The Legend of Zelda Series

[Ayen]

My favorite incarnations are from the same game. Ocarina of Time for character, Twilight Princess for character design.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update time!

Seems like a while since I've done one of these. I've been pretty busy but needed some Zelda to calm me down and keep me sane.

Spirit Tracks - This slowed to a crawl due to technical limitations. I should have seen this coming as I had a similar problem with Phantom Hourglass. The game uses the Mic/blow effect more substantially than most DS titles and while the 3DS does have a Mic function, I get the impression it wasn't the highest priority for the new system as it never seems as user friendly as the original DS one. So now that's I've uncovered and recharged my DS, the game has been going by smoothly.

I really like the use of the Mic for the Pan Flute sections and I've finished the Forest Temple rather quickly, only to discover this game pulls the same stunt as PH did and now I have to go back to the Spirit Tower to unlock the next section of the game. The dungeon isn't annoying but it's padding nonetheless. I was also going to make a comment on WW about how straightforward and easy the dungeons and puzzles have been in the game but now that I've had a chance to seriously get into this game, WW might as well be Dark Souls. The dungeon was really simple and the game kind of holds your hand through the puzzles which was a bit disheartening. The boss was also incredibly easy to beat (had more problems with the Mini-Boss) with a pretty simple pattern and use of the dungeon tool.

With all that said, I did die. During the train section, which has easily been one of the more interesting new additions to this game. It's especially interesting to play this while also doing WW with the boat mechanic. The game is fun and charming but it's also reminding me of playing through PH, which was fun and novel as well but overall a pretty forgettable experience since the game lacked any real challenge.

Wind Waker - Seeing how this is borrowed, I've been putting more time into this one. Finally uncovered the whole map which was unnecessarily tedious and I've dealt with both the Forest Haven, acquiring Bombs, the Tower of the Gods (seriously, am I the only person who thinks Link is being cursed?! Either that or the Goddesses are just real dicks) got the Master Sword, finally rescued my sister and met Ganon only to learn (surprise surprise) that I need to collect some more plot coupons before I can really challenge Ganon.

Story-wise, I'm really digging what WW is doing here. Despite the cheerful design and color-scheme, WW is a pretty somber story. There is a real sense that Ganondorf can't really be defeated and that many of the important figures of the world are either praying the Hero of Time will return or that the current Link may have a slim chance to stop him before his powers fully recover. I really like how this Link can't quite catch a break, despite every accomplishment he's made so far in the story, the guy gets no respect from anyone and he's treated as an after thought in comparison to the hero of legend. It's a really cool dynamic as often the Zelda titles are so far apart that the various Link's roles are often forgotten in the legend or been corrupted. So to have a story where a previous Link is still fondly remembered is a really cool angle for the story. A Link Between Worlds had touches of this in it's story as well though it had more to do with a past Hyrule Link compared to Lorule's plight.

On the gameplay side, I'm a bit conflicted. I've decided that despite not being as cool as the hookshot, I do like the grappling hook once I figured out the odds and ends with it. The game's large map and myriad of little islands gives the impression that the devs were really trying to recreate the feel of the older top-down Zelda games as opposed to the afterthought overworld maps of OoT and MM. The issue here is that sailing around is a bit tedious and time consuming. I'm already dreading the idea of scouring the map for the Trifoce shards. I'm happy I finally got the WW song for the teleporting cyclones but I still feel like it won't be enough. I already find the treasure map element of the game to be a cute if flawed idea since it again just feels like unnecessary padding. Yes, kind citizen that I just helped, give me a treasure map instead of the heart piece it leads me to so I can tack on another fifteen minutes to the game clock, not like I don't have better things to do with my time.

For now, I plan on finishing up some quests in Windfall Island and then I'm tackling the Fire Mountain and Ice Ring dungeons so I can acquire the items there to make traversing this game a bit easier. The game has been a real treat, but the criticisms I've heard about it are certainly bearing truth.

