The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Wii U)

 

LINK! He Came to Town!

He came to save the Princess Zelda!

As of writing it has just been Halloween and I have my yearly autumn semester to recharge the batteries after been working for 3 months straight (besides the one sick day due to Covid I got after the Swedish election). I intended to play Bayonetta 3, but my copy didn't show on time, and maybe that was good enough so that the controversies around it got known (and solved as far as I know). So I went on to my other choice of game that was Ocarina of Time which I haven't played in ages and that was for the 3DS. So I played it on the Wii U version since I have it on the TV (gotta use those 65 '' for something). 

So it begins with Link being woken by a fairy and a summon to the Great Deku Tree. The Tree have been cursed by a man from the desert so Link enters the tree to fight Gohma which is a throwback to one of the bosses of the first game (and I assume the entering the tree is also a reference to the first dungeon of the first game). Leaving you get the Kokirik Emerald and the quest to seek Princess Zelda in Hyrule Castle before the Deku Tree dies. Link leaves and find Zelda that send him to find the other spiritual stones, one is the Goron Ruby that you get from Darunia after saving the Gorons from the Dodonga infestation in their food cave where it was sealed by Ganondorf from the Gerudo desert... I think we found the one responsible for the death of the Deku Tree. The third stone is in Zora Domain, the Zora Sapphire that you get from Ruto after rescuing her from Lord Jabu-Jabu's Belly after she got lost there. Returning with the stones to Hyrule Castle Link is almost run over by a fleeing Zelda and Impa (her nursemaid) that are being chased by Ganondorf, leaving you with the titular Ocarina of Time that you need to open the Gate of Time with the Song of Time in the Temple of Time to reach the Sacred Realm. But as you open the gate and find the Master Sword you are transported into the Sacred Realm and put to sleep for 7 years as Ganondorf followed you and take the Triforce and rules the land.

As you awake you are greeted by Rauru, the Light Sage and one of the Seven Sages who gives you the light medallion and sends you back to the Temple of Time, where you meet Shiek that instructs you to awaken the other 5 sages. You gotta travel to the Forest Temple to rescue Saria, your childhood friend of the kokiri, the fire temple where the Gorons have been abducted by Ganondorf to be feed to an ancient dragon if you and Darunia can't stop them. The Zoras meanwhile have been frozen in ice so you and Ruto gonna get to the Water Temple and restore Lake Hylia. After that you get back to Kakariko village that is under attack from the Shadow Demon Bongo Bongo that Impa sealed in the well, but now have escaped to the Shadow Temple. The last is the spirit temple that is beyond the Gerudo desert where you have to travel back and forth through time in order to save Naboro of the Gerudo from Twinrowa, the gerudo sisters that raised Ganondorf. After awakening all sages Shiek revels his true form as Zelda and the seventh sage. She gives you the light arrows and is immediately kidnapped by Ganondorf and taken to his castle. The sages creates a rainbow bridge that allows Link to enter where he once again destroy the six seals that allows the sages to destroy the barrier of darkness and allows Link to climb the tower where he face of against Ganondorf and rescues Zelda. After the battle the castle is collapsing so both of them flee and then Link has to face Ganondorf again, but this time as Ganon. In the end Ganon gets the Master Sword square into the head and Ganondorf is then sealed into the Sacred Realm by the sages. Everyone celebrates, Zelda sends Link back in time to live out the 7 years that was sacrificed so that he would defeat evil. The end!

Now the Children don't play!

But they will when Link saves the day!

HALLELUJAH!

It isn't as majestic as playing it for the first time back in 1998. I recall that dad got a call from the video game store that they had a copy left since it hadn't been claimed and I assume we weren't one of those that had a sure way preorder. He of course went and got it and he started up the game and played the first part in getting the sword and shield. It took us weeks to get through the first dungeon. I recall I was the first one getting to Gohma, but my arachnophobia got the better of me (plus I didn't get how to use the slingshot so I couldn't stun lock him fast enough). My sister got in second and defeated him so that we finally could leaves Kokiri forest. Dad was able to get Dodonga Caverns and we got to Jabu-Jabu, but I couldn't stomach (haha) the weird claustrophobic feeling inside with the jellyfish and tentacle monsters. I think we got the guide after that and it still took a long time, but I was able to get through the dungeon with a lot of coaching. So we probably already had the game for half a year at this point. With a guide. Then dad beat the Forest temple and I was able to get through the Fire Temple and after a lot of time got through the Water Temple, and then I stopped since we got to the Well and Shadow Temple, the scared little child I was couldn't handle that. Took me what, 4-5 years to get through the game and that was going on a restart and reading the guide from cover to cover (which took away some surprises like Sheik being Zelda, but since it took me 5 years it might have been excused). I recall finishing it in the summer when I was home after getting some chemical pollution at my summer work that made me sick. 

