Link learns that crime doesn't pay in the worst possible manner.
Often, even the very minor of characters can leave an impression on the player. From the Happy Mask Salesman from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask to the bomb maker from Twilight Princess, all have been quite interesting despite their roles as very minor auxiliary characters. But before all of them came to be, there was one shop keeper that yielded one of the most hilarious easter eggs in all the Zelda series: the Shop Keeper from Link's Awakening.
His shop works like in other games in the series: You go up to the counter, pick an item and pay for it. Pretty run of the mill, right? Well, Link may be Hyrule's hero, but even he has a dark side waiting to be exploited...
Business as usual...
If you are cunning enough, you can get away with theft! That's right, players have the chance of turning one of Nintendo's most beloved heroes into a petty thief.
But don't fret. The game is aware of the crime committed, so once you commit the crime, it changes your name to THIEF, and there is no way to change that. You steal an item, you pay the consequences. The punishment doesn't end there, though.
Link, the Hero of Time and holder of the Triforce of courage, is no match to this shop keeper
If you go back to the shop after stealing an item, the shop keeper will face you, give you a good lecture and ELECTROCUTE you to death! No mercy, no second chance, nothing.
The first time I saw this I was shocked at how over the top and random it was. Up until that point, the character was just a generic NPC programmed to handle the shopping aspect of the game. But the way they gave this character so much personality after a crime was committed I will always remember that crime doesn't pay, even if you are the greatest hero of all time.
In the Game Boy Color version of the game, there is a camera option that takes a picture of the game's greatest moment. If you pull off the crime of the century at the right time, you will have a picture of Link walking away with loot in hand. You could also connect a Game Boy Printer and use it as a sticker, to prove that all of Nintendo's heroes have one nasty side waiting to come out.
