For this week’s Ocarina Time, I had an awesome collaboration video planned with a friend of mine who had never played the ocarina before in his life, teaching him how to play the song during the video, cracking jokes all the while, having a bunch of fun teaching a generally easy Zelda tune. We filmed the video and… the audio got corrupted. Terribly. So terribly that instead of hearing us play ocarinas, it sounds more like us playing really bad trumpets. Trumpets which sound more like blood curdling screams than anything. But! Have no fear; we will be rerecording the video within a day or two, and this week’s Ocarina Time will be up soon. In the meantime, I want to briefly explain my history with the ocarina, Zelda, and music in general.

I only first started playing the ocarina about eight months ago in September 2012. I had randomly received a $25 gift card to Amazon from my aunt, who would send me such gifts every now and then while I was living in the dorms at my university, and did not know what to buy. After searching through Amazon for a good hour or so, I came across a fairly cheap plastic ocarina package from STL Ocarina for $40, which was well within my price range. Having loved the Legend of Zelda series for most of my life and having been working for Zelda Dungeon for a few months, I jumped at the opportunity to obtain and learn how to play an ocarina.

I mainly taught myself how to play the ocarina. After understanding what the different notes were, the ocarina being tuned to C, transposing Zelda songs was easy, especially with my background in reading sheet music and playing piano. After a month of practice, I proposed the idea for Ocarina Time to Mases. A week or so later, the first Ocarina Time video featuring the “Song of Time” from Ocarina of Time made its debut. Since, I’ve tried to cover songs from all over the Zelda universe, taking advice from commenters for each tutorial. I’ve purchased a second ocarina, and have been learning more and more about video editing all the while. Despite the couple month break I had to take for school, it has been a wonderful experience which I hope to keep going as long as I can.

Even though the audio was a bit bad, here is what was initially this week’s Ocarina Time on Austin’s YouTube channel. We will be rerecording, but there are some hilarious moments during the initial video regardless. Be advised, though: turn your speakers down. You have been warned.

Goodness that is terrible.

So, this week’s Ocarina Time is for “Zelda’s Lullaby,” and next week’s will be for the “Ballad of the Windfish.” I figure I owed you guys the information for next week’s video since this one will be a day or two late.

Keep a look out for Ocarina Time #16: “Zelda’s Lullaby!”

One such fantastic action-adventure series, Ys, has seen very few Nintendo releases. But with its battle system, puzzles, and cutely serious tone, I think many Zelda fans would be overjoyed with what these games bring to the table.

But first: some history. The Ys series is almost as storied as Zelda. It began, like The Legend of Zelda, in the humble 8-bit era by a little-known developer named Falcom. Chances are that if you haven’t heard of Ys, you won’t have heard of their other series (Brandish, Zwei, Legend of Heroes). They are a small company more concerned with making their games the way they want to with their small team rather than focusing on what has the most mass market appeal. To that end, Ys has never gone the way of Ocarina of Time–the new entries in the series still use a top-down perspective all these years later. The only game in the Ys series to buck that design was the Adventure of Link analogue Wanderers From Ys which, like Zelda II, decided to trade in the overhead perspective for a side-scrolling one. And just like The Adventure of Link, this odd Ys game is considered a bit of a black sheep. So much so that more than two decades later it would receive top-down style remake.

So how exactly are the Ys games similar to Zelda? Well, besides the fact that the main character in each game (Adol, the Red-headed Swordsman) speaks but you never see his actual words–just like Link–and his primary weapon is a sword… I suppose you could say the similarities are bases only on the fact that they are in the same genre. But you must remember: Zelda originated that genre, so this distinction is more important than meets the eye. In fact, without Zelda there likely would never have been any Ys games–or any other action-adventures, for that matter.

Puzzles. Ys is full of them. And just like Zelda: item you discover in a dungeon or otherwise acquire are often the only thing that can defeat a certain enemy, or are the only thing to allow you to progress past a geographic feature. You need to breath longer underwater to make your way to somewhere new? There’s an item for that. You need a talisman to withstand the heat of a volcanic area? There’s an item for that.

The combat in current Ys games is pretty Zelda-like–you press a button to swing a sword at your enemy–but it wasn’t always so. Back in the 8-bit era the combat utilized the very peculiar “bump system”: Adol always holds his sword out in front of him and you simply run headlong into the enemy, preferably at a bit of an angle lest you lose some of your health as well. When Falcom made the odd decision to have two completely different versions made of their fourth game–one for the TurboGrafx-16 and one for the Super Famicom (it never made it outside Japan)–they opted to drop the bump system in favor of Zelda-like sword swinging for the Nintendo platform. And they’ve never gone back to the bump system since.

Cuccos. They aren’t in Ys, no, but just like Zelda has its trademark farm animal in nearly every game, so too does Ys. Pikkards. The look as much like a pig as a Cucco looks like a chicken, and they have a habit of escaping their pen in many Ys games, often providing a Pikkard-gathering side quest.

A major difference from Zelda is that Ys games are placed in a tight chronology. Instead of taking place in the same land but separated by many centuries, Ys games take place in the same decade but many different lands, all in what seems to be a fictional ancient alternate reality of Earth. Also, like most modern games besides Zelda: Ys features full voice acting for all of the characters save the main character. And maybe that’s a route Zelda could take; maybe we could hear all of the characters talk besides Link.

Ys may not have hearts for HP nor Octoroks, but there is something very Zelda-like about it besides its action-adventure gameplay. Whatever it is, it is a fantastic series, one that is as nearly long-lived as Zelda and still going just as strong.

As you can see here, the entire inventory of the classic NES title is available. You have the essential swords and shields, and even expendable pickup items like Rupees or hearts or clocks are up for grabs!

Not all of the items look exactly like their game counterparts though. For instance, take a look at the bow.

Or the letter for the Old Woman. I had no idea that that’s what it was until I saw the standalone product.

In any case, it’s cool that this is even possible! You can purchase all of the items in one bundle (though it’s pretty expensive), or you can purchase special bundles that contain a few items, usually thematically linked. And of course there’s always good ol’ one at a time.

I don’t know about you, but I kind of want a Wooden Sword. How about you? Would you buy these items? Which ones? You know where to comment!

Source: Hyrule Foundry via Kotaku

Some would argue that the Zelda series has little variety. After all, with the exception of the second game, which could be called a failed experiment, the series has been following the same basic formula since its 8-bit inception. Each game represents a mix of action, adventure, and puzzle elements focused on item acquisition and exploration. The games have gotten increasingly linear and player-friendly, but otherwise, even someone without much knowledge of the series could boil its gameplay down to a set of predictable principles.

It strikes me as odd that I’ve seen this criticism leveled against the series, though, since I can think of few other successful series that don’t also follow a predictable formula with a predictable set of gameplay principles. First person shooters, for example, are a genre that has always followed trends, and while the modern FPS is very different from, say, Doom, the old and new eras have at least that much in common. If Dark Forces, for instance, was a Doom clone with its labyrinthine levels and solo protagonist, modern shooters, with their focus on, well, shooting, are clones of each other. You could say similar things about platformers in the 16-bit era, or RPGs in general, or even PC adventure games.

How similar games are to each other says nothing about their quality.

One might argue that Ocarina of Time is nothing but a retelling of A Link to the Past. Superficially, they would be correct. Each game involves the collection of three preliminary items in a “light world,” which serves as an introduction to a more complex quest in a “dark world.” Each game allows some level of freedom, features some sidequests, has a similar story involving sages, has the same antagonist, and features the same gameplay principles. However, I have always preferred Ocarina of Time. In addition to it being my first Zelda game (which gives it inherent nostalgic value, I admit), it has a rich atmosphere of the sort I’ve never picked up on from A Link to the Past. Hyrule feels like a real world, and I play Ocarina of Time less to just “play” it than to experience its world.

I was initially disappointed when I saw the art style for The Wind Waker, because it was very different than the “proper” Ocarina of Time sequel I had envisioned for the Gamecube. However, The Wind Waker ended up being one of my favorite Zelda games, not just for all the reasons it is similar to Ocarina of Time (and they are legion), but for the reasons it is atmospherically different. If Ocarina is the quintessential fantasy game, The Wind Waker is an equally great seafaring game. Again, it uses a similar framework both in terms of gameplay and story, but to completely different effect.

I recognize the similarities in Zelda games, but they still feel entirely different to me. What they change in terms of world construction and lore keeps things interesting, and while I have been let down on one or two occasions, it’s the varied experience of Hyrule that keeps me playing. Even games that do feel similar (the Oracle games are remarkably similar to Link’s Awakening and each other) make revisiting similar environments engaging.

Do you think Zelda games are too similar? What keeps you playing? Is there anything more you would like to see changed?

With only one more Sage left to awaken, Link goes to the desert, ‘sneaks’ through the Gerudo Fortress, probably let his eyes wander a little bit, makes his way through a sand storm, and after being ambushed in the Desert Colossus by Leevers, he finds his way into the Spirit Temple… only to find out that he can’t get any deeper than the lobby. Giving up on his duty of saving Hyrule, Link leaves, only to be confronted by Sheik, who teaches him the Requiem of Spirit so that he can return as a child and journey deeper into the temple.

So that’s exactly what Link does. Goes back in time, comes back as child, gets ambushed by Leevers again, finds himself in the lobby of the Spirit Temple, but instead of finding that he can’t progress due to his size, he can’t progress because a Gerudo is blocking his way. Before talking to her, Link again probably let his eyes wander a little bit, but when he does talk to her, she introduces herself as Nabooru, leader of the Gerudo, second-in-command only to Ganondorf, explains that she is against Ganondorf, and asks Link to go through the tiny hole which she can’t get through to go and get the Silver Gauntlets for her, so that she can get deeper into the temple to mess up their plans and do all the monster-killing herself. Well, as you can imagine, Link has a problem with that: he wants to do the monster-killing and mess up their plans, like he has already done on several occasions.

So Link goes ahead and agrees to get the Silver Gauntlets in the hopes that he can kill some monsters on the way… but is that his only reason? After Link has agreed to get the Silver Gauntlets, those famous words leave Nabooru’s lips:

“If you can successfully get the Silver Gauntlets… I’ll do something great for you!”

As we know, Link loves great things: he has embarked on a great journey which holds great rewards, he got the great big Hylian Shield when he was little, and tried the same thing with the great Master Sword, but he was forced to wait until he was older. And then he defied the great Ganondorf, which sort of conflicts with other choices, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, or in this case: too many great things. Those words are suggestive enough, but I’ll get into what she could’ve meant later.

