#I GET YOURE JUST COMPARING TO BOTW. BUT THAT IS NOT OLD

[un-pearable]

no offense (much offense) but i think your opinions about what defines “old zelda” + makes it good are meaningless if you think Twilight Princess, a game that came out in 2006, counts as o l d

[descendant-of-truth]

Few things drive me insane like the claim that "3D Zelda was getting stagnant anyway, so even with its flaws, Botw was a necessary change for the series"

What stagnancy?? Was 3D Zelda stagnant when they gave Link four separate, unique social standings in his hometowns across each new version? Or when they flooded Hyrule in one game and had it be an undiscovered land in another? Was it when they turned Link into a wolf for half the game, or had him fly around on a bird, or sail the seas, or transform between three different species by swapping out different masks?

Did 3D Zelda effectively showcase stagnancy when it gave every single entry a completely unique, visually striking art style and atmosphere? To the point where even Majora's Mask, famous reuser of assets, is impossible to mistake for its predecessor?

Everything I've heard to justify this mindset that Zelda somehow "needed" such a drastic change falls completely flat in the face of just how much the series was thriving before Botw came out. Every single major 3D release was just nonstop back-to-back bangers, and yet somehow people are acting like they were just OoT copy/pasted several times.

And they always end up reaching for the most, just... inane things to use as evidence for this supposed lack of originality.

"They were reusing too many of the same items!" Yeah because the items were cool and people liked using them. Also they were very much adding new items to the familiar pool each time, so I fail to see the issue here

"The story is always the same! You start somewhere with lots of trees, then you go to the same old locations with water and lava, blah blah blah you're the chosen one and have to go save Zelda and fight Ganon" Hey you know what other game you're describing the plot of. Breath of the Wild

(But honestly it was hard for any of that to feel stale for me when the execution of each of those steps was different each time. y'know. the thing that actually matters in storytelling)

"The intros in Zelda games used to be sooo long, but now I can even run straight to Ganon if I want!" So what you're admitting here is that not experiencing the story is a positive thing for you. In a game series that heavily prioritized its narrative up until now. I mean, based on that statement alone, being able to skip the majority of the game is supposed to be a positive? In a game THIS gigantic?

Also, let's not act like Botw's intro is better just because it can be completed quickly. It doesn't even hold up narratively compared to the others. There's intrigue, yes, but in terms of your immediate activities? Nothing particularly bombastic to write home about.

Ever notice how every other 3D Zelda before Botw has an inciting incident whose consequences are immediately followed up on? But sure, go on, tell me more about how boring they were because they dared to develop things before tossing you to the monsters.

And no matter how you might try to spin it, switching to an open world is not inherently a "natural progression" for the series. It's just something completely different from what it was doing before. That's like saying Battle Network was a natural progression of the original Megaman formula - neither one is bad, but nobody was playing Megaman and thinking "man, if only this was a pseudo turn-based game with a deck building mechanic and my movement was restricted to a grid"

Anyway, join me next time for when I talk about how Botw Link is far and away the worst-written Link despite my personal enjoyment of him, and how sick I am of people acting like this is when he finally "got a personality"

[noirandchocolate]

I haven't been following for long so I know jack shit about your Kohga but! I'll gladly ask things because I love comparing headcanons and getting to know people's visions on characters (especially kohga I love him)

Biggest things first that I'm always curious about - his age! Is he immortal for some reason, if not what's his relationship with his family? Is he the same guy in botw and aoc??? (I know they're two different timelines but like. ykwim)

Who taught him his magic?

Does he know about the monks in the shrines?

Why even worship Ganon? Does he believe that he'll be left alive when the world is destroyed, or is he so consumed by revenge/indoctrination he wants to see it destroyed, no matter if it's him along with it?

Does he have free time for hobbies? If so, what does he like to do?

Does he have a favourite animal/creature? Why?

How did he survive the fall into the Depths? Did he survive the rocket, too?

Did he dye his hair?

You mentioned embarrassing childhood/teenager stories. PLEASE give those I'm so invested in this guy's humanity (lowkey feel like it's almost required for every single yiga member to cartoonishly slip on a banana peel at least once)

Did he have any childhood friends? Who are the people he holds closest nowadays? (Excluding Sooga)

Speaking of Sooga though, what's his most treasured memory about him? What's been the most memorable gift given, the most impactful moment shared?

How does Kohga celebrate his own birthday? Separate from the clan? Or is the clan's adoration enough?

Why does he live in the desert actually like why is the yiga clan there

Has he ever been on the brink of death outside of any canon events? What happened?

Any interesting scar stories?

What's a memory he'd rather forget?

What's a memory he'd rather forget not because it was traumatic but because he just feels embarrassed about it?

And the opposite - what's a memory he would permanently engrave in his brain if he could?

Anything he's personally done that is genuinely very fucked up and morally wrong? I imagine he's killed on more than several occasions but is there anything worse?

Weirdest/most interesting rule he's made in the yiga clan? And what's the story behind it?

Has he ever modified existing rules? If so, why?

How much does he leave the hideout? What makes him go outside?

If he was anything other than a cult leader, if he just lived in some random village as a regular guy, what would he want his job to be?

I want to ask so much more but my brain is erroring, might come back to your askbox if I manage to untangle my thoughts (and if I don't forget due to adhd)

Wowww awesome you sent me a whole banana bunch's worth! I think I'll break up my answers across multiple posts and save some for another time if you don't mind because a lot of these are REALLY good and I want to do them justice! <3 (Seriously thank you for your curiosity! I want to write a lot!)

My particular Master Kohga is AoC-timeline exclusively. He's just turned 52 years old today and is not currently immortal! I do think that in the BotW timeline, Master Kohga was alive at the time of the Calamity and I think it's still the same dude wanting to kill Link 100 years later. My personal headcanon is that BotW Kohga was a regular-aged, non-immortal dude at the time of the Calamity and then figured out de-aging or age-freezing within that intervening 100 years. MY Kohga, in AoC timeline, who only just lived through the Calamity, hasn't done that (yet?). He's in his prime! His Foxy Fifties! He's doin' just fiiiiine!

Kohga learned a lot of his most powerful magical techniques from his Nana, while he was a child! And he got basic stuff that all Yiga learn (teleportation, seeing through a wooden mask, illusions/disguise) in part from her, in part from his father, and in part from the Clan's teachers. He's also come up with a bunch of stuff himself!

Oh Kohga and the Clan know plenty about the Sheikah monks. They probably have more ancient records than the Kakariko Sheikah do, since they're descended from those among the Ancient Sheikah who didn't abandon their tech, weapons, and lots of their heritage. Actually, I may eventually be writing fanfic about Kohga getting to speak with a monk, to whom he has a particular connection he wasn't aware of... But for now, I'll say the Yiga know that their original Master Kohga, 10,000 years ago, was the grandson of Monk Mogg Latan on Satori Mountain!

On the subject of worshipping Ganon, this is a very ymmv topic and I don't mind other people's headcanons, but my headcanon is that the Yiga don't worship Ganon or the Calamity! It's not a religion, and there's no indoctrination per se. The Yiga grow up learning their history and the Clan's goals, sure, but there's no like. Brainwashing involved, in my hcs. (Any more so than one would say the Kakariko Sheikah and Hylians are 'brainwashed' to fear and dislike the Yiga.) Personally I think their hatred is only fair, given the persecution of their ancestors. Anyway, it's not worship, for Kohga, it's respect. Why respect the Calamity? Because it's akin to a force of nature, capable of sweeping clean the unjust slate. The Yiga have wanted the justice of revenge for their fallen kin and the betrayal of their ancestors' loyalty for 10,000 years. Kohga, the latest in a line of Masters Kohga before him, had no reason to question that an entity embodying hatred for the Royal Family would be able to achieve that revenge. And yes. He thought the Clan would be special. That he would be special. That after all that time, he was going to be the Master who actually assisted the Calamity. He thought they'd be spared. He was wrong. He has to live with that. It's...hard. He struggles sometimes. But...he has to live with it.

Hobbies include!! Playing and composing for the shamisen! Renku-style poetry circles at parties! Messing around with ancient tech! Disguising himself to go to Gerudo Town and be a cute menace! And of course. Napping. <3

Kohga doesn't really have a favorite animal and if you asked him this question he'd say 'boar' without thinking too hard and then be like 'Oh. You don't mean to eat.' He likes various animals--he thinks bright little birds are fun to watch, he's getting along well with the Clan's new dogs, he has a Yiga's common penchant for frogs, and foxes make him think of his mama--but there's no critter that he points to and thinks 'that's my best guy' about.

Hair dye, huh? You see my Yiga are very strict about who can see their real appearance (I'll just link to a post explaining instead of doing it again). But! One small thing. That I will tell you. Because Kohga isn't really secretive about this. Is that his hair isn't dyed. It is beautiful inky black coils naturally~~ <3 <3 <3 He takes incredibly good care of it.

