A Link Between Worlds Impressions (Part 2)

EDIT: I forgot to mention Hyrule Warriors. Yay... new spinoff. Dynasty Warriors/Zelda mashup. It looks alright. I'll probably get it, but I'm not as excited about it as most people.

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Phew.

Finals are over.

That was rough.

It's Christmas break, though, so I'm really relieved. I've been so lazy over the past few days, and as you can imagine that entails Zelda. Lots of Zelda. Specifically Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time Master Quest. This post is about A Link Between Worlds, though, and since my last post, I've completed Hero Mode. Gosh, I really love this game.

Really quickly, I need to talk about some Majora's Mask-related stuff, though. So bear with me.

First, my Majora's Mask Soundtrack arrived! Finally, my premium Club Nintendo status has paid off.

I've also been reading an awesome Majora's Mask fanfiction called Insomnia (you should check it out.) So, since my Majora's Mask soundtrack arrived just after I started reading this, I had an idea. I still can't decide if it's brilliant or very stupid.

Pretty much, while I'm reading, I play the song on repeat for the area the story is taking place in. Whenever it enters a new area, I switch to the corresponding song. I know, it seems is incrediby cheesy, but there's a song for literally everything in the game, and it's really immersive.

That, and a live-action short film for Majora's Mask entitled "Skull Kid: A Zelda Legend" recently came out. It's about 8 minutes, and it's a really, really awesome video that takes the perspective of Skull Kid. You should also check that out.

Anyway, now that that's over with, back to A Link Between Worlds.

Let's see, I already covered graphics, length, music...  Now I've got dungeons, characters, story, and bosses.

I'll start with the dungeons. These dungeons are AMAZING. The puzzles in them are so innovative, creative, and unique to any other Zelda game. They're truly masterpieces. One of my favorite puzzles was in the Swamp Palace, where you had to constantly redirect water flows to create multiple small streams and fill various chasms with water.

Here's a small screenshot of part of that puzzle.

Another notable thing is the entirety of Turtle Rock, which is pretty much just one big, epic puzzle/maze. There are two floors, and they're both huge pools of lava with tons of grating and balance-beam like structures, and you have to navigate its many smaller rooms on its perimeter. The dungeon itself is actually quite small, but it'll have you wandering around for quite some time.

The Tower of Hera also had a very vertical aspect to it, and it really required you to use your new ability of turning into a drawing on the wall. This whole game makes you think outside the box a lot.

And Thieves' Hideout is a fairly simple dungeon, but the way it's designed is, with a lack of any other words, awesome. You start out at the top of the hideout, which doubles as a jail of sorts, and work your way down. As you descend, you notice that there are a bunch of puzzles that can't be solved because you need two switches to be pushed, etc. When you reach the bottom, you find a Thief Girl who says, "Ohh, thank you very much! You saved my life. Please take me outside." Sound familiar? Nah, don't worry, she's not Blind. But the game really wants you to think that.

Lastly, the Ice Ruins. This is actually my favorite dungeon in the game, which is strange, because I hate ice dungeons. In A Link to the Past, I hated the Ice Palace. This is the exact opposite. This dungeon is so amazing. It takes place on Lorule's Death Mountain, which is frozen over, and throughout most of the dungeon's entirety, you can see that it's just hovering over a seemingly endless pit with the glow of lava at the bottom. Oh, and did I mention 3/4 of this dungeon is you walking on thin, slippery platforms above this chasm? Kind of unsettling, if you ask me, especially if you have the 3D effect on. 

What really amazes me is that the entire dungeon is rendered at once. There are SO many floors to this place, (6, if I remember correctly) and they're all rendered at the same time. With absolutely no drop in frame rate! It's so stunning to be on the 4th floor and be able to see the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st's intricate puzzles all below you, along with the pool of lava way far down. The atmosphere is just sooooo... cool... (no pun intended).

Alright, naturally, I'll follow the dungeons with the bosses. The majority of bosses in this game are rehashed from A Link to the Past. However, they're all fought in entirely new ways, which totally makes up for that.

Except one. One of these is almost an exact copy from A Link to the Past. He looks the same, he's fought the same, and the only difference is that he has one new attack. I believe he's called Arrghus? 

Bleh.

Aside from that, there are plenty of original bosses to go around. My favorites would be Gemesaur King, a spinoff of Helmasaur King; Zaganaga, an original boss; and Grinexx, a spinoff of Trinexx. And, of course, the final battle itself is awesome.

Next up, characters.

I don't really have much to say about characters in this game, but I'll talk about a few of the more memorable ones.

First, Ravio. I had mixed feelings about him, until I finished the game. If you've beaten it, you'll know what I'm talking about. This guy is AWESOME.

And then Hilda, who is also an awesome character. She's Zelda's Lorulian counterpart, if you didn't know, and I really like her personality. Dark and lonely, but with a hint of friendliness. That is, until *spoiler alert* she tries to kill you! *end spoilers* But she did it for her kingdom, guys, for her kingdom. So that makes it okay. Sort of.

Irene's kinda... sorta... memorable. I guess. I really like her personality. She's kind of sassy, but she also truly wants to help you, so she gives off mixed emotions. She's interesting, to say the least.

Yuga's a cool villain, too. Sort of a mix between Zant and Ghirahim, I'd say. I thought Yuga was a girl, until I found out he was aguY. 

Haha, that was funny, right?

Right?

No? That joke's been done thousands of times and it got old a month ago?

Okay...

Well, yeah, I guess that's all I have to say about characters.

Last up is the story. Now, A Link to the Past's story wasn't really much of a story at all. You start the game looking for Zelda, see your uncle die, find Zelda, take her somewhere safe. You must find the three pendants. Plot twist! Agahnim captures the sages including Zelda, and draws you into the Dark World. You have to free the sages and kill Agahnim/Ganon. Go.

Now, I've got to say, A Link Between Worlds' story isn't much better. The beginning is a bit more interesting, and you meet Zelda when she's safe, and you can read all about the events of A Link to the Past. Then, Yuga starts to capture sages, you've got to get the same pendants, grab the same Master Sword, plot twist: Yuga got Zelda, travel to Lorule, and free the seven sages. But this portion of the game is completely nonlinear, so you really can't give it a hard time story-wise. It's hard for a nonlinear game to have much of a story. 

Until the end.

The end of the game is by far my favorite ending in a Zelda game. Out of all of them. Ever.

I'm talking higher than Link's Awakening's, Twilight Princess's, and Skyward Sword's awesome endings.

You get through the last awesome dungeon, Lorule Castle. Did I mention it has amazing music?

You confront where you think Yuga is... but what's this?

Okay, I'm going to stop for a second. This part of the story was kind of predictable for me, but it wasn't for some people, so please, stop here if you don't want this to be spoiled. Just pick up on the other side, or something. I'll have another warning.

Hilda was actually using Link to get the Triforce of Courage, so she could have all 3 pieces. She explains to Link how Lorule's Triforce was destroyed, which caused Lorule to crumble. She needs Hyrule's Triforce for the sake of her kingdom.

