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Let's Play Link's Awakening, part 1: Link's Awakening



Well, it looks like the Links have it. I've filled in the other two slots as well. When I made the ZELDA slot the music on the name selection screen changed. That's nifty, but I was actually expecting the slot to start out with more heart containers. Maybe that's a cheat for a different Zelda game, or maybe I just misinterpreted all the screenshots in the manual showing a ZELDA file with ten hearts.

(2020 comment: Percy is a reference to an in-joke on the Talking Time forums where this LP was originally posted. Percy is the name of the sidekick character in the NES game Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom, and became a big deal on TT thanks to Octopus Prime's LP of it.)



Link starts to return to consciousness.



He sits up in bed! I guess that's the awakening referred to in the title of the game.



never wake up! You were tossing and turning... What? Zelda? No, my name's Marin! You must still be feeling a little woozy. You are on Koholint Island!



I get out of bed and go talk to the other person in the room.



out of it... Name's Tarin... Hope yer feelin' better... What? How did I know your name? You think it's weird eh? Well, I saw it on back of this shield!



Tarin is good enough to return my shield. I'm sure you all can fill in the sound effect for this yourselves.



this washed up on the beach... If'n you go look watch out for monsters! Ever since you showed up, Link, I've seen 'em all over the place!



Now that I have an item, I try it out a bit, then I talk to Marin again.



the beach where I found you. Since you washed ashore, lots of nasty monsters have been in the area, so be careful, okay?



Link has some nice little pushing animations, but nothing is budging. Before I go anywhere else, I'll just check to see if Tarin took any more of my stuff.



He is not amused. Maybe I'll smash his pots instead:



But I'm too weak... What else can I try?



Pressing start brings up my inventory. At the moment, I have my shield (equipped to B), three heart containers, and nothing else. The left side of the screen will fill with useable items as the game goes on. Any of them can be equipped to either the A or the B button, and many items can be used in combination if equipped together. The circle of numbered squares at the bottom right are for plot items that I don't know about yet.



Pressing select brings up the map. It looks like Marin and Tarin's place is up in the Tal Tals. Also, this island has what seems like a pretty unlikely shape.



I step outside.



I try to flip this chicken with my shield like Tarin suggested, but all that happens is I get knocked back. I guess it's not a monster.



To the south of the house is a phone booth in a tree.



With no one to stop me, I try to loot the place, but Link just comments on the decor.



I have no idea who Ulrira is. Let's call again:



You know, there is a library in the village that might have some good information for you! Talk to you later! CLICK!'



just push all the Buttons at once! Uhh... Don't ask me what that means, I'm just a kid!

To the east of the phone booth is this shop/child combination. The kid has an important bit of game knowledge to impart.



The shop is unfortunately inaccessible, as Link can't get past the long grass surrounding it.



I harrass the dog with my shield as I did the chicken, and just as pointlessly.



The next screen to the north has only a patch of overgrown grass in it. Above that is a shop I can get into.



lot to learn, trying to buy something you have no use for!

I've already got a L-1 shield, so the shopkeeper won't sell me another. What I don't have is a shovel:



Nuts. But what if...



Aww. I know it's possible to steal from the shopkeeper, but he was watching me like a hawk this time.



I head west. This dog doesn't seem to like me. Maybe it saw me bugging the dog by the shop earlier.



The statue is a nice (if odd) bit of scenery that I'm sure I'll be moving or destroying at some point. Not sure why it's possible to walk into this little area of the next screen up. I'll be sure to dig there when I get that shovel.



You won't be able to lift it with just your bare hands...

This building won't be accessible until I raise my strength somehow.



save, you will start at the last door you went through... I'm not really sure why that is 'cause I'm just a kid!



Papahl, pleased ta meetcha! I'll be lost in the hills later, so keep a look out for me, hear?

Here's the father of the kids I've been seeing around town. He's just as fond of breaking the fourth wall as they are, or maybe he just knows he has a bad sense of direction.



I am sometimes confused... By the way, do you know Yoshi? My baby keeps on asking for a Yoshi Doll and I don't know what to do about it!

The boys' mother gets in a little bit of Nintendo cross-promotion.



I check out the furniture and the other side of the house. All those pots are pretty heavy.



I head back outside and take a shortcut back to the rooster statue. Link does a little flip when you walk off an edge. I like flips.