Questions for the thread:

Favorite incarnation of Ganondorf/Ganon?
Favorite Major villain that isn't Ganon/Ganondorf?
Favorite NPC?

[Ayen]

Ocarina of Time
Veran
SARIA! I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU SARIA!

[Fynn]

Not sure if he counts



If Girahim doesn't count, then definitely




Aaaaand

[Depression Moon]

I just lost about two hours of gameplay time in Ocarina of Time. I loaded up my save from beating the first dungeon and wandered Hyrule Field, then went to Hyrule Castle Town, talked to all the NPCs, did the shooting gallery, went to the Temple of Time, talked to Zelda, went to Lon Lon ranch, Kakariko, learned the Sun's Song, got my second bottle and then went back to Kokiri Forest where I came to the two Skull Kids where I had to copy their songs. I got frustrated that I couldn't remember the whole thing to get the Heat Piece so I zipped back quick to get a pencil and paper with the controller still in my hand, my system shook slightly, and then my game froze.

....

I said I was going to wait to save until after I got Saria's Song...

[Wolf Kanno]

It's crunch time for Wind Waker so I'm pouring all my energy into finishing it soon. Just completed the Earth Temple and awakened the Earth Sage, time to tackle the Wind Temple next. The Earth Temple was a pretty cool undead temple with clever uses of the light puzzles from OoT. Lots of setup, but I'm digging the partnering aspect of the temple and understand a bit better why the cooperative Link games seem to pop up more in this timeline.

Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to collect all the heart containers as I'm not really in the mood to go after all my treasure maps to find the ones I've missed and second, I heard about the "save the tree" quest, and that just sounds like a nightmare. I've decided that the Deku Leaf is my favorite Item in the game, it's just so damn convenient.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update Time!

Finished the Wind Temple and it may join the ranks of one of my least favorite dungeons in the series. Of anything, it's made me learn that I tend to dread multi-floor fungeons where the objective is to reach a "top" so you can crash down to a specific "bottom". I'm looking at you Ice Dungeon from LttP and Fire Temple from OoT.

Anyway, it's done and now I'm off to seek out the Triforce of Courage, by which I mean the maps to find them but also need to be translated by Tingle... Yeah, I can honestly say that nothing says slap in the face like the Treasure Map system in this game. No, adventurer, I'm not going to give you Rupees or a Heart Container, I'm giving you a treasure map so you can spend more time looking for it. It's like the designers were going out of their way to pad this game out. Guess too many fans whined about how their Action-Adventure-RPG-Hybrid Toaster game was too short and wasn't competing well with the 60+ hour JRPGs of the day.

Anyway, I've already acquired five of the Triforce maps and even got my first shard. I just acquired the Ghost Ship map so I can find the ship and actually get the Triforce map on it. and with the Hookshot, I can get the few I'm missing. I kind of want to go back to Windhill Island and finish some quests there but I don't really know if I have the time and I may have to look up some of the answers because a few of them are perplexing me a bit.

[Fynn]

Oh God the Triforce Pieces :

[Wolf Kanno]

Update Time!

Spirit Tracks - Got the map for the Snow Hills region. Kind of sad the Phantom Zelda aspect of the game seems to be relegated to just the Spirit Tower. Before I move onto the next region though, I need to upgrade my Train, so I'm taking Alanzo back to Link's hometown. I am also surprised to learn that Link's old man roommate Niko, is actually the same Niko from Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass. Dude lived to be over a hundred.

Wind Waker - Finally collected all of the Triforce maps and shards, felt like there was some missed opportunity with the Ghost Ship, which is probably why a Ghost Ship features prominently in Phantom Hourglass. I got to Ganon's Tower and had my Mega Man moment of the Boss Rush. I love how the game chose like three of my least favorite puzzle ideas from previous dungeons to do the rooms. In that way, the game really does remind me of Ocarina of Time. I opened the portal back to the surface and I'm kind of stuck so I saved. I'm sure actually going back to the game when it's not almost 3am over here will allow me to see the easy solution to the problem. This part has definitely been the low point of an otherwise pretty solid game.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update Time!

