The OTHER Plot Twist in Link's Awakening

[@keatonreviews]

LA's story is surprisingly deep, abstract almost. Marin on the shore does show a level of acute awareness no other villager really seems to have.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I think the open endedness of it is why it's actually so powerful.

[@Zack-bl2gg]

Dang, this is a good translation of Link’s Awakening’s story. Everyone always jokes about Link being the villain that kills everyone, but it seems clear with that whole “those that look outside dream, but those who look inside awaken” The waking up removed them from their comforts, sure, but it was the right thing to do. Also liked the whole “maron didn’t literally transform into a seagull, it just symbolized her freedom” because that makes a lot more sense 😂

[@LittleBeanGreen]

The 'literally turning into a seagull' bit never sits right with me. Not only is it bizarre, it actually do anything for Marin haha.

[@King_Luigi]

LBG (to Marin): "Are you _real?"_ Marin: "Hey I'm just like any other girl. I pay my taxes one leg at a time."

[@LittleBeanGreen]

wait.

[@micahbarrus8406]

Great video! I like how you touch on the nightmares and how they are evil. There's a weird conception that the nightmares are just living in the dream and are fighting Link out of self defense. You had a great explanation for them.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

They say themselves they are up to no good!

[@micahbarrus8406]

@@LittleBeanGreen they do, but for whatever reason some people ignore that and make link a villain when he's definitely not.

[@7F0X7]

Thank you for making this. It's helped me resolve some feelings I've had ever since childhood when I first played the GBC version.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Thanks for watching - glad it offered you something

[@TheBlueLink3]

Interesting take on it. Personally, I always thought Marin was a part of the dream influenced by Link, hence why he first thinks she’s Zelda when he first wakes up. His memories of Zelda have influenced how she looks a bit. I also think a large amount of the nightmares come from Link himself. The final nightmare in particular seems to come directly from Link. I do agree that the ending is more about Marin becoming free, and not an actual seagull. Koholint and its people will always exist in Link’s heart, and when he dreams.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I never quite bought the first part. Isn't it somewhat of a trope in media that when you're knocked out and wake up somewhere unfamiliar, you mistakenly identify something as familiar? I also think the nightmares have more agency in the dream, as they invaded it. They're able to pull things from Link because they have some power to do that...as they are currently invading a diety's mind.

[@tombadil64]

Seriously one of the best videos I've seen on this game. It rarely takes a 4 hour long breakdown to get to the core of a game experience. Masterful work!

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Appreciate that! Thanks for watching

[@TheLegend27211]

Tbh I never really though about it like this but it's plausible enough. I personally thought she was a glitch in the matrix type deal and/ or a part of the Wind Fish like the owl (without knowing it). Either way the ambiguity makes it really compelling. Koizumi was cooking for real.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Yes, the ambiguity is exactly why it's great. Let Koizumi write another Zelda game!

[@AldoInza]

I thought the Wind Fish "birthed" Marin from the dream. On reflection, maybe that was the point of the dream all along. Link "metaphysicaled" himself into the dream, and Marin was "metaphysicaled" out as the keeper of the world that was created for her as she was always intended to. The Wind Fish is no mere mortal, why should it be unable to create life? And on further reflection, were the nightmares the Wind Fish's fear of losing Marin and the island, turned into uncontrolled monsters metaphorically, and therefore literally inside of the dream? Or as you suggest, were there multiple entities tied up into the dream? First the dream existed within the Wind Fish, and if Marin got in she was the second, then a parasite got in and became or controlled the nightmares, and finally Link to untie the knot? Unrelated, new head canon, she's a forebearess of the Rito. A flying people born of the sea?

[@LittleBeanGreen]

The game makes it pretty clear that the Wind Fish was asleep, the Nightmares invaded and prolonged that sleep indefinitely, and (either before or after that) the island and the inhabitants were also dreamed up. It is not clear who is actually a dream and I don't think it necessarily matters when Marin got in as long as she got in before Link. I also don't subscribe to the fact that Marin is a bird/person hybrid regardless of the original's secret ending 😅

[@AaronPICAR]

Marin is Zelda. She is Link’s idealized version of Zelda, so much so Link mistakes her for Zelda when he first meets her. The manual for the original Game Boy version says she “bares an uncanny resemblance to Princess Zelda.”

[@LittleBeanGreen]

He wakes up in an unfamiliar place and mistakes someone who looks like Zelda for Zelda. That seems tame enough to me. And 'resembling' someone doesn't mean you are that person, even no matter how uncanny. If that's potential evidence to your point then fair enough but there is no indication that Link can influence the dream. Yes, the Nightmares pull from his memory in the final fight, but the Nightmares explicitly have power over the dream, and manipulate it in ways others don't.

[@nintendo64isking]

a great video, i hadn't considered Marin as another being trapped in the dream.... it really adds to the story. Wonderful interpretation!

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Thanks for watching!

[@bunsmasterbunny]

I love this interpretation!

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Something with Marin just seems like...there's more there.