Nabooru also says that she is against Ganondorf because he takes from women and children, and that he has killed people. This would imply that the Gerudo only steal from grown men, and then also use them to reproduce, and are really just against men in general. Perhaps that’s why they only produce females: they hate men so much that they’ve mentally trained their reproductive system to only have female children, though, once every 100 years, a male child is born, and to cover up the fact that he is an accident, they make him their king. Anyways, getting back to what matters, it is very odd that a thief would have that sort of ideology going on, which is likely why she is the one who awakens as the Sage of Spirit, in that, despite what she does for entertainment, she still sees boundaries, she still has moral values, when she disagrees with something, she doesn’t sit back and let it go unattended, she is the one who attends to it… or tries to, as we soon find out.

Link eventually comes up against an Iron Knuckle, and after defeating it, he finds his way out onto a ledge, where he finds a treasure chest. He opens it, and receives the Silver Gauntlets, and just as he’s about to go and give them back to Nabooru, he is instead treated to a nice view of Nabooru being sucked into a vortex by two evil witches. Nabooru cries out to him that they’re using black magic on her. His height is impaired, not his vision, he can see what they’re doing. Speaking of impairments, the hearing of those old cows must be impaired, as, despite being hovering about a meter or two above Nabooru, they don’t realise that she is shouting out to her accomplice, who is watching, and after she gets completely sucked into the vortex, they simply go back into the temple without a care in the world.

Unable to use the Silver Gauntlets as a child, Link travels to the future so that he can use them to get deeper into the temple. And this is what I was talking about when I say Nabooru has the same presentation as other Sages, but done differently: all the other Sages, Link met as a child, and after travelling to the future, he has to save those characters, and they awaken as Sages; but with Nabooru, Link doesn’t meet her when he is initially a child, only meeting her as a child when he cannot progress as an adult, and then after meeting her as a child, he returns as an adult to save her, and she awakens as a Sage. So, same presentation in that he meets her as a child and rescues her as an adult, but done differently in that he doesn’t initially meet her as a child. I really liked this as, when I first played the game, I had grown tired of the usual formula by the time I had to go and find Impa in the Shadow Temple, but, not remembering any other key character from the past, I was looking forward to the possibility of a completely new character being the final Sage, and that’s exactly what happened.

As an adult, Link makes his way through the rest of the Spirit Temple with the Silver Gauntlets, finding another Iron Knuckle, defeating it, and claiming the Mirror Shield. When he finds his way to the heart of the temple and confronts those old hags from before, they reveal themselves to be Koume and Kotake, we deduce that they are Gerudo witches, and then they set yet another Iron Knuckle on him. Link hacks and slashes at the armour, and soon finds a brainwashed Nabooru underneath. Having removed the armour, the brainwashing wears off, because it was such a strong enchantment, and Nabooru remembers herself. However, it’s not long before Koume and Kotake reappear, taunting her about making her serve the great Ganondorf even longer and brainwashing her again, and when she tries to escape, they zap her, and she disappears. When I first saw this, I thought they had killed her, but it’s more likely that they simply did away with her, teleporting her to a different chamber that she couldn’t escape from, so that they could deal with her when they were finished with Link.

They soon disappear again, and Link goes into the next chamber in search of them, and luckily for him, there they are. After a quick two-on-one battle with the sisters, the two merge to form a single body, and again, when I first played this, I actually thought they had not merged bodies, but combined their powers into an enlarged, differently-garbed, once-again-brainwashed Nabooru. Oh, how wrong I was, and thinking back on it, I don’t know how I even came to that conclusion, but it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Link defeats them, they somehow earned a couple of tickets to heaven despite their evil doings, and Link is soon reunited with Nabooru in the Chamber of Sages.

She remarks on how the little boy she once knew became the handsome man she now talks to, and instead of keeping her promise, now being unable to, with her new position as the Sage of Spirit, she gives him yet another useless medallion. As Link is returned to Hyrule from the Chamber of Sages, she once again alludes to her mysterious promise:

“If only I had known you would become such a handsome man…
I should have kept the promise I made back then…”

What was her promise? Theories range from a kiss, to an arranged marriage, to the idea that she may have been lying to Link from that start. But, from the fact that she wishes she had kept her promise after discovering that Link would become a handsome man, and saying she would do something great for him, I believe that Nabooru will simply have given Link the chance to spend his life with her, as the Gerudo have no concept of marriage, only taking ‘boyfriends’ every now then for reproductive purposes.

What do you guys think she had in mind for Link? Do you think that Nabooru did lead the Gerudo into only stealing from men, or that they had another code of conduct? Did you like the slight reconfiguration of the introduction to the character? Let me know in the comments.

With Oracle of Seasons now completed, we are quickly working to bring up to date our Oracle of Ages Walkthrough as well. We’ve steadily been working on it behind the scenes and we will have the first several chapters available in just a few short days. We hope to have the entire walkthrough for Ages available when the game re-releases on the virtual console later this month. Stay tuned!

What did you all think of that? Personally I liked it because I appreciate all the time and energy it must have took to make. Layering it together to make it sound super amazing like that had to have taken hours if not days to do (Just Assuming) especially with the iPad. However I want to know what you guys think. Leave a comment below and if you have a cool Zelda video, or a cool Zelda related talent let us know.

Source: YouTube

Combat

First and foremost, the combat needs to have solid design. Stimulating combat is an absolute must-have for any game with lots of action in it, and Zelda obviously meets that criteria. There are two features that I believe need to be present for Zelda’s combat to be at its best, and they are as follows:

First, intelligent and challenging enemies. It’s no fun when an enemy is dumb as all get-out and allows you a guaranteed hit. There are some enemies that shouldn’t be much of a challenge — Keese and Octoroks, for example — but more advanced enemies should not be capable of being disposed of with little to no effort. Over the course of its lifetime, Zelda has both excelled and failed at this.

All the way through the N64 games, most enemies did a pretty good job of providing a decent challenge. It didn’t always take a lot of hits to kill them, and most weren’t exactly cunning, but the developers generally respected players’ skills and intelligence. Once the GameCube came onto the scene, however, this aspect took a turn for the worse. The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess‘s enemies were weak and monotonous, most dealing only 1/4th a heart of damage and only requiring easy button-mashing to be defeated. Even the toughest of foes were too simple and one-dimensional. As a result, these games’ combat systems suffered, and it’s one of the major reasons why they were often overly easy.

Thankfully many of Skyward Sword‘s enemies broke that trend with their 1-2 heart damage ratio, increased depth, and much-improved AI, which gave them the brains to actually anticipate Link’s attacks and potentially block or dodge them. Quite a few enemies would also punish players for trying to waggle their way to success, assuring that strategy was a necessity to stay alive. This was a great redemption, and it helped provide what is arguably Zelda’s best combat system to date, but that doesn’t mean even more refinements shouldn’t happen in the future. Zelda’s combat needs to keep improving on this — perhaps by having enemies flank Link and having them move around more — otherwise it will remain at a standstill and never be able to reach its fullest potential.

Second, enemies should feature multiple ways of being defeated. There should typically be a “main” solution as to how to take a foe down, but there should always be multiple options to provide variety so that the combat never gets stale. This should be through things like using items in unique ways, special abilities like the Hidden Skills from Twilight Princess and the Tiger Scrolls from The Minish Cap, and — in the case of a combat system like Skyward Sword‘s — taking out foes in different ways with simple sword slashes alone. These things allow different people to defeat enemies according to their own playstyles, and that’s something that a series like Zelda could always use plenty of. Pretty much every Zelda game has done these sorts of things relatively well, but I think Majora’s Mask, The Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, and Skyward Sword have done the best job so far, and as a result, I think future games should look to them for inspiration. It’s not really something that needs an overhaul, as we’ve already seen Zelda nail combat variety, but the series needs to keep nailing it in the future.

Dungeons

One of the most defining features of a Zelda game is the dungeons. They’re where the toughest challenges take place and where players must go to advance forward in the main quest. As a result, dungeons must be treated with care when being designed. They have to be fulfilling experiences.

The main thing dungeons need is diversity. By that, I mean they shouldn’t follow the simplistic “solve basic puzzles, fight miniboss, obtain item, use item to escape miniboss room, solve basic puzzles with item, find Big Key, fight and kill boss with item” pattern that plagued the GameCube games. To be fair, Twilight Princess actually had a couple of dungeons that altered this style in the Goron Mines and Snowpeak Ruins, but the former only shook up the “find the Big Key” part, and while Snowpeak Ruins did a lot more, it was the only dungeon in the game that truly broke away from the restrictive trend the other dungeons followed (even the Goron Mines for the most part), and that’s just not enough variation. Dungeons shouldn’t feel like carbon copies with different-looking rooms. They should each feel unique and fresh. One thing that would aid in this is to stop having so many of them rely on one specific item. There’s nothing wrong with specific dungeons here and there following that kind of layout, but when seemingly every single dungeon does so, things become formulaic and can start to become predictable. The formula doesn’t need to completely disappear, but it’s still a tired concept and it needs to take a backseat.

In addition to having diversity, the dungeons need to be treacherous. They need to be riddled with both tough enemies and challenging puzzles to solve. Many Zelda games have done a great job with this, but the two biggest examples are Majora’s Mask and Skyward Sword. The vast majority of the dungeons from these games had ingenious layouts with all kinds of devious situations, especially their final dungeons, Stone Tower Temple with its dungeon-flipping mechanic, and the Sky Keep with its movable rooms. It’s definitely possible for dungeons to be improved in future games — such as through the previously-mentioned cutting down of item-reliant dungeons — but these two games should absolutely be used as the basis for them. Their dungeons are the pinnacle of the series in both challenge and level design, and future games need to match their quality if not outdo them.

Overworld

The overworld is an extremely important part of a Zelda game. Hell, of any Action-Adventure game. It’s where the bulk of the game takes place and where players are supposed to be encouraged to roam around and find all the content. But there’s a lot more to it than that.

The absolute most important thing for an overworld in Zelda is for it to be expansive, open, and content-filled. Players should not only have the ability to roam around unrestricted, but they should be provided with many things to find along the way. Classic Zelda overworlds excelled at this; there was always something to do with tons of freedom, and it allowed the games to feel like real adventures as a result. Modern Zelda overworlds (with the huge exception of The Minish Cap‘s) are the complete opposite of this. Access to any area is restricted until the games say otherwise and large chunks of land are barren, severely limiting any sense of adventure. Now, the surface portions of Skyward Sword had no problem with the content side of things, but they still followed the modern trend of only being able to visit certain areas at designated times, and the Sky was mostly devoid of anything interesting. Issues like these need to be avoided in the future.

