Man, I seem to be the only one excited to see On Stranger Tides. Stripped free of the Wilizabeth plot that was so neatly wrapped up during At World's End, it's free to be Jack's movie and I admit he's one of the main reasons I love the series. Plus, it has Ian McShane as Blackbeard and has mermaids. French Mermaids. French. Mermaids. 'Nuff said. Also, Deathly Hallows, Part 2 seems like it'll be as great a closer as the book was for me. Still would've liked Harry to get with Luna, though that's a conversation for another time.
Anyway, on to my personal all-time favorite franchise in gaming:
Anyway, on to my personal all-time favorite franchise in gaming:
Ah, Zelda. It's definitely a game designed by the 80's: wide-open areas, full of adventure and exploration, the silent hero a Link to the player (the pun returns in Game 3, forgive me) for immersion's sake, and that unmistakable Nintendo Hard quality to it. The latter is why I was only able to beat it once as a kid, and I haven't gotten much better at it in the decade since, haha.
It's the kinda game you had friends over with to help with making your own maps of the Overworld, your own notes of the Underworld dungeons, and to figure out exactly what the heck the Old Man meant when he said "Dondongo dislikes smoke". It's a difficult game to be sure, worthy of the promise of epic adventuring to my young mind.
It's a shame the NES version we own no longer has the included 'invaluable maps' and strategic help, though I made my own maps and figured out a couple things from my play through of Ocarina of Time when I finally decided to hunker down and beat the game from start to finish.
While I own a snazzy gold NES cartridge, I also have the game available on the Gamecube Collector's Edition (or had, I can't find my copy), the Game Boy Advance port, and finally on Wii from the Virtual Console, which is the way I played it this time around. The GBA version was for portability (and $10) and the VC was for it's save state capability.
The game play was the blueprint for the classic Zelda formula: Overworld exploration, Dungeon crawling with a combination of combat and puzzle elements, leading to a weapon that is usually required to continue and to defeat the boss, collect an item, repeat. It holds up just fine today (though a wee bit too predictable for some) and those familiar with the series will see the basics. The hints given are a bit vague due to the limit character count on NES titles, but most of the head-stumpers are solvable by simply experimenting and thinking a bit about that "loud noises" can technically be created by a small recorder.
The graphics were simple, the music hummable, and the controls sharp. The original debuted the concept of a battery-powered save, alleviating the need to enter a long password to resume progress in a later play through. It popularized a large non-linear world to explore at your leisure, with challenges both inherent and self-imposed (like beating the game without receiving the Sword, the beautiful and skilled nutcases). The Legend of Zelda also popularized assigning various equipment and items to a button for easy access. It's influence is felt all over the gaming world, and is much the better for it.
The story is there, but only barely. It's Nintendo's go-to story playbook of "Save the Princess!", though this gets expanded on heavily in further installments as the land of Hyrule is also fleshed out through different time periods. It began the tale of a Hero, Link, on a journey to answer the telepathic plea of Princess Zelda to rescue her from the clutches of the Prince of Darkness, Ganon, who seeks the Triforce of Wisdom to match his Triforce of Power. Simple and gets the job done.
This was the second time I began and completed the game from start to finish and the first time I got 100% completion (all Heart Containers, items, Rupees, upgrades, etc.) with a bit of online help. It's absolutely the second-hardest Zelda for me, the first being it's sequel. This is partly because I came to a personal epiphany on newer games being 'more difficult'.
While most of us born before the 90's agree games have generally gotten easier over time, I know for me there are a few more factors to explain this phenomenon. I'm a big stickler for control, and if I don't like the controls or if they feel too loose, that can really impact my game. Zelda I only uses compass controls of left, right, up, and down. This severely hampers my ability of 'fluid' game play in the sense that I can't flow between moving and attacking as effectively as I would like. The third game lets you move in all eight 2D directions, such as semi-strafing North-West while either protecting your North or West.
