History WMG / TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening

We know Link is a real person who lost consciousness while at sea and then found himself on Koholint Island. Marin also speaks of dreaming she was a seagull, and at the end we see a seagull, implied to be her. It's very possible that every other inhabitant of the island, save the Nightmares, are the same, real people, or animals, who have fallen asleep in the real world and got stuck in the Wind Fish's dream, and are unaware they are in a dream and that these aren't their "real" lives. Thus, when Link wakes up the Wind Fish, the dream ends, and the inhabitants of the island wake up in the real world. The issue of people finding themselves in the dream may be even more widespread than it first appears, as we see creatures from the Mario universe appearing on the island. It's entirely possible Mamu is actually Wart, fallen asleep and found himself in the dream. This also aids to differentiate the Nightmares from the other inhabitants. While everyone else is a creature trapped in the dream, the Nightmares are actually part of the dream and will cease to be when it ends. This theory would change how the ending would be perceived. The game treats the Wind Fish waking up as a good thing, but if the act of doing that condemns the inhabitants of the island to non-existence, then maybe the ending isn't such a good thing after all. If however, the inhabitants are real people outside the island, then this ending would be a good thing for everyone. Well, everyone save the Nightmares.

We know Link is a real person, and Marin is a seagull in the real world, it's very possible that every other inhabitant of the island, save the Nightmares, are real people, or animals, who have fallen asleep in the real world and got stuck in the Wind Fish's dream, and are unaware they are in a dream and that these aren't their "real" lives. Thus, when Link wakes up the Wind Fish, the dream ends, and the inhabitants of the island wake up in the real world. This also aids to differentiate the Nightmares from the other inhabitants. While everyone else is a creature trapped in the dream, the Nightmares are actually part of the dream and will cease to be when it ends. This theory would change how the ending would be perceived. The game treats the Wind Fish waking up as a good thing, but if the act of doing that condemns the inhabitants of the island to non-existence, that would be controversial. If however, the inhabitants are ral people outside the island, then this ending would be a good thing for everyone. Well, everyone save the Nightmares.

We know Link is a real person, and Marin is a seagull in the real world, it's very possible that every other inhabitant of the island, save the Nightmares, are real people, or animals, who have fallen asleep in the real world and got stuck in the Wind Fish's dream, and are unaware they are in a dream and that these aren't their "real" lives. Thus, when Link wakes up the Wind Fish, the dream ends, and the inhabitants of the island wake up in the real world.

[[WMG: Link [[DeadToBeginWith died in the prologue's storm]]. Koholint is the [[AfterlifeAntechamber Land of the Dead]].]]
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.

[[WMG: Link dies in the Regular Ending but survives in the Good Ending.]]
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.

[[WMG: Marin was always a seagull.]]
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 [[ForcedTransformation transformed]] into one.

[[WMG: The people and monsters on the island were fake, but based on real people.]]
It explains the similarity Marin and Tarin have to Malon and Talon. Plus how some characters reappear in the Oracle games.
* 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.

[[WMG: Tarin's transformation is a reference to the leaf and tanuki suit powerups in VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3.]]
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.

[[WMG: The shopkeeper is one of the Nightmares masquerading as a human.]]
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.

[[WMG: Marin was a lucid dream.]]
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.

[[WMG: Marin may make exactly one wish to the Wind Fish]]
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.

[[WMG: Hot Head was dying when Link fought him]]
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.

[[WMG: Marin is Link's dream, not the Wind Fish's]]
Marin is Link's idea of what Zelda would be like if she was not a princess, thus not busy running a kingdom and can spend more time with him. If Link never dies, than the Wind Fish rewards him for all his hard work and grants her personality a body to explore the world in.

[[WMG: Link's Awakening Link is not real, just another dream of the Wind Fish.]]

Probably contradicts Hyrule Historia a bit, but wouldn't it be interesting for there to be multiple Links running about spreading the meme of the green-wearing swordsman further across the world?

[[WMG: The Nightmare is Vaati]]
He's trying to use the Wind Fish's dream to gain enough power to return to Hyrule in the Decline timeline, which is why his final form resembles Vaati's Wrath from ''The Minish Cap''.
* Also, keep in mind that Vaati is specifically referred to as a '''wind''' mage in ''Four Swords''. Him attacking the Wind Fish, if the Nightmare really is Vaati, may not be a coincidence.
* At this point in the timeline, though, he should be trapped inside the Four Sword. So this would require an explanation for how he got out.
** Given that all of the Shadow Nightmare's forms are based on prior bosses, it could simply be copying Vaati's form like the rest.

