The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening/Koholint Island

Map of Koholint Island

Koholint Island (コホリント島, Kohorinto-tō) is the island setting of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

In the course of the game, Link washes up on the shore of the island and is found by one of the inhabitants, a girl named Marin. Link then sets out to wake the Wind Fish by collecting the eight Wind Instruments from their hidden resting-places throughout the island, although the 'nightmares' try to hinder his progress.

Mabe Village

Mabe Village is located North-West of the Tail Cave and South of the Mysterious Wood. Link will begin his adventure here.

Mabe Village contains a shop, a Trendy Game, the Dream Shrine, a fishing pond, a phone booth and a library, as well as a few houses. Mabe Village and Animal Village (below) are often called "sister cities" (although they aren't large enough to be called cities). In the days before monsters roamed freely around Ukuku Prairie people used to travel between Mabe Village and Animal Village, but unfortunately by the time that Link arrives there it is too dangerous for anyone but warriors to do so. In the centre of the village there is a memorial to a creature called the "Flying Rooster" who, in bygone times, used to give rides to the children in the village. The currency of the village is Rupees which can be found everywhere throughout the island.

Places of interest

Shop

Inside the Shop

Link can purchase many useful items at the shop in Mabe Village to aid him in his quest to wake the Wind Fish. At the start of the game this shop only stocks a 200-Rupee shovel, 3 hearts for 10 Rupees and a Level 1 shield for 20 Rupees, but during the course of the game the shopkeeper begins stocking other items such as bombs, an expensive bow (980 Rupees!) and arrows. The shopkeeper isn't very kind toward shoplifters—if Link steals something from the shop and then returns at some later point, the Boss Music will play, the shopkeeper will say, "I wasn't kidding when I said pay! Now, you'll pay the ultimate price!!", and then will attack Link with some sort of lightning bolt, slowly depleting his health until he dies. Link is paralysed by it, and cannot move while being attacked in this way. After that the shopkeeper will once again sell to him, but his name is forever tarnished. From then on other characters will no longer refer to the player by the name input at the game start, but call him "THIEF" instead. If he later visits the Camera Shop (in the Deluxe version) after stealing something, his album will also be changed from "(yourname)'s Album" to "THIEF's Album"!

Dream Shrine

The Dream Shrine is a mysterious shrine which, until Link finds the Power Bracelet, is blocked by boulders. Inside the shrine there is a small room with a bed and four candles surrounding it. When Link sleeps in the bed, he will be teleported to a strange place where the Ocarina is obtained. It made a repeat appearance of sorts in The Minish Cap as a virtual monster-battling "simulator".

Inside the Library

The Library

The Library located in Mabe Village offers a small selection of books which double as tutorials for certain items and general playing techniques. The books are entitled:

• Fun with Bombs,
• The Properties of Warp Holes,
• Auto Map and Memo Guide Book,
• Selecting the Item That's Right for You,
• Secrets of the Whirling Blade,
• How to Handle Your Shield Like a Pro!,
• Atlas of Koholint Island,
• Dark Secrets and Mysteries of Koholint.

In the Deluxe version there is also another book that, just as in A Link to the Past, Link can't access until he has the Pegasus Boots. This book has information on how to get into the new Color Dungeon. The book, "Dark Secrets and Mysteries of Koholint", states how to find your way in the maze inside the Wind Fish's Egg, but its print is too small to read without the Magnifying Lens, which is the final item of the trading side-quest.

Inside the Trendy Game

Trendy Game

The Trendy Game is similar to crane games in the real world, but has a rotating conveyor belt instead of a stationary bin. The player manoeuvres the crane arm over the belt and then tries to time the claw's descent so that it will grab something. The main prize is a Yoshi doll which is a popular toy among the young children in Mabe Village. This is the first item in the trading side-quest to obtain the magnifying glass.

Phone Booth

From the phone booth, and other phone booths scattered around Koholint Island, Link can ring Old Man Ulrira for hints on what he should do next.

Animal Village

Animal Village is a community populated entirely by talking animals. No-one knows how they came to live there or how they are able to talk (but they are not the only talking animals on Koholint). Sometimes Marin travels to Animal Village to sing for the residents, but as of the start of Link's adventures she hasn't been able to get there for a long time. Later on in the game she is finally able to travel there with Link, in order to wake a walrus blocking a path Link needs to take. There is a warp point inside the village which Link can use to warp to Ukuku Prairie and Tal Tal Heights.

