The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a 1993 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It is the first installment in The Legend of Zelda series to be released on a handheld game console. Link's Awakening is one of the few Zelda games not to take place in the land of Hyrule, and it does not feature Princess Zelda or the Triforce relic. Instead, the protagonist Link begins the game stranded on Koholint Island, a place guarded by a whale-like deity called the Wind Fish. Assuming the role of Link, the player fights monsters and solves puzzles while searching for eight musical instruments that will awaken the sleeping Wind Fish and allow him to escape from the island.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1993
- Developer
- Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 1 December 1993 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platforms | Game Boy |
| Genres | Action Adventure |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q1060323, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening? How long to beat it
Total play time for The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is about 17.3 hours to do everything, and around 14.7 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 14.7h | 69 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 17.3h | 53 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 17.3h | 66 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 48ahead of 6% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 52ahead of 90% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening appears
The ranked lists and finder pages The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
What platforms is The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on?
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is available on Game Boy. It first released in 1993.
Who made The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening?
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development and published by Nintendo.
How long does it take to beat The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening?
about 14.7 hours for the main story, 17.3 hours with the main extras, 17.3 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.