Gonna skip a few here 'cause I want to do longer answers for them when I have more time.

BIRTHDAY TIME!! A Master's birthday is a Clan-wide celebration! It's not as formal of a thing as Ascension Day, of course, but everybody who's home at the Karusa Complex on the day is treated to a BIG meal and the Clan's usual-style party out by the chasm (season permitting). Kohga loves his birthdaaaay because unlike with Ascension Day where the celebration is just as much about the office of Master as it is about him as an individual, his BIRTHDAY is HIS day ALONE. He gets tons of presents (many of them bananas and art projects from children). Everybody pays even more attention to him than usual (which is saying something)! He gets all his favorite food at dinner! And he just loves a good party no matter what it's for. This year is his first birthday as a married man, too, so he's having extraspecial fun with Sooga, too. Many kisses and such, ehehe.

The Clan's in the desert because Karusa Valley is naturally protected and was the best place the fleeing, persecuted Sheikah who would become the Yiga could find to shelter themselves from pursuing Hylians. With punishing, trackless desert to the south and the brutal, sheer cliffs of the Highlands to the north, it was a perfect hideaway 10,000 years ago, especially after gates with magical/tech wards were built to hide the Valley's southern entrance. (Kakariko Village wasn't the only 'hidden settlement of the Sheikah' following the genocide.) Finding an even more ancient Gerudo site to start with was pure serendipity, but the Clan has in the millennia since excavated more and more of the Highlands' insides to link up caves and build their own, creating a Complex that's highly defensible and quite cozy if one doesn't mind a complete lack of windows in one's home...

Kohga's never been actually injured so badly that he almost died, but one accidental near-death experience he had as a young man was something he now laughs about with hindsight. When Kohga was about...I want to say 21, 22? He and another Footsoldier were assigned by Daddy Kohga to go scout out a group of Hylians on Koukot Plateau, above Gerudo Canyon. Reports had been made that this group seemed to be amassing lumber there, and Kohga's father wanted to know what they were doing. So Kohga and his buddy, disguised as burly Hylian dudes to fit in, stole a pack donkey from some Gerudo merchant and wandered into these guys' camp. They found out what was going on, that the group was going to build a temporary camp there while doing some stone-quarrying, but would be leaving after a couple seasons. But that's not what's important. What's important is that while getting this info, as well as personal info on and descriptions of everyone present like a good little spy should do, Kohga also got actually drunk with them instead of just pretending to be, and uh... One thing led to another with a bunch of escalating macho tests of strength and physical dares, and Kohga literally fell into the Canyon. And was drunk enough that. He momentarily forgot he can float and teleport. And he broke his leg pretty bad hitting an outcropping on the way down before realizing. And letting himself land softer on the ground. This scared the CRAP out of the Hylian stonemasons--because Kohga literally should have been dead and somehow wasn't--AND Kohga's partner--because oh sweet stars and ancestors above that was the Heir, the Heir just FELL OFF A CLIFF. Luckily the dudes were also drunk enough that Kohga's buddy convinced them they should just like, forget about it, don't tell anybody or they might get in trouble, and he'd just, go down via this nice scaffolding here and get his friend onto the donkey and uhhh, they'd go home... And Kohga was a huge baby about recovering with his stupid broken leg after his goofy shenanigans, and now he tells this story like it's the funniest damn thing ever.

With that I have run out of time to answer things for today but! Thank you sooooo so much for asking so many and I will answer more of them another time, promise!!

[ganondoodle]

genuine genuine genuine question- wwwhy do you not like the zonai? (zonau? not sure if thats like. the worlds coolest plural or a translation difference) given your content with more monstery designs i would have thought they'd be up your alley!! however. i have also not played skyward sword (as much as id like to) and i know most of peoples upset with their existence and the totk storyline is because of its conflicts with that plot? i'm very excited to see what you do with your rewrite/botw2!! given their slight presence in faron in botw, it would be cool to see you repurpose the zonai in some way that doesn't conflict with the plot you're going for, something that makes more sense with the cryptic kinda bare minimum we had in botw? sorry if you've explained your stance on the zonai before <3

hhhhhhhh i had ranted alot about it but i hope you are prepared- (also "zonai" is sonau in german but im choosing to write it with a z so people recognize it at least, im pretty sure zonau is also the orignal japanese word for them)

i am fine with their design, in fact, i LIKE their character designs, however i dont like everything else about them.

and no its also not bc it affects skyward sword bc it doesnt affect ANYTHING in skyward sword, bc skyward sword is the VERY FIRST zelda game in the timeline and totk is nowhere near it, totk draws several paralels towards skysw bc its meant a sort of soft reset for this new era but its really just thematic overlap and references bc those are cool (i know alot of people are trying to convince the entire fandom that totk somehow is crammed into the old timeline but trust me its never anywhere near confirmed nor does it make any sense, heres the lil graphic i made last month to clarify how i think its meant to be understood .. quite obviously even -

i dont mean to sound .. mean, but some people read too much into little phrases or references to older titles (like first king of hyrule .. doesnt have to mean the literal firstest of the first ones in all of forgotten history ever, just the first of THIS hyrule for example), and while im not against theories i am very annoyed when people try to say its somehow canon when its NOT)

with that out of the way;

i dont like how they are 'integrated' into botws world, they feel unnatural and shoved in everywhere, they have been everywhere and did everythign better and cooler and no part of (this) hyrule was untouched by them their architecture feels not integrated well either and design wise its rather bland, while the sheikah shrines for example while obviously not natural and very 'techy' they still build a harmonizing contrast while the totk shrines are pretty laughably unfitting compared to them the basically complete disappearance of all sheikah tech related stuff bothers me immensely bc why would you just get rid of it istead of developing it further (i know about purahs towers and think they are just like a worse version of the previous ones; and before this argument comes up again, them destryoing it all -somehow- bc they were afraid of it being taken over again is a dumb excuse bc then they should be even more scared of zonau tech- even MORE unknown and advanced tech literally falling from the sky) you could have done SO MUCH with the ancient shiekah tech it drives me nuts

i also think it tipped the delicate balance of the kinda medival setting + high tech that botw had set up compeltely over, the zonau tech just .. is so painfully obviously only the way it is to give you little lego parts to glue together (i know its a focus of the game ... or at least the gamePLAY but it could have been done better, again i think they managed the balance perfectly with shiekah tech, its weird and isnt natural but doesnt endanger the believability of it ... the zonau tech just throws that out the window rly ... how cool would it have been if you could built lil guardian walk thingies djknhfkd )

in general they just feel like a complete replacement for the ancient shiekah and are so SO desperately trying to make the zonau the COOLER and BETTER versions of what the shiekah were (you COULD have connected them in a cool way, like there being ancient shiekah labs build in the old zonau mining facilities bc they used zonau tech as basis for their own tech etc)

like instead of building on the set up and potential botw had prepared, they just scrambled to make a 'better' version of botw, like oh no forget THAT ancient civilization we have an EVEN MORE ancient, and EVEN MORE highly developed peoples there that were also everywhere before you but also were never really hinted at- and then repeat botws structure .__.

having an old and forgotten civilization of whom only some withered ruins remain gave botw a much more real feeling, a world with a history that you will never know (you know, bc that makes it intriguing and is just .. a good choice of worldbuilding imo)- and then totk comes along and reveals everything and also nothing, we know too much of them to be intrigued by their mystery and also not enough to actually care about them (also them beign presented as the good perfectly perfectestest kingdom of light that can do no wrong other than underestimate the eeeevil guy while they also had their hands on every part of the land and made all other races be their face and nameless servants just ... thats weird man!! i know its a game, even if its only aimed at kids my god they arent stupid either!! you really present me with that and expect me to take it at face value what argh)

again i think they COULD have been integrated into it, but the way it was done completely threw me off, im not mad about them EXISTING but about how it was DONE in the game

the way they were done robs not just totk but also botw of mystery and intrigue, for example i much rather had them stay a mystery, only ever talked about in some text and some old and almost completely withered ruins left, you never get so see what happened there in the past, you can only guess, but you have to deal with the fallout anyway and thats just ONE possibility, there are so many and it feels like they chose the most boring one every single time

sometimes knowing less is better than knowing half

(maybe i can make it clearer when .. or if i can get to illustrate what could have worked -in my opinion- better .... sorry for ranting again ;__; )

[istadris]

Any thoughts on the new Donkey Kong game?

I'll be honest, up until the Direct trailer, I didn't care much for it apart from a vague thumbs up of approval in the DK fandom direction. I only played one Donkey Kong game (DK Country) and while I had fun, it didn't catch my heart like Legend of Zelda or the Mario & Luigi RPGs. Fun games but I'm more into action/adventures or RPG than platformers, y'know? And it's not like I plan to get the Switch 2 anytime soon, so I didn't pay attention to it.