Link moves somewhat like a robot in this one, and it's just how the game was back then. I'm too used to Super NES 8-directional movement and the 360 degree movement a Control Stick and Touch Pad provide that I've almost grown out of the archaic four-direction movement scheme. A minor gripe, but it looks to passersby that I royally suck when aiming or trying to get around an enemy I can't be bothered to fight.
Some older games are more difficult for me because of their controls, not necessarily their difficulty in terms of enemy opposition. Don't get me wrong, the game is still Nintendo Hard, since even at the end of the game Ganon got me down to two Hearts (without me using a Life Potion, though I did use two on the trek to the final battle) and some enemies I've always despised and some that I always had respect for (Darknuts are always honorable and worthy foes, Tektites are still the spawn of Satan) still keep me on my toes.
Certain games, like Super Mario Bros., have inherent advantages in the control department. SMB was and still is a sharp-controlling platformer, with the options to run either left or right, how much momentum you use, and when to jump and shoot fireballs. On a top-down game like Zelda, being limited to only four strict areas of movement hurts me a bit, but not to the point that it's unplayable. I just have to think I'm playing on a grid system, as much as my brain urges me to move freely.
Minor control gripes aside, the game is a classic, though not my favorite Zelda, as time will tell in later not-really-reviews.
Main Games
While most of us born before the 90's agree games have generally gotten easier over time, I know for me there are a few more factors to explain this phenomenon. I'm a big stickler for control, and if I don't like the controls or if they feel too loose, that can really impact my game. Zelda I only uses compass controls of left, right, up, and down. This severely hampers my ability of 'fluid' game play in the sense that I can't flow between moving and attacking as effectively as I would like. The third game lets you move in all eight 2D directions, such as semi-strafing North-West while either protecting your North or West.Link moves somewhat like a robot in this one, and it's just how the game was back then. I'm too used to Super NES 8-directional movement and the 360 degree movement a Control Stick and Touch Pad provide that I've almost grown out of the archaic four-direction movement scheme. A minor gripe, but it looks to passersby that I royally suck when aiming or trying to get around an enemy I can't be bothered to fight.
Some older games are more difficult for me because of their controls, not necessarily their difficulty in terms of enemy opposition. Don't get me wrong, the game is still Nintendo Hard, since even at the end of the game Ganon got me down to two Hearts (without me using a Life Potion, though I did use two on the trek to the final battle) and some enemies I've always despised and some that I always had respect for (Darknuts are always honorable and worthy foes, Tektites are still the spawn of Satan) still keep me on my toes.
Certain games, like Super Mario Bros., have inherent advantages in the control department. SMB was and still is a sharp-controlling platformer, with the options to run either left or right, how much momentum you use, and when to jump and shoot fireballs. On a top-down game like Zelda, being limited to only four strict areas of movement hurts me a bit, but not to the point that it's unplayable. I just have to think I'm playing on a grid system, as much as my brain urges me to move freely.
Minor control gripes aside, the game is a classic, though not my favorite Zelda, as time will tell in later not-really-reviews.
Main Games
1. The Legend of Zelda
Most titles in the Zelda series are 'main' titles, though I'll mention the few spin-offs as they come up.
With that settled, I'll cover Final Fantasy next, since I'm currently on FFII in the Finest Fantasy for Advance Collection for I & II on GBA. Oh boy, talk about other games made in the 80's.
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With Easter being last Sunday, it's also nice to be able to draw again. I'm still as rusty as ever, but all the Disney films I'm watching is giving me hope I can put some decent art up on my dA account by the time I go to the Resort next month. Tarzan's definitely one of my favorites.
Here's hoping!
By the way, that wedding? I felt like it was a magical moment, though I hadn't thought so until 3am when Kate revealed her wedding dress. Simply gorgeous. He was nervous as all hell, she was taking it all in stride, beautiful place for a wedding. Also remembered how much of a crush I have on Princess Eugenie... Gonna prolly sketch that up for dA eventually.
Something just adorable/hopeful about a country girl becoming a princess~
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