After demonstrating proficiency with the Deku Leaf glider, Link heads out of the Deku Tree’s cave to the sea, facing the Forbidden Woods. To get there, he’ll need to make two glides, one to an intermediate island, and then the rest of the way, catching a updraft to lift him. Also, when he’s outside, the wind can help or hinder him on the Deku Leaf glider, so he needs to use the Wind Waker to adjust the wind to a favorable one before each jump. Finally, because there’s not enough to worry about already, there are three Peahats hovering around the entrance to the Forbidden Woods, and if they hit Link, it doesn’t end well for him. On the other hand, once Link finally does make the jump, he can use the grappling hook to steal golden feathers from them.
There are Peahats inside, too, along with a bunch of other plant enemies: Boko Babas, Dexivines (similar to the dexihands from Majora’s Mask), huge vines that are mostly meant to signal to the player that Link can’t progress a certain way (sometimes popping out of the ground en masse to create a maze, sometimes singly poking out from walls in case Link tries a forbidden jump), and Morths, entirely new critters that stick to Link and slow his movement but get dizzy if he does a spin attack and let go (and usually get caught in the spin attack and die). A key feature of navigation is plant critters that block doors with a bunch of vines; cutting the vines does no good since they grow right back, but there’s always something nearby that can kill the critter and open the door. Other navigation tricks involve Boko Bud jumping and soaring with the Deku Leaf, and using the Leaf on the ground to create wind to manipulate carts.
The dungeon’s treasure is guarded by a bunch of Mothulas, which have two variants, one with wings and one without. Like the bosses with the same name, they’re annoying to fight – this time because they summon a bunch of Morths, who are not dangerous but a nuisance. Link needs to knock the winged mothulas’ wings off with the Deku Leaf before he can kill them. The treasure is the boomerang, which is a lot easier to use than Ocarina of Time’s attempt to bring it into 3D. It’ll lock onto targets, and can even lock onto multiple targets and bounce between them before returning to Link.
At the end of the dungeon, Link finally finds Makar, just before Makar is eaten by the boss, Kalle Demos. Kalle Demos then attaches itself to the ceiling with vines, which Link needs to knock down, then charge its exposed weak point and whack it a couple times and get back away before it closes on him. I didn’t do very well at this part (although unlike getting away from Gyorg in Majora’s Mask, I’m pretty sure I could have if I weren’t so focused on getting every last hit I could in), but thankfully there are a bunch of hearts hidden under grass throughout the boss room. After enough hits, Kalle Demos dies and Makar is free, and the portal takes him and Link back to the Deku Tree.
Makar is apologetic when he returns, but the Deku Tree is just happy that he’s safe. The Tree thanks Link and gives him Farore’s Pearl, as promised, and asks Makar to play his music for the ritual. Makar plays a fiddle while the other Koroks sing, and the Tree sprouts a bunch of seeds that the Koroks fly up to collect. Most of the Koroks take the seeds and leave to spread them across the Great Sea. Two stay behind: Makar, still playing his fiddle, and Hollo, who runs a potion shop and would sell Link a potion in exchange for Boko Baba seeds, except that both of Link’s bottles are filled with fairies (the graphic for which has changed from “little ball of light in the bottle” to “little fairy looking sad at being imprisoned”), so no deal there.
Before Link heads back to sea, there are a couple other islands off Forest Haven that need exploring. One has a treasure map in a chest. The other has the Nintendo Gallery, but to access it, Link needs to hit a switch that’s beyond boomerang range. I’ll come back here for this. Link heads back to the King of Red Lions; the mailbox is bouncing around again, this time with a letter from the Rito chieftain thanking Link for everything he did for his people, explaining how the mailboxes work, and including another heart piece. The King of Red Lions is concerned that the Forest Haven was also attacked, and marks the spot for Nayru’s Pearl on the map. Since there’s no one direct path there, the Great Sea has finally opened up, and Link can do some exploring on his way.
Next: And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, / And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
The Wind Waker: Deku Tree
Link visits the Wind Shrine, which has two statues. One is destroyed, but the other is intact and has markings that look suspiciously like a tune to conduct with the Wind Waker. Link takes out the wand and waves it around to learn the Wind’s Requiem, a song that lets him change the wind’s direction. Given the name of the wand and the game, I would guess this will be one of the most important songs he can learn. Zephos, the wind god, comes by on a cloud to explain the mechanics to Link. He also mentions his brother, Cyclos, whose monument is the destroyed one at the shrine, and is annoyed about that and uses the wind to torment people. He leaves Link with a request: chastise his brother if he sees cyclones while sailing.
The King of Red Lions says the next destination is to the south, so Link changes the wind to a north wind, and they set sail. Before they can get too far away from the island, they’re interrupted by a fish. The fish can somehow see Link’s chart, and notes that it’s pretty sparsely filled in. Link opens up the chart, and the fish fills in Dragon Roost Island on it. He further tells Link there’s a peculiar cave on the island that can only be accessed by flying. That’s all he can do for Link, but he offers to spread word to his fellows who hang out by islands in the sea. If Link lures them with bait, they’ll also fill in locations on the chart, and give hints about other things to do on the sea. He tells the King of Red Lions that his debt is filled, and takes off.
The next island’s way to the south, giving Link a chance to explore the islands along the way, bait the fish, get his map updated, and learn some hints. The first island he passes is Fire Mountain, another volcano that’s rumored to have treasure inside. The fish says to get the treasure, he’ll have to go west of Windfall Island and get something that will let him freeze the flames. The next island is Eastern Triangle Island, where the fish talks about the power of fairies, and tells Link he can get a bottle on a submarine to the south. The final island to pass on the way south is Bomb Island, where the fish hints about something happening at sea on nights with a third (waning) quarter moon. The submarine the last fish hinted at is here, and Link finds a few Bokoblins and, indeed, a second bottle. Also, there’s one other feature of the grappling hook I didn’t document: it can be used to steal treasure from enemies, turning a random drop (Joy Pendants from the Bokoblins) into a guaranteed get.
Finally, Link arrives at his destination: Forest Haven. Here, he’s charged with getting Farore’s Pearl from the Great Deku Tree. First, the mailbox is bouncing around with a response from the mail helper’s mother with a heart piece. Also, the bait shop boat has made its way here as well, and Link can fill up his bait bag now that he knows how useful baiting fish is. Then, to get to the Deku Tree, Link has a long climb ahead of him. It’s filled with enemies, primarily Boko Babas, but there are a couple octoroks Link can kill by batting their rocks back at them. Finally, Link comes to the Deku Tree’s home, and when he finally gets close to the Tree, he finds it covered in chuchus. Link knocks them loose and kills them all, freeing the Deku Tree to speak.
First the Tree speaks in Hylian, to Link’s bewilderment. He lifts Link up, and apologizes; seeing Link dressed like the Hero of Time momentarily confused him. He already suspects that Link was brought to the island by the King of Red Lions, and Link confirms his suspicion. This also confirms what the Tree believes: that the monsters congregating around the island are doing so because Ganon has returned. He calls to the Koroks, a group of plant creatures who are hiding in his branches, to show themselves because Link is not their enemy. He says the Koroks used to have human forms – seemingly implying they were the Kokiri before. (The music in the area samples both the Kokiri Village and Lost Woods themes from Ocarina of Time.)
Link arrived at an important time – the Koroks are due to perform an annual ritual. The Tree promises to give the pearl to Link after the ritual, but before they can begin, Linder, one of the Koroks, comes in saying that another, Makar, fell into the Forbidden Woods. The Tree asks Link if he’d be willing to go rescue Makar. Before Link can answer, Linder reminds the Tree that Link can’t get to the Woods because he can’t fly. The Deku Tree comes up with a solution, creating an item high in its branches. Link needs to go up to get it, requiring a fun series of being tossed around by Baba Buds, with the occasional grappling hook swing thrown in for variety. Eventually, Link gets to the top and claims the Deku Leaf, allowing him to create gusts of wind on the ground, and can be used as a glider.
Link’s ready to enter the next dungeon – which, by the way, used to be the Kokiri Village, and is now a place of evil. This game just wants to break my heart into a billion pieces, doesn’t it?
Next: I’m a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
The King of Red Lions says the next destination is to the south, so Link changes the wind to a north wind, and they set sail. Before they can get too far away from the island, they’re interrupted by a fish. The fish can somehow see Link’s chart, and notes that it’s pretty sparsely filled in. Link opens up the chart, and the fish fills in Dragon Roost Island on it. He further tells Link there’s a peculiar cave on the island that can only be accessed by flying. That’s all he can do for Link, but he offers to spread word to his fellows who hang out by islands in the sea. If Link lures them with bait, they’ll also fill in locations on the chart, and give hints about other things to do on the sea. He tells the King of Red Lions that his debt is filled, and takes off.
The next island’s way to the south, giving Link a chance to explore the islands along the way, bait the fish, get his map updated, and learn some hints. The first island he passes is Fire Mountain, another volcano that’s rumored to have treasure inside. The fish says to get the treasure, he’ll have to go west of Windfall Island and get something that will let him freeze the flames. The next island is Eastern Triangle Island, where the fish talks about the power of fairies, and tells Link he can get a bottle on a submarine to the south. The final island to pass on the way south is Bomb Island, where the fish hints about something happening at sea on nights with a third (waning) quarter moon. The submarine the last fish hinted at is here, and Link finds a few Bokoblins and, indeed, a second bottle. Also, there’s one other feature of the grappling hook I didn’t document: it can be used to steal treasure from enemies, turning a random drop (Joy Pendants from the Bokoblins) into a guaranteed get.
Finally, Link arrives at his destination: Forest Haven. Here, he’s charged with getting Farore’s Pearl from the Great Deku Tree. First, the mailbox is bouncing around with a response from the mail helper’s mother with a heart piece. Also, the bait shop boat has made its way here as well, and Link can fill up his bait bag now that he knows how useful baiting fish is. Then, to get to the Deku Tree, Link has a long climb ahead of him. It’s filled with enemies, primarily Boko Babas, but there are a couple octoroks Link can kill by batting their rocks back at them. Finally, Link comes to the Deku Tree’s home, and when he finally gets close to the Tree, he finds it covered in chuchus. Link knocks them loose and kills them all, freeing the Deku Tree to speak.
First the Tree speaks in Hylian, to Link’s bewilderment. He lifts Link up, and apologizes; seeing Link dressed like the Hero of Time momentarily confused him. He already suspects that Link was brought to the island by the King of Red Lions, and Link confirms his suspicion. This also confirms what the Tree believes: that the monsters congregating around the island are doing so because Ganon has returned. He calls to the Koroks, a group of plant creatures who are hiding in his branches, to show themselves because Link is not their enemy. He says the Koroks used to have human forms – seemingly implying they were the Kokiri before. (The music in the area samples both the Kokiri Village and Lost Woods themes from Ocarina of Time.)
Link arrived at an important time – the Koroks are due to perform an annual ritual. The Tree promises to give the pearl to Link after the ritual, but before they can begin, Linder, one of the Koroks, comes in saying that another, Makar, fell into the Forbidden Woods. The Tree asks Link if he’d be willing to go rescue Makar. Before Link can answer, Linder reminds the Tree that Link can’t get to the Woods because he can’t fly. The Deku Tree comes up with a solution, creating an item high in its branches. Link needs to go up to get it, requiring a fun series of being tossed around by Baba Buds, with the occasional grappling hook swing thrown in for variety. Eventually, Link gets to the top and claims the Deku Leaf, allowing him to create gusts of wind on the ground, and can be used as a glider.
Link’s ready to enter the next dungeon – which, by the way, used to be the Kokiri Village, and is now a place of evil. This game just wants to break my heart into a billion pieces, doesn’t it?
Next: I’m a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
Monday, November 26, 2018
The Wind Waker: Dragon Roost Cavern
On the upper level of the Rito village, Link finds Medli, an attendant-in-training to Valoo. She gives Link the letter from the chieftain to Komali and tells him where his room is, then asks him to meet her at the entrance to Dragon Roost Cavern afterward. Link leaves and finds Komali lying in bed, holding a red ball. He wants nothing to do with Link, and giving him the letter doesn’t change his attitude any. Komali says Link’s in the letter, which just raises all sorts of questions. The chieftain wrote the letter and gave it to Medli before either of them met Link, but Link’s mentioned in the letter, and Medli decided to hold on to the letter until Link showed up and the whole sequence makes no sense. Anyway, Komali doesn’t think going to see Valoo in his current mood is a good idea, and he doubts Link can calm him down.
Getting through to Komali wasn’t going to happen, so Link leaves to meet Medli as promised. The area they meet used to be a small spring, but Valoo’s tantrum knocked a boulder to block the source of the spring, causing it to dry up. Medli wants to go to a shrine near the top of the mountain, but with the bridge out and the spring gone, needs Link to toss her into the wind to make it across. With his help, she flies to the far ledge, and gives Link a bottle before making her journey up. Link uses the bottle to gather some of the remaining spring water, which he uses to refresh a nearby withered bomb flower. Then the bomb from the flower blows up the rock blocking the spring (which takes good timing to have the bomb blow up when it’s close enough to the rock, but before it goes into the water), allowing Link to cross the chasm. Once across, he needs to use bombs knock down two statues to form platforms to cross a lava pit, allowing him access to Dragon Roost Cavern.
Being the first real dungeon, Dragon Roost Cavern takes the time to teach the player some of the basics of dungeoneering. Some, like lighting torches and pulling blocks, are familiar to people who’ve played other games in the series (particularly the games on the N64 for the 3D versions), but there are some new wrinkles. Some pots contain water that cause lava to temporarily cool into walkable platforms, and there are a couple times Link needs to cut ropes to cause a platform to fall. Wooden panels over doors can be broken with the sword, or if they’re too thick for that, burned away. Enemies hide in pots and have to be lured out. And even the familiar puzzle elements have new twists: there’s an enemy that curls into a ball when it takes damage that, at one point, Link needs to hold down a switch to open the chest with the boss key. The rats are back, and King of Red Lions contacts him somehow to tell him they’ll sell him stuff if he attracts them with bait. Finally, there are pots that Link can jump in to quick travel between points in the dungeon. The one near the beginning is open, but later ones have to be cleared.
The path through the dungeon manages to be obvious even as it loops around itself, punctuated by sequences where Link goes outside to walk on the mountain to the next entrance to the dungeon. During one of the outside paths, Link comes close to Valoo’s roost. Nearby, Medli’s been captured by Bokoblins. Once they’re gone – plus a Moblin that gets dropped in to join the fray – he lets her out of her cell. She tells him that Valoo’s tail reaches into the mountain, and there’s a monster in there bothering it, and that’s why he’s so upset. She leaves to tell her people what’s causing Valoo’s bad mood, and gives Link a grappling hook to help navigate the rest of the dungeon. For the most part, at least for this dungeon, it’s not really a hookshot, but instead lets him wrap a rope around something to swing across pits below.
The grappling hook gets a workout during the boss fight against Gohma, who’s been reimagined with a longer body: more like a scorpion than a crab. Gohma’s apparently been the one annoying Valoo, but the first phase of the fight involves Link using the grappling hook to pull Valoo’s tail, making Valoo drop a giant rock that crushes Gohma and cracks its armor, so Gohma’s apparently been hiding after tormenting Valoo. Once Gohma’s armor is completely destroyed, Link can use the grappling hook on its eye directly – its most hookshottish use – and pull Gohma closer and hit the eye with his sword. It doesn’t take long before Gohma dies, dropping a heart container and causing the lava pit it was crawling out of to cool off.