I wish I had it on a N64 mini console with the right controller, cause even though modern controllers are a bit more comfortable the fact that the game is rigged with the c-stick instead of c-buttons make certain aspects of the game harder. It's a bit flimsy with using the c-weapons if you happened to stray only a little (so I changed everything to c-> since it appeared to be the least messing up). Why not activate the d-pad for the c-stick as well so I at least could play the ocarina a little bit better? I had to change every button for the frog mini game since it didn't work with the stick. It at least forced me to learn how to close the tablet since I wanted to use my pro-controller. Especially since the battery is 80 hours compared to the 3-6 hours for the tablet, plus since my charge died a couple of years ago I had to use a usb-charger with separated cord, but sadly the charger gets a bit fried if it is on at the same time. So now I ordered a new charger that can handle the voltage. 

Game still decent, got 100 %..., well, I did't do the race to get the cow, but it was nothing you really needed anyway. Graphics are a bit dated, but I'm used to them and I find them rather charming. Music is amazing. Nothing beats entering the Temple of Time and hear the song of Time by that chanting choir. The dungeon themes on the other hand are all really eery and haunting. I would like them to get the 3DS version on Switch so that we can get the graphical update as well as better control schemes (getting iron boots on the c-buttons is a godsend in the water temple), maybe in a Zelda 3D All-Star Collection with Majora's Mask, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess? 

Donkey Kong 64 (Wii U)

 

Here, here, here we go!

So I'm finally here, writing for you, if you know the words you can join in to. Put your hands together as if you want to clap as I take you through this monkey post... what do you expect, I'm not a lyricist. Donkey Kong 64 came out in 1999 and it gotta have been close to Christmas since me and my sisters got to share it as a Christmas present. It was also the first present we were allowed to open on Christmas eve together with N64 controllers for the sisters that hadn't gotten a controller yet. So we sat most of Christmas eve playing the battle mode of this game so our parents could prepare the Christmas dinner or whatever they did. Of course, the battle mode didn't get fun until we unlocked Krusha with his explosive projectiles that blew everyone away. Either everyone played as Krusha or no one played as Krusha. Again, that was probably a couple of months after Christmas.

Basically the story is that king K. Rool has built a new super weapon and is about to blow Kong Island out of the water. And stolen the Kongs banana hoard as well, and trapped most of the members of the Kong family. So it's up to Donkey Kong to rescue his relatives and destroys K. Rools plan. Nothing more to the story really. We never finished the games as kids due to the facts we couldn't get hold of all collectibles to unlock the way to the final boss. And this I heard was a major complaint against the game, too much stuff to collect and all the time switch back and forth between the Kongs since most things are bound to a certain Kong. And that gets annoying at times. Especially in places like Creepy Castle where enemies can throw you off the ledge and force you to restart from the beginning of the stage and you gotta trek all over the place. So playing it now, rereleased on the Virtual Console on Wii U, I at least can alleviate some headache with the trusty quick save alternative. 

You gotta get golden bananas to open new worlds, you also gotta collect 100 coloured bananas with each kong in every world to open the door to the boss that you gotta defeat to get a key to unlock the cage of this giant Kremling so that he can open yet another world for you. You also gotta get coloured coins so that you can pay for upgrades to your weapon, your musical instrument and your moves. The weapon and instruments have their own unique ammo counters, you got explosive oranges and then there is crystal coconuts that power special abilities and attacks. Also, in each world there is this special enemy coloured after the different Kongs that carry blueprints that you exchange for a golden banana, but also gives you time on the final level to finish it before K. Rool fires his secret weapon. And banana fairies you need to catch with a camera you restock with film (which is how you unlock secrets like Krusha), battle crowns won from battle tournament stages and two special coins hidden in to classic games, the original Donkey Kong and JetPac. The Nintendo coin from the Donkey Kong game was the thing that was missing as a child. We weren't that good at that game. And as mentioned, you gotta run around each level with 5 different Kongs. 

