Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is arguably one of the most quirky titles from one of Nintendo’s long-running, critically-acclaimed game series. But did you know it has legitimate ties to cult-classic TV series Twin Peaks?
In an article for Collider, writer Samantha Graves wrote a neat piece on the influence that the David Lynch series had on the 1993 Game Boy entry into The Legend of Zelda lore. Graves draws on the game’s ‘whimsicality’ to solidify the link, as well as the following excerpts from an old Iwata Asks conversation about handheld Zelda games (rest in peace, king):
Eiji Aonuma: Whoa, here we go. (laughs) Iwata-san, do you know about Twin Peaks?
Satoru Iwata: No. Bring me me up to speed. (laughs)
Takashi Tezuka: We were talking about this before you [to Satoru Iwata] arrived. I was talking about fashioning The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening with a feel that’s somewhat like Twin Peaks. At the time, Twin Peaks was rather popular. The drama was all about a small number of characters in a small town.
Iwata: Okay…
Tezuka: So when it came to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, I wanted to make something that, while it would be small enough in scope to easily understand, it would have deep and distinctive characteristics.
The chat between the developers is a real treat, with Aonuma confessing that he thought Tezuka ‘just wanted to be trendy’ when he first heard about the influence. Nothing like a light roast between co-workers, who can relate?
It was the sharing of this article, though, that seemed to bring a certain somebody out of the woodwork. Mark Frost, who fans of the TV series will know is the co-creator of Twin Peaks, decided to pop up out of nowhere with the following quote tweet.
Anybody ever play this? I met with them about it and gave them some ideas, never tried it myself. https://t.co/bjtzbdVg4W
— Mark Frost (@mfrost11) May 9, 2023
I’ve gotta say; there is something deeply funny about hitting folks with an “Anybody ever play this?” in reference to a well-known Zelda game. Hard to say whether or not it was tongue-in-cheek or the guy simply didn’t know much about it post-“ideas”, because he pretty much peaced out of the conversation afterwards.
And, of course, it’s only expected that the reply tweets are filled to the brim with people wanting to know more, fans and journalists alike. Like sharks to blood in the water. It makes sense, that’s quite the claim to make out of nowhere.
Then again, he could just be taking the piss. But if not, how about that!
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