Well, it's been quite a day for this little blog. Somehow the blog was talked about on Joystiq, Kotaku, 4 color rebellion, and who knows where else (if anyone else has seen this around, I'd appreciate posting the link in the comments, because I'm collecting them to remember this), which has brought a lot of new people to read my description of the experience of playing the Zelda games. It's more than I ever expected, and more than I could ever hope for. Hopefully I didn't bore too many people in the process, because it's not good to sleep at work! :) I tried to respond in a personal fashion to everyone who posted a comment on the blog, because I can't tell you how much the comments mean to me. I truly appreciate everyone who's read the blog, and also taken the time to comment. But, enough of this gushing, you didn't come here to read this, you came here to read about Zelda, so let's get to it!
The first thing I took care of today after returning to Hyrule was to go back to the area in Death Mountain where I got the hammer. In my excitement of receiving the hammer, I failed to try it out on the boulder located just to the left of the cave entrance that contained the hammer. Going back the easy way, made possible by (what else?) the hammer, I took out the boulder, which revealed a patch of sand. Stepping on the patch of sand revealed a pit, which contained a magic container at the bottom. That was actually a relief, because I seemed to be running out of magic rather quickly with all of the new spells. Hopefully there are more of these to come soon...
Next, I trekked back to the island
using the raft and made my way up to the labyrinth that contains a palace. Exploring one of the alternate pathways, I stumbled upon yet another pit (I have to comment here on the wavy lines that indicate falling, what's up with that anyway? A bad acid trip?), which led me to what appeared to be a missing child. Now that's convenient, because someone in Darunia mentioned something about missing a kid. The next step seemed logical, take the kid back to Darunia, which is exactly what I did. I mean, what self-respecting adventurer wants to drag a snot-nosed kid along in a dungeon anyway? Strangely enough, the woman who had lost the child was also friends with the town wise man, who showed his gratitude by teaching me the Reflect spell.
Armed with my new magic, and the knowledge that the kid was safe and sound, I made my way back
to the labyrinth, where I worked my way through to the palace. At the palace, I discovered this game's version of the Wizrobes, my arch enemies from the first Legend of Zelda. OK, here's why I need the Reflect spell! It felt good to dispatch with some of those robed menaces. My exploration of the palace led me first to the palace boss, a large...red...Wizrobe. Wonderful. At least the Reflect spell worked here, too. All I had to do was turn and crouch in the direction of the Wizrobe as he appeared and disappeared, and I would reflect his spells back at him. Not long after I found him, the boss was no more, and I was putting the gem back into the statue. I had some good fortune to gain a life level by defeating the Wizrobe (I was that close), so I had the benefit of a fresh level when replacing the gem (a much-needed attack level). However, even with the boss defeated, I still needed to find the treasure of the palace (made evident by the fact that the palace didn't immediately turn to stone). Upon further exploration, I found the boots, of which I'd heard the rumor that they would allow me to walk on water. Hmm, I wonder if Nike knows about these...
After finding the boots, I made my way back to Nabooru town, where I walked right out into the ocean, and toward the tiny island that housed another palace. I spent a bit of time exploring the water around the island, because there appeared to be invisible barriers impeding my progress. By accident I stumbled upon a small path that led me to a spot just north of the tiny island palace. There I found a very-much-needed heart container, just to help me reduce the growing death toll on my character. At least I thought it would.
After finding the heart container, I felt confident enough to tackle the nearby palace. Little did I know that this would be tougher than it looked. I spent some time exploring, defeated enough of those wizard type creatures (the ones that fade in and out and drop fire) to gain a level in magic, and then promptly kicked the bucket. After making my way back to the palace, I made further progress and found the Flute. I'm glad I found it when I did, because I died yet again. This game clearly wants to beat any feeling I have of being a decent video game player straight out of me.
Instead of going straight back to that palace, in an effort to break up the pattern of dying, I decided to go back to the palace on another island where I found the raft. I realized that I hadn't found or killed a boss in that palace, and since that's a pretty important part of the game, I thought I'd clean up that loose end. Coming back a few levels higher made getting to the boss a breeze, and beating him easy as well. This boss was the blue Ironknuckle on the horse, who took a couple of hits before jumping off and acting like any normal Ironknuckle. A minute or so later, I was putting the gem back into the statue and claiming my just reward (a life level).
Having stalled long enough, I went back to the tiny island palace and, after a bit of aimless wandering, I found the boss. This was one interesting guy: a troll or cyclops type of beastie that wields a pretty mean mace, with a long range of attack. It took a bit, but I found the pattern to duck in, get a stab on the body, and dodge out of the way before the beast could swing the mace. Fortunately, I brought enough lives with me this time, and I outlasted him. As I stood over his body, and then moved forward to replace the gem in the status, I couldn't help but be relieved to leave this palace behind.
Next, I turned my attention to the creature that was blocking the path south of Nabooru. On the overworld, pressing the A button activates the hammer. Now, having the Flute, pressing the B button
on the overworld makes a pretty melody. Apparently my flute playing wasn't up to snuff, because the creature left in a hurry. The path behind the creature was interesting, because there were side scrolling sections that featured creatures popping up from behind what looked like a fence and throwing rocks at me as I passed. After this, I traveled south to the desert where three rocks sat in a pattern. Once again, my faded memory served me well, because it told me to stand in the middle and use the Flute. Voila! Another palace to conquer. However, before attempting this place, there was a town just over to the west that I wanted to explore. In the town, I died very quickly from things I couldn't see, and was transported back to the beginning of the game. It was at that point I decided to call it a day, and attend to everyone who had so kindly left comments for me today.
