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[piccolomaster]

The World is a Funny Place

When I woke up this morning, I still felt sick to my stomach over the election results. I’m legitimately scared of what will happen over the next 4 years, and while I wasn’t one of the people saying Clinton couldn’t possibly lose, I’d still believed that she could win it in the end.

As I walked into my kitchen to force myself to eat breakfast, I looked out the window to my back yard, and saw something amazing. My yard was full of birds, hopping along the ground and flying from tree to tree. And not just those small brown ones you see everywhere. Blue jays. Cardinals. My back yard was full of color as these birds you don’t get to see nearly as often on Long Island all decided that this was the best place to find food today.

Now, you can take this as the desperate ramblings of a man scared for his future, but I think there’s a lesson here. I choose to believe this was the world’s way of reminding me that even when terrible things happen, the good in this world doesn’t disappear. It might not be easy to see, and in fact you might not see it at all some days, but it’s there, giving us all a reason to keep our hope alive.

Stay strong, my friends.

[piccolomaster]

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce that A Trip to the Basement is finally done!

“Ok, Ryan,” I’m sure you’re thinking, “you made another arrangement. What’s so special about this song?”

Well, the thing is, A Trip to the Basement is more than just this one song. It’s an entire album that this song happens to share its name with that began over 2 years ago with the release of Bittercold. That was the first song that used the Magical 8-bit Plugin, and after using and enjoying the sound it could make, I decided to make an album with a theme around chiptune. Every arrangement I made until I completed the album needed to involve chiptune in some way, as part of the arrangement (every Famitracker arrangement I did, as well as any Garageband/Logic arrangement that used the plugin) and/or as part of the original song (which ended up only really applying to Takamaru’s Journey).

While I did like having more structure and a general theme for the album, I ran into several problems where I wanted to arrange a song but just couldn’t get it to work with the chiptune sound, and had to give it up. This is the main reason why finishing this album is so exciting for me: the next time I make an arrangement, I can do whatever I want to make it sound good. I don’t think I’ll have such a strict rule for my next one, so there’ll be less abandoning of arrangements now.

Of course, I also need to talk about this arrangement in particular. Once I settled on the name A Trip to the Basement for the album, I felt like it needed to include a song that actually would have played in my basement. The only problem was, all of the songs were either over done, lacking substance, or just so obscure that I couldn’t get a reliable recording to work with. For almost the whole time I worked on the album, I struggled to make a song from a childhood, but also couldn’t finish the album without one.

Finally, I had an idea: what if, instead of trying to find one song to represent all the games I used to play, I made a song that shared its name with the album, and was a medley of songs from all the different games we had? That one thought solved all of my problems, and I could soon hear the song playing out in my head. It was perfect. All I had to do was actually make it.

Fast forward to this week, and I finally got it done. Packing 11 different tunes and jingles into 5 and a half minutes, the final track listing, in order of appearance, is:

Duck Shot - Duck Hunt Round Clear - Duck Hunt Main Theme/Overworld - Super Mario Bros. Character Select - Super Mario Bros. 2 Centaur Man's Stage - Mega Man 6 Stage 1 - Batman Stage Theme 1 - Alfred Chicken Title Theme - Alfred Chicken Title Theme - North and South Overworld - Super Mario Bros. 2 Slot Game Miss - Super Mario Bros. 2

Hopefully you guys enjoy it as much as I have. I’m actually really proud of this one.

But, anyway, that’s all I’ve got for now. I’d hope I won’t be gone for long, but realistically, we’re looking at at least a couple month hiatus. Until next time, see ya!

(Oh, I completely forgot, but the image used in the video was made by me as the cover art for the album. It might not look like much, but considering my artistic talents, I’m pretty happy with it)

[piccolomaster]

Hey there! Been a while, hasn’t it. So, here’s the deal. I’ve been sitting on this arrangement for months. The plan was to release it when I finished my Zelda project, but then life happened. I did actually finish the project... kind of. I played every game, reviewed them, gave them a score, and even analyzed a bit of gameplay for all but one. I just... didn’t write it down. And this last year of college is not giving me any time to sit and write essays for the, like, 3 people who might read it. So I’m releasing this now because, well, I needed to get this out there before my next arrangement is released (which isn’t a hypothetical. I finished it up today and will release it, like, tomorrow or Wednesday), and I’d like to take the time to wrap up my project as best I can without writing all the essays I should have done.