In other words, she turns on you. She's with Yuga/Ganon, and she summons him to kill you, so she can get all 3 pieces.

But then, he turns on her. It's like a... double-double-team... or a double-team inception...

Anyway, once you beat him, Hilda won't give up, and she tries to take your Triforce again...

Now, please, please, please stop reading here if you haven't beaten the game. This was the biggest shock for me in probably any of the Zelda games, and it's a truly magical experience if you find this out on your own. *HUGE SPOILERS*

Ravio intervenes. And he is actually Link's Lorulian counterpart. This whole time.

When I saw this, I just freaked out. I couldn't believe it. This was such an awesome experience. It's absolutely amazing.

Then Hilda realizes she was wrong, and she sends Link and Zelda back to Hyrule, and then they wish for Lorule's Triforce to come back, and Hilda and Ravio are happy. This in its entirety is an amazing ending, but...

That huge shock just stunned me. There was absolutely no way to see it coming. It just did.

Tell me what you think of this ending in the comments! Hopefully I didn't spoil it for you.

*End spoilers*

And that sums up my thoughts on A Link Between Worlds. Overall, it ranks within my top 5 Zelda games, if not my top 3. My current favorites are Majora's Mask, Skyward Sword, and Ocarina of Time, though this might just beat out Ocarina of Time. We'll see. Regardless, it's a must-have for any 3DS owner, and even for any non-3DS owner. It's really worth it. 

Do you have the game? Did you enjoy it? Tell me in the comments, if anyone's reading this. I hope so. This took, like, almost 2 hours. XD

My Four Swords Adventures copy has finally shipped, and it should be here within the next few days. I'm going to go play it at my friend's house sometime over the break.

And Christmas is just a few days away! I asked for Wind Waker HD (finally), Super Mario 3D World, a new bike, and the ALBW official guidebook. I collect these, but I'm too poor to get the huge box set with all of them, so I get them individually. They're really fun to read, for some reason...

So Merry Christmas everyone! I'm going to try to get a post in on Christmas day so I can share my thoughts and first impressions of Wind Waker HD and whatnot, but we'll see.

If you're still reading all the way down here, I'd like to thank you for reading this massive wall of text I wrote. It means a lot. :)

Happy Holidays!

A Link Between Worlds Impressions

Edit: This is an extremely long post, so... yeah. Plan on being here for a while. XD

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Whoa.

This game is awesome. Seriously, if you have a 3DS/2DS, and you don't have it, get it. NOW. Or soon, at the very least. Maybe for Christmas? Yeah, sure.

So, as I said in my last post, I got the game on Friday when it came out, and I played it pretty much that entire day. The next day I went over to my friend's house and he got the honor of watching me in envy as I played the game for 6 hours straight. I did let him start his own file, but I wanted the game back before he got very far... whoops...

And then there was Sunday, and I played it pretty much all day then, too. On Monday I beat it. And it was awesome.

Quickly, before I delve into analyzing the game, I need to talk about a few things. First, Miiverse arrived on 3DS today (or was it yesterday?) and I've been having fun in the ALBW community. Right now I'm playing through Hero Mode, and I've already 100%'ed my first file. Secondly, I ordered the limited edition A Link Between Worlds posters off of Club Nintendo, and they arrived a few days ago. I don't really have much room on the walls in my room to put up all three, so I'll probably just hang one up at a time and see which I like best. They're really awesome, and I wish Nintendo had made more of them to give more people a chance at this cool reward. Annnnnyway... back to the topic.

Now, my single complaint with this game is that it's a bit too short. I finished the game within about 18 hours, and 100%'ed it within 20 hours. On a side note, this is actually the first Zelda game that I've 100%'ed on my first playthrough. Anyway, while 20 hours is relatively long compared to other handheld Zeldas, it's pretty short when compared to console games. Which totally isn't fair at all, because this is a handheld game. But still.

In case you need something to compare to, I 100%'ed A Link to the Past in 14.5 hours. So it's longer than that.

Other than that one complaint, the game is absolutely phenomenal.

So, if you're a 3DS owner, you're probably familiar with that annoying feeling you get in your eyes after you've been playing with the 3D on for a while. In A Link Between Worlds? Gone. I never once felt the urge to turn off the 3D effect. This probably has something to do with the game running at 60FPS. I played it probably about 95% of the time with the 3D on, and the only time I turned it off was when I was moving around, since you need to be looking at the 3DS perfectly straight-on, unless you want the screen to go all wacky. And yes, I'm pretty sure that was a run-on sentence.

What I'm trying to say here is that you just can't get the same experience out of the game on a 2DS. If you have the option, play with the 3D on, at least for part of the time. It really helps out in dungeons, too, because most of the dungeons are semi-vertical, and you can see multiple levels at once. Especially Tower of Hera.

The graphical style isn't my favorite, but it does grow on you after playing with it for a while. Everything in the game runs so smoothly. All of the animations are smooth, and the controls are extremely accurate. The first thing I thought when I gained control of Link was how precise and smooth the controls are. Again, this likely all amounts to the game running at 60 FPS.

Next up is the music. Ohhhhh, the music. It's absolutely stunning. I've found the game is best played with headphones, because the 3DS speakers really don't do some of these songs justice. A large portion of the songs were in A Link to the Past, but they are totally remixed this time around. Oh, and did I mention they're fully orchestrated. In a completely different way than Skyward Sword (no offense, Skyward Sword, but while I love you to death, your music wasn't very memorable. Aside from Ballad of the Goddess and Fi's Lament).

If you've seen the trailers, or better yet, if you've played the game, you've probably heard this song:

Lorule Castle Theme

I LOVE THIS SONG. SO MUCH. 

Especially when it starts to pick up at 1:03. But the entire thing's amazing.

You've probably heard that Ballad of the Goddess is actually Zelda's Lullaby in reverse, right?

Well, Nintendo's done it again. They've turned an already amazing piece of music into something debatably even better. If you haven't caught my drift yet, I'm saying the Lorule Castle Theme is the Hyrule Castle Theme (here) in reverse.

How do they even think of this? I honestly didn't know it was possible to come up with a song that sounds THAT good both forwards and backwards.

Here are a few more of my favorite songs, excluding Hyrule Castle/Lorule Castle themes:

Yuga's Battle (Eastern Temple)

Yuga's Acquisition Tour

Hilda's Theme

Death Mountain (Lorule)

This was my favorite song in ALttP, too.

There's so many songs to choose from... and they're all so good! Lastly, we have two versions of the same song. The Dark World Theme, remastered as...

Lorule Field!

And also, Lorule Field (Version 2)

What's awesome about these two songs is that not only are they great remixes of an amazing song, but that they really contrast each other. The first version plays throughout the majority of the game, but after picking up the *spoiler alert* Triforce of Courage *end spoilers*, it switches to the second song. While the first song was catchy and laid back, the second song is where it really starts to feel epic and heroic. It seems to say, "we've had our fun, but now this is serious" in preparation for the final fight. There I go, overanalyzing songs again... XD

I really can't decide which version I like better. I think I'm leaning toward the second one right now, but that could easily change again.

