#i like how the lynel in his design is coming through a bit better now

[ganondoodle]

chapter 2 rough draft wip (✿◡‿◡)

[mrneighbourlove]

Evil’s Bane: Ch 7. Entering the Tower

Darkness was all around them. Along with a petrifying smell. They couldn't hear any sounds, not even in their own heads. It was as if time had stopped to entrap them in a pocket of hell. As long as this feeling of isolation and disgust lasted, their release was just as quick. The jaws of the serpent spat out the contents it had swallowed, quickly retreating back into the water from which it came. Leere's vision was incredibly blurred, and she gasped for air as she felt the earth beneath her. It was hard on her left, yet soft on her right. A decomposed body perhaps? Finally, she remembered to speak. "B-Bonegrinder? Anyone there?"

"Leere!" Black exclaimed. "Thank the Mother Goddess! You've been knocked silly for a good while. And I can't move." He was currently trapped underneath one of Bonegrinder's massive coils. "He took the brunt of the landing and he's out cold. Think you can pull me out from underneath him?"

Leere picked herself up, grabbing Bonegrinder by his coil. With a deep breath, she dug her feet, clenched her muscles, and pulled. "Fat. Loath."

"... that's not going to work." Black managed to wriggle free his staff that was attached to his body strap. He rolled it over to Leere. "Use this as a lever underneath his coil. I'll help you push down to get my legs free. Tell me when you're ready."

"Ok." Leere grabbed his staff, ready to pry Bonegrinder off. "Ready? One three. One. Two. Three!"

Black gritted his teeth and managed to move his legs free from under his master. Luckily, nothing was broken, just bruised. A Wraith's body was trapped in a state of living and decay, so trying to heal a wound was a major problem. Wobbly on his feet, he then asked, "Are you all right?"

"I am." Leere looked around, seeing someone lift themselves from the ground. There was fog around them, but with Leere's vision getting better, she made out his outline. "Bi-Hanzo?" The man was holding his head, a little groggy from the landing. "Indeed. I think I see Kenshi over there. If he's alive I'm going to wake him up."

"I would summon some fire, but it smells like methane in here." Black coughed once at the smell. "So I am not going to risk that. Though, I can provide some light." The Wraith took off his head wrap that covered most of his face and head. One reason he wore it was because his hair floated in every direction and... he was actually a grey-blue from head to toe. Glowing. "This is a pain when you try to sneak up on someone."

Leere was surprised to be sure. Her small shock turned into a smile quickly. "I bet. You know, for someone between life and death, you're still a rather handsome man." She looked around to see Bi-Hanzo getting Kenshi on his feet. "Good. We're all alive. Do you think Bonegrinder can be woken up easily?"

"I will..." Black looked a little puzzled at her comment. "Take that as a compliment." He then glanced at his master. No wonder he was out cold. Evidently, he hit head first, snapping one horn completely off and cracking the other. "Give me a moment to see."

"Take your time." Kenshi was rubbing his head. Man lost his sword in the attack. "Where are we?" Bi-Hanzo patted him on the shoulder. "Stay here with them. I'll look around."

"Bonegrinder. Bonegrinder!" Black shook the Anagari lightly, not wanting to jar him further, but the situation was urgent. The huge snake did not move. The Wraith frowned and sighed. "I think he rattled his skull. It's going to take him a bit to heal. We should wait here. We do not know what this creature is and our surroundings."

Bi-Hano ran back just over the small hillside. "All of you. Come with me now, you need to see this."

Leere looked to Black and nodded. Walking with Bi-Hanzo, the moment they came out of the fog, they were stopped in their tracks at the sight. In front of them was the biggest castle they had ever seen. No, it'd be disingenuous to call it simply a castle. It was a massive city, with sophisticated architecture that linked everything together. The designs were incredibly Gothic by nature, with the very sky as red as blood in the air. Black clouds rolled over, and the air was dry to breath in. They didn't need to see eyes on them to know that they were being watched by at least something. The most impressive, or haunting piece of architecture depending how one viewed it, was a titanic tower. It kept spiraling up and up and up, far above the clouds themselves. It had etching in its stone that were large and deliberate as well. The entire city could be described as gothic.