[[WMG: Koholint Island is a rare two-person Magicant.]]
Just like [[VideoGame/{{Mother}} 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.

[[WMG: Koholint Island is a shared dream between Link and the Wind Fish, based on Link's experiences.]]
It might have started off as the Wind Fish's dream, but once Link entered the dream it changed. That's why everything on Koholint looks exactly like stuff from the Oracle games, because it's based on Link's memories.
* This seems to be at least partly implied, but very little in ''Link's Awakening'' that's shared with the ''Oracle'' games is unique to only those games. The retcon to the timeline also makes this explanation no longer work, but doesn't invalidate the concept.

[[WMG: Changes for the Switch Remake]]
* The Rocs feather and Pegasus boots getting assigned to their own buttons.
** And the Power Bracelet. Don't forget that.
*** Jossed. The gameplay trailer shows them assigned to the A and B buttons.
*** Actually confirmed except for the Roc's Feather. The bracelet and boots are now assigned to the A and trigger buttons permanently.
* The Shoplifting photo will either be removed or still accessable with less consequences.
** From the looks of things, the photo quest is out to make room for the dungeon builder.
*** Confirmed. The photo gallery is gone, and the consequences are the same as ever.
* New Sidequests and additions to the main story to make the game bigger.
** Jossed, for the most part. There are more Secret Seashells and Heart Containers but no new plot lines.
* An item that makes finding secret seashells easier like the Stone of Agony.
** Confirmed.
* The Western changes in the original (I.E the mermaid's bra being replaced with the necklace) Will carry over to the Japanese version.
** Confirmed.
* Hero mode, similar to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' and other more recent Zelda games. Or, a second quest with new versions of the dungeons.
** Hero mode confirmed. Second quest {{Jossed}}.
* The Color Dungeon will either be left in, or replaced with a new bonus dungeon based around some Switch feature, perhaps motion controls.
** The Color Dungeon was left in.
* 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.
* A multiplayer mode like which was originally concepted for the original game but scrapped early on.
** {{Jossed}}. There are no co-op features, and the only way to share dungeons is ''physically'' - saved to an amiibo and letting a friend borrow it.
* The secret ending will happen regardless if the player dies or not.
** Well, they have to block it off behind ''something''; otherwise, it wouldn't be a secret ending. It'd be dumb of them to take away the novelty of it by showing it no matter what.
** Alternatively, it will be for OneHundredPercentCompletion instead of no deaths.
** {{Jossed}}, it's still based on death count, making it the first Zelda game in years to include it.
* The Wind Fish's Egg will be converted into a proper dungeon rather then the maze in the original.
** [[spoiler:Sorry, but Jossed.]]
* Amiibo features.
** Cameo from other Nintendo Games by using the respective amiibo.
** {{Jossed}}. The ''Link's Awakening'' Link amiibo unlocks Dark Link while exploring a Chamber Dungeon, where he'll chase down Link. Otherwise, amiibo are used to save dungeon designs for later use or to share with other players.

[[WMG: Koholint Island appears and disappears regularly, coinciding with the Wind Fish's sleep schedule.]]
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.
* Alternatively, Koholint never disappears, but can't exist in the physical world while the Wind Fish is awake. It only exists in a dream world but its inhabitants continue their lives even so, with no idea that there is an "outside" while the Wind Fish sleeps (except Marin, who wanted to travel). The monsters/nightmares came from the physical world and lied to Link that Koholint would stop existing altogether so they could stay and take it over, because outsiders, unlike inhabitants, can't follow the island into the dream world. In the good ending, Marin was able to leave because the Wind Fish gave her the ability to go in and out of the dream world, though she could only be a seagull or winged girl while in the outside world.

[[WMG:The Wind Fish can, and has been, [[DimensionalTraveler dimension travelling]] to other universes including [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario's]].]]
Crossover enemies exist in this series because they were dreamt up by the Wind Fish.
* 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.

[[WMG: ''Link's Awakening'' is the result of Link taking a lot of acid.]]
The official explanation of the plot is that Link managed to wash up on an island that's a dream of a giant whale. However, considering the telephones, evil Kirbys and Goombas, aforementioned giant floating magic whale, and various other stuff, clearly what actually happened is that Link dropped some acid. Honestly, it makes a lot more sense than somehow winding up on an island in someone's dream.
* I thought the most common explanation was that ''LA'' was Link's hallucinations (or nightmares) as he succumbs to exposure on a piece of driftwood in the ocean, rather a nasty end for poor Link.
** Uh, then how do you explain him WAKING UP and seeing THE FREAKING WIND FISH at the end? He's clearly still alive. Whether he survived after THAT can be debated.
*** A giant whale that goes flying away on silly little bird wings? That sounds like something produced by severe delirium, oh, and Marin turning into a seagull/angel/?.
*** In a series featuring giant pig monsters? Not that unusual.