Wind Waker - Done and done. I'll need to return this to my friend soon so I can't complete everything I wanted (not to mention some things are too late/not worth it. Pretty fun game with a cool story, art direction, and music. The dungeons were interesting if a bit simple compared to the crap Majora's Mask and the 2D Zelda games throw at you. In fact the game overall was easier than other Zelda games (since when did enemies grow so weak they take a fourth of a heart piece?!) but I did really enjoy the final confrontation with Ganondorf. Tetra was an interesting, if a bit underwhelming take on Zelda (poor girl can't catch a break) and I was a bit sad her role and her crew didn't pop up more in the story. Overall, it was a fun game, but I still stand by my assessment that Twilight Princess is the best of the 3D entries.

Now that this is over, I can return to the other Zelda titles.

Majora's Mask - Finally figured out what I was doing wrong with the Zora quest. A) I need to actually read the characters directions on how to use the Zora Mask so he doesn't suck. B) Understand that despite the fugly N64 graphics this game has, that I should be more careful when looking around and not mistake entrance ways as just part of the scenery. I didn't get much done, but I did upgrade my wallet to the Giant's version and obtained the Stone Mask. I'm also close to getting the All-Night Mask. Afterwards, I plan on doing the Kafei Quest to completion now that I can get to the Mask Thief's lair a bit easier.

One of the interesting things about going back to MM after playing WW was certain things I took for granted and proof of why the N64 controller kind of sucked. Having a controllable, mostly full rotational camera to look around is a godsend. I've been playing WW so hard lately that it's been difficult translating back to MM's controls because I used the camera extensively to get the right angle in these games. Also money, while money has always had limited use in the series, it's a bit weird how Rupees practically fell from the sky and I was losing dough from having small wallets in WW; but due to the groundhog day loop and just the fact money doesn't appear under almost every blade of grass, money is a bit hard to come by in MM. Especially annoying because it's actually useful here seeing how I have to play all the damn carnival games to get the upgrades for the bomb bag and Quiver. Also, I feel like Blue Potions are not going to be terribly useful seeing how it's kind of a pain in the ass to get them since one requires me to actually hoof it to a specific location and the other is stuck behind a quest that locks it into a Day 2 or 3 use.

In other Zelda related news, I picked up the manga adaption of A Link to the Past by Cyborg 009 creator, Shotaro Ishinomori. This is a bit significant for me because this was the comic showed in Nintendo Power around the time of the game's release and I still imagine this version while playing through the game. Oddly enough, the manga adaption is actually a bit more depressing and less fairy tale than the actual game. It does an interesting job of creating a nice bond between Zelda and Link and it actually may have led to some of the inspiration for later Zelda elements. Like the cheesy U.S. cartoon series, Link acquires a Fairy as a personal friend that journeys with him over the course of the story. The moon in the dark world has a face (that's melting off) which Majora's Mask used, and Link doesn't transform into a cute bunny in the Dark World, he never fully transforms but it's apparent his form is actually that of a wolf...

Anyway, it's a pretty good read even if the art style is distinctly 60s anime retro and the artwork presents Hyrule closer to an actual medieval setting as opposed to the more eccentric variation the games often feature. It even adds a character to the story that's not in the game or world, but he surprisingly works better than the chick who appeared in the more recent manga adaption.

[Wolf Kanno]

Well Breath of the Wild has me back in a Zelda mood, so now that I finished Mass Effect 3, I've unhooked the PS3 and brought the Wii back in to finish up some Zelda goodness.

Update Time!

Zelda 2 - Tried to get a bit farther in the Island Temple, lots of nasty enemies in this one and Iron Knuckles are still the bane of my existence, especially now that they are more prominent. I at least obtained two keys before I was unceremoniously killed off. Good times...