The business around Pauline drew my attention but I didn't really think much about it apart from "oh, now they're making DK & Pauline the Wreck-It Ralph duo. Good plan, Big Strong Creature & Small Kid duos are a beloved trope for a reason."

That said.

After seeing the trailer, my interested is a bit more piqued for various reasons :

this is definitely the Switch 2 launching game ; yes, Mario Kart World is there and all, but a new Mario Kart is a given for any new Nintendo console. The game to show off the new console's technical abilities ? Definitely this game where you can break and model the environment as you wish.

It's another exemple of the Breath-of-the-Wild-isation of Nintendo franchises, in my opinion. I feel there's even some reused assets or interface. Open world, freedom of interaction with the environment, a complete change of system from what's we're used to with this franchise, customization and RPG-lite mechanics...although to be fair, it's not just BOTW that's been doing this, but I feel like there's some inspiration in the gameplay style, even if remotely ?

"Why is Pauline a kid now" who cares, WHY WAS SHE IN A ROCK ????

Joke aside, there are three possibilities to explain this : - soft reboot of the franchise, which would fit with the redesigns of DK & co. Gently pushing under the carpet any old memories of Pauline being DK's kidnapping victim as you expand her character and give her a backstory. - Time travel shenanigans. the game ends with Pauline going back to the surface to realize her dream and it's hinted that she'll become the singer we know in the Mario franchise, and/or that DK will meet her again. - Kongs actually age much slower than humans so Bananza!Pauline is indeed Mario games!Pauline.

I'm curious to see if the story will actually go beyond your typical exploring platformer stuff and give some actual character exploration...but I feel it'll still be a game I prefer to actually play myself than watch being played. So ya know. Still not getting it unless something big changes my mind and makes me buy a whole Switch 2.

The two player system is gonna suuuuuuuuuck. Mark my words.

The world, gameplay and music look awesome ! And I feel it's a casual Nintendo flex to have so many ways to play with the environment.

Not a big fan of DK's Bananza forms though.

Since it's voiced, it'll be hilarious to see every ape and animal speak while DK grunts and makes monkey noises. Nintendo Silent Protagonist absurdity at its finest 8D

For real though, all joking and poking aside...watching this trailer made me realize how far we've come in video games. Not just in terms of mechanics and gameplay, but compare Pauline's role in the first Donkey Kong game, and the one she'll play here. You've come far, Miss.

[fourswords]

starting sketching out light and like. HES 12??? like I get it- he's about to be 13- And knight is the oldest at a grand total of 15 but like-

BRO DOESNT EVEN HAVE AN ATTENTION SPAN YET???

like I know they're dumb in the manga but 😭 every 12-13 year old I've ever met is like a certified dumpster fire, which you might wanna consider in his character lmso

but I just feel like after the manga it wouldn't even matter that he saved Hyrule, he's just getting grounded until he's a legal adult 😭

like azure THATS A BABY- Aint no way he's smart enough to have even survived half the manga even with his dumb luck!

im crying please add like one year to all their ages im on my hands and knees is your goal to give this tiny child some form of PTSD because he is IN CONSTANT DANGER.children need to have a sense of safety (and their stupidity doesn't count, blue got swallowed alive and frozen, vio was lying to SAVE HIS LIFE, green was straight up about to kill vio and had to deal with attacking another knight, and couldn't bring himself to attack their own dad, and then red got chased by an angry mob and then lost all will to LIVE with blue in that one temple-) 12 is barely even conscious and self aware 😭

like I know 12 year olds have complex emotions and can handle abstract concepts and start getting into deeper moral understanding- but my human of earth the self awareness is either ONE THOUSAND OR ZERO AND THERE ISNT A BETWEEN AT THAT AGE-

im sorry if I sound rude or something btw I'm mostly just joking and I tend to overdramatize for comedic effect but I genuinely cant wrap my head around him being just 12- like at least 14??? maybe bump knight to 16 while ur at it? ?

also I'm gonna figure out some way to incorporate the different colors into his hat probably, its big so its like a bag lol since in the manga blue just shoved his whole hammer in there I'm pretty sure

smithy will be extremely small without complaint.

feel free not to take my words seriously tho lol I just cant imagine a 12 year old going thru the manga, like look me in the eyes and tell me a 12 year old-

if I misunderstood anything lmk lol I am a lil stupid sometimes

HAHAHA YES HE IS IN FACT TWELVE. The Legend of Zelda is a series that's all about "yeah let's hand this child a sword and let him go nuts" (to use a popular example, BOTW Link being canonically handed a sword at age four and is said in Mipha's diary to have been able to best grown men in fights: "At the request of Hyrule's king, a group of outsiders came to greet us at the domain. One of them was a Hylian child of only about four years of age. His name was Link. He made quite a first impression. He was curious and full of energy, with a ready smile. Are all Hylian children that way? One thing that surely sets him apart is his swordsmanship, which I hear is exceptional. He has even bested adults. He must be somewhat reckless, however, as he was covered in bruises.") and I absolutely intend to lean into that as much as possible. Light's age comes mainly from comparing Akira Himekawa's designs for Links of varying ages side-by-side with each other; for example, you have Minish Cap Link, who's very obviously drawn like a young child:

You have Twilight Princess Link and Ocarina of Time Link, both drawn to look like older teenagers (and we know OOT Link's older age is 16-17 depending on who you ask):

We have Skyward Sword Prequel Link, who is a fully-fledged adult (his other panels illustrate the difference more sharply, but this is what he looks like, so):

And then we have FSA Link in the manga, who is drawn to be VERY visibly younger than OOT, TP and SS Prequel Link, but is definitely visibly older than MC Link (he's got the rounder face + eyes, the shorter stature, and it becomes even more visible when compared to the knights in the FSA manga itself):

His maturity level also does, to me, match that of an average 12-year-old nepo baby (which he really kind of is)—kid who thinks he knows everything & that he's hot shit but is kind of a giant train wreck internally.

All three Four Sword heroes prior to him were explicitly stated to be "young boys", and FSA manga Link is really no different in that regard—in the context of my own AU, he's actually the one who went on his adventure at the oldest age (with Smithy going on his around 8-9, Four going on his at 10, and Knight now going on his at 11). It's just been a shorter time since his adventure than it has been for the others ^^;

[sweet-lemonad-rose-sapphire]

Link Character Analysis Pt. 1

Child Link

Just as a little note here, by “Child Link” I am talking about the child version of Link from BOTW

What was he like?

Unfortunately, we don’t know much about Child Link in game besides what we learn from the Mipha memory and Mipha’s Diary (BOTW DLC):

- He’s described as “curious and full of energy with a ready smile”

- Has “exceptional swordsmanship” only at “about 4 years of age”! AND he was literally going against adult knights and even beat them! Why that was allowed, I’ll get to that later…

- He’s very impressed by magic!

Where did he live?

Ok. This one’s an unpopular opinion for some people but here’s what I found.

- According to Creating a Champion (pg. 376) , Link had likely started his childhood in Hateno Village.

- HOWEVER, also according to Mipha’s Diary, the KING sent a group of knights to the Zora Domain. The same group of knights that Child Link was with. MEANING that even though Link may have at least been born in Hateno Village, he must’ve ended up in Castle Town, where he spent the rest of his childhood, gaining traction as a gifted swordsman.

Link’s Family

I may be cheating a little on this one, but by also looking at past Zelda games, I can kind of piece together what his family is like.

- In Memory #11 (Shelter From the Storm), Zelda makes the first mention, probably in Zelda game history, of Link’s father who was a knight.

- Although I’m sure Zelda was talking about Link when she gives the comment “Your commitment to the training necessary to fulfill your goal is really quite admirable,” I think she was also still comparing Link to his Father’s journey of becoming a knight. According to Creating a Champion, Link is NOT of nobility. And unlike all the “likelys” and “maybes” that this book says about most of Link’s past, this information is for certain. Therefore, Link’s father would have had to work HARD to rise the ranks to be personally asked by the King to go to the Zora Domain with the other Hyrulian knights with him.

- Strangely enough, just a few paragraphs before this, Link is said to be born into a line of knights. These could also probably have been Hateno knights too

- This is the point where I’m slightly cheating. In the Japanese version of Creating a Champion, there’s a whole TWO PAGES of concept art that us English speakers are missing out on. 😔 On one of those pages, we can see an image of a (what looks like) 12 year old Link with an older man and a little girl. The man may look older than a father but, after what Zelda said, this can likely be Link’s Father!

