Link's Awakening came out for the Game Boy in Japan on 6 June 1993 and was the first handheld Zelda game. It started as an unofficial after-hours project, after Kazuaki Morita built a Zelda-like prototype on an early Game Boy development kit. Director Takashi Tezuka wanted the island and its strange inhabitants to evoke the TV series Twin Peaks. Yoshiaki Koizumi wrote the main story and Kensuke Tanabe most of the dialogue, and the music is by Minako Hamano, Kozue Ishikawa and Kazumi Totaka.
It was the first top-down Zelda in which Link can jump, and it introduced fishing, the trading sequence and ocarina songs. Cameos include Yoshi, Kirby, Wart, Chain Chomps and Dr. Wright from SimCity, renamed “Mr. Write.”
The English version followed in August 1993 in North America and in December in Europe. In 1998 the colour edition DX appeared, and in 2019 Grezzo released a full 3D remake for Switch, which opened at number one on Japan's Famitsu chart with 141,000 copies in its first week.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Game Boy | Aug 6, 1993 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島Zeruda no Densetsu: Yume o Miru ShimaDate also in Japanese Wikipedia | Game Boy | Jun 6, 1993 | Nintendo | 1 |
| EU | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Game Boy | Dec 1, 1993 | Nintendo | 1 |
| WW | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DXColour version released to promote the Game Boy Color; also runs on the original Game Boy | Game Boy Color | 1998 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島DXVirtual Console (DX); no printer support; the 3DS eShop has since closed | Nintendo 3DS | Jun 8, 2011 | Nintendo | 2 |
| WW | The Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningFull 3D remake by Grezzo, not the original game | Switch | Sep 20, 2019 | Nintendo | 1 |
| WW | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DXNintendo Switch Online (Game Boy Color library) | Switch | Feb 8, 2023 | Nintendo | 3 |
Also known as: Zelda no Densetsu: Yume o Miru Shima JP2The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX WW1ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島DX JP2
Box art by region
NA The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 
EU The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 
JP ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GraphicsDX (GBC)
Link's Awakening DX is in full colour but still runs on the original monochrome Game Boy.1
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ContentDX (GBC)
DX adds an optional colour dungeon, open only on colour hardware; its reward is a red tunic (more attack) or a blue tunic (more defence).1
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ContentDX (GBC)
DX adds a camera shop where Link can be photographed 12 times, and the pictures can be printed on the Game Boy Printer; the 3DS Virtual Console release has no printing.2
Translations
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English Official
Nintendo1993Game Boy · Japanese versionReleased · complete
The English version came out in North America in August 1993 and in Europe in December 1993.1
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Game Boy Color DX version
Checked: 2026-10-133en.wikipedia.org
Reception
The Game Boy version sold 3.83 million units by 2004, and DX another 2.22 million. The DX re-release was also the best-selling 3DS Virtual Console game of 2011, with over 338,700 units.1
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2ja.wikipedia.org
- 3en.wikipedia.org
- 4ja.wikipedia.org
- 5ja.wikipedia.org
- 6ja.wikipedia.org
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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