Starting the Perfect Adventure – Link’s Awakening

Posted by Matt Arnold on Jan 12, 2011 in Games | 11 comments

Link’s Awakening came out 2 years after the beloved A Link to the Past, and has existed in its shadow ever since. However, in many ways the little game boy Zelda that started off as a side experiment is the superior game to the SNES masterpiece. There has yet to be a more lyrical and compelling story in a Zelda since, with only Majora’s Mask coming close – both games were written by Yoshiaki Koizumi. Link’s Awakening was directed by Takashi Tezuki, who is somewhat an unsung hero of Nintendo. He has co-developed and collaborated with the great Shigeru Miyamoto on most of the latter’s most regarded masterworks.

I have been replaying many of the Zeldas for inspiration and education for the game I am working on. What struck me most about Link’s Awakening is how expertly the beginning of the game is designed and how the Zelda’s since are influenced by it. There is definitely plenty to learn from it, so I wanted to break down how well the first few minutes of the game introduces players to the story and core mechanics.

A Simply Told Story

The introductory cutscene for Link’s Awakening takes place before the title screen, and it lasts 55 seconds. It also has no dialog or text yet it sets the atmosphere, introduces the two most important characters, the setting, and the mysterious storyline all in excellent fashion. Most games do almost none of these things in cutscenes stretching minutes and containing hundreds of words of text.

Let’s look at it briefly.

The first few moments set up a simple and instantly understandable action scene. And it does so in simple cinematic language. It starts with a violent storm which is a clear image to introduce danger and torment. Then we see a boat come in – someone is in danger, and the lightening gets even more violent. As soon as we wonder who is in the boat, we cut to the hero. It is indeed Link, and he is alone in overcoming these dangerous seas. He must be brave; he must be on an adventure; and it must be important.

A bright flash and he winces. We see the boat that we know is helmed by Link, get struck by lightning, and the screen fades to white.

We see a beach, and then a young girl walking across it. Looks like Link probably washed on shore someplace safe and civilized. The girl hesitates for a moment before rushing to the side of the screen where Link is revealed, lying on the beach presumably unconscious. She attempts to wake him up, but it seems to do no good. The camera rises up to reveal a large mountain with a very weird egg on it, and the titles appear. More likely than not, this is not where Link was planning to go.

Seems a bit opposite from the normal opening cinematic doesn’t it? Our Hero went from being in immense danger, to being safely onshore being awoken by what seems to be a lovely girl unlikely to be part of some wild cannibal people. It is an intro that places our hero into safety rather than the other way around. What it does do is offer a lot of questions.

What is this beach? Where was Link trying to go? Is this beach where he was going? What is that Egg? Who is this girl? The cinematic introduces a mysterious tone which is not surprising as the story was actually inspired by Twin Peaks. Whatever it does, it makes you excited to PRESS START, as even the title “Link’s Awakening” suggests not just what will come next, but what the game is about.

Waking Up

Link wakes up and is greeted with some exposition from the girl. The girl nursed you to health, her name is Marin, Link was going after someone named “Zelda” and you are on Koholint Island. The information hints at your objective; you must find a way off this island, as it is clear this was not the place you were trying to get to on the boat.

When you talk to Marin she simply tells you that heading south will bring you back to where she found you. She even tells you that some of your stuff washed ashore (guess she was too lazy to carry it for you). Obviously going south is the next logical step, but it is interesting that the game doesn’t explicitly tell you to go south. This is not accidental, and is the main way the game communicates. Modern games tell you “go south to get your sword”. Link’s Awakening simply provides information and lets the player use their common sense and logical thinking to decide what to do next.

However she also says that since you came ashore, nasty monsters have been around. Firstly, that means it is going to be dangerous, but it also poses a question. Is Link responsible for bad things on this Island? A second objective has been made clear; Link has to rid monsters from the Island.

Talking to Tarin reveals he is Marin’s father and that he has one of your items, the shield. Not exactly what the player was hoping for. You would rather be slashing stuff with a sword than hiding like a coward behind your shield. It will have to do.

However, this is a very clever move on the designer’s part because of what they want you to do next. Without telling or forcing you to, the designers are nudging you to explore the town and meet the townsfolk, rather than rush off and kill monsters. Giving you only a shield makes it less likely that you are going monster hunting first.

