#including Zelda becoming the light dragon and then turning back in the end

[leciraofthewilderness]

So, despite some faults, I really enjoyed totk, and on its anniversary I want to say something about it. Other people have said similar things before but it’s really important to me and actually a big part of why the story of totk was meaningful to me, so I want to also say it:

Zelda needed to come back from draconification. The story needed that. It wasn’t lazy and just ignoring “consequences” because (imo) that was the *point*

The point is to feel like there are going to be terrible consequences and then say actually, no. You can come back from this, with the help of other people.

To me at least, that was the theme of the whole story.

If botw was about how the world goes on past loss and grief and starts to heal (how flowers grow in the ruins and the world can be beautiful again, be worth saving, even if it has changed)…then totk was about a more personal kind of healing.

The weight of the world should not be on your shoulders alone…you, alone, should not have to fix everything…you should not have to sacrifice yourself, but when you do, someone will be there to save you from it.

This turned into a really long ramble so:

You (Link) gained so much and now it’s gone. It feels like you’re back to where you started and yet you know you have to do it all again…you were weak and you failed and you’re weaker now…but

You go down to the surface. Monsters swarm across it once again. Other people are fighting them too though. You help, but it’s not just you…

You go to the Rito, the Gorons, the Zora, the Gerudo…just like with the divine beasts, there are friends who help you save each region. But this time, part of them comes along with you when you leave. It’s nice, you realize, the first time one of them protects you from a monster you weren’t prepared for. You’re still weaker than you were before, but someone has your back…

When you go up to the sky you see a strange new dragon there. There’s something about them that feels familiar. You try not to think about it.

You go down to the depths too. It’s terrifying at first. You hate it. You only want to get what you came for and get out of the dark….but slowly, the light grows. You get stronger. The dark feels like a challenge you can face (and someone has your back).

There are spirits down there. You don’t know when they’re from, but some part of you wonders…are these all the people you let die in the Calamity? (You help them find rest from their wandering. The weight on your shoulders feels a little less heavy).

There’s so much gloom. The first few times the sky turns red and hands chase you (a reminder of what you’ve lost, how you failed) you just run. Eventually though, you have to fight. It feels like the (second) worst day of your life again. But you manage to get free of the grasping gloom and stand and fight, as wild and desperate as it is. Beneath the manifestation of your worst fears, there’s another thing to fight, but this time it has a face (a voice in the back of your head says…you know this isn’t all on you and your failure…it’s really Ganon’s fault right?). You get through it.

At every turn in your travels, it seems like something reminds you of Zelda. Her passion, her curiosity, her kindness. You miss her.

At first, the tears you find reassure you. She may be in the past, but she’s safe. She’ll come back somehow…but then you hear the word draconification for the first time. You want to believe she wouldn’t do it but you know her and the fear sits cold inside you. (Zelda is a lot of things. She’s been allowed to be more of them, since she was freed from her hundred year battle, without her father holding her back. But deep down inside her, there’s a vein of self-sacrifice that still runs strong. It’s what saved the world before, after all).

She did it. She really did it. She’s gone from you (from Hyrule) forever, and it’s all your fault. If only you hadn’t failed so utterly in the battle (you can hardly even call it that) under the castle. If only you’d caught her. If only you hadn’t let the sword break. You should have protected her you should have been better it’s all your fault and now she has to live with the consequences, forever. Everything really is on you, you should have been better.

(Zelda POV: you couldn’t call upon Hylia’s power in time, you were too content to let it wither and fade away from you, ready to be free of it. You shouldn’t have. He got hurt, the sword got hurt, it’s your fault…Sonia and Rauru help you channel it again, Sonia helps you learn how to turn back time…but you don’t save her. She dies because you couldn’t save her. Rauru dies not long after. There is no one left to guide you, once again. You could spend years trying to figure it out on your own. But you did that last time. It didn’t work. Self-sacrifice, stepping in front of someone you love, that worked. (You do what you can, to call upon the sages, to help Link in the future, first). And then you swallow the stone. You’ve come a long way, in the past five years, allowing yourself to exist. But in the end, self-sacrifice worked last time. It’ll work this time too.)

You (Link) go down beneath the castle. You were supposed to bring the sages but you didn’t. It’s nice, for someone to have your back. But no one else should get hurt to fix your mistakes.

They follow you anyway. They fight with you, against the hordes, against the greatest enemies you defeated together, along the way. They’ll have your back, even if you don’t think you deserve it.

You fight Ganondorf, and then the demon king, in the hardest battle of your life. You think it’s over and then the demon king decides it’s better to lose himself completely than let you win. You’re exhausted and afraid of yet another battle, but up there in the sky, when you’re falling, the Light Dragon catches you (you wonder why she changed her path to catch you, you wonder if there’s still something of Zelda left in there to save). With her help, you win.

And then you’re in some other realm. The spirits of Sonia and Rauru are there. You remember how the two of them and Zelda channeled such incredible power together. You think about Recall. Turning something back to the memory of what it was before, like Sonia said. You stand with them and you allow yourself to hope. Maybe the Light Dragon can remember the form she took so long ago, the person that she was.

And then you’re falling, and Zelda is falling, but this time you catch her. You catch her. She’s back home with you, finally, finally.

And maybe, one mistake doesn’t have to be the end of the world. You don’t have to be perfect. Sometimes, someone else can stand with you, and it’ll all turn out alright. (You can put the weight of the world on your shoulders, you can sacrifice yourself, but someone will be there to catch you, someone will be there to pull you back to yourself, when all is said and done).

#loz #tears of the kingdom #Link #Zelda #I will say also that I think part of the reason totk is special to me is very personal #like when it came out I was still struggling with the worst burnout of my life #I had had a few months of exhaustion between January and March and in May that exhaustion was still sticking to me #it was hard to get out of bed hard to do anything I felt so tired that I almost felt sick but I wasn’t sick #and the thing is Zelda games are my biggest special interest #and having a new one to play like genuinely I’m not joking it gave me bsck so much energy #I was doing really badly but when totk came out I played it for an entire weekend straight basically #and like my mom came to visit me and help me out with basic life stuff #and like sit with me while I played just like enjoying being together #and that was really nice #over that summer and the fall after I started getting to know someone I work with better #largely over conversations about totk at first #and they’ve become a good friend #(and become someone that I feel safe to be fully myself around) #and so I just have this really strong personal connection to totk #like I will not claim to be impartial about it #there are definitely criticisms that I can acknowledge #in particular I don’t like that they un-amputeed Link let Link be disabled #and also ganondorf’s characterization was shallow and one dimensional #and I’m sure there’s other things I could think of #but the overall narrative #including Zelda becoming the light dragon and then turning back in the end #I really like that #it felt like a narrative of healing to me #and playing it at the time that I did felt really healing to me too

[bodyguardbracket]

Round 1: Guy (A3! Act! Addict! Actors!) vs Link (Legend of Zelda)

[Propaganda Under Cut]

Guy: it's kinda hard to talk about guy without spoilers from a3’s main story act 8 so yeah take caution. anyway guy is introduced as a bodyguard from the fictional south asian kingdom of zahra, of which citron is the crown prince. it’s a very long complicated story but basically citron fled from zahra before his coronation ceremony was to take place and planned on travelling around the world for a while, but he ended up in japan and decided to stay bc he got roped into joining a theatre troupe (most normal thing in a3 tbh). guy spent a year scouring the ends of the earth to find him and finally did so in act 8, which speaks to his dedication to protecting his liege. also guy is introduced as an android which is a whole other thing

anyway guy is super-duper capable! he’s fluent in english, japanese, and zahran; he can fight and handle weaponry; he’s good at karate and teaches one of the other main characters karate; he can act; and later on in the story he even opens his own bar, meaning he can cook and mix drinks!