Now that we're through with the music, assuming you're still with me, I really don't have much else to talk about but the dungeons, bosses, story, characters, and the awesomeful amazingtastic epicly huge ending. Okay, I still have a lot to talk about.

I've been thinking about it, and I think I'll continue this in a second post. I've been working on this for almost two hours now, and you're probably getting bored of reading...

I'll continue this post hopefully soon... -ish. This is honestly the first night free I've had since Thanksgiving break ended, and I've got finals coming up next week...

Eh, I'll fit it in sometime. See you then! Bye. 

I... got... the game...

You better be thankful.

Why, you ask?

Because I'm taking the time to write this blog post instead of playing A Link Between Worlds.  I haven't even opened the box yet.

And I think it's going to kill me.

So, really quick, I'm gonna write a post.

Anyway, my coach forced me to go to swim practice after school, so I had that to suffer through.  Time didn't move for an hour.  It felt like a day, or something.

So, then we went to Gamestop, and I was trying to act relatively calm and normal, but when the guy handed me the game, my hand was literally shaking.

I should have brought my 3DS to school, because the car ride back from the store was excruciating.  The box was taunting me, because I couldn't play it.

So now I'm home, and I'm opening it...

What?

There's no manual...  Oh, it's a digital manual thing.  Weird.

Well, I'm out... I know what I'll be doing for the next week...

Oh!  I'm out on Thanksgiving break for a week.  :D

Are you going to get the game soon?  Tell me in the comments and stuff... anything else?

No.  Bye!

Oracle of Ages Review!

Okay.  Before I get started, I just want to clarify something: this isn't actually a "review".  I chose that for the title due to lack of a better word.  I'm pretty much just going to be giving my thoughts on the game, and what I liked and didn't like.

Oh, that's what a review is, huh?  Well... whatever.

Really quickly, just wanted to put this out there: there's an eshop sale on Zelda games going on this week.  LoZ, AoL, and LA are all reduced price on the 3DS and Wii U eshops (LA only on 3DS).  I got LoZ and AoL for Wii U, and LA on my 3DS.  And then I'm getting an Oracle of Seasons download code with my ALBW preorder, so I'll just be forced to buy Oracle of Ages.  Then, aside from Four Swords Adventures, I'll legally own all Zelda games!!!  :D

Anyway, to start off, I have to say I enjoyed Oracle of Ages a bit more than Oracle of Seasons.  I'll kind of talk about both of them here, but more so Oracle of Ages, partly because I enjoyed it more, and partly because it's fresher in my mind.  That's why I titled this post how I did... which is kind of self-explanatory... yeah.

This is also probably a bit biased, since I played Ages linked and Seasons regular, and that adds a bit more story, but whatever.  This is my blog.  :P

So, I just want to get this out there...

ZELDA KISSES LINK.

And I never knew?

Haha.  It's not really apparent what's going on at first.  You see Zelda get close to Link, then she kisses him on the cheek, then turns away and blushes and Link goes all trippy and wobbly and stuff.

"trippy and wobbly and stuff"...  Well, that sounded stupid.

Anyway, as for the rest of the game, I really enjoyed the story.

So, Veran (the villain) possesses Nayru (the oracle) and goes back in time.  Link follows them and they meet Queen Ambi, and Nayru advises Ambi.  Ambi *was* a nice queen, according to the people of the village, but since Nayru came, she's become cruel.  She was building a tower to look for her lover, who had apparently gotten lost at sea, or something.  Maybe he left her.  I can't really remember all of it.  Perhaps I procrastinated a bit too long in writing this post.

Favorite cutscene :O

Anyway, the villagers were working on this, but when Nayru came, Ambi is making them work nonstop, because possessed Nayru made an "endless day", so the workers can never rest.  Ambi's Tower is now called the Black Tower, and its purpose is to make Ambi go down in history as the greatest queen ever.  Or something.

And Link follows Veran into the past, and at some point in the game, he confronts her, beats Veran, and frees Nayru, but then Veran possesses Ambi herself.

As for all of you who've played the game, sorry for boring you with that extensive dialogue.  Assuming you're still reading.

The story kind of goes bland from there (until the end), but it's better than Oracle of Seasons' "Onox took Din and is messing up the seasons so go kill him.  But after collecting these eight essences of nature to make a tree happy so the tree will give you a seed that protects you from dark powers."  Or something.

Oh, and then Zelda makes a few appearances throughout the game (since it was linked), including a mini-dungeon where you had to save her from the half-built Black Tower.  Oh, and *spoilers* Twinrova from the ending of the previous game show up throughout the game to... taunt you.  That's about it.

Umm... so, yeah!  The dungeons were cool, and... oh, and Crescent Island.  You get all your items taken away, ala Skyward Sword's Song of the Hero quest.  Although I suppose this game came first... meh.  It was fun either way.

Oh!  Zora's Village was fun too.  Because it was underwater.  Which automatically makes it cool.  Because it had underwater glowy-lamps.  :)

Needless to say, I enjoyed Oracle of Seasons, too, but I remember this more clearly.  They're both good games.

One last thing I have to say, is I really love finding secrets in the linked game.  You'll find a secret cave with someone that says something along the lines of "Tell my friend so-and-so in Holodrum about so-and-so secret.  [Insert absurdly long string of random characters and shapes here]".  Then, you go to the other game, tell the person the secret, get an item and another secret, and use that second absurdly long string of random characters to take the item back to the other game.  My favorites were the Biggoron Sword and bombchus.

On an entirely different note, A Link Between Worlds is here in 4 days!!!  And I'm starting to really want Wind Waker HD, but I've decided to wait until Christmas.

That's all I have to say for now, but I'll make a post on ALBW release date.  I'm driving to the store right after school to get it.  And then I have a weeklong Thanksgiving break!

See you soon.

A Link Between Worlds and Other Stuff

Hey, look at the date...

Like a month after my last post...

Time flies.  Especially October.  I don't know why, and it's really weird, but I feel like October always goes by really fast.

Oh, and I've gotten a massive amount of pageviews for the past 4 days, for whatever reason.  Like, 90 a day.  Hrm.

Anyway, Oracle of Ages.  I beat that.

I have a lot to say on it, but I'll probably go into that in a later post.

So, right now, I'm cramming to finish my replay of Twilight Princess and my playthrough of A Link to the Past on GBA.

On Twilight Princess, I have to say, it's a lot better than I remembered.  Like, a lot better.  It still has its flaws, but it's really fun.  I started this replay of TP about a month ago, and after beating the Forest temple, it started to follow in the footsteps of my previous Wind Waker playthrough.

Let's just say, I wasn't going to finish it.  (Which is also why I really want WWHD to get back into Wind Waker, but I'll probably end up waiting until Christmas.  Ugh.)