Valoo is pleased no one’s bothering its tail anymore, and the cloud around the mountain clears up. Medli brings Komali to meet Link on the beach, and Komali’s apologetic for how he treated Link before, and gives Link the red ball – Din’s Pearl, which was what Link needed from the island. Valoo says “Use the wind god’s wind” in Hylian, and Medli or Komali thinks it might mean for Link to visit the nearby wind shrine. Komali runs off to meet with Valoo, and after thanking Link, Medli follows.
Next: They’re all talking about a feeling, of a taste that’s in the air…
Getting through to Komali wasn’t going to happen, so Link leaves to meet Medli as promised. The area they meet used to be a small spring, but Valoo’s tantrum knocked a boulder to block the source of the spring, causing it to dry up. Medli wants to go to a shrine near the top of the mountain, but with the bridge out and the spring gone, needs Link to toss her into the wind to make it across. With his help, she flies to the far ledge, and gives Link a bottle before making her journey up. Link uses the bottle to gather some of the remaining spring water, which he uses to refresh a nearby withered bomb flower. Then the bomb from the flower blows up the rock blocking the spring (which takes good timing to have the bomb blow up when it’s close enough to the rock, but before it goes into the water), allowing Link to cross the chasm. Once across, he needs to use bombs knock down two statues to form platforms to cross a lava pit, allowing him access to Dragon Roost Cavern.
Being the first real dungeon, Dragon Roost Cavern takes the time to teach the player some of the basics of dungeoneering. Some, like lighting torches and pulling blocks, are familiar to people who’ve played other games in the series (particularly the games on the N64 for the 3D versions), but there are some new wrinkles. Some pots contain water that cause lava to temporarily cool into walkable platforms, and there are a couple times Link needs to cut ropes to cause a platform to fall. Wooden panels over doors can be broken with the sword, or if they’re too thick for that, burned away. Enemies hide in pots and have to be lured out. And even the familiar puzzle elements have new twists: there’s an enemy that curls into a ball when it takes damage that, at one point, Link needs to hold down a switch to open the chest with the boss key. The rats are back, and King of Red Lions contacts him somehow to tell him they’ll sell him stuff if he attracts them with bait. Finally, there are pots that Link can jump in to quick travel between points in the dungeon. The one near the beginning is open, but later ones have to be cleared.
The path through the dungeon manages to be obvious even as it loops around itself, punctuated by sequences where Link goes outside to walk on the mountain to the next entrance to the dungeon. During one of the outside paths, Link comes close to Valoo’s roost. Nearby, Medli’s been captured by Bokoblins. Once they’re gone – plus a Moblin that gets dropped in to join the fray – he lets her out of her cell. She tells him that Valoo’s tail reaches into the mountain, and there’s a monster in there bothering it, and that’s why he’s so upset. She leaves to tell her people what’s causing Valoo’s bad mood, and gives Link a grappling hook to help navigate the rest of the dungeon. For the most part, at least for this dungeon, it’s not really a hookshot, but instead lets him wrap a rope around something to swing across pits below.
The grappling hook gets a workout during the boss fight against Gohma, who’s been reimagined with a longer body: more like a scorpion than a crab. Gohma’s apparently been the one annoying Valoo, but the first phase of the fight involves Link using the grappling hook to pull Valoo’s tail, making Valoo drop a giant rock that crushes Gohma and cracks its armor, so Gohma’s apparently been hiding after tormenting Valoo. Once Gohma’s armor is completely destroyed, Link can use the grappling hook on its eye directly – its most hookshottish use – and pull Gohma closer and hit the eye with his sword. It doesn’t take long before Gohma dies, dropping a heart container and causing the lava pit it was crawling out of to cool off.
Valoo is pleased no one’s bothering its tail anymore, and the cloud around the mountain clears up. Medli brings Komali to meet Link on the beach, and Komali’s apologetic for how he treated Link before, and gives Link the red ball – Din’s Pearl, which was what Link needed from the island. Valoo says “Use the wind god’s wind” in Hylian, and Medli or Komali thinks it might mean for Link to visit the nearby wind shrine. Komali runs off to meet with Valoo, and after thanking Link, Medli follows.
Next: They’re all talking about a feeling, of a taste that’s in the air…
Friday, November 23, 2018
The Wind Waker: The Wind Awakens
Link’s got everything he needs to set sail for his next destination, but there’s still stuff he can do here on Windfall Island. The Killer Bees’ teacher is concerned about their lack of devotion to their studies, so she asks him to speak to them for her. Well, they’re not exactly thrilled for Link to be butting into their business, but they challenge him to a game of hide-and-seek. Unlike with the Bombers in Majora’s Mask, Link doesn't have Deku Scrub stun bubbles to keep them from running away, so he has to chase them, and this is where the guy pestering Link about his daughter starts to get old. Anyway, they all get caught, Link gets a heart piece, there’s peace between the kids and the teacher, and they even get Link to find a Joy Pendant and give it to her for them. She loves the Joy Pendants, and asks Link to bring more to her if he finds them.
Finally, there’s Salvatore. I’m not sure what his deal is, exactly, but he hangs around a shop running a Battleship minigame for kids, including Link. When he’s not running the game, he looks and acts terminally bored. When he starts introducing the game, he has a little skit he does, complete with wooden face cutouts for the admiral who puts Link in charge of defending the island from the attacking squids, and after the game’s done, the children thanking Link for saving the island. His announcements of hits and misses during the game are entertaining, too: “Spliiish…” and “Ka-BOOOM!” Rewards for the game include a heart piece and two treasure maps.
Now it’s time to hoist the sail and explore the seas. Only Link can’t do too much exploring; if he tries to go any direction but east, the King of Red Lions takes control and says, “No, we can’t go that way yet.” So, fine, east it is. A little bit of rebellion is possible; there’s an island between Windfall and the one Link’s being led to that Link can explore. There’s a heart piece on the island, giving Link a full heart container. Near the island there’s a little boat with a bunch of people in diving helmets who give Link a treasure map and tell him to find a grappling hook so he can search for treasure.
Finally, Link arrives at his destination, Dragon Roost Island, so named because there’s a giant dragon, Valoo, roosting on top of the island. Valoo has an item Link needs for his quest, Din’s Pearl, so Link needs to find a way to get him to give it to him. He suggests asking the locals, the Rito, for help. Before Link goes, he’s given one last item, a conductor’s baton called the Wind Waker. This lets him get the wind to play songs, although he doesn’t actually learn any of those songs so right now it’s just a fancy stick he can’t even poke people with. Sailing around the island is a merchant who sells bait and bags to keep it in. I’m not sure if I’ll need it, but rupees seem to flow pretty freely in this game, so why not.
Getting to the Rito village requires a bit of climbing, including blowing up rocks with bomb flowers. Once he enters, he’s greeted by the postman – the Rito are his people. He offers to talk to his chieftain about helping Link, but of course it isn’t so easy. Something has made Valoo angry, which threatens his coexistence with the Rito – it’s by his grace that they grow wings. Komali, the chieftain’s son has reached the age where he’s supposed to meet with Valoo and get a dragon scale, but given the situation, it’s not going to happen any time soon and the chieftain worries about his son sinking into despair, and asks Link to talk to him. He also asks Link to bring something to Komali that he’d already entrusted to another Rito, Medli. The postman – whose name is Quill, by the way – gives Link a third bag, a Delivery Bag.
Exploring the village, Link comes to the letter sorting station. This opens a minigame where he can toss letters into cubicles, getting paid for each one he does, with the goal of making 25 in a single try. It’s frustrating, because the time limit’s strict, and it comes down to which comes up more: being able to toss multiple letters into the same cubicle in a row, or having to alternate between opposite corners. When Link finally does it, he gets a nice prize, but the guy brings on a new helper to sort the mail. If Link returns, the helper asks to see Link’s legendary 25-letter sort, which means he has to do it all over again. The reward for this time is a getting to drop a letter in the mailbox for the helper.
Next: Valoo might want to reconsider its seating arrangement.
Finally, there’s Salvatore. I’m not sure what his deal is, exactly, but he hangs around a shop running a Battleship minigame for kids, including Link. When he’s not running the game, he looks and acts terminally bored. When he starts introducing the game, he has a little skit he does, complete with wooden face cutouts for the admiral who puts Link in charge of defending the island from the attacking squids, and after the game’s done, the children thanking Link for saving the island. His announcements of hits and misses during the game are entertaining, too: “Spliiish…” and “Ka-BOOOM!” Rewards for the game include a heart piece and two treasure maps.
Now it’s time to hoist the sail and explore the seas. Only Link can’t do too much exploring; if he tries to go any direction but east, the King of Red Lions takes control and says, “No, we can’t go that way yet.” So, fine, east it is. A little bit of rebellion is possible; there’s an island between Windfall and the one Link’s being led to that Link can explore. There’s a heart piece on the island, giving Link a full heart container. Near the island there’s a little boat with a bunch of people in diving helmets who give Link a treasure map and tell him to find a grappling hook so he can search for treasure.
Finally, Link arrives at his destination, Dragon Roost Island, so named because there’s a giant dragon, Valoo, roosting on top of the island. Valoo has an item Link needs for his quest, Din’s Pearl, so Link needs to find a way to get him to give it to him. He suggests asking the locals, the Rito, for help. Before Link goes, he’s given one last item, a conductor’s baton called the Wind Waker. This lets him get the wind to play songs, although he doesn’t actually learn any of those songs so right now it’s just a fancy stick he can’t even poke people with. Sailing around the island is a merchant who sells bait and bags to keep it in. I’m not sure if I’ll need it, but rupees seem to flow pretty freely in this game, so why not.
Getting to the Rito village requires a bit of climbing, including blowing up rocks with bomb flowers. Once he enters, he’s greeted by the postman – the Rito are his people. He offers to talk to his chieftain about helping Link, but of course it isn’t so easy. Something has made Valoo angry, which threatens his coexistence with the Rito – it’s by his grace that they grow wings. Komali, the chieftain’s son has reached the age where he’s supposed to meet with Valoo and get a dragon scale, but given the situation, it’s not going to happen any time soon and the chieftain worries about his son sinking into despair, and asks Link to talk to him. He also asks Link to bring something to Komali that he’d already entrusted to another Rito, Medli. The postman – whose name is Quill, by the way – gives Link a third bag, a Delivery Bag.
Exploring the village, Link comes to the letter sorting station. This opens a minigame where he can toss letters into cubicles, getting paid for each one he does, with the goal of making 25 in a single try. It’s frustrating, because the time limit’s strict, and it comes down to which comes up more: being able to toss multiple letters into the same cubicle in a row, or having to alternate between opposite corners. When Link finally does it, he gets a nice prize, but the guy brings on a new helper to sort the mail. If Link returns, the helper asks to see Link’s legendary 25-letter sort, which means he has to do it all over again. The reward for this time is a getting to drop a letter in the mailbox for the helper.
Next: Valoo might want to reconsider its seating arrangement.
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Oracle of Seasons: Holodrum Secrets and Ending
As with Ages, playing a Linked Game of Seasons has ten secrets to deliver to characters in Ages for rewards. The assorted rewards are mostly the same as going the other way, except for the two rings which are different.
The first secret comes early, after Link first meets the Maku Tree. The secret is for one of the mischievous fairies in Labrynna, who reward Link with a heart container – which would be great to have early in Seasons, but it takes a while before the Hall of Secrets opens up and Link can talk to Farore to get his rewards transferred over.
After completing the second dungeon, a fairy appears in a cave nearby with a secret for Tingle. The reward for this secret is a seed satchel upgrade. Also, Holly’s house has a visitor, who wants to pass a secret to the authors of her favorite book, who live in Symmetry Village. The reward for this one is the ring box upgrade.
After completing the third dungeon, a boy appears near the guy playing the Song of Storms with a secret for his mentor on Rolling Ridge. To get the reward for this secret, Link has to complete a game of Target Carts, and for some reason I had to do it twice because the first time didn’t take. The reward is bombchus. Also, a woman appears in the home of the floodgate keeper with a secret for her daughter, Mamamu Yan. Her daughter’s lost her dog, so Link has to chase it down and bring it back to her for the Snowshoe Ring, which lets Link walk over ice without slipping.
A moblin who remains at the ruined keep after Link chases the Great Moblin out has a secret for the tokay. The secret lets the tokay who runs the museum where the “throw meat to the passing tokay” game was in the past start running the game in the present, and to earn the reward – a bomb bag upgrade – Link has to master the game once again.
After Link cures Biggoron’s cold, Link meets a goron with a secret for the gorons on Rolling Ridge. The reward, of course, is Biggoron’s Sword, but before Link can be trusted with it, he’s got to demonstrate proficiency with it by scoring high enough at the Goron Shooting Gallery. This game was already something of a headache, and having to play it again with the slow-swinging Biggoron’s Sword was not great.
After fully unlocking the power of the Rod of Seasons, a Subrosian appears near where Link got a Bomb Flower with a secret for Mayor Plen of Lynna City. The reward for passing this secret is the Spin Ring, allowing Link to do a double spin attack.
After Link helps the pirates and their ship is anchored allowing access to the cemetery, a ghost sets up living in the house north of the ship. He used to work for the library in Labrynna, and has a secret to tell to a librarian there. The reward for this secret is the shield upgrade.
The final secret comes from a zora in the Hero’s Cave to pass along to the King Zora. It doesn’t require anything acquired later than the third dungeon to get to that zora, but if you’re expecting “Hero’s Cave = late game content,” you’ll miss him until much later in the game. The reward for the secret is the sword upgrade, which of course is nice to have as soon as possible.
Returning the the main game, after Onox is defeated, the ending sequence kicks in as Twinrova kidnaps Zelda to kick off the final battle. From this point forward, it’s the same as the final portion of Linked Ages, except Holodrum’s Maku Tree doesn’t get jealous when Zelda kisses Link. The scenes and images that play over the closing credits are identical, with the only credit difference being there’s no Hero’s Secret given this time; this time, it’s truly over.
Overall, I think I did well to start with Seasons rather than Ages; about the only thing that’s truly missed doing Seasons first is the revelation about Ambi’s relationship with the pirate captain, and that’s fairly minor. Either way, they’re good games, and a very satisfying experience.
The first secret comes early, after Link first meets the Maku Tree. The secret is for one of the mischievous fairies in Labrynna, who reward Link with a heart container – which would be great to have early in Seasons, but it takes a while before the Hall of Secrets opens up and Link can talk to Farore to get his rewards transferred over.
After completing the second dungeon, a fairy appears in a cave nearby with a secret for Tingle. The reward for this secret is a seed satchel upgrade. Also, Holly’s house has a visitor, who wants to pass a secret to the authors of her favorite book, who live in Symmetry Village. The reward for this one is the ring box upgrade.
