Gaming Zelda Fans Come Hither...

IIRC, Monolith helped on the title, and they've got experience with massive scale worlds with XCX (which was supposedly bigger than Fallout 4, Witcher 3 & Skyrim combined).

 

There was a third video too:



I like the small touches in all of these- from the way the trees sway when you climb them to the creepy thing climbing around Death Mountain in the far, far background of that weather video.

The music in the non-weather videos is interesting too- there are hints of Zelda cues in there but they have a more subtle, eastern feel than usual.

 

Rumored to be delayed until summer.

Supposedly localization is taking longer than expected, so after that and testing it's not expected to make the March launch date but rather early/mid summer. (So, presumably, the late April/mid/late May release slot Nintendo often takes for titles like Mario Kart 8, etc).

 

So, I've started to do some initial research and planning for a follow-up to that Zelda 1 companion book i made as a gift last year, this one focusing on Zelda II (I'll be getting the kid the game to go with it, obviously) and i have to say, I'm quite impressed at being reminded at just how ambitious this game was and how aggressively it expanded the series and mythology (even after you strip away the obvious platformer & XP leveling gameplay aspects).

I mean, some of it you are well aware of it going in- the unsurpassed size of the gameworld (not even BOTW is likely to approach it), the introduction of the concept of multiple Zeldas, Ganon resurrections, the third Triforce, the importance of Impa's lineage, etc. Others are more subtle (when you think about it, the introduction of elevators in this game is establishing the first seeds towards the more mechanized, near-steampunk-like aspects of more recent games like Twilight Princess, for instance).

One thing in particular that strikes me, since it's more directly relevant to the book I'll be working on, is the sheer number of unique enemies in this game. Even after you take away the returning enemies (Moblins, etc), the copycats (Bots are gels, let us be honest here) and the Palace Guardians (whom you expect to be unique), there is a ridiculous number of soldier-level enemies in addition to several low-level threats.

Z1 only really had about 5 or so soldier types: Stalfos, Moblins, Goriyas, Darknuts & Lynels. Everything else was more or less specialty or limited use (like Armos).

But Z2? Just look at this wiki gallery. It has at least half of the above Z1 soliders returning in addition to the ne class: Acherman, Daira, Geru, Fokka, Doomknockers, Fokkeru, Guma, Iron Knuckles, Wosu... and that's not getting into variants like Parutamu (armored Stalfos). Add in all the smaller critters and I have my work cut out for me to illustrate all of these in time for xmas.

Still, seeing it in this context further increases my appreciation for the game.

Fun fact/speculation I came across while digging though this stuff- most of us here probably know that the Seven Sages in OOT were named after the towns in Z2 (in-universe the towns would have been named after the sages), except two of the towns: Mido and Kasuto.

Supposedly, OOT was originally going to feature an Earth and Wind Temple but these ideas were cut due to cartridge limitations. So, the theory is that Mido in OOT (who may very well be Groose reincarnated if we track things back further in time) was supposed to be the Sage of Wind and Kasuto would have been the name of the character who became the Sage of Earth.

Alternatively, Kasuto and New Kasuto share some similarities with Kakariko Village and the Hidden Village from TP (one being an older version of the town that has been abandoned except for one person, similar syllables, etc). If the graveyard in Z1 is the former Kakariko as many might speculate, then perhaps Kasuto is an evolution of Kakariko, refounded (only to be refounded again...)?

Additionally, since Kasuto is a town that has been destroyed by monsters, it's speculated that Kasuto is, in fact, the village being depicted as under siege by Ganon's minions in the prologue of the game's story/manual.

 

Aaaand holy crap...

Silver Arrows on the Armos Knights will one-shot them. A couple attacks from the Golden Sword should take down the Lanmolas quickly (just gotta watch out for the fire balls and the diagonal dirt clumps), and two spin attacks will deal with the Moldorm (take it down before it speeds up). Agahnim is a matter of just making sure you have the right positioning to deflect the attacks back at the real Agahnim while still defending against the attack of the clones ( ).

 

While digging around stuff, had to make this gif:



One of the few badass moments in the cartoons.

Woah! That's awesome! I spotted Link running around the village in the Light World map- haven't spotted him (or Bunny Link) in the Dark World yet.