- And the little girl would likely be Link’s little sister! Unfortunately, there’s no evidence in the game that Link had a little sister, but after looking at the Wind Waker game for reference, I have a feeling this girl is supposed to be BOTW’s version of Aryll. She even looks like she loves Cucco’s while Aryll in Wind Waker loves seagulls! I could go on about what this means for Link and his backstory, but then that would be touching “spoiler territory” for my duology, and I don’t want to do that just yet!

Link’s Childhood Friends

Most of Link’s friends that are mentioned in game are actually Zora! Although I’m sure he had some Hylian friends as well.

- Bazz: Was the leader of the Big Bad Bazz Brigade (BBBB). Link trained him sword fighting (or at least the “art of the blade”).

- Rivan: him and Link used to swim together when they were kids. Also a part of the BBBB

- Gaddison: her and Link used to play together as kids. She was also part of the BBBB, known as the heroine.

- Mipha: she used to heal Link whenever he would get hurt in training.

I’m not adding Kodah to the list because (I assume!) she didn’t “befriend” him until he was older

unfortunately I can't find a clip of Bazz talking about the BBBB, but believe me that it's in the game!

[nazmazh]

So, yeah Palworld.

Despite the tone/direction of the hype, it's not really a replacement for Pokémon.

It is, however a replacement for ARK. And it's been quite good at that so far.

And considering the BS ARK pulled with their pricing and release plans and all that recently (not to mention their apparent utter aversion to optimizing the game even slightly - I'd really rather not have to dedicate nearly half of a hard drive to keeping it installed and updated, only for it to still struggle to run certain parts thank you very much), I know a lot of people that were looking for something to scratch that itch.

It might not be dinosaur-flavoured, but the mons are an appealing substitute on many levels. And the more direct automated use of them in more complex tasks is definitely a neat addition - And that's before even getting into the whole "parody of cute monster taming games" aspect - Which I don't think would have carried a game on its own for me, but is a solid enough flavour element here. Plus, expressly elemental creatures also creates more opportunities for use in the base system.

Also, as a quality of life thing - I really like that within a base, all storage is linked, so you can start building without having to go back and physically carry the materials to where you're using them. Hopefully though, a future update goes even further with this and has a system to link storage across all bases. So that you don't have to run, say, metal back and forth from the one base that produces it to others that have the more advanced production facilities.

Also - Battling/catching is a far less tedious system than KO'ing a critter and sitting there, keeping it unconscious and feeding it (especially feeding it only specific special optimum taming food) for hours to add a new critter to your team.

Something I hadn't thought of until just now - The Breath of the Wild-style movement/stamina system has felt very great! Movement feels speedy enough, the third-person perspective feels good for the sort of things you have to do, and being able to just start climbing is amazing! Something that's definitely lacking in both ARK and Pokemon (well, until you get the right upgrades in Sc/Vi, anyway). Is it the best implementation of such a system? Oh, definitely not, it still feels very unpolished compared to, say, BotW/TotK - But for this type of game, it's a very nice addition.

The actual battle system has very little in common with Pokémon - Not even something like Legends: Arceus. It's definitely much more of a free for all. It's honestly closer to Pikmin than Pokémon, but honestly still closest to stuff like ARK.

Anyway, yeah, it's been a solid zone-out and do tasks while watching YouTube/tv/whatever game, which has been a niche I've needed filled for a while. Much as I love Alan Wake 2 and my old standby Dead by Daylight - You do need to actively pay complete attention to those ones and can't have something else running alongside them.

The actual Pokémon has been sort of filling this role for a bit, but I've reached a point there where I'm just running around levelling my mons, which is fine, but familiar. Palworld is a new world to explore, with tasks that aren't quite as mindless. So it's a nice change of pace for the time being.

My sleep schedule however, is not a fan of the "Just one more thing..." Mentality I get from it (and a much of this whole genre).

------

One last note - The controversies.

Believe me, it absolutely raised my suspicions when I first heard about it overall - How could such a game not be a cheap cash-in? Probably just a bare bones, barely functional early-access asset flip game with a splash of edgy "pokemon (but just legally-distinct enough) but what if guns and expressly killing and eating them" for flavour/a gimmick, right?

But then it seemed like there was an actual game there. Systems had been thought out and appear functional - At least on a level that's on par with other decent early-access games. So, at least so far, it's not a cash-grab rip-off.

When was the other shoe going to drop?

Well, there's two drums people seem to beat loudly right now: "They're ripping off Pokemon and Nintendo's totally gonna shut them down!" And "The game totally uses AI for it's designs!", with a final offshoot of that to the effect of "This company's a scam!"

Well, to that first point - Nintendo is infamously litigious and very quickly moves to take down anything infringing on their copyrights. So, the fact that this game, being made by a "proper" development studio/company (ie: not just a couple of fans working on it as a hobby), which had publically discussed the making of the game over the past few years, made it to the point of early-access release without being taken down - That probably speaks to the "just-legally-distinct-enough" nature of their mon designs and capture systems, which are probably the two aspects most similar enough to raise eyebrows.

Now, certain visual elements do appear to be the same/incredibly similar - But I'm not sure that "facial features being used in conjunction with each other" is something they can copyright. As long as these devs/designers reverse-engineered their own versions of things, and didn't actually just rip Nintendo/Game Freak's models, I don't think there's much that actually is actionable there. The parody element is another angle that probably provides some broad cover as to the design similarity (in that you want people to clearly understand the reference you're making, so you want some similarities).

At any rate, I imagine the most profitable media franchise of all-time is probably gonna be just fine if someone makes allusions to them and their designs in an entirely different game. Pokemon doesn't really need anyone starting a crusade on its behalf, y'know?

To the stuff about the company (Pocketpair) itself. Well, there's a little more meat to those complaints there.

The big one - That AI was used in Palworld's design/development. That appears to be not true, or at the very least, not something that's been confirmed. If it were true, they'd have to disclose that for their Steam store page. So, at least, they did not openly use AI here (and its dev cycle began before the rise of the big AI boom, so it's less-likely that it was used). They'll probably face some sort of repercussions from Valve if they were deceptive about using AI, and there's not really a great reason to not be upfront about it, so, for now, I don't think they have used it here.

Believe me, if I suspected for a moment that AI was being used to cheat artists/designers out if work, I'd be out there, beating that drum too. But, given what evidence we have now, I just don't think they have for Palworld.

That being said...

Their CEO has definitely made some very sus statements about wanting to use AI going forward. Including comments about mon design in-general (nothing specific to Palworld, though, as far as I'm aware). And they have expressly used AI before, in their game AI: Art Imposter - So there is definitely a willingness on their part to use it (Though I'm not sure calling it 'Art Imposter' necessarily constitutes uncritical, effusive praise - But still, they used it in the game anyway). So that's definitely something to keep an eye on.

The whole situation with Pocketpair's other big game, Craftopia being an anime-styled, open world sandbox survival crafting game still in early-access definitely rubs some people the wrong way - Not the least of which are people who have been playing that game and feel as though they may have been playing an elaborate beta test that's going to be abandoned in favour of Palworld. And, like, I do get that - But, so far anyway, development appears to still be proceeding on Craftopia as well. So, I guess you can pick your preference from them - Whether you want the edgy Pokemon parody content in your game or you'd rather just have the "not-blocky Minecraft" type of stuff.

Ultimately, I don't think Pocketpair has any sort of loftier, noble ideals about being a better kind of gaming company or anything. They're certainly not a company that has earned any great leeway or trust from me - But they're definitely not just a cut-and-run scamming asset flipper gaming Steam's storefront.

I won't say Palworld is a "completely unproblematic fave forever" or anything like that, but from what I've been able to find, there's nothing in it/it's development history right now that makes it morally objectionable enough to avoid in my books. It's fine.

It's fine.

Other people might have different standards for what's unforgivable; but, the controversies about it definitely seem overblown or misrepresented - In my mind, at least. Its premise certainly could be alienating to a lot of people - But if you don't want to play it, you don't have to. If you don't like it, you can just say as much. You don't need to build it up into a whole big moral crusade to justify not really feeling like playing it. That's fine.

That's fine.

[millaneyy]

Why TOTK Ganondorf is the best Ganondorf in the series

This became a bit of an essay by accident hehe

Goes without saying: HUGE MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL BOSS AND ENTIRE STORY!!! All the gifs used are my own, and even though they're a bit crunchy, feel free to use them as you wish!

Anyways, starting at the start.

The Character

I'm not exactly a long time Zelda fan (botw was my first proper zelda game), and therefore didn’t know that much about Ganondorf before I saw him in the trailer and decided to research the lore like a crazy person. Based off of that, I think that Wind Waker Ganondorf is the best by far.

He had such an interesting aura to him- less like a power hungry madman and more like a wise old king who was also very evil, and his motivation made it difficult to see him as a true villain. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. His whole plan revolved around the fact that the Gerudo people, his people, were left to suffer in the desert while the rest of Hyrule prospered, and he decided to take action. At least, that's what I remember. Please correct me if I have that messed up!!

