{"id":349,"date":"2011-11-30T16:31:39","date_gmt":"2011-11-30T16:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=349"},"modified":"2011-11-30T16:42:12","modified_gmt":"2011-11-30T16:42:12","slug":"the-legend-of-zelda-links-awakening-dx-game-boy-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.controlpadblues.com\/?p=349","title":{"rendered":"The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX (Game Boy Color)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aside from being the other\u00a0Game Boy Color title in my friend Antoine’s library (see my very first game post back in August), Link’s Awakening DX<\/em> was actually already in my collection on that old grey\u00a0brick…\u00a0 only not in fantastic, full-colour mode.<\/p>\n

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1993 (Original),\u00a01998 (DX) – Game Boy, Game Boy Color (Nintendo)<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

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As mentioned in the Super Mario Bros. Deluxe<\/em> post, Antoine was nice enough to let me try his Game Boy Color one morning before school.\u00a0 It’s strange, but playing a game in colour<\/strong> in the palm of my hands just felt incredible.\u00a0 Here was Super Mario Bros.<\/em>, a game I’ve played through over and over again since childhood, and I was playing in the school hallway.\u00a0 Amazing!\u00a0 When he popped in Link’s Awakening DX<\/em>, it was somewhat like visiting an old friend in the hospital, recuperating from colourful shots of botox to the face.<\/p>\n

I say it felt like a hospital, mostly due to the white halls at our school…\u00a0 anyway.\u00a0 It makes sense to me.<\/p>\n

In any case, it was strange.\u00a0 I had owned a Sega Game Gear since I was young, but it didn’t quite feel like it was the ultimate hand held gaming experience.\u00a0 Maybe if they had waited before releasing it, and made it sleeker or something.\u00a0 I dunno.<\/p>\n

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Mine still works, but hasn’t aged well at all.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u00a0I remember most about playing the original Link’s Awakening <\/em>was discovering two things in particular…<\/p>\n

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Roc’s Feather!<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

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Who is Roc, anyway?\u00a0 First he leaves his invisibility cape in a Hyrule cave (in A Link to the Past<\/em>), and now he leaves a magical jumping feather in a dungeon on Koholint Island.\u00a0 Who forgets or\u00a0misplaces two awesome things like that??\u00a0 Roc, that’s who.<\/p>\n

The lady next door\u00a0came over to visit my mom, and I sat quietly at the kitchen table while I played Zelda<\/em>.\u00a0 I remember having to position myself correctly in relation to the power outlet, and have my somewhat bulky battery pack perched on the table in a way I wouldn’t yank it off in a moment of sheer gaming\u00a0excitement.<\/p>\n

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Almost as bulky and awkward as the Game Boy itself!<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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While she and\u00a0my mom gabbed about cats,\u00a0making cookies, or supper…\u00a0 or something…\u00a0 I made my way through that first dungeon, and eventually came to a narrow hallway with an item floating above my head.\u00a0 I couldn’t get to it yet, so I marched forward.\u00a0 I opened\u00a0a treasure chest a little\u00a0while later, which revealed Roc’s Feather!\u00a0 The simple fact that the item’s\u00a0description said I could jump was quite something…\u00a0 jumping in a Zelda<\/em> game??\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 It opened up a whole world of puzzle possibilities, and almost single-handedly makes Link’s Awakening<\/em> one of my favourites in the series.<\/div>\n
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Do these guys look familiar to you?<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

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The second thing was mentioned in a Nintendo Power<\/em> “Classified Information” section, which some might consider to be a “cheat”.\u00a0 In reality, it was actually a glitch!\u00a0 Performing it was simple, and allowed early access to areas you’d otherwise have to wait to be able to get to.<\/p>\n

(Skip ahead to about the 0:55 mark for the glitch demonstration…)<\/p>\n

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