The second-most important thing a Zelda overworld should have is puzzle-solving portions. Most people would probably immediately think of Skyward Sword regarding this aspect, but it actually wasn’t the first game to use these. A Link to the Past and The Minish Cap also sported them with slightly linear areas leading up to the dungeons, designed more around progressing forward rather than exploring. Skyward Sword simply refined and expanded on this.

Having an overworld that consists of nothing but exploration is one-dimensional. There’s nothing else to keep things interesting, nothing else to strike a balance. It also results in an abrupt transition between overworld and dungeon, just like in the original Zelda. The flow of a Zelda game feels more natural when the line between overworld and dungeon is blurred and the transition between the two feels seamless. These areas would need to be interconnected by vast landscapes capable of being freely explored, of course, but Zelda games should still have locations that feature puzzle-solving elements.

Item Use

Usually found in dungeons and used for both progression and combat, items are very important to the Zelda formula. But just having items in a Zelda game isn’t enough. Items must function well and flow seamlessly with the rest of the gameplay. For example, look at the Hookshot and its various kin from A Link to the Past and onward. They’ve always been utilized very well — ranging from being used to pull Link to designated points, damage enemies, pull items in, and lower Link from a ceiling to the floor below — and these uses have always mixed up very well, especially in Twilight Princess. There’s also the Whip from Spirit Tracks and the Beetle from Skyward Sword, the former of which had a multifunctional purpose as a weapon used to hit enemies or chuck things at them, a device to pull switches, and a means of getting across large gaps by swinging across poles, much like the Grappling Hook in The Wind Waker, and the latter of which could act as a scouting device, fly into switches, and drop bombs on unsuspecting foes, alongside upgrades that made it fly farther and faster. Items like these are perfect examples of how items should be used in Zelda. They’re used in creative ways and aren’t limited to one specific feature, ensuring they never become stale, and are constantly required throughout the game.

On the flip side, there are some items in Zelda that have not been used so well, some of the best examples being the Bombchus from the N64 games, the Whip from Skyward Sword, and the Dominion Rod from Twilight Princess. The Bombchus were a real let-down simply because they had such a cool function — the ability to move along walls and ceilings before blowing up — but were so underutilized. The only instances they’re ever required to be used in the main quest of Ocarina of Time are in the Spirit Temple and Ganon’s Castle, and in Majora’s Mask, they’re not required to progress in the main quest at all. For an item with such awesome capabilities, it’s a real shame that this is the case. Skyward Sword‘s Whip and the Dominion Rod, on the other hand, suffer from having very limited and uncreative functions. The Whip is watered down from its (mostly) top-down predecessor to being used only for pulling switches and swinging across a few poles, only being useful in combat against two or three enemies. And the Dominion Rod is only used to controls statues which don’t have any use other than smashing things and holding down switches. They also aren’t used very often outside of the dungeons they’re found in. Items like these are perfect examples of how items should not be used in Zelda. They’re either held back from their potential or were just bad ideas in the first place, and they’re not used very often at all or in very interesting ways, which causes them to become a liability for the game design.

There should never be any item that is useless or poorly-executed. There should only be items that are used intricately and constantly. If the day comes where every item in a Zelda game performs like the latter, developers will be one step closer to perfecting Zelda’s gameplay.

RPG Elements

The Zelda series is not exactly a stranger to RPG elements, but generally speaking, it’s been pretty light on them. That’s not the case with every game, of course — look at Zelda II — but that doesn’t change the fact that most games have treated them as more of a side feature rather than a major gameplay mechanic. That needs to change. The series needs to make them a larger factor in the future in order to continue to grow. They would allow for more customization in the franchise, and for a series that’s largely based on building a character, the main feature of an RPG, this would fit perfectly. There are ideas from other franchises that the series could take influence from, but in all honesty, Zelda could easily just improve the RPG mechanics it’s already seen.

Look at the Rings from the Oracle games. These things offered customization by providing specific benefits depending on which ones were equipped. They had features like dealing more and taking less damage, automatically recovering hearts, not sliding on ice, and even turning into specific enemies. The downside was only one ring could be equipped at a time. What if this were improved by working more like the Medals in Skyward Sword, where them being equipped takes up a slot in the Adventure Pouch, allowing for multiple Rings — or whatever kind of item is used — to be equipped at once? Or maybe they could have their own container like they did in the Oracle games, with something like a point value assigned to them and a maximum number of points available for equipping them. It would provide a lot more resource management and would allow Link to have lots of cool enhancements.

Then you have the upgrading mechanic featured in Skyward Sword; treasure and bugs obtained either in the overworld or via an enemy drop could be used to upgrade Link’s items and potions. Certain weapons could be upgraded to receive new features, while extra containers could be upgraded to hold more of their respective items (Bombs, Arrows, Deku Seeds). It’s a cool feature, but what if it were to be upgraded — shameless pun intended — in the future? What if there were multiple paths for upgrading items, as well as much more advanced upgrades as compared to the ones seen in Skyward Sword? What if we could upgrade Link himself? Gain specific skills to use, such as the aforementioned Hidden Skills and Tiger Scrolls, or maybe make his Stamina Gauge deplete less quickly? There are a lot of options for doing something like this.

Moving on into the realm of things that Zelda could adopt from other franchises, a skill tree could be introduced in the future. Link could gain experience points by defeating enemies or completing tasks and gain different skills after obtaining enough of said points. Some people would probably initially consider this idea too similar to Zelda II‘s leveling mechanic, but it wouldn’t necessarily have to play out like that. The experience points could easily function like a currency and be spent on skills rather than being awarded on level-up. Implementing this mechanic would also provide ample opportunity for magic to return; players could start out with things like basic fire, ice, and electric spells and work their way up to more powerful versions to unleash devastating attacks and provide them new combat options. I’m sure some people would be skeptical about the idea of a skill tree even with the things I’ve said, but as long as it is properly executed, I see nothing but positives from it.

There are many other things I could talk about, but the bottom line is RPG elements should be a focal point in Zelda. I’m really glad that Skyward Sword attempted to make them more of a factor in the gameplay, but these features, alongside other ones, must be expanded upon to keep them fresh. I sincerely hope Nintendo follows through with this.

Non-Linearity

Let’s face it. Zelda is an Action-ADVENTURE series. There’s no real reason for linearity to be a part of the formula. This is an area that most modern Zelda titles have really dropped the ball on. They’re just straight shots with no deviation allowed. For those who would say this isn’t a big deal, allow me to ask you this: How can Zelda, let alone any game franchise, call itself an Action-Adventure series if the entirety of the implied adventure is a dictated path? Shouldn’t an adventure consist of open choice?

What if I want to complete a dungeon without a specific item to put myself at a disadvantage or bring better items to make it easier? What if I want to complete the dungeons in a different order to have some variety on subsequent playthroughs? And, more importantly, what if I want to explore the overworld freely to satisfy my taste for discovery? Non-linearity at its best can only aid Zelda; provided it’s not implemented in such a way as to cheapen the game and provide only lackluster options or bad game design surrounding those options, it allows for a more authentic experience, more options and input from the player, and greatly increases the replay value.

Now, linearity CAN be handled well in the Zelda franchise — just look at Link’s Awakening, Majora’s Mask, and The Minish Cap. But the only reason it worked in those games is because it was just the story that was presented in a linear fashion. These games’ overworlds were open and capable of being explored shortly after their first dungeons (with some plot-relevant restrictions), allowing players to freely roam around the land. This early ability to freely roam allowed for proper exploration despite their dungeon orders being linear. Nevertheless, I think it’d be best for the series to allow full-fledged non-linearity — including in dungeon order — in future Zelda games’ design. I’d much rather choose my own path and have the feeling that my choices matter than be told which dungeons to go to and when.

Conclusion

All in all, there are quite a number of things that Zelda needs to do in order to make the most of its gameplay, consisting of things it’s always managed to pull off, features it’s lost as of late, its most recent additions, and ideas it’s never attempted before. You may not agree with me on everything, and that’s fine. These are just my opinions. However, I believe I’ve provided an accurate assessment of what Zelda’s ideal gameplay should be like (or at least the gist of it). A Zelda game with intelligent enemies and diverse combat options, treacherous dungeons that don’t adhere too strictly to a predictable formula, an expansive and content-filled overworld with puzzle-solving, dynamic and frequently-used items, and player choice from both RPG elements and non-linear game design, would in my eyes have perfect gameplay. Being a hardcore fan of the series, I can only hope for the best from it.

Author: JuicieJ

JuicieJ is an avid Zelda fan that has been visiting Zelda Dungeon for over two years. He can quite often be found hanging out at the forums in the shoutbox and the World of Zelda section, as well as his Facebook fan page The Legend of Link. He also has a huge passion for music and is currently majoring in Audio Production at one of the Art Institutes in America.

To see the full interview and more hit the jump!

Jackson was asked primarily questions about Shadows of The Eternals, given that that’s the game people are curious to ask him about, but it’s a very interesting thing to hear that out of all of Nintendos very popular franchises that Zelda would be his intellectual property of choice to work on. The full question directed towards him was: “If you could work on absolutely any Nintendo franchise, even the likes of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, which would you love to tackle?” to which he responded: “The Legend of Zelda!”

The interview, while not extremely Zelda related, gave good insight into the studios upcoming game, and is a great example of how many different types of developers would love a chance to work with the series, and truly shows how much love there is for the series. I think this is a good thing to hear, especially considering this is not the first interview where a developer has chosen Zelda as their franchise of choice to work on, or pull inspiration from such as indie developer Rob Maher. Having so many different types of developers with a desire to work with or pull from Zeldas innovations in the last 26 years really shows how much of an impact it has had on not only the people who play games, but has also influenced those who create them.

What is your opinion? Very cool that a developer such as Jackson expressing interest in Zelda, or doesn’t really get you thinking? Give your thoughts below!

Source: Cubed3

Jump inside for the details as well as two new trailers for the upcoming games.

Launching on May 30th, the two games will usually cost $5.99 each, however for the first three weeks they will be on sale for only $4.99 each!

For two such fantastic games, this really is quite the deal. Will you be picking these up for the first time, or playing two beloved favorites on a new system? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Nintendo Direct

As I detailed before, there are only two games in the Zelda series that have a Menu overworld: Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. They receive that title because they do not have a large, interconnected overworld for Link to travel from place to place in. Instead, they have a menu screen. Still, at least one of these games still offers a good selection of overworld music, so jump on in to see what makes them worth it!