Anyways, I think that motivation is what makes WW G-man cool- he's a total asshole, yes, but he has this kind of twisted honour that almost makes you feel bad for him. And this brings me to my one little gripe about TOTK Ganondorf- he doesn’t really seem to have a motivation? At least, not that I heard of. So in that sense, he doesn’t really feel as driven as WW Ganon. We never learn WHY he wanted to rule over Hyrule, he kinda just did. He wanted power, that much was obvious, but that was it. On the other hand though, it’s always fun to have a villain who’s evil for the sake of being evil, and it didn’t detract at all from his presence in the game.

And boy, is he a PRESENCE. Some of his lines are incredibly cold- "I will rule. That is what a king must do" WITH THE ORGAN IN THE BACKGROUND AND HIS DEMON KING TITLE ON THE SCREEN, or "Do not look away, you witness a king's revival" (the line that drove the whole community insane for a little while- if you know you know) as he draws his sword with all the confidence of a centuries old evil incarnate.

Even better- "I will be taking far more than your arm this time", as if Ganondorf, through the Calamity, hasn't taken away everything Link knew and loved already. This dude is crazy.

(And a little bonus that I found out about right before posting this- apparently in the Japanese version, he does have a very clear motive? But it was lost in translation? I need to research that a bit more though. If you know anything about that, do tell!!)

Now, with that out of the way...

The Build Up

Thematically, I think that the build up to his fight is pretty awesome, even compared to the other three G's. If you did the entire story (geoglyphs included) beforehand, then you know that this dude:

a) straight up killed someone with his bare hands (he wasn't holding the knife when he killed Sonia, so I kind of just assumed he broke her spine or something)

b) is so powerful that 7 of the strongest warriors in Hyrule WITH secret stones couldn't defeat him, and was only taken down by sealing his power away- which is still only a temporary solution

c) lived on after reawakening despite being an actual emaciated corpse

d) was so busted that even in (kind of) death, the essence of his power (the malice) that leaked out of his seal was strong enough on its own to completely DECIMATE Hyrule

So yeah, I was a little scared on my way down because I knew this guy was going to kick my ass (spoiler alert: he did).

The little gauntlet of monsters to fight as you descend was pretty sick, and serves as a fairly good warmup for the army later on. The silver lynel totally caught me off guard though. As you get closer to the lowest point in Hyrule, you end up amassing some of the most powerful weapons imaginable thanks to all the silver enemies, which got me feeling so goddamn strong! That's important later.

And eventually, getting to the Forgotten Foundation and realising that I was back in the prologue area as that scary music started back up sent chills down my spine.

And the music. THE MUSIC.

Give this a listen (youtube because soundcloud links are jank, sorry)- skip to about 2:00 because that's the bit I'm talking about!

As you get deeper and deeper, the music gets more and more intense- and if there’s one thing I absolutely adore about TOTK, it’s the dynamic music throughout (see example: THE DUNGEON THEMES). The use of music that changes as you go- and this is by far the best example.

At first, you don’t really notice it while you’re preoccupied. You’re more focused on weapons and monsters and all that mess. But the first time I really noticed it was, as I said, when I realised I was in the prologue. The cut up voice clips and the drone in the background are a little creepy, and remind you of what happened the last time you tried to fight this guy,

Then, it starts to develop once you walk past the mural. There’s the choral singing, the drone in the background picks up into something with more melody, and the entire run up to the boss is completely enemy free- it gives you time to let the circumstances sink in as the music swells and you approach the heart of the depths. Also, the music builds as you get deeper and deeper, which from what I know is a subversion from the usual "music building as you climb his tower" or whatever he's in normally. Very nice.

Idk about you guys, but I slow walked down there for the DRAMATIC EFFECT.

At about 3 minutes into the video is how it sounds when you dive into the imprisoning chamber, where it all started (and I'll talk more about the parallels between this and the prologue another time... THE TORCH AUGHHSYWJHFH) and keep trucking on through the gloom, the horror movie piano kicking in as you walk through the final tunnel and stand on the precipice overlooking the dark, unknown pit below...

And jump.

Then the track finally reaches its climax as everything starts to overlap, the bells and organ (i think thats what it is?) screaming at you in the background as you fall, making the song feel like an epic of vengeance. There's so much dread, and an underlying ominous/threatening feeling that encapsulates the fact that Ganondorf is the embodiment of an ancient evil, one that has tormented Hyrule for centuries- but at the same time, there's an element of finality and inevitability, because you're going to put that evil down, and make up for all the grief and the death and loss that constantly follows in his wake.

I mean, just listen to the last 30 seconds or so of that track and tell me you don't feel excited. In awe. Because I deadass teleported back up to the mural just to hear it again.

I think I got a little carried away there, but moving on to the bit you probably came here for…

The Fight

Phase one - The Demon King's Army

Remember how I mentioned that the earlier monsters and busted weapons make you feel powerful? This is basically that x10.

The whole sequence feels very epic, ESPECIALLY after the build up, and with the appearance of the Sages mirroring the attack of the Champions from BOTW, it almost feels like victory is assured already as you cut down hordes of monsters with practically no effort, all while the strings in the background kick in and get more intense with every wave.

This serves to make you feel even more like God- taking out waves and waves of fairly tough enemies made me feel like I was on top, like nothing could stand in my way. It's pretty cool, a good way of integrating the monster army you keep seeing in the cutscenes, and manages to keep the energy from the descent going pretty well, while also being a casual reminder that this Ganondorf bloke can summon world ending horrors at will. ESPECIALLY when the dungeon bosses come back to life and force the Sages to stay behind.

Phase two - The Menace Unleashed

Once again, the music goes absolutely crazy. The first phase feels intense, but still like the fight is only just beginning. Just an ambient drone, near silent as he approaches, picking up as you start to duel. No one is here to help- no Sages, no Zelda- just Link and Ganondorf, a rematch that's been in the making since 2006.

If the army battle makes you feel powerful, then the first few seconds of this fight are what takes that power away- because this guy is a total damage sponge and moved a lot faster than I could predict. Additionally, you can't fast travel outside to heal gloom hearts if you have medallions set up (i thought i was so smart for that too), so if you used all of your sunny food during the army, you're doomed.

Most of his attacks in this phase are fairly simple, with only one or two for each weapon he can wield (and tbh the switching weapons really threw me the first time), but like I said, he goes pretty fast. Therefore, if you're like me and can't differentiate some of his tells, you're also going to lose a lot of hearts very fast. And did I mention he gives you gloom hearts instead of normal damage? Again, no sunny food = death of the instant kind.

On top of the general stress of trying to get the timing down, there were a couple of moments in this phase alone that had me yelling something along the lines of "WHAT THE ACTUAL SHIT"- one of which being some of the tricks he pulls under certain conditions. For example; a standard looking sword attack where he swings once, then as you lower your shield to get a hit in, as you naturally would, he swings at you again. He also kicks you if you hang too close, and fires off some of his gloom attacks faster if you're trying to attack him as he charges. It makes him feel more like an actual person you're fighting, and stops you from hanging close and swinging wildly the whole time.

(i was going to make this a video, but tumblr only lets you add one. anyways, see what i said about him swinging again if you lower the shield?)

As well as that, he taunts and mocks you when you get hit- make any misstep or stumble into an attack, and he'll laugh and insult your skill while he casually walks up to you like the absolute gigachad he is. It's not like the Twilight Princess walk where it feels a bit slow- this walk made me feel THREATENED. Circling in the opposite direction when he circled me with the spear made me feel like a pro swordsman. On one hand, I thought the taunting was super cool as a mechanic! On the other hand it made me want to kill him even harder.

And the other moment that made my jaw drop? This guy. Can DODGE your regular attacks AND FLURRY RUSH. And by flurry rush I mean take a really tough/fast swing at you. BUT STILL.

For as long as I can remember, the perfect dodge and flurry rush have given Link an unfair edge over most enemies and bosses- it's an opening to deal mass damage with no counters. It’s made link OP against everything the game throws at him- up until right now. This highlights the fact that Ganondorf is no pushover- him and Link are evenly matched, and you’ll need some actual consistent skill to take him out. The good news is that your own flurries are still pretty powerful, and 5 or 6 are enough to start the next phase.

As the fight progresses and his health starts to go down, the music starts to build up more (at about 1:25 in the video above)- the barely present drums starting to speed up and get louder, accompanied by sporadic piano, more choral snippets, and an ominous undertone as their duel grows more intense, eventually building to a climax and slowing down a tad (2:45) as he activates his secret stone and transforms, beginning the third phase.

