- [Narrator] This episode
of The Gaming Historian is sponsored by ExpressVPN. Stay tuned until the end of the video for more information. On November 21st, 1991, exactly one year after the launch of their Super Famicom system, Nintendo released one of their
most ambitious games to date: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Zelda creator Shigeru
Miyamoto wanted to return to the series' roots and
incorporate ideas that weren't possible in the first game. What resulted was the biggest
Legend of Zelda game yet. It also established several series norms. The Master Sword, spin attacks,
multiple worlds to explore. By all accounts, A Link to
the Past was a resounding success for the developers,
for Nintendo, and for players. But one man wasn't satisfied:
Director Takashi Tezuka. A graduate of The Osaka
University of Arts, Tezuka had been at Nintendo since 1984, working right alongside Shigeru Miyamoto on Super Mario Brothers
and The Legend of Zelda. He joined the Link to the Past team at Nintendo's Entertainment
Analysis & Development division halfway through development, and was brought on as the game's director. Tezuka and his team wanted
to try some new ideas, such as the ability to
unequip the master sword. This would allow players
to combine two items for new effects. But producer Shigeru
Miyamoto shot down the idea. He wanted the hero, Link, to
always have his sword equipped. But Takashi Tezuka hated
to leave great ideas on the cutting room floor. After the Legend of Zelda: A
Link to the Past was complete, Tezuka had a strong desire to do more. One day, after hours, Tezuka noticed programmer Kazuaki Morita messing around with a
Game Boy Development Kit. Along with the new 16-bit Super Famicom, Nintendo had also recently
introduced the Game Boy, an 8-bit handheld system. Morita was experimenting
with what could be done on the new handheld. To Tezuka's surprise, Morita was trying to recreate
something like a Zelda game. There were no official plans
to bring the Zelda series to the Game Boy. Morita was simply having fun with it. But Tezuka was intrigued, and decided to join in on
the unofficial project. If nothing else, it
was a chance to fulfill his desire to do more with Zelda. Soon, other members of Nintendo's Entertainment
Analysis & Development division joined in. Together, they formed an
unofficial after school club for the passion project. Members of the club did regular
work during normal hours, then worked on the secret
Zelda game after hours. It was the first time
any of them had tried to make a Game Boy game. Despite their lack of
experience, the black and white Zelda adventure began to look impressive. In fact, it was so impressive
that Takashi Tezuka formally pitched The Legend of Zelda for the Game Boy to upper management. The executives approved,
and gave the dev team another Game Boy development
kit to help make the game. At that time, the plan was to simply port A Link to the Past to the Game Boy. But over time, Tezuka and the
team saw it as an opportunity to try something new, and
revive some of the ideas that got nixxed when they
were making Link to the Past. Their game quickly formed
its own, new identity, thanks largely to the fact that the game was a passion project. And it was a passion
project that the higher ups at Nintendo didn't scrutinize. Zelda on the Game Boy was
the first game in the series where Zelda creator Shigeru
Miyamoto didn't have input. According to Tezuka, Miyamoto was quote "busy with something and
didn't pay us much mind." With fresh ideas and the freedom
to go off the beaten path, Tezuka and his team created
a new land to explore. One without the usual suspects: There would be no
Princess Zelda, no Ganon, no Hyrule, or Triforce. At the time, Tezuka was
a huge fan of Twin Peaks, a popular TV show. Twin Peaks was notable
for its unique characters and supernatural elements, including a heavy emphasis on dreams. Tezuka requested his staff
come up with something equally off-beat for their new game: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. That responsibility fell
into the hands of two men: Kensuke Tanabe & Yoshiaki Koizumi. Tanabe had previously worked
on Super Mario Brothers 2, Super Mario Brothers 3,
and A Link to the Past. He always had the idea of a
story where an egg hatches on a mountaintop, ending the world. With Link's Awakening, he was finally able to use his unique idea. Yoshiaki Koizumi was
