Line #12 NightmareFuel/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening


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2	[[caption-width-right:320:The fate of all those who faced Moldorm.]]
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4	Prior to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', there was one game that pioneered the Zeldaverse in portable form. Its name is ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''.
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6	The game's mission was bringing the refined gameplay from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' on portables, but back then nobody could possibly predict it would have brought the series' well-known-by-now [[NightmareFuel/TheLegendOfZelda scare factor]] as well.
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8	'''WARNING: Per wiki policy, Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to Nightmare Fuel pages. All spoilers will be unmarked.'''
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10	* When the true nature of Koholint is revealed, the player is faced with a MortonsFork. Do they proceed knowing the consequences of their actions? Or stop just before the final boss? The meaning of the cryptic owl statues is made clear: if Link does not escape the Wind Fish's dream, he'll age away and die of natural causes. As bad as that sounds, there's no guarantee he'll even pass on, as there are ghosts on the island. The hero will [[BarredFromTheAfterLife linger in this world for all eternity as a spirit.]]
11	** And if Link's spirit ''is'' trapped in this world for eternity, will he be able to reincarnate? When Ganon returns in the first game, will a Link rise to meet him? Or will he return unopposed?
12	*** This one at least has a small consolation: while all Links possess the Spirit of the Hero, they aren't all reincarnations of the same soul. The Link from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'' is still alive during the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', if Zelda and Niko's comments are true. So there are two Links alive at the same time, both possessing the Hero's Spirit. Then there's the case of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''[=/=]''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' Link existing as a ghost while a new hero takes his place. So a new Link COULD be born in the world, at least.
13	* The game ends with a DreamApocalypse: you've just erased Koholint Island from existence. Tarin, the villagers, the animals, Bow-Wow the Chain Chomp... none of them exist anymore. Unless you [[ThatOneAchievement finish the game without dying]] and unlock the special ending, even Marin is among the casualties.
14	** It's possible that Koholint doesn't cease to exist, given other games in the series like ''Phantom Hourglass'' involve a similar premise (though much more of a surprise). In which case it will return when the Wind Fish sleeps again.
15	* The southern Face Shrine as a whole is pretty disturbing for an 8-bit Zelda game, with the eerie fresco, the apocalyptic messages, and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUf07IdSPFQ somber music]]. It's also where the island's [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]] is discovered.
16	--> "TO THE FINDER... [[TheReveal THE ISLE OF KOHOLINT, IS BUT AN ILLUSION...]] HUMAN, MONSTER, SEA, SKY... A SCENE ON THE LID OF A SLEEPER'S EYE... AWAKE THE DREAMER, AND [[DreamApocalypse KOHOLINT WILL VANISH MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE ON A NEEDLE...]] CAST-AWAY, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH!"
17	* The first real hint about the true nature of the island comes after you defeat Slime Eel, the boss of Catfish's Maw. This is the first boss that speaks to Link after its defeat, and it gives you a very ominous speech, accompanied by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCfVs7YyVa0 some very foreboding and sinister music]]. This can be very unnerving for a first-time player.
18	--> "TSSSK, TSSSK! You don't ssseem to know what kind of island this iss... KEEE-HEE-HEEE! What a fool... KEE-HEE-HEH!!"
19	** The remaining three bosses have their own post-battle speeches. Facade just reiterates that waking the Wind Fish will destroy the island, but Evil Eagle and Hot Head leave you with a chilling question: If you wake up the Wind Fish and end the dream with you in it... do you die with them?
20	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0zqju5Eevc Key Cavern's BGM]] starts a bit too loud, [[JumpScare which can make the moment you enter the dungeon pretty unnerving the first time around.]]
21	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7hghjDM7_I The original BGM for the Catfish's Maw]] has a mysterious and oddly threatening sound to it, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdbNBCouh7w the remake's rendition]] flat-out turns it into something straight out of a horror movie.