Phase three and four - Master of the Secret Stone

Well this one was certainly something. Once again I jumped out of my seat and YELLED when his health bar started to refill past the normal amount, all the way off of my screen. It just didn’t stop. There are no words to describe the primal fear of realising how insanely busted this dude was. I tried to get it on the gif up there, but that made the video too long to convert :(

The music here is my favourite bit of the whole phase- as you face down the powered up Ganondorf and his phantoms, you hear the familiar but melancholy motif of BOTW/Dark Beast playing around the same time the Sages show up once again to deal with said phantoms (at about 3:22). For a second it's just that- melancholy, encapsulating the same kind of hopelessness that followed Calamity Ganon 100 years ago. But at the same time, as your squad comes to assist, you're reminded of the Champions and their aid, and suddenly it feels like you could still turn the tides of this seemingly impossible battle. Just like you did with the Calamity.

Yes it was cool, and yes I nearly cried.

The phantoms were actually the worst for a minute or so- it takes a while for the all of the Sages to appear and lighten the burden, meaning that you end up needing to take on 2-5 of these guys at once as well as the real deal. This got me killed more times than I'd like to admit. Once all the Sages arrive, the arena becomes a complete warzone with everyone duking it out at once, the real Ganondorf’s attacks start to get faster and harder hitting, and he starts to dodge and rush you more often- even dodging more of your attacks and forcing you to flurry him, so if you don’t have your timing down, this is awful. Not to mention, it's very easy to lock on to the wrong Ganon, which makes it harder to block the real attacks with a shield.

And also, this is the point where he starts destroying literally all of your shields in just a few hits, meaning that if you can't dodge or parry, then it's only so long until you're left defenceless.

Aside from that, this phase plays out like the Phantom Ganon fight in the Castle until you get his health bar down about halfway, when he recalls the phantoms and biden blasts the Sages away, beckoning Link forwards and starting phase four, which is basically phase two again but insane.

This is where the fight- for me, at least- became incredibly difficult, since Ganondorf not only dodges your regular attacks, but also dodges your flurry rushes and counters with his own EVERY SINGLE TIME, forcing you to flurry rush again to hit him. Not only does this require perfect timing, but is also the only way to damage him for the remainder of this fight (unless you cheese it with arrows or sneak in some hits in while he's switching weapons- but the latter is dangerous since he still attacks faster when you're close).

A little video to emphasise the flurry rush thing; the timing for that second dodge had to be dead on. What you can't hear is me yelling something along the lines of "GOD, FINALLY" after dying to this phase many times and mashing the y button like my life depended on it. LOOK HOW FAST THAT MF IS ON THE SECOND ATTACK

The soundtrack becomes super crazy again, this time using the motif of Calamity Ganon/the Blights (starts at 5:00, and you can also hear it in the video above) and bringing back that sense of hopelessness again- but this time with with a strong side of excitement since you're now in the final stretch of the fight. Because the Blights were supposed to be the equal match for each Champion, this bit of the theme makes it feel like Ganondorf is an equal match to Link- which I know I've said already, but that's kind of the thing that's blown me away the most about the whole battle.

It's the fact that you can't just wail on him and spam flurry rushes without him countering you in some way- which in this case mostly consists of him dodging you and attacking back at an insane speed. This isn't like Calamity Ganon where you just hit and dodge for five minutes, this is an actual proper swordfight, and exactly what I'd been hoping for from the final boss!

Additionally, the Blight/Calamity motif (well, more like entire theme) represents his ties to Calamity Ganon, the force of nature that took Link 2 tries to beat (with death included), and it's use in this part of the battle tells you that right now, Ganondorf possesses the same level of destructive power as that thing- and he's sure as hell going to make sure you know that.

As well as the whole "dodging the flurry rush and forcing you to pull it off twice" thing, he also pulls out a few more projectile based attacks. These aren't too bad (WE GET THE RETURN OF ARCANE PING PONG FROM OOT), but he usually follows them up with a quick swing, making them a distraction that takes a while to get used to.

And finally, as a last little surprise, getting hit by any of his gloom projectiles in this phase takes away one of your maximum hearts. PERMANENTLY. Not like the gloom hearts, where you can get them back and then heal. Nope. That shit is gone gone.

Once you finally whittle down his ridiculous health bar, we launch into the customary "massive beast" style phase as he straight up just rips the secret stone out of his head and eats it, giving up his mind, body and soul for the sake of defeating Link, becoming a Dragon and escaping through the top of the arena.

Phase five - Draconified Demon King

So like I said above, the Demon Dragon is basically Dark Beast 2, except it's so much cooler! The cutscene does a great job of highlighting the insane size of this guy- it's like 3x the size of the already massive elemental dragons and emerges from the depths in a way that eerily resembles the Calamity, right down to the glowing yellow eyes. And yeah, that's probably the point, but it's still cool.

Luckily for Link, Zelda/the Light Dragon swoops in and rescues him from the jaws of death (literally), taking him high up into the air so he can attack from above. It's an absolute spectacle, and the epic style remix of the game's main theme that plays makes it even better, instilling the same level of awe that Dark Beast does- at least for me.

Just like DB, the fight has you up against a massive malice/gloom infused monster (the dragon, in this case), getting close and attacking it's weak points and then finishing it off by destroying the secret stone on it's head. There's a lot of downtime, which is kind of to be expected with this style of fight, but I honestly don't mind because these colossal battles are supposed to feel less like a Dark Souls boss and more like a victory lap- like a "you're Link, the legendary hero, slaying this massive beast in the name of Hyrule" kind of thing.

My personal favourite bit of this whole phase is the fact that when you dive down to the Dragon's weak points, Zelda dives down next to you to get underneath and catch you afterwards. So sick. I also really like the use of skydiving! It pairs super well with the music and made me think of that final trailer we got in April- like THIS is the epicness we were promised.

(and also dodging the fireballs was way more fun than slowly sidestepping a laser. sorry dark beast, but i gotta say it </3)

Final thoughts

I'm gonna be honest: I kind of forgot to compare his fight to the other 3 mainline ones, but doing that now would make this way too long! I just love the TOTK fight so much and needed to get it out.

While I'd still say that each Ganondorf (in the mainline games) has their own unique trait that makes them cool: OOT Ganondorf is the original, and the most cunning, WW Ganondorf has the best character and TP Ganondorf is the most evil by a mile- TOTK Ganondorf feels like a combination of those best traits (minus the characterisation) paired with the greatest final boss I've ever seen in a Zelda game, which makes him the best for me.

The first phase in particular was my favourite- wayyyyy back in April when I saw big G in the trailer, my first thought was "oh man i hope we get an actual sword fight boss instead of calamity ganon 2.0" AND MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!!!

Ganondorf literally just rolled up, delivered some cold lines, and then kicked my ass with his cool sword. Many times. And I think that's exactly the kind of boss fight he deserves. I'm just so happy that it feels like we're in an actual duel, mano a mano, instead of just being able to chance a win like with Calamity.

FIN

thank you for reading my zelda obsessed rambles! i just beat the boss last night and have been working on this on and off all day, so any reblogs or shares would be massively appreciated <3

GANONDORF FANS UNITE!!!!

[true-blue-sonic]

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, Blue!!

12, 20 & 24 + Espio, Blaze & Gold for the Ask Game

Good afternoon ^-^

Espio

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

He's a boss when it comes to brewing tea. He likes ocha himself, I believe based on a Sonic Channel picture, and he knows all the intricate details about how hot the water should be and how long the bag should stew and what-not to get the perfect cup. After a long day of doing detective work or saving the world, he'll go sit somewhere quiet with a cup of tea and recharge.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

I'd say Silver, which surprises absolutely nobody :> While I think Vector is a good friend for Espio, the fact Vector is quite childish and spends a lot of his time arguing with a six-year-old compared to Espio's ice-cold collected ninja facade and deeply serious demeanour (at least on the surface lol) makes it difficult for me to see them as ideal best friends. Plus, I'd feel bad about throwing Charmy under the bus like that XD In that regard, I feel like Silver and Espio just have more in common: Silver is definitely the more immature between him and Espio, but not at all to a similar level as Vector is. Plus, they share a desire for justice, love for fighting, serious personalities, and a comparative lack of goofing compared to the rest of the cast, and in Rivals 2 I'd argue the two treat each other as equals as opposed to Vector bossing Espio around. So I'd say Silver would be the ideal best friend for Espio <3

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Oof, I can't answer this one for any of them, I fear. I'm engaged in like three fandoms total XD ....Yeah, no, for Espio I got nothing, sorry😅😂

Blaze

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

She's bad at cooking because she's too impatient to wait the necessary amount of time with the stove heated a proper amount; instead she uses her flames to "make it go more quickly", which is what causes the food to burn.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Hmm, not sure... I haven't replayed Rush Adventure in a while so I can't say too much about Marine, but the ideal best friend she might not make. I feel like Blaze would be annoyed too much by her rambunctious nature, even after Marine's character development. I'd say Silver, were it not that I can see why people don't want him and Blaze to always be together. Perhaps Cream, then! I like their interactions in Sonic Rush and I think it's sweet how Cream helps Blaze open up more <3 And I'd argue that in Rush you can also nicely see how Blaze warms up to Cream too, culminating in her frantically rummaging through the wreckages of the Egg King to find her when Eggman kidnapped her. So Cream, perhaps!

