At first, Ezlo intends to sit out exploring the dungeon because of the monsters, but then he realizes Link might leave him behind so he decides to brave it. And… oh, boy. Sometimes his insights are useful, like convincing Link to stop trying to solve a puzzle when the solution’s not available yet. Sometimes he puts the cap in Captain Obvious, like when he tells Link – who’s already got a key – that the door’s locked and he should find a key to unlock it. I like the character, but after a dozen of these games I think I can get by without an advisor companion, and having the option to turn that aspect of him off – at least for the things that should be old hat (<vbg>) by now – would be an improvement. At least his alert sound’s not “Hey! Listen!” [1]
The dungeon mechanics are an interesting blend of familiar tricks (lighting four torches to cause some effect, switches, pushing statues/pots to hold down buttons, etc.) and remixed/new ideas. There are mushrooms that Link can pull and stretch to use as improvised catapults to fling himself across gaps (and this would be a perfect time for Ezlo to pipe up and help, but nooooo…). A room in a dungeon is dominated by a barrel, which can be freed from its anchor points so it can spin and change where the door-holes open out to. There are two heart pieces in the dungeon, which I’m pretty sure is a new development. (Ocarina had skulltulas in the dungeons, and as far back as A Link to the Past there were heart pieces in overworld sections between dungeon sections, but I don’t remember any heart pieces in an actual dungeon.) Also throughout the dungeon Link finds chests with Mysterious Shells. The description – probably Ezlo chiming in – says it’s not sure what they’re used for either, so they’re just a random collectible for now.
Throughout the dungeon, there are piles of dusts on the floor and spiderwebs across doorways. Link can’t do anything about these, nor the critters that sometimes create piles of dust, until he gets the dungeon item. First, he has to beat the miniboss, Madderpillar, a wormlike enemy whose attack pattern is like Wind Waker Puppet Ganon’s Moldorm form with approximately 95% less bullpancake. Link hits the head to cause it to turn gray, stop moving, and reveal the weak spot in its tail, then heads around and pounds on the tail until it turns red and zips around for a bit, before turning back to blue and starting the cycle over. The reward for beating it is the Gust Jar, which can stun enemies (or suck them in to shoot them like from a cannon), pull items from a distance, clean up the dust (revealing hidden things on the floor) and webs (opening doorways), have a lily pad move in the opposite direction he’s shooting, and probably a dozen other uses that haven’t come to mind yet. It’s a clever, versatile little item that I like more than puns, so no “it sucks” here.
The boss is a green ChuChu. It’s called Big Green ChuChu, but really, it’s just a normal ChuChu that seems big because Link’s tiny. And because Link’s tiny, the usual methods of dealing with it don’t work, so he has to get inventive. The Gust Jar can suck the jelly out of the ChuChu’s base, causing it to sway dramatically from side to side until it completely topples over, allowing Link to hit its head until it reorients itself [2]. After a few times, the ChuChu hops around a few times, and after being knocked over and hit in the head a few more times, explodes. Link claims the Earth Element, then a heart container (reverse order from most other games; for a second, I wondered if there was even going to be a heart container).
Link returns to the Minish village and speaks with the elder again. The elder tells link his next destination should be Mount Crenel, where he’ll find Melari, the smith the others talked about who is the best bet to reforge the Picori Blade. He offers to send word to Melari, and shows Link a shortcut out of the village. Just outside of town, Link finds one last Minish house. Its inhabitant, Belari, says the construction has moved toward the forest, and Link won’t be able to get back because of the debris. However, he has just the thing: bombs. To the south of Belari’s house is another stump portal that turns Link back to his normal size, and to the north he finds a stone that says it grants special powers before blowing up, much to Ezlo’s surprise. There’s a rune left behind, but Ezlo has no idea what it is. That’s all to do in the forest, aside from blowing up a wall on the way out and back to town.
Next: My most-hated dog in a game involving fowl since Duck Hunt.
[1] Says the guy who has that as his phone’s text alert.
[2] This reminds me so much of a boss from Hyrule Warriors (originally from Skyward Sword, I think). It’s not quite the same, but the “attack the feet to knock it over, pummel the head until it gets back up or dies” strategy is similar.
