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Link's Awakening has been around since 1993 and naturally you'd assume that it has dated somewhat, wouldn't you? Especially considering that all that's been done to it is to add a little colour and the odd new feature. There are bound to be those of you out there who don't believe a game that's five years old could have kept its playability this long. Well, how wrong you are!

Zelda: Link's Awakening DX begins with a simple (but colourful) cut-scene in which we seen the hero of the hour, Link, aboard a tall-masted sailing ship in the middle of a vicious storm. Cut to a peaceful beach where a diminutive girl (why does everyone in this game look like a Hobbit?) comes across a small green-clad figure washed up on the shore. A figure who turns out of course to be Link!

Upon awakening in a strange bed, Link learns that he's on Koholint island, a place which has a strange huge egg perched on top of its central mountain. Legend (which always seems to know more than anyone else) has it that a mythical creature called the Wind Fish sleeps inside the egg. Quite what relevance this creature has to Link isn't clear until he realises that he has no way to get off the island. At which point a mysterious owl appears an tells him that, if he wakes the Wind Fish, all his questions will be answered. Ah... now we see.

You begin the adventure inside the hut of a girl calle Marin. She explains that you've been asleep since she discovered you on the beach and tells you where you can find your sword. Stopping only to grab your shield from Marin's father Tarin you leave the hut and set off to explore Koholint Island and fulfil your destiny.

The first thing you need to do is fetch your sword and while Marin was helpful, you're still going to need some more guidance if you want to negotiate your way successfully around the island. The best advice is that, if something doesn't attack you, talk to it. Chat to everything and everyone you come to in fact, even if they're a dog-shaped more like a little black pac-man.

Without too much trouble, you should find yourself getting hints from numerous helpful folk, in addition to which, most junctions are marked with signposts. Before you know it you'll have found your sword. Which is when the adventure begins in earnest.

Although skills with the sword are obviously important, it's your communication skills which provide you with the most rewards. Talking to children is always helpful at the start, particularly as they give you technical tips on the controls. Don't be surprised to find a child who says, "If you want to save, then hold down all four buttons at once... Mind you, I don't know what that means, after all I'm only a kid!"

Other characters give you clues to future events, like the man who greets you and then tells you that he'll be lost in the forest later. This is all near the beginning though, when things are fairly easy. Gradually conversations become more obscure and although occasionally people will ask you directly for something, often they'll just hint at it, like the dog who raves about fashionable items - turns out she's after a bow. And who would have guessed that a crocodile would want a tin of dog food?

To begin with, you only have the run of a small portion of the map. Until you discover your sword even tall grass is an impenetrable obstacle to little Link, and once you can hack through that, other problems bar your way. Like holes for instance. To begin with, you don't have the ability to jump. Plus everywhere you go, large rocks bar your way whch you are repeatedly told (if you try to push them) are too heavy to lift with just your bare hands.

It's immediately obvious that there are many tasks you'll be able to carry out once you find certain objects, and this is one of the progressive elements of the game. Whilst there are a number of different things you can do at any one time, there is some measure of linearity in the choice of what you attempt next.

Meaning that, if you're stuck for what to do a systematic search of available areas along with an investigation of your inventory should show you which way to go.

Serious RPG fanatics might find all this a little too easy, and as Link's Awakening is on the Game Boy Color, chances are you won't be sitting down with it for many hours at a time. Instead, it'll probably be played in bursts whenever you get a moment (which after all is the whole point of having a portable console). Because of this, if the puzzles and adventures in the game were the kind which requried copious note-taking and hours of exploration for each task, then it wouldn't be very suitable for the format. As it is, whilst Link's Awakening is far from easy, you'll find that you can put it down without fear of being totally lost when you pick it up again. Phew!

If you've played the original black and white version of Link's Awakening then you'll doubtless have realised by now that there are some marked similarities between this game and the 1993 version. Aside from the colour they look almost identical, however this new coloured version has a few new tricks up its sleeve...

To start with, there's the photographer. Find his shop and you discover that he is keen to record your adventures on Koholint island. Afterwards, he pops up every so often to take a snap of you and record some particular event for posterity.

Return to the shop at any time and you can view the pictures that the photographer has taken. Plus, if you own a Game Boy printer then you can even make a hard-copy of your snap to save for all time!

The second and biggest difference between the colour and the black and white versions (apart from colour obviously) is that there is an extra dungeon in the game which is only accessible when you're playing the game which is only accessible when you're playing the game on a Game Boy Color. Successfully find and solve this dungeon, defeat the boss at the end, and you get yourself a secret item which wasn't in the first adventure and should prove very helpful on your quest!

Although fans of the black and white version of Link's Awakening will probably be a little disappointed that this is more-or-less the same game, the colour itself is a vast improvement making the whole environment - and more importantly the objects and obstacles in that environment - stand out tremendously. The addition of the extra dungeon and the photographer don't really change the game all that much; however, in the words of an ancient philosopher, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Zelda: Link's Awakening DX is exactly what it says on the box: the deluxe version of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Treat yourself to a little luxury and be content in the knowledge that this is one of the most absorbing and fascinating adventures on any games machine.