Since I shared one of Tristan Cooper’s Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild discoveries this week, I thought I would share one more. This trivia relates to the Boomerang item. It’s worth watching the animated gif in the embedded tweet to see the Stal-Lizalfos arm flying.
How did I play Breath of the Wild this long without realizing that Lizalfos Arms are also BOOMERANGS pic.twitter.com/bCjfk2XCQN
— Tristan Cooper (@TristanACooper) 18 March 2017
It is always good to see a game reaching out to touch on, and check in on, the audience’s mental health. Dorkly articles editor Tristan Cooper has made many discoveries, and tweeted a list of small but stunning details in Breath of the Wild.
While Cooper found many instances that play out like a short stories while exploring Hyrule, just one stood out to me. When standing on the edge of a bridge, one Hylian man will talk Link down from the edge. They will encourage Link to come down, and offer to talk to him for a while. Even if there is a shade of comedy to a non-playable character being concerned for a hero with a full health bar a programmed encounter, a simple sidequest, can adjust the audiences world view. A basic encounter could save a life. I’m not exaggerating.
On the other hand, such an interaction in game might been seen as annoying at best, or a superficial and fizzling stand against suicide at worst. I think it is a big deal. Small details placed strategically can have more impact that one large message designed to have widespread appeal. And glancing at all the detailed discoveries Zelda fans are talking about online, Nintendo is standing up for mental health.
You can ready the full list of Tristan Cooper’s finds at Dorkly. Beyond Blue has information and resources for anyone in need of mental health assistance.
Heavy content, but very important content. For something more lighthearted, I’ve also written about the Link Breath of the Wild Nendoroid.
With the Nintendo Switch release, the uptick in Nintendo and Legend of Zelda discussion on social media might be close to saturation point. That being said, there is 12 days remaining to pre-order a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nendoroid Link. Having now played the game, I think collectors or Legend of Zelda fans might benefit from knowing that the Nendoroid is still available to pre-order til March 16, 2017.
The artwork behind the Nendoroid toys is high detail, and there are two versions of the Breath of the Wild Nendoroid Link:
The standard Nendoroid Link.
And the Deluxe Nendoroid Link.
The key differences are:
The Deluxe version contains “an axe, club, chicken leg as well as his hood and even a horse for Link to ride on” (GoodSmile.info).
The Deluxe versions Recommended Retail Price is 1203 more Yen compared to the standard version before tax, and not including shipping.
Pre-orders for both versions of the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild Nendoroid Link are still open until March 16, 2017.
The Legend of Zelda: Art and Artifacts gathers and displays artwork from 31 years of Legend of Zelda games. This includes entries in the art book from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which was released today, March 3, 2017 alongside the Nintendo Switch.
Just nine days ago on February 21, 2017 the new art book celebrating the 31st anniversary of Legend of Zelda games was released, alongside a special edition of the art book. The special edition featured a master sword acetate cover. The art book is published by Dark Horse.
This isn’t the only exclusive artwork Nintendo has released for the Legend of Zelda anniversary, and for the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild release. Some of the earlier ideas, the initial thoughts and brainstorming that Nintendo worked through, behind Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were available to view at Game Developers Conference 2017:
Link himself went through some trial and error. Meet Biker Link, Tracksuit Link and Musician Link. Tag yourself, #Zelda fans! pic.twitter.com/l2OLxZs4TV
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 1, 2017
I like Link’s flying V guitar, even though it works against the fantasy genre standards.
This gives an insight into the steps Nintendo’s development team went through to reach the Breath of the Wild idea. Not all ideas are of no use. Mostly, they are stepping stones to stronger ideas. This is why brainstorming and developing an idea is so useful to learning to write stories.
You can find more information on the Art and Artifacts art book on the Dark Horse website.
The second day of the Brisbane Supanova. The second day of the convention is usually less busy. The cosplay standard remained strong for the final day of Supanova:
Starfox 3D is a re-release of the original Lylat wars (or Starfox64) game for Nintendo 64. Flying through space, the player controls a futuristic fighter ship called an Arwing, which is a bit like an X-wing from Star Wars. I like the arwing’s design. The armored structures next to the wings are a good look for a fighter ship. The ship also made an unofficial appearance in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time.