After completing the third dungeon, a boy appears near the guy playing the Song of Storms with a secret for his mentor on Rolling Ridge. To get the reward for this secret, Link has to complete a game of Target Carts, and for some reason I had to do it twice because the first time didn’t take. The reward is bombchus. Also, a woman appears in the home of the floodgate keeper with a secret for her daughter, Mamamu Yan. Her daughter’s lost her dog, so Link has to chase it down and bring it back to her for the Snowshoe Ring, which lets Link walk over ice without slipping.
A moblin who remains at the ruined keep after Link chases the Great Moblin out has a secret for the tokay. The secret lets the tokay who runs the museum where the “throw meat to the passing tokay” game was in the past start running the game in the present, and to earn the reward – a bomb bag upgrade – Link has to master the game once again.
After Link cures Biggoron’s cold, Link meets a goron with a secret for the gorons on Rolling Ridge. The reward, of course, is Biggoron’s Sword, but before Link can be trusted with it, he’s got to demonstrate proficiency with it by scoring high enough at the Goron Shooting Gallery. This game was already something of a headache, and having to play it again with the slow-swinging Biggoron’s Sword was not great.
After fully unlocking the power of the Rod of Seasons, a Subrosian appears near where Link got a Bomb Flower with a secret for Mayor Plen of Lynna City. The reward for passing this secret is the Spin Ring, allowing Link to do a double spin attack.
After Link helps the pirates and their ship is anchored allowing access to the cemetery, a ghost sets up living in the house north of the ship. He used to work for the library in Labrynna, and has a secret to tell to a librarian there. The reward for this secret is the shield upgrade.
The final secret comes from a zora in the Hero’s Cave to pass along to the King Zora. It doesn’t require anything acquired later than the third dungeon to get to that zora, but if you’re expecting “Hero’s Cave = late game content,” you’ll miss him until much later in the game. The reward for the secret is the sword upgrade, which of course is nice to have as soon as possible.
Returning the the main game, after Onox is defeated, the ending sequence kicks in as Twinrova kidnaps Zelda to kick off the final battle. From this point forward, it’s the same as the final portion of Linked Ages, except Holodrum’s Maku Tree doesn’t get jealous when Zelda kisses Link. The scenes and images that play over the closing credits are identical, with the only credit difference being there’s no Hero’s Secret given this time; this time, it’s truly over.
Overall, I think I did well to start with Seasons rather than Ages; about the only thing that’s truly missed doing Seasons first is the revelation about Ambi’s relationship with the pirate captain, and that’s fairly minor. Either way, they’re good games, and a very satisfying experience.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
The Wind Waker: Windfall Island
The King of Red Lions and the Sail
Link floats in the sea, after his attempt to rescue Aryll and the other girls failed. A boat pulls up alongside him, and then Link wakes to a voice calling his name. After coming to his feet, Link looks around for the source of the voice, which turns out to be the boat itself. The boat says it’s the only one that can speak human language and introduces itself as the King of Red Lions. He commends Link on his courage, but says his rescue attempt was foolhardy. He also confirms that the mysterious figure Link saw give the order to the bird to throw him into the sea is indeed Ganon – the same Ganon the Hero of Time fought before disappearing back to his own time all those years ago.
The King of Red Lions asks if Link intends to continue his quest, and offers to help him along. He says the key to defeating Ganon is locked away and will require significant effort to get. But before they can set off on their quest, the King of Red Lions needs something else – a sail so they can travel the seas. To that end, he’s brought Link to Windfall Island, where Link should be able to acquire a sail from somebody. Despite the King of Red Lions’ assertion that Link has no time to waste here, I’m sure there will be other distractions that keep Link from his true quest.
Actually getting a sail is simply a matter of finding the right guy, and realizing his odd behavior keeping Link from traveling through a certain opening is his way of directing Link to the front of his stall. There, he tells his story: he came to Windfall Island hoping to make his fortune, but lost everything but his ship’s sail in a shipwreck. No one on the island seems interested in buying the sail, so he sells it to Link for 80 rupees to help him start his business. Also, there are two parents here who have lost their daughters to Ganon and the bird: one very rich, one very not. The poor father hangs out by the docks and bothers Link about saving his daughter every time he sees him, and it gets old fast, especially when he distracts Link’s attention from other things. It’s like, dude, I sympathize, but if rescuing your daughter was easy, I’d have done it already – and assuming she’s one of the other girls in the cell with Aryll, I mean that literally.
Introductory Pictography
Most of the people on the Island greet Link kindly when he enters their homes, but there’s one who’s a little skeptical, remembering another stranger who stole his pictograph box. The Killer Bees, a group of kids who hang out in the area, tell Link that the stranger got arrested, and didn’t have the box when he left the jail. Link visits the jail, and Tingle is there. Link lets him out, and Tingle promises to be Link’s friend, giving him a sea chart with directions to his home island. He also gives Link a Tingle Tuner, which seems to be some sort of multiplayer thing that I’m glad is in my inventory because otherwise there would be a blank spot there. With Tingle gone, Link is able to explore the cell, discovering a hole in the back that leads to a series of tunnels. Eventually, Link finds his way to the room where the prisoner hid the pictograph box and claims it.
When Link takes the box back to its creator, the creator doesn’t seem to recognize it as the same box that was stolen from him, and instead assumes Link shares his love of pictography. He takes Link to see his gallery, which probably foreshadows things Link will find on his adventure – that ghost ship definitely sounds like the kind of thing that wouldn’t get mentioned if it weren’t going to come up again. He invites Link to be his apprentice, but first challenges Link to get three pictographs.
The first is of a man who’s incessantly sending love notes to his crush; the man is the one who’s very interested in the workings of the mailbox and whose default dialogue is wondering if the mail has been collected. Link needs to stand back to get a picture, because otherwise the man will enter his path and glare at him until he moves. The second is of the island’s most cowardly inhabitant, who hangs out in the cafe. Link needs to startle him and quickly take a picture while he’s still shaken up, which isn’t easy. Finally, there’s two people on the island who are interested in each other but afraid to say it, and the man wants a picture of the two of them looking at one another. One of them is the man running circles around the island, who stops to look at a woman near his path. Link gets the picture, and is awarded a Joy Pendant for his efforts.
Next: Conducting the wind.
Link floats in the sea, after his attempt to rescue Aryll and the other girls failed. A boat pulls up alongside him, and then Link wakes to a voice calling his name. After coming to his feet, Link looks around for the source of the voice, which turns out to be the boat itself. The boat says it’s the only one that can speak human language and introduces itself as the King of Red Lions. He commends Link on his courage, but says his rescue attempt was foolhardy. He also confirms that the mysterious figure Link saw give the order to the bird to throw him into the sea is indeed Ganon – the same Ganon the Hero of Time fought before disappearing back to his own time all those years ago.
The King of Red Lions asks if Link intends to continue his quest, and offers to help him along. He says the key to defeating Ganon is locked away and will require significant effort to get. But before they can set off on their quest, the King of Red Lions needs something else – a sail so they can travel the seas. To that end, he’s brought Link to Windfall Island, where Link should be able to acquire a sail from somebody. Despite the King of Red Lions’ assertion that Link has no time to waste here, I’m sure there will be other distractions that keep Link from his true quest.
Actually getting a sail is simply a matter of finding the right guy, and realizing his odd behavior keeping Link from traveling through a certain opening is his way of directing Link to the front of his stall. There, he tells his story: he came to Windfall Island hoping to make his fortune, but lost everything but his ship’s sail in a shipwreck. No one on the island seems interested in buying the sail, so he sells it to Link for 80 rupees to help him start his business. Also, there are two parents here who have lost their daughters to Ganon and the bird: one very rich, one very not. The poor father hangs out by the docks and bothers Link about saving his daughter every time he sees him, and it gets old fast, especially when he distracts Link’s attention from other things. It’s like, dude, I sympathize, but if rescuing your daughter was easy, I’d have done it already – and assuming she’s one of the other girls in the cell with Aryll, I mean that literally.
Introductory Pictography
Most of the people on the Island greet Link kindly when he enters their homes, but there’s one who’s a little skeptical, remembering another stranger who stole his pictograph box. The Killer Bees, a group of kids who hang out in the area, tell Link that the stranger got arrested, and didn’t have the box when he left the jail. Link visits the jail, and Tingle is there. Link lets him out, and Tingle promises to be Link’s friend, giving him a sea chart with directions to his home island. He also gives Link a Tingle Tuner, which seems to be some sort of multiplayer thing that I’m glad is in my inventory because otherwise there would be a blank spot there. With Tingle gone, Link is able to explore the cell, discovering a hole in the back that leads to a series of tunnels. Eventually, Link finds his way to the room where the prisoner hid the pictograph box and claims it.
When Link takes the box back to its creator, the creator doesn’t seem to recognize it as the same box that was stolen from him, and instead assumes Link shares his love of pictography. He takes Link to see his gallery, which probably foreshadows things Link will find on his adventure – that ghost ship definitely sounds like the kind of thing that wouldn’t get mentioned if it weren’t going to come up again. He invites Link to be his apprentice, but first challenges Link to get three pictographs.
The first is of a man who’s incessantly sending love notes to his crush; the man is the one who’s very interested in the workings of the mailbox and whose default dialogue is wondering if the mail has been collected. Link needs to stand back to get a picture, because otherwise the man will enter his path and glare at him until he moves. The second is of the island’s most cowardly inhabitant, who hangs out in the cafe. Link needs to startle him and quickly take a picture while he’s still shaken up, which isn’t easy. Finally, there’s two people on the island who are interested in each other but afraid to say it, and the man wants a picture of the two of them looking at one another. One of them is the man running circles around the island, who stops to look at a woman near his path. Link gets the picture, and is awarded a Joy Pendant for his efforts.
Next: Conducting the wind.
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Oracle of Seasons: Linked Game Diffferences
In an unlinked game, there was no reason to suspect that Din’s troupe was anything but what they said they were, except that the troupe’s cook was named Impa, a familiar name for anyone familiar with the backstory of the NES games and/or Ocarina of Time [1]. With Link’s heroics in Labrynna known to them, however, they reveal to him that they’re all undercover Knights of Hyrule, which only further confirms that Link should have been a lot more suspicious when he met Impa in Labrynna and she didn’t recognize him (because Veran was in the driver’s seat). Oh, well, just by showing up in Holodrum and getting knocked out on entry, he’s borked their plan to spirit Din to safety, and gives Onox time to act, so he messed up both places before getting to fix the problems he caused [2].
Ambi makes a number of appearances, having been sent to the future to explore Holodrum. The most significant of these comes after Link helps the pirates get their ship back, and Ambi comes in to reveal that the lover she wanted to lead back to her was the pirate captain. They have a bittersweet reunion, acknowledging their feelings for one another, but that the captain won’t be content to stay with her if it means giving up sailing. Of course, the pirates still get seasick and park their ship to make a convenient bridge for Link, so he’s got some time to spend with her while getting ready to truly set sail again.
After two dungeons, Impa comes to Link as he heads north from Horon Village, saying that Zelda has come to Holodrum without any guards. They split up to look for her, and Link’s the one to find her, and of course she’s managed to land herself in trouble. She’s being accosted by the moblins; as they’re demanding her valuables, the Great Moblin will recognize Link and have the moblins attack him. He doesn’t stick around for actual confrontation, and four moblins vs. Link just isn’t a very fair fight. The Great Moblin comes back to express his annoyance, then flees for his keep, and Zelda thanks Link for rescuing her. Impa, having apparently given up her search so quickly, shows up to express her relief that Zelda’s safe now. Overall, this sequence is a lot less memorable and fun than playing Donkey Kong with Vire.
Although Vire doesn’t get to participate in the Zelda-in-distress sequence, he does make an appearance before his dungeon. He’s apparently moved the first two of the gems Link will eventually need to reach the sixth dungeon; it’s not a big deal with the map, but it adds a little extra flavor to the hunt for the gems.
The Hero’s Cave has been reworked from the place for Link to get his sword in the early game to, like in linked Ages, a series of puzzles. The puzzles don’t get as tricky as they did in Ages – there’s nothing as frustrating as the lava bed/rolling block puzzle, or as completely out of left field as using the Cane of Somaria to cover the one space Link can’t walk over. In exchange, combat plays a larger role. The combat ranges from trivial to tricky (fighting a bunch of waterborne enemies with only a few places to stand in the room – WTB bombos medallion) to challenging to a gauntlet of enemies covering the full spectrum of challenge (eight different enemies, summoned in groups of four).
That’s not to say there aren’t any puzzles, or the ones that are there are all easy. There’s a group of six switch blocks moving back and forth, and Link needs to turn all of them red at the same time, which is much harder than it sounds. One puzzle, which is intended to involve threading a tight path with the magic boomerang controls, is only saved from being hair-pulling by a couple of alternate solutions the developers either overlooked or decided would be unfair to take out – the boomerang can be thrown above the path but hit the switch block on the return arc, or Link can chuck a bombchu at it and let that take care of it, which is as far as I’ve been able to determine, the only use for bombchus in either game. (Unless you want to drop one on Toilet Hand Guy for fun.)
The final puzzle is rather inspired: there are eight treasure chests in a room and Link needs to open them in the correct order. Rather than guessing, the trick is to imagine the room as a miniature map of Holodrum and the chests as the eight dungeon entrances, and opening the chests in the order of the dungeons. Link’s reward is the opposite of the reward for the Ages Hero’s Cave: a ring that greatly boosts his sword damage, but also increases the damage he takes. Not as useful, although possibly interesting for challenge runs. And, hey, it’s the sixty-fourth ring (after ticking off the secrets, which I’ll cover in the next post), so I’m not going to complain too much.
Next: Why do they call them secrets if they want you to tell them to someone else?
[1] Or Hyrule Warriors, but that wouldn’t come out for another few years.
[2] Mostly? There’s never any indication that the Temple of Seasons gets to return to the surface from Subrosia.
Ambi makes a number of appearances, having been sent to the future to explore Holodrum. The most significant of these comes after Link helps the pirates get their ship back, and Ambi comes in to reveal that the lover she wanted to lead back to her was the pirate captain. They have a bittersweet reunion, acknowledging their feelings for one another, but that the captain won’t be content to stay with her if it means giving up sailing. Of course, the pirates still get seasick and park their ship to make a convenient bridge for Link, so he’s got some time to spend with her while getting ready to truly set sail again.
After two dungeons, Impa comes to Link as he heads north from Horon Village, saying that Zelda has come to Holodrum without any guards. They split up to look for her, and Link’s the one to find her, and of course she’s managed to land herself in trouble. She’s being accosted by the moblins; as they’re demanding her valuables, the Great Moblin will recognize Link and have the moblins attack him. He doesn’t stick around for actual confrontation, and four moblins vs. Link just isn’t a very fair fight. The Great Moblin comes back to express his annoyance, then flees for his keep, and Zelda thanks Link for rescuing her. Impa, having apparently given up her search so quickly, shows up to express her relief that Zelda’s safe now. Overall, this sequence is a lot less memorable and fun than playing Donkey Kong with Vire.
Although Vire doesn’t get to participate in the Zelda-in-distress sequence, he does make an appearance before his dungeon. He’s apparently moved the first two of the gems Link will eventually need to reach the sixth dungeon; it’s not a big deal with the map, but it adds a little extra flavor to the hunt for the gems.