also his loyalty to citron is unparalleled. in act 8, citron returns to zahra on his own volition—but plot twist he leaves guy on his own and guy can’t return bc citron falsely branded him as a criminal and accused him of kidnapping him which was why he was missing from the kingdom for a year (citron had some complicated reasons for doing so but it wasn’t out of malice). stuck with nowhere else to go, guy decided to join the theatre troupe that citron was part of—the MANKAI company—and he spent a good portion of the story act trying to figure out what’s going on in citron’s mind. eventually he and the sub-troupe he joined—the winter troupe—successfully put on a complete run of their adaptation of ‘phantom of the opera’ where guy played the phantom. even so, guy wasn’t satisfied and still wanted to see citron and show citron his acting, so with the help of the other MANKAI members (one of whom forged a passport for guy so he wouldn’t be arrested on sight upon going through customs in zahra), guy and like 12 other people go to the kingdom of zahra as performers for citron’s coronation ceremony, where eventually guy gets to reunite with citron. it’s all very complicated but citron doesn’t ascend to the throne and is instead appointed the minister of arts and culture and is told by the king to return to japan and continue learning about the arts at the MANKAI company so he can bring back what he learned to improve zahra’s art scene. and even though citron is no longer a prince, guy still vows to stay by citron and watch over him bc their bond goes beyond just a prince and retainer 🥹

Link: HE FOUGHT THE INCARNATION OF EVIL TWICE FOR HER!! granted he did fail first those two times, and his ward became a light spirit god thing to hold said evil back the first time, and for the second she time-traveled back >10k years and became a dragon, but he did fight ganon!

anyways link was assigned as zelda's personal guard for a While. we dont know how long ago it was, but it's probably a span of 1-2 years pre-ganon. if we include the ganon years and the time travel then it's been +10k years. he does a fantastic job of it, he saves her from yiga (assassins) and the incarnation of evil (ganon, twice). they become friends. they bond. zelda tries to feed him a frog. link actually dies for zelda and then he comes back to save her. he catches zelda as she turns back to human

#bodyguard battle #round 1 #Guy a3 #a3! #a3! act addict actors #Link #legend of zelda

[skyloftsword]

The Beauty of Tears of the Kingdom's Music

Soundtracks are always the one aspect of a game I most look forward to with a new game release. Tears of the Kingdom was no exception and it really exceeded my expectations, especially with how perfectly it was utilized. Yes, some songs were reused from Breath of the Wild, but most of the soundtrack is new. The new songs were utilized perfectly within the main story of the game and helped make it, in my opinion, the best story in the franchise. SPOILERS DOWN BELOW. But basically, I think this game definitely deserved its nomination for Best Score/Music in the Game Awards because it helps make the game hit harder.

Okay, so starting with the Temple themes. These themes really help set the overall feel of the Temple they're in. They also build up as you're going through the dungeon, providing a sense of progression. The later phases even include the Champion themes and Divine Beast fight themes of the area you're in. The Construct Factory theme gives off a feeling of mystery, building up to a version of Mineru's theme. Also, while technically not a dungeon, the Gloom's Approach theme is THE perfect endgame area theme. It progressively gets more ominous the deeper you go into the Zonai Castle Ruins. It gets really intense once you reach the area you started the game in: Beneath Hyrule Castle, or rather the Forgotten Foundation.

The town themes before doing the Temples also really help create a sense of urgency that I haven't felt with any other Zelda game before. They scream "Please, save us from the horrible events happening right now... We're not going to last much longer without your help."

The boss themes are also really, really well done. Mucktorok's theme is crazy which fits the boss, Queen Gibdo and Marbled Gohma's themes really fit their overall segments of the game, Colgera's theme is incredible and part of why is due to how it utilizes Dragon Roost Island's theme. My favorite of the Temple boss themes has to be Seized Construct's theme. The way it utilizes Mineru's theme because its still a Construct she made, but its corrupted because its possessed by Gloom is incredible. Kohga's theme is a more intense version of the theme from Breath of the Wild/Age of Calamity and it really shows how he's more pissed off than before because Link sent him to the Depths in Breath of the Wild. Right before you reach Ganondorf, a very intense version of the battle theme plays as you fight waves of enemies trying to prevent you from proceeding. The Sages help Link fight back though if you defeat the Temples. Once you're done with that, you proceed to Ganondorf and his battle themes are INCREDIBLE for a final battle. Phase 1's theme is a really intense build up, then Phase 2 kicks in and parts of BotW's main theme pop in at the beginning then the trailer 3 theme shows up, and then for the final part of the fight a more intense version of the Calamity Ganon theme plays. Once Ganondorf is defeated, he turns himself into a dragon because he is willing to do whatever it takes to conceal the world in darkness. The Demon Dragon Appears is a genuinely incredible transition theme. It starts with a more intense version of the opening of trailer 3's theme, then goes into Ganondorf's theme, then becomes more hopeful as soon as the Light Dragon appears, it ends with an Erhu version of the memory theme from BotW. Then the Demon Dragon theme plays, and its mostly Erhu and god this song is just immaculate in general. The end of the fight has a key change as you descend to deal the final blow.

The songs used in the cutscenes are PERFECTLY used and give the scenes more emotion. Remember This Name is so good, especially when it plays the series main theme when Rauru tells Ganondorf to remember the name Link. The music of the cutscene where Zelda becomes the Light Dragon also helps make this scene hit extremely hard (to the point where I have shed a tear to it all four playthroughs). The use of the Erhu version of Zelda's Lullaby also makes this moment really hit hard, Zelda sacrificed herself thinking she would never turn back all to save her home and people, which Rauru told her is what a good leader would do before the Imprisoning War happened. Oh also the Final Catch theme that plays while you control Link to catch Zelda at the end of the game really helps make this ending a masterpiece. The True Ending theme also brings me to tears and makes watching Mineru move on hurt me even harder than it already did.

The ambient music in this game is INCREDIBLE. Everything from Dragonhead to Spirit Temple really helps make the entire segment feel mysterious yet calming. The Depths theme is really mysterious and eerie feeling, which is fitting considering the atmosphere. The Sky theme on the other hand (pun not intended), is peaceful and heavenly. The theme that plays as you dive down to the surface really makes diving down to the surface more satisfying. Diving down into the Depths also feels satisfying, but evokes a more ominous feeling.

Thank you for reading this dumb essay I wrote because I was bored and wanted to put my thoughts on the soundtrack out there.

#tloz #the legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #totk #totk spoilers

[spirit-tracks]

Some things I would have changed about totk's Memories and how they affected gameplay! I loved the story, but I thought the memories didn't impact the Present day as much as they could have. So, here's my thoughts. Warning, spoilers for the endgame!

So for starters, I would have had the memories take place in certain locations that have, in Link's era, been raised to the Sky.

So, by watching the memories, you'll be able to find and visit each place from each memory in the Sky and find important story hints that lead you to dungeons and stuff. They could mention the chancellor creating the Ring Ruins, so you know what they are when you get to Kakariko. That way it's essential to gather the past memories for the present story, learning new neat things that connect the past and present. Also, it would make the Sky WAY more interesting because there are buildings you recognize from the memories up there that you can explore and retrace Zelda's footsteps. Maybe she left something behind for you to find, giving hints to solve puzzles that reveal them (like the torches in Hyrule Castle). These gifts should include armors or other collectibles, not smaller rewards like rupees or weapons. That makes it so that the memories are more desirable to hunt down, because the rewards are higher.

Also, they should be part of the Present's dungeons. Say you go to Hebra to help take care of the snowstorm problem. However, there's no way to get into the blizzard. The locals mention this has only happened once before, in the ancient past. So, you go to the geoglyph in the area and watch the memory. The memory not only shows Zelda's story in the past but also tells you how to enter the blizzard, as they're facing that blizzard for the first time in the ancient past.