Above, you’ll find the same song I posted with my inaugural post to coincide with the Menu overworlds. Funny thing is, I goofed on that one. It had been a long time since I had played Four Swords, so when I searched YouTube for the Stage Select theme and found that one I assumed it was right. Sure, the tune sounded familiar, but it was actually the tune for the game’s tutorial level “Chambers of Insight.” Of course, I have only played the DSiWare remake of the game released in 2011 for the 25th anniversary so it is entirely possible this track was originally used for the stage select in the GBA version. Anybody who can clarify that, please do so in the comments.

As for the real Stage Select music for this game, well… it doesn’t have one. I even booted up my 3DS to check. As it turns out Four Swords actually plays the music of the currently highlighted level on the stage select screen, so its “Stage Select” music is just the same music from each of the levels. In that sense, this game technically has no overworld theme. There isn’t really a “Hyrule Field” area to use as reference, either. I will admit to being somewhat disappointed by this, but so it goes.

Track: Map/Select
Game: Four Swords Adventures (GCN)

Okay, confession time. I have never played Four Swords Adventures. As of this week it is literally the only Zelda game I have not beaten (having just finished Oracle of Ages, and barring the CD-i abomin- er, games). I hope to remedy that over the summer since a number of my friends have expressed interest in beating it together, but for now I’m left with piecing the game together from its music. You can do that with Zelda games; they’re awesome like that.

Anyways, this track right here is Four Swords Adventures‘ Overworld Theme. It is the song that plays as you are choosing which location on the map to visit, and actually flows straight out of the File Select screen. The track is a rendition of the classic file select and Fairy Fountain music that started with A Link to the Past and continues to be used in today’s Zelda games. This version, however, is much faster paced and has the addition of extra stringed instruments and a quick beat struck up on a snare drum.

Considering it flows straight into this theme from the title music, I must say I absolutely love the use of this song. It is not your conventional overworld theme by any means, in that it is the first thing you hear after loading your file. In this way the song actually works to transition the player from the soft, quiet tune of the File Select and into the excitement of the game. To put it simply this song gets you pumped and ready to go; to quote a YouTube comment, it gives you a “Lock and load!” sort of feeling that prepares you to take on the world with your friends by your side. I had never really heard a rendition of the Fairy’s Fountain that felt as exciting as this tune.

Furthermore…
So, that was the “main overworld” of FSA, but the game does have a number of tracks that also work fairly well as Overworld Themes. These are for the individual stages in the game, but they appear frequently enough to be in the same boat as Hyrule Field. In fact, one track is even called Hyrule Overworld, and is a remake of the overworld from A Link to the Past. There is also a track entitled Lake Hylia which takes cues from Ocarina of Time‘s Hyrule Field. As I dug more into this game’s soundtrack I also found The Dark World, which made me realize that the game’s soundtrack is essentially paying homage to the entire series’ music (especially our favorite SNES game).

In the end, Four Swords Adventures has quite the musical variety. Even if it does not have a set “overworld,” it does have a plethora of overworld themes from throughout the series. Quite a nice surprise for me.

So I have now decided that I really need to play Four Swords Adventures, if anything so I can hear all these great musical homages in their original context. How about you? Have you played this somewhat hard-to-get Zelda game? Did you enjoy its soundtrack, or find it lacking? Let me know your favorite selections in the comments!

Released in March of last year and originally recorded as the background music to the Zelda art show in Portland, Oregon, composers Jake Fleming and Corey Warning created an 8-bit remix album in tribute of a variety of Zelda songs. Available on Band Camp, the duo known as Piasa, have deliberately allowed buyers the option of setting your own price. Though it is recommended and otherwise much appreciated to contribute a few bucks, the group also welcomes downloading the album for free, meaning you could very well set the price to $0.00

Hit the jump for more details!

With twelve songs to hear from plus two bonus songs from downloading, Piasa offers 24 minuets of 8 bit nostalgia dedicated to an interesting selection of Zelda songs. You can buy or download it for free here.

Aside from creating a fan made remix album, Piasa is also in the works of creating an iOS game, though there hasn’t been any recent news about it, contributions from the album would go toward the production of their game King Dude Man.

Piasa was called upon to create a soundtrack for Triforce Tribute, an epic multi-medium show celebrating all things Zelda. Using classic melodies and sounds from the original Legend of Zelda video games, we developed this music in our own fashion while staying true to the songs you grew up playing along to.

Because our album pulls sounds and melodies from the games, we’re offering Triforce Tribute to you completely free of charge! You can also set your own price, which would mean a lot to us. All proceeds will go towards the development of our first original video game for the iOS, KING DUDE MAN. Find out more about KDM by clicking the header above, see a concept trailer here: youtu.be/Jykn4bIQRC8

So Zelda Dungeoners, will you be checking out this Triforce Tribute? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Source: Bandcamp, PisaGames

Questions and timestamps:

(00:28) – What was your favorite race in Ocarina of Time and why?
(01:14) – Do you have a defining moment in the Zelda series?
(02:27) – If Zelda Wii U was going to have voice-acting, would you try out for any of the characters?
(02:45) – Is it a possibility that Zelda 3DS is just a quick way to get money?
(03:50) – A Link to the Past is on the “hero dies” timeline, so might we see a new sort of Hero’s Shade?
(05:22) – What did you think about the addition of fairies? Do you think they’ll be in future games?
(06:02) – Would you like a game where it showed what Sheik did in the seven years Link slept?
(06:55) – Have you ever noticed that only two out of seven Sages are male?
(07:04) – Can you only 100% Oracle of Ages and Seasons by beating both twice?
(07:45) – Do you think that Fierce Deity Link deserves a backstory on how he was created?
(09:15) – Do you think the upside-down Triforce on Demise’s sword was supposed to be like an upside-down cross?

Be sure to submit your name/username and questions to our contact page, or if that page doesn’t work then email them to mailbag@zeldadungeon.net for next week’s mailbag! You can also use my Twitter or Facebook, or use the Mailbag Thread on the forums!

Can you guess the quote on the paper, the sound at the beginning, or any of the music? Include them all with your question and you might guarantee it gets answered! How about your thoughts about the questions? What’s your favorite race in Ocarina of Time? Do you have a “defining moment” in Zelda? Which character would you want to voice-act if a new Zelda game had voices? Tell me your thoughts on these and any other questions you want in the comments!

I am a male, however, so don’t have the luxury of these cool bags, but it’s a great piece for any gamer girl who likes to show her support of Zelda. The colorful bag sells for $34.99 USD on her online shop. She actually has three for sale, although I can’t tell much of a difference other than positioning of fabric, which would change with every bag anyway. It is made from cotton and cotton canvas and measures about “11 inches wide at middle and 6 3/4 inches tall at middle”. This pattern is also available on a cute, little zipper pouch. The link to her store is below.

DisturbinglyAdorable’s Etsy Store Check out her shop. It is very unique and is great for anyone looking for some sexy, geeky garments and gear.

Gamer Fashion 101′s Tumblr Blog where I originally found out about the purse. It is a great place for gamers who want some good fashion tips.

Sources: Etsy (via a few Tumblr blogs and GoNintendo)

Hi fellow Zelda Dungeon fanatics and welcome, once again, to another Timeshift Thursday feature! This week I’m looking forward to sharing and discussing a climatic battle scene with you from Link’s latest adventure, Skyward Sword, in which I’ve found the combat before the corresponding final battle to be a richer, more difficult experience. Because Skyward Sword doesn’t include the most amount of highlights for a Zelda game, in my opinion, I haven’t leaned toward writing a feature revolving around the title. Yet, because we are discussing famous Zelda battles now, I do want to write about, possibly, my favourite part of Skyward Sword.

Today, we’ll take a look at the extensive Horde Battle brought about by one of Link’s main antagonists in Skyward Sword, Ghirahim. This section of end-game battle sequence truly tests Link’s reasons as to to why he is blessed with the Triforce of Courage. It is an outstanding test of courage and we shall see that further along the article!

If you want to read more about Link’s excruciating battle with Ghirahim’s minions then click the jump below and take the full descent toward the Sealed Grounds!

The Horde Battle in Skyward Sword occurs just after Ghirahim abducts Zelda, prepares to complete the ritual to revive his much-desired master, Demise, and spread malice right across the Hyrulean world. Link must make the steep descent down the large spiral pit and reach the bottom of the Sealed Grounds where the ever-breaking seal locking The Imprisoned has been kept. This isn’t one simple hike down the path, though! As you descend, five separate, non-identical waves of enemies consisting of deadly Bokoblins (some are archers while others carry bombs), Moblins, and Stalfos rain terror and violence upon you only willing to give a permanent dicing to your body allowing Ghirahim to unleash Demise from his bonds. The amount of hordes dumped upon you may seem like an insane test but really it’s all hack and slash as you fight your way to the bottom of the Sealed Grounds. The Moblins and Stalfos are a tougher class of opponent and strategic positioning must be utilized if you plan on having enough hearts to withstand Ghirahim’s crafty combat. Some Bokoblins also stealthily hide at the back of the pack blowing horns to summon more of their kin creating a further gruesome challenge. You may not know but the tune the Bokoblin horn-blowers play is the exact melody the Flute Boy plays in A Link to the Past and happens to be the only time you hear this sound in Skyward Sword. Quite neat I reckon!

The Horde Battle reminds me a bit of a certain Majora’s Mask fight in which Link battles against Captain Keeta. In this similar battle, Link must fight a wave of Stalchildren who attempt to stop him from reaching Captain Keeta. Anyway, I found the Horde Battle to be miles harder than facing against Demise himself. With Demise, all you need to do is shield block at the right time in the first phase of the final battle, and then strike quickly while dodging him is simple. The second phase is a little harder but no big challenge. Just haul your sword in the air, let lightning illuminate it, and swing the electric power at Demise, zapping him in the process. It’s so much tougher trying to dodge around 20 Bokoblins and also destroy their horn-blower who keeps bringing more of his counterparts back into the fray. Also, with the 1:1 combat of the Wii MotionPlus, trying to slash the Stalfos can be tricky business considering their defensive skills are top-notch. Then, you also must be sure to safeguard hearts for the battle with Ghirahim which appears straight after you defeat the hordes.

What are your thoughts on the Horde Battle experienced near the end of Skyward Sword? Do you like the way the combat has been set up for gameplay? Do you think this battle is more epic than facing Demise? Please be sure to share your thoughts and opinions below!

However, as it turns out, the press release wasn’t even real. So what’s the deal? Jump inside to find out!

The “press release” was not a press release at all, and it was not from Nintendo UK. This originated via discussion question by MEC Global, a marketing company. While it is true that they are often the company Nintendo employs for marketing, they were not acting on Nintendo’s behalf on this matter. They were simply commenting on their own behalf, stating that they (MEC Global) was aware of those common change requests. GoNintendo, having also published this “press release” story yesterday, did some sleuthing and got to the bottom of the matter when things just weren’t adding up. The original source for the “press release” was Operation Rainfall, who seems to have acquired the “discussion question” from MEC Global themselves and mistook it for a press release. They’ve since edited their title and updated their post to make the situation more clear.