[@TomMooreT2S]

Another thing about Link’s Awakening I like to point out is that the Kirby-like enemy is the recycled model of Kirby from Star Allies. Now I could go on (again) with more Kirby references, but even Link’s Awakening is no stranger from this conversation. For example, the Nightmares. The true antagonist of Kirby’s Adventure/Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland is a vile entity called Nightmare. The Nightmares in Link’s Awakening assume forms of enemies Link had previously fought in A Link to the Past. Several Kirby final bosses can relate to this characteristic. However the final nightmare, Dethl did inspire the character design for Vaati, and Vaati and Dethl both resemble Dark Matter/Zero/02. Void Termina, the antagonist of Star Allies, assumes forms resembling Dark Matter as well. It’s just so bizarre that the Legend of Zelda series makes references to many other Nintendo franchises through hidden symbolism. You’d have to pay THAT close attention to correlations…

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I think it was Takahashi Tezuka who said, when referring to using all the characters in LA from other Nintendo franchises, "it's on the game boy so who cares" haha

[@enforcerridley158]

I see the inclusion of the anti-Kirbys as just more evidence _Link's Awakening_ take place in _Dream Land,_ i.e. the _Kirby_ Universe, a verse connected to other _Nintendo_ franchises through dreams including _Metroid _ and _Super Smash Bros.,_ it's own continuity.

[@sobblegaming350]

​@@LittleBeanGreenI wish they would do more of these random crossovers, last time it really happened was minish cap with bob-ombs and lakitus

[@Jayydizzyy]

this is a really awesome positive spin on what people think is a really somber story

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I especially like it because it still doesn't take away from Link being stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to making his choice.

[@Lorekeeper_GGuy]

I agree. I’ve always believed that everyone (and perhaps even the locations like Mabe Village) in the Wind Fish’s dream were trapped, likely incidentally, and kind of coalesced together, and something about Link, perhaps the Triforce of Courage, protected him from becoming integrated into the dream the way normal people are. But for Marin, I feel like the difference isn’t that she’s the only real thing on the island other than Link and the nightmares Perhaps she’s some kind of lucid dreamer, which gave her insight that things aren’t as they seem, or that the real her had some sort of power or artifact that partially protected her the way Link was, but either the artifact/power itself or her own will wasn’t strong enough to fully protect her from becoming integrated into the dream

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Lucid dreamer is a interesting way to think about it. It's not really clear how much agency each person has in the dream, which makes picking out who exactly could be real more difficult than otherwise.

[@Lorekeeper_GGuy]

@@LittleBeanGreen Yeah, I was just kinda spitballing ideas in that second half but I do like the lucid dreaming one the most, since unlike a regular lucid dream, she’s in someone else’s dream, so she couldn’t have total control of it the way you would in your own dream

[@noppornwongrassamee8941]

Okay, it makes sense that if Link can be pulled into the Windfish's dream, it makes sense that others can as well and most likely have. OTOH, like the Owl, Marin could simply be another aspect of the Windfish. I think it'd be amusing if in the end when Link sees the Windfish, the Windfish talks to Link in Marin's voice.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I don't know why the Wind Fish would need all these aspects of himself though, especially if he wants to be woken up. Wouldn't having Link become attached to Marin make him less likely to want to wake him?

[@Fauntleroy.]

I love the idea of the Wind Fish speaking in Marin's voice. It would cement that the Marin you came to know and care about, just like the Owl, was the Wind Fish all along. You never knew it, but you and the Wind Fish became good friends.

[@booyah344]

​@LittleBeanGreen not if she expressed her desire to leave. Link would do ANYTHING for a pretty girl.

[@noppornwongrassamee8941]

@@LittleBeanGreen Have you ever seen one of those movies that look inside a person's head and see that their minds are made up of a committee of people who represent different facets of their personality? I think Inside Out and its sequel are some of the more recent examples of this. The same goes for the Wind Fish. The Owl is the Wind Fish's desire to wake up. Marin is... well I'm not sure what aspect of the Wind Fish's personality is, but she holds the music notes that will wake the Wind FIsh.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@noppornwongrassamee8941 Why don't why see more aspects of the WInd Fish's personality? WHy is the Owl an owl and aware of what's happening in the dream? This feels much different than inside out

[@russellharrell2747]

Link’s Awakening and Majora’s Mask. The best Zelda games despite having the least amount of Zelda. The Ballad of the Windfish still brings a tear to my eye.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Currently working on something about those two!

[@matthew...4961]

Links Awakening is like the Final Fantasy 8 of the Zelda series.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Never played any of those games but I will take your word for it!

[@thealkymyst]

Yeah, but its fun to play.

[@chadnorris8257]

Maybe Link's not the first person from the real world that got sucked into the Wind Fish's dream. Her body is gone, but her mind is still there, yearning for freedom. In the end, the Wind Fish grants her flight.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

There's an Owl statue that says if the hero doesn't wake the Wind Fish, he'll die, which makes it seem like if you are no longer alive, you won't continue on in the dream.

