I’ve been playing through Link’s Awakening on my Zelda Game & Watch again, and recently got to the portion where Marin sings “The Ballad of the Windfish” for the residents of the Animal Village. I also finally figured out how to get this frog dude—whose sprite is directly from Super Mario Bros. 2—to sing his crazy, discordant tune. I filmed both scenes on my iPhone SE’s camera and posted them to YouTube with a little text commentary sprinkled in for good measure.

You can purchase a Zelda Game & Watch here (the following is an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through this link, at no additional cost to you): https://amzn.to/3SGkl1X

I highly recommend grabbing one; it’s amazing having Zelda games in your coat pocket!

“The Ballad of the Windfish” from Link’s Awakening

This piece is one I’ll have to arrange for the alto saxophone. I think it would make for a great solo piece.

Frog’s Song from Link’s Awakening

I misidentified a cuddly bear as a frog in the first video; a viewer left the hilariously matter-of-fact comment “That’s not a frog. That’s a bear.” For my entire association with the game—which probably dates back to 1993—I’ve thought the little guy kicking his legs during Marin’s song is a frog. I thought the bear ears were frog eyes—ha!

So thanks to this gentlemen for pointing out my mistake.

The music in this game is particularly good, especially for a Gameboy game. It’s amazing what Nintendo was able to tease out of the system, and Link’s Awakening still holds up to this day.

Happy Friday!

—TPP