The Hero’s Cave has been reworked from the place for Link to get his sword in the early game to, like in linked Ages, a series of puzzles. The puzzles don’t get as tricky as they did in Ages – there’s nothing as frustrating as the lava bed/rolling block puzzle, or as completely out of left field as using the Cane of Somaria to cover the one space Link can’t walk over. In exchange, combat plays a larger role. The combat ranges from trivial to tricky (fighting a bunch of waterborne enemies with only a few places to stand in the room – WTB bombos medallion) to challenging to a gauntlet of enemies covering the full spectrum of challenge (eight different enemies, summoned in groups of four).
That’s not to say there aren’t any puzzles, or the ones that are there are all easy. There’s a group of six switch blocks moving back and forth, and Link needs to turn all of them red at the same time, which is much harder than it sounds. One puzzle, which is intended to involve threading a tight path with the magic boomerang controls, is only saved from being hair-pulling by a couple of alternate solutions the developers either overlooked or decided would be unfair to take out – the boomerang can be thrown above the path but hit the switch block on the return arc, or Link can chuck a bombchu at it and let that take care of it, which is as far as I’ve been able to determine, the only use for bombchus in either game. (Unless you want to drop one on Toilet Hand Guy for fun.)
The final puzzle is rather inspired: there are eight treasure chests in a room and Link needs to open them in the correct order. Rather than guessing, the trick is to imagine the room as a miniature map of Holodrum and the chests as the eight dungeon entrances, and opening the chests in the order of the dungeons. Link’s reward is the opposite of the reward for the Ages Hero’s Cave: a ring that greatly boosts his sword damage, but also increases the damage he takes. Not as useful, although possibly interesting for challenge runs. And, hey, it’s the sixty-fourth ring (after ticking off the secrets, which I’ll cover in the next post), so I’m not going to complain too much.
Next: Why do they call them secrets if they want you to tell them to someone else?
[1] Or Hyrule Warriors, but that wouldn’t come out for another few years.
[2] Mostly? There’s never any indication that the Temple of Seasons gets to return to the surface from Subrosia.
Monday, November 19, 2018
The Wind Waker: Forsaken Fortress
If Link tries to talk to Tetra or any of the other pirates, he’s told not to hang around on deck and interfere with their duties and go below deck with the scrubbie, Niko, whom Link will answer to while he’s on the ship. Niko starts by issuing a challenge to Link, jumping across a series of platforms to the far end of the room. The platforms after the first are too far to simply jump across, so Link has to swing on ropes dangling from the ceiling to make the jump. In other words, it’s a tutorial for another new feature of the game. Once I got the hang of jumping and swinging, it wasn’t difficult at all, despite Niko’s belief it would take him a full year to master. Once Link makes it across, Niko realizes he promised Link a reward for doing it so quickly and tells him to open the chest in the room behind him. Link finds a spoils bag, which will let him hold items dropped by enemies.
Tetra calls down to Link that they’ve arrived, so Link gets back up above deck to see the Forsaken Fortress. She points out the bird, and a lit window that has several seagulls swarming around it. Tetra suspects that’s where Aryll and the other missing girls are. The fortress is swarming with spotlights, so there’s no way for the pirates’ ship to approach safely, so they have to figure out another way. Tetra considers for a moment, then gets a mischievous look, and we cut to Link in a barrel on a catapult. It takes Link a second to realize what’s about to happen, and he starts struggling to get free as Tetra explains this is the only way to get him there. As the countdown goes, Link gradually gets himself mentally ready to go flying, and fly he does as the pirates wave goodbye. He crashes into the wall and is separated from his sword as he falls into the water surrounding the fortress. This whole sequence is hysterical; I love that they’ve given Link a little bit of personality – entirely communicated by expressions and grunts.
With all the spotlights, this can only mean one thing: a stealth section! Only, this seems to run by the Scooby-Doo rules of if you don’t see the barrel walking, and it stops when you turn toward it/shine a light on it, it’s not moving at all, so Link gets to hide in barrels to sneak around, which adds a great detail of absurdity and makes the stealth aspect tolerable. To turn off the spotlights, Link needs to go to the towers where Bokoblins are operating them and defeat the Bokoblins. Except, Link doesn’t have his sword. Before the first watchtower, Tetra contacts Link via a stone she slipped into his pocket. She suggests Link block the Bokoblins’ attacks, then steal their weapons when they drop them, and whack them with it, and it’s a good plan, except there’s a better option. Each of the watchtowers has a pot with a couple more sticks in them, and Link can grab them without waiting for the Bokoblins to drop theirs. So there’s no need to race the Bokoblin to the stick, just roll away from the Bokoblin as it attacks, grab a stick, chuck it at the Bokoblin, and repeat until it dies. Shutting off the spotlights makes walking around outside a bit easier.
Then there’s the inside. The dungeon map and compass are here, along with a heart piece on the first floor that’s not hard to get but getting back to the second floor, where Link needs to be, requires a lot of sneaking past Moblins and running from Miniblins and Keeses and trying to avoid rats who can steal rupees and destroy barrels.
Back outside, after sneaking past another moblin, Link comes to a gap he can’t jump across. There’s a narrow ledge along the wall he can just barely walk across using the wall to maintain his balance, though. After successfully crossing the first gap, there’s another one, this one with a couple hearts in case Link’s taken damage. Finally, Link finds his sword, just in time to use it on another Bokoblin. That Bokoblin blocks the way into a large room where Aryll and a couple other girls are being held in a cage. Link and Aryll are happy to see one another, but before Link can act, he’s grabbed by the bird and taken to its master. We don’t see the bird’s master clearly, but even without my suspicions about who the bird was working for, we see he has olive skin and red hair, so it’s either Ganon or some serious misdirection. Ganon tells the bird to throw Link into the sea, and the bird obliges.
Next: Well, he's obviously not going to drown.
Tetra calls down to Link that they’ve arrived, so Link gets back up above deck to see the Forsaken Fortress. She points out the bird, and a lit window that has several seagulls swarming around it. Tetra suspects that’s where Aryll and the other missing girls are. The fortress is swarming with spotlights, so there’s no way for the pirates’ ship to approach safely, so they have to figure out another way. Tetra considers for a moment, then gets a mischievous look, and we cut to Link in a barrel on a catapult. It takes Link a second to realize what’s about to happen, and he starts struggling to get free as Tetra explains this is the only way to get him there. As the countdown goes, Link gradually gets himself mentally ready to go flying, and fly he does as the pirates wave goodbye. He crashes into the wall and is separated from his sword as he falls into the water surrounding the fortress. This whole sequence is hysterical; I love that they’ve given Link a little bit of personality – entirely communicated by expressions and grunts.
With all the spotlights, this can only mean one thing: a stealth section! Only, this seems to run by the Scooby-Doo rules of if you don’t see the barrel walking, and it stops when you turn toward it/shine a light on it, it’s not moving at all, so Link gets to hide in barrels to sneak around, which adds a great detail of absurdity and makes the stealth aspect tolerable. To turn off the spotlights, Link needs to go to the towers where Bokoblins are operating them and defeat the Bokoblins. Except, Link doesn’t have his sword. Before the first watchtower, Tetra contacts Link via a stone she slipped into his pocket. She suggests Link block the Bokoblins’ attacks, then steal their weapons when they drop them, and whack them with it, and it’s a good plan, except there’s a better option. Each of the watchtowers has a pot with a couple more sticks in them, and Link can grab them without waiting for the Bokoblins to drop theirs. So there’s no need to race the Bokoblin to the stick, just roll away from the Bokoblin as it attacks, grab a stick, chuck it at the Bokoblin, and repeat until it dies. Shutting off the spotlights makes walking around outside a bit easier.
Then there’s the inside. The dungeon map and compass are here, along with a heart piece on the first floor that’s not hard to get but getting back to the second floor, where Link needs to be, requires a lot of sneaking past Moblins and running from Miniblins and Keeses and trying to avoid rats who can steal rupees and destroy barrels.
Back outside, after sneaking past another moblin, Link comes to a gap he can’t jump across. There’s a narrow ledge along the wall he can just barely walk across using the wall to maintain his balance, though. After successfully crossing the first gap, there’s another one, this one with a couple hearts in case Link’s taken damage. Finally, Link finds his sword, just in time to use it on another Bokoblin. That Bokoblin blocks the way into a large room where Aryll and a couple other girls are being held in a cage. Link and Aryll are happy to see one another, but before Link can act, he’s grabbed by the bird and taken to its master. We don’t see the bird’s master clearly, but even without my suspicions about who the bird was working for, we see he has olive skin and red hair, so it’s either Ganon or some serious misdirection. Ganon tells the bird to throw Link into the sea, and the bird obliges.
Next: Well, he's obviously not going to drown.
Friday, November 16, 2018
The Wind Waker: Outset Island
Link’s supposed to be finding Aryll and bringing her home so they can get ready for his birthday celebration, but just like other Links, he never met a sidequest/minigame/diversion he didn’t immediately drop everything for to see through as much as he can, so when one of the islanders asks him to help capture a pig as a pet for his wife… well, he eventually captures three of them, and is rewarded with 20 rupees for each one. The exercise is presumably meant to teach the player about crouching and crawling and prepare them for the inevitable stealth segment, but my main takeaway after I finally got the controls down to where I could catch the first pig was that the tutorial guy yelling at Link and pulling him into a forced conversation maybe could have been scripted to not happen while Link’s holding a pig, because it made Link drop the pig and have to catch it again. Anyway, after all the pigs are secure and Link’s all paid, Link pays a visit to the tutorial guy’s house to read all the tutorial bits he has posted on the wall. The main purpose of this visit, though, is to reveal that the sword guy Grandma mentioned is tutorial guy’s downstairs neighbor and brother. So, Link will be back here.
But first, let’s check on Aryll. As a birthday present, she lends him her telescope for the day. After a brief tutorial on how to use it, she point him to look at something in the sky: a giant bird carrying a girl in its talons. A pirate ship is chasing after the bird, throwing rocks at it with a catapult; one rock hits the bird, causing it to drop the girl into the forest. Aryll encourages Link to go help the girl, but says its dangerous to go into the forest alone and he needs some kind of weapon. Link goes to sword guy to learn about using a sword, and after a tutorial segment on how to do various sword attacks, is granted a sword for his quest.
Link goes to the forest, and after a few fights against Bokoblins, reaches the girl, who’s suspended in a tree. Just as the Bokoblins – who seem to be working with the bird – are gone, she wakes up and shakes herself free, and one of her crewmates comes up, so… the game seems to give Link credit for the rescue, and maybe without him the Bokoblins would have taken her where the bird could snatch her, but she might have been fine on her own. She certainly doesn’t seem to think much of Link. The three head out of the forest, and Aryll’s come up to the other side of the bridge. As she crosses, the bird swoops down and take her, and Link goes of the cliff trying to rescue her. The girl – whose name is Tetra – grabs him and tells him there’s nothing he can do.
Back on the beach near Link’s house, Link apparently expresses a desire to go with Tetra and crew to rescue Aryll. Tetra’s not interested, saying she doesn’t owe him anything, but the mailman – who’s some kind of bird person – intervenes, saying Link rescued her after her fall. Also, the bird’s been scooping up Hylian girls like Tetra and Aryll from around the islands, and had Tetra not escaped, Aryll would never have been taken. Finally, the mailman also says the bird’s made its nest at the Forsaken Fortress, which gives Tetra an idea of where to go. Tetra relents a little, and says Link can come if he can find a shield. And, just in case the player doesn’t remember Grandma pointing out Chekhov’s Shield, Tetra says Link should say goodbye to his family because he’ll be gone for a while.
When Link returns home to take the shield, Grandma’s taken it down. She gives it to Link, and then starts crying about Aryll being kidnapped. Link goes back to Tetra, who pokes fun at his shield, but accepts that it technically meets the requirements, so she allows Link to come aboard as they head off. Link waves goodbye to the assorted villagers, then stands on the deck waving with both arms to Grandma. Tetra asks how much longer he intends to go on, and mockingly offers to turn the ship around and bring him home.
Wonderful girl. Either I’m going to kill her or I’m beginning to like her.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the bird is working for Ganon (or possibly is Ganon), who’s looking for Zelda. The fact that he’s looking for her indicates that she’s not in Hyrule Castle (if it’s even there anymore) doing princessy things and may possibly even be hiding in disguise like the last time Ganon was looking for Zelda and she was gallivanting around Hyrule as Sheik. We've met two Hylian girls, and both seem like they're going to be important enough characters to turn out to be Zelda. Tetra probably has the advantage on account of not being Link's sister, but Aryll could be adopted. Or A Link to the Past Link's uncle could've been onto something.
Next: ¿ɹǝɥʇoɯ ʎɯ noʎ ǝɹ∀ ˙uıqqoq ɯ,I
But first, let’s check on Aryll. As a birthday present, she lends him her telescope for the day. After a brief tutorial on how to use it, she point him to look at something in the sky: a giant bird carrying a girl in its talons. A pirate ship is chasing after the bird, throwing rocks at it with a catapult; one rock hits the bird, causing it to drop the girl into the forest. Aryll encourages Link to go help the girl, but says its dangerous to go into the forest alone and he needs some kind of weapon. Link goes to sword guy to learn about using a sword, and after a tutorial segment on how to do various sword attacks, is granted a sword for his quest.
Link goes to the forest, and after a few fights against Bokoblins, reaches the girl, who’s suspended in a tree. Just as the Bokoblins – who seem to be working with the bird – are gone, she wakes up and shakes herself free, and one of her crewmates comes up, so… the game seems to give Link credit for the rescue, and maybe without him the Bokoblins would have taken her where the bird could snatch her, but she might have been fine on her own. She certainly doesn’t seem to think much of Link. The three head out of the forest, and Aryll’s come up to the other side of the bridge. As she crosses, the bird swoops down and take her, and Link goes of the cliff trying to rescue her. The girl – whose name is Tetra – grabs him and tells him there’s nothing he can do.
Back on the beach near Link’s house, Link apparently expresses a desire to go with Tetra and crew to rescue Aryll. Tetra’s not interested, saying she doesn’t owe him anything, but the mailman – who’s some kind of bird person – intervenes, saying Link rescued her after her fall. Also, the bird’s been scooping up Hylian girls like Tetra and Aryll from around the islands, and had Tetra not escaped, Aryll would never have been taken. Finally, the mailman also says the bird’s made its nest at the Forsaken Fortress, which gives Tetra an idea of where to go. Tetra relents a little, and says Link can come if he can find a shield. And, just in case the player doesn’t remember Grandma pointing out Chekhov’s Shield, Tetra says Link should say goodbye to his family because he’ll be gone for a while.
When Link returns home to take the shield, Grandma’s taken it down. She gives it to Link, and then starts crying about Aryll being kidnapped. Link goes back to Tetra, who pokes fun at his shield, but accepts that it technically meets the requirements, so she allows Link to come aboard as they head off. Link waves goodbye to the assorted villagers, then stands on the deck waving with both arms to Grandma. Tetra asks how much longer he intends to go on, and mockingly offers to turn the ship around and bring him home.