I would also make it so that the important memories that have huge plot points aren't immediately accessible (leading to potentially coming across MASSIVE spoiler drops in the early game, *cough cough memory 11*) but they rather appear one at a time. So the ones that are connected to each dungeon are there already, able to be watched in any order, but the plot heavy ones are a separate scavenger hunt that show up one by one and in order as you collect them. (I'd like the Puppet Zelda memory to be brought up after the chase through Hyrule Castle if possible.)

Lastly, I would have made multiple endings depending on how much story you completed. If you go straight to Ganon with no idea who Sonia is or what Ganondorf did or what happened to Zelda then you get a very basic ending where you defeat the Demon King and he has like 5 very difficult phases but doesn't actually become a dragon. So when he's defeated, he explodes into shadow or something while laughing like Demise did. (One more thing; I would actually not include the Seized Construct in the boss rush so the player isn't spoiled about Mineru's dungeon. That dungeon is supposed to be a surprise after all!)

Getting the four regional sages means you don't have to do the boss rush, just the monster army and then Ganondorf and his 5 phases.

If you did get memories up to knowing about swallowing secret stones to become a dragon, then Ganondorf's 5 phases become the normal two + the Dragondorf phase. The Light Dragon does NOT come to your aid but rather there's gusts of wind that keep you airborne. (The memory that mentions becoming an immortal dragon would only be included in Mineru's dungeon, so you'd have to get up to her dungeon to get this ending. It should be noted that actually FINDING her dungeon should also be alluded to in the Memories instead of randomly brought up by Purah.)

If you learn about the Master Sword being in the Light Dragon's head (learned by clearing the Deku Tree gloom), the Light Dragon will come to your aid in the Dragondorf ending, mainly so players who didn't have the stamina to get the sword before now can draw it before fighting Dragondorf. However you do NOT turn the Light Dragon back in the end. You won't be able to turn the Light Dragon back at all in any ending unless it's the true ending.

The true ending is getting all the memories and learning that the Light Dragon is Zelda, which is in the last memory. ONLY THEN will you be able to turn the Light Dragon back into Zelda at the end. I feel like turning Zelda back should be the ultimate reward, because it's such a big deal. So you need all the memories and all the dungeons to get this ending.

So, what do you think?

#totk #totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom spoilers #the legend of zelda #loz #zelda #wicked.loz

[valictini]

Just finished Tears of the Kingdom HHHHHHHHHH endgame spoilers ahead I need to scream

That last fight so fucking hype holy fuck

First of all the road towards the fight where you go deeper and deeper and deeper and the music gets more and more menacing… idk man, i expected something like that but it was VERY effective especially with headphones

The duel between Ganondorf and Link where he just perfect dodges your attacks like Link’s been doing this whole time??? THE FUCKING SECOND HEALTH BAR THAT JUST DOESNT STOP GROWING??? God it was so fucking cool, it really shows that the devs took note of players complaining that botw’s final boss was too simple, with the health bar getting cut in half etc… we got the total reverse lmao

I had heard it had a crazy difficulty spike, and it WAS tough but honestly i had so much max food and anti gloom food that I kinda blazed through the fight. Plus once you manage to perfect dodge regularly it becomes much simpler

Also got spoiled about the fact that Ganondorf turns into a dragon but it doesn’t change the fact that it was so so fucking badass (his design HHHHHHHH) + the white dragon coming to your rescue?? so good (even though idk how it makes sense since the white dragon is not supposed to like… particularly care about Link? But hey not the most wild deus ex machina of this ending I guess)

ACTUALLY LETS TALK ABOUT THAT YEAH I’m really confused at this “power of light and time saved zelda through link’s arm don’t worry about it” deus ex machina. Like… okay, cool, I knew they couldn’t have left Zelda as a dragon, I get it, but that’s it? That’s how it happens? If they had only mentioned the time thing then sure, maybe just like the master sword got sent back 10000 years prior, maybe the time power lets us revert Zelda her original state, but they included light in the mix and… idk, it confuses the message imo. Probably counting on us to think “the power of light heals” or something vague like that, idk

When Sonia and Rauru saved Zelda I really hoped that they’d say SOMETHING but nope. At least we get the confirmation that the spirit world and the afterlife exist in the sense that your spirit continues to BE YOU even when you’re supposedly “moved on” (Sonia you could have argued might have stuck around just like Rauru did when waiting for Link, but RAURU clearly “moved on” at the end of the tutorial, so yeah, I think we got a glimpse of the spirit world during this cutscene + last cutscene with Mineru straight up telling us she’ll be talking to Rauru and Sonia. If anyone knows wtf happens after death it IS the sage of spirits so I take her words seriously)

Also got somewhat spoiled the last part where we dive to grab Zelda but nonetheless so so cool. Though it’s too bad that Link keeps a poker face at the end like my boy can’t even crack a real smile at the fact that Zelda is finally safe? I’m sure players could have tolerated 30 seconds of Link not being a strictly blank vessel for us to project onto.

Finally, Zelda swearing that she’ll make sure that peace will last forever… idk if it’s because I’m so deep into my own headcanons about the nature of the cycle but I couldn’t help thinking “I know you literally can’t think any other way and you truly believe in your words but you’re wrong” jdjdndjd anyways

Overall, really satisfying road to the ending, the fights were so so cool !!

#totk #totk spoilers #tears of the kingdom #tears of the kingdom spoilers #loz

[queenof-literature]

Something with Wind and Wild finding out Wild’s actually related to Wind? (It’s a personal hc of mine that they’re related due to vah medoh being named after Medli and the fact that there are rito in the first place + rito’s village theme being a variant of the dragon roost island theme)

Thank you for the prompt anon! That’s a fun headcanon and I did my best with it! I hope you enjoy!

I said in an announcement I’m putting shorter requests/drabbles in its own story and place in my masterlist to make things a bit more organized. Here’s the Ao3 link to that.

Related

“When will we learn to stop trying to figure out the timeline.” Warriors deadpanned to Sky as he watched the others fight.

“Do we ever learn?” Sky replied, laughing at the sight before him. He supposed there were benefits to being the forger of the Master Sword. His place in the timeline was relatively solid.

“No, no, no. We all know there are different timelines, there has to be.” Hyrule waved his hands.

“Yes, and you and Legend are in the same one, we know that at least.” Four nodded.

“Why does it matter?” Wild whispered to Twilight.

“It doesn’t.” Twilight said simply. 

“That’s funny coming from you! Legend pointed. “You have blood relation to prove your place in the timeline!”

“It’s Time’s fault for breaking the timeline in the first place.” Four accused.

“Hey! Blame the sages, not me.” Time spoke up, holding his hands up in defense.

“Do you know where you are in the timeline?” Twilight asked Wild curiously while the others fought around their campfire.

“It’s been 10,000 years since the last hero in my Hyrule.” Wild shrugged. “So, I mean, does it even matter in my timeline?” 

“I’ve never been big on blood meaning everything, the people in Ordon are my family even though I was found in the woods. But if you’re curious, we may be able to figure it out.” Twilight assured. Wild never knew how he and the others somehow always knew what to say to him.

The truth was, Wild wasn’t sure that he wanted to know the answer. The group had helped him understand that the events of 100 years ago was out of his control, even if he had a hard time believing it sometimes. But he wasn’t stupid, he saw the forlorn gazes the others cast towards the ruins of his Hyrule. Castletown was a ghost of itself, even if Zelda had plans to begin rebuilding, it wouldn’t be the bustling city the other Links knew for a long time, perhaps with the small population of his Hyrule it never would be.

But he loved his Hyrule. He knew every inch of the land yet it still managed to surprise him. The land nurtured him, and he nurtured the land. He ensured monsters didn’t destroy nature, and nature forgave him for letting wildfires. He killed animals for food and ensured he used every part. The others could make fun of him all they wanted, but it was a mutual bond he longed for when he was far from it. To see the others look at it with such sad gazes after a long journey… he understood, but it hurt.