[@chadnorris8257]

@@LittleBeanGreen Oh, so it's not like he could decide to stay in the dream, to preserve the people in it, and just become their protector. If he doesn't get out, his body will die in the ocean, and he'll disappear? That makes me feel a bit better about what I had to do, then.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@chadnorris8257 That's the implication from one of the statues yes

[@rockowlgamer631]

The released music of the Ballad of the windfish makes me weep every time and I'm not usually that emotional. The fact that the game makes you feel sad for waking up the windifsh is impressive since you became so used to the townsfolk. Heck it might be a better story than TotK.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

It without a doubt is. Does so much more with so much less.

[@tumultuousv]

Ehhh

[@noobstoise1024]

She was a seagull pecking at Link's head while he was unconscious

[@LittleBeanGreen]

chewed out his eyeball i heard

[@rofldodger]

Best Zelda theory I've heard in a while. I always thought the owl questioning link being real was him being unsure if he dreamt link up or not lol I like your version better.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I think that's the implication but I'm not sure how well it stands up to the other things he says

[@geealion]

Oh this is great. I love the magical, symbolic quality of this game.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

The fact that it sticks to its ambiguity is what makes it so great.

[@TomMooreT2S]

So what you’re saying here is that the people of Koholint are long-deceased souls taken physical form trapped in an illusion believing there’s nothing beyond the shores? And when Link arrives and awakens the Wind Fish, all of the souls are free and Marin’s wish a being a seagull in spirit similar to how the Wind Fish became the Owl?

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I think most of the inhabitants on the island are products of the Wind Fish's dream. I think Marin is like Link, alive and real. The Owl is a manifestation of the Wind Fish in the dream. Marin is not really a seagull. It's like Jenny from Forrest Gump - the symoblism of the bird is about freedom. I don't think Marin is actually a bird. I think she's just finally free from the dream.

[@BusyMEOW]

Sounds like Scientology.. 😄

[@LKNear]

Fun fact in the Oracle Games Zelda has basically the same sprite as Marin

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Fun fact indeed! Many of the Oracle games sprites are the same from Link's Awakening.

[@taemien9219]

One thing to remember is that this version of Link is pretty special considering he is the Forger of Strength, the Keeper of Knowledge, and the Juror of Courage, and either has the full Triforce or at the very least has touched and used it. Its probably for this reason the Wind Fish took notice of him, and the only reason he didn't believe him real at first was due to him being asleep for so long. Its also why the nightmares fear him so much. They had no chance against Link and they knew it. They could only try to manipulate his good nature. But lacking an understanding of justice, they couldn't understand why Link would seek to free people from a dream, even if it meant they go back to other lives or disappear entirely. As for Marin being real, I think that is a very real possibility. She seems to have a tether to a world outside of the dream itself. The other evidence is the fact that the owl, the representation of the will of the Wind Fish, did not understand her and was surprised that she would try to wake him. Every other inhabitant acts in a way one would expect people to act in one's own dream. I also get the feeling that Link knows who is real and who isn't. The only person he makes a connection with is Marin. The others he helps, but he makes no real connection with. They also sort of act like he's always been there, and don't really see him as an outsider. Marin is the only one who sees him as something different and tries to get to know him. She doesn't know him and he doesn't know her. The sad part obviously is that while Link and Marin became friends, its not likely they will see each other again. One good touch that Nintendo did was to show the inhabitants of the Island, and Marin as well are not Hylians. Which by the time LA came out on Gameboy was already established lore and why they have the elven ears (in case anyone didn't know, Hylians are not elves, but humans).

[@LittleBeanGreen]

That all sounds similar to what I said here - and like you said, it doesn't change the difficulty of Link's decision, because he likely will never see her again. Whether she's a dream or real doesn't change that and it doesn't change that she will still exist in Link's memory.

[@dirtywhitellama]

Maybe Marin is also the Wind Fish. The owl is the Wind Fish's need to wake up, but Marin might be its need to adventure. I'm not always the same character throughout my own dreams, I can't imagine a flying whale god would be limited in that way either.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I just don't know why he would have a part of himself so clearly able to articulate his need to wake up (and that takes the form of a typical guide in other Zelda games) and another part that would have Link wanting to make the opposite decision (to not wake the Wind Fish). You would think she would have dialogue like 'if you wake the Wind Fish I could finally explore beyond this place...' or some such.

[@dirtywhitellama]

@@LittleBeanGreenfair. I don't think it's the most likely situation, just a possibility that I thought of.

[@Will-f8g]

This is an awesome explanation

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Thanks for watching!

[@devonm042690]

If Marin wasn't born of the dream, but instead became trapped in it, she would know about the world beyond the island.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Would she? Is there anything to suggest that? Does Link?

[@CertifiedClapaholic]

I think they are all aspects of the human mind and varying degrees of consciousness. Marin being one of the examples of the forefront and self-aware concepts of human thought.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

But none of it takes place in the mind of a human.