"... I'm beginning to believe we should have left when Bonegrinder insisted we did." Black said very dryly as he gave Leere an annoyed glance. "Because that does not look very inviting."

"No. I agree with you." Bi-Hanzo let his clenched hands go. "This is center of all of the evil in Malus. Inferos. The serpent didn't need to kill us. It just wanted to bring us here..."

"... EXACTLY why we should have left." Black groaned aloud and then pulled Leere along back to Bonegrinder. "There's no way in hell that I'm leaving him and he entrusted the princess in my care. So, we will both wait here and I suggest you two do the same."

Leere was about to say something, when a shadow flew over them. Glancing to the city, she saw the monster from her dream perch itself on a tree. It was hard to make out in the shadows, but it was defiantly it. "You!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" As Leere tried to get up to follow after the shadow, Black snatched her wrist and yanked her backwards. "You can 'you!' it later, you can't go after whatever that was blindly!"

"That's what we came here to deal with! That's what threatened my family and Hyrule!" Leere tugged away, tightening the collar on her trench coat. "Killing monsters is what I do."

The two other Mortuus watched as Leere pulled away from Black and started walking ahead. Bi-Hanzo decided to take the lead for Kenshi. "I have no idea if we can return. But perhaps we can find the missing villagers here."

"Like my daughter." With hope in his heart, Kenshi ran after Leere.

Before running with the other two Bi-Hanzo looked to Black one more time. "You should join us. Before one of those monsters comes here."

"It's not a monster, Leere! Even if that... that..." Black swore under his breath. "Abomination is simply a host, it is much more powerful than you, than me, and even those two lunkheads combined! We cannot hope to defeat it unless we have Bonegrinder with it. And defeat... is a very strong word. Please, if you won't listen to Bonegrinder, then listen to me." He implored her. "We don't know the extent of what we're dealing with. Don't rush in without leaping and leave your family without a mom."

Leere stopped in her tracks, for only a moment. "I've stopped god like beings before. I know the risks." With that, she ran into the city perimeter. Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi quickly followed behind her.

As Black stewed with his thoughts on the matter, he heard a familiar galloping approach from behind. "Black? Is that you?"

While Black had agreed to keep an eye on the princess, there was no way he was going to leave Bonegrinder vulnerable and alone. The snake would probably bite his head off, not literally, but lecture him nine circles to hell when he woke up and found the princess gone. Though, the Wraith was shocked to see the Lynel. "Hades!!!" Black was relieved. "You're alive! We were worried for you!"

"I worried for you. It was a miracle I stayed alive so long. And your scent suddenly traveled so far north, I could barely keep up. Where is the Sage of Shadow?"

Hades looked down to Bonegrinder, parting the hair out of his eyes. He didn't look good. "What happened to you..."

"The all-wise sage decided to go on a wild goose chase after I warned her not to do so." The Wraith grumbled to the Lynel. "That woman doesn't listen." When he inquired of Bonegrinder, the Wraith frowned. "I think in the scuffle of this serpent inhaling us, he hit his head. I'm guessing a skull fracture since usually something like this wouldn't knock him out. It's just taking him a little to heal."

Hades looked into the city, shuddering. "Go find her. I'll stay here with Bonegrinder and get him awake. It's important that the sage stays alive long enough to not be killed by some mindless beast."

Black felt conflicted. "Are you sure? Two guardians are better than one."

"I'm ten times the guardian you are." Hades gave the Wraith a light grin. "Go. I'll use my magic to try and jumpstart his awakening. We'll be able to track you, no matter how deep you go into that city."

"Just because you're bigger, doesn't necessarily mean better." Black patted Hades' haunches. "I'm glad you're all right, friend. Please be safe while watching over Bonegrinder."

“I will.” Hades watched Black race off to chase after Leere. Placing a hand on Bonegrinders head, he channeled some magic and waited for him to awaken.

