Koholint Island

Koholint Island is a large island featured in Link's Awakening. While on his way back from a journey of self discovery to make himself better fit to fight the evil which might threaten Hyrule in the future, Link got shipwrecked and ended up on this mysterious isle. The island is home to a wide variety of inhabitants living peaceful and worry-free lives. Despite the hospitality of the island, it is also home to many monsters and dungeons.

Background Information
Koholint Island in fact does not exist in reality, but was actually created by the Wind Fish's dreaming, forming an entire island that seemed almost never ending. However there came a point where monsters invaded The Wind Fish's slumber and plagued his dreams with Nightmares as they attempted to take over the dream world, and The Wind Fish seemed unable to wake up. However the dream world of Koholint still provided the necessary objects needed to awake him, primarily the Eight Instruments of the Sirens which, when playing the Ballad of the Wind Fish, will awake the Wind Fish. These instruments are well hidden in the dungeons in which the Nightmares reside in, trying to prevent The Wind Fish from awakening. There is also a kind of prophecy in the Southern Face Shrine which tells that the isle of Koholint is merely a dream dreamed by The Wind Fish, and that awakening him will cause the island to disappear. This prophecy also says 'Cast-away, you should know the truth', which refers to Link, foretelling that he would awaken The Wind Fish.

Though the island of Koholint is a dream, most of its inhabitants are completely unaware that they are part of the dream world. Despite this, the 'legend of The Wind Fish' still holds true to the inhabitants, as a giant pink egg can be seen for miles sitting atop of Mt. Tamaranch, which is where The Wind Fish slumbers. However the only characters that seem even remotely aware of The Wind Fish's existence would be Marin, who wonders what is on the other side of the ocean and hopes that one day The Wind Fish will grant her wish of becoming a seagull, and the Owl who is greatly concerned with The Wind Fish's endless slumber. The Owl is in fact a part of The Wind Fish's soul and is the guardian of the dream world. This Owl is also the one who directs Link to find and retrieve the Eight Instruments of the Sirens.

Currency
Like most lands in the Zelda series, Koholint Island's form of currency are rupees. However because of color limitations that the original Game Boy Link's Awakening had, all common rupees are usually worth one rupee, and are the color blue in Link's Awakening DX. However more rupees can be earned in treasure chests and by winning some in various mini-games. Koholint inhabitants are also perfectly fine with trading goods rather than solely purchasing them, as evident by the game's trading sequence.

Geography
Koholint Island, in some ways, resembles Hyrule as it was seen in A Link to the Past, both sharing very similar landscapes. Since Koholint Island is but a dream world that Link had ventured into, it is believed by some (especially theorists) that some landscapes in Hyrule had 'influenced' the geography of Koholint. Some examples include that Tal Tal Mountain Range could be the Koholint counterpart of Death Mountain, Mysterious Woods as Lost Woods, Kanalet Castle as Hyrule Castle and so on.

Koholint as a whole is a square island (although slightly rounded in official artwork), completely surrounded by water and also has a bay within the mainland. Most of the north are mountains, with the most promiment mountain being Mount Tamaranch, where The Wind Fish's egg rests and where it can be seen for miles. Most of the river's source of water starts here as well in the eastern mountains. The isle of Koholint also boasts of various other kinds of terrains, such as the dark woods, a wide beach in the south and a small desert in the south-east. It also has two villages, one that is home to people and the other being the home of talking animals.

Inhabitants
Koholint Island hosts an array of inhabitants. Humans mostly reside in Mabe Village with a few exceptions. The animals of Koholint have a village on the Eastern side of the island. But as with humans, animals can be found scattered throughout the island. Though there are many monsters on the island, Marin tells Link they showed up after he washed ashore. The islands' guardian deity seems to be the Wind Fish and his spiritual counterpart, the unnamed owl.

Regions of Koholint Island

 * Animal Village
 * Cemetery
 * East of the Bay
 * Face Shrine
 * Goponga Swamp
 * Kanalet Castle
 * Koholint Prairie
 * Mabe Village
 * Martha's Bay
 * Mysterious Woods
 * Pothole Field
 * Rapids Ride
 * Signpost Maze
 * South of the Village
 * Tabahl Wasteland
 * Tal Tal Heights
 * Tal Tal Mountain Range
 * Toronbo Shores
 * Ukuku Prairie
 * Yarna Desert

Links
Interactive clickable map of Koholint Island