First, turn on your Game Boy and watch the opening sequence. Begin a save file
and give your character a name (many people, but not all, pick "Link").

The game begins in Mabe Village, at Marin and Tarin's House. Marin found you on
the beach and took you to their house. Talk to Tarin to get your shield
(officially known as the Wooden Shield) back. Then exit the house. Walk around
Mabe Village and talk to all the people. Every time you finish a dungeon, go
back and talk to everybody in Mabe Village. Most of the characters will have
new things to say. Some characters are helpful, while some are just goofy. Visit
the Phone Booth if you want to talk to Grandpa Ulrira, who provides vague hints
that might be just helpful enough to get un-stuck in the game. Check the books
in the library for hints on how to perform basic gameplay operations. When
you've talked to everybody and read the signposts, you might not know what to
do next.

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The Wooden Sword
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Your first objective is to go down to the shores and retrieve your trusty
sword. To get down there, go to the library and head as far south as you can,
jumping down a few hills and climbing down some steps. Avoid the rock-spitting
Octoroks in the area. When you can't go south any more, start heading east.
Hold down the shield button (B) to push the sea urchin out of the way. On the
shore is the sword. This item is the most useful in the game. You can swing
your sword to attack meanies or cut tall grass. I almost always have it as my
A-button item.

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Mabe Village Sidequests
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Now that you have your sword, you can advance quite a bit farther into the
game. Cut some tall grass just north of the library and jump off the cliff into
the well. You'll be in a room with a Piece of Heart. There are twelve of these
in Link's Awakening, and every time you collect four Pieces of Heart, you get a
new Heart Container. Pieces of Heart aren't easy to find, though. Make sure you
go to the Trendy Game once you have 10 Rupees. At the crane game, you can win
Magic Powder, which you'll need later, but there's a free way to earn it. You
can also win Rupees or a Shield (useless since you have one). But what you
really want is the Yoshi Doll - the object in the middle. It's very important
later on in the game. Talk to the storekeeper to begin playing. Hold B to move
the crane horizontally until it's directly above the Yoshi Doll. Then hold A
for a brief time to lower the crane so it's just a little above the doll. If
you do it right, the crane will pick it up and you'll be the winner of a Yoshi
Doll! There's a fishing pond two screens north of Madam MeowMeow's House where
you can go fishing. Each round costs 10 Rupees, but don't play until you have
at least 20-40 Rupees. If you catch one of the two big fish, you'll get 20
Rupees and a Piece of Heart. A turbo button makes it a bit easier to reel it
in. You'll probably have to catch a couple of the smaller fish before you can
get the big one to bite. In the grassy field in eastern Mabe Village, chop the
grass with your sword until you find a Secret Seashell. If you collect a lot of
these, something good is bound to happen! Before you leave Mabe Village, you
might want to check out the Tool Shop. You can buy 3 Recovery Hearts for 10
Rupees, a Deluxe Shovel for 200 Rupees, and a shield for 20 Rupees. Buying a
shield is only useful if it gets eaten by a Like Like.

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The Mysterious Woods
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The Mysterious Woods are, well, mysterious! This area is located to the north
of Mabe Village. Chop the bush at the northwest corner of Mabe Village to enter
the forest. The Owl will brief you on what to do next as soon as you enter.
You'll find that the woods are full of enemies called Moblins. Some wield
swords, while others attack using their bow and arrows. These troublemakers
can be defeated easily with a couple of whacks from your sword. You'll notice
that there's an endless loop in the western part of the woods. If you can't
figure it out by yourself, check the next paragraph.

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Magic Powder
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Enter the cave in the central part of the Mysterious Woods (also known as the
Mysterious Forest). Defeat the Keese (bats), bash the crystals with your sword,
push the rock to the side, and open the chest for 50 Rupees. Go through the
passage until you find that the road is blocked. You can't access the Piece of
Heart yet, but you can push two of the boulders to the left to open a path
through the other side of the cave. You'll be in another part of the Mysterious
Woods, where you'll find a Sleepy Mushroom, an item that's useless for now. Now
return to the entrance of the cave and follow the trail leading from the
northeast part of the Mysterious Woods. Go south and east to find the Witch's
Hut. Use the Sleepy Mushroom in front of the witch to get some Magic Powder.
This item has sundry applications, such as lighting lamps, burning enemies (a
cumbersome attack strategy), and even irritating noses. In real life, it's
generally wise to limit your contact with strange forest mushrooms and witches.

