Away Game Special: In the Hidden Temple in the Sky

The final (I know I've said that in this blog of a few dungeons, now) dungeon of Skyward Sword is excellent. The mechanic of shifting the placement of rooms via a sliding block puzzle is a great way to add challenge to what otherwise might have been a very quick affair.

Because, writing honestly, there's little that can stand in your way at this point in the game. You've got all the sword upgrades, all the items, all the knowledge and experience gleaned from a game's worth of play. In fact, the greatest challenge so far (aside from figuring out the best room from which to slide around the other rooms) was the fight with Dreadfuse.

Timing shield hits to knock this miniboss off balance and avoiding his electrified sword and hook proved downright trying after having re-adjusted to The Wind Waker's controls. Still, there are probably tougher monsters guarding the pieces of the Triforce. Or, perhaps they'll all be three hit K.O. pushovers.

Away Game Special: Demos of the Day

After hearing about them for weeks on Radio Free Nintendo and the Famicast, I finally tried my hand at Mutant Mudds and HarmoKnight. Both experiences were just demos, but they both showed what each game is all about.

HarmoKnight might be the first rhythm game that I can actually play somewhat well. Some attacks missed their mark, and the trickier jump sequences consistently tripped me up, but it's definitely a game I would play more of. Part of the reason for this is that the game's visual style and comic-book-like cutscenes are very endearing.

Mutant Mudds was also a great demo, and it's got me interested in more of the game. But, I find myself interested in it in the same way I'm interested in the old sidescrolling Mega Man games. It looks and plays like it would be a decent challenge, but ultimately there wasn't much that set it apart from other sidescrolling shooters. The jet pack is cool, and probably has several upgrades (as does your water cannon), but, without any of these things in the demo, it seems more generic than HarmoKnight.

I also played through the demo of the Art of Balance TOUCH!. Unfortunately, its demo is just too short. You can play through several balancing puzzles, but, as with Mutant Mudds, I don't think enough of the game's unique mechanics are really showcased. As you play through each puzzle, they get more and more difficult, but nothing really spectacular is shown.

So, of the three demos I tried, HarmoKnight came out on top. This game is, in and of itself, a spectacle. However, whether or not it's spectacular is another question, one that can only be answered by buying it and playing through more.

Pokemon as a Virtual Reality Pioneer

The online component of Pokemon Black/White (1 and 2) is emblematic of the brand extensions technology makes possible. That such an extension be attached to Pokemon is no surprise, since even the first gen games required you to either buy more than one version or link up with a friend to complete the game. It's a technique that's seen the Pokemon name spread far and wide.

As far as marketing goes this overrunning of everything with Pokemon is great for the brand. People are hungry for Pokemon and anything legitimately released with the name is bound to sell in bulk just about anywhere and everywhere video games are sold. As far as gaming goes, these extensions could mean something else.

The story of the Pokemon games has never been particularly deep, and for the most part its characters are archetypes. But the mechanic of catching 'em all creates a desire - almost a frenzy - in Pokemon fans to play each game to completion. This need to catch 'em all has seen the game spread into AR (Augmented Reality) territory, and to the purely online space of the Global Link (where the Dream World aspect of Black/White is accessed).

Since Pokemon's already spread so far, and catching Pokemon is a lot like catching bugs or collecting plants, Pokemon is in a position to be among the first virtual reality games out there. It's technology that's still years away, perhaps, but after that gap of time is closed, I think a Pokemon game (or maybe just an app) will be quick to follow.

Using the Wind God's Wind - Again!

The first thing I always do after coming back from Hyrule for the first time in the Wind Waker, or just from the Tower of the Gods, is get the game's warp ability. I sail into the first cyclone I see and then open fire on Cyclos until he goes down.

For such a powerful ability - especially in a game where travelling between islands can take a lot of empty time - you'd expect it to be more of a challenge. But, because arrows pierce, I suppose, once you get three hits Cyclos comes down to you and grants you control over the sea's cyclones.

Speaking of easy, but perhaps more worthily so, there's nothing to getting the magical armour in The Wind Waker. Once you've got all of the primary trading goods, you can just return to Windfall, and the shopkeeper hands it over. The magical armour puts a drain on your magic meter, but unless I'm mistaken there's a potion somewhere that boosts it, or at the least makes it temporarily limitless. If I'm right and I'm lucky, it does so for in-game days on end.

Completely unrelated to The Wind Waker, but I'm in the middle of a move to a new place right now. I'm also going to be busy with Greek Easter related events for the next four days. Because of these commitments, I won't be able to update this blog at six and six.

With that said, I'll still update this blog at least once a day for the next four days. After that, it will be back to its updated twice daily self!

A Short on Unity

Along with the official timeline, the Hyrule Historia walks you through said timeline. This more in-depth timeline is all right. The art dotting it is neat, and the trivia that can be found within it is sort of interesting. But, the information provided is practically the same as reading the "Story" portion of all of the Zelda games' manuals.

Off to the side of each page there are some terms that get a little bit of in-depth treatment, but for the most part these terms are well known to players of the Zelda games. They're also written with an "in-world" perspective, which maintains the illusion of the timeline being a kind of chronicle. On the other hand, though, the development history of the terms defined would have made their definitions much more interesting reads.

However, the true value of the in depth timeline is that it weaves all of the major Zelda games together into one story. This unity of story is much appreciated, and no doubt there are hints or nods towards premises for future games in the series. Unfortunately, I've not come across any such hints yet.

Moving Day Special: Anodyne Again!

Since today was a little chaotic, I didn't get any time with The Wind Waker. Instead, I took some minutes out of my move to play a little further into the computer game Anodyne. As a quick refresher, it's a Legend of Zelda-esque game in which you wander through the main character's subconscious. It's good, retro-gaming fun.

And its platforming is really difficult.

Your jump, first off, is pretty shallow, and the edges of platforms are slippery. Unless you land squarely on solid ground, you'll fall into whatever chasm you were trying to cross. And when trying to avoid rolling spiked bars and enemies, square landings can't always be struck.

At least in Link's Awakening you could walk/run onto a platform from the edge. But Anodyne shows no such mercy on this front.

Extending Timelines

Say what you will about the timeline found in the Hyrule Historia, it's still an interesting piece of work. In particular, it's kind of cute how the writers of the Historia decided it was necessary to clearly state, to paraphrase, that their timeline could change. The story of Hyrule changes with the teller, and so when there's a different teller, there will be a different story. Maybe we'll see a Zelda first-person game someday after all - maybe even before Miyamoto retires, since that's been an interest of his from the days of Ocarina of Time.

What's really intriguing about the timeline, though, is the sense of permanence it lends the story of (most) of the Zelda games released to date. Rather than letting them be a loose conglomeration of games with similar stories, but always varying gameplay mechanics, the timeline gets them in line and lets them tell a story larger than any of them could on their own.

There are also places on the timeline that are described with only a dash. Along with building things further along any of the forks, it's fair to say that the blank spaces are just waiting for games that may already have some concepts kicking around.

With the next Zelda being a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, the timeline becomes even more solid. A new Zelda game might interrupt the flow, but a sequel to A Link to the Past would fit nicely in between the original and Link's Awakening. Maybe we'll even get some more explanation of why Link decided to go on the excursion he was on at the beginning of Link's Awakening.

With all the framework in place, we can only hope that Nintendo builds the structure sounder than it was before.