So, without further ado, I’d like to list my final rankings of the main Zelda titles, from worst to best, along with what I analyzed for each entry:

17. Four Swords - How to improve the added single player experience

16. Zelda 2 - Difficult games and punishment (and what Z2 did wrong)

15. A Link Between Worlds - How the item rental system and the freedom in dungeon order create a boring experience that’s actually the opposite of the Zelda 1 experience it was made to emulate

14. Ocarina of Time - Why the Water Temple is actually the best dungeon in the game (and why it’s so infamous)

13. Skyward Sword - On the necessity of variety in scenery in 60 hour epics

12. The Legend of Zelda - How the world map and first dungeon guide and teach the player without any text

11. Phantom Hourglass - How one fatal flaw turned the Temple of the Ocean King from a fantastic stealth dungeon to the worst dungeon in the series

10. Oracle of Seasons - Remember when I said 1 game didn’t have an analysis...

9. Oracle of Ages - It was seasons, but I don’t remember what I came up with for this one either. Probably something about the use of the time travel mechanic

8. Link’s Awakening - Why Turtle Rock is a satisfying and overall well made final dungeon

7. A Link to the Past - How LttP keeps all items relevant through the entire game

6. Four Swords Adventures - On translating a single player experience to multiplayer (huh... kind of the opposite of the four swords one...)

5. The Minish Cap - How the game handled exploration, with an emphasis on the adventure over the reward

4. The Wind Waker - On the importance of the art style, and how it influenced the gameplay and story

3. Spirit Tracks - Creating meaningful partnership gameplay in the Tower of Spirits (with a comparison to Fox-Tricky in Starfox Adventures of how not to make a 2-character system)

2. Twilight Princess - Why the opening is both so bad and absolutely necessary

1. Majora’s Mask - How the 3 day mechanic influenced all aspects of the game

And that’s it. It was fun while it lasted, but also way too much work for just something to do in my free time, so I can’t say that I’d do it again. Anyway, stay tuned for another arrangement later this week, and maybe another analysis of a more recent game I kind of wanted to do. Just a fair warning, though: This is my last week of vacation, so don’t expect me to be back to somewhat regular posting. My final semester has one hell of a work load.

[piccolomaster]

It’s not my fault this time

Long story short, I was unable to actually play the game I was supposed to this week. I was going to do a small writeup on another game (non-zelda) instead, but I’m pretty busy today packing for camping.

So, yeah, btw, I’m going camping, so there’s no guarantee I’ll be posting something next Friday. But that’s actually good, because I’ll probably need the extra time for the next game. See, next time we’ll be looking at the one game I’ve been dreading since the start, which is also now the one game I’ve never beaten: Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link.

[piccolomaster]

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: A Quick Review

The Good

This game has some truly fantastic moments. While some of the dungeons are really interesting (with the final dungeon being one of my favorite ideas for a final dungeon), the two biggest areas where this game shines is its story and combat. The story is not only a great origin story for the series (even if it does go completely against established lore...), it’s also notable for being, at its core, a love story. Skyward Sword (SS) tells the story of the lengths one man would go for the woman he loves (but thanks to the fantasy setting, that can involve slaying monsters and saving the world). It is, in my opinion, one of the best stories the series has ever made.

And, of course, we have to talk about the combat. Wii Motion Plus allows for more accurate tracking of your motions, and combat makes full use of this. Most enemies require swinging in a specific direction to take out, and while dispatching a Chuchu or Deku Baba isn’t much more engaging this time around, it’s in the 1 on 1 sword fights that the motion controls really start to show their strength. The fights with Ghirahim, the pirate captain, and of course the final boss all come to mind as some of the best, most engaging battles in the game and possibly the series. But it’s not just the Wii Motion Plus that makes combat so good. They also made changes to how shielding works in one of the few times where I actually enjoyed a weapon degradation system. See, every shield has a strength bar, which gets depleted every time you block an attack. If the whole bar goes, your shield breaks. But, you can perform a shield bash by thrusting the nunchuck forward, and if you block an attack with a shield bash, not only will the enemy be stunned, but your shield won’t take any damage. This promotes a much more active combat as the old strategy of just holding your shield and blocking everything until you see an opening will quickly leave you without a shield. Instead you need to watch your enemy and make that opening yourself. It’s a fantastic system, and I really hope it makes a return in future installments.