~

Leere was finding new ways to be surprised. Going through a large city block, she saw windy staircases that raced around towers, spiders traveling on rope sized webs, and water traveling upwards from a pond into a building. “Keep an eye out for anything.”

Black had hurried after the princess, but decided to lurk in the darkness. It was safer than way. Not to mention, in case Leere suddenly had an idea to run away from him again, she could not pin point where he was. So for now, he kept hidden, watching.

The Sage pointed the way for their target destination. “There. That’s our best option.” As they opened the door to the city gates, a deep stench swept through the area. On the other side was a mountain of corpses piled up. A half a dozen hooded Mortuus were gathering bodies when they saw the new comers. It was hard for the group to hide their presence with how creaky the city gates were. The other Mortuus paused, unsure in the present moment on how to act against the newcomers. That was when one pointed, letting out a horrific low-pitched howl. Leere could only make out the intense rage in their black and red eyes glowing slightly in the dimly lit area.

Some of the local Mortuus took control of a few of the corpses to fight Leere and her party. Another started to bled from her eye sockets, their body tearing itself apart in a transformation. In the city of Inferos, Mortuus who walked the streets were open to the unspoken rule of kill or be killed at any time.

Both Bi-Hanzo and Leere felt they couldn’t take control of the nearby bodies or destroy them at a will. So they resorted to other means. Leere took her scythe, cutting down zombified corpses that staggered their way towards her. The warrior of balance made his way to kill the casters directly. With no mercy, he froze bodies, shattering flesh apart. The Mortuus who was transforming had finished turning into a beast of fur and fangs. The Lycan charged at Kenshi, who was still looking for a weapon to use.

Other Mortuus in the area simply opted to flee. Not every one of them were so eager to throw their lives or spill blood. Leere and Bi-Hanzo were grateful that everyone who was watching them didn’t feel the need to attack. What neither enjoyed was the lack of control they could seize from the other Mortuus. Their zombies had their puppet masters, and they wouldn’t be taken away from them.

Black swore from the shadows and decided to get involved. Leere seemed to be a magnet for trouble when dealing with forces of darkness. Hades was at least right about that part. Kenshi was in trouble with that damn wolf, Leere and Hanzo were chopping up zombies, and there were monsters all around... Black was beginning to think Hades should have gone ahead instead of him. While the assassin was an excellent fighter, he was used to dealing with opponents one-on-one or very quickly, not in a battle setting. Though, he would do his best. Emerging from the darkness, he appeared in front of Kenshi and cut down the werewolf with a slice to its throat. Tossing Kenshi one of his blades, he instructed. "Don't lose it, kid."

Kenshi watched as the werewolf grabbed its throat, stumbling backwards. Gripping the sword, the Mortuus man took a breath as he ran forward towards one of the Necromancers, decapitating one with multiple swings to the neck.

Bi-Hanzo held no regrets about killing his own people. In fact, in his mind, these weren’t his people. The centralists were monsters masquerading in his flesh and skin. Turning briefly into a mist form he gracefully moved past the dead, killing the last of the Necromancer attacking them.

Leere’s blue scythe sizzled as she brought it to her side, a light sound vibrating in the air to cut the silence. “Black. Thank you for the assistance. Where’s Bonegrinder?”

"Hades is helping him heal." Black informed Leere as he walked around and remove the heads of all the corpses... just in case. "He survived. We both think Bonegrinder fractured his skull in that fumbling around. They should be catching up in a few minutes, I hope."

Hades? The cat had been able to follow them all this way so quickly? Strange, but Leere wasn’t going to question how he got here in the moment. “That’s good.”

Around them, in the buildings, other Mortuus were gathering to their window sides more and more. Even some curious kids. Finally, one of the residents spoke out. “Outsiders! Very odd to see a group of outer ring Mortuus who aren’t completely lacking in perpetration. And we didn’t know you had the skill to have a pet undead so stealthy.”

