History WMG / TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening

[[WMG: The island was Link's dream, not the Wind Fish's.]]
The entire game is a dream or hallucination by Link as he's floating out at sea, slowly dying of thirst and exposure. Fresh off his last adventure (since Link's Awakening was designed as a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, so it stars the same Link), it's the only thing in his mind to keep him busy as he drifts. This also explains the similarities to the last game even when they don't make sense -- for example, there's a castle on Koholint that no one lives in, and what are the odds that both places have a sacred flying rooster? At the end, with the Wind Fish awake, Link dies at sea, alone, but happy.
* [[FlatWhat ...What?]] If the dream was all in Link's head, yet the Wind Fish was real, how did Link know him to be able to dream about him? Since when did Hyrule have a sacred flying rooster? And why the heck would Link die ''happily?''
* This no longer works, since the Link of the ''Oracle'' games is the same Link and the timeline has been retconned to have them take place after ''Link's Awakening''. But even then, there is no flying rooster in ''A Link to the Past'' so it's not something Link would remember. The Flute Boy's bird is a duck.
* To add to this, some were speculating after the Switch remake that the Wind Fish is the guardian of the dreams of mortals. Good thing considering Link must have had a lot of nightmares and self-doubt, being the hero of a land that doesn't need him anymore.

The whale god had been sleeping for thousands of years as it was, after the [[EldritchAbomination Nightmares invaded]] his subconscious and dreams. Unable to even wake up, he was gradually losing all control of his body and mind, and panicked, fearing the Nightmares would [[DemonicPossession use him and his powers]] to wreak havoc upon the outside world. Sensing a nearby vitreous hero sailing by, who possessed enough wisdom and courage [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to overcome their evil]], he summoned up a sudden storm to bring Link to him and into his dreams.

[WMG: The Wind Fish conjured up the storm in the prologue.]]

* Seemingly {{Jossed}} with the Switch remake. The official timeline was updated to put this game before ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' rather than after, but still treats all four games (including ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' as the same Link. It's speculated that this is ''entirely'' to avoid the possibility of FridgeHorror.

* While the guess is a possibility, the reason isn't. Chain Chomps, Cheep Cheeps, Bob-ombs, Pokeys, Thwomps, and Lakitus are all in other games, including some that take place after ''Link's Awakening''. Spiked Beetles have a different English name but share their Japanese name with Spinies, and also appear in multiple games in the ''Zelda'' series. If they were part of the Wind Fish's dream, they should only exist on Koholint Island and only during the time the Wind Fish was sleeping.

** From the Meta point of view, Malon and Talon were based off Marin and Tarin. In-game, if you take the WMG Timeline proposal from above, it could be that Link was dreaming about the people he met in the Oracle games.
*** Given the retcon to the timeline, this no longer works. However, Malon appears in ''Minish Cap'', meaning the Wind Fish could have remembered her from long ago.

* This game has several other references to the Mario games, and Tarin has some similarities to Mario, so why not? (So, would that mean that the "it sure was fun" line of dialog was self-promotion by Nintendo?)
** This seem to be less WMG and more extrapolation; the connections seems obvious to me.

* Hence the ridiculously high prices and killing you if you steal anything: he's doing everything he can to stop you from waking the Wind Fish.

* There were no real people on the island that disappeared at the end. Everybody was just part of the dream, so when you wake up, no one's really "gone." The Wind Fish just stopped dreaming about them. Marin, who dreamed of being free and who once tried to go wake the Wind Fish, was a part of the Wind Fish's mind that was trying to wake himself up from the dream. The perfect ending was more symbolic than anything.

* The entire game is a dream or hallucination by Link as he's floating out at sea, slowly dying of thirst and exposure. Fresh off his last adventure (since Link's Awakening was designed as a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, so it stars the same Link), it's the only thing in his mind to keep him busy as he drifts. This also explains the similarities to the last game even when they don't make sense -- for example, there's a castle on Koholint that no one lives in, and what are the odds that both places have a sacred flying rooster? At the end, with the Wind Fish awake, Link dies at sea, alone, but happy.
** [[FlatWhat ...What?]] If the dream was all in Link's head, yet the Wind Fish was real, how did Link know him to be able to dream about him? Since when did Hyrule have a sacred flying rooster? And why the heck would Link die ''happily?''
** This no longer works, since the Link of the ''Oracle'' games is the same Link and the timeline has been retconned to have them take place after ''Link's Awakening''. But even then, there is no flying rooster in ''A Link to the Past'' so it's not something Link would remember. The Flute Boy's bird is a duck.
** To add to this, some were speculating after the Switch remake that the Wind Fish is the guardian of the dreams of mortals. Good thing considering Link must have had a lot of nightmares and self-doubt, being the hero of a land that doesn't need him anymore.