The Bad

This game also has some truly terrible moments. In particular both the stealth mission and escort mission up Eldin Volcano come to mind as some of the worst parts of the game. I also really don’t like the silent realms, as it only causes me stress as I desperately try to fix my mistakes without having to restart the entire trial (as a side note, the Eldin Volcano silent realm is easily the worst of the four. I also don’t like the dungeons in that area. Basically, I don’t like Eldin Volcano). SS also simply disappoints in a lot of different ways. For one, the game has no exploration, which is really a shame considering the potential for vast networks of sky islands the game could have let you explore. But, instead we get a world where there’s little reason to not go directly to the next part of the story. And while some dungeons are great, others are pretty boring. In addition, a new design philosophy this time around means each dungeon has a relatively small number of rooms, and in some of the dungeons, you can really feel how small they are.

SS’s biggest problem, though, is just how repetitive it is. The story is split into 3 parts. Each part has you doing basically the same task in each of the 3 sections of the surface. In part 1, open a new section of the world, look for Zelda, and go through the dungeon you’re eventually led to. In part 2, you go back to each area, do a silent realm trial, and use the new item you get to explore a new area in search of another dungeon. In part 3, you go to each area, perform some more-often-than-not boring task, and get a song from a dragon. Each area also has 2 themes which are used everywhere, including the regions 2 dungeons. While Faron woods makes its water sections feel unique compared to its forest sections, the other sections of the surface have both themes prevalent at all times, meaning not only do the 2 dungeons in each section feel very similar to each other, but they also don’t feel different from the world outside them, and so everything ends up feeling the same, and it’s easy to get bored by the 3rd time you’re running through these areas.

The Bottom Line

SS has the most extreme shifts in quality I’ve seen so far. When it’s good, the game offers some of the best, most immersive experiences I’ve ever had in a video game. When it’s bad, the wrist strap is the only thing keeping my controller from flying through my TV in a fit of rage. In the end, though, the good outweighs the bad and the disappointing. For all its flaws, I still think SS is a good game, but it definitely came nowhere near the amazing heights of its gamecube predecessors.

Final Score: 7 - Good

So... I kind of really liked the format I used last week, so I think I’ll keep it for the remainder of the project. Next week’s going to be a fun one, but instead of outright saying the title, I’ll just give you a hint: Through re-releases and backwards compatibility, it’s possible to play 16 of the 17 current Zelda games using only a 3DS and a Wii U. Next week we’ll be playing the one game we need an older system for.

[piccolomaster]

Hey look, a Logic arrangement! Is this part of the reason I haven’t been keeping up with my essays? Of course. Do I regret it? Not at all. Last time I uploaded something I made in logic was back in February. I was long overdue for a new arrangement.

When you’re done with that, you can also listen to my latest famitracker arrangement, which I originally forgot to make a post about here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inxnGW33XKU

[piccolomaster]

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: A Truly Quick Review

Another week has gone by without me finding the motivation to write any essays. So this week we’re dropping the act and keeping things short and sweet. For those who care, I played the Wii version of this game.

The Good

Where to begin? Fantastic dungeon design that gives all 9 a unique feel, combined with a vast world full of little secrets and bigger caves and topped off with a great story. Twilight Princess really is the full package. It offers a long, substantial journey full of both interesting challenges and characters, all of which work towards an experience that’s hard to put down.

One thing I feel deserves specific mention is how much the story works to bring our silent protagonist to life. In this game, Link is a hero who has been forced into the role. He’s a hero because the gods have chosen him to be one. And while other Links in similar situations have gone off to slay countless monsters like it’s their normal Tuesday routine, Link in this game has to grow into his role. He obviously doesn’t consider himself a hero at the beginning, and it was really interesting watching him become the hero everyone was telling him he was.

The Bad

A game this large isn’t going to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire experience. It’s got a slow start, as not only do 2 hours of gameplay sit between the start of the game and the first dungeon, but before the 2nd dungeon you need to do some sumo wrestling and before each of the first 3 dungeons you need to do the infamous tears of light quests. None of it was really offensive, but it is the worst part of the experience, so I figured I’d mention it.

The Bottom Line

As I was playing, a thought occurred to me: Twilight Princess feels like the game Ocarina of Time wanted to be. A truly epic 3D Zelda adventure with a story to match the grand scale of its world. The difference is, Twilight Princess has the story and characters to make its cutscenes worth watching. It has the dungeon design to make me excited for every dungeon in the game. And it has the world to satisfy my need to venture off the beaten path and create my own adventure. Simply put, Twilight Princess is an amazing game.

Final Score: 9 - Amazing

[piccolomaster]

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: A Quick Review

           It’s rare to find someone willing to defend The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (PH). Coming off the huge success that was Twilight Princess, fans of the series had high hopes for the next portable entry to the series. Not only was it a direct sequel to the unique and charming Wind Waker, but it also was the first game in the series to be released for the DS, and Nintendo was using everything the hardware had to offer for this outing. Unfortunately, PH was released with some major flaws, and for many people looking back at the game, these shortcomings are all that they remember. That’s really a shame, though, because PH is otherwise a pretty good experience.