“Meh.” Wild answered. “If we happen to figure it out, then we figure it out.” Wild ignored the suspicious look Twi sent him. Wolf boy was too perceptive for his own good.

“Well Wild and I are obviously in similar timelines!” Wind, with ever impeccable timing, proclaimed.

“Don’t sound so sure.” Warriors challenged. “Don’t forget that almost your entire world is water.” Warriors said, as if Wind could forget that. As if Wind could forget that his entire kingdom of Hyrule flooded, the kingdom Time worked so hard to protect.

“Yeah, no shit!” Wind cursed to let out some steam. “But water dries, I’ve seen entire places in other Hyrules that used to be covered in water.”

“Those are lakes and rivers, not entire oceans.” Legend spoke up.

“Yeah but Wild has said before that the last hero came 10,000 years before him! Who knows what has happened since my time! And before the hero who knows how long it’s been since I was there!” Wind puffed out his chest.

“What makes you so sure it’s you anyway?” Hyrule asked.

“Easy! Our Koroks are practically identical! I mean evolution takes time right?” Wind asked with arms wide. “And Vah Medoh, that divine beast Wild told us about, sounds like Medli from the Rito in my world. And you guys don’t even have Rito! Maybe they originated in my Hyrule and continued on in Wild’s Hyrule! The music they play and their instruments are really similar!” As Wind kept listing off points, Wild didn’t know what to think. Wind? His predecessor? Perhaps even his blood? How was he supposed to react?

“And what does Wild think of this theory?” Sky raised an eyebrow. Despite his teasing tone, Wild knew Sky was making sure he wasn’t left out of this conversation, and it wasn't for the first time Wild was extremely grateful for Sky. 

“Yeah Wild! What do you think?” Wind was practically vibrating with excitement and nerves. What did Wild think? He didn’t have any better theories, and besides, Wind made a lot of valid points. Wild bit his lip.

“W-well.” Shit, Wild could feel the words bubbling in his throat again. It’s been so long though! “I mean, I- well.” Wild tried to repeat what he had been thinking about, how Wind made great points and how the boy had obviously thought long and hard about this. Instead, with a frustrated huff, he raised his hands to sign, as usual he appreciated that no one interrupted him. ‘Sounds good to me.’ Wild signed simply, hoping his message came across well enough.

“Yes! I’m a grandfather!” Wind cried cheerfully, much to the shock of the other Links.

“We never agreed you were blood related-” Four tried to argue, only to be shushed by Wind.

“Shut it, sonny!” Wind pointed with a glare he most likely thought was threatening.

“You have to at least put a thousand ‘greats’ in front of that grandfather title.” Warriors lectured with an amused smirk.

“No one has time for that! I’m near the end of my life and you want me to waste time on that?” Wind shot back, as if they were the ones being ludicrous.

“Wind, you’re 14-”

“I’m old!” Wind cried out. “I’m decrepit! My joints ache! My knees pop every time I bend down!” Wind rambled.

“Looks like you’re being replaced.” Legend whispered to Time, who simply glared back. He did not sound like that!

Hyrule glanced towards Wild, slightly afraid this conversation would make him upset. Finding out where you were in the timeline was… odd. It was nice to know where you stood but the answer wasn’t always happy, or it wasn’t always what you wanted. Hyrule relaxed upon seeing Wild smiling and laughing at Wind’s antics with the rest of them, only getting louder as Wind continued on. Wait, didn’t this mean Wild was a part of Time’s line? And so Twilight’s as well? Oh well, better not go there tonight.

~

“Hey Wind?” Wild questioned turning in his bed roll to face the younger boy. The others had mostly turned in, and Wind had settled next to Wild’s bed roll, causing Wild’s chest to light up with an odd warmth.

“Yeah Wild?” Wind ceased his joking tone at Wild’s serious one.

“Are you… upset? That it's me who's your potential predecessor?” Wild asked hesitantly.

“Wild we’ve talked about this-”

“No, no, not that.” Wild really did not want to get into his, what Four called, ‘self esteem issues’. “But… I’ve seen the way you all look at my ruins. Aren’t you, you know, sad, that that’s what Hyrule turned into?” There was an awkward silence and Wild as glad Sky was probably far enough away for his watch he couldn’t hear them.

“Do you remember when we first got to my Hyrule, I mean the first time with you there?” Wind asked, and Wild didn’t see how this related but let the boy continue. “And you were stunned by how much water there was. I mean the look on your face.” Wind joked, but it was stiff and dry. “I was self conscious too. Especially with the Hero of Time there, I loved visiting my home but having Time there always made me nervous. I mean I was already suspecting that he was perhaps part of my timeline. What if he found out his Hyrule, the one he worked so hard to save, was flooded during my quest?”

“That wasn’t your fault-”

“I know.” Wind interrupted Wild, with a small smile that this time seemed genuine. “Still at the time, the way you were all were still talking about how much water there was, how irritating it was to go around on boats all the time, how odd it was that there were so few land masses. It scared me, I thought they all hated what their land had become.” Wild’s eyes widened in surprise. He never even knew…

“But Time knew something was wrong, of course he did. I couldn’t tell him yet, I had to be sure. I didn’t want him to know until I knew for sure, as excited as I was to meet the Hero of Time, I was so scared what he would think of me, of my Hyrule.” Wind’s voice trailed off into a whisper, and wrestled his arm out of his bed roll and placed it on Wind’s shoulder. That’s what he was supposed to do, right? He relaxed when Wind smiled and nodded in thanks.

“What he said, it stuck with me. I told him how I felt, how the others seemed to hate my Hyrule. You know what he said?” Wild knew it was a rhetorical question, still he shook his head. “He said ‘It’s not bad, it’s different.’ I know it's simple, but he’s right. We’re just not used to each other’s Hyrules, that includes you Wild. We’re not used to ruins, or Guardians, or insane lightning storms. But the giant mushrooms you have are amazing.” They weren’t really mushrooms, but it still caused Wild to smile. “And those super tall islands you showed us! And your Rito have an amazing village. You know how I see it?” Wind waited for Wild to tilt his head against his bed roll. “I think our Hyrules just prove that no matter what, we’ll endure. There’s been cataclysms, great floods, calamity, but no matter what, Hyrule finds a way. That’s pretty great, don’t you think?” Huh, Wild had never thought about it in that grand of a way. He knew that the people of Hyrule, all of them, Hylian or no, were strong. But Wind put it into perspective. Wild wondered if Wind knew how good he was. Just… good. A good kid, a good hero, a good person, a good brother. Just genuinely good. Wild didn’t know how to say that, especially without sounding patronizing, so he settled for something else.

“You’re right Wind, thank you.” Wind knew the words were simple, but the emotion behind them got Wild’s point across perfectly. Wind smiled brightly.

