The third installment in the Zelda series makes a return to the top-down 2D gameplay of the original. Link must travel between the Light and Dark Worlds in order to set things right in the kingdom of Hyrule.
Taking a break from FNV (level 33 and yet to meet up with Benny, I fucking love exploring) to play through something from another time and place, yet with a similar vibe: Zelda:LttP. Where can I add achievements for this classic?!? ;)
God I love the older Zeldas. I've played through the original at least five or six times since 1987, but LttP only once, on an emulator with a crusty old gamepad. The game has been pure joy thus far, especially the finely-tuned difficulty level and pacing, which is so perfectly measured for the size of the game world. I'm sure that at some point it will start to feel small and easy; even FNV feels small and easy now that I have found about 130 locations and my beloved Gobi. But it surprises me to no end that the LttP gameworld, so small that you can see its individual trees on the map, somehow manages to make it seem like it's a trek from your house to Lake Hylia. A real accomplishment, that.
I've been using the keyboard this time around, but am about to try to get DarwiinRemote (classic controller) running. I am a little hesitant to do so because the controller is new, the d-pad is stiff, and I remember the very real pain caused by Nintendo Thumb. But the old, crusty gamepad connects via ADB and I'm not in the mood to buy a wireless dongle for that already-wireless 360 controller. Let's see how this goes.
Taking a break from FNV (level 33 and yet to meet up with Benny, I fucking love exploring) to play through something from another time and place, yet with a similar vibe: Zelda:LttP. Where can I add achievements for this classic?!? ;)
God I love the older Zeldas. I've played through the original at least five or six times since 1987, but LttP only once, on an emulator with a crusty old gamepad. The game has been pure joy thus far, especially the finely-tuned difficulty level and pacing, which is so perfectly measured for the size of the game world. I'm sure that at some point it will start to feel small and easy; even FNV feels small and easy now that I have found about 130 locations and my beloved Gobi. But it surprises me to no end that the LttP gameworld, so small that you can see its individual trees on the map, somehow manages to make it seem like it's a trek from your house to Lake Hylia. A real accomplishment, that.
I've been using the keyboard this time around, but am about to try to get DarwiinRemote (classic controller) running. I am a little hesitant to do so because the controller is new, the d-pad is stiff, and I remember the very real pain caused by Nintendo Thumb. But the old, crusty gamepad connects via ADB and I'm not in the mood to buy a wireless dongle for that already-wireless 360 controller. Let's see how this goes.
Yes this and all the game boy games in it's style were pretty great (though I found oracle of ages a bit easy) I probably have more fond memories of Link's Awakening but that's mainly because it was my first Zelda games (I also found it quite hard so I felt pretty proud completing it, but I was pretty young at the time)
I heard rumours that Nintendo were considering remaking this for the 3DS, I'm interested to see what that would look like, though perhaps it would lose a bit of it's charm without it's 2D style.
Acutally, I've only played through Link to the Past once, and I was like 12... I should probably do so again. All I remember is... the biggest bomb in the world.
Acutally, I've only played through Link to the Past once, and I was like 12... I should probably do so again. All I remember is... the biggest bomb in the world.
Fuck yeah!
Now I have to play through this game again this weekend.
I must say that as fun as this game is, there are a few parts of this game that, even as an adult, I gave the screen a middle finger to:
1: The third pendant boss:
Its annoying enough that the thing's goofy rolling bug eyes creep your inner child out, but you can only hurt it by hitting its very end, it takes multiple hits...every other piece of its body sends you bouncing around if you attack it...
Oh, and you're fighting here:
A tiny little platform with no walls. Strike the boss in the wrong way and you'll fall off the sides (or the hole), have to climb back up, and have to start over. Yup, the little turd recovers all his hit points every time you fall off the sides.
And yes, with his last few hits he shifts into high gear and speeds around the arena.
2: The entirety of the 5th crystal palace.
Slippery floors, rotating fire gates, ice golems that only die to fire attacks, murderous penguins
(OH GOD WHY DOES IT HAVE TEETH KILL IT WITH FIRE)
And a block puzzle that to this day requires me to use a strategy guide....okay so that last one is probably only me and my idiocy, but its hard to solve a block puzzle when every other room is full of slippery firey spikey death.
Oh yeah, almost forgot about Stalfos Knights...buggers won't stay down unless you drop a bomb on 'em.
None of the other dungeons are this annoying before or afterwards. Its like the development team came in from a bad night of drinking, cold weather, and pachinko and just decided to throw the player a curveball. Every other dungeon can be solved by random poking, prodding, and slashing about...in fact, some others feel half-assed or rushed.