           Let’s talk about what PH did right. For starters, the sailing is once again great, but for different reasons. See, the Wind Waker got a lot of criticism for sailing being long and boring. The developers of PH really took note of that, making the sailing a much more active experience this time around. From random enemies that like to pop up right when the music’s getting good to a pirate out for blood you’ll need to try and avoid, you’re always doing something while out at sea. And while I do prefer the more relaxing sailing of the Wind Waker, there’s no denying the fun in sailing this new ocean. But while sailing around and discovering uncharted islands is great, there is one thing PH does even better. Simply put, this game has a lot of charm. It’s really what made me enjoy the game so much. PH never seems to take itself too seriously, and its colorful cast of characters makes sure that, even though the actual story is pretty boring, every cutscene is fun to watch. With the game itself seeming to have so much fun, it’s hard to not have a good time yourself.

           All that being said, the game has 2 glaring issues that detract from the experience. First, the Temple of the Ocean King. My analysis will go into more detail, but for now, I’ll say this: the temple boasts one of the worst design decisions possibly in the series, which really puts a damper on the experience because the player has to return to the dungeon after nearly every other dungeon. The other problem is the game’s difficulty. I’m guessing it’s at least partially because PH uses a new control scheme, but the game keeps things relatively easy throughout the entire adventure. And while this certainly created a more relaxing experience, in the end, it was also a more boring one.

           Despite its flaws, I believe PH is a good game. It might not be a challenging adventure, and some parts might really get on your nerves, but in the end, PH still provides a fun time. I really suggest you give this one a second look. You might enjoy it more than you remember.

  Final Score: 7 – Good

 A still positive experience, but flaws do begin to noticeably lower the quality

  Alright then. So I know this is going to end poorly, but looking at the calendar, I’ve realized I’m on a bit of a tight schedule. So we’re going to keep going forward with the reviews, and analyses will come out when I have time to write them (I’ve decided to just write something small for LA, and I know exactly what I’m writing for PH, so really it’s just a matter of doing the actual writing). So, next week we’ll be going from the colorful, fun, portable adventure that is PH to the dark, serious console game released just before it. Yes, next week we’ll finally return to Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

[piccolomaster]

Burnt out

Yeah, you probably saw this coming. Turns out I can’t really churn out 2 essays a week for several weeks in a row. So... hopefully I’ll have the stuff next week (I finished the game, just didn’t write anything).

[piccolomaster]

I’m Cheating

Have I mentioned how hard it is for me to keep up with this project? Anyway, long story short, I don’t really have an analysis ready and I can already tell that no essay is coming out of me today. You can partially blame E3 for this, since most of my time this week was dedicated to watching live streams, leaving very little room to come up with something to write. But I want to keep going forward, so here’s the deal: I will release the analysis sometime this coming week, once I actually write it. In the meantime, the project will continue on to the next game (since that game’s analysis should be pretty easy, as I went into the game knowing what I wanted to talk about).

[piccolomaster]

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening: A Quick Review

(Version Played: Link’s Awakening DX on 3DS Virtual Console)

             A Zelda game seemingly in name alone. A title with no Hyrule, no Triforce, no Gannon, and the titular princess receiving only a single passing reference. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (LA) was certainly an odd game when it first came out. Released back in 1993 for the Gameboy, the title was not only the first portable Zelda, but also the first side story of the series, chronicling Link’s adventures on the mysterious Koholint Island on his quest to wake the Wind Fish. Through this journey, LA proved something very important: that all of those familiar Zelda elements weren’t necessary to make a great game.

           After a storm destroys Link’s boat, he ends up washing ashore on Koholint Island, where an owl informs him the only way to leave is to gather 8 instruments and wake the Wind Fish. From this simple premise, LA’s story evolves in a way that honestly kept me more invested than its more cinematic successor Ocarina of Time. From the simple opening to its heartbreaking finale, the story of LA is so successful partially because its presence serves a greater purpose than player motivation. Unlike previous titles which really only used the story as a means to get the player into the next dungeon, LA takes time to simply give the player a better understanding of its characters and world, which in turn makes the ending that much more impactful.