We apologize if our earlier reporting added to any of this confusion, but hope this has cleared the matter up.

Source: GoNintendo

Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess as most Zelda players would know are on a very different scale when it comes to graphics and art style. With Skyward Sword looking like a water color painting whereas Twilight Princess is very dark to fit its “Twilight” atmosphere. A very passionate Zelda fan has recently come up with a mod pack which gives Twilight Princess the graphics and bright color of Skyward Sword. This has created a very interesting mix of the games, read more after the jump!

This texture pack requires the Dolphin emulator (an emulator which allows you to play GameCube and Wii games on your PC) and incorporates Skyward Sword‘s graphic style into Twilight Princess. This texture pack however has not been completed and is still a work in progress but you can see a very noticeable difference in the art styles of the two games.

It’s interesting to see such a dark game with such vibrant and bright colors and it’s something I’d be interested to play when it comes to seeing the dungeons and bosses looking so bright rather than their dark, ominous colors. I always thought that a Zelda game with an art style of Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess would look visually stunning and this has given me a good idea as the the potential of putting the two games together.

What do you think of a Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword crossover? Leave a comment below.

Source: GBAtemp

The shading has a softness to it, similar to the few screenshots we’ve seen from the remake of the Wind Waker coming out this fall. Axel still manages to emulate some of the very defined textures found in the original version of the game by using the same color with dynamic values, best illustrated on the wood grain on the King of Red Lions.

Check out the rest of Axel’s art by visiting his DeviantART gallery, and as always tell us what you think about today’s Fanart Spotlight below!

Ever since the announcement of The Wind Waker remake for Wii U a few months back, there has been a lot of speculation from fans about just how much will go into the updated version of the game. Our sister site GenGAME even published an article detailing how this is the perfect opportunity for a “Director’s Cut.” Still, it is difficult to tell whether Nintendo is actually paying too much attention to fans’ hopes for the game… or are they?

Recently, Nintendo UK’s public relations team (referred to as MEC) released a statement essentially summarizing exactly what most fans have been hoping for the game. At the end they give a discussion question asking fans their thoughts. It seems that they are not really soliciting feedback and are actually aiming more for friendly discussion among fans, but you can see for yourself by clicking the jump.

Nintendo UK’s PR statement is as follows:

What’s on your wishlist for the new Wii U Zelda game?

With a brand new remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker on the way to the Wii U console, speculation has been mounting over what the reinvented game will be like.

Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto, who’s had a hand in the development of many popular Nintendo games with the exception of the Professor Layton series, has offered a few hints as to what we can expect from the new Wind Waker when it finally arrives. He told the ABC news network that HD capabilities of the Wii U will be able to “breathe new life” into the game, and also hinted that the game will have upgraded graphics, along with enhance lighting, better cel shading and overall, a more dynamic and vibrant look.

As it is being developed specifically for the Wii U console, the way the new Zelda: Wind Waker title is played will also be different from its Nintendo GameCube original. Similarly to the New Super Mario Bros. U title, Wind Waker players will have the option to play entirely on the Wii U GamePad. There will also be integration with the Wii U’s Miiverse, similarly to other games released for the console.

This is what we know about the new Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker game so far, but as for more detailed specs and features, we’re still completely in the dark. So, the question is – what would you like to see in the new Wind Waker? What would be on your wish list if you could have a hand in designing the game?

A number of game fans and pundits have a few suggestions, such as the following:

Bring back cut content – a lot of segments (specifically, dungeons) were cut from the original GameCube design due to time constraints, but these could easily be brought back and expanded on in the new title

The ability to change difficulty levels – fans of the Zelda series, or anyone who has ever played a Zelda game, might appreciate the chance to up the ante difficulty-wise, as well as turning off those annoying tutorials

Make sailing more fun – anyone who played the original Wind Waker will know that sailing in the game could be a bit of a chore. Lengthy and repetitive, Zelda fans agree that a way to make sailing faster and more enjoyable is a must when it comes to the new and improved game.

These are just a few of the things Zelda fans would like to see in the brand new Wind Waker, but what improvements would be at the top of your list?

In the end, it still remains fairly unlikely that Nintendo is actively soliciting feedback for the game. On the other hand it is nice to know they are listening to what fans are saying; whether or not it affects the game in the end remains to be seen.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Nintendo is testing the waters to see what we want from the new game, or just trying to stir up some discussion? While we’re on the topic, what would you like to see changed for the Wii U release of The Wind Waker? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Operation Rainfall (via GenGAME)

Like making his admirer a tree. That would be hilarious!

Seriously though, Oracle of Ages is one of the few Zelda games or stories in general to actually make me laugh at this joke again. When it comes time for Link to seek the Maku Tree’s aid, he must first venture into the past to protect the Maku Tree from being destroyed by monsters while she’s just a sprout. After she’s saved, she says almost word for word the phrase I’ve seen a thousand times:

And I burst out laughing! So why is it that, even though this joke is so old for me, Oracle of Ages managed to make me laugh with it? Because she’s a tree! What is good humor if not creating or outlining artful absurdity? From the most childish jokes where people just make funny faces or silly noises, to the most witty ones that point out irony or stupidity, absurdity in some form or another is at the base of every joke.

The thing here is that this joke wouldn’t have been funny at all for me if the Maku Tree hadn’t been, well, a tree… OR the circumstances and phrasing hadn’t been so exactly cliche. What cracked me up about this moment was how it was exactly the cliche, every little thing went exactly how it goes in every other story… except she’s a tree. One totally insane detail, a complete departure from the expected and the norm, and it’s never actually addressed in any way. I mean, we can be sure if Link could talk, then that would be his primary point of protest while attempting to reason with the Maku Tree about all the problems inter-biota marriage would have, but neither the Maku Tree nor any other characters ever say anything about it. Because of this, the joke also manages to avoid being one of those annoying “Get it? GET IT?!” kind of things where the person or thing making the joke is also trying to desperately explain it at the same time, and the reaction to the absurdity is left entirely to the player.

Bottom line? This is one of the funniest moments in Zelda for me and I think it’s not only an excellent example of humor in the Zelda series, but a really great example at how to utilize cliches in a hysterical way in general. This is one of the funniest moments in any video game or story in my opinion. What did you think about it? Did you think it was hilarious, or is the concept just overdone? Would you go so far as to call it one of the funniest moments in Zelda? Tell me your thoughts on the Maku Tree’s affections for Link in the comments!

Like scouring Hyrule Field for bushes that hopefully contain Rupees or bombs or arrows, we search the Internet for Zelda-related laughs. Not much to say this week, although in meme-news, the “Zelda reaction” meme was confirmed on Know Your Meme recently. I thought I’d feature one this week to commemorate it, but I couldn’t find any that weren’t really trite. Oh well, on with the memes as usual!

Our title post comes from the recent meme that pokes fun at Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses, or frankly anybody who tries to do door-to-door evangelism. I’m probably asking for a world of trouble by even bringing it up, but I thought this anonymous post on Memebase was just too funny.

Watch out, we’ve got a princess over here…

You know, fairies are probably cool people. I mean based on this Fanpop post from VideoGameNerd, they have to be really chill.

And it’s the beginning of the end as we enter our user contributions, once again, exclusively from Bob. Or Bob Joe. Sorry about your Disqus dude. Anyway, here’s a clever subversion of the E3 reaction meme.

Dodongo’s do kind of raise a lot of questions.

I can’t unsee this. And you probably can’t either. Challenge to you: find other areas that look like rage faces! Go!

And just to highlight how much of a troll that owl is.

That takes care of this week’s Majora’s Memes! One final thing before I sign off: if you leave a meme, please don’t post it again the week after. I’ve seen it. I’ll either use it later, or not at all. If I haven’t used it within two or three weeks, that’s a good indication that it’s not going to be used. I appreciate the help, and I don’t want to be a jerk, but I’ve been getting tired of getting the same things over and over again, especially when they’re not memes. I really want this feature to be fun, and I think that if it’s not there now, it’s getting there, and I really owe you guys a lot. This feature wouldn’t be where it is without user contribution. Now let’s go save some alternate dimensions!

Source: Fanpop , Memebase , Know Your Meme

GenGAME’s Alex Plant has adopted a different spin on this discussion–instead of looking at the revered titles such as Ocarina of Time, Plant has written an article that lists five features that Zelda 3DS should appropriate from the DS’s first Zelda game, Phantom Hourglass. It’s no secret that The Wind Waker‘s handheld sequel isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but what aspects of its gameplay did Plant consider worthy of being included in the series’ first original installment on the 3DS? Hit the jump to find out!

Five features doesn’t seem like many, but Plant has selected only those that were unique to Phantom Hourglass, or at least far more prominent in that title than they were in others. Now, without further ado, the five things that Zelda 3DS should borrow from Phantom Hourglass:

First off, Plant mentions Phantom Hourglass‘ truly unique (and usually fantastic) multiplayer mode. Making the point that the console titles really aren’t suitable for any form of multiplayer, he states that Zelda 3DS would be the perfect opportunity for the series to explore competitive multiplayer further, largely due to the fact that “each player gets their own screen and can do their own thing.” He also stresses the potential for cooperative game modes, such as randomly generated dungeons with gameplay reminiscent of Four Swords.

I’m going to avoid simply copying the original article on GenGAME, so I’ll just briefly discuss the other features with the hope that you’ll finish reading this article and then read the original. Plant discusses the fact that in Phantom Hourglass, there were no items that were used in their home dungeons and then swiftly ignored, as has been the case in pretty much every other game in the franchise. Thirdly, he praises the Spirit Gems from Phantom Hourglass–totally optional collectables to power-up Link as a reward to the most keen-eyed players.

Despite existing in the same world as its predecessor, the Great Sea in Phantom Hourglass is totally unique from that in The Wind Waker. Plant hopes that, rather than relying on recycling the environments from A Link To The Past, Zelda 3DS follows the same path as Phantom Hourglass did and creates its own world. And, finally, Plant echoes the sentiment that many Zelda fans have had prior to the release of the last number of titles–non-linear dungeons. Phantom Hourglass was one of the few recent Zelda games to feature somewhat non-linear dungeons, particularly the polarising Temple of the Ocean King.

What do you think? Would you like to see these features in the upcoming 3DS title, or would you rather see it go off in a different direction? Discuss in the comments below, and be sure to check out the detailed original piece on GenGAME!