That's a lot of things to keep track of, Mario 64 just had stars, sure you could get coins, but they still gave you a star collecting it (addendum since I've played through Mario 64 again, I forgot the keys you get after fighting Bowser, but those are just 2). And the special coins and battle crowns isn't mentioned until the final stage, and the Nintendo coin you just gotta guess I think since I don't think they mentioned it anywhere? And if that wasn't frustrating enough you got the boss fights that gives me heart attacks on some real bullshit they pull. At least K Rool gave each Kong full life for each stage of the final battle. As you might read between the lines, I'm not loving this game 100 %. It has it's moments and I got huge nostalgia googles for it with the Christmas present and the co-op with my sisters, but playing it again... I won't miss several of the bonus stages or extra frustrating bosses. Also, just navigating the levels are troublesome since I would love a map so I know where to go. Also, yes, thanks for keeping track on every collectible, but couldn't you have named them so I know which golden banana I'm missing? Also, I miss the N64 controller. Since the left stick acts as the c-buttons more often than not you pull of the wrong move, the buttons were much more precise. So this game is probably good enough for die-hards and nostalgia seekers. Would I play it again? Well, me and my sisters thought on getting together and play the multiplayer some time, and if they release a N64 Classic Mini, maybe, but 101 % it? No, never, unless they would remake it and fix certain things, it's really slow at times, especially opening the boss doors or getting the bananas for the blue prints since they gotta play out the animations, and they take time. Total time playing through the main adventure was around 24 hours so maybe just a way to extend play time.

Star Fox Adventure (GCN)

I actually liked it

Since I was playing the N64 again I thought give the Rare games a spin since I don't own a console that can play those game at home (the one and only reason I ever is interested in a XBox One in order to get the Rare Replay... and maybe the Mistwalker games). Sadly my sister have taken the Banjo-Kazooie games that I first intended to play so I picked up Diddy Kong Racing instead. Never finished it and didn't do it this time either, but I got further and only have one single stage left before defeating the dragon boss for the second time. So I picked up Jet Force Gemini, still stuck at the double boss at Lupus stage. Picked up Perfect Dark and got to the end boss on easy, but got killed. Tried getting invincible cheat to finally see the end credits, no. Couldn't finish the first stage on hard and actually got out of the Datadyne Tower intro stages on medium difficulty, but not further than that. Put in GoldenEye instead, sound not working so I should probably try to clean the cartridge and couldn't finish the first stage. Then I put in Shadow of the Empire instead, finished the speed-racer and space station stages before the sewer did me in. Put on some Castlevania 64 and actually got to the castle for the first time, where I got my ass kicked and closed the game. Then I remembered another Rare game, Star Fox Adventure on the GameCube.  No memory card though since all of them was at my place so I played the first half of the game in one go and then restarted when I got home on my Wii with memory card plugged in.

I think the graphics looks nice 16 years after the release (compared to many N64 games).

Simply put the game starts with the fox girl Krystal arriving at Dinosaur planet following a distress signal on a pterodactyl (called Cloudrunners in the game) where she is attacked by a flying ship that belongs to general Scales, the tyrant that almost have conquered the planet. Her staff fall to the planet and she is able to esquape to Krazoa palace, a holy place for the dinosaurs where she finds a krazoa spirit and releases it in the temple, but she gets caught in a crystal (ha) by an unseen force. Cut to the Star Fox team that have lost Falco and gets a mission by General Pepper to investigate Dinosaur Planet since it threatens to blow up the whole system (since the planet is being teared apart by the magical forces in the planet when Scales took the four Spellstones that kept the energies in check). As Fox arrives at the planet he is tasked with finding the prince of the Earthwalkers (triceratops) that have been kidnapped by the SharpClaw clan (General Scales army).  Doing so put Prince Tricky as your companion that can help in certain puzzles. 

