One of the earliest games I ever played was Super Mario 64. It’s a bright, colorful, inviting game for all ages, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t terrifying to play at times as a child. There was a nightmarish eel hiding in the depths of the sunken ship in Jolly Roger Bay, a possessed piano in the mansion of Big Boo’s Haunt, and a giant Loch Ness monster lurking in the caverns of Hazy Maze Cave. As it turned out, that last one was actually a cute and harmless plesiosaur named Dorrie, but with a mission called “Swimming Beast in the Cavern” and a sign warning, “Don’t become his lunch,” I made someone else play the game for me at that stage before I could make that discovery.
Perhaps the scariest thing of all, however, was the Chain Chomp in Bob-omb Battlefield. It was huge, it was loud, it had gnashing teeth, and worst of all, it was invincible. Not only was this thing showing up in the very first level of Super Mario 64, but it would also bare its menacing teeth at me again within the first few screens of my very first Legend of Zelda game.
As I slotted in Link’s Awakening DX into my Game Boy Color for the first time, it wasn’t long until I got the chance to wander around the beautiful greens of Mabe Village. Stepping outside of the house of my rescuer, Marin, I could go in one of four directions. Going west seemed like a reasonable decision. A single screen later, and I was somehow face-to-face with my old, sharp-toothed tormentor.
It was surreal, to say the least. This was a Zelda game, but there was a Mario enemy. The music was cheerful, and yet there was a monster. I didn’t even have a weapon, and yet the game was throwing a demon at me within the first few minutes of playing.
As I had always done in Super Mario 64, I would do my best to steer clear of the creature, walking around the edge of the screen when passing through.
After retrieving Link’s sword from Toronbo Shores, I returned with my newly acquired blade to see if I could attack the fiend — it wasn’t possible to fight back in Bob-omb Battlefield, but maybe the rules were different on Koholint Island. This is when I discovered that I couldn’t fight the Chain Chomp, but more importantly, I found that it couldn’t hurt me either. He may have been an angry boy, but he was completely harmless.
Relieved at the fact that I no longer had to keep my distance when wading around the house that the Chain Chomp seemed to be guarding, I decided to enter. Inside was Madam MeowMeow, who somehow wasn’t terrified of the beast that roamed outside her window. In fact, it happened to be one of this woman’s three beloved pets. Was she insane? “Ho ho ho! My BowWow is so proud of his fine fur coat!” And here I thought BowWow had a cold, metallic sheen; that’s how it looked in Mario, at least.
With my new sword in hand and realizing the Monster of Mabe Village was not my enemy, I continued with my adventure, assuming that this would be the last of my notable encounters with BowWow. I continued in search of dungeons, challenges, and treasure.
As I conquered the Tail Cave and made my way back north to the village, manic music began to play, and I was stopped by two of the quadruplet children. “Hey buddy! It’s serious! Yeah, really serious!! Yeah, it is! The Moblins came to the village! Yeah, that’s right! A whole gang of Moblins! Then… It’s for real! They all went to the house… Yeah, that house, and then they did something at BowWow’s house!! It was a really bad scene, with the M-m-moblins! So, I mean, ahh!”
Sure enough, when I arrived at Madam MeowMeow’s house, BowWow was nowhere to be seen. “AIEEEEEEEE! It’s terrrrible! My BowWow was dognapped by… Mo-mo-MOBLINS!!” All of this stuttering and monster talk was getting a little too Scooby-Doo, and while I may not have got on well with Chain Chomps in the past, what kind of hero would I be if I left this woman in her state of anguish?
With my new Roc’s Cape, I could leap over the pits that had stopped my progress before, and head east of Goponga Swamp to Tal Tal Heights. It was here that I found the Moblins’ hideout, and as I entered, I found out that these brutes can actually talk. “Ennh? Who’s this suspicious-looking runt?! Okay boys, let’s get ridda him!” They wouldn’t be doing much talking or dognapping for long, however.
I made short work of the grunts and found myself standing before their leader, King Moblin. He seemed to think I was an “assassin sent by Madam MeowMeow to rescue the mutt!” First of all, what’s with everyone referring to BowWow as a dog (first “dognapped,” and now “mutt”) when actual dogs live in Mabe Village? Secondly, did a sweet lady like Madam MeowMeow really seem like the type to have regular contact with assassins? I guess you never really know a person.
The fight with King Moblin played out like a boss battle, but it wasn’t too difficult to defeat him and to ultimately disband his troublesome gang. In the next room, I found BowWow chained to a stone. I expected a cutscene to play as soon as I walked forward, with the game skipping Link’s journey back to Mabe village and cutting straight to BowWow and MeowMeow being reunited.
I was so happy and excited when this happened instead:
I found myself now holding BowWow’s chain, tethered to a new and powerful weapon. This Chain Chomp, a beast that I thought was my enemy at the very start of the game, was now my ally. And he was hungry.
It would be a while before I brought BowWow home, as I was having way too much fun letting him devour all of the Moblins, Gels, and Keese that roamed the woods. I continuously circled around the Mysterious Forest letting BowWow feast, gathering hundreds of rupees as I did so. He even took care of the Buzz Blob outside of the Witch’s Hut, which I couldn’t strike with my sword without getting zapped.
I was having a blast with my new friend, but alas, it came time to bring him back home. The good news was that Madam MeowMeow would still let me take BowWow on walks whenever I wanted, which I took full advantage of whenever I was in the mood for ravaging and rupee collecting.
I also discovered something after rescuing BowWow: Whenever I would go to visit BowWow at his home, he would no longer lunge at me and strain against his post to try and attack. Instead, he would happily hop up and down, like he wanted to play. It’s such a subtle change of animation, but I still find it incredibly sweet.
BowWow and I had many more adventures, too. He would help me locate Secret Seashells in the ground, letting me know where to dig with my shovel. He devoured the giant Goponga Flowers obstructing my path in the swamp, allowing me access to the Bottle Grotto. We paid a visit to Prince Richard, who was not pleased in the least when I brought BowWow into his villa. We even got the Photographer to take a snap of us together, though I think BowWow needs more lessons in photography etiquette.
Exactly how the Moblin gang managed to capture this unstoppable creature is still a mystery to me, but their motive for achieving such a feat is very clear. BowWow is a force of nature, and I’m grateful that I never found myself on the wrong end of those deadly choppers as I had done in Super Mario 64.
The Chain Chomp was first introduced into the world of Nintendo in Super Mario Bros. 3. Director Shigeru Miyamoto’s design was inspired by a childhood experience wherein a dog once ran up to him and tried to bite him, but was held back by its chain. He certainly channeled a similar fear into me with the Mario games, but in The Legend of Zelda, I learned to love that fearsome beast.
