Links Awakening Tricks
This page is intended to list the various time-saving tricks in Zelda: Link's Awakening. Because of the nature of this site, we concentrate here on tricks that are nearly impossible to perform in real play, but are useful in the making of tool-assisted speedruns. For most of the tricks, a frame advance feature in an emulator is a definite must-have.Table of contents [expand all] [collapse all]
Up/Down/Left/Right Glitches
Pressing combinations of directions normally impossible on an actual Gameboy confuses the game. Using certain combinations in combination with some items will cause the item to act in an unusual way, sometimes displacing the item's effect far from Link. For simplicity, only button combinations that give abnormal item behavior are listed below.
Arrows
- U/D: Starts two squares below Link and moves diagonally up/right.
- U/D/L: Moves straight down from Link, slightly faster than usual.
- U/D/L/R: Starts two squares below Link, moves to the right.
- D/L/R: Starts two squares above Link and moves diagonally up/left.
Bombs
This list indicates where the glitched bomb appears (relative to Link).
- U/D: 4 squares up, 1 right
- U/D/L: 1 square down
- U/D/R: 4 squares up
- U/D/L/R: 2 squares down
- D/L/R: 4 squares left
Pegasus Boots
The directions given correspond to where Link moves after the boots charge up.
- U/D: Diagonally up/right, very fast
- U/D/L: Diagonally down/right
- U/D/R: Diagonally up/left
- U/D/L/R: Straight up, slowly
- D/L/R: Diagonally up/left, very fast
Magic Powder
These directions indicate where the powder appears relative to Link.
- U/D: 6 squares up, 1 left
- U/D/L: 1 square up, 1 right
- U/D/R: 2 squares up, 1 left
- U/D/L/R: 4 squares down
- D/L/R: 2 squares up, 2 right
Hookshot
These combinations can glitch Link through various obstacles if the hookshot catches the wall correctly.
- U/D: Starts 2 squares below Link, moves left
- U/D/L: Starts on Link, moves diagonally, up/right
- U/D/R: Starts on Link, moves diagonally up/left
- U/D/L/R: Starts 2 squares below Link, moves up very slowly. If Link is standing above a one square wide wall, this combination will pull Link down through the wall (Demonstrated in the image to the right).
- D/L/R: Starts 2 squares above Link, moves diagonally down/left
Fire Rod
This list describes the movement of the flame from the fire rod.
- U/D: Starts 5 squares below Link, moves diagonally up/right
- U/D/R: Starts 5 squares below Link, moves straight up
- U/D/L/R: Starts 1 square above Link, moves to the right
U/D While Holding Items
If you press up/down while carrying an item (such as a pot), the game will think Link is not carrying anything. You can perform other actions without Link throwing the item, as long as Link does not move during the action.
Application: Double Bomb
Pressing up/down while holding a bomb will allow you to place a second bomb. You can then throw the bomb Link is carrying, even though there is already a bomb on the field. This trick is useful for damaging bosses much faster than intended, notably dungeon 5's miniboss and dungeon 6's boss.
Hookshot Jumping
After using the hookshot over a pit, there is a 1-frame window when Link can jump before the pit pulls him in (right after the hookshot finishes retracting). The sequence of hookshot-jump can be used repeatedly to cross any pit.
Text Skipping
The text that displays after opening a chest can be skipped by going to the Save and Quit menu (by pressing A, B, Start, and Select) once the item has appeared from the chest for more than 5 frames. Entering the menu and cancelling is much faster than viewing the text.
A few other texts, such as some boss texts, can also be skipped with this technique. It is possible to skip the dungeon entrance text as well, but simply clearing the text normally is faster in this case.
"Stopped" Actions
When Link's movement is being stopped for certain actions to take place (such as opening a chest, or viewing a text box), it is possible to move a few pixels (or even open the menu) after activating the action before being stopped completely. It is also possible to move slightly between actions (such as between two text boxes appearing in sequence).
Application: Skip the Dog Food Text
The mini bow-wow that trades its dog food for a bow has two text boxes. If Link is close to the exit when talking to the mini bow-wow, the extra pixels of movement (in between the two texts) are enough to move out of the door without having to view the second text. Link still collects the dog food in the process.
Application: Skip the Pineapple Text
When the bear in Animal Village gives you the pineapple, there is a 1-frame window to perform an action before Link stops and holds up the pineapple. If you open the menu and Save and Quit during this window, you will collect the pineapple without having to see the rest of the bear's text.
Glitching Across Pits
Damage Boosting
If Link is damaged, he will be boosted away from the source of damage. If an enemy damages Link into a pit while he is partially inside the pit, he will be boosted across. If the pit is only one square wide, Link will reach the other side without being pulled back into the pit.
Pit-Walking
It is possible to cross one-square wide pits from above by centering Link between the two pits and walking down. Note that the trick only works on certain frames because of randomness with pit mechanics.
Dungeon Keyholes
The keyholes for opening dungeons 1 and 3 are set in blocks that can be accessed from the side. It is possible to activate the keyhole from the side of the block if Link is facing upwards and moving diagonally into the block. For dungeon 3's keyhole, move to the left side of the statue, face upwards, and hold down/right. If done correctly, Link slowly moves down (while facing up) and activates the keyhole from the side.
LinksAwakeningTricks last edited by Chef Stef on 2008-01-25 23:23:14Page info and history | Latest diff | List referrers