Escort Mission: The Game

So get the Gatekeepers to open the portals to the floating continents in space, fly there, get spellstone, take it to one of two force point temples, get a Krazoa spirit and take it to the Krazoa palace in order to release it, rinse and repeat. And I gotta say, I liked the game when it came out, I finished it several times, but playing it again... it's rather linear. There's hardly any sidequests and only thing is getting stuff you don't actually need. Mostly cheat tokens that hardly does anything or Bafamdads (1-ups) that you hardly will use after the first spellstone gives you an extra heart container, or Airwing energy-balls that you need a minimum amount of that you shouldn't have any problem with getting. Your progress is constantly determined if you can get item A or do quest B that enables you to get onward, either giving you a ability or giving you the ability for more money to get another item or pay your way past a checkpoint. Why? Why can't I explore and try to find the krazoas in between on my own? Is this Rare's commentary on the rail-shooter by doing the whole adventure on the same style? Well, the reason is that the development got cut short since Microsoft bought out Rare and they finished this as their final game for Nintendo. And it was even in development for the N64, but titles Dinosaur Planet and without anything Star Fox. Now, I know that some people would have liked to see the original intent (and I would lie if I wasn't curious at the time the gaming magazines reported on it) and some people seems to really hate this Star Fox game. I get it if you want a on rails-shooter, but to me this was much more fun than the rails-shooter. It had enough deep story (although now I would say there's some weird things story wise). Then again, I only played the original Star Fox game and not the N64 that everyone seems to love.

I really like the design of the Airwing in this

You get all the stuff and at the top of Krazoa Palace a mysterious force makes General Scales give Fox the last spirit and releasing that and freeing Krystal, Andross awakens once again (being the mysterious force that trapped Krystal and controlled Scales) so Fox follows him on the Airwing and after fighting of the first waves of Andross Falco appears giving you bombs so Fox can blow the brains of Andross once again. Day saved, pay check arrived and Krystal thanks Fox by joining the Star Fox crew. It felt a bit rushed in the end, especially that you never fought General Scales and Andross was a bit from the left field, although it can be chalked up to be the constant enemy for Fox... although he wasn't there for the next two games if I recall. Overall I still liked it, but it is a bit much gathering items that you hardly use (why do I need 31 fairies to light my way when it's only required twice or to have over 100 energy-balls when only around 20 is necessary to complete the game?) and the linearity of the game makes replays rather redundant. You can't really miss anything except things that doesn't help you in any way. Wish they were able to let it stew a bit longer, but sadly it wasn't to be, but it was at least over 10 hours to play the game, but I have forgotten much since I was perplexed several times over the solutions of the puzzles.

Shadowgate 64: Trails of the Four Towers (N64)

Time for an adventure

As you noticed I've been playing some Nintendo 64 at my parents place at the moment and I dug up this old game which I never finished. I get that it is a continuation from an old adventure game that had a port on the NES and I guess the reason they made this to the N64. I've never played that game, but I read about it in some Nintendo magazines. So story is that you are Del Cottonwood, a halfling that traveled in a caravan that got attacked outside of castle Shadowgate and brought to the dungeon by the thieves inhabiting it. So your mission is to get out. 

Damn, those graphics haven't aged well

It wasn't mostly blind, certain things I remember, but I never finished it and only got half-way through the game. So I played it only trying to find the solutions from the game it self. So I tried looking and talking to everyone. So, next to your cell you have an imprisoned wizard that tells you the deal of the castle. During the conversation the dungeon keeper arrives with some food that you devour and finds a bone. Looking at the bed of hay you find a sewer grate that you bend up with the bone and your out. And here I find the first problem. Right behind me behind a gate of iron (that you can't pass) there is a plank of wood and a floating bottle. You can't pick it up and the game doesn't tell you why since it can't clearly know what you look at since their is no cursor in this 3D environment. And you get bottles later on so that is just irritating. Anyway, you get out of the sewers and enters the tower of disiples where you met the apparition of Lakmir appears, the sorcerer that was one of the founders of the Circle of Twelve and ally and friend to King Jair, the man who I get is the main character of the original Shadowgate. Lakmir guides you on the quest to stop Belzar, the former apprentice that have turned to the dark side and intends to relase the Warlock Lord, Lakmirs brother Talmir and another founder of the Circle of Twelve. So I'm supposed to get to Lakmir's tower to find some magical artefacts I need on my quest. Problem is, I can't get out of the tower.

And get it, the exit is right behind you... if it wasn't locked.