 

It's never been exactly clear what Agahnim is, actually, other than a connection to Ganon (which is obvious- his name is a dead giveaway much like Sauruman's is in Lord of the Rings). He's like a Shade, but is called an alter-ego. But he is also clearly a separate entity from Ganon (otherwise Ganon leaving the Dark World wouldn't be a big deal if he had already gotten out). But when you defeat him the second time in Ganon's tower, Ganon's spirit rises up out from him and turns into the bat before assuming his full physical form in the Pyramid of Power.

So he could just be a manifestation of Ganon's magic, or a fleshy suit being worn by Ganon's projected spirit, or something else.

So, it's...a muddy topic.

Although, to connect things to my earlier comments, the dark wizard that aides the Prince in interrogating Zelda during the AOL backstory (the one who casts the sleeping spell on that Zelda- an act that destroys him) struck me as a potential precursor to the Agahnim concept. Even though there are no explicit connections to Ganon made in the story, one can't help but think that the wizard might be another Shade of Ganon between his defeat in ALTTP/LA and his assault on Hyrule in LOZ- certainly trying to either acquire the full Triforce or prevent someone other than himself from obtaining it would fit with his M.O. And the fact that he attacked a Triforce-connected Zelda with his magic would plausibly explain why that Shade's existence was ended by that act.

 

Interesting. Though that still doesn't address the spirit thing. As I understand it, bunshins are usually used as shadow clones of someone- the originator doesn't usually emanate from the clone.

 

Game Awards debuted a new trailer:



We get a look at some villages, a good look at those airships glimpsed on the horizon at E3, as well as Zelda (as well as possibly Linkle?) and the devastation rained upon Hyrule (are those ruins Castle Town?). And was that an enemy riding a Loftwing? Or an actual avian enemy?

If it's an avian enemy, that moment reminds me of...





A segment later in the awardsshowed Bill & Nate playing through a Shrine Quest at the Treehouse. It highlights different strategies for going after the shrine, as well as chameleon enemies and an intelligent miniboss that knows to avoid bombs thrown towards it. We also get to see a recurring minstrel character.

 

I almost wonder if that's supposed to be a Rito. But yes, mad Falco vibes regardless.

And hm, who could that be next to Link at the end? Hands looked a bit too manly for it to be Zelda. King, perhaps? Plus, that's probably Zelda at the 50-sec mark.

 

I think it's certainly Zelda at the end. It almost implies a Triforce mark at that moment with the focus on the hand and the magical aspects/sounds. And it looks like a dress being worn there.

The earlier female could be her too in different clothing. It looks like what Link wears so either they're the same, she hands it over to him or it's a different character (Linkle) doing either of the above.

 

I don't think Zelda actually created the dungeons- she just used them to hide the pieces. However, the dungeon bosses were put there by her to guard the Triforce pieces (the other monsters are presumably Ganon's, searching for the pieces).

The Palaces of Zelda II may be linked the "backstory" dynasty, since the King hid the Triforce of Courage in the Great Palace and had the great barrier erected around it by leveraging the other Palaces.

But it's unclear if they were built during that era for that specific purpose or were already ancient and just repurposed to power the barrier. After all, with a few exceptions, every era of Hyrule riddles the landscape with new, yet ancient, dungeons/temples/palaces, etc. Very few are used consistently.

 

If I'm reading that, the game is expected to be ready for the Switch launch in NA & JP but the EU launch might be delayed due the more extensive localization required. Is that typical for EU releases?


We were discussing the Z1/Z2 backstory before. I've been working on a Z2 book to pair with the Z1 one I illustrated as a gift last year (sadly couldn't finish it in time for the actual holiday this go-around. Turns out Zelda II has a crap load of monsters. I simply couldn't illustrate them all in time.).

Anyways, in my research for adapting the story from the manual and related sources, there was a very interesting, yet significant, detail I noticed this go around.

First, earlier in the story we have the Triforce symbol appearing on the back onf Link's hand...



She clearly recognizes what it is and takes Link to the sleeping Zelda and tells him the story of how she came to be cursed. Afterwards there's this part of the story (starting with the "From the stand next to the alter..." line.




What does that information add up to? The crest appears on the hand of someone worthy of wielding the Triforce. The clues to finding the third Triforce can only be found in a scroll that can only be read by someone with such a mark. And that scroll (and the accompanying crystals needed to complete the task of recovering that third Triforce) are only meant for the time of a great King.

After Z2 is beaten, Link becomes King as he was destined to become.

How was this never expanded on/talked about more?