But then my friend was all like "YOU need to finish it!  Because it's fun!"  And he practically force-fed it down my throat when he came over to my house.  And to be honest, I'm glad he did.  Because now I'm really into it, and I just finished snowboarding down Snowpeak (which, strangely, happens to be one of my favorite parts of the game).

So, remember how I played Four Swords with that same friend?  Well, I also started my first legal file of A Link to the Past on that same cartridge.  And I was playing both of these games at the same time as I was finishing Oracle of Ages, so... due to that, among many other things, I haven't posted in a while.

Haha, when video games are taking up that much of your time, then you're probably doing something wrong.  But I need to finish them, especially A Link to the Past, before ALBW comes out.

In 540 hours and 12 minutes (at the time of writing this, that is).

Yep.  I have the timer on my phone running, which probably speaks volumes in and of itself about how excited I am.  And maybe a little obsessed.  But that's beside the point.

So, speaking of ALBW, there's a bunch I read over at Zelda Informer, and I'll share the link, but I'm gonna cover most of it here anyway.

First, remember that weird item that no one knew what it was?

This one?

Well, it's actually a Sand Rod.  I'm not sure how it's going to be used, because in Spirit Tracks, you could elevate the sand where you touched on the screen, but... A Link Between Worlds is on the top screen.  So I'm thinking it'll be more along the lines of the fire and ice rods that are also making a return.

And then there's MaiMais, which you collect and give to 

Mother Maimai,

who will then upgrade your items.  Maimais are, from what I've gathered so far, similar to Gold Skulltulas, in that you can find them all over the Light and Dark worlds-- excuse me, Hyrule and *Lorule*. You can then trade them in for item upgrades.

Oh!  Wow!  It's been so long, I haven't even covered the latest trailer...

So, yeah, the Dark World is actually a separate world called Lorule....

And the female-looking antagonist (AKA Ghiradorf) is actually called Yuga... and a male.

And then you can see, at the end of the video, Hilda says, praying to Zelda, "Lorule was just like Hyrule.  So very beautiful.  So very... promising.  We have need of a hero - and your Link is superb."

"and your Link is superb."

"your Link"

"your Link"

Could this be a hint at a shadow Link appearance?  Or an alternate version of Link?  Meh, maybe Hilda's just talking weirdly.  

So, on to the super-new stuff from ZI...  (assuming the information's trustworthy)

Only Ravio items use the magic meter thing.  The bracelet on Link is Ravio's bracelet, and it grants Link his magic meter.  The first dungeon is the Eastern Palace, similar to ALttP, and it's in the original location.  The second and third dungeons can be completed in any order.  The "second" dungeon is a windmill-like structure located on Lake Hylia, and it's called the House of Gales.  The "third" is the Tower of Hera dungeon that we saw in the original reveal, and it's on Death Mountain again like in ALttP.  The House of Gales will require an item called the Tornado Rod (new item).

Umm.... what else....

Oh, Spectacle Rock on Death Mountain is now a volcano, and the game uses enemies for some barriers (as opposed to terrain).  And the Desert is closed off in Hyrule, but accessible in Lorule (opposite of ALttP).

So, yeah, check out the Link above for the rest.

Heh... Link... 

Anyway, I'm excessively exited for this game, but first I've got two other games to beat...

Well, see you soon with that Oracle of Ages post!  Oh, and I have regionals for cross country tomorrow on Halloween...  -_-

So happy Halloween, too!  Bye.

Wind Waker HD Release! (Physical)

Yay!  I kept my promise!

Now, I just need something to write about... but I have nothing....

Oh, wait.  I take that back.  I have lots to write about.

First, Wind Waker HD.  Physical release.  Today.  Yeah.

Sadly, I still don't have it, but I've heard it's really fun, so you should get it.  Yeah.

Second, I finally preordered A Link Between Worlds!  After seeing the newest Nintendo Direct, I'm pretty sure you'll want to, too.

Or maybe it's just me.  I don't know.  Anyway, watch this:

So, if you didn't gather this from the video, I'll explain it here.

Pretty much, the Item Shop works in the way that it lets you get any item you want, at any time (assuming you have enough rupees).  You can rent an item (or probably multiple, but I'm not sure) and use it for as long as you want.  However, if you die, this item will leave your inventory, and you'll have to re-rent it.  There will come a time later in the game when you can purchase each item, so you won't lose it when you die.

In other words, you can visit any dungeon in any order you want.

Now, this can either be a very good or a very bad thing, depending on whether you like that or not.  Personally, I think it's cool, but the other Zelda games I've played in which you can do that tend to not have much of a story, at least not in the sense that the story evolves as you're playing the game and progressing through the various dungeons (i.e. Skyward Sword).  But we'll see what they can do with this.  It could turn out really well.

On another note, 3D CUTSCENES.  All of my YES.  It has 3D cutscenes.

I don't know why (probably just because I'm weird), but I REALLY love it when a 2D game has 3D cutscenes.  It just seems to add so much immersion to the world, being able to view it from multiple perspectives.  It's also an aspect that sadly hasn't been used in many 2D games.

The only times I can recall it being used is in Link's Awakening some, and then a very small amount in Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.  (Maybe Four Swords Adventures, haven't played that yet.)  If you haven't played these, all it is is that some cutscenes are in non-top-down perspective views, and even with 8-bit graphics this looks really cool in a top-down game.

Link and Marin on the beach in Link's Awakening DX.

See how cool that looks?  Maybe it's just me, but I really love scenes like that.

What I was really upset about is that A Link to the Past didn't do this.  If they can do that with the Gameboy's limitations, I can only imagine how stuff like that would look on the Super Nintendo.  In A Link to the Past.  That would have been SO AMAZING.

So, anyway, my point is that I'm really happy they're doing this.  It's pretty awesome in my opinion.

Oh, and Zelda looks cute.  In a cute way, not a romantic way.  Like a kitten.  In my opinion. Whatever.

And then.... OH!!!!

Hilda.

Dark Zelda.  

Whatever you want to call her.  At 3:07.  That's both really cool and extremely confusing at the same time.  Like, how can there be a Dark Zelda?  Dark Link, sure.  But Zelda?  That, and she doesn't look all that evil.  And she's talking to Link nicely, unless that's sarcasm.  I can't really tell out of context.

So yeah... that's a thing.

And then there was a little (okay, a lot) of official artwork released.  I'll post my favorites/the important ones here, but you can click here for all of it.

Yup, Ganon's back.  Somehow.

And Link's stabbing Ganon with the Master Sword, both of which are supposed to be sleeping/dead.  Somehow.

And Link's using his little pinwheel/whirlwind/whatever item that lets him float as shown in the video.

And then there's Ghira-dorf!  Or female Ganondorf... Or maybe a weird new male evil person...

Oh, and he/she has the upside-down Triforce on his/her chest.  I didn't notice that before.