It also simply introduces a core skill needed in the game which is to repel and defend from enemies. This is a slight, but noticeable change in priorities from most hack and slash games.

Explore the Town

The moment you exit Marin’s house there are two very clever pieces of level design. You were told to go south, as that is where the beach is. If you look at the map, you actually have to head west first, and then head south. Heading straight south actually leads you to a wall. So why not have the path to the beach be straight south?

Heading due south reveals a weird telephone house that begs to be explored. Inside you will find (surprise!) a telephone. When you use it, a strange voice by the name of Ulrira answers and explains that he is a tip hotline. How damn clever is that. How many times are you told where the help menu is, and then you pause the game scroll through text and look around for various answers? It completely breaks the game, and yet here is a game from 1993 which hides its tutorial and hint system in a way that actually adds to the story and atmosphere of the game. The player was seamlessly led to the hint system, as well as introduced to a curious question as to whom this weird Ulrira is and why did he make a house for a single phone. He also tells you that the library has even more information on the island, providing the player with yet more help.

By the way, if the player heads west and goes into the house, he finds old man Ulrira. However, he is too shy to talk in person, and will only communicate over the phone. A quirky cast of characters is one of Link’s Awakening’s strong suits.

A Sandbox from the Beginning

Before we get into the elegant way the game leads you to the sword and teaches you everything you need to know for the rest of the game, it is worth noting just how much of the game is open from the beginning. The player can explore the entire town meeting a huge cast of character, as well as head down to the beach. It is a good 1/8 of the entire play map. This is a far cry from most modern game’s learning environments which are linear corridors, training facilities or boot camp. They often restrict you completely, holding your hand before slowly opening up the world. Link’s Awakening gives a lot of it at once, but much of its depth is hidden until you acquire certain items.

Even Link to the Past essentially bottlenecks you into the castle, and places you into a training dungeon. Link’s Awakening was really the first Zelda to start like this. It was different than the complete openness of the NES Zelda, which was confusing and likely to have players messing around for hours before really understanding the game. However it wasn’t a linear tutorial either. This delicate balance has been replicated by nearly every Zelda since: OoT, Windwaker, Twilight Princess, etc. They all start with a carefully designed town, and area which is free to explore and learn the basic controls while at the same time building the narrative.

It would be too easy to comment on the failed introductory hours (about 15 hours or so) of Final Fantasy 13. Instead you only need to look at the well-made Darksiders. It is very much inspired by Zelda, yet the intro is essentially a God of War clone. It’s spectacular and well produced, but the key difference is between telling the player what to do, and having the player fill in the gaps and figure out what to do. The latter is far more rewarding. Darksiders throws vines on walls and tells you to climb them. It points at a pipe and explains you can hang onto them. These is not puzzle solving, just direction taking.

Links Awakening also hints at the solutions of puzzles that you will solve later . When you approach a pot, the game tells you that the pot is too heavy to lift with your bare hands. It’s subtle, but there is still a difference between that statement and “you don’t have this item yet”. This hint is used later when both the entrance to a house, and the path on the beach are blocked by giant stones. When you approach the stones, you get the same message about being too heavy. Now you connect the dots and you realize you will be able to get through here after you get a certain item.

Even something as simple as bushes around the Shop, says something. The player knows they must be able to enter the shop. Clearly you will be able to cut these bushes. However the game doesn’t explicitly tell you that you need to get your sword. It is simply understood by the player.

Placing Important Objects on the Critical Path

The game wants you to find the library. It mentioned it in the phone booth, and they placed it on the path to the beach. It is impossible to not see the library as you go get the sword. In the library the player has access to a variety of simple instructions and information – all things the designer wants the player to have access to. This includes a map of the entire world down to every location of every store, house and dungeon.

In front of the library there are also two boys playing ball. These kids say the same text as another child in the town – important information about saving your game. However, since it is possible the player missed that kid; the designers place these two kids in the critical path. They don’t simply stand there, but they throw a ball back and forth over the path. Valve talks about directing the player’s eye in their developer commentaries for Portal and Half Life 2. It is obviously harder to direct a players eye in 3 dimensions, but it is still neat to see those tricks played very well in a 2D game on the gameboy. More likely than not, a player will talk to these boys because they have drawn attention to themselves by both their position and by their activity.