Fox McCloud is the main character, and the story of the game follows him and his team defeating and overcoming the various plans of an evil empire trying to seize control of the Lylat system. Within the system are a series of three gas clouds in the shape of the last three letters of the English Alphabet. Since I had the chance to play through the game on the Nintendo 3DS, I thought I would investigate these three nebulae and report back on the game play.
Sector Z
This was unfortunately my least favorite of the three because it is essentially an escort mission. Sector Z has a long history of battles, and there are debris of broken battleships drifting through the region. This perhaps made it the ideal place for an ambush against the large, and slower moving Great Fox ship: a carrier vessel that houses Fox McCloud’s arwings. Unlike the other levels in the game, Sector Z begins in “All range mode” where the player is able to pilot the Arwing in a large arena-like area. The opposite mode is “corridor flight” where the Arwing flies down a fixed path, which the player cannot deviate from.
The goal of Sector Z is to protect the Great Fox from six “Copper head” missiles that are slowly flying toward the carrier ship. Considering Fox has four other teammates to help him – three wing-men and one guest – this surprise attack is not particularly difficult to repel.
Sector Y
Ever since I played Lylat wars in the late 1990s, I remember Sector Y as a difficult level, which required significant flying and targeting skills to complete. The challenge is to destroy 100 enemies to progress further down the more difficult but more rewarding of the three pathways through the Lylat system. The alternatives are the Medium and Easy paths, which have less challenging or less interesting missions.
What makes this level interesting is that it is essentially Fox’s team versus and entire fleet of enemies. In addition, the enemy employs several battle suits that serve the same function as a Gundam (Art by shinigami117) despite the fact that they have a completely different design.
Sector X
This Sector is interesting because the final boss, the Spyborg, is unusual. It’s design has several references: its head is shaped like Nintendo 64, and it’s communication avatar, which is normally a portrait of the characters face, is a glowing red eye similar to Hal from 2001: a space odyssey. The Spyborg apparently developed a fault in its programming, and destroyed the base around it. It could have been infected with a virus, similar to what happened to Evangelion Unit 3.0.
Temple 6. The Temple of Time.
A brief description:
I’m completing all seven temples in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Masterquest in seven days. These are the Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Light, and Time Temples, which serve as different levels to complete within the game, the final goal being to save Hyrule. The game uses the number seven with themes of growing up, and The Hero’s Journey, just like the Harry Potter books.
Impressions
Ocarina of time has almost reached the end of its story. The Temple of Time has been a part of the narrative since the beginning. Link returned to this location and finally met up with a character he has been looking everywhere for: princess Zelda appears, and explains a great deal of the story. In particular, Ganon’s plan, and his current machinations.
The temple is a cathedral, and every effort has been made to capture the reverence of stepping inside a cavernous, sacred structure. While the temple has only two rooms, and isn’t a dungeon with different floors like the six temples Link has already completed, the room where the master sword is kept locked inside a stone plinth is probably the most important room in the entire game. This is the place where time travel is possible. The Master Sword takes Link back and forth through time as he draws it, and returns it to the stone. The animation sequence cemented Link’s status as a hero from the beginning: it is a clear reference to the legend of King Arthur, drawing the sword from a stone, and becoming a King thereon. As mentioned, it’s similar to Harry Potter, drawing a sword from a hat in place of a stone.
The Boss
After a series of stunning revelations involving princess Zelda, the time has come to fulfill a long running theme in video games: it’s time for Link to save the princess from Ganon. The final quest, the rescue mission, begins here in the temple of time. I’ll include more about the final level, Hyrule Castle here later, and in tomorrow’s final entry on the Temple of Light.
Standout Moments
The images below show the standout moments that happened in the temple. Earlier in the game another key instance was Link opening the doors to the room housing the Master Sword, and drawing it. Zelda reveals later this was all part of Ganon’s plan: Link opening the doors, which are named the “Doors of Time”, unlocked a passage to a place called The Sacred Realm. There, Ganon stole an artifact called the Triforce, and has been using a third of its power to keep Hyrule under his control. Ganon is after the rest of the artifact – he walked into The Sacred Realm, unaware that he could not claim the whole Triforce. He needs princess Zelda and Link to finish the ritual. The final battle determines who wins the Triforce, and whether Hyrule will be saved or dominated.