Wonderful girl. Either I’m going to kill her or I’m beginning to like her.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the bird is working for Ganon (or possibly is Ganon), who’s looking for Zelda. The fact that he’s looking for her indicates that she’s not in Hyrule Castle (if it’s even there anymore) doing princessy things and may possibly even be hiding in disguise like the last time Ganon was looking for Zelda and she was gallivanting around Hyrule as Sheik. We've met two Hylian girls, and both seem like they're going to be important enough characters to turn out to be Zelda. Tetra probably has the advantage on account of not being Link's sister, but Aryll could be adopted. Or A Link to the Past Link's uncle could've been onto something.
Next: ¿ɹǝɥʇoɯ ʎɯ noʎ ǝɹ∀ ˙uıqqoq ɯ,I
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Oracle of Ages: Hero's Secret
The Hero’s Secret lets the player start a new game that’s identical to the one that starts from creating a brand new game, with two exceptions. Link starts a Hero’s Secret game with an extra heart container and an unappraised ring in his inventory; the ring is one of those “achievement” rings indicating that the owner has defeated Twinrova and Ganon, and so it’s only available by starting a Hero’s Secret game. Second, it’s linked to the previous run through of Ages/Seasons, so a ring secret can be brought over, so Link has access to the Gold Joy Ring (double everything that Link picks up: rupees, seeds, bombs, hearts) or Red/Blue/Green Rings (increase sword damage and/or decrease incoming damage without drawback) or whatever other ring you like to make things a little easier from the beginning. (Or, if making thing’s harder what you’re into, there’s that Cursed Ring.)
Otherwise, it’s the same playing the base game. The story bits that link between the games start over: Bipin and Blossom’s son starts out as a nameless newborn (the screen where you input his name remembers the old name, though), Link has to bond with the animal companions again (the default starting with Ages is Moosh, but I’d done that the first time so I went with Ricky), Twinrova’s appearances are either cut or replaced with the hooded figure, and Maple’s back on her broomstick/vacuum cleaner.
Then there’s the bits that are almost like playing the game without DLC installed. The Subrosians haven’t made the journey to Labrynna, so Rosa’s not there on Crescent Island to help him get his shovel back; fortunately, the tokay who has it is one of the ones who just meekly hands it over when Link finds him. Zelda doesn’t come to help out, and doesn’t get kidnapped by Vire, so there’s no Donkey Kong sequence. There’s no Hero’s Cave (the entrance doesn’t even exist), and of course the game ends after Veran’s defeat, saving Twinrova and Ganon for after Seasons.
Not being given a shield to start the game really highlights the main reason I think I made the right choice starting with Seasons in the first place: there’s no convenient spot near Lynna City to farm rupees. And sure, the stuff from the Advance Shop is especially redundant to me by now, but even saving up the 30 rupees needed to buy a shield is a chore – in the linked game, Link had a sword to start with and Impa gave him a shield, but no such luck here.
The biggest gameplay difference that’s not just something being left out involves the skeleton pirates from Seasons. In the linked game, they appeared in the future, coming to Labrynna after learning how to sail again. In the base game, however, they’re in the past, having originated in Labrynna before becoming shipwrecked in Holodrum/Subrosia. (They’re still skeletons, though.) The zora who blocked the way into the Sea of Storms, where they’re hanging out, correspondingly moves from future to past, leaving no way for Link to access the Sea of Storms in the future. This also leaves one map square, entirely within the future Sea of Storms, that Link can’t access by any means; going the other way, there’s a square in the past that can only be accessed using time travel tricks, but even those fail to reach the Forbidden Square, forever frustrating 100% gamers. (Without the Donkey Kong sequence, Link never goes into the future Black Tower, but that doesn’t leave a spot on the map covered.)
Without needing to wrap up the overall story, the ending goes in a different direction. Ambi and Ralph acknowledge their relationship (with Ambi objecting to being called a great-etc.-grandmother) and Twinrova gloats that their plan is still on track despite Veran’s death. As Link, Ralph, and Nayru return to the future, they’re joined by Impa, and then note that Maku Tree has added a statue of Link to her clearing, to Link’s embarrassment. Nayru plays her music for a crowd as Maple flies overhead, and Maple comes to sit with the rest of the crowd. Link teaches Ralph the spin attack, and Ralph overdoes it. We see Ambi overseeing that statue of Link being carved in the past.
Finally, of course, starting up the save file after finishing the game and talking to Nayru again, she says that Impa has left to go to Holodrum for a Seasons linked game, which is where my journey through this subseries will conclude.
Next: The differences in Seasons when it’s the second game played.
Otherwise, it’s the same playing the base game. The story bits that link between the games start over: Bipin and Blossom’s son starts out as a nameless newborn (the screen where you input his name remembers the old name, though), Link has to bond with the animal companions again (the default starting with Ages is Moosh, but I’d done that the first time so I went with Ricky), Twinrova’s appearances are either cut or replaced with the hooded figure, and Maple’s back on her broomstick/vacuum cleaner.
Then there’s the bits that are almost like playing the game without DLC installed. The Subrosians haven’t made the journey to Labrynna, so Rosa’s not there on Crescent Island to help him get his shovel back; fortunately, the tokay who has it is one of the ones who just meekly hands it over when Link finds him. Zelda doesn’t come to help out, and doesn’t get kidnapped by Vire, so there’s no Donkey Kong sequence. There’s no Hero’s Cave (the entrance doesn’t even exist), and of course the game ends after Veran’s defeat, saving Twinrova and Ganon for after Seasons.
Not being given a shield to start the game really highlights the main reason I think I made the right choice starting with Seasons in the first place: there’s no convenient spot near Lynna City to farm rupees. And sure, the stuff from the Advance Shop is especially redundant to me by now, but even saving up the 30 rupees needed to buy a shield is a chore – in the linked game, Link had a sword to start with and Impa gave him a shield, but no such luck here.
The biggest gameplay difference that’s not just something being left out involves the skeleton pirates from Seasons. In the linked game, they appeared in the future, coming to Labrynna after learning how to sail again. In the base game, however, they’re in the past, having originated in Labrynna before becoming shipwrecked in Holodrum/Subrosia. (They’re still skeletons, though.) The zora who blocked the way into the Sea of Storms, where they’re hanging out, correspondingly moves from future to past, leaving no way for Link to access the Sea of Storms in the future. This also leaves one map square, entirely within the future Sea of Storms, that Link can’t access by any means; going the other way, there’s a square in the past that can only be accessed using time travel tricks, but even those fail to reach the Forbidden Square, forever frustrating 100% gamers. (Without the Donkey Kong sequence, Link never goes into the future Black Tower, but that doesn’t leave a spot on the map covered.)
Without needing to wrap up the overall story, the ending goes in a different direction. Ambi and Ralph acknowledge their relationship (with Ambi objecting to being called a great-etc.-grandmother) and Twinrova gloats that their plan is still on track despite Veran’s death. As Link, Ralph, and Nayru return to the future, they’re joined by Impa, and then note that Maku Tree has added a statue of Link to her clearing, to Link’s embarrassment. Nayru plays her music for a crowd as Maple flies overhead, and Maple comes to sit with the rest of the crowd. Link teaches Ralph the spin attack, and Ralph overdoes it. We see Ambi overseeing that statue of Link being carved in the past.
Finally, of course, starting up the save file after finishing the game and talking to Nayru again, she says that Impa has left to go to Holodrum for a Seasons linked game, which is where my journey through this subseries will conclude.
Next: The differences in Seasons when it’s the second game played.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
The Wind Waker: Introduction and Story
Of the games from the Dark Age [1], this is the one I’m most surprised I hadn’t heard of. It’s a mainline game that, judging by the backstory’s focus on Ganon and the Triforce, is going to reunite the familiar core elements for another big shindig.
A lot of what I know about the game is settled by the opening burst of story, but here it is anyway:
This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…
Long ago, there existed a kingdom where a golden power lay hidden. It was a prosperous land blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and peace. But one day a man of great evil found the golden power and took it for himself. With its strength at his command, he spread darkness across the kingdom. But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand… a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil’s bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light. This boy, who traveled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Time. The boy’s tale was passed down through generations until it became legend.
But then… a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom. The great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the hero once again crept forth from the depths of the earth, eager to resume its dark designs. The people believed that the Hero of Time would again come to save them… but the hero did not appear. Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the gods. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate.
What became of the kingdom? None remain who know. The memory of the kingdom vanished, but its legend survived on the wind’s breath. On a certain island, it became customary to garb boys in green when they came of age. Clothed in the green of fields, they aspired to find heroic blades and cut down evil. The elders wished only for the youths to know courage like the hero of legend…
I like this a lot. I mean, I’d have been happy just to have a story scroll back in the game, but this nicely lays out the backstory and its relation to other games (as noted above, a sequel to Ocarina following on from Zelda sending Link back to their first meeting). I think it strikes a nice balance between being exposition for a hypothetical new player without drowning them in names. Very nice. Oh, and the music’s beautiful, too, particularly when the overworld theme kicks in as the story introduces Link.
I don’t think I would have noticed the trend of Zelda games since A Link to the Past to start with Link either being awakened or getting knocked out then recovering if it hadn’t been pointed out, but it’s there [3]. This falls into the former category, as Link’s sister Aryll searches the island for him and finds him sleeping in a lookout tower. She wakes him up, and reminds him that it’s his birthday, and their grandmother is waiting for him back home. Link returns home, and it turns out it’s not just any birthday; he’s reached the age the Hero of Time [4] was when his adventure started, so Link is tradition-bound to ritualistically cosplay as him for the day. Grandma also makes sure to highlight the family’s heirloom shield on the wall and mention the one man on the island who still cares about swordsmanship, not that Link or anyone else is going to need those things in this era of peace, she’s sure.
Grandma says she’s hosting the village for his birthday party tonight and there’s lots to do to get ready, so she sends Link to retrieve his sister.
Next: AGH BIRD BIRD kill it it’s evil!
[1] The period between Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess where I was completely out of touch and have trouble remembering the games that came out. No judgment on the quality of these games should be inferred [2].
[2] At least until I play them. And the Oracle games were solid. Four Swords was okay.
[3] Oracle of Ages is an exception.
[4] So much easier to say than “Ocarina of Time Link.”
A lot of what I know about the game is settled by the opening burst of story, but here it is anyway:
- This game has a more cartoony animation style than the N64 titles. It’s the source of Toon Link from Hyrule Warriors.
- Link has family in this game: a sister and a grandmother.
- There’s sailing, and possibly a mechanic centered on controlling wind.
This is but one of the legends of which the people speak…
Long ago, there existed a kingdom where a golden power lay hidden. It was a prosperous land blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and peace. But one day a man of great evil found the golden power and took it for himself. With its strength at his command, he spread darkness across the kingdom. But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand… a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil’s bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light. This boy, who traveled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Time. The boy’s tale was passed down through generations until it became legend.
But then… a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom. The great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the hero once again crept forth from the depths of the earth, eager to resume its dark designs. The people believed that the Hero of Time would again come to save them… but the hero did not appear. Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the gods. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate.
What became of the kingdom? None remain who know. The memory of the kingdom vanished, but its legend survived on the wind’s breath. On a certain island, it became customary to garb boys in green when they came of age. Clothed in the green of fields, they aspired to find heroic blades and cut down evil. The elders wished only for the youths to know courage like the hero of legend…
I like this a lot. I mean, I’d have been happy just to have a story scroll back in the game, but this nicely lays out the backstory and its relation to other games (as noted above, a sequel to Ocarina following on from Zelda sending Link back to their first meeting). I think it strikes a nice balance between being exposition for a hypothetical new player without drowning them in names. Very nice. Oh, and the music’s beautiful, too, particularly when the overworld theme kicks in as the story introduces Link.
I don’t think I would have noticed the trend of Zelda games since A Link to the Past to start with Link either being awakened or getting knocked out then recovering if it hadn’t been pointed out, but it’s there [3]. This falls into the former category, as Link’s sister Aryll searches the island for him and finds him sleeping in a lookout tower. She wakes him up, and reminds him that it’s his birthday, and their grandmother is waiting for him back home. Link returns home, and it turns out it’s not just any birthday; he’s reached the age the Hero of Time [4] was when his adventure started, so Link is tradition-bound to ritualistically cosplay as him for the day. Grandma also makes sure to highlight the family’s heirloom shield on the wall and mention the one man on the island who still cares about swordsmanship, not that Link or anyone else is going to need those things in this era of peace, she’s sure.
Grandma says she’s hosting the village for his birthday party tonight and there’s lots to do to get ready, so she sends Link to retrieve his sister.
Next: AGH BIRD BIRD kill it it’s evil!
[1] The period between Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess where I was completely out of touch and have trouble remembering the games that came out. No judgment on the quality of these games should be inferred [2].
[2] At least until I play them. And the Oracle games were solid. Four Swords was okay.
[3] Oracle of Ages is an exception.
[4] So much easier to say than “Ocarina of Time Link.”
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
A Link to the Past: Riddle Quest and Palace of the Four Sword
The main reason I wanted to play this version of A Link to the Past was for the bonus dungeon, unlocked by completing both A Link to the Past and Four Swords on the same save file. There’s also another bit of bonus content, unlocked by earning ten Medals of Courage in Four Swords. Anticipating that I might not be able to do that much in Four Swords, I got a save that has everything ready to go so once I got far enough in A Link to the Past I could do the extra content.
The Medals of Courage unlock a series of riddles. Another brother of the lumberjacks appears in the lumberjacks’ house, and once Link has the bug-catching net, the lumberjack gives him a cage and challenges him to find the item he describes. Sometimes the riddles are fairly simple, like “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” referring to cuccos, but they can also be somewhat difficult to crack, like “It’s moist and fresh…” describing a fish. And sometimes finding or catching the item described can be difficult, like the fish whose erratic flopping movements make them hard to catch in the net. The rewards for this are mostly cosmetic: Link can get carvings of himself, a cucco, and Princess Zelda delivered to his house. After completing all ten riddles, the lumberjack teaches Link the hurricane spin, a continuous spin attack that drains the magic meter. After learning it, I never found a cause to actually use it, but that’s not terribly unusual. This also unlocked the hurricane spin in Four Swords.
The Palace of the Four Sword, which appears in a cracked wall of the Dark World pyramid, is guarded by one of those critters that asks 20 rupees to tell Link a hint. Once Link meets the requirements, the critter welcomes Link to the palace and challenges him to beat it, then poofs out. If Link leaves the dungeon later for any reason, he’s there again, so restocking potions between bosses adds an extra 20 rupee cost.
Branching off the central room are four microdungeons, which each consist of some sort of puzzle, followed by a harder version of one of the bosses Link fought during the quest. The puzzles often require some trick that doesn’t come up much during the quest (e.g., turning at the precise moment a dash starts to bounce off a wall, using beams created by destroying a Cane of Somaria block) or are new to this version of the game (diving underwater, destroying a pot with an arrow). Proper like likes appear in this dungeon, an addition to the game; they also show up around the Dark World shield shop, so if you’re not careful, you can buy Link a new shield and immediately have it eaten.
The minidungeon bosses:
There’s a special ending that plays after Link’s victory, showing each of the Dark World dungeons (including the pyramid) and dungeon bosses. In place of the credits, a roll of each item and how many times Link used them plays. This is a good way to see which items are less useful than others (the magic cape gets used twice: once to get the Cane of Byrna, which outclasses it, and once to get a heart piece), reflect on how many times I had to play the digging game for the heart piece, and get an idea of how long the quest was when I see my number of sword uses at 5,556.