So yeah!  A Link Between Worlds releases on November 22nd, which happens to be the same day as Super Mario 3D World releases, the second Hunger Games movie Catching Fire comes out (yeah, I'm into that), and the XBox One releases (yeah, I'm not into that).  Lotta things in one day.  Oh, and it's my friend's birthday to top it all off.  Fun.

Speaking of Super Mario 3D World, it looks REALLY cool in that Nintendo Direct, but since this is a Zelda blog, I'll just post a link.  But seriously, you should check it out.  It looks really fun.  If you're in to Mario.

Even if you're not, you should still check it out for the sake of being a gamer.  I honestly think it looks really good.

That's all for now... Have fun with your copies of Wind Waker HD, if you've gotten them!  I'll hopefully get it very, very soon, once I've finished saving up.  It looks like a great remake.

See you all next time!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT:  I just realized this post's title was identical to last post's, so I changed it to a much stranger looking title that looks a little weird.  Well, at least it's not the same as the last one.  Bye!

Wind Waker HD Release!

So...

How about that "post on weekends" thing, huh?

XD

I'm really sorry.  I've been extremely busy, and you're probably getting used to hearing that now, and that's a good thing.  Because I'm usually pretty busy.

Seriously, I just got back from my school's homecoming football game that I went to after running in a cross country meet, and I'm leaving for dinner with some of my friends/date before the homecoming dance tonight, which just so happens to last a full 3 hours.  And I'm already pretty exhausted.

That aside, the Wind Waker HD was released in North America yesterday!  For the eshop, that is.  Oh, and the Wind Waker HD/Wii U bundle.

I'm going to wait for the physical copy on October 4th.  I haven't preordered yet because I'm still trying to decide between the regular version for $50 and the Ganondorf figurine bundle for $60.  Oh, wait, that's sold out.... *scowls*

As a matter of fact, I might not even get WWHD on release, because I'm focusing on saving up for A Link Between Worlds right now, since I blew all my money on Kid Icarus, Mario Kart 7, and Mario and Luigi: Dream Team some time back.  I'll just wait and see when I get WWHD.

However, I looked on Miiverse, and there are some really funny "selfies" with Link and other characters.  And the graphics look awesome, even more so when I view them over Miiverse on my HD TV.  I really can't wait to get it.

And I beat Oracle of Seasons!  It was a really fun game, with an even more fun final boss (the 2nd phase, specifically).  It's epic in general, but even more awesome when you realize that they did all of that with just a 2D 8-bit game.

So now I'm working on the linked version of Oracle of Ages, which is also really fun.

And... I've got to go.  Right now.

Sorry, I had more planned...

Well, I promise I'll post again before (or maybe on) October 4th, when WWHD physically releases. That's a promise.

See you soon... bye!

A Link Between Worlds Box Art!!!! And school.....

Hi everybody!

I'm about to get into my thoughts on the ALBW box art, but first, yes, I do realize I've been gone for 23 days now.  But school has been really, really crazy, and I just haven't had much time recently. Between homework, debate team, band, working on my Eagle Scout project (yes, I'm a boy scout), cross country, and working at my new job, it's just been really crazy.  I'll definitely be more active, but it may come to the point where I can only post on weekends.  Sorry about that.

Now, onto more pleasant topics!

So, recently the box art for ALBW was released, and I just have to say, it looks stunning.  Absolutely amazing.

Typically, I'm kind of skeptical about the all-gold (or mostly gold) covers, but personally, I think this one looks great.

Oh, and see that Nintendo Network sign up in the top right?  That means it will have some kind of online feature!  I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's something more than a Miiverse-like feature, although even that would be kind of cool.

And now the official release date for North America is here: November 22nd!  That's less than three months away!  I really can't wait for this.

Oh, and Wind Waker HD will be here on September 20th!  The eShop version, that is.  The physical copies release on October 4th.  There's the regular version for $50, and there's also one that comes with an exclusive Ganondorf figurine, for $60.  Personally, I think I'll wait until I can get the Ganondorf figurine.  Plus, I prefer physical copies anyway.

And that's not all... they've also announced...

The Wind Waker HD/Wii U Bundle!!!!!

I really want that Gamepad.  Really,  REALLY badly.

So it comes with the EPIC looking Gamepad, the 32GB Wii U, a downloadable WW HD (though I do prefer the physical copy), and a downloadable copy of Hyrule Historia.

Now, I'm not really too sure about that last thing.  I mean, Hyrule Historia... downloadable?  On a screen?  I definitely much prefer the actual book itself in my hands.  I don't really know why, I'm just that way.

And that's not the only new console-related news...  Nintendo also announced...

THE 2DS!!!

Wait.... what?

Let me guess what you're thinking: (assuming you've never seen this before, which you probably have...) the design is horrendous!

I have to agree with that one, although I see why Nintendo made it this way.

The only reason Nintendo made this (as far as I know, anyway) is because it's intended for younger kids.  As we know, the 3D effects of the 3DS are discouraged for children under 7 years old, because it damages their eye growth or some other shenanigans.  Also, the hinged screen (apparently) breaks much more easily than this... block, even though I've never had that happen.  Which makes it more suitable for children.

Pretty much, this is supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the 3DS meant for younger children.

Oh, and apparently the speakers... oh, wait, I mean speaker... is mono (which is kind of self-explanatory, assuming you noticed it had only one speaker) instead of stereo.  No more hearing sounds from different directions... :(

That, along with the fact that the "two screens" are actually just one big touch screen separated by the outer casing, shows how much Nintendo is going for cheap-ness.  And I mean cheap as in price-cheap, not cheap as in... bad-quality cheap.  But the top screen is covered with a layer of glass (or something) to prevent it from actually being used as a touch screen, which I think is sad...  But I'm also glad that it's not, because then I'd really want one and I'd probably end up buying one (assuming they made 2-touch-screen games).

Anyway.

Erm....

Oh, Four Swords.  I beat it.  With my friend, whatever his name is.  You know what, I keep forgetting his fake name I made, so I'll just call him by his real name.  Grant.  There, whatever.  It's not like he's reading this or anything....

...

I think...

That aside, it was a really fun game, though really short.  But I kind of expected it to be, so it didn't really let me down.  

And Oracle of Seasons, I just got to the Ancient Ruins, if you know where that is.

I really can't wait for A Link Between Worlds...

Bye!

Zelda Dungeon Marathon; Nintendo Direct!

Whoa!  This is my 50th post!  Yay....  I would have done something special if I had known in advance, but I didn't...

So, anyway, I've been watching the Zelda Dungeon Marathon, if you can't tell by the title.  They're playing EVERY Zelda game (even the CD-i ones), so it's a pretty big deal.  At the time of posting this they've beaten Phantom Hourglass and they just started Link's Awakening.  You can check it out here.

And we also had a Nintendo Direct today, that revealed much more information on Zelda than I expected.  First, I just want to show this video on A Link Between Worlds that was included in the Nintendo Direct.  Sorry I couldn't post the actual video, but I couldn't find the video on Youtube using Blogger's search thing.  I wish there was a way to post videos from a URL.