[@leviwarren6222]

I've been contending something like this since 1998 when i first best this game. In the original game, Marin and the Wind Fish show up after the Wind Fish wakes (Marin only shows up if you have zero deaths). This means that Link, the Wind Fish, and Marin are all more than dreams. The entire game, even before you open the box, beats you over the head the entire time with the lie that the entire adventure is a dream. The actual twist at the end is that Koholint wasn't all simply a dream. It's like nearly all fans somehow ignored that the entire game screamed that it was just a dream until the end and they were surprised when they found out it was a dream. I've always wanted to make a video of this because people give greater credibility to a video than an individual and this obvious truth about LA needs to be accepted by Zelda fans. Marin never turned into a seagull, she got her wings. Rito get their wings by getting a scale from Valoo, it's really not something people should take issue with.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

It's a misinterpretatio of her dream. She sees seagulls flying beyond the ocean and says if she was a bird she would go to faraway lands to sing to them. It's a metaphor for her wanting to leave the island, not because she literally wants to be a seagull. That interpretations always seemed weird to me.

[@GavinMasters]

You're on to something! Moreover, in the original ending, (after Link sees the Wind Fish overhead, and then after the credits), Marin flies by with pixie wings. If Marin's real, she may a pixie too small to see, (from the sea), but with a big personality.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Yeah that's a weird ending but could still metaphorically be seen as 'Marin getting her wings.'

[@mnemot]

LA is heavily inspired in Twin Peaks, a story about a detective coming to a secluded town to investigate the mysterious death of a girl... in a sense, the town is the murder. given this is a kid's game, the purpose of the dream, waking up not in terror from a nightmare but with a proper conclusion, is so you can remember the dream once awake; Marin just wants to be remembered, after whatever casted her away to the seas, damned to be a dream to be had.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I don't think that interpretation can't exist alongside my own.

[@zacschr1808]

imagine if the nightmares are also prisoners of the wind fish but they gave up on leaving

[@LittleBeanGreen]

They make it clear that ain't the case

[@SeanNH94]

personally, I always got the impression that Marin was... a seagull dreaming about being a girl 🤔

[@LittleBeanGreen]

BUT WHY

[@SeanNH94]

@@LittleBeanGreen lol just my very surface-level interpretation of the scene with the seagull; honestly I haven't put much more thought into it beyond the fact she seemed different than other characters, and the story taking place in a dream. 🤷

[@maximillianwaddell1641]

I thought of this theory too while watching this video, it seems very plausible if there were beings pulled into the dream when it began, it makes sense that a seagull out flying over the sea, minding it's own business, might become entangled in the net of these nightmare beings when they put the Wind Fish to sleep. Plus her name is Marin, like the word "Marine" meaning Sea (Sea after forgetting she is a seagull), and her spontaneous yearning to fly far and free, exploring distant shores like Seagulls are naturally inclined to do. An innocent seagull desperately hoping this dream would end so she can be free again, devising a song of awakening for this purpose and even attempting to sing it for the Wind Fish on her own. There is a story about Zwangzu, a Taoist, who became very disturbed by a dream he had where he thought he was a butterfly, thinking that maybe he is a butterfly who only dreams of being a Zwangzu and this inability to tell the dream apart from the Reality scared him. Maybe this relates to Marin being a seagull who only dreams of being someone called Marin while trapped in the nightmare and upon waking, returns to being a seagull. Link doesn't kill anyone(except the nightmares), he simply frees the captives and gets back on his way. Game Theories are great.

[@SeanNH94]

@@maximillianwaddell1641 you definitely put more thought into it than I did lol but yeah I don't think it's too far off to think a seagull got swept up into the dream. I do like the theory in the video too, for the record. I don't mean to imply it's wrong, I have no idea which seems more likely.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@maximillianwaddell1641 There are seagulls in the dream though. Why is she a person when there's no indication you change form when entering the dream?

[@IkerSanz-x1d]

This gave me chills

[@LittleBeanGreen]

better grab a sweater

[@Armedus]

Ooh! What if Marin is a manifestation of the Wind Fish's consciousness? Link dors a tendency to court fish folk.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I've argued against this point several times in other comments if you're interested hahaha

[@Austin-kt7ky]

I read that Link's sister in WW is named after Marin and Amaryllis. It would explain why Aryll has an association with seagulls.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

oh good connection

[@astro837]

-"Your feelings for her, are not real" -"THEY ARE REAL FOR ME!!!"

[@LittleBeanGreen]

damn starkiller, cool it

[@kingactonsim]

I love this!

[@LittleBeanGreen]

thanks for watching 😁

[@marek1shtar538]

I always believed she was a Seagull that got stuck in the dream

[@LittleBeanGreen]

But why is she a person?

[@marek1shtar538]

@@LittleBeanGreen The dream changed her form imho. I honestly think a lot of the Koholint inhabitants were animals that got stuck in the dream like Link, and were freed when the nightmares were defeated. I do think that one ghost was another person that almost did what link did too though

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@marek1shtar538 But animals exist in the dream as inhabitants too. I think all the seagull connections to Marin are symbolic, not literal.