In conclusion: I’m glad I did this once, but I don’t think I’ll ever do it again. The riddle quest was fairly meh, and the rewards aren’t really worth it. The Palace of the Four Sword was better, with some fun one-off puzzles and reworks of earlier bosses, but not really worth doing again.
[1] A different translation of the original Japanese version, anyway. Notably, it says “You are the princess’s…” rather than “Zelda is your….”
The Medals of Courage unlock a series of riddles. Another brother of the lumberjacks appears in the lumberjacks’ house, and once Link has the bug-catching net, the lumberjack gives him a cage and challenges him to find the item he describes. Sometimes the riddles are fairly simple, like “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” referring to cuccos, but they can also be somewhat difficult to crack, like “It’s moist and fresh…” describing a fish. And sometimes finding or catching the item described can be difficult, like the fish whose erratic flopping movements make them hard to catch in the net. The rewards for this are mostly cosmetic: Link can get carvings of himself, a cucco, and Princess Zelda delivered to his house. After completing all ten riddles, the lumberjack teaches Link the hurricane spin, a continuous spin attack that drains the magic meter. After learning it, I never found a cause to actually use it, but that’s not terribly unusual. This also unlocked the hurricane spin in Four Swords.
The Palace of the Four Sword, which appears in a cracked wall of the Dark World pyramid, is guarded by one of those critters that asks 20 rupees to tell Link a hint. Once Link meets the requirements, the critter welcomes Link to the palace and challenges him to beat it, then poofs out. If Link leaves the dungeon later for any reason, he’s there again, so restocking potions between bosses adds an extra 20 rupee cost.
Branching off the central room are four microdungeons, which each consist of some sort of puzzle, followed by a harder version of one of the bosses Link fought during the quest. The puzzles often require some trick that doesn’t come up much during the quest (e.g., turning at the precise moment a dash starts to bounce off a wall, using beams created by destroying a Cane of Somaria block) or are new to this version of the game (diving underwater, destroying a pot with an arrow). Proper like likes appear in this dungeon, an addition to the game; they also show up around the Dark World shield shop, so if you’re not careful, you can buy Link a new shield and immediately have it eaten.
The minidungeon bosses:
- The Helmasaur King, who’s gained the ability to summon helmasaurs. At the point when the old boss would be defeated, he grows a second mask, and when it’s destroyed, shows a new weak point that needs to be hit with an arrow.
- Arrghus, who’s replaced the cloud of arrghi that surrounded it with baris. Unlike normal baris, the hookshot pulls them toward Link, forcing him to find another way to kill them without taking damage; the silver arrow works wonders here.
- Mothula, who’s no longer surrounded by spikes, but spawns two illusory doubles, making for a very chaotic fight.
- Blind, who first appears as Link’s uncle, and quotes the text used for Link’s uncle’s death in the Super NES version [1]. After the heads are knocked off, Link has to bat them around so they land back on the body. This is my favorite of the four different fights, and I kind of wish this could be backported into the normal Blind fight because it’s quite fun.
There’s a special ending that plays after Link’s victory, showing each of the Dark World dungeons (including the pyramid) and dungeon bosses. In place of the credits, a roll of each item and how many times Link used them plays. This is a good way to see which items are less useful than others (the magic cape gets used twice: once to get the Cane of Byrna, which outclasses it, and once to get a heart piece), reflect on how many times I had to play the digging game for the heart piece, and get an idea of how long the quest was when I see my number of sword uses at 5,556.
In conclusion: I’m glad I did this once, but I don’t think I’ll ever do it again. The riddle quest was fairly meh, and the rewards aren’t really worth it. The Palace of the Four Sword was better, with some fun one-off puzzles and reworks of earlier bosses, but not really worth doing again.
[1] A different translation of the original Japanese version, anyway. Notably, it says “You are the princess’s…” rather than “Zelda is your….”
Monday, November 12, 2018
Four Swords: Realm of Memories and Hero's Trial
In the original game, there were two extra abilities in Four Swords for the player to unlock. The first is shooting sword beams, which is unlocked by getting the Master Sword in A Link to the Past. The second move is more complicated: the player needs to collect 10 Medals of Courage to unlock a special quest in A Link to the Past, then complete that quest, which unlocks the hurricane spin (an extended spin attack) for both games. Without A Link to the Past, the Anniversary Edition needed new ways to unlock these, so it added two extra areas. Each one has a silver, gold, and hero’s door, although the second and third doors are unlocked by completing the previous levels. Each door has three levels – fixed design rather than random – with no bosses.
Realm of Memories
After defeating Vaati once, the Realm of Memories is unlocked. This has three levels, each inspired by previous Zelda games, with the artwork and music to match. They’re a bit harder than the base game, but not too bad. This section is really quite fun, seeing how the old games were reinterpreted to fit with Four Swords’ design.
The first level is based on A Link to the Past. Its first two stages are outside Hyrule Castle and then inside, and the third stage is based on the Lost Woods. The second level is based on Link’s Awakening, with stages set in Gaponga Swamp, Tail Cave, and Tal Tal Heights. Everything here is grayscale except the Links and rupees. Finally, the third level is based on the original game. The stages are the area around the starting point, the Lost Woods and graveyard area, and the first quest first dungeon (“Eagle”). Completing all three levels unlocks the sword beams.
Hero’s Trial
The second and harder bonus area is the Hero’s Trial, unlocked by collecting a total of 30,000 rupees (it took me getting through Vaati’s Palace gold door plus the entire Realm of Memories to get there) or five medals of courage. They’re based on areas from the base game, with each of the three levels having two stages based on one of the three starter areas and then one based on Vaati’s Palace. These stages are hard, like original game second quest dungeon hard.
And just like those dungeons, they throw tons of enemies at Link. Even fairly simple enemies like stalfos become difficult when they’re throwing bones at Link from ten different directions at once. Those ambushes usually have one or two harder enemies in the mix just to make it worse. And then there’s the times the game throws a bunch of tough enemies – darknuts, wizzrobes, moblins – at the Links and says “good luck.” Fortunately, the game throws lots of rupees out in these stages so resurrecting Links is easy to do at first, although by the end of the the last stage when it costs 500 rupees each time, it can get nerve-wracking, especially since dying without enough rupees means having to do the entire level over again. There’s an option to reset a stage that I never looked at outside of the Hero’s Trial, but it comes in handy here.
The first level has stages in the Sea of Trees, and this is the easiest by far. The second has stages in Talus Cave, which are brutal with all the icy areas; already tough fights are not any easier when you don’t have anywhere to stand. The last door is Death Mountain with lots of lava platforming. Then the Vaati’s Palace areas like combining fans with tough fights so it’s hard to find a place to stand. Completing all three levels unlocks the hurricane spin.
Final Thoughts
So, that’s Four Swords. It’s fun for a while, but quickly gets repetitive – especially the Hero’s Trial, where I ended up having to repeat stages because they were kicking my ass. It’s by far the weakest of the nine I’ve played, but considering it’s only ever been a) a bonus game included with a re-release of A Link to the Past and b) a free download, that’s kind of to be expected. (Also, it was intended for multiplayer, so single playering it may not be the best experience.) I’m glad I played it, although if I hadn’t found a way, this would be the one to skip.
Realm of Memories
After defeating Vaati once, the Realm of Memories is unlocked. This has three levels, each inspired by previous Zelda games, with the artwork and music to match. They’re a bit harder than the base game, but not too bad. This section is really quite fun, seeing how the old games were reinterpreted to fit with Four Swords’ design.
The first level is based on A Link to the Past. Its first two stages are outside Hyrule Castle and then inside, and the third stage is based on the Lost Woods. The second level is based on Link’s Awakening, with stages set in Gaponga Swamp, Tail Cave, and Tal Tal Heights. Everything here is grayscale except the Links and rupees. Finally, the third level is based on the original game. The stages are the area around the starting point, the Lost Woods and graveyard area, and the first quest first dungeon (“Eagle”). Completing all three levels unlocks the sword beams.
Hero’s Trial
The second and harder bonus area is the Hero’s Trial, unlocked by collecting a total of 30,000 rupees (it took me getting through Vaati’s Palace gold door plus the entire Realm of Memories to get there) or five medals of courage. They’re based on areas from the base game, with each of the three levels having two stages based on one of the three starter areas and then one based on Vaati’s Palace. These stages are hard, like original game second quest dungeon hard.
And just like those dungeons, they throw tons of enemies at Link. Even fairly simple enemies like stalfos become difficult when they’re throwing bones at Link from ten different directions at once. Those ambushes usually have one or two harder enemies in the mix just to make it worse. And then there’s the times the game throws a bunch of tough enemies – darknuts, wizzrobes, moblins – at the Links and says “good luck.” Fortunately, the game throws lots of rupees out in these stages so resurrecting Links is easy to do at first, although by the end of the the last stage when it costs 500 rupees each time, it can get nerve-wracking, especially since dying without enough rupees means having to do the entire level over again. There’s an option to reset a stage that I never looked at outside of the Hero’s Trial, but it comes in handy here.
The first level has stages in the Sea of Trees, and this is the easiest by far. The second has stages in Talus Cave, which are brutal with all the icy areas; already tough fights are not any easier when you don’t have anywhere to stand. The last door is Death Mountain with lots of lava platforming. Then the Vaati’s Palace areas like combining fans with tough fights so it’s hard to find a place to stand. Completing all three levels unlocks the hurricane spin.
Final Thoughts
So, that’s Four Swords. It’s fun for a while, but quickly gets repetitive – especially the Hero’s Trial, where I ended up having to repeat stages because they were kicking my ass. It’s by far the weakest of the nine I’ve played, but considering it’s only ever been a) a bonus game included with a re-release of A Link to the Past and b) a free download, that’s kind of to be expected. (Also, it was intended for multiplayer, so single playering it may not be the best experience.) I’m glad I played it, although if I hadn’t found a way, this would be the one to skip.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Four Swords: The Bosses
The Key Bosses
The only thing that’s the same between playthroughs in the base game of Four Swords is the four level bosses. Each boss has multiple phases, at least one per boss with some multiplayer aspect to it.
The boss of the Sea of Trees is Big Manhandla. Big Manhandla starts with three flowers orbiting its body; each time they open up, they’re colored after one of the Links and can only be damaged by the corresponding player. After all the flowers are defeated, the core body spawns a head that chase the Links around and spit rocks at them, and two levers. Once both levers are pulled out, a final flower appears over the core body, and the Link(s) whose color(s) match the colors on the central flower have to come at it and thwack it until the central flower disappears or the boss dies. Later versions (going for gold/hero’s keys) add an intermediate phase, with two heads and two levers, and each lever opening a head until it’s destroyed.
Talus Cave has Dera Zol, which starts the battle encased in ice. Much like Goht, we can’t just take a giant hammer to it and call it a win; the Links need to break the ice so Dera Zol can escape and then kill it properly. The first phases of the fight involve charging into it to force it back into the ice wall to refreeze it, then attacking it while frozen. Later versions add extra phases where it uses illusions, with multiple fake versions appearing, or it being invisible to all but one player. After enough times, it’ll be reduced to a smaller creature surrounded by four orbs. One orb corresponds to each Link, with each player only getting to see one orb’s color that’s not their own color. In multiplayer, players need to tell each other which orbs they can safely attack; in single-player, the player needs to see which orb corresponds to the other Link, then switch over to the other Link and attack that orb.
Gouen (AKA Great Flame), the boss of Death Mountain, is a little critter that surrounds itself by a lot of fireballs. It shoots colored attacks at the Links, and the Link corresponding to an attack’s color can volley it around with sword or shield. If the volleyed attack hits Gouen, it splits into the fireballs, one of which contains the core critter. After the core critter is damaged enough, it can’t protect itself with fireballs anymore, and it dies after the attacks are volleyed enough and hit him. This is a tough fight in single-player, because it’s a fire boss, and a Link who gets set on fire can’t do anything but run around the arena until the fire goes out. (Stop, drop, and roll, Link! Stop, drop, and roll!) As far as I can tell, this one doesn’t get any harder/more complicated as the Links go for better keys, which is just as well because it’s annoying enough already.
Vaati
Finally, the Links reach Vaati, who’s surprised they managed to make it all the way to him, but then he recognizes the Four Sword. His first phase is simple: he flies to the top of a tornado, and the Links can throw bombs in to explode as they reach the top of the funnel. Each bomb brings him a little closer to the ground, and when he’s finally down, he can be attacked. He’s seemingly defeated, but when the Links try to leave the area, he resurfaces, explaining that it wasn’t going to be that easy, of course. He has three different modes here. First, he’ll do like Gouen and throw colored attacks that the Links need to volley back into him. Second, he’ll spawn several balls that rotate around him and can be batted into him. In the third form, he displays a colored weak point, spins around the arena, and then his weak point opens up again and the Links can destroy it. Once he’s beaten again, the Four Sword seals him up again.
Zelda floats down, and ever the observant one, takes a moment to realize she has two (or more) rescuers instead of just one. As soon as she wonders how to get Link back to normal, they merge, and Zelda explains that since they no longer need it, the Four Sword’s power has faded. They leave to return the sword to the shrine. Over the credits, there’s a minigame with rupees and chests continually spawning around a platform and the Links running around gathering them. Afterward, Zelda and Link stand at the Four Sword’s shrine, where the sword and Vaati are safely sealed away, and turn and walk away.
Next: A couple of extra game modes from the Anniversary Edition.
The only thing that’s the same between playthroughs in the base game of Four Swords is the four level bosses. Each boss has multiple phases, at least one per boss with some multiplayer aspect to it.
The boss of the Sea of Trees is Big Manhandla. Big Manhandla starts with three flowers orbiting its body; each time they open up, they’re colored after one of the Links and can only be damaged by the corresponding player. After all the flowers are defeated, the core body spawns a head that chase the Links around and spit rocks at them, and two levers. Once both levers are pulled out, a final flower appears over the core body, and the Link(s) whose color(s) match the colors on the central flower have to come at it and thwack it until the central flower disappears or the boss dies. Later versions (going for gold/hero’s keys) add an intermediate phase, with two heads and two levers, and each lever opening a head until it’s destroyed.
Talus Cave has Dera Zol, which starts the battle encased in ice. Much like Goht, we can’t just take a giant hammer to it and call it a win; the Links need to break the ice so Dera Zol can escape and then kill it properly. The first phases of the fight involve charging into it to force it back into the ice wall to refreeze it, then attacking it while frozen. Later versions add extra phases where it uses illusions, with multiple fake versions appearing, or it being invisible to all but one player. After enough times, it’ll be reduced to a smaller creature surrounded by four orbs. One orb corresponds to each Link, with each player only getting to see one orb’s color that’s not their own color. In multiplayer, players need to tell each other which orbs they can safely attack; in single-player, the player needs to see which orb corresponds to the other Link, then switch over to the other Link and attack that orb.