I head to the right of town, but am blocked from leaving in that direction by grass I can't walk through and rocks I can't lift. Apparently there's an animal village to the east somewhere. I head back into town.



Next to the phone booth I find this old couple's house.



This is the dude I was talking to on the phone! If he won't talk to me, maybe I can call him:



Thanks for calling! ...Well... CLICK!' ??? ... You must have dialed a wrong number...

Of course, I can't call him from his own phone. I have no idea what the deal is with the Bucket Mouse.



I stop to enjoy this rocking animation for a little bit.



North of the old couple is a ball with a face tied to a post.



The door at the right of the house takes me to the kennel. I'll be back for those bones when I get a shovel!



The left door is the main house, with another small creature in it, plus this woman.



How cute!



buddy? I'll only charge you 10 Rupees...

  • Fish Not Now
You're short of Rupees? Don't worry about it. You just come back when you have more money, little buddy.

What a nice guy!



I head out of town to the left. If I could cut grass, I could proceed to the north. I could also flip off that cliff edge into that well.



I love the light-heartedness of this game's text.



to look at the island map... But, I don't understand what they mean by that...



Hearts, you'd better enter a house or cave... Why? I have no idea, I'm just a kid!

South of the well I meet the last two of Papahl's kids, who give me a little more information about how to play the game.



'After you put a Bomb down, you can pick it up by pressing the Button again. You can then throw it by pushing the Button one more time. Did you know that?'

'The Properties of Warp Holes: There are some Warp Holes on Koholint Island. You can warp to and fro using these holes. If you jump into the Warp Hole at which you arrived, you will go to the next one in the sequence. You can only warp to a hole you have seen with your own eyes...'

'How To Handle Your Shield Like A Pro!: If you hold the Button down, you can defend yourself from enemy attacks, and you can fillip some enemies, too... Besides the standard shield there is also a mirrored variety which can defend against beams!'

'Secrets Of The Whirling Blade: The Whirling Blade technique has been handed down from generation to generation by the family of the hero. To use it, hold down the Sword Button and build up your power. When you have enough, you can release the Button! Can you master this?'

'Auto Map and Memo Guide Book: You can see an island map by pressing the SELECT Button. The dark parts of the map are places you have not yet visited. Move the cursor and press the A Button to get more information about and area, or to replay the message you got there...' Ahhh! How convenient!

'Selecting The Item That's Right For You: You can select your favourite item for the A and B Buttons on the Sub-Screen. Using different items, you can fight without a sword! Try many different things to find what's right for you!'


This library, along with the kids in town, is basically the in-game tutorial. There are two books left:



The map you get with the select button only shows places you've been, but the atlas in the library shows everything. I'm at the Village Library. The shop blocked by grass is the Trendy Game. The Animal Village is near the south-east corner of the island.



I can also see where the dungeons are, and which order I'm supposed to take them on in. Handy! I found the Raft Shop, so if I find myself needing to cross some water I'll know where to go. At the top of the island is the Wind Fish's Egg. But I don't know what that is yet!



The last book is a scary one:



But I won't be reading it today.



Trying to examine the bookshelves leads to this amusing message.



I check out my personal map, which is much less filled in than the one in the atlas. Note that I'm nowhere near the Tal Tal mountain range that the map showed the first time I opened it.



I head south. At this point, I've left town, and I'm leaving it there for today. Just let me do one thing:



Here's the world map so far:



And here's my to-do list:
  • See what else washed up with me on the beach.
  • Get strong enough to lift pots.
  • Get strong enough to lift rocks.
    -Enter the building at the north of town.
    -Take the east exit out of town.
  • Figure out how to get past long grass.
    -Get into the Trendy Game shop.
    -Cut down the field of grass in town.
    -Jump into the well west of town.
    -Enter the mysterious forest.
  • Buy a shovel.
    -Dig up Bow Wow's kennel.
    -Dig up the area above the Flying Rooster statue.
  • Do something with the Flying Rooster statue.
  • Find a Yoshi Doll for the baby.
  • Go fishing.
  • Get a magnifying glass.
    -Read 'Dark Secrets and Mysteries of Koholint'.
  • Get off the island, I guess?
Link's gonna be a busy guy for a while!

Next Time:
Violence.

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