Gaming Zelda Fans Come Hither...

That fits Zelda history- after all, while there may be multiple Links and Zeldas, when it comes to Ganondorf- there can be only one.

 

They partially did- one of the Oracle games (Seasons, I believe) began as an LOZ remake (which is why it has most of the same bosses) and the cancelled third Oracle game (back when the series was going to be the Triforce series) would have been the AOL remake (the remaining Oracle game [Ages] was always going to be an original title).

 

I don't recall the Smash rendition of the DW Death Mountain theme, but it is intend pretty incredible in ALTTP.

I mean, the DW Overworld theme rightly surpasses it but it's often overlooked despite being a near analog to the Imperial March for the game.

And the slight muffle/warble effect 16-bit audio had just further enhances its impact.

 

They probably won't return as major plot points, since they were effectively replaced by the Master Sword and light arrows in later games. But I could see them being included as DLC bonus weapons in either a current game or a HYWA sequel.

 

I think the Light Arrows have effectively replaced them at this point. One could also say that there's a different thematic context here too- the Silver Arrows have traditionally been present as a means of destroying Ganon. And, AFAIK, Ganon isn't in ALBW, thus not requiring the Silver Arrows be present.

 

Funny you mention that- as I've been illustrating a follow-up book for Z2 for an xmas gift this year (really was meant to be an xmas gift last year when I got these kids Z2 on their Wii U VC, but, damn man, Z2 has a lot more enemies than Z1 and I couldn't finish drawing them all in time) and, for the opening story, I took the liberty of adding the Sheikah logo to The Door That Does Not Open since the only one who could seemingly enter besides the Hero/King was Impa- and the crystals used to lower the Binding Force were passed down by her family from the earlier King. So it made for a natural flourish of continuity.

However, I don't think that the Binding Force around the Great Palace is technological in nature- it's definitely magical, but anchored to the 7 palace locations/statues. If we assume the mysterious old man at the end of the game to be a sage akin to those that have guarded the Temple of Time in the past, then it's likely it was he who both brought the Triforce to the Great Palace and cast the spell that raised the Binding Force (also referred to as a "seal" in the Japanese translation, IIRC; which would also mirror the Seal of the Seven Sages/Wisemen used in the ALTTP backstory).

Alternatively, it's implied that the King himself cast the spell across Hyrule that makes the Triforce symbol appear on the hand of the Hero/King in the first place (though the wording allows the possibility of the King having someone else cast the spell on his order/behalf, we know Zeldas have shown limited to extensive magical abilities before, so it's not out of the question that the King cast it himself- especially since he had the power of the full, unified Triforce at his disposal.

So, if that is the case, it is possible that the King cast the Binding Force spell himself and the Sage is just there to look after things or administer the Final Test/summon Shadow Link. It's probably cleaner if the Sage seals himself inside (it being his choice better explains why he didn't use the Trifore of Courage to escape or some such) but the King could have been the one to remove the crystals from the statues after the Sage and Triforce were inside the Great Palace and, thus, activate the spell that was cast on them which, in turn, generated the Binding Force.

As for Rebonack/Iron Knuckle, I don't think it's necessarily mechanical, either- it could be (it has no legs [except in the cartoon, which doesn't 100% count] and Iron Knuckle exists independently from it, so he controls it somehow) but it could just be a possessed/magical statue/horse armor. But the horse being some kind of floating magnet mount isn't outside the realm of possibility for a Zelda dungeon enemy/obstacle- especially in light of the slightly steampunk-like mechanized elements found in Twilight Princess, which Z2 is set after (albeit in a different branch of the timeline).

 

Yeah I've settled into a comfortable pattern of alternating exploring and doing a couple dozen side adventures with single Divine Beast quests. And I've still only scratched the surface of the overworld.

 

Crouch and move very slowly. If you can, cook something up beforehand that gives you stealth bonus. Once you've caught one keep periodically pressing L to soothe it and eventually it'll remain tamed.

As for arrows try to stay just out of range of an enemy archer, and as they shoot at you if their arrows hit the ground you can round them up.