Anyway, at the beginning, Iwata talks about the "shadowy" Triforce in the A Link Between Worlds logo:

He says it "suggests the existence of another Triforce in a different world from where Link lives".  I think that sounds pretty awesome.  It would be a pretty cool story element to have some kind of Anti-Triforce in the Dark World, in my opinion.

Also, I have to say, my main concern for this game was that it would be kind of lame to play the game in the same world as A Link to the Past, since many people have already played that game and it would kind of take away from any possible exploration for those fans.  Well, I'm now reassured, because the video mentions that the Dark World will be entirely new, whereas the Light World will be the same.  I can settle for one world being new.

And to me, the Dark World looks AMAZING in this game.  The atmosphere is what really gets me, as it's a look I feel that they couldn't quite achieve with the Super Nintendo's hardware.

Oh, and those little drop-offs at the edge of parts of the map:

Imagine how cool that will look in 3D.  That picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it looks really cool in the video.

And the Pegasus Boots are back!  Finally!  I've always wondered what they would look like in a dop-down 3D game like PH/ST, and here we have them.  I'm excited for these to return.  I just love how Link skids a little when he's done running...  XD

And lastly, the transition between the Light and Dark Worlds looks cool... but kind of... I don't know... trippy, I guess?

Still cool, but kind of weird.

And last, I want to talk about The Wind Waker HD.  Specifically, the Triforce Chart Quest.  If you've played Wind Waker, you know that toward the end of the game there's a quest where you have to collect 8 Triforce Charts, or maps, and then get them "deciphered" by Tingle, and use them to find the specific locations in the sea where you need to get chests from the bottom of the ocean containing the Triforce Shards.

Now, it looks like this has been changed in WWHD.  Look at this picture:

Link is holding up a Triforce Shard, but he's on land.  Specifically, on land in the exact same place where you get one of the Triforce Chart.

So, if the video containing that picture in the Nintendo Direct is anything to go by, then it looks like Nintendo's skipping the entire section of getting the maps and just giving you the shards where you would have gotten the maps before.  I found that quest annoying, but games tend to have their share of annoying parts, so I'm not too sure about them changing this part of the game.

Well, at least it will be nice not to have to gather up all those dang rupees to pay Tingle to decipher my maps.

Well, that's all I wanted to post about today, so I'll see you later.  Bye!

Majora's Mask Glitches!

Hi.  Now, some of you may be wondering how I'm posting this if I'm at camp.  Well, I came home early, because I acquired Streptococcal Pharyngitis.  That's strep throat.  I just taught you a new term that you probably didn't know.  And if you did, then no offense, but that's a little weird.  Unless you're a doctor or something.  Then it's, you know, pretty normal.

Anyway, I'm on antibiotics now, so hopefully I'll be better soon.  And I did have time to post last Saturday when I got back from my other camp, but there wasn't really anything to say, so I just left it at that.

Due to the title, you're probably assuming that I have been doing some glitching around in Majora's Mask.  Well, that assumption would be correct.

I recently went back to my first file and finally completed the Anju and Kafei quest to get the last masks (Before I would ALWAYS mess it up in the stupidest ways, and then I'd have to start over), and then I went on to get the Fierce Deity Mask and beat the game again.

Now, you're probably thinking that it's kind of sad that I just now finally completed this, but I can explain.

So, if you've done the quest, you know that there are many events that happen at certain times, and you MUST be there for these events, or else you mess it up and have to start over.  The thing I missed the most often was probably the time when Kafei comes out of his hideout to get the letter, and you have to creep in within that short 30 second time period.  Luckily, this is pretty early on in the quest, so it's not that bad if you have to start over.

Other times I'd make it all the way to Sakon the thief's lair, and at 6:00 PM, when he's running up to open the door, RIGHT before he reaches it, he'll see me and say "I'm not doing anything suspicious!  Really!" (or something like that), and then run away.  This is SO annoying, and it's really near the end of the quest, so you have to start over.

And by far the most annoying, obnoxious, and downright stupid mistake is the one I'd make the most often:

Sakon would open the door to his hideout, and Kafei would run inside.  After it finishes playing this short cutscene, there is a short moment where the camera goes all weird before going back to Link, but in that time, you still have control of Link.  The rock that you hide behind with Kafei to wait for Sakon is near to the dropoff with the river below, so in that period where the camera isn't quite at Link, I'd accidentally jump off the dropoff and into the water below.  The only way back up to the cliff is to exit the area by swimming far upriver, climbing out of the water, running back, and re-entering the area. Unfortunately for me, exiting the area causes the rock door to shut again, thus rendering the quest unable to be completed and making me start ALL.  OVER.  AGAIN.

But I finally did it, and I was really happy when I did.  :D

So, after that long story that hopefully didn't put you to sleep, here's a few videos of some of the glitches I attempted in Majora's Mask.  I was too lazy to actually record from my TV, so I just recorded the TV screen with my MacBook sitting on a chair.  :P  So I apologize for the bad lighting/angle, and for the stupid camera reversing the image.  I've never understood why Apple makes their computers' cameras do that.  It's like looking into a mirror.  So everything you see on the screen will be backwards, and Link will be right handed, and the meter on the bottom that measures time will appear to go backwards.

So... the first glitch I did involves Link becoming Zora Link in the Southern Swamp but not being able to move, and then getting constantly eaten, spit out, and re-eaten by a Big Octorok until he dies.  I also apologize in advance for any background noise in this first video.  There's not as much in the other two.

Yeah.... I don't know why that happens.  Heck, I don't even know what is happening half of the time in this.  Most of the video was just me experimenting.  I got the idea by reading about a glitch that lets you leave that area of the Swamp without the other area loading, and re-entering it on the other side for everything to be duplicated.  I tried that, but I realized that the water was still poisoned, so I decided to turn back, and... that happened.  XD  (I then cleared the water, but I still couldn't get it to work.)

Next, I decided to try the glitch that lets you use the Fierce Deity Mask outside of boss battles.  (Zelda Dungeon, please forgive me for using a link to Zelda Wiki.)  After succeeding, I just fooled around in Clock Town and tried some other things that I'd read about.  Oh, and the Clock Town guards won't let you out, so I experimented with other ways to get out.

And lastly, I did some more in Clock Town.  This time, it's a glitch that lets Link fall through the ground of Clock Town, and fall endlessly until he touches the bottom of the map.  Sadly, due to the reduced video quality because of uploading this video straight to Blogger and not through Youtube, you can't see it, but in the original, at 0:56-0:57 you could see Link way down below the ground, falling.

And then we have this picture I took of Link, floating in midair, with the Giant's Mask on.  (Another glitch).

It's really weird.  Since he can't become giant outside of that one boss battle, the blue "transformation light" just stays there around his head.  And his face looks like he's screaming (you can see it under the mask at the right angle).  Weird.

