With the Game Boy and SNES now firmly established as a little-brother, big-brother relationship, it became common for Nintendos handheld system to get games that were the quirkier, off-beat entries of a franchise. Mario would rule the SNES, but his evil counterpart Wario would conquer the Game Boy with his own series of chunky platform puzzlers. While Donkey Kong Country sent players on a gorgeous, fast-paced quest the portable Donkey Kong 94 offered a more cerebral, bite-sized brand of platforming. Despite Links Awakening borrowing the clothes of its Super Nintendo sibling, Link to the Past, it too had a lighter, more playful tone. Link would get zapped and squashed, feed dog food to crocodiles and take a (mostly) tame Chain Chomp out for a stroll. All in all, without Ganons looming shadow casting a pall over proceedings, it felt like a whimsical adventure... until the Face Shrine. Link discovers a mural which informs the player, in no uncertain terms, that his quest to wake the Wind Fish will destroy the island, its inhabitants and possibly Link himself theyre all just part of a dream. Worse, the nightmares Link faces begin to taunt him about the destruction hell bring to his new friends. Uniquely to the Zelda series, you find yourself wondering if Link might actually be the unwitting villain. The remainder of your journey takes on a sombre and wholly-unexpected tone, with the games bittersweet ending setting a precedent for Zelda games to come.