Source: GenGAME

With that out of the way, this week we will take a look at Twilight Princess–and we will do so in a slightly different structure than in previous weeks, as evidenced by the title.

From the perspective of “best”
After the let-down of the more kids-oriented Wind Waker, when Nintendo showed the first trailer to Twilight Princess, it was clear that we were finally going to receive a worthy successor to Ocarina of Time. In fact, at long last we were going to get the game Nintendo seemed to be promising us with the infamous Spaceworld Zelda GameCube tech demo trailer shown back in 2000. Here was the more realistic graphic style, darkened up a bit to match the “maturity” and age of those who’d grown up since Ocarina. We got the chance to return to that very same Hyrule and explore even more of it. Finally we got true horseback combat, and even some jousting. This game really felt like it organically grew out of unresolved ideas for Ocarina of Time, and many of wanted just that. And then Nintendo brought forth some brand new ideas: never before in a Zelda game could we change into another animal and use its unique abilities to solve puzzles and such. While we could change into a bunny in A Link to the Past by entering the Dark World without the Moon Pearl (which is obviously the inspiration for the changing-into-a-wolf idea) doing so removed all of your abilities and was just meant to be a hindrance. Now we enjoy the visceral fun of defeating enemies like a true beast!

From the perspective of “worst”
The Wind Waker caught people by surprise, that’s for sure. But at least Nintendo was willing to try something brand new. Twilight Princess on the other hand simply felt like a retread of Ocarina of Time. Worse, it almost felt like a remake at times. Which isn’t surprising because it seems the motivating factor behind this game was simply for Nintendo to capitulate to those vocal fans who were frustrated with the newness The Wind Waker had to offer and demanded “more Ocarina!” Attempting to appease those fans, Nintendo took some of the things Ocarina offered and made them bigger. Now we had not one, but four Hyrule Fields–and they were each as empty and bland as the next. Just like the whole game. The first trailer shown at E3 created a lot of hype that the game did not end up living up to. Most of the trailer doesn’t even accurately reflect the final game. Also, the changing-into-a-wolf gimmick was not only off-putting but diminished the usual vibe of playing Link as a Hylian with a sword. Not to mention that while Okami is often referred to a “Zelda clone” it seemed like Twilight Princess (which came out nearly a year later) was copying that Capcom game by making you play as a wolf half the time. And we haven’t even gotten to the plot: we actually had a decent new villain for once who was decently threatening… and then he’s unmasked to be a fool and basically just a puppet of Ganondorf who shows up out of nowhere; the game would have done better to just leave Ganondorf out and focus on keeping Zant scary. The items are mostly just recycled from Ocarina of Time, and even those two new items (the Dominion Rod and the Spinner) are so poorly under-used it’s laughable. And then there’s the oft-toted “dark” graphic style which actually feels inappropriate for a Zelda game as since the dawn of the series, the games have always had a slightly anime/cartoon-y look with bright, vibrant colors–even Ocarina of Time, when you take a look at the art. For Twilight Princess to toss that all aside and go “dark” just felt like pandering to those who begged for it. Nintendo is at its best when it creates without regard to what people say they want and instead give us what they think we need.

Summary
In combing the forums and comments on this editorial series for opinions on Twilight Princess I wasn’t totally surprised to find out that the very same aspect that some people loved about the game (changing into a wolf) was considered by an equally vocal set of fans to be a deterrent. Some people loved changing into a wolf and attacking enemies with their jaws, others thought it came off as goofy and an un-Zelda-like annoyance. Similarly, it seems for every fan who loved the return to Ocarina of Time‘s Hyrule, there are those who felt like it was a case of been-there-done-that. And again, for every fan who disliked The Wind Waker‘s graphic style and ate up what Twilight Princess had to offer, there are those who felt like Zelda going “dark” what out of character for the usually colorful series. We each of us truly do have a different idea of what exactly that “Zelda flavor” is. And that’s okay, because that means that no matter what Nintendo ends up doing with Zelda in future games there will always be some of those who will find it to be their new favorite.

Let me know in the comments below which game we should take a look at next week!

Upgrading Items

Treasure hunting has been a staple of Zelda games since the original NES classic. Rupees, bombs, and recovery hearts have been there since the very beginning. As the series continued to evolve and expand, more collectibles, such as magic jars and arrows, were introduced. Now, treasure hunting has become even more fun and rewarding! For the most part, rupees are the currency of the series. The practice of upgrading items by simply exchanging rupees to a shopkeeper is nice and easy, but depending on how easy it is to collect all those rupees, you may not feel like you accomplished much, or really even deserved the upgrade.

Searching far and wide for the more specific trinkets is not only fun, but extremely rewarding once you’ve collected the combination you need. Upgrading that irritatingly slow Beetle to a quicker, tougher one may not be necessary, but it sure is useful. The same goes for the Scattershot and Big Bug Net. Collecting these trinkets would be much more of a chore if it was a necessity (which it is in rare instances, i.e. restoring Gondo’s robot), but they can be acquired at your own pace, and can be completely ignored if you choose not to go out of your way for them. This is a system I would love to see in future games, for sure.

Getting %#$&@slapped by Ghirahim

I only discovered this about three weeks ago, and for some reason, I think it’s hilarious. During the first Ghirahim battle (it may work in the other two, but I haven’t tried it), let Ghirahim walk right up to you, and don’t attack him. Watch as he backhands you across the face. I guess I love this so much because it’s such a weak move for such a powerful, intimidating foe. He can teleport, conjure swords and projectiles, stop your sword in mid-swing… basically, he could kill you where you stand. But he wants you to fight back. So he %#$&@slaps you. It’s just hysterical. He not only looks like someone who would do that, but doing so is the first step to engaging someone in a duel. But instead of using a glove, Ghirahim uses his steel arms, like a true gentleman. It cracks me up every time.

Timeshift Stones and Timeshift Orbs

These nifty doodads provide some very unique and interesting puzzles. Time travel is not a new mechanic in Zelda lore, but this take on the subject certainly makes it feel fresh. Instead of traveling between time periods, Link can view two at the same time. Heck, he can stand in both at the same time. I loved navigating Lanayru Desert with these devices. Landscapes and enemies change depending on the time period, and time itself is literally in your hands. This seems like a mechanic that could possibly return, and for me, it would surely be a welcome one.

Using the Groosenator

I think we can all agree that Groose was an awesome character, and one of the most dynamic in Zelda history. Funny, useful, and arrogant, Groose was chock-full of potential; and we weren’t let down. He provides our favorite hero with a surprisingly helpful machine during the second and third Imprisoned fights. I, like many, find the second encounter with the beast to be the hardest, so it would be an understatement to say that Groose’s invention was handy. It was invaluable. To me, going after the Imprisoned’s toes is a suicide mission. It’s too risky and irritating to have to constantly catch up with his lengthy footsteps. I’ve always approached him by sailing to the level above and jumping on his head. However, he will shake you off. That’s when the Groosenator becomes essential. Bomb the behemoth, and jump on his head while he’s stunned. The battle will be a cakewalk and your life will be a lot easier.

Item Retrieval Mission

I can see where players hate being stripped of their powers, weapons, and abilities. It certainly makes things more difficult, but that’s what I like about it. Missions like this remind us that Link is more than a weapon-wielding powerhouse who easily plows through weak enemies. When Link finds himself in this kind of situation, the roles are reversed. It’s time to go into stealth mode! Now, I understand that many gamers can find stealth missions boring and tedious, but to me, using your wits instead of your muscles can be a nice change of pace, adding to a game’s versatility.

What I particularly like about this mission is that you’re not completely powerless until it’s over. You gradually reacquire your inventory, making progressing easier and faster. I’m sure many players were relieved to find the bulk of their items remaining in one chest, but honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if the mission went further. Ironically, however, I hate the stealth portions of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. They’re just patience killers, and to me, those moments are about as plain as a stealth mission can get. Here, you need to take certain paths, retrieve items in a particular order, and sort of play a detective role.

Thunder Dragon’s Lightning Round

Well it’s about time! Finally, an open world game since Majora’s Mask decides to allow players to challenge bosses without starting the game over again! (Unless you count Ocarina of Time 3D, of course). I was so happy when I got to this part of the game. Not only was I going to get the unbreakable Hylian Shield, but I was going to have fun doing it! There are certainly bosses in the game that I dislike, but there plenty that I do like. Bosses are possibly my favorite part of the Zelda series, and I doubt too many fans were disappointed when they found out they would have to go through a boss gauntlet to obtain the game’s strongest shield. And if they were, it was probably only because they would have to face the Imprisoned at least twice in the same half hour.

Future Zelda games should take a note from this one, but a boss gauntlet doesn’t necessarily have to be part of the main game and therefore worked into the story, no matter how convenient. Just give us a new option on the file select screen, like in Banjo-Tooie. I’m sure I speak for most (if not all) Zelda fans when I say that we love bosses, and would love to replay them at anytime. Make it happen, Nintendo!

The Demise Duel

I know I’ve said in the past that the Wind Waker Ganondorf fight was my all-time favorite final boss battle… but I may have to reconsider that opinion. Everything about this battle was epic as well. Certainly, there was plenty at stake when fighting Ganondorf as Hyrule drowned, but I feel that you cared a little more about defeating Demise. He possessed a cockiness that Ganondorf didn’t relish in quite as much. Ganondorf has attempted intimidating Link in past games, but Demise made it clear to Link that he was just a human, and didn’t stand a chance against the titan. He went even further by telling Link that after he was through with him, he was going to kill his loved ones. Wow. Now that’s a final boss!

The fight itself culminates with everything you’ve learned with your sword. No other items necessary; a true duel. Once you familiarize yourself with his pattern of attacks, Demise can actually be one of the easiest bosses in the game. Nevertheless, I never get sick of this fight. It’s my favorite of the game (second MAYBE to the Ghirahim fight in the Fire Sanctuary), and that final blow with a lightning-charged Master Sword is truly epic and memorable. It is arguably Link’s finest moment in the series.

What do you all think? Do you agree or disagree with the list? What were your favorite Skyward Sword moments? Comment below, and let’s talk about it!

Hit the jump to find out!

You’d think they’d be a little more respectful to Ganon, considering this iteration of Ganon does hold the full Triforce. Maybe if Ganon hired more respectful and competent minions Link would have a harder time defeating him.

Then again, Link is spending his free time at Taco Bell when there’s obviously still the Dark World problem going on. Really, both sides need to get their priorities straightened out and their goals more clear.

Thanks to brentalfloss the comic for this week’s feature! If you’d like to see more Nintendo oriented comics, head on over to their website here.