Even Ganon's Tower doesn't feel so bad, because the worst you have to do is navigate one room with an invisible floor (with holes). You don't even get a decent boss rush! You fight slightly modified versions of the 3 pendant bosses, which die in like 3 hits (at most) to the level 3 three sword.
3: Anti-fairies...
Bouncing around what seems to be a random pattern...but I swear they home in on you in some odd way that gets you when you least expect it. They take life AND magic power when they touch you. For the longest time I considered them just another invincible annoyance, like the moving spikes, magical pulse balls, and fire gates/traps.
I guess I could have figured out how to combat these guys in my youth, all on my own. I knew that the magic powder did some weird things in the game (it even gives evolutionary powers to a certain chicken in Kakariko Village), and also could awaken a "curse" to have your magic meter drop at half the rate it normally does while using magic items.
But it wasn't until I read a guide a few weeks ago that I had the head-meets-keyboard realization that
A: these things are called anti-fairies
B: magic powder turns them into real, usable and bottle-able fairies.
I recently just played LttP again (December 2011) after not touching it since being a kid. I honestly have no idea how I managed to beat the game at such a young age.
I must say that as fun as this game is, there are a few parts of this game that, even as an adult, I gave the screen a middle finger to:
1: The third pendant boss:
Its annoying enough that the thing's goofy rolling bug eyes creep your inner child out, but you can only hurt it by hitting its very end, it takes multiple hits...every other piece of its body sends you bouncing around if you attack it...
Oh, and you're fighting here:
A tiny little platform with no walls. Strike the boss in the wrong way and you'll fall off the sides (or the hole), have to climb back up, and have to start over. Yup, the little turd recovers all his hit points every time you fall off the sides.
And yes, with his last few hits he shifts into high gear and speeds around the arena.
2: The entirety of the 5th crystal palace.
Slippery floors, rotating fire gates, ice golems that only die to fire attacks, murderous penguins
(OH GOD WHY DOES IT HAVE TEETH KILL IT WITH FIRE)
And a block puzzle that to this day requires me to use a strategy guide....okay so that last one is probably only me and my idiocy, but its hard to solve a block puzzle when every other room is full of slippery firey spikey death.
Oh yeah, almost forgot about Stalfos Knights...buggers won't stay down unless you drop a bomb on 'em.
None of the other dungeons are this annoying before or afterwards. Its like the development team came in from a bad night of drinking, cold weather, and pachinko and just decided to throw the player a curveball. Every other dungeon can be solved by random poking, prodding, and slashing about...in fact, some others feel half-assed or rushed.
Even Ganon's Tower doesn't feel so bad, because the worst you have to do is navigate one room with an invisible floor (with holes). You don't even get a decent boss rush! You fight slightly modified versions of the 3 pendant bosses, which die in like 3 hits (at most) to the level 3 three sword.
3: Anti-fairies...
Bouncing around what seems to be a random pattern...but I swear they home in on you in some odd way that gets you when you least expect it. They take life AND magic power when they touch you. For the longest time I considered them just another invincible annoyance, like the moving spikes, magical pulse balls, and fire gates/traps.
I guess I could have figured out how to combat these guys in my youth, all on my own. I knew that the magic powder did some weird things in the game (it even gives evolutionary powers to a certain chicken in Kakariko Village), and also could awaken a "curse" to have your magic meter drop at half the rate it normally does while using magic items.
But it wasn't until I read a guide a few weeks ago that I had the head-meets-keyboard realization that
A: these things are called anti-fairies
B: magic powder turns them into real, usable and bottle-able fairies.
It's weird that you would count the worm boss as a problem when I find it to be my favorite part of the entire game. Of course, I'm a challenge gamers so I love/remember most the parts of games that I have the most difficulty/spend the most time wtih.
I still remember sitting on the floor of my families Ohio basement with my brother hacking/slashing/plotting our way through that boss.
As a whole, Link to the Past is a very easy game. It requires little to no high-level thinking....just timing and trial and error. The "difficult" areas of the game are simply because of the programmers being jerks. And I respond poorly to "jerk" level and enemy design.
As a whole, Link to the Past is a very easy game. It requires little to no high-level thinking....just timing and trial and error. The "difficult" areas of the game are simply because of the programmers being jerks. And I respond poorly to "jerk" level and enemy design.
That's just a trolling comment. That's like me saying darts requires no skill. Just "trial and error." Well, if you have don't apply skill, of course it's just trial and error. And it's not just because "the programmers are being jerks"
I, too, like Link to the Past. It amazes me how little exposition there actually is in that game, especially compared to newer Zeldas, and more modern games in general.
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