“That’s Grandpa Wind to you.” Wild had to muffle his laughter in his bed roll.

~~~

This turned out a lot more fluffy/little angsty I hope that’s alright anon! Thank you for reading all, I hope you enjoyed!

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu #wind-centric #wild-centric #wind #wild #twilight #lu twilight #lu time #time #lu four #four #hyrule #lu hyrule #legend #lu legend #warriors #lu warriors #sky #lu sky #lu wind #lu wild #wind is a grandpa leave him alone #very dialogue heavy Im sorry

[singingvio]

LEGEND OF MANGA LISTS: Top 5 SADDEST Moments in the Zelda Manga Series!

((NOTE: Twilight Princess mangas and the Skyward Sword excerpt in the Hyrule Historia are excluded from the mangas considered in this list.))

1. Volvagia’s Demise (Ocarina of Time part 1)

In chapter 3 of Ocarina of Time, part 1, the story depicted is titled “An Old and Beloved Friend.” This chapter mostly depicts Link and Volvagia’s fight, along with their backstory depicted solely in the manga and not in the game, as it isn’t canon. The chapter starts with Link’s bow out, a single arrow ready to be embedded in Volvagia’s skull, only for Link to falter. The dragon burns Link and nearly kills him, only for Link to be healed by Sheik.

Link insists to the Goron Link that he can’t fight Volvagia. Sheik makes a fairly robotic comment while playing his harp that the only way to subdue Volvagia is to kill him, and Link loses it, yelling at Sheik, “That’s easy for YOU to say! There must be some way to make him remember me!” Sheik shows him exactly what disasters are happening due to Volvagia’s tantrum, Kakariko and Goron villages close to destruction, and Link sadly recounts the story of how he and Volvagia met before his inevitable battle.

Link saw him as a baby, locked in a cage with a price of seventy rupees in Castle Town. Link bought the dragon and set him free, only for Volvagia to bite his hand and burn his hair with his flames. Link tries to ignore the dragon later, when it follows him, but then Volvagia ends up burning a Stalfos that had been sneaking up to kill Link. Link then befriended the dragon, and Volvagia said his name aloud, and the memory fades as Link is brought out of his story by someone warning him that the volcano is about to erupt.

Link, in a futile, heartbreaking effort to make Volvagia remember him, yells out, “It’s me! Link! Remember me!” Seeing as this does nothing, Link drives his sword into Volvagia’s flesh, beheading him. At his final moments, Volvagia remembers Link and starts to cry, calling his name out one last time to an expressionless Link as he dies.

2. Ghandi’s Defeat and Link’s Following Despair (A Link to the Past)

In Act 3 of A Link to the Past, Sacrifice, Link and Ghandi (a character created to be Link’s friend and travelling companion exclusively in the manga) travel through the Dark World, saving its inhabitants from fates worse than death to pay for their sins. When Link talks to a gossiping monster of a swamp, it is revealed that Zelda is at Turtle Rock, and Link heads there immediately. Ghandi, however, stays behind.

Ghandi claims that a bandit can’t risk her life just to save someone else, and Link argues that he only got this far because of her helping him. They inevitably split up, and Ghandi worries silently about Link and confesses to herself that she’s had a crush on him and can’t bear to see him reunited with Princess Zelda, as he clearly loves her instead.

Meanwhile, Link makes his way to Agahnim at Turtle Rock, to free Princess Zelda. Agahnim calls on a giant, firebreathing hydra to stop Link from saving Zelda, and Link, thinking nothing of it, defeats the monster with ease. Link comments on the monster’s strength, saying, “It’s kinda weak, for such a big…” and then he realizes. The monster vanishes into smoke, revealing the broken body of Ghandi, who isn’t dead, but very close. Link is heartbroken, and immediately hatred fills his heart as he turns on Agahnim for making him fight Ghandi.

Agahnim points out what Link is becoming, a hateful wolf, and Link watches his own body transform in horror as he cries out in agony. Zelda  manages to break free of her crystal cage, and heals Link from his beastly form. Together, they manage to heal Ghandi before she dies as well, and the two are properly reunited.

3. Pirate Captain and His Lady (Oracle of Ages)

In chapter 7 of Oracle of Ages, The Pirate Captain, Ralph and Link are stranded in an unknown body of water on a raft, trying to get back to the mainland to rescue Nayru. They’re rescued by the Pirate Captain, a man worn away to only soul and bone, as is his crew. Ralph and Link ask him how long he’s been sailing, and he replies that he doesn’t know and is very tired.

The Captain and Link discuss Link’s sword and its fine craftmanship, and then the Captain notices Ralph holding the Harp of Ages, and asks for a song. Ralph obliges, playing a traditional waltz, and the captain is happily lost in the memory of when he was in Labrynna, dancing with a fine lady under the stars. He says, “I remember this song from when I danced with her! We were in love, and the world was ours. Until it ended, and I set to sea to forget. But I could never forget… not her.”

He then makes a bold declaration, one soon revealed to be one of many when Link reads his logbook, that he will make it back to Labrynna to reunite with the lady he still loves to this day. As the ship is caught up in a horrific storm, Link gets his hold on the Captain’s logbook, reading in horror the logs there. “Day 23: set sail for Labrynna. Encountered a storm. Day 145: Storm. Day 317: Storm… They’ve been stuck in this storm forever!”

Link and Ralph attempt to escape the ship in their fear that they won’t be able to, and the Captain attempts to stop them. Link manages to tell the Captain that if he lets them go, he can fix things for him and his Lady, and the Captain, on the brink of tragedy as he lets Link and Ralph go, his final words are a request to Link. “If y’see this lady on your journeys, lad, tell her… the Knight who set sail… will love her for all eternity.” He shows Link a picture of Queen Ambi, and with that, he disappears without a trace, and is never shown again.

4. Shadow Link’s Final Stand (Four Swords part 2)

In chapter 12 of Four Swords part 2, The Four Sword Forever, we see the Four Links’ final stand against Vaati in order to save Zelda. Previously in the manga, Shadow was resurrected using the power of the Dark Mirror after a crushing betrayal from Vio, the smart, collected side of Link he’d thought to be his friend before his temporary defeat. The Dark Mirror is the source of all dark magic, including his life force. Shadow was resurrected right in front of Zelda, who was staring sadly at him, and he yells at her angrily to not take pity on him, as he hates it.

Zelda is then enshrouded in a dark cloud, and Shadow panics, asking Vaati what’s happening to her. When he realizes Vaati is going to kill Zelda, he completely breaks down, taking a quick detour to help the Links by disguising himself as Vio before going back up and grabbing a chair Zelda had been sitting in prior to her slow poisoning in the cloud, throwing it at the Dark Mirror with a scream and breaking the center of it.

Finally, in the final chapter of Four Swords part 2, the Links are almost where Shadow, Zelda and Vaati are. Shadow is incredibly weak, putting almost all his weight on the side of the Mirror. Vaati panics, yelling at Shadow that if he destroys the mirror, Shadow will die too. Shadow grins at Vaati, before saying, “That’s all right. I came out of the Dark Mirror. And with it’s power I woke you. How fitting that I use it to destroy us BOTH!” And with that, he shoves the mirror to the ground, successfully killing Vaati.

The other Links find his body lying next to the mirror, thanking him, and Shadow starts to close his eyes when Vio yells at him to “hang in there!” Shadow then calmly recounts what his life is like as Link’s shadow. “A shadow… usually only ever follows its body. It never gets to lead the way. Today I faced the enemy… on my own. It felt pretty good, but that still doesn’t make me… part of the body.”

Green (the leader and most ‘Link-like’ of the four) tells him the opposite, telling him that he’s their friend, and Shadow, with newfound energy, gets up and reaches towards the other Links, only for him to fade into the light and disappear, dying permanently and for the last time as the other Links stare at where he once was.

5. Skull Kid’s Backstory (Majora’s Mask)

In chapter 9, Fierce Deity Link, the Moon is stopped by the four Giants in Termina. Link sees Tael and Tatl reunited, and notes how sweet it is before thanking the Giants and joking with Tatl about how long it took for them to arrive. Skull Kid, meanwhile, shakes in the background, knocked to the ground and not getting up. In a moment of clarity, the mask not having control on him in his moment of emotion, Skull Kid despairingly recounts his tale.