[@ICLHStudio]

I've been recently putting together a big comprehensive timeline theory (1st draft is recently finished, waiting for Echoes of Wisdom so I can figure out where it fits or what it messes with); and when I was at Link's Awakening I put together my own set of theories about it (most are connected to broader Zelda-universe theories; like about how the timelines, reincarnation, souls, gods, etc... all work); and more specifically, about Marin and the Owl. I'm a little unsatisfied with it as it does contain one of the few times I outright contradict an actual in-game statement (which I generally count as the highest form of canon and try to avoid going against as much as possible), but I think I manage to justify it as a plausible case of 'unreliable narrator'. First off; I think that the Wind Fish and Oshus the Ocean King from Phantom Hourglass are the same being, just in two different timelines (and probably the same being as Levias [the other flying whale-like major-spirit/minor-deity who lives just a little ways outside the borders of Hyrule/Skyloft/flooded-Hyrule who was attacked by a parasitic monster and saved by Link] from way back in Skyward Sword). Next, I think that many of the people on Koholint are indeed dreamed up by the Wind Fish, but not all of them; those that are real are likely either people from, or crossing through (like Link), the Wind Fish's domain who got sucked into the sleep-spell; or the souls of mortals/minor-spirits between reincarnation cycles who also got caught up in the same but I think most of them don't have the insight to realize that this dream world isn't real. Third, I don't think the Owl is a manifestation of the Wind Fish, despite what he says; I think the Owl is the very same character of Gaepora (Zelda's dad from Skyward Sword, who was essentially friends with Levias), Kaepora-Gaebora (the tutorial Owl from multiple games), and (maybe) Rauru (Sage of Light in OoT and others, and eventually the Zonai King and once-more ancestor of Zelda in TotK; also he might possibly be the King of Red Lions in WW) who, since Skyward Sword has been frequently reincarnating specifically in spots to give wisdom and guidance to Link and Zelda; and I think it actually likely that between reincarnation cycles he was basically just hanging out in spirit/soul-form with the Wind Fish as an old friend when he got caught up in the nightmare attack (and it's possible that their connection, and his history as a guardian and guide of various kinds are what led him to believe he was part of the Wind Fish; I mean, as you mentioned, Marin doesn't fully know the truth although she sees and senses things differently than most on the island, so it seems plausible that the Owl, who would probably know more, is closer to the truth, but still affected enough by the dream that he's not quite right). This also explains why the Owl recognizes Link deep down, although he may not quite realize why (and might even have played some part in influencing Link getting pulled into the dream world), as he's been seeking and watching over him for many lives already. And finally, I think Marin is also probably a soul between cycles, and my theory is that similar events in different timelines parallel each other; and she (a kind young woman with supernatural levels of insight, sort of orange-ish hair, who plays a harp, and dreams of being a bird) could feel on some level the pull of destiny in other timelines, such as over in the so-called "adult timeline" where I think she's Medli, the Rito Sage of Earth (who, in keeping with Marin's fear of heights, was not a very strong flier and pretty self-conscious about it). As both a sometimes-Sage and sort-of-bird, it makes sense that she seeks the advice of the Owl regarding re-entering the cycle of life (perhaps the Wind Fish was going to help guide her somehow, hence her hope that he would grant her wish), and also gets swept up in things.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Interesting - I think the problem is that the timeline isn't just a timeline any more, it's also a multiverse, which is an accumulation of timelines spanning different universes. That makes the Medli/Marin comparisons interesting but. I don't know how much more there is to it than that.

[@ICLHStudio]

@@LittleBeanGreen To be fair, I also minimize the 'multiversal' aspects in my interpretation, reducing everything down to a single universe containing a few alternate planes/dimensions and split into 4 timelines (and eventually reconverged back together into 1).

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@ICLHStudio I don't know how an alternate plane/dimension really differs from an alternate universe...

[@SanjayMerchant]

Personally, I think that Marin represents some part of the Wind Fish. While the Owl appears to be combination of lucid dreaming and something like a conscience, Marin is the part of the Wind Fish that wants to get up and, like, do stuff, have new experiences, that sort of thing. So she's less aware that this is a dream, but, unlike most of the Koholinters, is aware that this isn't all there is. I also think the Nightmares are native to the dream. What they represent, beyond a desire to stay asleep (because it's safe? comfortable? familiar?), and why they're aware of the exact nature of their world, I can't begin to guess, but that is my take on them.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I'm not sure - the Owl seems to be a singular entity, both in who he is and how he is portrayed. There are no other characters like this, that guide Link. To me it seems less clear that Marin is actually part of the Wind Fish. There is some text that mentions that the Nightmares 'entered the dream,' which would suggest they aren't native (but I could see how it could be interpreted otherwise). But if they enter the dream, it would make sense why they're aware that things are illusory.

[@sirgouki6207]

~1:20 - why doesn't Marin try to wake the windfish? She DOES, the game outright tells you this. Near the end of it, someone (I think it's the owl) mentions she is singing at the egg. It fails, because 1) this serves as your final hint that it's _that_ song you play at the egg, and 2) she doesn't have any of the instruments of awakening. But she's _knows_ something is going on, and she _knows_ that song will fix it, and she tries to do it herself. It would have been nice if, in the remaster, they'd have actually shown it instead of it just being another line of text that people forget about. I'm pretty sure you get told this right after you see rescue Marin from the bridge, right after Tarin makes her come home with him.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

see later in the video...