Gouen (AKA Great Flame), the boss of Death Mountain, is a little critter that surrounds itself by a lot of fireballs. It shoots colored attacks at the Links, and the Link corresponding to an attack’s color can volley it around with sword or shield. If the volleyed attack hits Gouen, it splits into the fireballs, one of which contains the core critter. After the core critter is damaged enough, it can’t protect itself with fireballs anymore, and it dies after the attacks are volleyed enough and hit him. This is a tough fight in single-player, because it’s a fire boss, and a Link who gets set on fire can’t do anything but run around the arena until the fire goes out. (Stop, drop, and roll, Link! Stop, drop, and roll!) As far as I can tell, this one doesn’t get any harder/more complicated as the Links go for better keys, which is just as well because it’s annoying enough already.
Vaati
Finally, the Links reach Vaati, who’s surprised they managed to make it all the way to him, but then he recognizes the Four Sword. His first phase is simple: he flies to the top of a tornado, and the Links can throw bombs in to explode as they reach the top of the funnel. Each bomb brings him a little closer to the ground, and when he’s finally down, he can be attacked. He’s seemingly defeated, but when the Links try to leave the area, he resurfaces, explaining that it wasn’t going to be that easy, of course. He has three different modes here. First, he’ll do like Gouen and throw colored attacks that the Links need to volley back into him. Second, he’ll spawn several balls that rotate around him and can be batted into him. In the third form, he displays a colored weak point, spins around the arena, and then his weak point opens up again and the Links can destroy it. Once he’s beaten again, the Four Sword seals him up again.
Zelda floats down, and ever the observant one, takes a moment to realize she has two (or more) rescuers instead of just one. As soon as she wonders how to get Link back to normal, they merge, and Zelda explains that since they no longer need it, the Four Sword’s power has faded. They leave to return the sword to the shrine. Over the credits, there’s a minigame with rupees and chests continually spawning around a platform and the Links running around gathering them. Afterward, Zelda and Link stand at the Four Sword’s shrine, where the sword and Vaati are safely sealed away, and turn and walk away.
Next: A couple of extra game modes from the Anniversary Edition.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
A Link to the Past: GBA Update
Overall, I think the GBA version of A Link to the Past is an inferior version of the game. It’s still fine; they didn’t completely wreck the game. But the changes, big and small, add up to less than the original.
One change I’ll praise is the updated text. The translation was redone, changing references to the seven wise men to the seven sages to match the term used in Ocarina of Time. Link’s uncle’s dying speech is reworked to remove the “Zelda is your…” bit at the end; parts of the old speech are used in the bonus dungeon by one of the bosses. That’s about it for major changes, which is fine because the original text was clear and consistent. (The one typo in the original, the Great Faeries offering to "sooth" Link's wounds, was fixed. Also "faerie" has become "fairy," as used in the series' other games.) By the end of the game I was clicking through the text and barely reading it, even when I meant to like with some items with memorable text in the original; checking a text dump, the hookshot kept its BOING!s, and while the Cane of Somaria was slightly rewritten, it still doesn’t actually say what the cane does.
Because the GBA’s button layout is different, controls had to be remapped, and… I generally hate how they did it. Ocarina of Time shifted the controls around, but that was a different game; coming to the familiar A Link to the Past only having sword on the left and item on the right feels backward and threw me off for a long time. Definitely backward is Select to bring up inventory and Start to bring up the pause menu, which is a straight reversal from the original game; apparently this was done to keep controls consistent with Four Swords. The map and action buttons being mapped to L and R, which the original version didn’t use, is fine.
The other area where the game suffers is sound. The music is just not as good; the Dark World overworld theme, and especially the intro section, lost the most. High-pitched sounds became ear-splitting. And some genius decided what A Link to the Past really, desperately needed was for Link to grunt when he swings his sword and scream when he falls into a hole. The former I learned to tune out, just like with Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, but I didn’t have Link fall into holes enough to get used to him screaming every time he did.
I had a good deal more difficulty with the game than I’m used to, which is probably just minor system differences throwing me off because I’m so used to the quirks and timing of the original. However, there were times where I was certain a gap was too small for enemies to squeeze through, only squeeze through they did. The outer ring of lamplight in dark corridors is now patchy rather than dim. Also, two enemies had significant changes. Unless I was just terribly inaccurate, flipped terrorpins were immune to the ice rod, and died instantly to ether rather than freezing, so they weren’t a useful resource for refilling magic like I was used to. Stalfos knights, while they still die after enough sword hits, became immune to the sword while collapsed, so doing it right and finishing them off with a bomb became a massive timesaver.
Other little changes: Arrows don’t start appearing until Link has the bow, but he gets ten immediately when he does [1] and they’re really plentiful for the rest of the dungeon, even with lots of eyegores between the bow and the boss. Link can destroy signs with the sword, and pots with the golden sword. A few items can destroy bushes or pots when they couldn’t before. The shovel can dig north and south, rather than just east or west. Occasionally, Link will come across a sparkling rock that spits out rupees when he hits it with his sword. Dungeons now display their name when Link enters, and the Tower of Hera has been renamed the Mountain Tower. The inventory has been revamped, with each bottle getting its own slot, and the shovel taking over the old bottle slot and staying after Link gets the flute. Link can dive while swimming. After a certain point – I’d guess once Link unlocks the portal there – a ninth flute stop is added atop the Light World version of Turtle Rock. The goriyas in the cave with the last heart piece are replaced with eyegores – I suppose because goriyas are Dark World only – but the room is still designed with goriyas in mind. Maple from the Oracle games has set up as the witch’s apprentice who runs the potion shop.
Finally, the final puzzle of the Ice Palace was basically removed, and the room it was in and the room above it were redesigned. The flow of the dungeon is basically unchanged; Link still has to go down to the old puzzle room and through a door to the right, hit a switch crystal, and work his way back up to the room above and fall through to the southern half of the old puzzle room, but the actual puzzle is gone. So there’s no reason to sequence break and grab the Cane of Somaria from Misery Mire anymore. Oddly, the part I always used to have trouble with (until I learned the way through) was the route back after hitting the switch crystal, so while I do like the change (for the most part; having the puzzle room split like it is feels weird), it wouldn’t have helped me back in the day.
Next: The Four Swords-unlockable content.
[1] It’s entirely possible this always happened but I was always maxed out on arrows (30) by time I got the bow.
One change I’ll praise is the updated text. The translation was redone, changing references to the seven wise men to the seven sages to match the term used in Ocarina of Time. Link’s uncle’s dying speech is reworked to remove the “Zelda is your…” bit at the end; parts of the old speech are used in the bonus dungeon by one of the bosses. That’s about it for major changes, which is fine because the original text was clear and consistent. (The one typo in the original, the Great Faeries offering to "sooth" Link's wounds, was fixed. Also "faerie" has become "fairy," as used in the series' other games.) By the end of the game I was clicking through the text and barely reading it, even when I meant to like with some items with memorable text in the original; checking a text dump, the hookshot kept its BOING!s, and while the Cane of Somaria was slightly rewritten, it still doesn’t actually say what the cane does.
Because the GBA’s button layout is different, controls had to be remapped, and… I generally hate how they did it. Ocarina of Time shifted the controls around, but that was a different game; coming to the familiar A Link to the Past only having sword on the left and item on the right feels backward and threw me off for a long time. Definitely backward is Select to bring up inventory and Start to bring up the pause menu, which is a straight reversal from the original game; apparently this was done to keep controls consistent with Four Swords. The map and action buttons being mapped to L and R, which the original version didn’t use, is fine.
The other area where the game suffers is sound. The music is just not as good; the Dark World overworld theme, and especially the intro section, lost the most. High-pitched sounds became ear-splitting. And some genius decided what A Link to the Past really, desperately needed was for Link to grunt when he swings his sword and scream when he falls into a hole. The former I learned to tune out, just like with Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, but I didn’t have Link fall into holes enough to get used to him screaming every time he did.
I had a good deal more difficulty with the game than I’m used to, which is probably just minor system differences throwing me off because I’m so used to the quirks and timing of the original. However, there were times where I was certain a gap was too small for enemies to squeeze through, only squeeze through they did. The outer ring of lamplight in dark corridors is now patchy rather than dim. Also, two enemies had significant changes. Unless I was just terribly inaccurate, flipped terrorpins were immune to the ice rod, and died instantly to ether rather than freezing, so they weren’t a useful resource for refilling magic like I was used to. Stalfos knights, while they still die after enough sword hits, became immune to the sword while collapsed, so doing it right and finishing them off with a bomb became a massive timesaver.
Other little changes: Arrows don’t start appearing until Link has the bow, but he gets ten immediately when he does [1] and they’re really plentiful for the rest of the dungeon, even with lots of eyegores between the bow and the boss. Link can destroy signs with the sword, and pots with the golden sword. A few items can destroy bushes or pots when they couldn’t before. The shovel can dig north and south, rather than just east or west. Occasionally, Link will come across a sparkling rock that spits out rupees when he hits it with his sword. Dungeons now display their name when Link enters, and the Tower of Hera has been renamed the Mountain Tower. The inventory has been revamped, with each bottle getting its own slot, and the shovel taking over the old bottle slot and staying after Link gets the flute. Link can dive while swimming. After a certain point – I’d guess once Link unlocks the portal there – a ninth flute stop is added atop the Light World version of Turtle Rock. The goriyas in the cave with the last heart piece are replaced with eyegores – I suppose because goriyas are Dark World only – but the room is still designed with goriyas in mind. Maple from the Oracle games has set up as the witch’s apprentice who runs the potion shop.
Finally, the final puzzle of the Ice Palace was basically removed, and the room it was in and the room above it were redesigned. The flow of the dungeon is basically unchanged; Link still has to go down to the old puzzle room and through a door to the right, hit a switch crystal, and work his way back up to the room above and fall through to the southern half of the old puzzle room, but the actual puzzle is gone. So there’s no reason to sequence break and grab the Cane of Somaria from Misery Mire anymore. Oddly, the part I always used to have trouble with (until I learned the way through) was the route back after hitting the switch crystal, so while I do like the change (for the most part; having the puzzle room split like it is feels weird), it wouldn’t have helped me back in the day.
Next: The Four Swords-unlockable content.
[1] It’s entirely possible this always happened but I was always maxed out on arrows (30) by time I got the bow.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Four Swords: Introduction and Story
Four Swords is an additional game originally included with the GBA remake of A Link to the Past. The original game was multiplayer only – it will let a solo player view the opening cutscene, but no more. I was able to get a setup working where I could play the game, but there are bits where both players need to perform an action together, and those, while not impossible, were too frustrating to do on a regular basis, especially when it was something that was required to defeat enemies. Fortunately, in 2011 they released the Anniversary Edition which had a single-player mode, and that’s the version I’m playing here.
The Story
Over time, the trend in the Zelda games has generally been toward more story; Four Swords completely reverses that trend. If you look at what’s in the game and the manual, Four Swords may actually have the least story of any Zelda game thus far, except maybe the very first one. The manual introduces the villain, Vaati, a wind sorcerer who had a thing for kidnapping young women. He was eventually defeated when a boy came to fight him, and the rumor was that the boy’s sword split him into four copies to fight Vaati. Vaati’s spirit was sealed inside the sword, which was named the Four Sword in honor of its powers.
The game itself features an opening cutscene that starts with Zelda and Link approaching the Four Sword to check the seal. The seal is already broken, and Vaati, who resembles the DethI shadow nightmare from Link’s Awakening, grabs Zelda, knocks Link out, and flies off to his palace. When Link wakes, he’s greeted by a group of fairies, who encourage him to take the Four Sword and prove his worth to the fairies who can help him find Vaati’s palace. Link takes the Four Sword out of its pedestal, splits into four (colored differently so players can tell each other apart), and the Links march off to save Zelda.
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone…
Four Swords gameplay is both cooperative and competitive. The Links have to work together to overcome puzzles, sometimes standing on switches, sometimes pulling levers simultaneously, and in what feels like it should be the game’s signature mechanic, one Link sometimes has to toss the other over a gap, and then the second Link finds a way to get the first across. There are some enemies that need to be literally pulled apart by two Links pulling in opposite directions. Meanwhile, they’re collecting rupees, and if one Link dies, the rupees needed to resurrect him come from the communal pool. However, after each level is completed, the Link who collected the most rupees in the level is awarded a Medal of Courage; once a save file has enough of them, it can access a special quest in A Link to the Past. There are other new tricks involving rupees – enemies that will steal rupees from a Link, and black rupees that cause the Link who touches them to drop 80 rupees on the ground.
The single-player adaptation lets the player control two Links. One will either follow the one being actively controlled or stay put, as the player directs. When a puzzle requires both Links’ input, the inactive Link will automatically spring to action to fulfill his part. Some of the tricks which encourage multiplayer competition feel kind of ridiculous in single-player, but they’re still there. (Medals of Courage are not awarded in single-player play; there’s no A Link to the Past to link back to, and the new game mode they unlock in the Anniversary Edition can be unlocked by collecting enough rupees.)
At the start, there are four areas unlocked, starting with the Chambers of Insight which is a tutorial for the game, including the various items Link will need to complete his quest. Then there come the next three areas: Sea of Trees (forest), Talus Cave (ice), and Death Mountain (flame). Running through these areas involves playing three stages. The first two stages are randomly generated, which makes it hard to say too much about them. In the third stages, the Links fight a boss, then approach the fairy corresponding to the element, and if they earned enough rupees in the stage, get a key. There are three types of keys, which have to be earned in order and require an increasing number of rupees: 1,000 for a silver key, 3,000 for a golden key, and 5,000 for a Hero’s Key. Hero’s Keys are hard to come by in single-player (they basically require farming enemies that drop rupees), and even Golden Keys can be tough if the stages aren’t filled with rupees.
Next: Bosses and the end.
The Story
Over time, the trend in the Zelda games has generally been toward more story; Four Swords completely reverses that trend. If you look at what’s in the game and the manual, Four Swords may actually have the least story of any Zelda game thus far, except maybe the very first one. The manual introduces the villain, Vaati, a wind sorcerer who had a thing for kidnapping young women. He was eventually defeated when a boy came to fight him, and the rumor was that the boy’s sword split him into four copies to fight Vaati. Vaati’s spirit was sealed inside the sword, which was named the Four Sword in honor of its powers.
The game itself features an opening cutscene that starts with Zelda and Link approaching the Four Sword to check the seal. The seal is already broken, and Vaati, who resembles the DethI shadow nightmare from Link’s Awakening, grabs Zelda, knocks Link out, and flies off to his palace. When Link wakes, he’s greeted by a group of fairies, who encourage him to take the Four Sword and prove his worth to the fairies who can help him find Vaati’s palace. Link takes the Four Sword out of its pedestal, splits into four (colored differently so players can tell each other apart), and the Links march off to save Zelda.
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone…
Four Swords gameplay is both cooperative and competitive. The Links have to work together to overcome puzzles, sometimes standing on switches, sometimes pulling levers simultaneously, and in what feels like it should be the game’s signature mechanic, one Link sometimes has to toss the other over a gap, and then the second Link finds a way to get the first across. There are some enemies that need to be literally pulled apart by two Links pulling in opposite directions. Meanwhile, they’re collecting rupees, and if one Link dies, the rupees needed to resurrect him come from the communal pool. However, after each level is completed, the Link who collected the most rupees in the level is awarded a Medal of Courage; once a save file has enough of them, it can access a special quest in A Link to the Past. There are other new tricks involving rupees – enemies that will steal rupees from a Link, and black rupees that cause the Link who touches them to drop 80 rupees on the ground.