           Of course, when you do get into the game’s 8 dungeons, you’ll find they all fit nicely on one of the smoothest difficulty curves I’ve ever experienced. While the first dungeon is fairly simple (which is to be expected considering how quickly the game gets you into it), each dungeon really feels like it builds off of the last. Starting with the 5th dungeon, LA really started to challenge me, but never in a way that felt too difficult for my experience with the game. And, let me say, the final dungeon of the game is, in my opinion, a real contender for the title of “Best Final Dungeon in a Zelda Game”. A gigantic labyrinth filled with past mini-bosses and secret passageways, Turtle Rock felt like a true test of everything the game had taught me, and left me truly satisfied with my experience.

           Of course, I do have some complaints. First, while I understand space was limited on the Gameboy cartridge, Koholint Island really doesn’t have much outside of its dungeons. While the map feels fairly large, there are barely any caves to really explore, meaning the map squares are really all there is to the world. But, as I said, I understand why it’s the case, and so it’s not my biggest complaint. No, the biggest problem I have is that LA is very… wordy. The game has a lot of obstacles that require specific items to pass (pots that need the power bracelet to lift, crystals you need the Pegasus boots to break). Interacting with these obstacles causes a text box to appear which gives a hint for what you need to do. The problem is, while each hint is well written, the text speed is painfully slow, and barely touching the object is enough to register an interaction. Most importantly, the game never stops giving you the hints. This can lead to situations where, for example, in the final dungeon I bumped into a bombable rock while avoiding enemies in the room, causing everything to stop so the game could tell me that I needed to bomb the rock. It’s annoying the first time it happens, but it only gets worse when you realize how easy it is to get yourself stuck in yet another text box telling you stuff you figured out 5 dungeons ago. Add to that the obnoxiously long text box explaining how the compass works every time you get the compass, and you can see how something that seems like a minor problem can really start to affect someone’s enjoyment.

           LA is a game that starts off good and grows from there. While the world it presents isn’t nearly as expansive as other worlds in the series, fantastic dungeon design and a surprisingly good story make up for it. Most importantly, LA left me genuinely satisfied with the experience at the end. In my opinion, it takes a great game to leave such a great impression.

  Final Score: 8 – Great

 A very positive experience. Anything bad is balanced by something equally good, but the overall experience doesn’t necessarily leave me amazed. Highly recommended.

  In a fantastic stroke of luck, I actually completed this game back on Friday, meaning I had plenty of time to write my review while watching all the E3 news. I don’t know what I’m going to do without all the E3 streams next week. Probably play a lot of Star Fox. That is, of course after I finish the next Zelda. Next week we’ll be looking at the 2nd game I ever played in the series, which also happens to be the game that really got me interested in Zelda, despite the general poor response it received. A direct sequel to the amazing Gamecube game The Wind Waker, next week we’ll be checking out the DS’s first touch-screen-centric Zelda with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

[piccolomaster]

Thoughts on Ocarina of Time’s Water Temple

           The Water Temple in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (OoT) is perhaps the most infamous dungeon in the history of the series. The temple is almost universally panned for its unfair difficulty, and is often viewed as one of the only faults the game has. Seeing this hatred toward one part of an otherwise beloved game got me curious, especially since, in my experience, the Water Temple is the best dungeon in OoT. So, this week, I’d like to try and answer a simple question: Why is OoT’s Water Temple despised so much among the Zelda community?

           I believe the answer lies in the combination of two different problems. Although, problem might not be the best word, because the first is the exact reason I like the dungeon so much: the Water Temple is hard. It tasks the player with controlling the water level as they try to explore the many hallways branching out from the main room. This central mechanic of the dungeon requires an extra bit of thought for everything the player does, as they need to make sure the water level is at the right height for the place they need to go. So, what am I saying, Zelda fans are a bunch of babies who need their dungeons to require as little thought as possible? Not exactly.

The problem with the Water Temple’s design is that OoT does a poor job of preparing the player for it. A study of OoT’s dungeons shows that they are almost all extremely linear experiences that focus on challenging the player in each individual room along the way. The Water Temple, however, is completely different, with multiple paths all branching from a single, central room that are mostly open to the player right from the beginning, and a dungeon mechanic that acts as a persistent puzzle from room to room. This requires a different way of thinking, and OoT simply doesn’t teach the player the proper way to think before throwing them in. So, players end up struggling much more than if they had been properly prepared, and leave the dungeon with a bad taste in their mouth. In addition, the more open structure of the dungeon means players are more likely to end up lost, spending hours running around in circles with no idea where to go next. Since the other dungeons are so linear, this is likely the only dungeon where that happened, meaning anyone looking back at the game after completing it will only remember the Water Temple as being confusing and difficult.