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Rosalina...? Blaze is definitely more quick to anger, but they share the elements of loneliness and isolation in their backstories, I'd say. And perhaps also Zelda from BotW in their hotheaded nature and the responsibilities placed upon them🤔

Gold

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Silver gets her some clothing from the past: think more saris and other things she feels comfortable in. She adores long, draping, and lovely-decorated items that make her feel like a princess!

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

I'd say Silver here too, but that is mostly because she's only ever interacted with him out of the whole game cast. Still, I think they make a good pair! Silver's fierceness and sharpness nicely contrast with Gold more meek demeanour whereas Gold's got the planning skills and the smarts compared to Silver's reckless nature. And in Genesis, they share the goal of really wanting better for Onyx City/the future at large. But perhaps Silver is just friendshaped to me apparently XD

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Also nobody for poor Gold, apologies!

[wondrous-whimsy]

Has Nintendo clarified how much time has passed between BotW and TotK? Cause I’ve always assumed that it was 6 years just like how much time has passed between the games in real time. But I’ve seen someone say 8 years, someone say 2 years, hell I’ve even seen someone say 20 years (imagine a Link and Zelda pushing 40). I’ve always gone off of 6 years just cause Mattison and Aaqlet are both Gerudo children born after the end of BotW look to be around 5ish or so (given that a Gerudo pregnancy is similar to that of a 40 week gestation and that whatever planet Hyrule is on is also on a 365 day revolution around it so that would put them around 5 years old. Give or take a few months.

What gets me is that Link and Zelda literally look the exact same if 6 years is indeed the time jump between the two games. I’m thinking of how different I looked at 17 compared to how I looked at 23 and how you kind of slowly start to get your adult face around that age. Like when people talk about second puberty in your 20s.

I personally think it would have been interesting to see some subtle changes of their looks (besides the hair obviously) that shows that quite a few years have passed since the last game. Like the Rito children all clearly have aged but the Sheikah children (Cottla and Koko) have not aged at all. Then again I’m pretty sure the Sheikah age differently than other Hylians.

Idk maybe I’m thinking too much into a game that’ll probably contradict itself in some way whenever the next game comes out.

[mrslittletall]

I finished The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom today. That final boss was cool! Really enjoyed it. Now what are my thoughts? Especially compared to Breath of the Wild? I first want to say what I liked more in TotK.

The main dungeons and the boss battles. Those were such a glow up compared to Breath of the Wild! The dungeons actually looked unique from each other, had fun mechanics and the boss battles, holy shit, the stupid Deathblights are getting soooo boring easily but ToTK has four very distinct bosses which you actually beat with the help of your companions and wow! I loved them so much I was fighting the underground variants all the time! Caves! Oh god that was the BEST idea! Zelda always did have caves and they were sorely missing in BotW. I loved going delving in this game! The caves were amazing! That is one of the things I might come back for to find all the caves I missed. I also enjoyed the wells for the same reason. The sky! That was FUN! Everything being so disconnected meant you had to get creative to get from island to island. And they had a lot of clever puzzles up there, especially to make shrines appear. And the things I liked less? Shrines. Yeah, sorry, TotK. BotW actually gave me really thought out shrines designed around the four main abilites, cryo, stasis, bombs and magnesis. ToTK had one shrine. BUILD! And yeah there were different mechanics in it but it got old quick. You just always were building. The naked survivals were pretty nice but only after you got a couple hearts or they were brutally difficult. I also don't like how many shrines just had to be found. No clever overworld puzzles, just find the cave and the shrine. Done. The ones in the sky sometimes had overworld puzzles so they were more fun ^^ Stuff I am pretty neutral about: The story. It was perfectly serviceable and the Zelda stuff made me weep but I get the criticism of the ancestors being completely bland characters and Ganondorf being a one not villain without depth. Because that is 100 % the case. But some of the new characters are really good, like Rauru, Sonia and Mineru, really fun characters and I liked that we got more an emphasis on the champions of the present, BotW seemed to have a lot more emphasis on the champions from the past who were long dead. And also completely gone from this game. I guess they moved on after Calamity Ganon died? I don't really remember BotW's ending in full detail. In conclusion, this game is BotW 1.5 with some great ideas and some things that feel a little meh. I had my fun with it though.

[adventurous-adventures]

The Polycule Begins (26 January 2024)

Notes this session were taken by Mick

We start this session with talk about Jensen Ackles and morally grey characters with daddy issues

And lots of talk about Percy Jackson

We got severely distracted and are starting the session nearly an hour later than intended

We are heading on a quest

We are levelling up out characters and I forgot my class.... we also all forgot how to level up

IRL ASMR done by Lara using micks water bottle

"Alex is in Spain without the S" "Nah, Alex is in Spain without the A" Alex proceeds to stand up and spin

We have yet to officially start

We went full circle back to one of our first conversations where we discussed the plausibility of using a gnome as a butt plug/dildo to shoving a gnome up your ass and letting the magic go wild

We have yet to actually do shit

Georgie didn't realise that they can stack the lollies to make different flavours

Raven knocked on Westers door like he was Sheldon

"Barthen body works"

Juniper and Iphigenia go to the bakery. Juniper meets Greg (short for Gregor)

We get more cheese

Juniper successfully gaslight Iphigenia's dad-"Where are you from" "uhhh, your mum"

Greg is officially a himbo

The fantasy version of Game Of Thrones is called Fourplay (a series of plays created by a friend). Alex thought it was a sexual thing.

I screamed after accidentally calling Zain Zak. It was a decent scream

The montage of us travelling is to either On My Way (from Brother Bear but by Mick and Alex's choir) or the Indiana Jones theme song

We are travelling 25 miles per day

"Four hours of your mom"

Georgie and I keep comparing Norwegian and Danish as we are both learning them

there are 18 sets of dice on the table rn. I don't have a dice addiction, I swear.

both watches are fine on our first night of camp

"what is the first thing you guys want to do at camp?" "Die."

"Laylon" "Laylon on these nuts!"

Alex is done with us

Shenanigans ensue. Alex is still done with us "Stop jacking off your armlet please" - Zain is talking about my Pandora bracelet because when i shake my wrist it jangles (also seems he forgot the word for bracelet)

Juniper now canonically wears jangly bracelets

Zain and I just rolled two sexy 20s.

Juniper was trying to push Raven off the cart because he called her a Centaur

Juniper got clotheslined

Riverlea and Iphigenia see it in slo-mo

Alex drew Raven clotheslining Juniper

Juniper is now the shooting star meme

Georgie cracked out the soundboard

Juniper climbing onto the cart to push Raven off Raven: Call an ambulance, but not for me

Juniper sees nothing on her watch

Alex was glad he didn't pay attention when I explained what the blood eagle was

Iphigenia is about to be attacked by bees

They are not bees. They are alarmingly large wasps

Georgie is trying to rick roll Alex

free bird.mp4

we drew a map

Guardian battle.mp4 (Legend of Zelda BOTW)

in halo voice headshot

headshot x2

old mitre 10 ad is referenced

Juniper just used a level 2 spell slot to use burning hands on the wasp

Georgie rolled a slutty 20 to bonk the wasp with a mace

Riverlea caved the wasps skull in

Juniper and Raven play soccer with a wasps corpse

We get stuck in Auckland traffic

We smuggle weapons into Neverwinter

We go to the vinenratt (vine and rat)

There's only one bed. The polycule begins

Juniper, Iphigenia, and Riverlea are all cuddling on the bed, Dewdrop and Alistair's ghosts are going to try and shove Raven onto the bed

