History YMMV / TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening

* {{Narm}}: In the Switch remake, you can utilize a glitch to keep [=BowWow=] past the point where you are supposed to return him to Madam Meow Meow. Doing this will have Bow Wow cheerfully nibbling on Link's ass during the aforementioned moment with Marin on the beach, completely destroying the romantic mood.

** Examining a dresser in the Game Boy releases produces the message "Link checked the chest. Wow! This is a nice chest!" This text was changed in the Switch remake; the dressers are called dressers instead of chests and examining them produces the message "Link checked out the dresser. Yep! Everything checks out!" However, the dresser in Crazy Tracy's house, of all characters, still has the original "chest" description.

* MemeticBadass: The [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass shopkeeper]] who will instantly OneHitKill Link by [[ShockAndAwe summoning lightning from his hands and shocking him to death]] if you [[FiveFingerDiscount steal from him]] and [[WhatAnIdiot come back]]. It makes one wonder why [[YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood he doesn't go on the quest to save everyone rather than Link]], since he's [[PhysicalGod apparently far more powerful than Link could ever hope to be]]. He has a reputation as possibly the most powerful character in the entire series because of this. Not even ''[[GreaterScopeVillain Ganondorf]]'' can just [[StoryBreakerPower instantly murder Link without batting an eye]] the way that this guy does.[[note]]It may have something to do with the fact that [[spoiler:he and everyone else on the island are AllJustADream]].[[/note]]

* EsotericHappyEnding: Link's stranded in the middle of the ocean at the end of the game. [[spoiler:The implications of this are alleviated in the presumably canonical secret ending, in which Marin becomes either a winged girl or a seagull who can guide him to shore or fetch someone to rescue him.]]

** Guardian Acorns and Pieces of Power, due to their [[MostAnnoyingSound repetitive jingle]] interrupting the music whenever one is active, as well as a long dialogue box appearing every time they're picked up, which can't even be skipped in ''DX''. This is somewhat fixed in the remake by toning down the annoyance of the jingle and having the item run on a timer, rather than persisting until Link takes enough damage.

** Guardian Acorns and Pieces of Power, due to their repetitive jingle interrupting the music whenever one is active, as well as a long dialogue box appearing every time they're picked up, which can't even be skipped in ''DX''. This is somewhat fixed in the remake by toning down the annoyance of the jingle and having the item run on a timer, rather than persisting until Link takes enough damage.

** Eagle's Tower includes four pillars that have to be knocked down to make the upper levels crash down on the lower ones. This involves carrying around a metal ball that can be hard to move without it falling down a pit a respawning in its original room. And it's entirely possible to glitch the ball and have it materialize in a spot you can't reach. [[UnwinnableByMistake Hooray!]]

* ItsShortSoItSucks: The game, both the original and the Switch remake, were criticized for its relatively short length. Though the game sports the series' usual nine dungeons format, plus an additional four mini-dungeons, the condensed overworld and having little in terms of sidequests meant that the game could be beaten in approximately ten hours, which is short by ''Zelda'' standards.

* ItWasHisSled: The true nature of Koholint is well-known among the ''Zelda'' fanbase, even among the fans who never played the game.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: While it's not a universal opinion, the Switch remake did receive criticism for being largely the same as the original Game Boy version. The only real differences are the patched up mechanics and the addition of the Dungeon Maker.
* ItsShortSoItSucks: The game, both the original and the Switch remake, were criticized for its relatively short length. Though the game sports the series' usual nine dungeons format, plus an additional four mini-dungeons, the smaller overworld and having little in terms of sidequests meant that the game could be beaten in approximately ten hours.

* ItsShortSoItSucks: The Switch remake has been criticized by some for charging $60 USD for what is essentially a Game Boy game reskin that can be beaten in about 10 hours (especially because the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild previous Zelda game]] was easily a 100+ hour experience for the same price, and two other game remakes released in 2017 and 2018, ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' and ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'', respectively, both released for $40 USD as ''three games'' in one), with the only major addition being a dungeon-maker.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:

* {{Padding}}: The sequence between Levels 4 and 5 where a ghost starts following Link, requiring the player to visit his house by the beach, and then return him to his grave. This part has no bearing on the plot whatsoever, is never mentioned again, and no item is acquired upon completing it, but it is nevertheless mandatory, as attempting to go to Level 5 while the ghost is in tow will only result in him nagging you. That being said, it's an interesting story beat that helps to reinforce the game's themes of existentialism; the ghost having to let go of his past reflects the similar message that Link can't stay on Koholint Island forever.

* GoodBadTranslation: The "Bucket Mouse" answering the phone in Old Man Ulrira's house [[https://www.glitterberri.com/links-awakening/staff-questionnaire/ is actually meant to be a reference to the fishing shop Bucketmouth in Osaka, Japan.]] But this inside joke would go over English speakers' heads, and the idea of a talking mouse with a telephone living in a bucket somewhere on Koholint Island is pretty amusing in its own right.

** The remake's near faithfulness to the Game Boy original has also been divisive. Some are absolutely fine with it due to the game already being great as it, and are happy to see the game's unique identity and design be preserved with only a few quality of life additions to it to make it that much better. Others felt it was [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too faithful]] for its own good (especially since it's at the same price tag as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', despite the remake being a far smaller and less substantive game by comparison) and wished the remake took more creative liberties and added more new content outside of the dungeon maker.