But difficulty alone cannot produce the pure hatred this dungeon has received. Something else needs to be involved, and that something is how punishing the temple is for making a mistake. When the player places the water at the wrong level, it can take a decent amount of time to correct that. Say, for example, you realize after placing the water on the 2nd level, you actually need it at the lowest point. Well, changing the water level only works in a circular motion, so first you’ll have to find your way up to the top level. After playing Zelda’s Lullaby and watching that whole animation and the animation of the water rising to its highest point, you’ll have to go into the pause menu, equip your iron boots, sink to the bottom, find the room with the water level changer, pause again to unequip your boots, swim up to the top, play Zelda’s Lullaby and watch 2 more unskippable animations before finally having the water where you want it. It’s annoying enough the first time it happens, even on the 3DS version where the water-level-changing rooms are marked with lights and equipping iron boots doesn’t require pausing the game. The problem is, with how difficult the dungeon is, you’ll be lucky if you only mess up once. With each run through this slow and tedious process, it’s easy for someone who’s already frustrated because they’re lost to become extremely angry. And that, in turn, is how a dungeon rises to infamy.

While each problem on its own could have created a slightly annoying dungeon, the combination of high difficulty and severe punishment is, in the end, what did the Water Temple in. But, thankfully, the developers seem to have learned the correct lesson from this mistake. Instead of shying away from this type of dungeon, future 3D Zelda’s have instead made sure to reduce the punishment for making a mistake with a dungeon’s core mechanic. They’ve also made sure to not make such a hard dungeon the first of its kind the player encounters, making the player more likely to succeed. This is why dungeons that are even harder than OoT’s Water Temple don’t receive nearly as much hate from the community. OoT was, in many ways, an experiment. It was the first time Zelda was being designed in 3D. Some of their ideas were great successes. The Water Temple was clearly not one of them.

[piccolomaster]

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: A Quick Review

(Version played: Ocarina of Time 3D)

             No game has divided the Zelda community so strongly as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (OoT). When discussing this game, people tend to fall into two categories: those who absolutely love it and consider it one of the best games ever, and those who despise it and think it’s one of the worst in the series. In general, the closer a person was to the original release when they first experienced OoT, the more likely they are to love it. Where do I fall in this debate? Well, somewhere in between, though I definitely lean towards one camp more than the other. As for which one, let’s just say, my first experience with OoT was on the Wii Virtual Console.

           Yeah, I’m not really a huge fan of this one. The big problem I have with OoT is that the game saw a drastic change in focus over the previous entries in the series. The story has a much bigger presence in this game, and the problem is, the story really isn’t that good. With the exception of one character (Sheik), everyone in the game is an uninteresting, one dimensional cliché, and the story suffers because of it, once again boiling down to “Evil guy has taken over, go kill him.” The reason this is a problem is that the game seems so proud of its story, stopping to tell you more of it every chance it gets (even the dungeons aren’t safe from dialogue), and it feels like this “more complex narrative” was supposed to fill the gap created from the game’s big deficiency: exploration.

           OoT has barely any exploration. In my playthrough this week, I found one cave that was more than a single room with a small chest or some business scrubs that wasn’t also required to explore during the story. To make matters worse, those small caves the game does have never have anything exciting in them, just some bombs or worthless rupees (best thing you’ll find is a free shield). Because of this, I didn’t explore, meaning the game had to hold up on its story and dungeons alone (A feat that, if you recall, Majora’s Mask managed to accomplish). And, well, we’ve already established that the story isn’t pulling the extra weight. So, how about those dungeons?

           Of the 9 dungeons and 2 mini-dungeons the game offers during the main quest, I enjoyed 4 dungeons and 1 mini-dungeon. The majority of OoT’s dungeons are very linear, and focus on puzzles in each individual room. Problem is, the puzzles are rarely that good, meaning you spend most of your time in dungeons traveling from one boring room to the next with very little thought required. And while even the worst dungeons may have their moments, at the end of the day I finished 2 dungeons saying, “well thank God that’s over,” a phrase a game really shouldn’t make me say.

           But before I get too down on this game, I’ll go through some of the things I actually liked. As I said, I enjoyed 4 of the dungeons, specifically Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly and the Forest, Water, and Spirit Temples (that’s right, I just said I liked the Water Temple). On the subject of dungeons, I’m also a fan of how the child dungeons aren’t just generic temples. Also, you can never accuse OoT of having a slow start. If you know what you’re doing, within the first 10 minutes of starting the game you’re in the first dungeon. It does have the downside of the first dungeon being way too easy, as the game has to use it to teach the player the basics, but in theory, with the amount of dungeons OoT had, I think sacrificing one to get the game going fast is the right move (it would not, for example, be a good idea in Majora’s Mask where there are only 4 dungeons in total).

