't too many parts of this game that are frustrating, except
having to run around the whole island. There are a few teleports around
the island, but you have to get to them first, and then where they take
you may not be too close to where you want to go.
Replayability 10 out of 10
I found this game to be one of the most replayable Game Boy games
I've ever played. Most of the time when I buy a Game Boy game, I end
up beating it the first day. Then, I don't feel like playing it again unless
I haven't played it for a long time. I found with this game however, that
I could play it for a long time, and not beat it in only one day, and I found
it to be one of the only games I really go back to a lot for Game Boy. It's
really nice on a trip when all I have is my Game Boy, and I'm sick of playing
all of those other games.
Game Value 10 out of 10
I think this game is definitely worth the price. Since it's a Game Boy game,
it should be anywhere over $30, and you can probably find it a lot cheaper
than that. It offers a lot of game play value, so you won't get bored to
fast, and it's replayability makes it worth the price.
Overall 9 out of 10
In conclusion, I think this was one of the best Game Boy games ever made.
It contains many elements which will keep you playing for hours, and
because it's for Game Boy, the price shouldn't be too high. It comes in
handy on trips when you are bored of playing all of those other Game
Boy games over and over again too :) Overall, I give this game a 9 out of 10.