List of characters in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
This article is about fictional characters from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Game Boy. Despite its name, Princess Zelda is not found in this game.
Link
In Link's Awakening, Link is the same Link from A Link to the Past. On a voyage at sea following the events of that game, he is in a wreck and washes up on the shore of the mysterious Koholint Island, where he is saved by Marin. Here, he encounters a variety of characters, explores dungeons, battles creatures, and collects instruments which he uses to play a song for the Wind Fish who lives on top of the mountain. He is occasionally assisted by friendly creatures.
Marin
Marin is a girl who saves Link and falls in love with him.
As the game begins, Link awakens in Marin's house after washing ashore on Koholint Island. Link mistakes Marin for Princess Zelda due to the fact that the two are remarkably similar (stated by the Link's Awakening manual).
As the game progresses, Marin teaches Link his first Ocarina song, "The Ballad of the Wind Fish", a song that made a reappearance in Majora's Mask. At one point, she also follows Link about in order to help wake a sleeping walrus. This part of the game is notable for comical moments such as when the two fall down a well and when she grabs the operator of the trendy game using his mechanical crane. Later, she is kidnapped by monsters and stranded on a broken bridge. Link saves her using his hookshot.
In a secret reward ending, if a player completes the game without losing a life or stealing from the hardware store, Marin is granted her wish and becomes a seagull so that she can fly to distant lands and sing to bring joy to others.
Marin's personality has been closely linked to that of Zelda's. Both love to sing, have a strong moral justice, and both look exactly alike (see the Link's Awakening instruction manual)
Marin appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a Trophy as a reward for getting all characters and levels, which also unlocks the Sound Test.
Tarin
Tarin is the father of Marin. At the beginning of the game, Tarin gives Link his shield when he wakes up from his state of temporary unconsciousness. He is often seen getting himself into wacky situations on his expeditions into Koholint Island's forests. Throughout the course of the game, he has a hallucinatory vision of himself as a mischievous raccoon who hides important items from Link and later on gets stung by bees while poking at their honeycomb with a stick. He can sometimes be found in bed at his house in Mabe Village recuperating from these events shortly after they occur. Near the end of the game you see a scene of him holding yet another mushroom/toadstool, indicating he certainly never learns anything from his (mis)adventures!
A Tarin-like character appears in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time under the name Talon, father of Malon.
Mr. Write
Mr. Write is a scholar who lives in a house in the northern part of the mysterious forest. His appearance is inspired by the similarly-named Dr. Wright, a green-haired computer assistant who would sometimes appear in the SNES version of SimCity, who in turn is named after SimCity designer Will Wright.
He also appeared in Oracle of Seasons (although not named) and The Minish Cap featured a parody of him, Mr. Left.
To add a comedic flare, Mr. Write writes a love letter to an unknown admirer whom he too "loves." She is actually a goat from Animal Village and gives Mr. Write a picture of Peach from the notable Mario Series. He believes 'Peach' to be his admirer. Link has no comment on the bizzarity of the situation.
Owl
The wise talking owl arrives at certain points in the game to provides hints and backstory. He believes in a prophecy that says Link will wake the Wind Fish. Although he does not provide a name in this game, he would inspire an owl very similar to himself in the following Zelda game, Ocarina of Time, named Kaepora Gaebora. He explains the nature of the island and the nightmares and directs Link towards his ultimate goal, though Link never realizes the reason behind it.
In Majora's Mask, the owl statues, which allow rapid transportation between locations using the Ocarina of Time, are inspired by Kaepora Gaebora, who occasionally carried Link rapidly from one place to another. Smaller owl statues featured in dungeon puzzles in A Link to the Past.
Madam MeowMeow and BowWow
Madam MeowMeow is a woman in Mabe Village who owns a dog. The dog BowWow, who bears a striking resemblence to a Chain Chomp from the Super Mario Bros. series, is kidnapped by the moblins of the Mysterious Forest, and Link rescues him. BowWow goes on to return the favor by eating the flowers blocking his entrance to the swamp dungeon.
Ulrira
Ulrira is the oldest resident of Mabe Village. He can only be contacted from a telephone booth.
The Wind Fish
File:WINDFISH.PNG Template:Spoiler The Wind Fish is a creature that sleeps in a giant egg nestled in the crater at the top of Koholint Island. At the end of the game, when Link plays "The Ballad of the Wind Fish", the egg opens to reveal a whale with wings, and the island vanishes, leaving Link floating in the sea and watching the Wind Fish fly away. Background supplied by the owl make it clear that the island has disappeared because it was all the dream of the Wind Fish; once he is awoken, it ceases to exist.
