There’s much debate on what constitutes the best game of all time. At the top of most peoples lists are games like Ocarina of Time, or Super Mario World, or Doom. Notice a pattern? All console games. Hardly any list contains handheld titles.

Pictured, Gameboy, crushed that you don't take its feelings into consideration

Handheld gaming is usually thought up as an afterthought. I’ve even heard a friend of mine refer to game as “Good. For a portable game,” as if being portable was some kind of crutch. Sure, portable games don’t give you the immersion that console games do, but some of the best games of all time have graced tiny transportable cartridges.

Links Awakening came out for the Gameboy on August 6^th, 1993 stateside. The premise was much like its preceding Zelda’s on the NES and SNES. You are Link, a silent adventurer traversing through a mysterious land, collecting cool weapons and abilities on your quest. Instead of the usual saving Hyrule from the grasp of Pig Man/Sorcerer/Villain Ganon, you must awaken the Wind Fish on Koholit Island, or else be trapped on the island forever. The way to awaken the fish is by collecting eight magic instruments. And what happens when the Wind Fish awakens? I don’t want to ruin it, but if you don’t know by now, you should be very ashamed of yourself.

Eiji Aonuma finds it laughable that you still don't know the ending to Link's Awakening

The music in the game is some of the most recognizable. It was the first Zelda to make music a big part of the story (collecting magical instruments, awakening a beast with a magical lullaby, falling in love with a lady that can croon like nobody’s business), a theme seen in most modern Zeldas such as Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

If I may be so bold, even though the graphics weren’t as vibrant and colorful as Zelda on the NES, the gameplay was much more enjoyable than it’s predecessor. Even with 4 bits of color to work with, (all different shades or grey, black, and white) it was still much more user friendly than the original Legend of Zelda. And no, that doesn’t just mean it was easier. The backgrounds, enemies, weapons, and attacks were animated much better, much more fluid, more rigid and clean. The game was also just plain fun, other than the difficult, sometimes infuriatingly dated Zelda on the NES.

Nintendo re-released Links Awakening in 1998, for the Game Boy Color, adding color, a whole new dungeon, and compatibility with the Game Boy Printer. How did this remake stack up? Well, Electronic Gaming Monthly called it the best Gameboy game of all time.

How does it stack up to today’s standards? I’m not sure. I know this game is widely praised as one of the best Zeldas. My thoughts? I would say with no doubt in my mind that it’s the best game to ever grace a portable system. I have yet to find a portable game to top it. Even now, in the age of DSi and PSP, I keep around my old clunky Classic GBA, for the sole purpose of playing this game. I’ve beaten it about 16 times, each time I discover something new, something different, something more to love about the game.

The moral of the story boys and girls is that it doesn’t matter if a game is for a portable system, or a home console. Don’t judge a game on what it’s played on, but on it’s own (in this case) amazing merits.