[[WMG: Contrary to popular belief, there was no dream apocalypse at the end of ''LA'']]
Oh sure, at the time, and from Link's perspective, it looked like one, but the alternate reality continued on whether or not Link was dreaming. The Wind Fish/oshus went into Hyrule's reality to thank Link and send him off.

[[WMG: There was dream apocalypse at the end of ''LA''...]]
Because none of it was actually real. The people in your dreams and daydreams don't actually exist, and neither did the ones the Wind Fish dreamed about -- an entity with memories of being Marin may well have been created in the wake of the dream, but that's it.

[[WMG:The Wind Fish has time travel capabilities.]]
Koholint Island has telephones and crane games, neither of which are in Hyrule as seen in ''A Link to the Past''. Since they can't have come to Koholint from Link's subconscious, they must come from the Wind Fish, who had traveled back in time from a period where Hyrule had roughly the technological level of the 1960's. (Coming from then also explains how trippy ''Link's Awakening'' is.)

[[WMG: The events in the game were not a dream at all.]]
At least they weren't Link's. In reality, Link was physically on the Island of Koholinth, but the island wasn't physically real (this leads to confusion). To make a long story short, the island was the Wind Fish's dream, as well as everyone on it (except for Link and the Wind Fish).
* Or it could be that the events on Koholint mirrored events happening in reality. Or Link brought peace to the real Koholint via Windfish magic as the Windfish "summons" him into a magic dream as he could not get Link to physically go to the island without using too much magic. The only reason the island will disappear is that it's a magic spell used to save the real one so... yeah. Link dies if he stays on the island too long because the Windfish would run out of magic and Link would get "lost" with the spell.

[[WMG: Alternately, Link is a dream Link.]]
It is him dreaming ''in sync with the Wind Fish''. Marin and Tarin are the dream versions of Malon and Talon. This also proves that ''Link's Awakening'' fits nowhere in the timeline.

* What about the real Link, who wakes up on the wreckage?
* Except [[AllThereInTheManual it is stated in the manual]] that ''Link's Awakening'' takes place directly after ''A Link to the Past''. Furthermore, Link is never dreaming. The island, the physical location Link washes up in, is the dream of the Wind Fish. As in, the dream, given flesh in the real world, is Koholint Island. For some reason, there's a lot of people that can't grasp this concept.

[[WMG: The reason why the boomerang is so powerful in this game.]]
It's not just as a reward for the lengthy quest to obtain it, it's Link's first and favorite item from the previous adventure of LTTP. It's a treasured memory, and thus in the dream world it's much more powerful than normal. It could also easily be Link's actual boomerang, lost like his sword and shield, and getting it back makes him so happy it has tangible effects.

[[WMG: The characters we meet are a mix of Link's memories of Hyrule in LTTP combined with the memories of the Wind Fish.]]
The world itself is a mishmash of his memories, which is why we get returning enemies and outright cameos of characters from Link to the Past. It's just combined with the sort of fuzzy recollection and dream logic- Link knows he's not in Hyrule, and also sees how unique the island is, so he's not conscious of the similarities between Marin and Zelda, Tarin and his Uncle, and doesn't find the myriad inhabitants of the world strange. Marin might very well be a dreaming seagull, but to Link, she looks like a casual islander Zelda. The entire island has a feeling of warped nostalgia, hearkening back to locations and enemies from Link to the Past, but arranged in new, unique fashion. The remake emphasizes this by having the island seem to be made out of toys, the remake being a nostalgic memory of a memory of games. So the island exists as a living memory, which makes it's dissolution all the more tragic, and why Koholint will always only exist in Link's memory of a dream.
[[WMG: The shopkeeper is Koholint's version of the Happy Mask Salesman (and possibly [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Rupin]])]]
He has the same general appearance as the HMS/Rupin, except for having his head shaved bald. He also has a jovial, yet unsettling, demeanor, he is prone to terrifying rage when upset with Link, and his ability to shoot lightning suggests that he is some kind of spiritual/otherworldly being.

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.

Koholint Island has telephones and crane games, neither of which are in Hyrule as seen in ''A Link to the Past''. Since they can't have come to Koholint from Link's subconscious, they must come from the Wind Fish, who had traveled back in time from a period where Hyrule had roughly the technological level of the 1960's. (Coming from then also explains [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs how trippy]] ''Link's Awakening'' is.)

* That means the Wind Fish is LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya.

* 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.

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.