* How long has been the Wind Fish sleeping? Why can it only wake up to music? Simply, he is an EldritchAbomination, although not a malicious one. He lies sleeping in the ocean and was invaded by Nightmare. Link, who was traveling the ocean, encounters a storm (in reality, the portal to the Wind Fish's dream) because he is summoned by the deity to help him. Koholint and its inhabitants are simply AFormYouAreComfortableWith for Link that got too real. Marin is "real" in the sense that the Wind Fish made her real, probably knowing the fondness of Link for her, and as a thank-you gift for destroying the Nightmare.

* It's generally accepted that ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' goes after ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', a game that is accepted to be in the Child Timeline. So, the Ocean King is simply another version of the Wind Fish; both summon Link to their respective dream realms (Koholint Island/World of The Ocean King) to fight a malicious invasion (The Nightmare/Bellum).

* Levias is a giant flying whale that serves as the guardian deity of Skyloft. In the child timeline, he just happens to be surfing one day when the Nightmares possess him, and he pulls Link in to help him. Or, perhaps, by that point in the child timeline, Skyloft's been abandoned or destroyed, so he's just a wandering spirit that still retains power, but has no official position. And in the adult timeline, Hyrule is flooded up to around the same level as Skyloft, so he's repurposed from a guardian of the sky to a guardian of the ocean.
** This doesn't make a whole lot of sense given the visual differences between them, particularly that Levias looks significantly older and more battle-worn than the Wind Fish. They're also based on different types of whales, and Levias has a bony plate on his head that the Wind Fish lacks. ''Breath of the Wild'' has a hint about Levias as well, and that game takes place thousands of years in the future from either game: [[spoiler:the Eldin Great Skeleton is implied to be Levias' remains, and still has the bony plate.]]

* If you die at some point in the game, then you may continue as normal for video games, but you no longer get the ending where Marin leaves the dream. In this case, it's more than a game mechanic. If Link dies, Marin wishes that he could remain alive. The Wind Fish grants this by allowing Link to survive as long as he wants inside the dream. Unfortunately, this uses up Marin's one wish. If you beat the game without dying, her wish remains unspent, so the Wind Fish grants her the wish she wanted for herself: to become a seagull.

* Since the game is taking place in Link's dream, we get an insight on his morals. If he steals from the shop, he will make the judgment that he is a THIEF and will take it to the grave because of his guilt.

* Hot Head (the boss from Turtle Rock) is on fire, and you fight him in a lava pit by shooting fireballs at him. It makes no sense that fire would hurt a fire creature, unless Hot Head fell in the lava pit and was trying to escape when Link found him. However, burning to death would take him too long, that's why the boss is only defeated when Link shoots even more fire at him, accelerating the process.

* After defeating the Nightmares, the Owl reveals himself as part of the Wind Fish's spirit and states that it's the guardian of his dream world before describing how the Nightmares appeared and tried to keep the Wind Fish from waking. The fact that the Owl has that title and the way he explains it suggests that the creation of the island in his dreams is a regular occurrence, meaning what happens at the end of the game isn't as much of an apocalypse as was previously thought, and explaining why the Wind Fish is okay with being awakened and erasing it without a second thought -- it'll reappear the next time he goes to sleep, and he knows that.

* A theory older than the Internet. This is no dream. Koholint is the world of Hyrule's temporary abode for all mortals, animals, and monsters whose [[OurSoulsAreDifferent spirits have passed on]] and have gathered together in [[SpiritWorld a tropical paradise (sorta like the Halls of Mandos from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos)]]. The Wind Fish [[{{Shinigami}} is the God of Death]]. He is the slumbering guardian of this island. He serves as Hyrule's [[DontFearTheReaper benevolent "grim reaper"]], and when the [[CelestialBureaucracy number of resident spirits have reached a certain level]], he awakens, and everyone disappears into him. [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence They depart with him to an unknown place, known by only the old gods awaiting them themselves.]] The recycle has repeated, and will be repeated, indefinitely. [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath He will not allow any soul to leave this realm and escape back to the world of the living.]] All the deceased here have all [[DeathAmnesia forgotten their previous existences]]. Link, however, still retains his memories of his former life. He isn't ready to pass on, he's too young, [[UnfinishedBusiness and Hyrule still needs him]]. He refuses to await the inevitable passing [[FluffyCloudHeaven into the Heavens]]. Link intends to be preemptive [[HijackingCthulhu and awaken the Death God before his preordained time]]. He wants [[StairwayToHeaven to climb before the Wind Fish]] and, [[BarredFromTheAfterlife isolating himself from the Island and its god's summons]], be reunited with his body. The monsters, inspired by this, become increasingly violent, [[RefusingParadise and don't want to pass on either]]. They instead seek to ensure the Wind Fish ''never wakes up'' to escort them into the afterlife and they can rule over this isle in limbo.
** Consequently, if the monsters succeed with their plan, no one's spirit will ever be able to leave, or pass on.
** The Monsters are defeated one-by-one [[TheProblemWithFightingDeath and unwillingly return to their death god]]. Link, however, makes it and escapes (for now), though Marin has been ''long'' dead and thus is unable to return to her physical body and is still in the Koholint Island realm, being absorbed along with everyone into the Wind Fish's being, to ascend to the divine. She still wants to see so much of the world of the living, [[WingedSoulFliesOffAtDeath though in the end, she is forced to rise up to the heavens]].
** Seemingly {{Jossed}} with the Switch remake. The official timeline was updated to put this game before ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' rather than after, but still treats all four games (including ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' as the same Link. It's speculated that this is ''entirely'' to avoid the possibility of FridgeHorror.

* Seagulls rarely rarely venture far out in the sea, and Marin turns/gets reincarnated into one in the "Good" ending.
** Seagulls are actually noted for following ships and whales for miles out to sea, and sometimes even just following schools of fish that swim near the surface. But Marin becoming a seagull shouldn't have an effect on how far out to sea Link is.

* Marin was simply a seagull that was caught in the same dream as Link. The Nightmares are the only actual inhabitants of Koholint, hence why they're the only ones aware of the world's true nature. The {{NPC}}s are all merely people and animals that have been trapped in the same dream.
** In that same vein, Tarin may have really ''been'' a raccoon (tanuki?) who simply remembered his true form when he ate that mushroom instead of being {{Baleful Polymorph}}ed into one.

* It'd explain not only why Koholint is a mishmash of elements from previous Zelda games, but also the presence of Goombas, Piranha Plants, malevolent Kirbys, a reformed Wart and a photograph of Princess Peach. Marin and Tarin's uncanny resemblance to Malon and Talon from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' may be the result of the Wind Fish having been around during the events of the previous game, albeit not physically present -- perhaps the Wind Fish has RealityWarper powers while he's dreaming?
** ''Ocarina of Time'' actually came out five years ''after'' the original release of ''Link's Awakening''.
** That means the Wind Fish is LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya.
** Or, if you want an in-universe identity, he's Levias from ''Skyward Sword''.
*** Levias has too many differences to the Wind Fish to be the same individual, and ''Breath of the Wild'' hints that both are present ([[FridgeHorror although not in a good way]]).

* Whale with lots of power? Sounds like the Ocean King. He could be sleepy from all that fighting against Bellum and needed a nap. This would also mean that cross-timeline traveling is possible for beings of that power, since this is presumed to be a sequel to [=ALttP=] and that is stated to be Child Timeline.
** Cross-Timeline travel? You're heading into TimeyWimeyBall territory...However, another popular theory is that Link's Awakening is the sequel to the Oracle games (as a sequel to A Link to the Past, but in no way related to Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass), as in the ending credits of the linked game, Link sails away on a ship suspiciously similar to that in the Link's Awakening opening credits.
** Alternatively, because it's a different timeline, Bellum is an Alternate Universe Nightmare, or the same entity with a different name. Basically, it's Link's Awakening from the "Adult Timeline" instead of the "Link Dying" timeline. This would also mean that there might be another in the "Child Timeline" if the "Wind Fish, Ocean King" has a counterpart there.
*** Maybe the events of both games take place at the same time but in different timelines (i.e., the same number of years have passed since ''Ocarina of Time''). This would be like how ''Twilight Princess'' and ''The Wind Waker'' are implied to take place roughly parallel to each other, which has led to WMG about them as well. Differences in the timeline could have led to the Wind Fish being given a different name, or for different members of the same species/tribe/whatever being targeted instead.

* Is there anyone else who could dream up a world with both Zelda characters and Mario enemies?
** Yes. Any Nintendo fan. Wait...
** Miyamoto actually had little involvement in the game, with Kensuke Tanabe being the lead script writer and the inclusion of Mario characters basically done as a joke without asking permission.

* Fans that would die to see a Mario/Zelda crossover. After being woke up, the Wind Fish tried to accomplish this, turning it UpToEleven, and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' came to be.

* It explains the similarity Marin and Tarin have to Malon and Talon. Plus how some characters reappear in the Oracle games.

** This no longer works, since the Link of the ''Oracle'' games is the same Link and the timeline has been retconned to have them take place after ''Link's Awakening''. But even then, there is no flying rooster in ''A Link to the Past'' so it's not something Link would remember.

*** Actually confirmed except for the Roc's Feather. The bracelet and boots are now assigned to the trigger buttons permanently.

** Confirmed.

** Hero mode confirmed.

Mario enemy exists in this series because they were dream up by the Wind Fish.

Just like [[VideoGame/{{Earthbound Magicant]], Koholint Island is a dream world where the main goal is to defeat a Nightmare and wake up afterwards. What's more, you collect eight instruments to create one song that helps the guardian of the dreamworld (Queen Mary/The Wind Fish) wake up. The two-person part is that Link's arrival ended up tainting Magicant with his own memories, creating Koholint Island.

** {{Jossed}}. The ''Link's Awakening'' Link amiibo unlocks the Dark Link Chamber Stone, allowing him to be used as a miniboss in Chamber Dungeons. Otherwise, amiibo are used to save dungeon designs for later use or to share with other players.

Just like Magicant, Koholint Island is a dream world where the main goal is to defeat a Nightmare and wake up afterwards. What's more, you collect eight instruments to create one song that helps the guardian of the dreamworld (Queen Mary/The Wind Fish) wake up. The two-person part is that Link's arrival ended up tainting Magicant with his own memories, creating Koholint Island.
* ...some background here, what on Earth is a Magicant?
** Play the Mother series

* After defeating the Nightmares, the Owl reveals himself as part of the Wind Fish's spirit and states that it's the guardian of his dream world before describing how the Nightmares appeared and tried to keep the Wind Fish from waking. The fact that the Owl has that title and the way he explains it suggests that the creation of the island in his dreams is a regular occurrence, meaning what happens at the end of the game isn't as much of an apocalypse as was previously thought, and explaining why the Wind Fish is okay with being woken and erasing it without a second thought -- it'll reappear the next time he goes to sleep, and he knows that.

Mario enemy exists in this series because they were dream up by the Wind Fish.

* After defeating the Nightmares, the Owl reveals himself as part of the Wind Fish's spirit and states that it's the guardian of his dream world before describing how the Nightmares appeared and tried to keep the Wind Fish from waking. The fact that the Owl has that title and the way he explains it suggests that the creation of the island in his dreams is a regular occurrence, meaning what happens at the end of the game isn't as much of an apocalypse as was previously thought, and explaining why the Wind Fish is okay with being woken and erasing it without a second thought -- it'll reappear the next time he goes to sleep, and he knows that.

* The Shoplifting photo will either be removed or still accessable with less consiquences.

* The Western changes in the original (I.E the mermaid's bra being replaced with the necklace) Will carry over to the japanese version.

** Cameo from other Nintendo Games by using the respective ambiio.

** Cameo from other Nintendo Games by using the respective ambiio.

* Amiibo features.

* The Wind Fish's Egg will be converted into a proper dungeon rather then the maze in the original.

* The secret ending will happen regardless if the player dies or not.

* A multiplayer mode like which was originally concepted for the original game but scrapped early on.

* An extra scene in the ending showing Link actually returning to Hyrule, rather than leaving the player to wonder if he was left for dead in the ocean.