Let's Play Link's Awakening, part 5: Link's Rescue

Hey guys! We're back! I leave the Tail Cave planning to head for the swamp, like the unexplained text told me to last time.



Hoooot! That is an 'Instrument of the Sirens!'
I have to admit, at first I did not believe you were real...
That instrument, along with the seven others in the set, has the power to wake the Wind Fish! You must collect them all! I was instructed to give you directions...
Your next goal is north, in Goponga Swamp!! Hoot, indeed!"

So like I said, we're heading for the swamp. Still, at least I've got a clear goal now: collect the instruments, wake the fish. Of course, I've also got a whole pile of smaller goals on my to-do list, so the Owl's job may have to wait a bit.



Heading north, I manage a shortcut with the power of my Roc's Feather. That reminds me: several items on my list relate to crossing small holes.



I waste no time in heading back north, towards those unjumped holes.



Hey buddy! It's serious! Yeah, really serious!! Yeah, it is! The Moblins came to the village!Yeah, that's right! A whole gang of Moblins! Then... It's for real! They all went to the house... Yeah, that house, and then they did something at Bow Wow's house!! It was a really bad scene, with the M-m-moblins! So, I mean, ahh!
... ... ... ...
... ... ... ...
It might be faster to find out for yourself what happened!



Whatever's going on, it sounds like bad news. I'd better swing by Bow Wow's place and check it out.



Hey, where's Bow Wow?



Madame BowWow is freaking out, and rightly so. A dog is a family member. I should probably help her.



The little one doesn't seem too upset. Or does. I can't tell.



Ms Ulrira is upset, but losing herself in her work.



Ulrira! ... Well, most Moblins live in the Mysterious Forest, but some live in the caves of Tal Tal Heights... I hope that is what you wanted to know! CLICK!'

Old man Ulrira has some helpful information for me. The Tal Tal Mountain Range is in the upper left of the map. I'm sure that following whatever paths have opened to me now that I can jump will take me there in short order.



we started to live on this island? What do you mean by 'when?' Whoa! The concept just makes my head hurt!

I carry on talking to the village's residents trying to get information about BowWow, but apparently Link has different ideas, asking this kid about the origins of the island's inhabitants.



don' know... call old man Ulrira! Zonk... Snore...

Tarin is still sleeping, but he does give what would be useful advice if I hadn't already followed it.



Marin and the parents haven't changed their dialogue in response to recent events.



This guy also doesn't have his finger on the pulse of the town. Maybe the Moblins only went as far into town as BowWow's house, and the people further in don't know what happened yet?



I return to the store, but I still can't afford the shovel.



I decide to try my luck on the trendy game. BowWow can wait a little while: I'm pretty sure he's invulnerable. Besides, I've had a request regarding this place:

aturtledoesbite:
Also, sometime next update, you should see if that Trendy Game shield is the same as the one you have or an upgraded version.

Let me see what I can do:




Nope, still L-1. Nice to know I can mark it as my own, though. I'm gonna keep going with this, see if my streak of luck can continue:



Oh yeah! More powder! Yes, after a rough start a few updates ago, it seems that I've figured out the trick to the Trendy Game!



That seems like a pretty poor trade for ten rupees, especially when the other shop sells three for the same price without any risk of losing.



I pick up sixty rupees clearing out the last couple items. Well, forty rupees after you take out the money spent to play the game these two times.



Well, my amazing skills have cleaned the place out. Yes, I'm just that good. Oh, what's that, MetManMas?

MetManMas:
Here's a tip for the Trendy Game: If you line up the crane on the upper left corner of the conveyor belt and gently press A when the thing you want is in the middle of the right side, you'll win every time.

You're saying I only managed this feat because of your tip? I guess that that's true. Thanks!



A quick trip outside and back inside later, the storekeeper has refilled his wares.



I fill up on magic powder and then grind for cash until I can afford the shovel. Hopefully I can avoid doing this in future.



I return to the shop and make a purchase.



Outside I equip my new toy and start making holes.



I remember that there were a few floor tiles just above this screen that I thought were suspicious and in need of a good digging:



Unfortunately I fail to turn anything up. Oh well.



I also wanted to dig up these bones:



Turns out I can't dig that square, but I find a secret seashell in a different part of the floor. A score's a score, so I'm happy with that.



I return to the shop. Since I took the shovel, they've gotten new stock in.



Rupees! Come back when you have the cash!

Unfortunately, this item is beyond my means. I could spend a while at the Trendy Game, but I think I'll skip that and come back later in the game.



This item is much more affordable.



I go so far as to buy it twice. But what do these 'bombs' do?