And that's all I did with Majora's Mask.  I can't seem to do the Fourth Day glitch.  What you've got to do is look into the telescope when the moon's about to crash, and exit the telescope within the last 5 seconds of in-game time (that's about a fifth of a real second, with the in-game time slowed down).  I gave up after several tries.  Maybe I'll come back and do it again sometime, though.

Other than that, my copy of A Link to the Past and Four Swords arrived, and so did my GBA link cable, so I'm really looking forward to playing that with my friend.  What was I calling him again?  The one I mention most often... oh, yeah!  Luke.  With Luke.  Once I'm feeling better.

I'm also going over to Luke's house with Jackson to play Four Swords Adventures next week.

And now I've got to get back to summer reading...  I really wish they assigned good books for summer reading.  I enjoy reading, but not when they're some ancient "classic literature" books that are really boring.

Anyway, see you later!

Off to Camp

Hey, everyone... um... I'm leaving tomorrow.

And sadly, I didn't get to play Four Swords Adventures, because something came up.  But it's rescheduled for 2 weeks from now, so hopefully that'll work out!

And... not much more to say...

I'll be back in 2 weeks, but maybe I'll get in a short post after 1 week.

Wow, this is a short post.  All I really wanted to say was that I didn't get to play FSA, and goodbye, so...  :P

Bye!

E3 Reactions - Super Smash Bros. 4

Hey everyone, I'm back!

And I'll be covering my thoughts on Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U.

My first impression is that this game looks great.  New characters, new stages, HD, and more.

But it's coming to two platforms.  Cool, right?  I'll probably only get one version.

But, wait... there are different stages for each version..... hrm.... that means either way I'll be missing out...  Unless I get both...

Gerudo Valley.  I WANT THIS.

But... I want this too...

Yeah.  If you haven't guessed already, that's my main only gripe with the game.  I don't want to have to buy both, but I'll be missing out if I don't.

I wish they'd include all stages in both versions, but... meh.  Oh well.  I guess I'll just get both.

Now we have the new characters.  The Villager, Megaman, and...

Yeah.  The Wii Fit Trainer.

Of ALL characters they could have chosen, I think this is by far the most hilarious.  Oh, wow.  I mean, just look at this:

*gulp*

I haven't played Brawl in a while.  I'll need to practice some more, because I heard the online in SSB4 is going to be much better than Brawl's.

Alright, that's about all I can think of for today...

Oh!  I thought I'd give you all some advanced notice this time... I'm gone to camp for two weeks in a row, starting next week.  Sorry!  Hopefully I can get a (short) post in during the 12 hours between camps.  But then I'll be back for two weeks, and then school starts again.  And I've got a HECK of a lot of summer reading to catch up on.  I've been spending way too much time on Miiverse/Majora's Mask/Oracle of Seasons/at friends' houses.

Oh, and speaking of friend's houses, this Thursday/Friday I'm going to my friend's house (the one I've talked about before) to play Four Swords Adventures with him, me, my OTHER friend who I haven't talked about before, and my original friend's cousin.  You know what?  I really need to give them names.  I don't want to use their real names... hrmmm....

Alright.  The OoT racing/Four Swords Adventures at his house friend will be called... um...  Luke?  Yeah, I guess.  I'll call him Luke.  And I even don't know Luke's cousin's real name, soo... I'll leave him out for now.  And the friend who I haven't talked about will be called... Jackson.  Alright, those are my friends from now on.  XD

As I was saying, Jackson owns a copy of Four Swords Adventures, so we're each bringing our GBAs to Luke's house so we can play Four Swords Adventures on Luke's Gamecube.  Whew.

Long story short, I'll finally get a chance to play it!  That being said, we probably won't finish it, since it's a pretty long game, so I'm actually thinking of buying a copy myself.  Somewhere in the future.  Along with Four Swords for the GBA, since it's (sadly) not available on the 3DS eshop anymore.

And that's all for now.  Until next time, Linkfan.

I'm Sorry!!!

Ack!

Alright, long story short:  Whenever I try to export the video, the software crashes.  Every.  Time.  D:

It's all done and everything, but until I can get this sorted out, I guess I'll have to put the video on hold.  I wish I could share it with you all, but it's stuck in the stupid application on my computer until I can successfully export it!  I'll keep trying, and I'll try to find a solution somewhere.

The last day or so, I've been watching Zeldathon on and off here.  This time they're playing Zelda for 5 days straight to raise money for the National Foundation of Transplants.  Sadly, I'll miss the end, but so far they've played AoL, OoT, OoT MQ, FSA, and they're starting MM.  So check that out if you want.

Oh, and some other unexpected (for you) news:  I'm leaving tomorrow for a week.  For another camp.  I should have told you earlier, but I kind of forgot to... sorry... heh...

Um... yeah.  I was gonna do the SSB4 reaction post today, but I have to go finish packing.  I'm really sorry!  You'll just have to wait a week.  I'll be back late Saturday, so I'll post then or Sunday.  So... see you all in a week!  Hopefully then I can get this dumb video to upload.  Bye.  :/

E3 Reactions - The Wind Waker HD

Sooo...

In the next few posts I'm going to go over what we saw at E3, what I liked, why I liked it, what I didn't like, why I didn't like it, and so on.

Here we have the Wind Waker.

Alright.  I am very excited for this remake.  Very.

That being said, it wouldn't have been my top choice of a remake, if I had the choice.  Which I should.  Nintendo, I should have the choice.

Anyway.

Which Zelda game would I have preferred, you ask?

Majora's Mask.  Majora's Mask 3D, to be exact.  Let's be honest, while Wind Waker looks great in HD, the original game still looks great.  In my opinion, at least.  They haven't aged a bit.  Majora's Mask, on the other hand...

It's not too bad, but it's like Ocarina of Time.  It could use an update.

And I'd rather have MM 3D than HD, because, well...

Here's what'll happen:

The OoT fans will be all mad that the MM fans got an HD remake with a brand new console and they only got a handheld release, so they'll start "Operation Time Travel" or something.  Then if they get that, the MM fans will be all sad that they only got one remake, whereas OoT got two, so they'll wanna be on 3DS too.  Now, given that it would probably stop after the MM release, as Nintendo (hopefully) wouldn't remake the same game within 2 years of each release for two separate consoles.

Plus, it'd be more convenient for MM, because if you've played, you know the saving system is a little... inconvenient.  So instead of having to find an owl statue or play the Song of Time and lose your items to save and stop playing, you could just close the 3DS.  Simple.

Again, that's just my preference, so tell me what you would want.

Nevertheless, I'm still REALLY super-duper excited for WW HD, and I can't wait until it comes out.  

And then there's this...

I REALLY wish they'd included the Tingle Tuner!  I mean, the Tingle Bottle's cool and all, but it's just not the same...  I never had the connector to connect the GBA to the GC, so I couldn't ever use it.  D:

Oh, and aren't there also some figurines that you can't get without the Tingle Tuner? I think there were...  I guess they'll just have to change those around.

All that being said, the Tingle Bottle still looks like an interesting feature, and I'll be interested to see how it's implemented further into the game.