[@UnluckySuperstition]

Maybe shes sort of like the owl- the owl of course being the guardian of the windfishes dream realm or similar to that. Maybe shes also a part of the windfishes consciousness and exists mainly to give Link the necessary element to awaken him- the ballad of the windfish. And like dream logic, she can question certain things going on in it- but cant really break out of the illusion of things

[@LittleBeanGreen]

To me it doesn't seem reasonable that one part of the Wind Fish would be pushing Link to wake him, while being completely unaware of the motivations of another part, who, while she does teach Link the Ballad, acts as more a reason for him NOT to wake the Wind Fish.

[@ProjectMirai64]

nice

[@LittleBeanGreen]

nice

[@memyselfishness]

This is why I've never finished Link's Awakening. I cannot relinquish the dream. I do not want to let Marin or the Windfish to be free.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

In the end, freeing them is the right choice

[@harukaze7388]

So, the symbolism of Marin turning into a seagull is very interesting because it's not the first time I see it in japanese media. In fact the other major time I saw it was in very similar circumstances: At the end of a dream that is a destroyed world, to fly around the new, waking world. *VERY HEAVY* spoilers for *Terranigma* for Super Nintendo. (It's a beautiful game with I'd say a lot of similar symbolism as Link's Awakening, I can't reccomend it enough. This spoils the ending!!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's a game about two worlds. A world of darkness inside, and a world of light outside. The outside, light world is in a constant cycle of creation and destruction, going to "sleep". From the inner, dark world, you resurrect the outside, light world. A lot of the characters likewise, in the dark world, reffer about rebirth, past and future lives in the light world, as "dreaming", with the implication that their current life is a kind of dream. Terranigma is a game very very heavy on symbolism and metaphor, pulling from various religions ideas of especially rebirth and reincarnation, cycles, and ends of cycles. At the last arc of the game, the protagonist (who comes from the dark, inside world) merges with his light half's existence and dies, waking up reborn (as a baby, but he gets better) in the equivalent of his home in the light world, in his bed. In the end, with his new power he confronts the half of God that rules over these cycles. With his victory, the Dark world will be destroyed, ending the cycles of the Light world. He will also be destroyed, but as an act of mercy, he will be rewarded one last day. One last night. And one last dream, in his bed, in the inside, dark world. He dreams of being a seagull, and of flying all over the outside world. Of the people and lives out there. And finally at dawnbreak, lands in a very familiar location... It's ambiguous what happens next. In the light, outside world version of his house, _something_ calls at the door. It's implied it's him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There's something about the ambiguity of dreams and life, reminiscient of Zuangzhi's famous butterfly question. And it was always very very surprising to me how very similar these two games are, in a way that definitely didn't copy off each other. I'm, personally not familiar at all with any seagull and rebirth symbolism, but it was always very striking to me how both of these unrelated characters turn into one at the end of their dream and life. Metaphorically or not. The idea of someone in a dream that is their life, waking up to a life that is like a dream. The idea of a seagull going across the world, and meeting people with their many different lives, all separate from the dream.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

They fit all of that into a Super Nintendo game?! ...I still don't think Marin is a seagull hahaha

[@harukaze7388]

@@LittleBeanGreen it's an incredible game, from late in the system's life. I really reccomend it! (The Super Nintendo had some really massive and complex games! Tales of Phantasia has a whole anime vocal opening. Star Ocean is literally orders of magnitude larger than most other popular earlier games.) Again, the seagull thing is more like, a very heavy symbolism/metaphor. It may or may not be literal, just as both characters may be "dead" as part of a dream and their waking is passing on, or may be "revived" as part of the waking world, having escaped to a new life. And this ambiguity is part of its beauty, I think.

[@Mousse9]

I played the original gameboy version, and there the ending had Marin fly away on physical wings. No seagull, actual Marin with wings. But that coild be an interpretation because she does make the seagull sounds. My take was that she was indeed a part of the dream, but ghe only one who wanted more. To see outside the island, unlike any other npc of the dream. And the Wind Fish granted her wish.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Part of the problem is no one really knows what the Wind Fish is or does. Does he have the power to turn dream people into real people? I don't know.

[@Mousse9]

@@LittleBeanGreen That’ll always be a mystery I think. Was Link sharing the Wind Fish’s dream? Was he physically there? Was the island actually physically in the real world, or just a mindscape? There are no answers to that. If the Wind Fish’s dream can make something into existence, just from a dream, then maybe it can consciously make it real forever. Personally I think it was a shared dreamworld, but the Wind Fish willed Marin into existence, as a seagull.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@Mousse9 I think though we may not have answers to all those questions, we certainly have more evidence for some of the answers - when the Wind Fish wakes up and the island disappears, that's pretty good evidence that it wasn't real. I don't think Marin is literally a seagull. Her wish is to go to far away places and sing for people, not to be a seagull. The seagull is a symbol for being free of the island. If the Wind Fish a. could make dream people real or b. grant wishes to people caught in the dream, then either way, turning Marin into a seagull is more of a cruel joke than a fulfillment of a wish.

[@Mousse9]

@@LittleBeanGreen The symbolism is pretty heavy in both versions. In the original she has wings, but makes seagull noises (though it’s debatable whether SHE makes those sounds, or symbolism that she’s free as a seagull to fly to other places). In the remake you actually see a seagull with the image of Marin in the air, making one think the seagull IS Marin. It can go either way for whether the Wind Fish physically created Koholint, or as mindscape. Both would work, because in both, when the Wind Fish wakes, all fades. Link being blasted into the air by a waterspout and ending up floating on flotsam could be real, or he was always on the flotsam, dreaming. Inconclusive either way. In my opinion, there’s just not enough evidence to definitively point to one. Great game…bought the OG Gameboy specifically for this game.