Now, the solution was using a pixie flute at a certain area in order to shrink and climb down a rope you tied to a window. The thing is, I guess the name says what it does, but it only works at that one spot. And the book that are supposed to help you especially points out that he doesn't know how to use it. Thanks game. I got out into the graveyard and entered the cathedral finding my way up to the roof and into the tower of Lakmir. And here I was at my best. Using the books and text I found I was able to go through the whole tower and getting my hands on the three rings hidden away.

Wizards, magic rings, a dragon and a halfling? Someone been reading the Hobbit.

One of the rings give me the power of talking with the dead. So all corpses, skeletons and gravestones now can talk back. More information, but this time gotta remember it on my own. Damn you game. And now I gotta leave this place. After running around the graveyard, cathedral and tower a couple of times I looked it up and apparently I missed a key in one room in the tower. It was in the colour of rust at grey floor. If I didn't know the room they described I wouldn't have found it. So with that I could leave the two first towers and finding some actually living people. Running around solving errands for the dead and living I finally get to enter the third tower for the first time ever. I recall being afraid of some poisoned gas thing that would kill me going through this tower... that I must have imagined before entering the tower since it isn't here. Maybe I interpreted the two mazes as being that. One had a poison that made the game controls reversed and you had to go through a room with spinning blades (you solve this by using the blue ring you got with the red dead ring which have the same effect, but since you already affected it puts you back to normal). Another maze there is taking a burning candle to the other side before the candle burns out. After doing it some time I checked the solution since I spent to much time on it and it rather annoyed me). Entering the final room you stand before three mirrors and looking in each of them you need to decided who you really are and then walk backwards into the mirror (of course I choose the wrong ones every time and just reloaded so I didn't have to redo all the tower all the time). Behind the mirror was another ring, the ring of the Kingdom. With that you open the locked door in the towers of diciples to get the dragon flute so that you can enter the final tower, the dragon's tower. And you basically just walks around it. Pick up all the stuff and there is pretty much only one puzzle and it is a damn music puzzle. Listen to  a song and the recreate it with four statues by pulling the correct wing in the right order. I looked that up since I'm bad at this. And then you find a petrified dragon with a staff stuck in the head. Using the ring of the kingdom picks it up and you enter the end game. The dwarven soldiers of Belzar now looks for you so you put the stable on fire to distract them and run for the chamber Belzar is planning the resurrection of the Warlock Lord. Blocking your path is a man named Saul, who turns out gave Belzar the staff he believes to be the Staff of the Ancients that you picked up on the dragon tower. Showing him his mothers necklace you got from her dead corpse he sees his madness and helps you inside. While inside the chamber you see the fake staff and puts on a dragon eye from the dragon tower and hides behind a tower as Belzar appears and starts the ritual.

The graphics really are blocky

As he performs it the staff explodes killing him and the chamber crashes in. From the rubble Del heads out and find himself around the fountain area. From the chamber the visage of the Warlock Lord appears and Lakmir tells me it it up to me now, since he doesn't know what to do and he wish Jair was here. The thing is that in the fountain area a statue of Jair stands. Putting the Staff of Ancients and the ring of the Kingdom at the statue enables it to come to live and pierce the Warlock Lord by throwing the staff and the world is saved. Del rides away on the dragon and credits roll.

Moments before his death

It was atmospherical. Playing it again after all these years and actually understanding what was written in the books and papers made the world itself come alive. I got a real itch to play the original game now and maybe I pick up the remake on steam or such one day. There is problems with it though, for one, after checking the save time right before the end I just spent just over 5 hours on the game. It's short. As mentioned pixel hunt for items on the floor or knowing what you can interact with or pick up would need to be refined. The graphics overall could need an overhaul, but the music is nice at times. Fun to finish it for the first time. I definitely gotta use some of these things for a DnD campaign.