** ''Link's Awakening'' isn't the first handheld Zelda game. That goes to the Zelda UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch game, released in 1989. It is the first traditional Zelda game on a handheld however.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:

** In the Switch version, you can skip Kanalet Castle by clipping into Richard's backyard to grab the Slime Key (which involves jumping and dying in mid-air via a bomb explosion while landing on top of a fox (on loan from Mabe Village), then reviving using the Secret Medicine, which respawns you on top of the fence). This has the side effect of letting you keep [=BowWow=] past the Bottle Grotto, and even taking him into the cutscene where Marin and Link sit on the beach, which totally spoils the mood of an otherwise poignant cutscene. Unfortunately, you still can't keep [=BowWow=] forever, since he disappears once the game reloads while Marin is in your party.

** While every ''Zelda'' game on a new platform has advanced the series in one way or another (and they've always been good games), ''Link's Awakening'' was the first to be truly narrative-driven and to include NPC characters with distinct likeable personalities (which, among other things, led to Marin becoming one of the most perennially-popular "Zelda girls" alongside the titular deuteragonist). The game's predecessor, ''A Link to the Past'', told a fairly typical hero's journey story about a young knight and a princess. ''Link's Awakening'' features the series's first dive into existentialism, which would remain a running theme with the series through its run.

** The remake’s near faithfulness to the Gameboy original has also been divisive. Some are absolutely fine with it due to the game already being great as it and are happy to see the game’s unique identity and design be preserved with only a few quality of life additions to it to make it that much better, while others felt it was [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too faithful]] for it’s own good (especially since it’s at the same price tag as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', despite the remake being a far smaller and less substantive game by comparison) and wished the remake took more creative liberties and added more new content outside of the dungeon maker.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGCL0EPSZxU This TAS]] exploits every possible good bad bug for all it's worth, for the sole purpose of moving faster and bypassing any and all time-consuming events. ''And this is the UpdatedRerelease version''. Watch for the incredible diagonal superdash! Marvel at how Link manages to walk straight over pits! Gaze at the technically-impossible hookshot tricks that'll leave your brain in a seizure!

** The remake’s near faithfulness to the Gameboy original has also been divisive. Some are absolutely find with it due to the game already being great as it and are happy to see the game’s unique identity and design be preserved with only a few Quality of Life additions to it to make it that much better, while others felt it was [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too faithful]] for it’s own good (especially since it’s at the same price tag as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', despite the remake being a far smaller and less substantive game by comparison) and wished the remake took more creative liberties than it did and added more new content outside of the dungeon maker.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: It requires little effort on the player's part to interpret the Wind Fish (and by extension, The Owl) as an UngratefulBastard after[[spoiler:it seemingly leaves Link stranded on the ocean at the end of the game]]. Other players have taken to alleviating some of the blame off of the Owl, based on a certain, different interpretation that he genuinely didn't know [[spoiler:what the island was or what would become of it]] when the Wind Fish woke up, and that [[spoiler:he and the Wind Fish only "caught up" with each other after the Nightmares were defeated. As he's revealed to be a part of the Wind Fish's spirit and even the designated "guardian" of his dream world, this would require some pretty selective awareness on the Owl's part if the two weren't in contact through the majority of the game,]] but that's not something the game covers in enough detail to fully dispute the idea.

* BrokenBase: The art style of the remake. Some find it to be incredibly unique, cute and charming and love how faithful it is to the original game’s sprites, while others found it to be unappealing and unfitting for ''Zelda'' and wished the art style resembled the original game’s promotional artwork or ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' instead.

* BrokenBase: The art style of the remake. Some find it to be incredibly unique, cute and charming and love how faithful it is to the original game’s sprites, while others find the toy-like designs and presentation to be unappealing and unfitting for ''Zelda'' and wished the art style resembled the original game’s promotional artwork or ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' instead.

* {{Woolseyism}}: The localization teams basically did their own things with the [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Cukemen]]. [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar Their German localization in the monochrome version]] is the most (in)famous, although the censors caught it by the time the ''DX'' version rolled around.

** The Switch remake [[AdaptedOut removing Bulldog moblins]] in the Switch version has drawn criticism as early as E3 2019. The reason being it turns the appearance of Bulldog Moblins (simply called “Moblins”) and Pig Moblins (called “Pig Warriors”) from a cool ContinuityNod into a DistinctionWithoutADifference.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** It requires little effort on the player's part to interpret the Wind Fish (and by extension, The Owl) as an UngratefulBastard in the ending (i.e. "[[SarcasmMode Gee, thanks for the ride home, fatso.]]").
** Conversely, some players have taken to alleviating some of the blame off of the Owl, based on a certain, different interpretation that he genuinely didn't know [[spoiler:what the island was or what would become of it]] when the Wind Fish woke up, at least not at the point when Link first read the relief, and that [[spoiler:he and the Wind Fish "caught up" with each other after the Nightmares were defeated,]] which allowed him to bring Link up to speed. [[spoiler:As he's revealed to be a part of the Wind Fish's spirit and even the designated "guardian" of his dream world, this would require some pretty selective awareness on the Owl's part if the two weren't in contact through the majority of the game,]] but that's not something the game covers in enough detail to fully dispute the idea.