relatively new to Nintendo, and originally wanted
to be a film director. But after college, he
took a job at Nintendo, hoping to bring his passion
of filmmaking to video games. Koizumi's first job was
to do the art, layout, and writing for the
Link to the Past manual. Link's Awakening was his first
experience with story design. His film background came in handy. Koizumi took his own ideas, drew inspiration from Twin Peaks, and ultimately created a unique main story that was more detailed
than previous Zelda games. Koizumi's story picks up where
A Link to the Past left off. After defeating Ganon,
Link sets off for new lands to continue training, in
case evil returns to Hyrule. But on his way back home,
his small ship encounters a massive storm. Link washes ashore on
Koholint Island, where a local named Marin takes him to
her village to recover. While trying to retrieve his sword, Link meets a mysterious owl, who informs him that the only
way to leave Koholint Island is to wake the Wind Fish,
who sleeps in a giant egg on the top of a mountain. Link must explore the island and retrieve eight musical instruments
that are required to wake the Wind Fish. But along the way, he
discovers a shocking prophecy: Koholint Island is simply
a dream of the Wind Fish. If the Wind Fish is awakened, the island and all of its inhabitants will disappear. Unsure if the prophecy is true, Link continues his journey
to wake the Wind Fish and return to Hyrule. Link's Awakening was
the first story-driven game in the Zelda series. Previous games in the
series did have stories, but felt more shallow, and
not as important or original. Link's Awakening featured
several characters with their own unique
personalities and story arch. The reveal that Koholint
Island is just part of the Wind Fishes dream was a huge twist, and completely changed
the tone of the game. Not only was the story new and different, so were some gameplay elements. Tezuka and his team at Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis
& Development division were able to get creative. Some became staples in the Zelda series. Programmer Kazuaki Morita loved fishing, and added a fishing mini-game
in the island village. It was a first for the Zelda series, and has reappeared in just
about every subsequent game. Writer Kensuke Tanabe came up with idea of a trading sequence side quest. Link would find items on Koholint Island and trade them with villagers, eventually being rewarded
with a powerful item. The team also implemented
the ability to combine items, an idea that was abandoned
from Link to the Past. Link could unequip his sword
and use a bomb with a bow and arrow, allowing him
to shoot bomb arrows. The creativity didn't stop there. With a completely new story and world, Tezuka and his staff saw
an opportunity to sneak some of their favorite Nintendo
characters into the game: Chain chomps, goombas,
Mr. Wright from SimCity, Luigi, Yoshi, Pirahna plants,
princess peach, shy guys, Wart from Super Mario Brothers 2, Richard from The Frog
for Whom the Bell Tolls, and even Kirby. Said Takashi Tezuka "It
was like we were making "a parody of Zelda." Some dungeons even contain
side scrolling areas, similar to a Super Mario Bros game. Director Takashi Tezuka
admits that he can't remember if they ever got permission
to use these easter eggs. He said it was for the Game Boy system, so we thought oh, it'll be fine. While these new gameplay
elements were exciting, the dev team also stayed
true to the Zelda formula. Players had to explore
eight dungeons and collect items to finish the game. Backing the game was a
beautiful soundtrack composed by two women, Kozue
Ishikawa and Minako Hamano. It was the first game
they had ever worked on. Many of the tracks, like
The Ballad of the Wind Fish, became classic Zelda tunes. Additional sound effects were
provided by Kazumi Totaka, famous for the secret song
he likes to hide in games. Of course, he found a way to hide the tune in Link's Awakening as well. (bouncy electronic music) The result of so much
freedom and creativity was a Zelda game unlike any other. The development team loved
what they were doing, and it showed. They also weren't afraid
to try new things. That showed as well. Koholint Island was a mysterious
land filled with secrets, characters, and plenty of
caves and dungeons to explore. The intriguing storyline
motivated the player to unravel the mystery of the Wind