Mystical Ninja 64 Starring Goemon (N64)

Gambares oh Gambares

So I was home for a while and hooked up my family Nintendo 64, dug out the memory pak and played some Mystical Ninja. And boy did I have a great time. It starts with a flying peach ship enters above the town of Ode and turn the castle into a european castle stage. Goemon and Ebisumaru sets out to save the king and princess. Traversing mount Fuji to get a chain pipe they then enters the castle and defeats a giant machine and then can leave the town. Outside of town near the wise man's house they see it destroyed with only a seashell left. The guys that took the castle appears and summons a giant robot so you blow the horn and are taken up by Impact to the best song of the whole game:

BREAKDOWN

And now you fight a giant mech battle with laser beams. And I sucked at these as a kid. Which is no surprise, you can't train the moves and can only find them in the manual which I had to look up right before the battle. But I beat him and travelled to Zazen town where you meet up with the police ninja Yae. Leaving the town you pick up the lifeless robot Sasuke. You intercept a blue dragon that have been brainwashed to kidnap children and destroy the control mechanism. You save the kids at the next castle. Find some batteries for Sasuke and start him up. Find the third castle and learn that they are striking at an island near Japan. Getting there you meet the waitress Omitsu (who Goemon have a crush on) and as she enters the island the whole thing is transported into space. You travel north to meet the witch that summons a projection of the wise one that tell you of a stone ring nearby that can take you to space if you gather the four magical items who you now have three of. In the north sea of Japan you find a submarine with food and learn that the item is in Zazen since the commander dropped it on his holiday. You battle a giant water mech and then head back to Zazen and after some fetch quest finally get it. 

TOO SPACE

After battling through the hordes of the peach mountain shogun you find Omitsu and the wise men, who was alive and built the machines and robots for the peach mountain guys. In exchange for car magazines... that got blown up as his house exploded. Which is rather ridicules and goes together with all the other absurdity in the game, but I know there were some other kind of magazine which they censored out. Anyway, entering the final stage the best music of the game plays and you reach the main bad guys that decide to put on a show... and then disappear and turn on the self-destruct. Leading to the final Impact stage. A two-stages boss battle. I survived on the minimum of health left (which is better than the time we both reached zero life points and I lost, which is rather bullshit). Afterwards we travel back to Japan and is attacked by a horde of women who wanted to see Dancin' and Kitty Lilly (the name of the bad guys), blaming Goemon and his friends. Then credits. 

The whole gang

First time I finished it on 100 % so I got some extra mode where you only fight the mecha-bosses. I finished it once before and I checked the time now, 15 hours. Damn, that isn't that long. I really like this game. The music and setting is amazing, the humour is hit and miss, but there is some laughs at the absurdity of it. The camera can be a bit wonky and the hit boxes are weird at times. But it is functional. I wish they had ported it over to a newer system or even remade it for the 3DS or something like that. I have some strong memories from childhood from this game, mostly replaying the game over and over since I couldn't save without a game pak so the first part of the game is rather ingrained into my memory almost 20 years after playing it. 

Paper Mario

Decided to play some lightweight game

So I finally played through Paper Mario for the third time. This time with the convenience of the Wii U and all that it entails. So what can I say about this game? I both like it and find it rather tedious. The story is rather fun and doesn't take itself serious. Nice characters and the musical nods to the previous games are fantastic. The mechanics are also well done with the badge system, the levelling up system and mostly the battle system. What is annoying is that Mario walks so damn slow. Really, the first two times playing I almost fell asleep before the tutorial was over and I reached Toad Town. The battle also drags a bit due to waiting to execute the command attacks and defences that are relaying on timed action presses. I did think it slowed down Magical Starsign and it does the same here. Also, could the timed button presses be more clarified when it's a hit or a miss? Especially the multi bounce attacks seems to change the hitbox window every time I try it and it doesn't help that I have to relearn it every time Mario changes shoes or a new companion is added.

A cheap-cheap? Great 4 new timed actions to keep in mind!

So the story is basically that after Mario gets an invitation to Princess Peach's castle Bowser crash the party and with the stolen Star Rod makes himself invincible so Mario has to gather the 7 star sprites so that they can stop the power of the star rod that grants wishes. Wow 3 lines, that is the story summed up? I could probably add that you will encounter and recruit different people like the cheap-cheap, a koopa, a gomba, a para-koopa, a bomb-om and so on. They basically are used to solve different puzzles in order to reach the end of a stage were a boss awaits and after that a star sprite.

Interestingly it's the one with glasses that are the only one that escaped on his own AND has the best offensive attack

Not much else to say then that it is a fun game, albeit with minor issues that can affect people differently. At least it's better than Sticker Star.