Leere tapped the staff of her scythe against the ground. “He’s not a pet, but a fellow traveller.” “Traveller? Ha! Who in their right mind would want to travel here?” Some of the residents laughed. Many held expressions of stone.

Bi-Hanzo shouted out to them. “Have there been other Mortuus from the outside taken here? Answer us!”

“Oh sure,” the resident smiled. This was the most entertainment she had in forever.

“They often go up there.” She pointed to the biggest on the continent. “But no outsiders ever leave the Tower of Death.”

“Tower of Death?” Leere chimed in. Seemed like a simple name.

“Of course. It’s a magical construct that is simply, ultimately, and in all its finality, death.”

"... pet?" Black scoffed with a role of his glowing eyes. "I am no puppet. More like a ghost than one of their ghouls." He then looked at Leere. "We're not going up into that tower without Bonegrinder or Hades. If my master's indication was correct, then this means that there is a possibility that Destroyer could very well be nearby."

“I absolutely agree.” Leere was scanning the eyes looking down on her. Up near her top left she saw a small boy tilting his head at her. When he saw that he had her attention, he waved to her. The Shadow Sage felt sad. This was no place to raise a child. What if she had to raise Joy like this? It deeply troubled her.

The resident looked shocked by Destroyer being mentioned. “No. Don’t mention his name. Terrible things always happen when he’s mentioned.”

The land was indeed as hideous as Bonegrinder had described it. He had no idea why anyone would want to live here. Those in their right mind wanted to escape. The others who wanted to remain were less than sane. Though, his master's words flowed through his mind: "friend or foe is not a question here". So... could these people really be 'good'? "Then would you rather me call him something else?" Black asked dryly. "One of his other names? Or Sir Divine Asshole?"

“It’s a case of never meet your heroes. Least for us that live on the lower levels. Death, madness and chaos has run rampant since they arrived.”

Kenshi let an angry shout out to them. “Don’t try to spin a tale of pity! You lot thrive on that! You dabble in evil magics!”

The resident snarled, a streak of fury on her face. “We do what we can to survive. Sure, we kill and betray sometimes do that, but we are still a community that bands together. Those that live higher want to the consume the whole damn world with their ambitions.”

Leere was about to say something, when a wailing siren was heard. At the far ends of each block, a deep fog was rolling in. Suddenly, all the residents were rushing to shut their windows. The lady talking to them pointed at the tower. “If you value your lives, run to the tower doors! I wish you luck!”

“Wait a second!” It was too late. Leere watched the last window close with the woman. In the fog, a massive tentacle reached out, scooping up a dog that was patrolling the food. With a whine the dog was taken into the fog, followed by a sickening crunch heard from inside. As the wet crunches echoed outwards, the Shadow Sage knew that they could easily be next. Leere looked to Black. The way to Bonegrinder was quickly cut off by the fog. It was like it wanted the group to enter the tower. “Black! We have to go!”

"... you know I blame you for dragging me into this, right?" Black snatched her wrist and started running at full speed. "Hold your breath. This is going to feel really cold." With a jump, he landed, sinking into the shadows below, pulling in Leere with him. He maneuvered around the tentacles through the darkness, zooming to the doors.

Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi, not having the same luxury, sprinted as hard as they could to the doors. They were made to be 30 feet tall, and need all of Leere and Blacks strength to open. “Pull your back into it!”

Black was throwing himself against the door, trying his best to get it to open. The only other option was to try to use the shadows to slide inside under the door... though, that would be difficult if he could not see where he was going. Just as it seemed the fog was going to catch up to them, Bonegrinder's huge coils slammed the doors open with one massive strike. The Anagari looked like hell. His horns were still damaged, his skin was scuffed, and he was missing several scales. Hades' magic had helped him heal, but his face was sunken and skin paling. It was obvious he was pushing his limit, despite Prama's influence. The huge Lynel was beside of him, unharmed for now.

The group of six ran in, with Hades closing the doors behind them as quickly as they opened it. With a loud bang, the doors sealed shut. Like it or not, they were trapped inside the black heart of Malus.