22	* The shopkeeper has one rule of thumb: ShopliftAndDie. You actually can get away with stealing: after getting out of the shop fine, the game goes, "You got it for free! Are you proud of yourself?", then a few hours later you forget all about it. The problem is, the shopkeeper didn't forget: he is just standing there before he - no kidding - delivers a OneHitKill with a [[ShockAndAwe lightning attack]] if you happen to access the shop again.
23	** Which means that if you're trying for the best ending, once you steal from him ''you can never return to the shop again, [[MarkOfShame THIEF]]''.
24	** There's something rather shady-looking about the shopkeeper. He has a creepy perpetual smile the entire time (even just before he kills you), and is always rubbing his hands in a methodical way. It's almost as if he's ''waiting'' for someone to shoplift from him, just so he'll have an excuse to kill someone.
25	** This secret has been [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j4gsoOcuZU&t=4m58s shown off in the HD remake]] and it is arguably more unsettling than the original. For starters, the shopkeeper had a constant SlasherSmile on his face that never changed. Here, he has a joyous, beaming grin on his face right up until he says [[PreMortemOneLiner "Now you'll pay the ultimate price!"]], at that point he looks ''furious''. Also, it is ambiguous as to what exactly he did to Link in the original due to the lack of graphics, as he could have just shot him with a weapon. Here? He surrounds himself with electricity and blasts Link with his hands, Palpatine style. Finally, after Link keels over, he just... stands there, his big, dopey grin back on, looking very satisfied that he just fried a child. The new Game Over screen fading to sepia as everything freezes still like a horror movie is the cherry on top of it all.
26	* If you get knocked off the edge of the arena by the first boss, you won't just respawn with half a heart missing like in the rest of the game, oh no. You'll find yourself in some kind of execution chamber with skeletons hanging by chains from the ceiling (pictured).
27	* [[https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/zelda_gamepedia_en/d/d3/LADX_Dodongo_Snake_Sprite.png?version=b045e3b89e5f0b1e42b025add4f9696d Dodongo Snakes]], an enemy unique to this game. They don't even attack you, but their shiny black ball-like design, their lack of any facial features but a gaping, grinning mouth and the fact that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmHa3hkpeAo the super-frantic miniboss music]] starts playing whenever you face them is more than a little unnerving.
28	* The final battle with the Nightmares takes on an extra edge when you realize they're using the shape of Link's personal nightmares to fight back. This implies the battles with Agahnim and Ganon in ''A Link to the Past'' had such an impact on you that deep down, you're still scared of them. And the Nightmares are exploiting that fear to defeat you. What's more, when you get to the final form, the Nightmares lose all shape and reason (though what Nightmares ARE reasonable?) and turn into the Lovecraftian mass known as [=DethI=] (pronounced "Death Eye"), wildly swinging in some vain hope of taking you down.
29	* The player is left with an ''existential nightmare'' after completing the game. When Koholint Island suffers a DreamApocalypse, all are the characters of this magical world just dead? [[CessationOfExistence Or have they been erased from existence?]] An ApocalypseHow "Z" class? Or will they be [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnated]] somehow? Do they live on in an alternate reality? Do they survive in Link's memories in the waking world? [[HopeIsScary Or were they never real to begin with?]]
30	** Other games in the series with a similar premise like ''Phantom Hourglass'' treat it as existing in another world, only connected to ours through the dream of their guardian. So it's possible while Marin is allowed to come to our world and sing for people, flying as a seagull from place to place, the rest of the island will at least come back when the Wind Fish sleeps again. Perhaps even without noticing they ever disappeared at all.
31	* The Wind Fish's Egg may not be a traditional, enemy-infested final dungeon, but what it lacks in action, it makes up for with an unsettling atmosphere. A whole bunch of small identical rooms, [[NothingIsScarier completely empty]], that lead into each other, with no clear path through, [[HellIsThatNoise accompanied by]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5BWWzzwlF0 one of the most minimalistic and unsettling tracks ever produced on a 4-bit soundchip]], featuring a chilling DarkReprise of "Ballad of the Wind Fish".
32	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNganhXL8k8 The Switch version]] makes it even creepier with ethereal moaning to accompany the music.

Context NightmareFuel / TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening