Link's Awakening ending question.

[Sorry if this has been asked before but why is it that Marin appears at the very end? And was the Wind Fish real?

Marin appears at the end because it would be too much of a downer otherwise.

For one, yes, the Wind Fish is real. You see him flying overhead in the very end. Koholint Island wasn't, but the Wind Fish is.

As for Marin, her appearance can be taken as either...
a) A simple Easter egg for completing the game with no deaths, or
b) She actually was able to leave the island by being transformed into a seagull.

I think the second one could even just be symbolic of her becoming free... I'm not sure if she's literally a seagull or not. But yeah, hope I answered you questions.

Originally Posted by LinkThatRemains

[Sorry if this has been asked before but why is it that Marin appears at the very end? And was the Wind Fish real?

Did you not pay attention to the dialogue?
"I wonder where these coconut trees come from? ...Tarin says there is nothing beyond the sea, but I believe there must be something over there... When I discovered you, Link , my heart skipped a beat! I thought, this person has come to give us a message...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
If I was a sea gull, I would fly as far as I could! I would fly to far away places and sing for many people! ...If I wish to the Wind Fish, I wonder if my dream will come true... ... ..."

Yes, the Wind Fish is real. As for Marin, that's debatable, but many like to think that her wish came true. Phantom Hourglass does the same thing with Linebeck.

the Wind Fish is real. it was dreaming, but then the nightmares took over and decided they wanted to rule the dream. Link stumbled into the Wind Fish's dream after he got knocked out in that storm, and had to wake the Wind Fish up before he could also wake up.

so yeah, Link woke up the Wind Fish, and woke up himself. ...and the two went on their merry ways.

as for Marin, ゼルダ pretty much explained it.
also note, the perfect ending in the DX and the original version differs. the original just has the sprite of Marin with wings, flying by and singing. the DX version has a larger image of Marin, and it disappears and is replaced by a seagull that flies away. I don't know which version you saw...but the DX version is a little more obvious as to what happened than the original. I think they were both meant to express the same thing, but the original just didn't quite nail it like the DX version did.

original perfect ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtGrBQuNy8s Marin appears at 5:28
DX perfect ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBqkLx4AMrg Marin appears at 6:59