Wizzrobes must've given Misery Mire its name

I've been dogged by a foe since The Legend of Zelda on the NES. A mysterious, vanishing wizard in form obscuring garb: the wizzrobe. These guys have ended more of my adventures as Link than Ganon could ever hope to.

At the least, Misery Mire lived up to its name.

Within that dungeon's depths are some three Link corpses. One fell at the gaze of the dungeon's boss, the other two at the hands of wizzrobes. Each prone, green-tunicked body was swept aside with a quick reset, though.

I am going to finish this game with zero deaths. Even if it means playing parts of it four times over.

Besides, this ought to be the llast time I get careless and is definitely the last time I'll leave such a gap between saves. Nothing teaches you to save often like having to replay sections of a game over again.

Though this little boondoggle got me thinking. Saving in Zelda games was a roundabout process up  until the franchise went 3D.

In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask you're asked if you want to save each time you exit your menu. In the HD remake of The Wind Waker, though, the save button is once more tucked aside.

Is this shift a reflection of Nintendo's broadening the Zelda franchise's approachability?

Most people who've picked up The Wind Waker probably have experience with the series if not that entry specifically. So the need to save frequently isn't really present, and putting the save button amidst your menus makes sense.

Whatever the case, my liason with A Link to the Past is just about over. The Ice Palace and Turtle Rock loom before Ganon's Tower, but each is about to take its own quick tumble.

A History that Never Was

Hyrule Historia is a must for anyone who calls themselves a Zelda fan. It's true that it gives a bit too much space to Skyward Sword, but the coverage of the other games is greatly appreciated. Though, I wonder if maybe it's been so well received because instruction manuals no longer have as much trivia/concept art as they did in the days of the NES, and SNES.

However, none of those manuals ever had a comic in the back of them.

Compared to the full-bodied manga done by the two-lady team of Akira Hinakawa, that found at the back of the Historia's quite short, but the art is just as sweeping as any of the full-volume counterparts. And the story reads like something that could be a cutscene from Skyward Sword or another game in itself. Which makes fine sense, since the Zelda games keep getting deeper and deeper into that world's past. Hopefully the Wii U game bucks this trend, as we've gone back far enough, for now.

Away Game Special: Anodyne

Getting away from console gaming is fine with me, though Anodyne definitely owes a lot to the NES/SNES era of action adventure games. Because it's a computer-based game, it also smacks quite a bit of RPGMaker 2000 to me. I think it's mostly the game's graphical style, since squat sprites and square environments are that application's bread and butter.

Anyway, though I've only nibbled at the demo so far, Anodyne is a smooth experience that is just slightly off of straightforward. No hands are held, since the game's good at what old school action adventure games were - giving you a finite number of options to go forward and making it possible for you to try them until you find success. And really, that's what's missing from a lot of modern adventure games, the puzzle aspect that doesn't have to be a brainteaser, but can just be bump in the road that's too high to go over, too wide to go around, but completely combustible since you have bombs, or already burrowed through if you look hard enough.

So, though I'm in no way affiliated with the makers of the game, If you haven't already, check out Anodyne here.