What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

Source: brentalfloss the comic

I got the focusing back in order this week, though the lighting could use some work. Ah well, all you really need is the sound anyway.

Make sure to comment saying which Zelda songs you would like to learn in weeks to come!

Notes:

^B F# E D F# vB D E vB D E
^B F# E D F# vB D E vB D A
A C B A B F#
F# A G F# G E
E G F# E F# D
vB D E E

So I got to thinking: what if there was a Zelda game in which you got to play as a different race than the Hylians?

Now some of you may be thinking: “Nintendo did something like that in Majora’s Mask, what with the ability to switch into a Deku, Goron, or Zora by wearing masks”, or “Nintendo isn’t going to make a Zelda game where the main protagonist is not Link”. Sure Majora’s Mask allowed the player to take on the persona of another race, but I’m talking about playing as a character who was born into a culture and raised in it. And as for Nintendo not making a game where Link isn’t the protagonist, might I point out that Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has said that they are trying to do new things with the Zelda series, so it’s not a stretch to imagine that they would try something new like this?

I know one way they could already pull this off; in Ocarina of Time, Darunia names his son after Link, so how about a game where you play as this Goron “Link”? Another way that this could work is if one generation of Link was half-Hylian and say half-Zora, thereby keeping the line of the Hero of Time going even through another race (again, not a stretch to imagine, as we’ll find that Princess Ruto of the Zoras was intent on making Link her husband, the only thing holding her back was her duties as a Sage). Evidence suggests that interracial marriage isn’t an issue in Hyrule, so why not try this? Could you imagine starting off a Zelda game as a baby Zora?

Something like that would open doors to all sorts of possibilities in lore of the Zelda world, the series could explore new breeds of people and new civilizations would emerge, further deepening the flourishing culture this series has created. And to be able to walk around living out the lives of these many people, to explore new perceptions and points of view, that would make the land of Hyrule and its people all the more real.

On hindsight, the Link from The Wind Waker was not descendant of the Hero of Time, so it would be possible to play as another hero who is not related to the Hero of Time. I would say that another way this could be implemented would be that the player is a character who play alongside the Hero of Time, but that would detract from The Legend of Zelda’s purpose of making the player the hero, not the sidekick.

It would be interesting to learn more about the race of the Deku, or the no-doubt rich history of the Zoras, or maybe find the reason why Gorons eat rocks. I for one would love to learn more about the many cultures in Hyrule. If not allow the player to play as a different race of character, at least let the player learn more about these people if he or she so wishes.

So what do you think, should Nintendo elaborate on the many races of Hyrule? Personally I think it would make the Zelda world more immersive.

As you can see in the picture below, those medallions that Link gets from the Six Sages were originally much more useful. Today, we make jokes about how they apparently “add to your power” while not actually doing anything, but in fact they originally served the function of the songs taught to Link by Sheik. Link would be able to equip a Sage’s medallion and use it to warp back to the location outside their temple. In the end, the method that Nintendo ended up using probably worked out for the best, considering the possibility of needing to leave the dungeon and trek all over Hyrule for one reason or another.

What do you think about this revelation of equipable medallions? Sound off in the comments!

Source: Twitter

The mask seems like it jumped right out of the game and out of the hands of the mysterious Happymask salesman. Here’s a larger picture:

The detail still amazes me. The work that must have gone into this mask to make it so delicate and painstakingly accurate to the game has had to have taken countless hours and a lot of sleeplessness. To see even more, you can follow up with the art show being held on Friday, May 10th, or check it out on Facebook here.

What do you think? If you had the opportunity to buy a mask like this, would you take it? Tell us in the comments!

Source: Facebook, Grace & Ritual

Having met Princess Zelda, Link is instructed to talk with Impa. Impa reveals herself to be Zelda’s caretaker, and that if Zelda trusts him, she trusts him. She then teaches Link how to play Zelda’s Lullaby, telling him that it will grant him access to the people and places he needs to talk and go to if he is to get the last two Spiritual Stones. Leading him safely out of the castle and back to Hyrule Field, she points him in the direction of Kakariko Village, but also explains that he should purchase a sturdier shield from the Bazaar back in the Market.

As a game mechanic, it’s an interesting choice for the player to either go back and get a brand new, shiny Hylian Shield, or go straight on to Kakariko Village, where the NPC that you have to talk to to progress through the game will enable you to get a discount at the Bazaar, and direct you back to the Market anyway to get a mask for him so that he will open the gate to the Death Mountain Pass. But looking at each character as their own, why didn’t Impa get Link to buy a Hylian Shield on their way through the Market? Possibly because she knew Link would get a discount if he first went to the soldier guarding the Death Mountain Pass, however, it is much more likely that she simply did not realise Link would need a sturdier shield until she points out Death Mountain to him.

And then Impa goes and does her famous disappearing act, throwing a Deku nut at the ground and disappearing in the flash. Having used the Deku nut only once before to know that it was that item that created that sound and flash, I tried it again for myself, thinking that I could use it to disappear or teleport. Nope. The only other time Impa is seen before Link travels through time is when she escapes the Market with Zelda by horse, and you can’t question her motivations for that, she was clearly saving Zelda from Ganondorf and his followers… or… was she?

Yes, of course she was. Why in Hyrule would she escape with Zelda for any other reason? After Link travels to the future, we only meet Sheik once more: after Link has gone and rescued those he met as a child, he is drawn to Kakariko Village, which he finds in flames and under attack by what appears to be a ghost. Sheik reveals the ‘ghost’ to be the evil that was sealed under the well, and that Impa has now gone to the Shadow Temple to seal it again. At the request of Sheik, Link goes to find the Lens of Truth so that he can navigate the Shadow Temple.

Link eventually finds his way through the Shadow Temple, but with no sign of Impa. After defeating the evil that was once sealed in the well, Link is teleported back to the Chamber of the Sages, where he meets up with Impa one last time. It’s interesting to note, from the way she speaks, that it would seem that she always knew that she was and is the Sage of Shadow:

“I am Impa, one of the Sheikah. I am Princess Zelda’s caretaker, and I am also the Sage who guards the Shadow Temple.”

While others who are awakened as Sages are surprised at this revelation, Impa simply takes it in her stride, as if to say, “So I’m a Sage, huh? What else is new?” With the Sheikah also being known as the Shadow Folk, it’s understandable that she’d make an educated estimate, but, she can’t know for certain… or can she? If so, how?

Impa goes on to explain that the Sheikah have been the guardians of the Royal Family for generations, and that when Ganondorf attacked the castle, Impa fled with Zelda. She tells Link that Zelda is safe, and that he will soon meet her, and in conclusion, adds her power to his in the form of the Shadow Medallion. I have no idea what this Medallion might do, just let me know what you guys think.

Going back to Impa saying the Sheikah protect the Royal Family, it is also said that Impa founded Kakariko Village, and it was once the town of the Sheikah. The Sheikah were nearly wiped out after the Hyrulean Civil War, just before Zelda was born, and being one of the only survivors, Impa followed the duty of the Sheikah and left the village in the hands of the other races of Hyrule (however, only the Hylians populate it) to go and protect the young Princess, after she had been born. But Impa is one of the last Sheikah, not the last Sheikah, as is proven by the fact that the Sheikah continue their existence in the Downfall and Child Timelines, so where are the other surviving Sheikah? They have no reason to hide, so where could they be? Hidden amongst the population of Kakariko, or amongst the whole kingdom?

Wherever the Sheikah might be, why are they hiding? Is it simply in Impa’s character to not be surprised, or did she somehow know that she was going to be the Sage of Shadow? Could another, hiding member of the Sheikah have been the Sage of Shadow? What is the purpose of the Shadow Medallion? Let me know in the comments.

Now Link is on to the next step in his journey to saving Hyrule…

The detail that is shown in this piece is awesome! It really shows how big Death Mountain is and how intimidating it can look to a young child that has to climb it in order to reach the next step in his quest. I’m pretty sure Link felt kinda scared when he was climbing up the mountain due to it’s intimidating size.

The artist has other artwork located in their gallery. Please go give it a look and let them know what you thought of this piece! Also please let us know in the comments section below!

Stay tuned for the next Zelda Fanart Spotlight! Until then!

It’s probably best to define what an RPG is before delving into this topic. Opinions on what is and isn’t an RPG differ, but for the sake of this article, I’ll define it as:

a system of gameplay based on character stats.

This is incredibly vague, but that’s good; it’s vague enough to encompass everything that can be reasonably considered an RPG without including strictly adventure games. It can also explain RPG systems incorporated in non-RPG games, like Metroidvanias.

The disadvantage of this broad definition is that it could almost include sim games, RTS games, and MOBAs. That’s why it’s important that RPG gameplay is based on character stats. While this definition may still cover some games that are not RPGs, it still generally represents the drive of RPG gameplay: Building characters. It goes without saying that the “stats” are calculations; RPGs are math games.

Obviously, I speak without authority on this topic, and I can’t prove I’m right about this assessment. However, trends in the most popular RPGs should bear this perception out.

It might be time to introduce some RPG elements to Zelda.

“Why?” is the single most important question to ask before proposing anything new for Zelda games. It’s a question that could benefit all sorts of controversial discussions about the series — a game’s place in the timeline, a “darker” direction for the story, realistic/toon-shaded graphics, voice acting, etc. It’s a question that, regardless of your opinion of any single game in the series or obvious series trends, the developers often seem to ask themselves. When they change something about the world, many other elements follow suit. The developers consistently ask themselves how different aspects of their games can synergize with each other, and more importantly, why those elements coexist. Whatever you think of the trains in Spirit Tracks, for example, the world was clearly designed around them, as was the story, as were the items. It’s this sort of consistency which points toward a real conscientiousness in the development of these games. Other examples are the time element and masks in Majora’s Mask, the Dark World/Light Word mechanic in A Link to the Past, and the synergy between the graphics, story, and mechanics of The Wind Waker.

The first and most obvious reason why RPG elements could benefit Zelda is that for a lot of people, Zelda games either are RPGs or are awfully close. You could say they meet some of the same criteria people expect from RPGs. It was popular a few years ago to call Zelda games RPGs. Though this doesn’t meet even the broad definition I outlined at the beginning of this article, there are some striking similarities between Zelda games and RPGs.

Zelda games are about building a character. Through collection of heart containers, upgrading equipment, etc., you perform many of the same tasks you do in an RPG. The difference is, of course, that stat-building is far more restrictive. There is almost always a single best way to build Link, and the stat boosts are incentive for exploration; he real gameplay lies in discovering the world, using keys (sometimes in the forms of items, sometimes in the form of literal keys) to proceed down a series of linear paths toward well-defined goals. The games aren’t about stat-boosting, but they still fulfill the same basic criteria.