It took Divine intervention to get Raven on the bed

Raven is officially in the snuggle pile

Insert jojos tbc meme

[weaselishmcdiesel]

pokemon rant ahead bc im a born hater what can i say <3

playing scarlet and i just caught chien pao which i wanted on my team before id started playing and was just picking which pokemon i like best. the fucking?? running animation?? is fucked up?? there SEEMS to be a walking animation like it exists and i get a glimpse of it every now and then but it seems like it refuses to use anything but the running animation. so you cant reasonably walk beside the pokemon because its animation is freaking the fuck out, angles get fucky, the thing runs ahead of you, just bad. it's just i really wish that the follow mechanic wasn't dogshit, i want to stroll around with my pokemon not lagging behind. how come every other game can figure out a follow mechanic. how come modders can figure it out (there's maybe a chance the pokemon is stuck running because i caught it at a higher level than my current badges give me control over but idk if that's how the game works)

and another thing i noticed (that everyone else probably noticed bc this game has been out for a while lmfao but-) the entire world feels like it was MADE for exploration on koraidon. if we compare it to botw/totk, the terrain in those games doesnt feel like they were made for horseback exploration. there are so many huge wide expanses in scarlet that, the moment you get off your ride, you feel small and out of place. like there's absolutely no incentive to walk around on your own because everything is too far away to comfortably explore on your own (and also there's hardly anything TO explore. everywhere is empty and boring and repeating). botw does not suffer from this at all, all the environments feel realistic in scale. and i wish if the game were more focused on the horseback (pokemonback?) exploration that there was more fidelity to koraidon's animations and mechanics. I believe it's called procedural animation, the ability for a model to react to the environment it's in (ei, when link is on a slope, his leg will bend and his foot will rest realistically on an incline, same goes for horses in botw when theyre on inclines. these are calculations the game makes in the moment of execution, not rendered out during development accounting for every possible position a player could be on a slope). i feel like this should happen with koraidon at the least, if you're going to be on it for the majority of the game.

and don't get me STARTED on how absolutely stupid it is for so many pokemon to be as small as they are. constantly tripping on a 2 centimeter tall pokemon that i didn't see and initiating a battle gets really fucking old. from purely a game design standpoint, for one of the first games in the series to feature pokemon walking around in the overworld, youd THINK they'd somehow incorporate more accessibility for being able to SEE these fucking things, but no. the camera is far from the player (i play with the camera as close as possible, i know it's adjustable) and the grass that's fucking everywhere is taller than a lot of pokemon. also the shiny issue. how the pokemon from this gen have a lot of MINUTE differences in their shiny palette that make shiny hunting more of an eye-strain simulator than anything.

and i know that there are a lot of pokemon in these games meaning a lot of assets meaning a lot of space thats dedicated just to make creatures appear. i know all of that takes away from the space needed to make animations or appealing scenery or really just a substantial game. but remember when they said theyd limit the pokedex so that they could make sure the pokemon they DO include have higher quality models and animations? and remember how they never actually did any of that. (changing the rendering engine and the textures is NOT higher quality anything. and if you think it is, how come the textures on hills FUCKING SHIFT AS YOU WALK PAST THEM? THATS A LOWER QUALITY ENGINE!!! THAN WHATEVER THEY USED BEFORE!!!)

i'm just saying that i really wouldnt mind if they HUGELY limited the pokedex IF IT MEANT that we could get cutscenes with unique animations and effects. get rid of a few hundred pokemon if it means the overworld is decorated with more than a dozen repeating assets that make it difficult to tell where the hell i am without looking at the map. maybe i want to see big wind turbines in the background move at more than 2 frames per second! why is the largest landmark in the area moving at 2 frames per second?! bad!!! ugh.

i think all the issues i have with this game are reasonable grievances for a game that costs 60 fucking dollars. i dont want to hear a single "it's just a kids game!" it was 60 fucking dollars. +dlc +online subscription

theres lots more i can say but this is just what's really bothering me right now hahasdfk

[navysealt4t]

jazzy jazzy jazzy hello!!!

im gonna toss you a lil snip gift here

"Oh come on, Clown." Leo hisses, giving him a harsh look that probably was supposed to get him to back away, but all it does is encourage him to stand his ground. "Nope, you're going to leave him alone." That earns him yet another look, this time from Zam. "Why are you standing up for a human? I thought you hated humans. Didn't they--" "I don't think this guy is human, Zam. Haven't you seen him before? What about him screams human? Because I really don't see anything that points that way. He's just like most half-demons I've met, come on." Yeah, maybe he should've seen that look and gesture coming as Leo blinks about five times before pointing in Branzy's direction, "I dunno, maybe the fact he's part of one of the human squadrons?" "Besides that." [...]

AAAND! an extra song as a treat :3

(in case spotify embeds are broken still [though theyre finally working for me again], the song is men by the dodos)

^ i think this song could work very well for some of your blorbos....

BANTERRRRR yipee :] i love banter. it reveals so much about character relationships and how comfy they r with each other and ough. banter is so so fun to read AND write :] hmmm very interesting snip hehehe. fun dialouge :]

AND DIES DIES DIES. the song fits link but specifically botw! link when he knows nothing about how he is or what happened to the deserted wilderness he’s venturing, and only has a disembodied voice in his head guide him. ough. he’s curious and resentful and still figuring everything out while having the weight of saving a kingdom on his shoulders. man. like “i feed myself, you feed the poor, these r addictions i’ve seen before, you are my keeper, i am your slave” is comparing between the old link (before the calamity) and current link who is no longer the same person he was 100 years ago. sorry i’m just unwell about link espically his identity issues :3

[bloobluebloo]

I've been poking through your blog a little bit and I can't find the exact post I wanted to add this thought to, but this whole idea of Ganondorf as "bringing balance to the Force" etc honestly kind of makes botw into an argument in favor of procrastination lmao. the people of Hyrule prepared the shit out of their defenses against Calamity Ganon, and what did they get for it? 100 years of darkness. the absolute most prepared Hyrule has ever been and it was the second-biggest disaster this kingdom has ever faced (only the WindWaker backstory compares). they fared better when they were relying on a ten-year-old who grew up in a forest full of other ten year olds, ffs (though that was actually the third-worst outcome I'm aware of, probably because Zelda had the gall to try and be proactive). lesson learned: never study for the Ganon test. it'll only make things worse.

honestly it makes me wonder wtf they did in WindWaker that the gods ended up flooding the entire fucking kingdom to restore balance

In BotW's case, I think that there was an imbalance, and I will explain why. Hyrule did diligently prepare for the arrival of the Calamity. However, their mistake was doing the *exact same thing* they did the last time to defeat the Calamity. What Calamity Ganon had as an advantage, apart from years to recover his strength, was knowledge. So when he was faced with the exact same beasts and a similar hero with a magical sword that overwhelmed him last time, he knew exactly what to do. In BotW, Zelda wanted to understand the world around her and was endlessly fascinated with the guardians and the divine beasts. However, her father, ever so reliant on the legends of the past, chided her for wasting her time in favor of awakening her powers. Had Zelda been permitted to study the divine beasts maybe, just maybe she may have uncovered some anomalies that would have clued them in on weaknesses that could be exploited. However, it was their over-reliance on the past and their inability to change their approach was their downfall. In OoT's case, the fact that Link was the one to save Hyrule was again due to Hyrule's hubris and inability to take Ganondorf's threat seriously. The kingdom was fresh out of a civil war, the Hylian King triumphant and having had all the tribes in Hyrule joined to his kingdom in fealty. The Gerudo were the last to join the kingdom as we see when we witness Ganondorf kneeling to the King of Hyrule. Hyrule was at its strongest in military and political strength, and so the king would not take his daughter's word seriously. Or, it could also be a case similar to TotK where the king is wary of Ganondorf (I mean, they call him the King of Thieves, prophetic dreams aside that is enough reason for the king to be on guard) and decides that bringing him into Hyrule's fold will allow him to monitor him closely. Anyways, the imbalance of power in Hyrule's favor allowed Ganondorf to use his cunning to take advantage and become the king of evil. Over-reliance once again on their own military and political strength and their belief in the legends of being a people that were favored by the gods. And then finally arriving at Wind Waker, the balance was overwhelmingly in Ganondorf's favor, for sure. Why did the gods see it necessary to flood Hyrule over simply sending them another hero? A lot of people theorize that this is because Link returned to the past, removing his presence from this timeline, but that would imply that either Ganondorf was freed during Link's lifetime (which, weak seal then) or that the fated hero that was to arrive had to be related to Link (which, there is no indication that WW Link has any sort of connection to OoT Link given the traditions of Outset Island so I don't think heroes have to be related). What I personally like to theorize, given the conversation so far, is that simply sending a hero again against a Ganondorf that was behaving in a similar way to his OoT self would be playing into Ganondorf's hands. Ganondorf may have been anticipating it, and would have been ready. No one was ready for a flood to destroy Hyrule and seal it away, especially Ganondorf. While the flooding of Hyrule feels extreme, I think it did a good job in upsetting the balance in an entirely unique way. Ganondorf was warring with Hyrule and destroying it indiscriminately, driven by his rage and hatred. To see it *actually* destroyed and out of his hands may have jostled him enough to change his perspective and reflect a bit, just enough for a new hero to slip in and have the advantage. The people living on the surface were no longer bound to the legends of Hyrule, beginning their lives anew and looking forward to the future. Anyways my point with all this is that, I think LoZ does a nice job in showing that over reliance and nostalgia for the past is only detrimental (And I do think that yearning for the past is one of Ganondorf's major character flaws, he is unable to look forward). While the past will repeat itself, you must look forward for the solution.