Nice! Looks like I've got some cracked walls to explode! But first, what else can I do in town?

MetManMas:
Also I'm expecting .GIFs of you testing out the Magic Powder on the Cuccos and dogs.

I'm not sure I like where this is going, but I owe MetManMas one for the Trendy Game tip. There's a dog on this screen, but I don't want Marin to see me do this, so I move away:



Oh. No, I'm not proud of this.



I feel sick. Oh, this is not right. Why did I do that?



Popping inside a building and out again restores the murdered animals to life, but I still feel guilty.



I attempt to relieve my conscience by killing some aquatic life instead, but I'm broke and the fisherman won't let me.



I decide to blow some stuff up down by the beach to take the edge off. These kids give me their full spiel again, but I ignore them and keep moving south.



Once I reach the beach I try digging up a shell in the sand, but it doesn't score me a secret seashell. Oh well. Not to be beaten, I dig up the rest of the beach. I don't find one in the rest of the sand either.



Nothing under the flotsam.



I keep digging where the shells are, but still no joy.



There's that bumpy cliff! Time for explosions:



Sweet, a hidden cave!



Doesn't seem to be anything in here, unfortunately.



Digging, powdering, and jumping all get me nowhere.



I move on and reencounter that damned monkey.



Still can't seem to hurt it.



I carry on digging up the beach. I get the odd heart or rupee, but no secret shells.



I take a shot at bombing Sale's pots, but it doesn't work. Then I head for Tail Cave again.



I head back to the cracked wall:



Big success!



I pick up the secret seashell I've been searching for all along, then I fall in a pit for some reason. Twice.



About to leave, I remember something:

Mightyblue:
You can use the Magic Powder on the Energy Balls (or whatever the guys who circle around blocks are called) turns em into fairies as I recall.

Doesn't seem to be working for me.



Bombs don't work either. Oh well.



I head back to town with one thing in mind: Now that I have some rupees, I can go fishing!



This runt blocks the path to the bigger fish beneath it. Is it possible to catch the bigger one without first catching the little one? Dunno.



A lunker! Nice! So far I've spent 20 rupees to win 25. Hooray!



I clear out a couple more runts to clear a path to the big one right underneath me.



This one takes a little while. Turns out that the fishing controls are fairly simple: you can press left or right while the hook is in the air. Once it hits the water it'll sink, and you can pull the line to bring it up and slightly towards yourself. To reach the fish under myself I have to slowly pull the line in close to it.



Since the lake is cleared out, I decline to fish again. In retrospect, I should've seen if he would've ripped me off or not. That piece of heart puts me a step closer to increasing my maximum heart containers. Two more should do it!



I head back into the forest. On the next screen is the strange hole formation that I thought was a clue:



Maybe it wasn't, though. I dig it up, then blow it up, and it gets me nowhere. Oh well.



I score another piece of heart, making me three quarters of the way to a new heart container. Nice!



I return to the electric jelly. Time for murder!



It doesn't go as expected. The powder seems to stun the enemy, but that allows me to talk to it rather than attack it. It's got some strange things to say. I don't know if "It can display millions of polygons!" refers to something specific, but to me it seems like a refutation of the at the time upcoming 3D consoles. Sure, it can display millions of polygons, but look at this fantastic game we made for Game Boy. Anyway, I unfortunately wind up attacking it a few times trying to talk and I die. Even more unfortunately, the last door I went through was the entrance to Tail Cave, so that's where I respawn.



I stop through the forest cave to save myself some time next time I die.



I try to solve the mystery of this floor tile, but my powder and shovel reveal nothing. Maybe it's just a meaningless plant?



I jump past the hole next to the witch's hut to reach this signpost.



The way to Ukuku Prairie is blocked, but I do get a glimpse of a tempting stairway to the underground. Also I fight seemingly endless zombies coming up from underground.



Heading right I find a spooky cemetery full of ghosts. Walking near a gravestone makes a ghost appear. I didn't screenshot it very well, but at one point I hit one ghost and all three ghosts onscreen died at once for some reason.



I try pushing on all the graves because I figure one of them will slide aside to reveal a stairway.



All I get is more ghosts.



Ghosts everywhere!



Zombies also show up. I move on.



I have a pretty unfortunate encounter with some more ghosts. As I'm running out of health one drops a fairy, and I get killed trying to reach it. Luckily I swung through the witch's hut on the way here, so I'm only put back a few screens.



I don't bother fighting so much in the cemetery this time.



North of the cemetery are these trees full of crows. I thought that this hole might lead somewhere, but no such luck.