           OoT was the first 3D Zelda game, and honestly, it shows. You can see areas throughout the game where the desire to show off what the N64 could do influenced the design of the game. But, you can also tell the designers weren’t as comfortable in using the 3rd dimension effectively. I’ve always said that OoT was the worst 3D Zelda. It was their first go, they tried their best, but since then the designers have learned from their mistakes and learned what needs to change when working in 3D. When you only consider the 4 games that came before OoT and the time it was released, it’s easy to see how gamers might have been blown away at the time. However, it just doesn’t hold up today, and we’re left with an experience that’s alright, but nothing spectacular like many try to claim.

  Final Score: 6 – Alright

 A game that leaves a generally positive impression. It may have its moments, but the overall experience is merely inoffensive.

  I did it. I got through Ocarina of Time. And you know what? It’s a lot easier to write about a game’s problems than its strengths, so this one came out a lot easier than Wind Waker. But anyway, next week’s going to be a fun one, as it’s the game I probably remember the least. From the first 3D entry, we’ll be jumping back one game for another series first: the first portable Zelda. That’s right, next week we’ll be looking at what is arguably gaming’s best use of the “it was all a dream” plot with The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

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On the Importance of Art Style in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

           When discussing the design of a game, I rarely find myself talking about the game’s looks. However, after playing through The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (WW) last week, I think ignoring the graphics is a mistake. WW is a game that, in many ways, is defined by its art style, and it’s one of the reasons I love the game as much as I do. Simply put, the way WW looks helped shape its overall tone, to the point where the same game couldn’t have been made with a different art style.

           For those who don’t know, WW uses a graphical style known as Cel-Shading. The style offers a very unrealistic, stylized and distinct look that I am personally a fan of. However, cel-shading itself is really a tool to make any kind of look from the moving-Japanese-painting style of Ōkami to the relatively more realistic look of Borderlands. In the case of WW, the game took cel-shading and created an interactive cartoon. Characters run around with disproportionally gigantic heads in a world where even the dark passageways of the Earth Temple have shades of light blue thrown in. The world of WW looks happy and inviting, and the tone of the narrative reflects this.

WW is probably the funniest game in the series. It’s the only game I know to include multiple scenes of Link being flung through the air and smacking face first into a wall, and it’s all thanks to that “interactive cartoon” visual style. Because the game looks like a cartoon, it often plays out like one, with the game taking every chance to crack a joke or torture poor Link with a bit of physical humor. For a comparison, consider the animations for falling into lava in WW and Twilight Princess. In WW, Link comically bounces into the air, legs flailing and butt on fire. But in the more realistic Twilight Princess, Link sinks down with one arm desperately reaching out to grab something that might save him from the agony of being submerged in lava.

WW is obviously a much more lighthearted, fun adventure, but it’s because of its graphical style. Because, going back to falling in lava, consider if Twilight Princess had WW’s animation instead. It would be much more kid friendly, much less likely to give me nightmares after thinking about it too much, but it also wouldn’t fit the game. And the reverse is also true: a gruesome death being submerged in lava would be out of place in the cartoon world of WW.

Clearly, the art style of a game bears much more importance than I originally gave it credit. It can have a profound impact on the tone of the game and, in turn, the experience the player has. WW is the game it is because of its cartoon look. Without that visual style, it wouldn’t have been the game I love so much.

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The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: A Quick Review

(Version Played: The Wind Waker HD)

             I’ve always considered The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (WW) to be one of my favorite entries in the series. As such, it was difficult to remove personal bias when trying to analyze the game for this review. That being said, I believe I’ve done a fair job of keeping this review as objective as possible. So, does WW hold up to my expectations as one of the best in the series? After a thorough playthrough last week, I believe it’s safe to answer with a resounding “yes”.

           Why is WW that good? Several reasons, really. First of all, the Great Sea is one of my favorite worlds to explore. The islands are full of secrets (secrets like The Minish Cap, where you have to fight or explore for your treasure first), and the sea itself has plenty of platforms and submarines to raid for their treasure. WW made me feel like a child again as I bounced in my seat in excitement over the treasure I had just stolen from a group of unsuspecting pirate moblins. And even when you’re just going straight to your next destination, I found sailing in general to be an enjoyable, relaxing experience, to the point that I avoided the fast travel system as much as possible this time through.