Again, thanks to everyone who's reading and commenting. Keep those comments coming! I'm having a blast reading them, and from some comments I've seen, people are enjoying reading the comments as well. So, until Thursday, take care and I'll see you all soon!
The first thing I took care of today after returning to Hyrule was to go back to the area in Death Mountain where I got the hammer. In my excitement of receiving the hammer, I failed to try it out on the boulder located just to the left of the cave entrance that contained the hammer. Going back the easy way, made possible by (what else?) the hammer, I took out the boulder, which revealed a patch of sand. Stepping on the patch of sand revealed a pit, which contained a magic container at the bottom. That was actually a relief, because I seemed to be running out of magic rather quickly with all of the new spells. Hopefully there are more of these to come soon...Next, I trekked back to the island
using the raft and made my way up to the labyrinth that contains a palace. Exploring one of the alternate pathways, I stumbled upon yet another pit (I have to comment here on the wavy lines that indicate falling, what's up with that anyway? A bad acid trip?), which led me to what appeared to be a missing child. Now that's convenient, because someone in Darunia mentioned something about missing a kid. The next step seemed logical, take the kid back to Darunia, which is exactly what I did. I mean, what self-respecting adventurer wants to drag a snot-nosed kid along in a dungeon anyway? Strangely enough, the woman who had lost the child was also friends with the town wise man, who showed his gratitude by teaching me the Reflect spell.Armed with my new magic, and the knowledge that the kid was safe and sound, I made my way back
to the labyrinth, where I worked my way through to the palace. At the palace, I discovered this game's version of the Wizrobes, my arch enemies from the first Legend of Zelda. OK, here's why I need the Reflect spell! It felt good to dispatch with some of those robed menaces. My exploration of the palace led me first to the palace boss, a large...red...Wizrobe. Wonderful. At least the Reflect spell worked here, too. All I had to do was turn and crouch in the direction of the Wizrobe as he appeared and disappeared, and I would reflect his spells back at him. Not long after I found him, the boss was no more, and I was putting the gem back into the statue. I had some good fortune to gain a life level by defeating the Wizrobe (I was that close), so I had the benefit of a fresh level when replacing the gem (a much-needed attack level). However, even with the boss defeated, I still needed to find the treasure of the palace (made evident by the fact that the palace didn't immediately turn to stone). Upon further exploration, I found the boots, of which I'd heard the rumor that they would allow me to walk on water. Hmm, I wonder if Nike knows about these...
After finding the boots, I made my way back to Nabooru town, where I walked right out into the ocean, and toward the tiny island that housed another palace. I spent a bit of time exploring the water around the island, because there appeared to be invisible barriers impeding my progress. By accident I stumbled upon a small path that led me to a spot just north of the tiny island palace. There I found a very-much-needed heart container, just to help me reduce the growing death toll on my character. At least I thought it would.
After finding the heart container, I felt confident enough to tackle the nearby palace. Little did I know that this would be tougher than it looked. I spent some time exploring, defeated enough of those wizard type creatures (the ones that fade in and out and drop fire) to gain a level in magic, and then promptly kicked the bucket. After making my way back to the palace, I made further progress and found the Flute. I'm glad I found it when I did, because I died yet again. This game clearly wants to beat any feeling I have of being a decent video game player straight out of me.
Instead of going straight back to that palace, in an effort to break up the pattern of dying, I decided to go back to the palace on another island where I found the raft. I realized that I hadn't found or killed a boss in that palace, and since that's a pretty important part of the game, I thought I'd clean up that loose end. Coming back a few levels higher made getting to the boss a breeze, and beating him easy as well. This boss was the blue Ironknuckle on the horse, who took a couple of hits before jumping off and acting like any normal Ironknuckle. A minute or so later, I was putting the gem back into the statue and claiming my just reward (a life level).
Having stalled long enough, I went back to the tiny island palace and, after a bit of aimless wandering, I found the boss. This was one interesting guy: a troll or cyclops type of beastie that wields a pretty mean mace, with a long range of attack. It took a bit, but I found the pattern to duck in, get a stab on the body, and dodge out of the way before the beast could swing the mace. Fortunately, I brought enough lives with me this time, and I outlasted him. As I stood over his body, and then moved forward to replace the gem in the status, I couldn't help but be relieved to leave this palace behind.Next, I turned my attention to the creature that was blocking the path south of Nabooru. On the overworld, pressing the A button activates the hammer. Now, having the Flute, pressing the B button
on the overworld makes a pretty melody. Apparently my flute playing wasn't up to snuff, because the creature left in a hurry. The path behind the creature was interesting, because there were side scrolling sections that featured creatures popping up from behind what looked like a fence and throwing rocks at me as I passed. After this, I traveled south to the desert where three rocks sat in a pattern. Once again, my faded memory served me well, because it told me to stand in the middle and use the Flute. Voila! Another palace to conquer. However, before attempting this place, there was a town just over to the west that I wanted to explore. In the town, I died very quickly from things I couldn't see, and was transported back to the beginning of the game. It was at that point I decided to call it a day, and attend to everyone who had so kindly left comments for me today.Again, thanks to everyone who's reading and commenting. Keep those comments coming! I'm having a blast reading them, and from some comments I've seen, people are enjoying reading the comments as well. So, until Thursday, take care and I'll see you all soon!
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