4/5 ★ – Empyrean's review of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.

It really makes me feel old that the version of this I’m used to didn’t have color. The OTHER black sheep of the franchise. Link’s Awakening is such a bizarre and funny game, which I guess is appropriate considering the context. I guess the wind fish is a Mario fan! There’s a few franchise firsts here too. Dungeons finally have their own individual mini-bosses and music tracks (the OST probably being the best in the series so far), there’s two item slots (allowing you to unequip the sword and shield), and everything is just generally disconnected from the main series minus a passing reference to Zelda and ALttP bosses. Link’s Awakening has a lot going for it, and comes close to overtaking A Link to the Past for me, but it has one major issue: it is determined at all times to halt gameplay. Unskippable dialogue and text will repeat CONSTANTLY throughout the game, in various forms. You can be at the very end of the game and you will still get a prompt if you dare walk into a crystal rather than dashing. That is bad enough, but what’s worse is the absolutely relentless item swapping. I’d say a good quarter or more of my playtime was spent in the equipment menu as you’re forced to change every few minutes or so, even when traversing the island. Issues aside, I’d say Link’s Awakening is definitely a must play for fans. It’s unlike anything else in the franchise, and is also more accessible as the “Nintendo Hard” era was officially over (although there’s still a fair amount of difficulty and obtuseness in the late game). Last but most important: Marin > Zelda