           While the world of WW is my biggest reason for loving the game, there are other, smaller things that are definitely worth mentioning. First, the dungeons are all pretty good, especially the ones involving the sages (though the Earth Temple is definitely the more interesting of the two), which require control of two characters to make your way through. More importantly, there isn’t really a “bad” dungeon in WW. All of the dungeons are fun to play through. And, of course, no review of WW is complete without mentioning how it looks. The cel-shaded design is simply beautiful, and still holds up all these years later (and, of course, the HD version makes it look even better).

           But, before I give you the wrong idea, let me say this: WW is not perfect. Of course, there’s the unnecessary forced stealth section that plagues every entry in the series, which WW places right at the beginning (I can’t say if that’s a point in its favor or not. On the one hand, you get it over with fast. On the other hand, it’s one more thing in a slow introduction between you and the adventure). But even worse is how long it takes for the game to show you its best parts. You aren’t given free rein to explore the sea until after you’ve beaten the 2nd dungeon of the game, several hours into your quest (to give you an idea, the game only has 6-7 dungeons (depending on if you count Forsaken Fortress as one), so after the 2nd dungeon, you’re almost done with the “first half” of the story). While I understand it was made with good intentions (the game restricts you to certain squares on the map to make sure new players don’t get lost), the hand-holding goes on for a little too long in my opinion, and is only made up by the fact that the exploration is that good once you do get to explore.

           In short, I love this game. It offers an experience rarely seen in video games while staying true to the spirit of the original Zelda. The introduction is pretty slow, but if you can get through the first couple of hours, the Great Sea offers one of the best worlds I’ve ever explored. To quote a friend, “It really says something when your biggest complaint about a world is that you wish there was even more of it”. Go play this game. Now.

  Final Score: 9 – Amazing

Though not flawless, any complaint I had was minor and didn’t really retract from the overall experience. A near-perfect game.

  Alright then. Really sorry about not getting this up in time. I’d say it won’t happen again, but I really can’t make that kind of a promise. Still, I’ll probably feel too bad to miss the deadline next week, so come back next Friday as we tackle the biggest name in the series. Some call it the best game ever made, some think it’s absolute garbage. We’ll see what I think next week when I review The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

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Sorry guys...

So it seems I’m having problems with consistency at the moment. It was a very busy week (2 graduation parties, and I made a game for both as a gift), and I’m having a lot of trouble actually writing the stuff for the Wind Waker. So I’m giving myself more time. I swear, we will get back on a weekly schedule eventually.

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On the Focus of Explorative Elements in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

           The original Legend of Zelda was built around a childhood desire to explore caves. It presented the player with a world full of secrets, rewarding those who didn’t beeline for the next dungeon with tons of useful items. As such, exploration has always been a big part of the series, but each game incorporates it to varying degrees of success. In my opinion, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (MC) was very successful in terms of its explorative elements, and it’s all thanks to a single shift in focus.

           What is the fun of exploration? Many games would claim it’s the reward you get for leaving the beaten path. These games (the original Legend of Zelda included, probably thanks to the NES’s limited memory) hide single rooms with goodies inside all around their map, and task the player with simply finding them. MC, on the other hand, seems to subscribe to a different philosophy: that the joy of exploration comes from the exploration itself, and not the treasure you get from it. When you find a cave in MC, it’s rare for it to only be a single room. You’ll usually have to navigate a maze, solve a puzzle or two, and maybe traverse a narrow ice bridge over an endless void. The point is, the game almost always makes you traverse some 2-3 room microdungeon (if that isn’t a term, I’m making it one now) before it gives you your reward, and when the cave is only a single room, you can bet that it took some work in the overworld to find the cave entrance to begin with.

The result of this is the game can get away with filling a fair amount of its caves with the not-very-exciting kinstones, because, in my experience, I had enough fun reaching the chest that I didn’t really care what was inside. The allure of an interesting little cave to explore far outweighed that of finding a bit of treasure, which resulted in me exploring a significantly higher portion of MC’s world compared to games that follow the first philosophy. In turn, the large amount of exciting exploration caused me to think more highly of the experience, leading to an overall higher level of satisfaction.

Again I ask, what’s the fun of exploration. Unfortunately for developers, I believe MC has shown that the focus should be on the cave the player finds, and not the treasure inside. It’ll take more work, but creating fun, interesting experiences for the player is a much better reward than just an extra heart container or some rupees, and will lead to an overall higher level of satisfaction from the player. And, I mean, if you think about it, it shouldn’t be too crazy of an idea. The player wants to play your game, so why not give them more challenges to play with?