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Tail Key
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To get the Tail Key, find the raccoon in the western part of the forest and
sprinkle some Magic Powder on him. He'll have an allergic reaction and you'll
find out who he really is. Just say no to drugs. You can then proceed north,
where there's a treasure chest. Open it for the Tail Key! This allows you to
gain entry into the first dungeon.

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Tail Cave
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Now that you have the Tail Key, you can access the Tail Cave. The Tail Cave is
located southeast of Mabe Village; simply head east from the screen south of
the library, and then follow the zig-zagging trail. Insert your key in the
keyhole and you'll open the entrance to the dank, dreary dungeon.

When you first enter the Tail Cave, go left. Use your sword to swoosh the two
Hardhat Beetles into the pit, making a Small Key drop down. Take it, as it
allows you to open a locked door. From here, go left to a room with a treasure
chest and some Zols, who pop up when you come near. Get rid of them all and
open the chest. You will get the Compass! This will show you the locations of
the treasure chests in this dungeon, and it also plays a tone whenever you
enter a room that has a key in it.

Then go back to the first room and go up one screen. Defeat the Zols and knock
the Hardhat Beetle into the pit. Step on the switch and open the chest for your
second Small Key. Now go east one screen. You'll find a room with two Stalfoses
and two bats. Defeat them all to reveal a treasure chest. Inside is the Map.
The Map will show you all the rooms of the dungeon on the Subscreen, and will
distinguish rooms you've entered from those you haven't. It also shows you
where the Nightmare's Lair is. You're already well on your way to getting
through the Tail Cave.

Return to Room 4. Go west and defeat all the Keese to open the doors. Head
north and defeat the Mini-Moldorm to reveal a treasure chest containing 20
Rupees. From here, go east to Room 8, where you'll find a treasure chest.
Inside is the third and final Small Key. Watch out for the Mini-Moldorm and
Sparks.

Now that we've got our keys, we can insert the remaining pieces of the puzzle.
In Room 9, go through the locked door, but look out for the Razor Trap. Go east
and around the blocks. Push the western block to open the door. Then you'll be
in a room with some Spiked Beetles. Push them over with your shield and slash
them to beat them, revealing a stairway. Go down and you'll be in a side-
scrolling room with some Super Mario-style Goombas. These can be slashed
easily. Go left and climb up the ladder to reach Room 13. Go up the hall to a
chest, avoiding the Razor Traps. Inside is the dungeon prize - the Roc's
Feather. This enables you to jump over pits and enemies. This is the item I
have equipped to the B button most of the time. You'll need Roc's Feather to
get the Nightmare's Key.

Go back to Room 5 and go through the one-way door. This is Room 16. Go up
(return to the west room to reach this door) to find a room with a Lock Block.
Jump across the pit and use your key to unlock it. Go up the stairs and west
to find the Nightmare's Key!

Return to Room 16 and unlock the eastern door with your final Small Key. From
here, go north, where you'll find a vexing trio of enemies called Three of a
Kind. Slash them with your sword to stun them. If you stop all of them when
they're all displaying the same card suit, a chest appears. Open it to get the
Stone Beak, which allows you to read the tablets on the wall (these usually
show vague hints about where to find the Nightmare's Key). Go south to the
previous room. Jump across the gap and enter the east door.

You'll encounter a tough bad guy called Rolling Bones. Well, he's tough if you
don't know what to do. Jump over his spiked barrier, then start pounding him
with your sword. The north door opens, and a portal appears that warps you back
to the first room of the dungeon. Ignore it and go north. Avoid the Razor Traps
(use Roc's Feather to jump over them) and ignore the staircase. Open the
Nightmare Door to the north and face the Nightmare!

King of Worms MOLDORM
I couldn't resist trying to give the Link's Awakening bosses cool subtitles
like the Ocarina of Time bosses (such as Bio-Electric Anemone BARINADE or Evil
Spirit from Beyond PHANTOM GANON). Anyway, this Nightmare is pretty easy.
Before entering his room, power up your sword to begin a Whirling Blade Attack.
Then slash the Nightmare's tail. After each hit he frantically runs around at
high speed. Use Roc's Feather to help avoid his rampages. Hit him again after
he calms down and repeat. If he knocks you into the pit, you'll wind up in a
basement (climb the ladder back to the room before the Nightmare). Once you
defeat Moldorm, take the Heart Container that drops down and go forward to get
the Full Moon Cello, your first Instrument of the Sirens!