Skull Kid sadly says that he didn’t mean for this to happen, only wondering why the Giants left him. A flashback is then shown from Skull Kid’s point of view, the Giants getting ready to leave as Skull Kid desperately tries to hold them back. “Why?! No! No, you mustn’t! Hey… Wait! I said wait! Don’t go! Hold on! I said wait! Don’t go! Can’t you hear me?!”

He cries out, many times, sometimes even trying to forcibly hold the Giants back and failing drastically. He ends up falling off a cliff, still trying to catch up with the Giants as he’s battered and bruised, still crying, “Don’t go!” He’s then seen travelling across the desert, tripping and folling multiple times, when he accidentally steps in a bird nest. The birds immediately attack him, yelling at him to watch where he’s going and that it’s fun to hurt him by pecking him.

Skull Kid shakily reaches a hand up to keep going, but gives up as rain pours down on him, tears pouring down his face as he stares at the ground in defeat. The flashback fades out, as Skull Kid says a truly heartbreaking line before being taken over by Majora’s Mask once more, initiating the final battle. “I guess… we never really were friends… after all. They didn’t even say goodbye. Nobody likes me. But with this… Everyone will do what I want! This MASK is my only friend!”

RUNNER UPS

Mask Creations (Majora’s Mask) - The deaths of Darmani, the Goron, and Mikau, the Zora, when Link dons both masks to fulfill their final wishes. Darmani, to see his son again and make the child happy, and Mikau, to spend at least one more concert with Lulu and the other members of his band.

Great Mayfly Fairy’s Transformation (Minish Cap) - The transformation at the hands of Vaati of a lovely singing fairy, with a beautiful voice. Link wistfully mentions that she looks a little like Zelda and Vaati, in a fit of mild hysteria at this point, transforms her into a horrible moth creature. Her transformation is shown to be painful and heartwrenching, as is her defeat.

Deku Tree’s Death (Ocarina of Time part 1) - The famous death of the Deku Tree, in manga format. Link is told of his quest by the Deku Tree, and that the Deku Tree is going to die in the next few minutes. Link cries and even punches the tree in a fit of anger and sadness, crying that the Deku Tree can’t leave him until the Deku Tree inevitably dies and Link must leave on his quest.

Green’s Defeat Against Vio (Four Swords part 2) - When the four Links are finally reunited, Green, Red, and Blue face Vio and Shadow in a battle to the death with Green fighting Vio. Their battle comes to a close as Green falls to the ground, seemingly stabbed through the gut as Vio walks off victorious. Red and Blue yell at Vio and cry over Green, until it’s revealed after Vio and Shadow leave that it was all a ruse and Green was only knocked out.

Zelda and Link’s Meeting (A Link to the Past) - Link finds Zelda in a dungeon, and Zelda tearfully recalls how she had almost given up hope of rescue, stating that she thought she had been all alone until Link had finally found her. Link then embraces her, stating that he heard her voice and she was never alone.

#Legend of Manga Lists #legend of zelda #ocarina of time #a link to the past #oracle of ages #four swords #majora's mask #minish cap

[sphinxsmuses-archived]

ooc: Muses currently with bio pages on the blog!

Nier Automata:

10B/Decima (A Battle Unit Android of YorHa who shows more emotion than most. Flirtatious and protective of those she cares about, almost overly protective and will gladly kill for them. When fighting machines, she can almost come off as psychotic.)

Pokemon:

Chiyumi Muzai (A Pokemon trainer from Hearthome with an Empoleon named Pippin as her starter and a friendly Altaria by the name of Peeps and many more Pokemon. Shy and slightly clumsy and tends to attract Pokemon when she doesn’t want to)

Blair Mahou (Braixen Gijinka who thinks she is a magical girl. Flirty and mischievous sometimes but mainly likes to help people with her ‘powers’. Likes to put on a show in order to gain reputation and hopes to get her own tv show)

Piper/Peeps (An Altaira Gijinka girl who can’t speak human very well and tends to just say Peep or chirp or hum. Very innocent and naive and loves to give hugs to people and can be a tad air-headed.)

Fairy Tail:

Emilia Clarimond (Emilia is a Celestial Wizard with the Jade Zodiac Keys, Mouse, Monkey, Tiger and Sheep! She is clever, stubborn, hard headed but can become friendly when she gets close to someone. To her, her Zodiac summons are like family. Has a Fate series Master verse!)

Genshin Impact:

Iyumi (Iyumi is a Fatui Mage hailing from Snezhnaya who is on the prowl for someone cute she can call hers. To most she acts vicious and snobby, ready to electrocute them should they get on her nerves. But should she find the someone she wants, she becomes more adoring and flirty, chasing after them until she can have them. Which can turn into an aggressive chase should the other not want her. Has a Demon and Dark Goddess AU!)

Kyana Aeira  (A Pyro Vision user from Mondstadt who dreams of becoming a Knight of Favonius one day. She works hard taking on random tasks from the people to prove herself capable. She is determined and optimistic and tends to  listen more to her emotions than think with logic. Has a One Piece AU!)

Monster Hunter:

Sonafuwa (A Paolumu who gained the ability to turn human. Sonafuwa is shy and tends  to stay in the trees and away from hunters so she won’t get hunted. When she meets someone friendly, she becomes more calm and is happy to make a new friend.)

Sakura (A Pink Rathian that gained the ability to turn human. Territorial at first but can become friendly if she sees the other means no harm. Prissy and doesn’t mind Hunters so long as she isn’t their target.)

Fandomless:

Ourania Thanos (A dragon that can turn into a human. Cocky, egotistical, and loves to  show off to others. Loves to fight people just to fight strong opponents  and also loves to eat lots of meat and drinks lots of ale. Has a Monster Hunter verse where she is a Zinogre gijinka) 

Kingdom Hearts:

Xia Malificia (A Nobody who is flirtatious, mischievous, and a bit manipulative. She wants to become a part of Organization XIII and use them for her own ends. A trouble maker. Has multiple AUs including a One Piece AU.)

Diana Fotieni (A keyblade wielder with a keyblade that is supposed to represent a balance of light and darkness. But Diana believes all darkness should be eradicated to protect the people. Acts rather knight like. Has a Pokemon verse and Final Fantasy 15 verse!)

Yugioh:

Miyuki Tenshi (A sweet, kind-hearted girl with a deck of angelic creatures revolving around Sanctuary in the Sky. She has the duel spirit of Happy Lover and is convinced she is the only one who has one as she has yet to meet anyone else who can see her. Has multiple AU verses.)

Aku Yazoi  (A  wannabe punk boy who is hot tempered and tries to act cool but is a sucker for cute girls. Is kind of a dweeb. Is from 5Ds. Also has fandomless verse for non-Yugioh threads)

Fandomless/Disgaea:

Zalira Deona  (A succubus who doesn’t really do succubus things. Her mom and dad are a powerful incubus and succubus pair who wanted her to follow in their footsteps. But all Zalira wanted was to laze around and eat human snacks and indulge in their culture (like manga!). Before they could send her to a demon academy, she ran away from home and ended up among humans.)

Fandomless/Zelda:

Colette Eirina  (Princess of Maas Kingdom and a rather air headed one at that. A hopeless romantic who reads tons of romance novels and is very naive but a sweet and kind person willing to help others. Though she mainly needs help herself.)

Fandomless:

Midori Mihata (A clumsy, terrified ninja who is probably not the best person to be a ninja. But she is trying to do her ninja clan proud. Also has a Naruto verse!)

Chloe Thaleia (Mischievous thief from a family of  thieves looking for her older brother who left home when she was a  child. Will steal from you playfully then give it back once she’s  caught. Has a magical greatsword she stole that can use the four  elements but she has no idea how to use it.)

Aiolos Thaleia (Older brother of Chloe. After witnessing his uncle (who had taught  them all they know about being a  thief) break the family code by murdering someone, he decided to go on a different path and leave the family. He strives to be a knight or a guard, something he sees as more honorable.)

#ooc #all muses currently on the blog #took off some and changed some around #however if we have a thread with one not listed no worries #they still exist #I just keep my list down cause otherwise it would be gigantic #lol #current muses

[from-a-journalism-student]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Strength in Diversity