Down to the Beach and learning to jump off ledges.

You jump down a series of ledges to get to the beach. It is worth noting that there is no tutorial text explaining that you can leap off a ledge. Why do most modern games feel the need to explain every possible action performed by a player? They shouldn’t need to for a very simple reason – people are curious and want to test the limits of a game. They will natural try combinations of moves. Of course, the idea is to point that curiosity in the right direction via consistent sign posting and abundant clues. There is a ledge, and there is a path leading to that ledge. That is a good enough reason for me to try to jump off it. When the player walks off it, does a cool animation of flipping, and lands, they have been taught a simple move in a way far more rewarding than a tutorial text box explaining that “ledges such as these can be jumped. Simply move your character to the ledge”.

Using Your Shield

When you get to the beach you are greeted by a bunch of monsters. Common sense should tell the player it’s time to pull out the shield. Without ever being told, the player should quickly find themselves deflecting projectiles and bouncing enemies away. By the way, bouncing enemies away should have been learned even before getting to the beach, and before seeing a single enemy. It is not by accident that a Chomp Chomp on a chain is placed on your critical path. A big ball with scary teeth feels like an enemy. The player more than likely tried to use the shield against him. If they did, they would have found that it deflects the Chomp Chomp. Since he gives no damage, he is a safe, simple tutorial for blocking enemies. Again, very very clever. The player naturally figures out the rules of the game without being told.

Now there are spikey guys that can actually be moved with your shield, like pushing a block. Three things are done to let the player solve this simple puzzle. First, they should have learned that the shield deflects enemies. Secondly, the spike creatures end up being a bottleneck, and so the player knows they MUST be overcome and not simply circumvented. Finally, there is a sign with a hint to not use your bare hands. Again, the sign does not tell the player what to do, but simply gives a vital piece of information; using your hands will hurt.

Getting the Sword and the Owl Tells the Tale

So the player approaches the sword, and now the game finally has someone, a big owl, explain to you what is going on. The first thing the owl does is iterate that you are the cause of the violent monsters – guilt trip. Then he answers the question as to how you get off the island; Link must wake the Wind Fish. To do so you should head north. This is of course a path that was blocked by bushes. After the Owl is done yapping, you can grab the sword.  When you get your sword, you are given no instruction on how to use it.

When was the last time you played a game where it doesn’t explicitly teach you how to use your weapon. Of course, there is a less straneous process of elimination with only two face buttons on the GBA compared to the dozen or so on modern controls. Still, the game drops the item into a slot that is clearly labeled what button you press to use it. After that, the music soars into the famous Zelda theme, essentially inviting you to start slashing the hell out of everything. Once again, the designers come through by placing an enemy right next to you for you to test out your new pointy object.

A Final, Simple Puzzle

The player is now ready to head north and begin the real adventure. However, there is one more thing to teach the player, and that is that there are secrets to find, and heart pieces to collect. This is a very simple puzzle that is well sign posted, and introduces not only the heart pieces, but the idea that not all holes kill you, and some may even lead to secrets.

Going back north, you cannot climb over ledges that you jumped off on your way to the beach. Instead you go around the side of the ledges. There will be enemies, and many bushes in the way. More likely than not, even if the player didn’t purposely try to cut a bush, they will slash a bush in the middle of a fight with a monster thus learning that swords destroy bushes.

The player should have noticed the well on the way to the beach. It is clearly marked, with fences around it to bring even more attention to it.

We have two newly skills that will solve this puzzle. We can cut bushes and jump over ledges. What about that well? That is a bit of a leap of faith. Any player heading to the forest should jump into the well, and inside they will find a heart piece. It is nice to see a game create an elegant, simple puzzle that reinforces newly learned skills, while introducing new ideas, as well as rewarding the player without saying a single word of hint text. It is the sort of design that we can still learn from today, despite it being on a handheld from over 15 years ago.

I can’t recommend Link’s Awakening enough. In my mind, it is the best 2D Zelda – blasphemy I know. However, I think the team learned from Link to the Past, and the restrictions of the handheld made them take what they learned from that SNES masterpiece, and distill it into a more concise and dense creation. It also features probably the best story of any Zelda: simple but effective. Oh, and try to beat it without dying for a happier ending.