Going down gets me back to the witch's hut. Heading right reveals that I can only progess to the north.



I try to fight crows and it doesn't go well.



I head back through the area and go north. Tal Tal Heights? Isn't that where the moblins are? Oh no! Have I progressed with the game without first doing all the side stuff available to me? I still haven't checked out the building north of the mysterious forest!



I find a cave. Outside it is an owl (statue?) with a cryptic message about the thing I'm trying to wake. I'm not surprised that it's not wind, but not a fish? Madness! On the other hand, its egg is on top of a mountain rather than under the sea.



I step inside.



This jerk greets me. I switch to sword and shield and show 'im who's boss. He gets a couple hits in, but I come out on top.



In the next room I fight several ordinary moblins. Two of them drop hearts, getting me back to a respectable health total.



In the next room I meet the boss moblin. His reaction seems kind of paranoid, but it's also accurate.



He shoots arrows at me and is immune to my sword. He also charges, which I can take on my shield. Still, I've played video games before, I know how this works. I'll let him charge the wall and he'll be stunned, allowing me to get hits in:



What the what? That's not how this works!



I avoid closing in on him, and he comes to me before charging. This time he's close enough that he hits the wall, and I then hit him. I only manage one strike before he gets back to his feet.



I fail a dodge and take some damage.



I score another four hits. This guy's tough!



I cop a charge on my shield, missing the chance to strike, but I get a hit in the next time.



A few more shots finish the job. Finally! I think maybe this would've been quicker if I'd used the spin attack.



In the last room of the cave I find BowWow tied to a rock. Poor dear!



I lead him out of the cave.



Seems like a good place to stop for the day! I'm right next to the swamp now, though I think heavy rocks will block my entry to it. I've got more exploration to do to the north and east of where I am now, as well as to the north of the other side of the swamp.

The map:



This image should automatically downsize to fit your browser window. You can get the full thing by clicking on it.

To-do:

• 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.
  -Go east past the chest in the beach area.
  -Get the chest near the entrance to the Mysterious Forest.
  -Lift the rock next to the pond in the Mysterious Forest.
  -Get into the north cave in the Mysterious Forest.
  -Lift the rock near the piece of heart surrounded by holes in the Mysterious Forest.
  -Go south past the rock near the gravestone next to the witch's hut.
  -Go to Crazy Tracy's place.
  -Do something at Manbo's Pond.
  -Head east from the Gopongo Swamp.
  -Enter Ukuku Prairie
  -Go down the stairs surrounded by rocks south of the Witch's hut.
  -Lift the rocks in the crow forest.
• Get strong enough to lift skulls.
  -Get the piece of heart in the cave in the Mysterious Forest.
• Find a way across holes.
  -Get the piece of heart surrounded by holes in the Mysterious Forest.
  -Go east from the witch's hut.
  -Reach the building to the north of the exit from the Mysterious Forest.
  -Go north from the phone booth north of the Mysterious Forest.
• Win the moving prizes in the Trendy Game.
  -Shield
  -Pouch
  -Heart
  -Rupee
  -Other Rupee
• Buy a shovel.
  -Dig up Bow Wow's kennel.
  -Dig up the area above the Flying Rooster statue.
  -Dig up the shells on the beach.
  -Dig under the bush surrounded by holes in the Mysterious Forest.
• Clear the plants in the Gopongo Swamp.
  -Enter the cave in the swamp.
  -Get the chest in the swamp.
• Rescue BowWow from Moblins.
• Do something with BowWow in the Swamp.
• Do something with the Flying Rooster statue.
• Do something with the growth near the gravestone next to the witch's hut.
• Inspect the gravestone next to the witch's hut.
• Keep a look out for Papahl in the hills later.
• Find something to do with the ribbon.
• Trade Sale some canned food for some bananas.
• Meet Sale's brother.
• Catch something other than a runt at the fishing pond.
• Get revenge on the monkey.
• Kill the electric jelly.
  -Try sword.
  -Try powder.
  -Try arrows.
• Use powder on:
  -Electric jelly.
  -Glowing ball thingos.
  -Dogs.
  -Chickens.
• Open the chest at the south-east of the beach.
• Do something at the dead end bit of beach south of the chest.
• Do something about the bumpy bit of wall on the beach.
• Do something in the cave on the beach.
• Do something about the cracked wall in the Tail Cave.
• Get a magnifying glass.
  -Read 'Dark Secrets and Mysteries of Koholint'.
• Find the seven remaining instruments.
• Wake the Wind Fish.
• Get off the island, I guess?

Next time:
Might as well take BowWow for a walk. But first...