Gaming Zelda Fans Come Hither...

Wow, that's interesting! I think it's good that Nintendo changed their box art for games like they did. Still cool.

 

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity demo

I am very sceptical that this game went through a proper development process because it is a mess. The opening tutorial keeps doing these dumb, complicated controls when all you want to do is deck everything in sight.

It continues this with strong (boss) enemies that require lock-on and is still bombarding you with unwanted tutorials. The boss enemies have this weak point system that wears out its welcome very, very fast.

The entire time you're also fighting a hard to navigate map and a camera so jittery it must be mainlining every energy drink in existence.

Despite all that you'll do battle 1 and progress to battle 2, where it falls apart. It starts OK then has a Guardian ambush happen. You're told to protect Zelda and avoid fighting it, but Zelda? Runs right at the thing you're not supposed to fight!

Then, when you get past that rubbish, you have to activate two other Guardians. The map showing where they are is rubbish and you have a death ray while you try to find your way. Oh and the death ray shoots through solid rock!

At that point I knew there was no point continuing to play it. If you can manage the controls, camera, suicidal AI, maybe you'll enjoy it.

 

Nintendo has always had really strong design aesthetics for packaging.

 

Late for Ocarinas anniversary!!! Happy anniversary to the very best of the games imo.

 

I need to get back to making my way through this series. There were a couple years there where I kept a pretty good pace of playing one 2D and one 3D Zelda per year, but I’ve fallen off. So far, I’ve got them ranked:

1. Breath of the Wild
2. A Link to the Past
3. Wind Waker
4. Link’s Awakening
5. Ocarina of Time

I’d like to play A Link Between Worlds before Tears of the Kingdom comes out next year. Skyward Sword also sounds weirdly appealing to me given the complaints that it’s too hand holdy. I think Zelda games are too obtuse, so one that’s a little better at explanation and direction sounds just fine to me.

 

How does the Skyward Sword HD remaster work with the new controls? The original didn't appeal but more traditional controls could be good for it.

 

I haven’t looked too much into it, but from what I understand, there are button controls, but the right analog stick controls your sword slashes and you have to hold down L to use it to rotate the camera. Which sounds a little cumbersome.

 

Ugh, that does not sound good at all but thanks for the tip off.

 

I played through the game with the motion control option. It took some getting used to but was quite satisfying by the end.

I found the controller too hard too imprecise to control in comparison.

 

Neither option sounds particularly good for me. Certainly nowhere near being worth gambling £33 on.

 

A Link Between Worlds is off to a fantastic start. I’ve gotten two of the three pendants needed to head to the Master Sword and am feeling as good about a Zelda game as I have since playing Breath of the Wild in 2017.

I understand that Zelda games are known for rewarding exploration, but this one is certainly capitalizing on that concept better than any pre-BOTW title I’ve played before. I happened to wander upon a cabin where a character gave me the power gloves I needed to lift rocks, and when I proceeded to exit his cabin and chuck every rock in the area, a small scene showed him coming out of his house, thanking me for taking care of the rocks for him, and rewarding me with 50 rupees. My penchant for throwing every rock and chopping every blade of grass in sight paid off, and it was extremely satisfying.

I also love that you can rent every tool you’ll need early on. As soon as I made it to Ravio’s shop and rented them all with the generous stash of rupees at my disposal, I proceeded to happily backtrack through the map, hammering posts, bombing hollow walls, and hookshotting across gaps to reach previously inaccessible secrets, utilizing the pins I’d placed on the map before when I initially came across them. And fast travel! The quality of life improvements have been wonderful, and I anticipate it’s gonna be tough going back to older titles after this. A Link Between Worlds, while a sequel to A Link to the Past, feels like a top-down precursor to Breath of the Wild, and I am absolutely here for it.

 

A Link Between Worlds kept up its greatness throughout my playthrough. One of my favorite things about it was not having to consult a guide. I find older Zelda titles to be a little too obscure for my taste, at least of the ones I’ve played, but this one had a perfect balance of challenge in terms of the dungeons. In terms of combat, it was pretty easy. I never died once, and only needed a fairy to revive me a couple times. Hardly a bad thing, the game was overall pretty easy and I was glad for it. The story was pretty good as well with a touching ending. Sliding it in below Breath of the Wild as my second favorite in the series.

 

Apparently Nintendo is happy with the Mario movie and will allow Illumination to make a Zelda movie next. Take that with a grain of salt, though.

 

I hear there's already even a trailer lol

 

A Zelda movie could work, whether animated or live action. I think they need to draw inspiration from Katsuya Terada. (Who did the original instruction manuals and guide books)

The tone, colors, sense of mystery, scale, and even zaniness. The style of fantasy. (Mixed up with the updated universe of course) would set it a part and be really cool.

 

It was a criminally short trailer for a game coming out in just over three months and they're charging $70 for.