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Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626094342071828480/evils-bane-ch-6-yield-to-damnation

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626629526442655744/evils-bane-ch-8-looming-dread

[gotermina]

Shadow’s Dungeon Reviews: Zelda II: Midoro Palace

Hello guys, and THIS is the Legend of Zelda Dungeon Reviews for Zelda II: Adventure of Link! This dungeon is:

Midoro Palace

Hit the jump for the review by me, ShadowSect!

Here’s how I review dungeons (for the newbies):

Dungeon Design (15 Points): Is the dungeon linear or complex? If linear, was it meant to be linear?  If complex, does it have unfair frustration? Does the gamer have much of a choice? Is there reasoning to what you have to do?

Visuals (15 Points): Does the dungeon look the part? Is the music good? Is the dungeon believable? If not, does it impact the dungeon? Does the overall mood of the dungeon bring chills up your spine?

Gameplay (15 Points): Is there a lot to do? Does the dungeon take full use of the item you’re given? If there is no item, is there a major hook that grabs you in this dungeon? Is the playstyle repetitive and does it get in the way of your playing?

Enemies (15 Points): Is there a variety of enemies in this dungeon? Does that variety fit the dungeon theme? Do the enemies bring a challenge and are entertaining? Is the miniboss or boss good, or does it fall flat? Would you battle the enemies again?

Puzzles (15 Points): Do the puzzles challenge your brain and treat you like you’re a functioning human? Are the puzzle rewards worth it? Is there unfair consequences to getting something wrong? Do the puzzles fit with the theme? Do the puzzles involve the dungeon item?

Challenge (10 Points): Is the dungeon too hard or too easy? Is it so linear that there’s no way to get lost? Is it very possible to die in this dungeon? If it is too easy, is it a fault of the game or the dungeon? Does the challenge work with how far you are in the game?

Fun Factor (15 Points): What did the dungeon make me feel like when I was in it and when I left it? Do I want to do it again? Was it entertaining and did I ever get bored? Was it too short or too long? Is there anything to enjoy in this dungeon that doesn’t end up as repetitive?

Now, the review awaits!

Onward to the second dungeon, Midoro Palace! And with the trusty Life spell, Fairy spell, Jump spell, and the recently received Downward Stab, I took on this dungeon! And succeeded with only 3 deaths! Dang it how much I hate Red Ironknuckles and lava… especially when both are at the same time!

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Dungeon Design (15): Really good dungeon design here. Of course, the dungeon gets slightly more difficult. The keys rise in number, there are more rooms, and you, Link, find yourself blocked from other rooms by huge stone blocks. And the only way past them is to get the Power Glove in this dungeon! Clever design. Anyway, I never found the dungeon design unforgiving in the slightest except for the lava rooms. Yes, there were gripes with the Mace Thrower rooms, but those were YOUR fault. However, jumping from block to block above lava with huge red drops blocking your way and bots heeding your process is a bad thing. But anyway, the rooms are never too congested, and this dungeon glorifies its combat. 14 points.

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Visuals (15): While there is color, I had serious gripes with the visuals in this dungeon. Before we go to the negative, let’s look at the positive. The music is still really good from the previous one. Done. The negative? Everything else. Now look, I know the game itself has bad visuals, and we should be looking at this dungeon from the perspective of a dungeon, and there are cool red windows to the outside, but SERIOUSLY. THE SMALL BLUE BLOCKS GOING ACROSS THE SCREEN ISN’T JUST VISUALLY UNAPPEALING, BUT PAINFUL TO THE EYES! If you’re walking fast, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you don’t look at the background. But in the middle of combat? Feel free, it’s imposing. 5 points.