RPGs are trendy, and it’s easy to see why. On a visceral level, they’re addictive. However, this trendiness coincides with a simplification of RPG gameplay and a marriage with other gameplay styles. The most popular RPGs are no longer just RPGs.

For an example of how simplified RPGs have become, boot up an early Ultima game or even Baldur’s Gate: You’re likely to be a bit intimidated if you’ve been weaned on the last 10 years of WRPG gameplay. Sure, Baldur’s Gate was real-time, but developer BioWare didn’t hide the fact that the combat boiled down to dice rolls. Even the comparatively recent Knights of the Old Republic series follows a similar pattern, with real-time combat that’s still unmistakably RPG combat.

Something interesting happened with the release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, as well as Mass Effect and a number of other early last-gen WRPGs; blatantly RPG-like combat became scorned on these shores. It didn’t matter if it was turn-based, like a number of JRPGs, or simply not action-based; combat which consistently reminded you you were playing an RPG was bad. Combat which made you think you were playing a third person shooter or a melee-based action game was good, because this was “real gameplay.”

Naturally, this extended to the stats as well. Few people would question whether or not Oblivion’s follow-up, Skyrim, is an RPG. It certainly is by the broad definition listed above, though it is also less of a numbers game than all of its predecessors. Unlike Oblivion, Morrowind, Daggerfall, and Arena, you won’t find yourself spending much time balancing numbers; instead, the game is designed so that you can smoothly graduate through different skill trees, igniting perks. There’s incentive to specialize, as better perks are located near the end of perk trees, but gone is the comparably complex system of skills bound to attributes. This downplays the RPG elements, but it doesn’t eliminate them, and the rewards you get for moving up a perk tree are very tangible. It’s not just about stat boosts; it’s about being able to feel the improvements in your character.

Whether this sort of thing is good or bad for RPGs is debatable, but it’s fantastic for tearing down the walls between the RPG and the adventure game. Coupled with the inherent character building of the Zelda series and the character customization of Skyward Sword, there are opportunities for synergy. If the developers ever felt inclined to incorporate RPG-like elements, I have no doubt that they could do a good job. They would fit the Zelda series like a glove.

Considering that Zelda games are already based around making Link stronger, the danger is that an RPG system would be redundant. Series precedent, however, points toward a different possibility. Zelda II experimented with incorporating RPG elements, and its results were arguably somewhat successful. It’s hard to gauge just how much it was a subversion of the series’ basic elements. Like the original, it offered exploration, nonlinear gameplay, item acquisition as a prominent gameplay mechanic and for unlocking parts of the overworld, and fast-paced, challenging combat. The RPG elements came from the rudimentary stat-boosting that let the player choose where to invest the levels he had gained.

The trick is that success in Zelda II is hard-won. Imagine the game if you didn’t gain experience from fights! Would braving Death Mountain even feel worthwhile without the significant experience point gain from harder enemies? Likewise, would dying have the same implications if incompetence didn’t carry with it the threat of losing hard-earned experience points? The system took a quirky change and magnified it. Fortunately, its rewards system was also good; by letting the player invest gained levels in different attributes, it extended control to him, a theme that kept with series precedent. Attack, Defense, and Magic were all important to surviving and interacting with the world, and every aspect of that world encouraged enhancement of one of those attributes.

Zelda II isn’t perfect and it’s far from a personal favorite, but it does show how a leveling system need not be a wholesale betrayal of classic series concepts. It’s worth noting that Heart Containers still existed and weren’t rendered redundant in this game; rather, adding Defense simply decreased the amount of damage you took from enemies.

Okami, an action-adventure that is cut from the same cloth as Zelda, has a similar system. Throughout the game, you get varying amounts of praise for interacting with the world, defeating enemies, and doing other tasks. As with Zelda II, different attributes — this time Health, Ink Pots, an Astral Pouch that revives you, and a Wallet — can be invested in. Unfortunately, the Astral Pouch isn’t particularly useful, but there are always good reasons for upgrading your Wallet, Health, and Ink Pots. Ink Pots act as magic in Okami, and they are used constantly. The entire world is built around the magic mechanics, as most Zelda game worlds are built around their signature gimmicks. Health is self-explanatory, and having a steady stream of Health might carry more utility for a certain type of player. Money is everywhere in the game, and you will want to upgrade your Wallet to get the most out of it. As an “RPG element,” this isn’t actually that much of a step up from what’s already in adventure games. It’s easily implemented, easily understood, and gives stat boosts without blatant numbers games.

Again, these are RPG elements at the most basic level. A modern RPG might point towards a more-specific system that could work for a Zelda game.

Remember Skyrim’s perk system? It’s one of the funnest things about that game, and it’s also not too dissimilar from the tangible rewards you get throughout Zelda games. These do modify your stats, and they let you know they do — but they do it in an accessible, fun way that’s suitable for an action game. Xenoblade takes many of the best elements from real-time RPGs, MMOs, and classic RPG systems and combines them. From the start of the game, you can select different skill trees, which act as perks for your characters. Perks can improve the way your characters fight, give them access to more items at the end of battle, affect combos, and do a myriad of other things.

Item upgrades in Skyward Sword actually emulated “perks” pretty well — there was an immediate, tangible benefit for upgrading the Beetle, for example, that made all the trouble you had to go through worthwhile. In fact, Zelda games are based on immediate rewards; cutting damage in half, increasing your number of Heart Containers, and getting a new item or tunic all change the way you interact with the world. They open new areas or simply let you have fun in the virtual playground Nintendo constructed.

More complex, traditional RPG systems that bring numbers and more specific stats to the fore could also work, but they would run the risk of swallowing the adventure elements.

The systems introduced thus far are just some of a myriad of options available, and there’s always the possibility that the developers of a new Zelda game will stumble on a brand new way to incorporate either complex or simplified RPG systems.

I do not think turning Zelda into a pure RPG is a good idea; the games have always been action-adventures. However, since that line is being blurred, RPG elements can be incorporated without undermining the adventure elements. So long as that is the case, there is no reason why this can’t be one of many approaches for a new Zelda game. After all, Aonuma has already expressed an interest in increasing player freedom; what better way to go about it? RPG systems in Zelda wouldn’t necessarily stick closely to precedent, but they would give the games something new to offer without betraying the vision of what a Zelda game can and should be about.

Author: Hanyou

Hanyou has worked for the article staff, both as a writer and as an editor, for over a year. He has also been an active member of the Zelda Dungeon forums since 2008 and an avid fan of the Zelda franchise since 1998. He has degrees in writing.

Whether or not the janitor intended to grasp the attention of young students to possibly bring recognition to the Zelda series, or merely express their artistic skills during a break (or on the job), these drawings certainly managed to capture enough student attention to be spread and admired on the internet and in the cafeteria. Hit the jump to see more!

As seen in the picture below, Wolf Link and Midna are impressively illustrated from the chained cuff on Link’s forearm to Midna’s mask. Even Link’s mane seems to be a rather realistic representation of the Twilight Princess art style .

It sure would be funny if these drawings were really in permanent marker. It remains a mystery as to whether or not the janitor was fired, hopefully not. Overall, how great would it be to have a school janitor that went about leaving some amazing video game art only to surprise you when walking into class, or some masterpiece upon a whiteboard to keep your mind off boring lectures? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Source: Kotaku

With that, the DS games created their very own little sub-type of Transportation overworlds: Fixed Tracks, in which Link has minimal exploration potential and need simply point out where to go. Though different from the other transportation games in gameplay, these overworlds still remained quite similar in their music. Jump in to see!

Title: The Great Sea
Game: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

We are treading some very familiar ground here. While this is not an exact copy of The Wind Waker‘s “Great Sea,” this same-named iteration is still extremely similar. It is so close that its few differences could easily be blamed on nothing more than the DS’s software limitations.

With that in mind, though, I would say that this song is still pretty good. I vastly prefer Wind Waker‘s version since it is such higher quality, but nonetheless the tune works just fine on DS anyway.

There is a slightly different application for this tune here as well. As I mentioned above, instead of an open overworld with endless exploration potential, you are now in a more fixed motion since Link’s ship literally follows a line to his destination. Even with the point-and-tap cannon shots and occasional jumps, the travelling segments in this game lack the same epic feel as Wind Waker‘s in my opinion. In that case, I suppose it is more fitting that the tune’s hardware is a bit more restrained.

Title: Overworld Adventure
Game: Spirit Tracks (DS)

Ah, here we are; the highlight of DS Zelda soundtracks, and one of my favorite overworlds in the entire series. I have actually written an article about this track before, but I have no problem talking about it again. Still, I will keep it brief; for more about the track you can check out its original post.

A lot of Zelda games managed to take their overworlds unique traits into consideration when the music was composed. Still, among all the excellent musical pieces, Spirit Tracks still stands out fairly well. One of my favorite parts of this song is the undercurrent of banjos and tambourines. The pair make up a steady rhythm that match perfectly with the train’s chugging noises. I find this to be an excellent use of an overworld’s theme for its tune, and it is one of the standout parts of Spirit Tracks for me.

Conclusion
That concludes the DS games, which marks the end of the transportation overworld section of this Overworld series. So, as a recap of the past month or so:
Week 1, I summarized what makes an overworld theme and specified the different categories.
In Week 2 I covered the first batch of exploration overworlds with The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, and The Minish Cap.
With Week 3, I chose to focus entirely on Twilight Princess and the way the game used its overworld tune as a recurring theme.
For Week 4 we came to the GameBoy games, including both Oracle games and Link’s Awakening, which all shared a common tune.
Finally, Week 5 covered Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, bringing the Exploration overworld titles to a close.
Last week I covered the first half of the Transport overworlds with The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword, and this week of course ended that section with the DS titles.
This leaves just two more Zelda games: Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, which are the unique Stage Select games that don’t have an interconnected overworld but rather segmented gameplay sections connected by menus. Check back next week to see their inclusion!

The post began with an amusing infographic that we were able to embed below, and was followed by an article that outlined the process used to determine the conclusion of the infographic.

Particularly amusing is the revelation that Hyrule is supposedly fifteenth century Tuscany. Why do I get the feeling that explains a lot?

One thing that I’ve never understood however is why people use video game characters to determine the scale of the locations they’re in. I’m not sure that that’s the priority in the minds of the designers and developers. Grigson’s method of determining the soldier’s width is solid enough, but how on earth would she determine that 120 of him would take up one wall?

Anyway, you can read the article for yourself at the link below. So what about it? Who wants to start a castle fund?

Source: Movoto