The single-player adaptation lets the player control two Links. One will either follow the one being actively controlled or stay put, as the player directs. When a puzzle requires both Links’ input, the inactive Link will automatically spring to action to fulfill his part. Some of the tricks which encourage multiplayer competition feel kind of ridiculous in single-player, but they’re still there. (Medals of Courage are not awarded in single-player play; there’s no A Link to the Past to link back to, and the new game mode they unlock in the Anniversary Edition can be unlocked by collecting enough rupees.)
At the start, there are four areas unlocked, starting with the Chambers of Insight which is a tutorial for the game, including the various items Link will need to complete his quest. Then there come the next three areas: Sea of Trees (forest), Talus Cave (ice), and Death Mountain (flame). Running through these areas involves playing three stages. The first two stages are randomly generated, which makes it hard to say too much about them. In the third stages, the Links fight a boss, then approach the fairy corresponding to the element, and if they earned enough rupees in the stage, get a key. There are three types of keys, which have to be earned in order and require an increasing number of rupees: 1,000 for a silver key, 3,000 for a golden key, and 5,000 for a Hero’s Key. Hero’s Keys are hard to come by in single-player (they basically require farming enemies that drop rupees), and even Golden Keys can be tough if the stages aren’t filled with rupees.
Next: Bosses and the end.
Monday, November 5, 2018
Oracle of Ages: Room of Rites
The Sacrifice
Contrary to what I thought after playing through this, Link can leave the Room of Rites if he wants to stock up on seeds or get another potion if he had to use the one he had against Veran or he just wants to explore the world. The first few rooms of the area are a maze that Link needs to navigate by looking at the statues: they look in every direction but the one he needs to go in. He eventually finds his way to Zelda, but Twinrova summon him to another room for the final battle.
The first phase of the Twinrova fight is basically adapted from their first phase in Ocarina of Time, with Link having to deflect Koume’s fireballs at Kotake, and Kotake’s ice attacks at Koume. It sounds easy enough, but with the two of them swooping around the arena, it’s hard to find a place to stand, and even harder to find the precise place to stand so Link can deflect the attack at the right sister. I eventually settled for running around the arena, unleashing a spin attack when one of the attacks got close and hoping it went in the right direction. After a few hits, they merge, and alternate between fire and ice forms, changing the arena to suit. After a few hits from the sword, they’re stunned so Link can hit the merged form with a scent seed, and after a few rounds of this, Twinrova is defeated.
Even in defeat, they refuse to be stopped, using their own deaths to bring Ganon back. Because the ritual was incomplete, Ganon is more bestial than he was before (more like he was in The Legend of Zelda than in Ocarina of Time or A Link to the Past). He has several attacks, but nothing too hard to dodge and counterattack. His only particularly neat trick is changing the floor so that the D-Pad controls are backward, and even that’s not too hard to overcome. Link defeats Ganon again, and all of Twinrova’s efforts come to nothing. He rescues Zelda from the altar, and as Twinrova’s palace collapses, the Maku Tree teleports the two of them out and to her clearing.
Victory!
Impa, Nayru, and Din are there to welcome them back. (Poor Farore. Her game got canceled, so all she gets to do is ferry secrets between the two.) After everybody exchanges thanks and congratulations, Zelda kisses Link, leaving him stunned (and the Maku Tree does her “upset” face at them) to send the game into the credits. The credits show Ralph helping Nayru with her shopping, a crowd gathering to watch Din dance, Link watching the animal companions pass by, and Zelda looking up at the stars from a balcony. Finally, after it’s all done, Link sails away on a boat, with the possible intention that it’s the same boat that will get wrecked, leaving Link to wash up on Koholint Island for Link’s Awakening [1].
I really liked these games, even if Ages sometimes made me curse the people who designed some of the tougher puzzles (and anyone who could have prevented the mermaid suit controls from being as horrible as they are). I think Ages is the slightly stronger game, with a better supporting cast (okay, Ralph is too one-note), and the heavier puzzle emphasis makes it more fun for me.
After the credits, there’s a Hero’s Secret, which will let the player start a new game (of either Ages or Seasons). The idea is to use this code to start the game you just finished, which will let you see how that game plays without the alterations caused by finishing the other game first. Ring secrets can be shared with games started with a Hero’s Secret, which is good because doing both games twice, reversing the order between runs (e.g., Seasons > Ages > Ages > Seasons) is the only way to get the complete list of 64 rings. In a single run through of the two games, the most available is 60.
[1] As I said in my first post on this subseries, the timeline placement for these games has varied, even from official sources. Hyrule Historia puts them between A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening, and a later source has them after Link’s Awakening with a different Link. I think the current official version is after Link’s Awakening but with the same Link. I think the simplest idea is to accept that any Zelda timeline is going to have quibbles and don’t look too closely at the details.
Contrary to what I thought after playing through this, Link can leave the Room of Rites if he wants to stock up on seeds or get another potion if he had to use the one he had against Veran or he just wants to explore the world. The first few rooms of the area are a maze that Link needs to navigate by looking at the statues: they look in every direction but the one he needs to go in. He eventually finds his way to Zelda, but Twinrova summon him to another room for the final battle.
The first phase of the Twinrova fight is basically adapted from their first phase in Ocarina of Time, with Link having to deflect Koume’s fireballs at Kotake, and Kotake’s ice attacks at Koume. It sounds easy enough, but with the two of them swooping around the arena, it’s hard to find a place to stand, and even harder to find the precise place to stand so Link can deflect the attack at the right sister. I eventually settled for running around the arena, unleashing a spin attack when one of the attacks got close and hoping it went in the right direction. After a few hits, they merge, and alternate between fire and ice forms, changing the arena to suit. After a few hits from the sword, they’re stunned so Link can hit the merged form with a scent seed, and after a few rounds of this, Twinrova is defeated.
Even in defeat, they refuse to be stopped, using their own deaths to bring Ganon back. Because the ritual was incomplete, Ganon is more bestial than he was before (more like he was in The Legend of Zelda than in Ocarina of Time or A Link to the Past). He has several attacks, but nothing too hard to dodge and counterattack. His only particularly neat trick is changing the floor so that the D-Pad controls are backward, and even that’s not too hard to overcome. Link defeats Ganon again, and all of Twinrova’s efforts come to nothing. He rescues Zelda from the altar, and as Twinrova’s palace collapses, the Maku Tree teleports the two of them out and to her clearing.
Victory!
Impa, Nayru, and Din are there to welcome them back. (Poor Farore. Her game got canceled, so all she gets to do is ferry secrets between the two.) After everybody exchanges thanks and congratulations, Zelda kisses Link, leaving him stunned (and the Maku Tree does her “upset” face at them) to send the game into the credits. The credits show Ralph helping Nayru with her shopping, a crowd gathering to watch Din dance, Link watching the animal companions pass by, and Zelda looking up at the stars from a balcony. Finally, after it’s all done, Link sails away on a boat, with the possible intention that it’s the same boat that will get wrecked, leaving Link to wash up on Koholint Island for Link’s Awakening [1].
I really liked these games, even if Ages sometimes made me curse the people who designed some of the tougher puzzles (and anyone who could have prevented the mermaid suit controls from being as horrible as they are). I think Ages is the slightly stronger game, with a better supporting cast (okay, Ralph is too one-note), and the heavier puzzle emphasis makes it more fun for me.
After the credits, there’s a Hero’s Secret, which will let the player start a new game (of either Ages or Seasons). The idea is to use this code to start the game you just finished, which will let you see how that game plays without the alterations caused by finishing the other game first. Ring secrets can be shared with games started with a Hero’s Secret, which is good because doing both games twice, reversing the order between runs (e.g., Seasons > Ages > Ages > Seasons) is the only way to get the complete list of 64 rings. In a single run through of the two games, the most available is 60.
[1] As I said in my first post on this subseries, the timeline placement for these games has varied, even from official sources. Hyrule Historia puts them between A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening, and a later source has them after Link’s Awakening with a different Link. I think the current official version is after Link’s Awakening but with the same Link. I think the simplest idea is to accept that any Zelda timeline is going to have quibbles and don’t look too closely at the details.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Oracle of Ages: Ancient Tomb
The final dungeon, Ancient Tomb, feels like a final exam after everything Link’s done. There are switch blocks, rolling cube puzzles, lava flows to disrupt, mine carts, and puzzles that require most of the inventory items to pass. The dungeon’s treasure is the power glove, an upgrade for the power bracelet, and it only comes up a few times over the course of the dungeon, and it feels like it’s really just here because a Zelda dungeon without a treasure item is not a true Zelda dungeon. The central puzzle, to open the path to the main part of the bottom floor, involves recovering four tablets from the four corners of the dungeon and inserting them into a statue.
The dungeon’s miniboss is Blue Stalfos, but he’s incredibly reminiscent of Agahnim: he has two attacks, one that can be reflected back at him, and one that breaks apart if Link tries. When the reflected attack hits him, he turns into a bat, which gives Link a chance to damage him. Just before the final boss, there are four barriers that Link needs to overcome: a bush that he cuts with his sword, a cracked block he blows up with a bomb, a torch he lights with the seed shooter to place a bridge over a gap, and a statue he picks up with the power glove. Ramrock, the final boss, has four forms, and those four items, in that order, are needed to defeat each of the forms. The second form is the hardest, requiring tossing a bomb so that Ramrock crushes it before it explodes; the placement and timing required make for a tough challenge. Once all four forms are defeated, Link claims the final Essence, the Falling Star.
With all eight Essences of Time, the Maku Tree can make a Huge Maku Seed, which will let him see through Veran’s illusions and enter the Black Tower. Twinrova come and buzz him again, taunting him about how he can’t win. Link sets out for the Black Tower in the past anyway, where he meets Ralph, Nayru, Impa, and Zelda. Ralph is determined to stop Veran, even if it means killing Ambi… who turns out to be Ralph’s ancestor, so killing her would erase him from time. He seems okay with it, but Nayru asks Link to stop him somehow.
Black Tower
Link fights his way through the monsters that have infested the lower levels of the Black Tower, then uses the Maku Seed to reveal the true entrance to the turret where Ambi is. The scene cuts away to Twinrova again, celebrating as the Flame of Sorrow is lit. The Black Tower Turret is a short maze of stairways; the final section of the maze has a bunch of stairways that lead to the wrong entrance of the floor above, with only one, marked by one of the fires that appear in the room as Link enters, leading to the proper way up. Afterward, Link has a few more fights before coming to the heart of the tower, where Ralph makes his charge against Verambi, and fails. Even if he’s been ridiculous all game, I have to admire him for trying, even if he failed.
Ralph’s still alive, which only leads to Veran using that as leverage, seemingly forgetting that Link’s already kicked her out of one body without hurting the host. The first phase, getting Veran out of Ambi’s body, is much like the earlier fight against Veranayru. Once Veran’s out, Ambi leaves, and Veran tries to possess Link, which fails. This sets up round two of their fight, with Veran flying across the room attacking Link, while summoning four shadow Links to distract him. After a few hits, she goes down again, and Ralph and Nayru come to Link to lead him out of the tower. As they head out, the tower begins crumbling, and a wallmaster grabs Link and drags him back for one final confrontation with Veran.
Veran, in her true form, is a gigantic beetle that can also shift into a bee or spider. After she’s defeated again, she dies, but tells Link her part in Twinrova’s plan is complete, and Ganon will return. Link escapes the tower and is reunited with Ralph and Nayru. As they leave the tower grounds, they run into Ambi with a few knights. Ralph worries that she’s there to fight them, but Ambi’s back to herself and was coming to help. Veran’s mucking with the timeline is undone, but the celebration is cut short when Impa runs up and reveals that Twinrova has kidnapped Zelda. Her kidnapping will light the Flame of Despair, and they intend for her to serve as their sacrifice to bring Ganon back.
Well, that’s not good. Din and Nayru combine their powers to send Link to fight Twinrova and stop Ganon’s resurrection.
Next: The final boss.
The dungeon’s miniboss is Blue Stalfos, but he’s incredibly reminiscent of Agahnim: he has two attacks, one that can be reflected back at him, and one that breaks apart if Link tries. When the reflected attack hits him, he turns into a bat, which gives Link a chance to damage him. Just before the final boss, there are four barriers that Link needs to overcome: a bush that he cuts with his sword, a cracked block he blows up with a bomb, a torch he lights with the seed shooter to place a bridge over a gap, and a statue he picks up with the power glove. Ramrock, the final boss, has four forms, and those four items, in that order, are needed to defeat each of the forms. The second form is the hardest, requiring tossing a bomb so that Ramrock crushes it before it explodes; the placement and timing required make for a tough challenge. Once all four forms are defeated, Link claims the final Essence, the Falling Star.
With all eight Essences of Time, the Maku Tree can make a Huge Maku Seed, which will let him see through Veran’s illusions and enter the Black Tower. Twinrova come and buzz him again, taunting him about how he can’t win. Link sets out for the Black Tower in the past anyway, where he meets Ralph, Nayru, Impa, and Zelda. Ralph is determined to stop Veran, even if it means killing Ambi… who turns out to be Ralph’s ancestor, so killing her would erase him from time. He seems okay with it, but Nayru asks Link to stop him somehow.
Black Tower
Link fights his way through the monsters that have infested the lower levels of the Black Tower, then uses the Maku Seed to reveal the true entrance to the turret where Ambi is. The scene cuts away to Twinrova again, celebrating as the Flame of Sorrow is lit. The Black Tower Turret is a short maze of stairways; the final section of the maze has a bunch of stairways that lead to the wrong entrance of the floor above, with only one, marked by one of the fires that appear in the room as Link enters, leading to the proper way up. Afterward, Link has a few more fights before coming to the heart of the tower, where Ralph makes his charge against Verambi, and fails. Even if he’s been ridiculous all game, I have to admire him for trying, even if he failed.
Ralph’s still alive, which only leads to Veran using that as leverage, seemingly forgetting that Link’s already kicked her out of one body without hurting the host. The first phase, getting Veran out of Ambi’s body, is much like the earlier fight against Veranayru. Once Veran’s out, Ambi leaves, and Veran tries to possess Link, which fails. This sets up round two of their fight, with Veran flying across the room attacking Link, while summoning four shadow Links to distract him. After a few hits, she goes down again, and Ralph and Nayru come to Link to lead him out of the tower. As they head out, the tower begins crumbling, and a wallmaster grabs Link and drags him back for one final confrontation with Veran.
Veran, in her true form, is a gigantic beetle that can also shift into a bee or spider. After she’s defeated again, she dies, but tells Link her part in Twinrova’s plan is complete, and Ganon will return. Link escapes the tower and is reunited with Ralph and Nayru. As they leave the tower grounds, they run into Ambi with a few knights. Ralph worries that she’s there to fight them, but Ambi’s back to herself and was coming to help. Veran’s mucking with the timeline is undone, but the celebration is cut short when Impa runs up and reveals that Twinrova has kidnapped Zelda. Her kidnapping will light the Flame of Despair, and they intend for her to serve as their sacrifice to bring Ganon back.
Well, that’s not good. Din and Nayru combine their powers to send Link to fight Twinrova and stop Ganon’s resurrection.
Next: The final boss.
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