Reflection 1: The More We Know, The More We See

Nintendo’s biggest fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is famous for many aspects, but arguably the most well-known is its massive and diverse roster. It’s pulled in over 70 playable characters from various game franchises, and each with their own unique moves, stats and quirks. Every single one of them — when played to their strengths — can hold their own in a match and have as much of a chance at winning as their competitors; where even a small electric mouse can topple a mighty demon king, and matches can turn on any drop of a hat.

Stepping back from the gameplay, the diversity can be seen the moment you lay eyes on the character select screen. The rendered models may share similar artistic aspects (lighting, textures, tints and tones, etc), but the art styles themselves vary from character to character. For example, series like Super Mario, Pokémon, and Splatoon fall into a cartoon-like style; brighter colors, less textures, simplistic and/or “cutesy” designs that wouldn’t look out of place in a kids show. In contrast, series like Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, and Metroid have a more realistic style; more textures, saturated colors, designs that draw inspiration from anime and the real world. Of course, there are exceptions and outliers, such as the completely 2D character of Mr. Game and Watch or the blocky Minecraft avatar named Steve. But even then, they fit well alongside the colorful mismatch of heroes, villains, monsters, aliens, machines and animals.

And that’s what I find beautiful about this franchise. Super Smash Bros. began as a single small game with only 12 characters, yet from the outset, it strived and succeeded in becoming a celebration of video games. This was reinforced in the third installment — Super Smash Bros. Brawl — which introduced the inclusion of third-party characters and franchises not owned by Nintendo. This includes the aforementioned Minecraft, as well as Sonic the Hedgehog, Metal Gear Solid, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest. If this most recent installment ends up being the last one, I’ll be happy and satisfied to watch it go out with such a massive bang.

#blog post #diversity and media storytelling #diversity #media #storytelling #journalism

[zeldagang-hyrule-hylians]

50 Extremely Helpful Tips and Tricks for Breath of the Wild

These are 50 things I learned from playing Breath of the Wild for hours on end. These are all personal discoveries, nothing was Googled (because I dislike rumors and hearsay, I would rather see for myself).

1. Horses will naturally follow along paths, making it easy for you to look around at scenery while on the horse. Be careful, because they aren’t perfect. You can’t turn and charge your horse at once, as they will get mad and throw you off.

2. You can use both remote bombs at once.

3. You can shield deflect Calamity Ganon’s fireball.

4. You can turn on and off your Champion’s Blessings (Mipha’s Grace, Revali’s Gale, Daruk’s Protection, and Urbosa’s Fury).

5. The Hebra Great Skeleton is behind a big door that you have to open by rolling a big snowball.

6. Thunderblight Ganon can be defeated by holding a metal rod up to him (by using Magnesis), Windblight Ganon can be defeated by perfectly timed arrow shots, Waterblight Ganon can be defeated by similar attacks, and Fireblight Ganon can be defeated by having Remote Bombs get sucked up and detonated in his fire ball.

7. You can use Cryonis to break Vah Ruta’s ice blocks instead of wasting arrows, and using Magnesis with metal objects against Vah Rudania’s Sentries is quite useful.

8. Giving 10 Luminous Stones to the Zora Ledo will get you 1 Diamond worth 500 Rupees, but just selling 10 Luminous Stones will get you 700 Rupees.

9. It’s technically possible to defeat Calamity Ganon using only Tree Branches.

10. Blood Moons will sometimes occur in the middle of the day without warning. This is because there was a malfunction and the Blood Moon fixes the problem.

11. Cooking during a Blood Moon (during 11:30 to 12:00) will cause the food to be of highest quality.

12. Royal Guard’s weapons deal a lot of damage, but they have very low durability. Royal weapons are more balanced and look impressive.

13. The Hylian Shield (earned in Hyrule Castle’s Lockup by defeating a Stalnox) can break, but you can buy a new one from Grante at Tarry Town, along with a bunch of other awesome gear!

14. Ancient Arrows instantly kill anything they hit (Guardians too if you hit them in the eye). Guardians will drop ancient tech, but anything else will just die without dropping anything, so only use Ancient Arrows when necessary!

15. It takes practice to do a Perfect Dodge and Shield Parry, so if you’re not the best, don’t worry!

16. The three Dragons (Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra) drop scales and fragments when you hit them with regular arrows, depending on where on their bodies you hit them. Don’t get too close though, because touching them will hurt you. Offering scales at each of the Springs shows you the way to Shrines (except with the Spring of Wisdom, at which you need to defeat the parasite infecting Naydra to get in).

17. The Sheikah text found almost everywhere in the game directly translate to English (except for Impa’s parchment, which translates into Japanese). For example, the Pins you can place on the map have Sheikah text that translates into “It’s dangerous to go alone” (a reference to the first Zelda game).

18. The best weapon (damage) is the Savage Lynel Crusher, which deals 78 points of damage. However, there is a special Royal Guard’s Claymore that deals 114 points of damage.

19. Lynels are the hardest things to beat in Breath of the Wild. You can defeat them by stunning them with arrows and mounting them, attacking while mounted, OR you can defeat them by doing a bunch of Perfect Dodges with flurry attacks (make sure you have multiple strong weapons, as Lynels have crazy health).

20. Having full outfits enhanced by Great Fairies will allow you to have set bonuses, giving you special abilities when you wear an enhanced set.

21. Horses can die. Fortunately, the Horse God Malanya located past the Nette Plateau will bring them back to life!

22. The best places to find the three dragons (again, Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra) are (in order) Floria Bridge and the Bridge of Hylia, Tabantha Great Bridge and the Eldin Great Skeleton, and Lanayru Promenade and Mount Lanayru.

23. Locations of Lynels include Lanayru Road East Gate, Oseira Plains, Gerudo Summit, Laparoh Mesa, East Deplain Badlands, North Akkala Valley, Ploymus Mountain, Coliseum Ruins, and the First and Second Gatehouses of Hyrule Castle. Depending on where in the game you are, the Lynels are of varying strengths (except Ploymus Mountian, which always has a normal Lynel). Lynels drop a whole bunch of loot!

24. The DLC has so much extra stuff including extra quests, gear, and Master Mode with GOLDEN LYNELS that have 7,500 points of health!

25. Silver enemies have insane health, but they drop awesome loot (such as gems that you can sell for Rupees).

26. There are three Labyrinths (Lomei Labyrinth Island, North Lomei Labyrinth, and South Lomei Labyrinth). These Labyrinths are easier than you think, and you obtain the Barbarian Armor just for navigating them.

27. The Labyrinths hold more than just Shrines (for example, the Lomei Labyrinth Island has a secret underground area with a ton of active Guardians and a chest with a Diamond Circlet in it).

28. Although difficult, it’s possible to cut down a tree, use Stasis on the tree before it falls, hit it with a blunt object a bunch of times, then climb it to travel short distances VERY fast. However, if you don’t do it right, you could take damage.

29. The White Horse can be found on Sefula Hill. It’s a good quality horse, but make sure you have extra stamina and stealth to mount it. Take it to the Outskirt Stable, register it, and take it to an old man named Toffa to get the Royal Gear.

30. The Giant Horse can be found in Taobob Grassland and can be registered as an actual steed at a stable. It doesn’t have any stamina at all, but it runs faster than any other horse gallops, so... (and be careful of the Lynel that prevents you from leaving).

31. You can ride some wild animals including deer and bears, however, you cannot register them.

32. Although you can’t register him as a horse, the Lord of Satori Mountain can be mounted like a horse (with stealth and lots of stamina, of course).

33. Lynels (again, I know) are unaffected by elemental weapons, and always carry elemental arrows. If you want to attack a Lynel, face them head on instead of attacking from a distance, because they attack by shooting an arrow up into the sky that follows you and lands directly on you every time.

