The Legend Of Zelda - Ranking Every Gameplay Gimmick

Though it is something we take entirely for granted now, this fourth instalment in the franchise broke ground by being the first Zelda game which players were able to carry in their pocket.

The Game Boy title managed to blow the mind of gamers back in 1993 by squeezing the enormous world of Hyrule into a tiny game cartridge. This meant that, for the first time, they could enjoy the Zelda experience in their garden, in the car, and innumerable other non-traditional gaming environments.

As well as this, the game introduced some other firsts for the series. Link’s Awakening was a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, just as Majora’s Mask was to Ocarina of Time, and Phantom Hourglass to Wind Waker. The title was also the first game in the series not to take place in Hyrule, which paved the way for lands like Termina, Holodrum, and Labrynna.

Interestingly, the unbelievable joy of playing a full-featured Zelda title on the go was repeated in 2017 with the release of Breath of the Wild for Nintendo Switch, a game which, once again, few believed could fit inside its minuscule casing.