Princess Zelda Appears.
Zelda talks to Link after seven years.
Zelda believes Link can save Hyrule
Before Link can act, Zelda is captured by Ganon.
Temple 5. Spirit Temple
A brief description:
I’m completing all seven temples in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Masterquest in seven days. These are the Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Light, and Time Temples, which serve as different levels to complete within the game, the final goal being to save Hyrule. The game uses the number seven with themes of growing up, and The Hero’s Journey, just like the Harry Potter books.
Impressions
In spite of all the exotic themes piled up throughout, including Ancient Egypt, Buddhism, and Indian Mythology, I felt the Spirit Temple didn’t have impact. It had brown room problem, which plagued the Fire Temple as mentioned earlier. I enjoyed the construction and design of the central room in the temple, which housed a giant statue of a Naga – a twin to the “Desert Collosus” standing outside the Spirit Temple, which is very much like the colossal Buddha statue of Leshan.
The remaining rooms and corridors felt stuffy and cluttered: fighting off three (or more) foes at once is a challenge in an enclosed space, but becomes bland if overused. Statues of giant cobras are well animated, however, and a particular monster called an Anubis is interesting and menacing: a mummy that can float around rooms.
Nabooru is the sixth sage, and an excellent character. The other sages Link has met so far (Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, and Impa) have represented qualities such as dignity, intelligence, and bravery and show quirkiness and maturity in their personalities. Nabooru, a prominent member of the amazon-like Gerudo tribe, makes an impact despite having little time on screen. She is sassy, and makes light of serious situations: a contrast to her authoritarian sisters. She literally has spirit, and is the clear choice to be sage of spirit.
The Boss
Twin witches called Koume and Kotake, who can fuse together into a witch called Twinrova, apparently raised Gannon as surrogate mothers. It’s clear where Ganon gained his cruel streak: the villains capture Nabooru, trap her in a suit of armor, and turn her into a fighting slave. Kotake wields ice attacks, which she launches from her broom, and Koume wields fire magic. The solution to defeating the sisters is to reflect the magic attacks from one sister to the other, melt the ice with fire, or extinguish the fire with ice. They eventually change their form, but this does not change their odds of winning: Link can absorb their magic and reflect a blast of fire or ice back at the witch.
Standout Moments
Link uses time travel to complete this temple. He visits the temple first as a child, meeting Nabooru, and then returns seven years later to completed it via the Temple of Time. Nabooru is captured just before Link leaves the temple as a child. As a result, she was held in captivity for seven years, being “brainwashed” by the Twinrova to fight for them and obey Ganon. There is an excellent moment of animation when the Iron Knuckle armor she was forced to wear finally collapses.
Link plays out another myth: now he is Perseus, who received the Aegis, Athena’s mirrored shield, and Hermes’ winged sandals to defeated Medusa. Link fights the Twinrova instead, but the Spirit Temple is filled with snake references. Link already has the winged sandals in the form of the Hover Boots, which have wings on the heels. He receives the Mirror Shield here, and I enjoyed the mechanics where the player can bounce sunlight off the shield and onto the walls around the temple to complete different puzzles.
Temple 4. Shadow Temple
A brief description:
I’m completing all seven temples in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Masterquest in seven days. These are the Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Light, and Time Temples, which serve as different levels to complete within the game, the final goal being to save Hyrule. The game uses the number seven with themes of growing up, and The Hero’s Journey, just like the Harry Potter books.
Impressions
Ocarina of Time started with a set of themes: The Hero’s Journey, Good vs. Evil, Saving the princess, and many other tropes and devices that could be said to come from the fantasy genre. When it comes to the abyss of the Shadow Temple, however, a number of dark and mature themes that work against the child-like image of the game emerge. Simply put, it takes a very dark turn from its light beginning.
Like the earlier temples, the shadow temple is in a location that matches it’s element. In this case, the shadow temple was built in a graveyard. It’s an underground necropolis, filled with zombies, mummies, and skeletons. Guillotines and giant scythes weilded by statues of the grim reaper strike out of the shadows. It’s nowhere near the gore of resident evil, but the temple does surprise in how dark and bloody it gets at times. Apparently, the Land of Hyrule has a history of greed and violence. This is the place where it was unleashed, and locked away.
