The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX was originally released for the Game Boy. It was later ported to the Game Boy Color with color graphics and a new dungeon with the DX moniker. It is the fourth game to be released in The Legend of Zelda series but is the first game for a handheld console. The control scheme is simple. You use the d-pad to move Link around and then the A and B buttons for using items. You can map any item onto the two buttons via the Start button and the Select button pulls up the map. Having the ability to map items to any of the two buttons at will is pretty cool and an ingenious way to overcome the physical limitations of the hardware. Unfortunately, with only two buttons and nearly always wanting to have a weapon equipped, this means that you will constantly be reassigning items in order to progress.
The game is in the style of the original NES game where one screen is one area and going to the next scree involves a short sliding loading animation. It's smooth and works well and the color graphics really help make the game pop and age well. With color, it also makes it easier to distinguish what is what in the game compared to the original monochrome version. Link will traverse the overworld filled with enemies, initially only armed with his shield and sword. The overworld is at least as big as the original game which is pretty large and impressive for a Game Boy game. There are some annoying enemies that like to jump around or teleport, as well as firing projectiles or simply be invincible. As you progress through the game and gain more powerful weapons, enemies that gave you trouble before can be swiftly dispatched and this is quite satisfying.
The story is different for the fact that Link's objective is not to save Zelda. Rather, after a storm and being left marooned on an island, he is tasked with finding the eight instruments of the sirens in order to wake the Wind Fish and leave the island. There are plenty of cutscenes to help explain the story but the game mainly leaves it up to the player to explore and find out for themselves. Eight instruments means that there are eight dungeons in the game and each gets steadily harder. You will need specific items in order to clear some of the dungeons. These dungeons will contain familiar enemies and bosses, as well as plenty of hidden areas to collect additional hearts which serves as your health bar.
There are surprisingly 2D platforming segments which feel inspired by the Mario games. However, perhaps some of the more annoying platforming are not found in this 2D sections but rather just jumping over holes. You'll struggle at first to get the timing right and have Link actually jump instead of running into the hole. As expected of the series, there is little guidance in where to go next and thus it can be easy to get lost. The same goes for the dungeons, with even the second and third one becoming difficult when you go in for the first time. Item management is required early on as you can easily find yourself unable to progress because you ran out of bombs and need to go track down some more.
The later dungeons are extremely convoluted, requiring backtracking once you've found special items to access other areas. As a new player, you might be at a lost at what to do when you are supposed to push some blocks in a specific way, or bomb some walls to open up a path. This leads to a hard final dungeon filled with mini-bosses. However, there was a worthy final boss which leads to an interesting ending that doesn't feel as cheap as you would have thought if you had knew what was going to happen beforehand. The exclusive color dungeon in the DX version of the game is short and easy. Completing it gives you a very nice reward that makes the rest of the game much easier. It's not the biggest draw card if you have already played the original since it shorter than even the first dungeon and it felt like an afterthought. It uses color as the main gimmick for its puzzles. Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a great Zelda game. It doesn't feel compromised at all for being on the Game Boy, filled with all of the elements of a game in the series. The dungeon exploration is fun, the graphics hold up well, and there are so many secrets that it is a satisfying experience to find them all.
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