Other Regions

• Cemetery
• East of the Bay
• Face Shrine
• Gopongo Swamp
• Kanalet Castle
• Koholint Prairie
• Mysterious Woods
• Pothole Field
• Rapid Rides
• Signpost Maze
• South of the Village
• Tabahl Wasteland
• Tal Tal Heights
• Tal Tal Mountain Range
• Toronbo Shores
• Ukuku Prairie
• Yarna Desert

Dungeons

Level 1 -- Tail Cave

A basic dungeon located "South of the Village," in the hills north of Toronbo Shores. Its floor plan resembles a moldorm.

• Prerequisites: Tail Key
• Item: Roc's Feather
• Mini-Boss: Rolling Bones
• Boss: Moldorm

Level 2 -- Bottle Grotto

A jar-shaped dungeon located in Goponga Swamp. It is filled with many pots.

• Prerequisites: Bow Wow or the Magic Rod
• Item: Level-1 Power Bracelet
• Mini-Boss: Hinox
• Boss: Genie

Level 3 -- Key Cavern

A two-floor dungeon located near the Pothole Maze in Ukuku Prairie. Each floor takes on the image of a key when viewed on the map.

• Prerequisites: Slime Key
• Item: Pegasus Boots
• Mini-Boss: Dodongo Snakes
• Boss: Slimy Eyes

Level 4 -- Angler's Tunnel

A water-filled cave located at the base of Tal Tal Heights. From a bird's-eye perspective it resembles an anchor or a fishing hook.

• Prerequisites: Angler Key
• Item: Zora Flippers
• Mini-Boss: Cue Ball
• Boss: Angler Fish

Level 5 -- Catfish's Maw

The inside of a large catfish in the center of Martha's Bay. By the dungeon map's appearance it looks somewhat like a seahorse, although it is more likely representative of the catfish's body.

• Prerequisites: Put the wandering ghost to rest, Flippers
• Item: Hookshot
• Mini-Bosses: Master Stalfos, Gohma (x2)
• Boss: Slime Eel

Level 6 -- Face Shrine

A ruin to the north of Animal Village. The dungeon entrance is to the north of the main site of the ruins, where Link must first travel to learn the legend of the Wind Fish.

• Prerequisites: Hookshot, Face Key
• Item: Level-2 Power Bracelet
• Mini-Bosses: Dodongo Snakes, Smasher
• Boss: Façade

Level 7 -- Eagle's Tower

A large, four-story tower nestled within the eastern heights of the Tal Tal Mountain Range.

• Prerequisites: Bird Key
• Item: Mirror Shield
• Mini-Bosses: Hinox, Grim Creeper
• Boss: Evil Eagle

Level 8 -- Turtle Rock

A lava-filled lair in the cliffside of the western Tal Tal Mountain Range. It is built within the remains of a giant turtle which has become petrified within the rock of the mountainside. Near the rear of the dungeon there is also an exit to the top of the mountain where a warp hole and a Piece of Heart are located. In order to access the dungeon, the turtle's head must be brought to life by playing "The Frog's Song of Soul", and subsequently defeated.

• Prerequisites: Ocarina, "The Frog's Song of Soul"
• Item: Magic Rod
• Mini-Bosses: Cue Ball, Rolling Bones, Dodongo Snakes, Hinox, Smasher, Boxing Blaino
• Boss: Hot Head

Wind Fish's Egg

The large egg that is the island's most notable and elevated feature on top of Mount Tamaranch. It is fabled that the Wind Fish sleeps dreamily within its shell.

• Prerequisites: All eight Instruments of the Sirens, Ocarina, "Ballad of the Wind Fish"
• Boss: The Nightmares — Giant Bit's Shadow, Agahnim's Shadow, Moldorm's Shadow, Ganon's Shadow, Lanmola's Shadow, Dethl

Nature of the Island

Koholint Island is eventually revealed to be part of a dream of a shipwrecked Link.

External links

• Complete map and details (English/German)
• early Nintendo Power preview showing a significantly different island map