The Temple has a number of puzzles that involve the Lens of Truth. A little eye glass that allows Link to see hidden passages and invisible enemies. It’s a fun mechanic, and is a little bit like the reveal ability from the Golden Sun Series for Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS.
The Boss
On July 8, 2012 at 9:35pm, I wrote the following on the Shadow Temple Boss:
At the time of writing this (July 8, 2012), I have yet to defeat the final boss. All of the dungeon is complete except for Bongo Bongo – a “phantom beast” who fights Link on a giant drum. A ridiculous sounding name and an odd arena belies how frustrating the battle against is. I plan to update this entry within the next day, and before the next temple, to report on how I defeated the boss.
The same day at 11:30pm, I defeated the boss by using one key strategy: using the space available in the drum shaped arena to watch the phantom beast’s movements. I found it frustrating earlier because I was standing too close to the boss, and not watching his attacks. With any boss fight, there is always a pattern to watch out for. With this creature, watching his hands reveals what attack is coming next: a punch, slap, or hand clap, all trying to crush Link. With enough space, his movements are not difficult to dodge. When defeated, the boss smacked down one last rhythm and then dissolved into shadows.
Standout Moments
The Mid Level Sub Boss was not difficult to defeat, but was horrible to look at. It’s called a Dead Hand, and it seems out of place in Ocarina of Time. Dead Hand puts The Shadow Temple and the sub-level before it (the infamous “Bottom of the Well”) into a far darker territory.
A ship carries Link through a part of the temple called the “Valley of the Dead”. I was reminded of the story of Orpheus, who venture into the underworld to rescue his partner Eurydice. Including this boat in the Shadow Temple adds another layer to myths and legends referenced throughout this game. Orpheus had significant musical talent, according to the myth. It makes sense then, that Link acts out part of the myth since he plays the ocarina the game is named after.
Temple 3. Water Temple
A brief description:
I’m completing all seven temples in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Masterquest in seven days. These are the Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, Light, and Time Temples, which serve as different levels to complete within the game, the final goal being to save Hyrule. The game uses the number seven with themes of growing up, and The Hero’s Journey, just like the Harry Potter books.
Impressions
Of all the temples I’ve played through so far, I enjoyed the design and layout of the Water Temple the most. Getting inside, however, was a challenge because the entrance is at the bottom of a lake. To reach it, Link needs some special equipment: a blue tunic that allows him to breath underwater, and some interesting footwear called Iron Boots, which allow him to sink to the lake floor.
A towering, underwater pagoda in tall a cavern dominates the temple centre. branching hallways and spacious rooms with waterfalls and rivers are paved with cerulean tiles, or built from dark blue stone. The blue colour palette is pleasing to look at, and helps stop this temple being a drudge. The odd dragon statues that turn up are also well animated and interesting to look at.
The Boss
There was no creature waiting in the bosses room: only a pool filled with very blue water. This water, however, turns out to be a alive – essentially living water animated by micro organisms. Specifically, an Amoebe called Morpha, which is a giant red nucleus that controls water. The boss of the Water Temple is water itself. I was reminded strongly of the Doctor Who special The Waters of Mars, where the Doctor fought off an attack of living water. The Doctor said “water always wins”, and that raises a question: is Morpha is really gone? The water vanishes after the battle, Morpha’s nucleus was destroyed, but it could return.
Standout Moments
As mentioned, the Zoras dwell in the waters of Hyrule. Their princess, Ruto, appears in the temple to help Link. She is infatuated with him and insists that they are to be married. This is a fantasy though, as Ruto can tell that Link has feelings for Princess Zelda. Link’s romantic interest in Princess Zelda is explored for the first time here. Link romancing Ruto would be a little bit like a Star Trek relationship, but an interesting alternative to the hero saving the princess.
Link also fights Shadow link, a dark copy of himself, and the toughest Mid Level Sub Boss so far, even harder than Iron Knuckle. Dark Link flawlessly replicates all Link’s attacks, and can disappear into the water. The battle takes place on a tiny island in a white lake with a single dead tree. The lake faded away after the battle into a blue room. It felt like the Holo Deck, which is the second Star Trek reference I’ve seen here, possible brought on by reading the recent Star Trek Doctor Who crossover.
Wallflyer 