The Wind Waker: Nintendo Gallery

Since Link’s in the area, he takes the King of Red Lions back to the Forest Haven now that he can take color pictographs. Showing the first one to Carlov at the Nintendo Gallery unlocks the sidequest, in which Carlov will create figurines of pictures of NPCs Link brings him. There are seven rooms around the gallery to house these figurines, and well over a hundred vacant bases. So… this quest is going to take a while. Additional complications include that if the picture isn’t just perfect, Carlov won’t accept it and Link has to go back and take it again. The list of possible figurine subjects includes monsters and bosses, whose parents apparently didn’t teach them basic etiquette for having their picture taken, for example, “Do not try to eat the photographer.” Oh, and two of those bosses are dead so I’ll have to wait until they maybe come back later to get their pictures. And speaking of starting the quest too late, the Koroks have spread to the four winds. And the pictograph box only has room for three pictures, so it’s not like he can get a bunch of pictures at once, and the Forest Haven is not exactly what I’d call “centrally located.” Oh, and it takes a day to make a pictograph; not a big deal if you’re dropping off the last one and heading out to get three more, but in between Link has to step out of the gallery, play the Song of Passing twice, and head back in. Carlov doesn’t want Link watching him make the figurines, saying something about trade secrets, only I would guess the real reason is hinted at on his own figurine (who wrote the caption?): he does it in his underwear.

I hunted the Gold Skulltulas. I got every ring in the Oracle games. I can do this. I won’t like it, but I will do this.

Okay, now there’s still a lot of high-seas adventuring that can be done before the next dungeon, and rather than try to organize it into some kind of cohesive narrative, I’ll just summarize.

• There are five Big Octos left, and each can be fought now. They’re a bit tougher than the one Link’s already killed, with more eyes. Bombs can put out the eyes with a single shot, but are tricky to aim, so I went back to the old standby boomerang. The rewards for killing them are 600 rupees and two pieces of heart.
• Link can visit three of the five Fairy Island fairies, who give him the last wallet upgrade (to 5,000 rupees) and two bomb bag upgrades (from 30 to 60 to 99) – both his largest capacity for their respective items thus far.
• On Dragon Roost Island, a Rito guard wants Golden Feathers for his girlfriend. Link sells him a bunch of them, and the girlfriend sends Link a piece of heart via the mail as a reward.
• At Needle Rock Isle, Link can now sink the warships as the fish hinted, one of which is protecting a piece of heart.
• Salvatore has set up another game on Spectacle Island, where Link gets to sink ships (that look suspiciously like barrels) to win a heart piece and treasure map. When he gives Link the rewards for playing, he roleplays as a very flirtatious Tetra.
• At the Flight Control Platform, a couple Rito have set up a game to see who can fly furthest. Link, by setting the wind in a favorable direction and hitting some cyclones as he flies, can break the record for a heart piece.
• On Bomb Island, by blowing up a boulder Link can enter a cave with several Magtail switch puzzles that lead to a heart piece.
• On Star Island, Link blow up a rock to find a cave with an enemy gauntlet that gives a heart piece as a reward.
• There are platforms across the Great Sea that shoot bombs at Link. He can take out their cannons and explore the platforms, collecting items like a piece of heart, a treasure chart, and assorted spoils.
• Link can get treasure charts from the Private Oasis, a submarine with a bunch of Moblins near Northern Fairy Island, Crescent Moon Island and a Miniblin-infested submarine nearby, and a Keese-infested cave on Rock Spire Isle.
• I tried taking the forest water to a nearby Korok with a wilted tree, but when the water said it lasted for 20 minutes but could be used multiple times, I realized why exactly that was and decided it could wait until I unlocked quick travel.
• The main thing to do right now is sail around and collect the treasures from the charts. By the end of this section, Link had a total of 26 charts, and was able to claim 25 of their treasures (the last one is near the Forsaken Fortress, where he can’t go right now). In addition to the two heart pieces he’d already recovered, he adds 5 more pieces of heart and lots of rupees – usually 200 a pop, but one map (that he won at auction) led to a treasure of a single rupee.
• All of that money let Link visit the special items shop near Rock Spire Isle. It’s on a ship that looks exactly like Beedle’s, and the proprietor has all of Beedle’s mannerisms, but you can tell it’s not Beedle because he’s wearing a mask and doesn’t increment Link’s loyalty card. The three things I Can’t Believe It’s Not Beedle has for sale are a treasure chart (included above), a heart piece, and the third bottle.

Next: Fshew. I think I’m quite ready for another dungeon.