Some of you probably also heard that they're adding a new feature to speed up sailing, since so many people complained about the slow sailing in the original WW.  I never had a problem with it, so I don't really care.  Still it might be useful.

On a side note, whenever I got bored when I was sailing all the way to the other side of the ocean, I'd just turn up the TV volume, close my eyes, and listen to the music.  I've always loved the Great Sea Theme.

And... I'm probably forgetting something, but at the time that's all I can remember that's different.

Something that I wish they'd include is the cut dungeons from the original game, but they've explained a reason why they didn't, and I guess it's valid.

What's that reason?  Um... I don't really remember... XD  I just remember thinking that it made sense, even though I was mildly disappointed.

Tell me what you all think about the Wind Waker HD!  Are you excited?  I know I am!  Is there another remake you'd rather see, or just an original game altogether?  

That's all for now, and I'll be back really soon (Like, tomorrow soon.  Yeah, that soon.  :O ) to tell my thoughts on A Link Between Worlds!  

Bye.  

I've Got a Lot To Do.

First of all, yes, I know I said I'd post last week, but I was recently in Colorado for a funeral.  So now I'm back home, and I'm posting now.

Alright.  So, I promised to give my feedback on the Nintendo E3 announcements.  Sadly, that'll have to wait, as I don't have much time right now.

Aaaaaannnnnddddd... I also promised a very long time back that I'd show you the Zelda video.  Well, I sort of forgot.  No... I was just feeling too lazy to keep working on it at the time.  You see, it was coming along nicely, and then, for whatever reason, the software glitched out and it mixed up all the (100s of) clips.  So I had to somehow put them back in order.  And... I didn't feel like doing that, as it's a pain and a half, so I kind of stopped.  But don't worry, I'm working on it now, and I'll have it up as soon as possible I can get these stupid clips sorted out.

Annnnnndddddddddddddddddddddd... I also mentioned the race I would be doing against my friend in Ocarina of Time.

Gladly, I will be able to talk about this in this post.

So... let me first mention that he's been playing Ocarina of Time since he was about 5, and I started playing in late 2011.  So he's more experienced.  Fortunately for me, I also have a much better memory, so I can memorize all the details of the temples and sidequests.

Alright.  So, first I'll explain the rules.  Or, rather, the point system we're using.

We've broken down the game into sections.  Each main section will be worth 5 points.  Whoever finishes that section first gets the 5 points.  Although, there are 4 minor (sidequest) sections, which are worth 3 points each.

We've made all heart pieces and gold skulltulas optional, though you get one point for every 4 heart pieces (full heart containers) you collect, and one point for every 10 gold skulltulas.

Here are the sections that we've created:

1) Start of game - End of Deku Tree
2) End of Deku Tree - End of Dodongo's Cavern
3) End of Dodongo's Cavern - End of Lord Jabu-Jabu
     a) Minor section (3 points): All of mask sidequest - becoming an adult
4) Become an adult - End Forest Temple
5) End Forest Temple - End Fire Temple
6) End Fire Temple - End Ice Cavern & Unfreezing King Zora
7) End King Zora - End Water Temple
     b) Minor section (3 points): Biggoron's Sword sidquest
8) End Water Temple - End The Well
9) End The Well - End Shadow Temple
10) End Shadow Temple - End Spirit Temple
     c) Minor section (3 points): Gerudo Training Grounds
     d) Minor section (3 points): Minigames (Slingshot shooting range, bombchu bowling, bow shooting range, Gerudo target practice)
11) Ganon's Castle (10 points)

So...

So far we've finished the Water Temple.

Here's the score:

Me:  35   My friend: 17

Heh heh... sorry... I just find that kind of pathetic... XD

He's always saying "I know Ocarina of Time like the back of my hand!"

I just find that kind of funny.  The only things he's beaten me in were the Deku Tree and the Ice Cavern.  I have to tell you, I messed up SOOO badly in the Ice Cavern.

Alright.  So there I was, going along, but for some stupid reason, I decided to use only 2 bottles to carry Blue Fire, while he was using 3.  I've always used 2 in the past, so no big deal, right?

Wrong.  Oh, how utterly wrong I was.

I came up to the block puzzle in the Ice Cavern.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  That mildly annoying ice-pushing block puzzle?  Yeah.  So, I gather all the silver rupees in the room, and I'm still barely beating my friend.  But, wait... the door didn't open...  Oh, there's that silver rupee that's in red ice that I have to melt!  Got it.  So I pushed the block all around the room to get there, only to find I had no blue fire left.  My friend's already moved on.  No big deal, I can still catch up, right?

Uh... wrong again.

Instead of getting the blue fire in that room that you can jump up to with the ice block, I just had to be stupid and go all the way back to the first room in which you get blue fire.  Don't ask me why.  This time, though, I got 3 bottles full, just in case.  So I went back to the Ice Puzzle, and my friend's just defeated Wolfos.  Crap.  Well, at least I'm close, right?  If I can get back to King Zora before he does...

So I melt the ice around the rupee, open the door, grab a third bottle of blue fire, melt more red ice, and enter the Wolfos room.  My friend just finished the cutscene talking to Sheik.   I quickly defeat the Wolfos and learn the Serenade of Water, and I'm dashing back to King Zora.

Somehow my friend's stupid and he falls in the water a bunch because he's trying to get that one heart piece on the ice in the pond, so I catch up.  It's really close, we're running into King Zora, and I put down my blue fire just a split second before him.

But... what's that?

I MISSED.

Yes, that's right.  Somehow, in all of my stupidity, I missed with the blue fire.  It engulfed the floor in blue flame, but then it dwindled down, and King Zora was still frozen.

So, my friend won this part, but I still have one extra bottle of blue fire that I grabbed earlier.  Good thing I did that.  So, I opened the bottle... and...

I missed again.

WHAT THE FREAKING HECK?!

Who does that?!

Seriously, does anyone else have that problem, or am I the only one who fails repeatedly at the seemingly easiest stuff?

Ugh.

Anyway, I went back into the Ice Cavern, grabbed a full 3 bottles just to be sure, and went back out and melted his ice stuff.

Well, that's my story of the Ice Cavern.  I hate ice-themed places in video games.  No, that's an understatement.  I absolutely loathe them.  I heard the Water Temple was originally going to be the Ice Temple, and that's why the medallion has a snowflake, and why the water place in Ganon's Castle is icy (I hate that place, too).  I am SO glad that they changed it.  I honestly could not stand an entire ice-themed temple in OoT.  No matter how annoying the Water Temple can be, I'd pick 20 Water Temples over an Ice Temple.  Now that I say it, though, I've actually found the Water Temple to be pretty easy lately.  I've memorized what to do, so I find it pretty straightforward.  More so than I used to, at least.

Well, that's all for today's post.  I promise (no surprise funerals this time) that I'll post soon on my thoughts on E3, and hopefully I can finish that video sometime soon.  Bye!  :)