Majora's Mask - Thank goodness, I finally got all the stupid Zora Eggs. Got really annoyed when it turned out I needed that sea horse to reach Pinnacle Rock, and so I had to hoof it back to the Pirate;s Den to take a picture, only for him to hate the picture. I am so happy I got the Stone Mask, made this section a breeze, but I still had to slow down time to get everything done. Got the Zora song for the Great Bay Dungeon and reset the timer since it was Day 3 by this point. Hopefully I can get through this dungeon without too many issues.

[Wolf Kanno]

Update Time:

Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventure - Finished. The game is surprisingly short and I'm still a bit miffed it's counted as part of the series proper since nothing interesting happens in it. Not a bad game but like all the Multi-Link games, it's best played with friends than as a solo experience. Vaati was a joke of a final boss. There is a new dungeon that unlocks after you beat the story proper but I'm not terribly interested in tackling at the moment.

Zelda 2 - Still trying to complete the Island Temple and I finally got introduced to the infamous Blue Iron Knuckles who have ridiculous health, cheating A.I. in terms of defending themselves, and they have Link's Beam Sword in addition to the standard Iron Knuckle better reach. Not a fun time. I don't really feel like grinding anymore in this game but I may have to. In good news, I did obtain the Raft from the palace, so all I need to do is reach the boss and beat them to finish the dungeon.

Majora's Mask - Great Bay Temple can kiss my ass. Its not hard per se, it's just tedious to get around in and it took me a moment to realize how I should be using the Ice Arrows in this dungeon. The Zora Swimming mechanics are not that great, and while he's a better fighter then the other Masks, I'll take regular Link thank you. I was pretty happy to see the mini-boss was the return of the Boss of LttP's Water Temple. Other than that, I simply ran out of time, and I'm finding it harder to find all the damn fairies within the dungeon. It is moments like this that make me hate the time limit mechanic in this game.

Link to the Past - Got nostalgic for this game after discussing it with a friend. I have blown through most of it in a day, I'm currently at the point I simply need to tackle Misery Mire and Turtle Rock. I'm only missing one item that is not obtained in a dungeon (Cane of Byrna) and I only need three more heart pieces to get the last hidden Heart Container. Been having a blast with this game.

[Ayen]

I needed to share this:



Made me lol. Also this:

[Wolf Kanno]

Zelda 2 - Finally reached the boss of the Island Palace, who is a douche for being two bosses in one. He starts the fight running back and forth on the screen riding a horse and only the horse can be damaged. Once the horse is down, you fight him. He's basically a souped up Blue Iron Knuckle and he can back out of the screen but still attack you off screen with his sword beams. A quick death later, I decided to grind another level.

Majora's Mask - Took down the Ocean Bay Temple, slightly annoyed I had to look up how to reach one lousy treasure chest to get the last fairy in the dungeon. Even more annoyed when I discovered how stupidly easy the solution was... Anyway, the boss of this temple was much more challenging than the previous two bosses. Made me a bit happy I had the foresight to leave the dungeon and turn in the fairies for the double defense bonus. I've decided I'm lacking in hearts for this game as I'm close to the end and I still don't even have half the hearts in the game. So I'll be spending my next playthrough gaining more hearts pieces and doing the Kafei quest.

Link to the Past - Doing Misery Mire and came pretty damn close to finishing the dungeon but I was rushing through it and took too many unnecessary hits, resulting in me using up my fairies and getting killed off by the boss before I realized I had no more fairies. Oh well, the dungeon isn't terribly hard, at least not compared to the damn Ice Palace. I also picked up the Cane of Byrna, but I'm still missing three heart pieces.

[Bubba]

Link to the Past - Doing Misery Mire and came pretty damn close to finishing the dungeon but I was rushing through it and took too many unnecessary hits, resulting in me using up my fairies and getting killed off by the boss before I realized I had no more fairies. Oh well, the dungeon isn't terribly hard, at least not compared to the damn Ice Palace. I also picked up the Cane of Byrna, but I'm still missing three heart pieces.

There's definitely a Heart piece in the Turtle Rock Dungeon, plus one just before it too. Also, I always miss the one halfway up Death Mountain too where you to jump off the cliff to a doorway.