[@kenji6492]

Link’s Awakening is a game I didn’t gel with the first time I played but each visit since has been better and better.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

I think it's a very compact little gem.

[@kenji6492]

@@LittleBeanGreen Oh, I definitely sabotaged my enjoyment the first time. I did Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages and Link’s Awakening DX back to back to back and by the end of LADX it just felt like a chore. Going back to the game without all that baggage helped a lot.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@kenji6492 Although I do love the Oracle games...

[@kenji6492]

@@LittleBeanGreen i do too, I was just burnt out on GBC Zelda

[@MichaelChin1994]

Without my glasses on, I thought the thumbnail (with the yellow background) was of Donkey Kong leaning over seductively, then I realized it was Marin's hair

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Hopefully you put your glasses on...

[@MichaelChin1994]

@@LittleBeanGreen You want me to live in a world with less seductive Donkey Kongs?!

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@MichaelChin1994 I'd prefer you can interpret the world accurately 😅

[@MichaelChin1994]

​@@LittleBeanGreen Yeah. You're right. I gotta stop seeing people as Gorillas or Seagulls

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@MichaelChin1994 there's hope for you yet!

[@jonesthemoblin1400]

There's a lot of interesting possible twists this brings to the story of Link's Awakening. For example: if Marin is real, then who is Tarin? Tarin is her father in the dream, but could he also be real? If not, then why has Marin seemingly accepted him as her father. If he is her father, but also of the dream, that would mean that Marin herself is of the dream. But if that's the case, then why is she so weirdly aware of elements of the dream other characters seem not to be. Is she aware, or does she exist to motivate (or maybe demotivate) Link? She could be, like the owl, a reflection of the wind fish - a reminder to Link that there IS a real world to get back to. Or perhaps, she was created by the Nightmares themselves to give Link someone to become attached to in hopes that he won't wake the windfish?

[@LittleBeanGreen]

It seems counterintuitive to me that she would be a product of the Wind Fish that would, as you suggest, demotivate Link from waking said Wind Fish. It also seems strange for her to be created from the Nightmares if she is to give Link a critical piece of information for waking the Wind Fish. In the end, whether she is real or actually part of the dream is made all the more interesting for the very fact that it is ambiguous.

[@FSR-1345]

So your telling me my imagery girlfriend is real

[@LittleBeanGreen]

oh boy I sure hope so! Tell mom!

[@IronMan3582]

That was deep

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Thanks for watching ;)

[@IronMan3582]

@@LittleBeanGreen And thank you for the video

[@ultimate_pleb]

The Marin... IS RRRREEEEAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!

[@LittleBeanGreen]

IDEALLY

[@guillaumeverneau6603]

Interesting Theory. But if you Had played gameboy version, then you would have known that Marin has turned into a seagull at the end.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

In the original gameboy version she flies away with wings, but she's still a girl. The gameboy color version is almost identical to the swithc remake.

[@BusyMEOW]

Koholint Island is an alien spaceship and Link was abducted.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

let's hope that's all the aliens did to him

[@BusyMEOW]

@@LittleBeanGreen🙀 👈👽 Link doesn't like to talk about what happenned.. 😁

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@BusyMEOW 😅🤣

[@christophk.3085]

At one moment in the game she trys to awake the Windfish. But she cant go to the dungeons and claim the instroments.... So she needs link.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

The video describes just that.

[@GreatGonzalez]

I like this theory a lot but it doesn't explain why she doesn't already know exactly what is there beyond the sea, maybe she's been stuck in the dream for so long that she forgot everything but still remembers that she belongs to the real world

[@LittleBeanGreen]

sort of like a dream brain fog

[@GreatGonzalez]

@@LittleBeanGreen yeah it makes sense If you read it, what do you think about the ataru cagiva manga adaptation of this game? If i remember correctly it skipped some of the points in the story that brought you to this theory but overall i think it's almost as perfect as an adaptation as you can get, it caught the main message of the game and adapted it flawlessly

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@GreatGonzalez I never read any of the zelda manga, but i've also heard nothing but good things.

[@GreatGonzalez]

@@LittleBeanGreen in my opinion they are mostly just fine, they don't add much to the stories and when they do it's usually just adding some cliché type of personality to the characters, but there are cases like cagiva's link's awakening (he did a link to the past too but it's not as good, definetly still worth checking out) and himekawa's twilight princess that even improved the original stories in some aspects, so i'd recommend reading at least those

[@lyhn9990]

that last line goes so hard??? for no reason???

[@LittleBeanGreen]

the reason is so it can go hard!

[@l_3216]

I think Marin is a Futanari

[@LittleBeanGreen]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaalrighty then

[@grapefruitlight9408]

its much easier. marin is the seagull at the end. she was born as one and somehow entered the world like link did

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Why would she change from a seagull when there are other animals in the dream? What does wanting to sing for the world have to do with being a seagull?