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Gameplay (15): Pray tell master, does it shine? Oh sweet boy the combat does. Again, frustration is key, and the game really makes you pay for your poor reaction times while giving you fun combat scenarios with Mace Throwers and Ironknuckles galore. What’s the skill of this dungeon? Wait, skill? Yes, there’s a skill. THE DOWNWARD STAB. PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST USEFUL SKILLS EVER OF ALL TIME IN THIS GAME. WATCH AS I SPAM IT ON THE BUBBLES TO ACTUALLY KILL THEM. WOOHOO. Anyway, what are the spells? 2 SPELLS. The Jump spell, which gives you strategic points to attack downward with Mr. Stabby and get red potions from statues, and the Life spell, which gives you tons of health when you REALLY REALLY need it. And the item of this dungeon is the Power Glove, which allows you to break the stone rocks blocking your path AND get some nice point bags. Cool! Anyway, pristine combat, not too frustrating this time around, and lots to plunder. If only there was a true hook… 14 points.

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Enemies (15): Let’s list off the common folk! We’ve got the Bots, the new Bot “Drippers” that spawn bots and also hurt you while you try to jump lava, the cleverly strategic enemies called the Stalfoses, the new Dragon Heads that REALLY annoy you, the orange Iron Knuckles that are easier thanks to the level system but still challenge you quick reaction times, the now mildly annoying Bubbles, the Red Iron Knuckles that are MUCH TOO STRONG, the ropes that remind you of the Octorocks except they’re MOVING, the Red Mace Throwers that challenge your patience, and the return of the annoying Lynels. What a clever pool of enemies! The 2nddungeon isn’t afraid to use a lot of repetition, and since the 2nd dungeon comes much later, it’s a perfectly fine transition from the DASTARDLY death mountain enemy pool. And then there’s the boss, Helmethead. Much like Horsehead, his weakness is his head (no duh, it’s in the name), but his artificial head comes off to be replaced by a new one, and the artificial one FLOATS AROUND AND SHOOTS FLAMING FIREBALLS AT YOU. A clever boss that requires a good strategy with dodging fireballs and slicing the head while also being a bit imposing. On paper, this is awesome. In reality, he’s not much of a leap from Horsehead, but that’s fine for this dungeon. So overall a good pool of enemies for a 2nd dungeon with an slightly imposing boss like the first dungeon. 13 points.

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Puzzles (15): Hahahahahahahahahaha. No. For being the 2nd Zelda game and on the NES, but being now the 2ND DUNGEON, 5 points.

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Challenge (10): This dungeon is more or less a nice step from the previous dungeon. I died about as much as the previous dungeon, but it wasn’t as much unforgiving as it was actually being challenging. The dungeon isn’t really “linear” anymore, and while it might be a doozy to get lost, it’s also a doozy to NOT get lost. But then again, it’s the 2nd dungeon now! And it’s not a huge step up in challenge for it to be bad! And for me, someone who sucks at video games in general, it’s really nice! 10 points.

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Fun Factor (15): I can say it was an entertaining dungeon. I have to say though, WHAT THE HECK is with the visuals, and it kind of affects how I felt about some of it, though not TOO largely. Either way, the combat was intense, I facepalmed when I died, I threw the controller when I died, the scenic route through the slow swamp to this place was imposing, and it was more or less a fun experience. I really do want something like puzzles though. Combat can get old. While it can’t from a gameplay aspect, it can from an ENTERTAINMENT aspect. Nevertheless, I give it what it’s worth. 12 points.

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Overall, 73 points. Fun. Other than even worse visuals, no puzzles, and less entertainment, there was better challenges, better enemies, and better gameplay. I still had fun though, and if you can leap over its poor blue blocks, there is great combat and a good layout to see. See me next time with the review for Island Palace, which would take the normal gamer FOREVER to find, but thank god for ZeldaDungeon and GameFAQs!

(end)

Wow this came out quick! I’m glad. Anyway, serious question. Do you think any of the dungeons in Zelda II are going to get a score of 80 or higher? Or even 90 or higher?

And yes, I know one later might get something really low.

Anyway, what else do you think? Was I being too nice on Zelda II, or was I being too critical with its visuals?

Anyway, if I missed anything, or you have things to say about this dungeon/review, let us know in the comments!

                                                       –ShadowSect