As a remake of one of the most important and influential Zelda games of all time, it goes without saying that Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch is home to more than a few Easter Eggs. Interestingly, most of these Easter Eggs were already present in the original game as Nintendo heavily references their own catalog of titles during development.
However, many fans will be playing Link’s Awakening for the first time through the remake, so it’s worth mentioning old and new Easter Eggs alike. Even then, some of them are so obscure and specific that only the truest of Nintendo and Legend of Zelda fans will have caught everything Link’s Awakening has to offer.
10 Nightmare’s Many References
The final boss fight against Shadow Nightmare actually contains multiple references to previous Zelda enemies. Due to the nature of Link’s Awakening’s plot, it actually only makes sense that Link’s final nightmare would be against the many foes he’s slain. In order, the boss fights cycles through the simple Zol, to Agahnim, to Moldorm, and to Ganon.
Only after defeating Ganon’s shadow, does Link actually get to fight the true final boss: Dethl. Anyone playing the franchise for the first time, however, won’t catch any of these references. This sequence is very much meant for pre-existing fans of the series.
9 Zelda’s Song
The original game had a similar Easter Egg as well (both the literal original Legend of Zelda for the NES and the original Link’s Awakening for the Game Boy.) In the file select, pick a new file and name it “Zelda.” This will prompt a little medley to play, honoring the player’s creative decision to name Link after a character who he very much is not.
People joke about mistaking Link for Zelda, but it’s because of stuff like this that it happens. Not that it’s a bad thing, by any means. It’s a cute, harmless reference that only the daftest of audiences could misinterpret.
8 Escorting Marin Around Koholint
This is also present in the Game Boy original, but the remake naturally expands on the time Link ultimately ends up spending with Marin. At one point, Link can escort Marin all around Koholint Island on a date of sorts. It’s one of the game’s most charming moments and an incredibly important way of building the bond between Marin and the player.
Marin will react to just about everything on the island so it’s worth exploring as much as possible. She even has a unique dialogue for when Link enters a cave or dungeon without her but comes back damaged.
7 Powdering The Buzz Blobs
Buzz Blobs are incredibly frustrating enemies early in the game, especially for those trigger happy gamers who want to cut down everything in their path. As a result, many players rely on the Magic Powder to subdue Buzz Blobs so they can then comfortably kill them. Once spraying them, however, hold back.
Link can actually talk to the Buzz Blobs. Turns out in spraying them with Magic Powder, he’s given them intelligent thought. The Buzz Blob is fully aware and can speak. The cherry on top is that Link can just outright kill them after talking to them. Not exactly the nicest act befitting a hero.
6 Marin At The Crane Game
As previously mentioned, the remake’s date with Marin features more content by sheer virtue of taking place in a remake of a game with a lot more content on a whole. It’s only fitting that the Marin date also has a new secret cutscene to boot. Should players enter the Trendy Game with Marin behind them, she’ll actually take over and play the game.
What results is one of the funnier Zelda cutscenes in quite a while. It’s also a very cute display of Marin’s personality. It’s not worth spoiling, but it is worth experiencing. Marin was the first real Zelda character to have a defined personality in-game so any more time spent with her is a plus.
5 All The Mario Figures
Link’s Awakening was on the short side when it originally released, so it does only make sense that the remake would try to add some new content. While it doesn’t amount to too much, in the end, Link can now collect a series of figures from the Trendy Game that he can then place around Koholint Island as decorations.
All of these figures, however, are straight-up enemies from the earlier Super Mario Bros. games. This only helps add to Koholint Island’s dreamland aesthetic while also fully realizing the scope of cameos Nintendo was likely going far all the way back in the Game Boy original.
4 Marin’s New Song
In the same way players can name their file (and character) after Zelda to hear a cute little jingle, players can now input Marin’s name in the title screen to get a completely different musical Easter Egg. This one is far cooler, however, and plays a unique remix of the Ballad of the Wind Fish, Link’s Awakening’s signature song.
Honestly, it’s one of the best renditions of the song yet and that it was hidden behind this Easter Egg is a bit disappointing, if only because that meant it wasn’t in the main game. That said, the song being such high quality only makes the Easter Egg cooler.
3 Totakeke’s Song
Totaka’s song is one of the most well-known video game Easter Eggs of all time, appearing in multiple games across Nintendo’s catalog and often being the most obscure Easter Egg whenever it appears. While fans of the original will know that Totaka’s song plays in Prince Richard’s house, there’s a way to get a different Totaka themes Easter Egg.
Simple name the file (crazy that they’d do three of these) “Totakeke” and a new musical jingle will play. Of the named file Easter Eggs, this is perhaps the coolest since it’s not as obvious as naming a file “Zelda” or “Marin.”
2 Prince Richard’s Mere Existence
Prince Richard actually did not originate in Link’s Awakening. Rather, he’s from another Game Boy game called For Whom The Frog Bells Toll, a game that preceded Link’s Awakening, but was quite similar in style— the latter even building off of the former’s foundation for the final game.
Nintendo included Richard as a way of honoring For Whom The Frog Bells Toll which likely makes his unique appearance make a bit more sense. He’s certainly out of place from the regular Koholint inhabitants. Some fans were worried he wouldn’t make an appearance considering FWTFBT was never released outside of Japan, but he returns in all his splendor.
1 Return Of The THIEF
In the original game, Link could be permanently branded a THIEF for stealing from the Koholint Shop. Upon stealing an item, Link would be killed upon re-entering the item shop for the first time. Like with Ralph, some fans were worried this Easter Egg wouldn’t return but it’s very much present.
It’s also a bit more damning this time around since the item shop has way more items to steal and purchase. Should players choose to steal from the item shop at least once in the game, they need to do so once they absolutely know they’ll never need to go back again. But that’s just madness. Be a THIEF. Indulge.