[@grapefruitlight9408]

@@LittleBeanGreen a dream is a dream, it does not have to be logic. seagull cant sing but other birds can. so in her dream she became a human who can sing. you see the seagull at the end. this is marin. if she would not be real there would be no way that she can enter the real world

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@grapefruitlight9408 but there's no reason for her to be a bird.

[@WoobertAIO]

So uh... Did Marin know how to swim? Maybe she actually got out of the island in the same way as Link and just uh...

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Link got rocketed out by a geyser.

[@WoobertAIO]

@@LittleBeanGreen damn. RIP I guess.

[@TomMooreT2S]

Now the relationship between Link and Marin was in a manner of romantic interest and isn’t too far off from the realm of possibility. Believe or not, Malon and Talon in Ocarina of Time were designed from Marin and Tarin respectively. So the idea of Link “getting the girl” is obviously implied in a different plane of existence. Most evident theories always point the relationship of Hero of Time Link and Malon as headcanon. In order for the Hero of Twilight to exist and to gain knowledge of Epona’s Song, then the Hero of Time has developed a marital relationship with a woman, and said woman being Malon. Despite the little to no chemistry between the two, one bit of evidence seems clear when in Majora’s Mask, when you escorted Cremia’s milk for a second time, there’s a 50% chance that Cremia thanks Link by giving him a hug, making him, “warm and fuzzy! inside!” Cremia being Adult Malon in a parallel existence, that’s probably how the Hero of Time developed his feelings for Malon in the first place. So while Malon resembles Marin, the Link in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask eventually did get into a relationship with someone who looks like Marin. So THAT Link got the girl, but the Link in Link’s Awakening is left only to remember her.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

But in freeing her, he gave her the chance to become who all she was meant to be...at least that's how I like to think about her.

[@JoLiKMC]

Oh, she's real. She was in _Hyrule Warriors,_ after all. 💩

[@LittleBeanGreen]

can't argue that logic

[@mobgabriel1767]

i know it isn't canon but if she is only a dream then why she can leave the island and fight in hyrule warriors?(god i hate how nintendo didn't give us any explanation for that even tho she is DLC)

[@LittleBeanGreen]

because it's literally an easter egg and nothing more.

[@grant9637]

I read the thumbnail as mario & tbh i became much less interested when i realized it wasnt

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Apparently you are not one for utilizing context clues, eh?

[@grant9637]

@@LittleBeanGreen to be fair links awakening *does* have mario enemies

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@grant9637 true but none of that has to do with the title, thumbnail, or thrust of this video 😅

[@gamingtips2941]

Seera gerudo

[@LittleBeanGreen]

who now

[@gamingtips2941]

@@LittleBeanGreen Naah she appeared in previous games too She had a daughter Seera is the leader of gerudo and her daughter would be the leader of soliders

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@gamingtips2941 i'm not sure I follow...

[@gamingtips2941]

@@LittleBeanGreen i am talking about echoes of wisdom so lets wait 1 day more lol

[@guillaumeverneau6603]

Except that she males the sounds of a seagull.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

i assume you mean 'makes'...when exactly?

[@guillaumeverneau6603]

@@LittleBeanGreen right, that's the autocorrect in French... ^^

[@schadenfreude6274]

I always thought that Marin is a Link from an Alternate Universe who also got shipwrecked eons ago. After the thousands of years living in this island, he went mad and decided to cut off his c*ck and become a Transgender and rename himself to Marin. Think about it, Marin has the same colour hair as Link in this game no? The "Awakening" in Link's Awakening is referring to this Alternate Link/Marin "Awakening" and realize that he is actually better suited to be a Woman. This may be secretly Nintendo's most inclusive title ever made for Transgenders. 🙂

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Link is blonde.

[@bergamt]

None of these people are real, they’re fictional characters in a video game. 🙂

[@LittleBeanGreen]

wait.

[@thenonexistinghero]

It doesn't matter if she's real or not as long as she's hot.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

if only

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@LittleBeanGreen She's hot though, did you see her rendition in Hyrule Warriors?

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@thenonexistinghero 🤣🤣but Hyrule Warriors is not Link's Awakening ha

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@LittleBeanGreen Same girl, just a more detailed design. Maybe looking a little older looking, but could be attributed to art style difference.

[@lozD83]

Bro, that mushy ending 🤢

[@LittleBeanGreen]

what mush

[@Goosewitdajuice317]

Just here to remind the world that the story is in this game because koizumi snuck it in. All the good stuff in majoras mask is koizumi as well. Essentially koizumi is based. Koizumi leading development on zelda is a NEED

[@harukaze7388]

Koizumi basically did a lot of the good lore in every early Zelda. A lot of Ocarina of Time, too.

[@LittleBeanGreen]

Glad you brought this up - I'm working on something currently about the stories of LA/MM and Koizumi is all over that.

[@Goosewitdajuice317]

​​@@LittleBeanGreen koizumi is all over my heart, my mind, and my soul. Looking forward to what's coming!

[@LittleBeanGreen]

@@Goosewitdajuice317 You and me both, Goose