Fish and Koholint Island. Ultimately, even Shigeru
Miyamoto was impressed with the game. He joined the team at the
end of development as a game tester and provided feedback
for the final touches. (dramatic bouncy music) "So, how good is the The Legend
of Zelda: Link's Awakening? "As good as a Game Boy program gets." Dennis Lynch, Chicago Tribune. The Legend of Zelda: Link's
Awakening was released on June 6, 1993 in Japan,
August 1993 in North America, and December 1993 in Europe. It received rave reviews. Players loved that a full-blown Zelda game was on the Game Boy and it
didn't feel like Nintendo made any sacrifices to make it happen. Nintendo Magazine System raved, "Link's Awakening sets a new
standard for the Game Boy." To promote the release in North America, Nintendo of America put on
the Zelda Whistle-Stop Tour. 18 participants, divided into professional and amateur categories,
boarded a train in New York, heading toward Seattle. The person to beat Link's
Awakening the fastest would win $1,000 for the
charity of their choice. Nintendo also featured the
game in their 50th issue of Nintendo Power. The iconic cover featured
the mysterious owl of Koholint Island,
along with Link's sword. In 1998, Nintendo released
the Game Boy Color, a smaller, colorful
update to the Game Boy. For that system, Nintendo
revisited the game and released The Legend of
Zelda: Link's Awakening DX. The updated game added
color to Koholint Island and an exclusive dungeon. Nintendo also added compatibility
with another new device, the Game Boy Printer. For 20 years, Link's Awakening
was fondly remembered, but never fully revisited. But in 2019, Nintendo surprised
everyone by announcing that the The Legend of
Zelda: Link's Awakening was being remade for the Nintendo Switch. In total, The Legend of
Zelda: Link's Awakening and Link's Awakening DX sold
more than 3.5 million copies, making it the 15th best selling
Game Boy game of all time. For those who played Link's Awakening, it's easy to understand
why the game is so special. The Legend of Zelda games
tend to stick to a specific formula: Go through dungeons,
collect items, defeat Ganon, and save Princess Zelda. But Nintendo created something
special by mixing things up. Eiji Aonuma, current series producer for The Legend of Zelda, has
said that Link's Awakening is "the quintessential
isometric Zelda game." Link's Awakening is considered
one of the best games in the series. An impressive feat,
considering it was the first Zelda game for a handheld system. In their article on Zelda
games ranked worst to best, Kotaku listed Link's
Awakening at number three. Games Radar has it at number four. And Nintendo Life lists it at number six. The Legend of Zelda: Link's
Awakening un-shackled the developers at Nintendo
and allowed them to try new things with the series. This influenced future Zelda titles. Aonuma said "I'm certain it
was a breakthrough element "in the series. "If we had proceeded from
A Link to the Past straight "to Ocarina of Time without
Link's Awakening in between, "Ocarina would have been different." But the biggest reason
people like the game is that it was clearly a labor of love. Said Takashi Tezuka "I
remember it was fun working "on it and when it was over,
I remember us talking to "each other about how fun it was." That's all for this episode
of The Gaming Historian, thanks for watching. A big thank you to our sponsor
for this video, ExpressVPN. Listen I find a lot of top
secret gaming information when I'm making these episodes. The last thing I need is snooping on me, stealing my secrets. That's where ExpressVPN comes in. It's a virtual private network that helps protect your data and access
region restricted websites. And ExpressVPN is one of
the best services out there, rated number one by techradar.com. It's super easy to use. Just choose what location you want to use, press the button, and you're all done. At less than $7 a month with
a 30-day money back guarantee and compatibility with
just about every device you can think of, I would highly recommend checking them out. Take back your internet
privacy today and find out how you can get three
months free by clicking the link in the description box. ExpressVPN.com/gaminghistorian. Take back your privacy
today with ExpressVPN. - [Female Narrator] Funding
for Gaming Historian is provided in part by
supporters on Patreon. Thank you. (fun bouncy music)
