ah yes, a place i can call home.
you know, i'll have to admit i never played link's awakening; i never had a gameboy. of any kind.
i wonder, as so much time has gone by, that if i play it now, would it be just as great as you all say it would be? I mean i find PH to be great..

Twas the first Zelda handheld and it's still my favorite handheld Zelda to date(with Oracle of Ages close second). It's definitely worth a play at least twice.

Oh man, I completed Link's Awakening like 5 or 6 times, at least! Sure the graphics are from an 8-bit handheld, but they're actually really good, considering. In fact, imho the 2d GB Zeldas have the best graphics on that system. Besides, after playing the game for a little while you just totally get used to the visuals and just get sucked into the game. It's truly great. And I agree with the comments about PH being a bit... 'empty'. When you play LA or the Oracle games, you'll know. The whole world just seems more 'filled up', and richer in those older games. PH, while still being an incredible game, just doesn't measure up. It feels bland in comparison. Still, it's a grand game too, and I really like the fact that it's all controlled with the stylus too. :)
It's kinda hard to really put into words what it is that makes the gameboy Zeldas, and especially LA for that matter, so special. Also, those games are far harder than PH. Nothing terrible, everyone could complete them if they put the effort into it. But if you compare them to Phantom Hourglass, you'll find the latter much milder and easier.
Ah, and the music. Yes, the quality is of course not so hot, I mean, coming from a GameBoy, but man, the tunes and melodies are AWESOME! Tal Tal Mountains, The Ballad Of The Windfish, The LA Overworld theme... just classic.
Seriously, if you're looking for rich, challenging, hugely fun and AAA quality games, look no further than Link's Awakening and the Oracle games. The first in particular. Oh, and while you're at it, try The Minish Cap. That's another wickedly marvelous game.

Phantom Hourglass ending spoilers follow, as do timeline ruminations:

The fact that there are confirmed different worlds in the ending of Phantom Hourglass is interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the fact that the story and general mode of the hero transcends the boundaries between worlds. More, the Triforce is a persistent symbol, even in worlds where it apparently does not reside - how far does the influence of the gods go? Doesn't this render discussion of timelines meaningless, because we are shown plainly that there are other worlds where the Hero walks?

Replaying TP as of now. I still can't decide if it's better than TP or vice versa.

Who here thinks the music in Zelda games should be respected more??

Zelda is the series that made of me a gamer and they're each good in their own ways. I can't think of any other game with a gameplay like it. It's really amazing and I can't wait for the next one! ^_^

Can Zelda be like Zelda? When I say this, I mean; can we stop with Zelda should be more like Fallout 3 or Fable 2 or Diablo.... thank you.

Let's talk about the time lines! That should be interesting...

I always thought that after Ocarina of Time it creates two different time lines.

The first is time line has young Link when he goes back in Time, and the other one is the world where after adult Link when back in time, the world didn't have a Link.

And Windwaker is in the world where there is no Link so Ganondorf comes back without any resistance and then the World is flooded. And that's where Windwaker and Phantom Hourglass are.



I'm so bored...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4BBw9nF7q8

Pretty much expands on what c03n3nj0 says.

That's actually the general idea, but Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass have made me doubt that there is a series of timelines connecting the games.

@SmokedHostage: Agreed.