34. Breath of the Wild is full of references to other past Zelda games (wink, wink).

35. The underneath of Hyrule Castle (the arena for your fight with Calamity Ganon) has Sheikah text that reads “LABORATORY” on the floor and a map of Hyrule (including the Divine Beasts) on the walls).

36. To navigate the Lost Woods, pick up a torch and light it on one of the provided fires. Whichever direction the embers and smoke go, that is the direction to go!

37. You can actually buy and own a house in this game. The house is in Hateno Village and it costs 3,000 Rupees and 100 Rupees for each upgrade.

38. Avoid Hyrule Field if you don’t want a run-in with Guardians.

39. There are five types of Guardians (Decayed Guardians, Guardian Stalkers, Guardian Skywatchers, Guardian Turrets, and Guardian Scouts). Guardian Scouts are found in Shrines, Guardian Turrets are found all over Hyrule Castle, and the other types are found throughout Hyrule. Sentries are miniature Guardians dispatched by Vah Rudania, so those weren’t counted.

40. The Silent Princess is found in sacred places such as Great Fairy Fountains and near the Master Sword pedestal.

41. It takes 13 hearts to lift the Master Sword. Yellow added hearts don’t count. The Master Sword can’t break, but it will run out of energy and become unusable until it recharges. The Master Sword normally has 30 points of damage, but when near Guardians or Calamity Ganon (or in Hyrule Castle), it glows and has 60 points of damage.

42. In Hateno Village, there is a statue (similar in appearance to the Goddess Statues) that will exchange hearts, stamina, and Rupees.

43. When you have found all of the Shrines, the Sheikah Monks will gift you the Tunic of the Wild, which is Link’s famous green outfit (recieve this at the Forgotton Temple).

45. At Kilton’s Fang and Bone store, you can buy monster masks that will make you blend in with the monsters they look like. This will make specific monsters act friendly towards you. Be careful though, as Lynels are too smart to be fooled by the Lynel mask for too long.

46. The key to Eventide Island is to be patient and attack enemies from a distance. Reach Eventide Island by gliding from Cape Cales (carry extra stamina).

47. Upon arriving on shore of Eventide Island, a mysterious voice will inform you that you will be stripped of everything in your inventory. Don’t panic! Leave some gear in the water before you walk on shore and then retrieve it after the challenge starts.

48. To completely obtain the Zora gear, get the Zora Armor from the Zora King, the Zora Greaves from the Zora Laflat after showing her a picture of the Lynel on Ploymus Mountain, and the Zora Helm from a chest in Toto Lake.

49. Wearing the Champion’s Tunic allows you to see the number of health points an enemy has.

50. Looking for something? Simply looking on the map helps locate quite a few things, for example, Leviathan Bones, which are huge.

[mrneighbourlove]

Death and Emptiness, Hand in Hand: Part 2/2

Cloye felt a deep chill run down her back. It was happening again. Rising from her bed she grabbed a torch and a spear. She had to see for herself what the source of her towns strife was.

A haunting music slowly rose, giving a menacing feeling as the chilly night air was lite up by a crescent moon. The last few pervious nights, including for herself, the townsfolk had experienced nightmares. Those who woke early described a chilling tune creeping through their windows. Tonight, Cloye had stayed up to find the source of this terrible music.

A short walk later and it suddenly made sense. The graveyard. The tombs had been destroyed by the invading darkness from almost five full moons ago. People tried to fix the tombs after a month of helping the living first, only to discover undead in the tombs. Even after they dealt with them, more and more monsters rose up as they went deeper into the catacombs. A priest came and did an incantation to stop the undead, but that only gave birth to the music, and in turn, the nightmares. Perhaps coming here was not a good idea.

As Cloye turned to leave, an apparition appeared before her. It held a flaming lantern and sharp wand in the shape of a knife. Cackling, its eyes glowed a devilish orange. "You are trespassing on sacred ground! We curse all who dare enter. The living be damned for allowing this suffering!"

She turned to leave when she saw another spirit just like the first. It waved its wand, and a low dark tune that gave silence to all natural things played out. Her senses started to become overtaken with fear, the poor woman feeling the darkness start to consume her. Out of the earth Gibdo's clawed to the surface, wanting to taste the air, and, after a whiff of the surface, the flesh of the woman. Cloye gave out a loud scream, dropping her torch and spear. The two spirits cackled once more as they saw her take off into the distance.

~

Princess Leere felt happy that her room had finally been refurbished. It took a lot of digging, but she managed to find most of her belongings, many saved due to be kept locked up in a safe or two. With a happy sigh she folded her bed sheets and went off to get some fresh air.

Walking through the halls she saw a woman crying out hysterically. "Please! You can't put this off anymore! My town needs the Kings help!"

"Mamm, please, the King and Queen are very busy, you need too-"

Leere interrupted the guard, shoving him to the side. "Hello there miss. I'm Princess Leere. What seems to be the problem?"

Leere usually never considered herself the princess type, but it was always a handy title to throw around when needed. The woman wiped her tears on a ragged sleeve. "Please. Spirits are haunting my town! I traveled here hearing rumours that the Lorleidian Queen has connections with the spirit world! Or if she's not her, perhaps the legendary hero can help!"

Leere nodded, taking this woman's concerns to heart. "You've traveled a long way. How about you come with me, we'll get you some soup, and we can tell Zarazu all about this incident."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Leere petted the woman's back for comfort. "Guard. Go tell Queen Zarazu to meet me at the dining hall."

"Yes mamm."

Everyday held new challenges. Some idiot thought his ship could fit under a local bridge and ended up smashing the bases to pieces and damaging his boat. The situation had to be resolved soon so local trade could resume. The Zora wanted to set up a meeting about over fishing. The Goron were concerned about a new mine too close to the volcanoes. It was breeding season for the dragons again, so Zarazu had to tell multiple people to keep away from the nests or yes, that mama dragon was going to snap. All in a day's work of being a queen she supposed. However, when Leere requested an immediate meeting for a local concern, the queen was highly tempted to ask to put it off until tomorrow. She was very tired and wanted to eat dinner then go to bed with her husband. Yet, if she finished this now, perhaps it would not be an issue tomorrow. When the guard explained the problem, Zarazu was surprised to hear there was a concern about... spirits? She had many talents, but could not speak to the dead.

Walking into the dining hall, Zarazu saw Leere there with a woman who looked asleep on her feet.

"Leere?" The Lorleidian queen held a questioning tone. "Might you explain what is the matter?"

Leere shushed Zarazu with a playful gesture. "She is dead tired."

"... as am I, but here I am." Zarazu stated flatly with a quirked eyebrow. "Please, elaborate."

"Ok. You don't like puns. Noted." Leere said with a frown. "This woman traveled far across the country, so she might have the, and I quote, "Heroic Queen of the Spirit World save my village from a nightmarish plague". Gibido's, Stalfos, but most importantly, Poes, are attacking her village."

"Sorry, Leere, it's been a long day. I don't mean to snap." Zarazu sighed, rubbing her forehead. It was not right to be short with family members due to a tiresome headache. Though when she heard what Leere said, Zarazu was quite taken aback. "... plague? Like a sickness? If there is an epidemic, then I can send some Dusas to help."

"I think it's a figure of speech Zarazu. Although, if this is a worse case scenario, there could be a curse involved. I'll need to go investigate this."

"A curse? Concerning...?" Zarazu was completely lost. This area of magic was completely new to her. Then again, dark magic was foreign to her because she did not practice it. "If it is affecting people, then I'll need to help you resolve this and ensure who has been hurt is well taken care of in the future."

"Well curses can affect many aspects of life. Made to change, weaken, or kill it." Leere looked Zarazu over, stifling a snort. It looked like she was one step away from putting on pajamas. "Are you offering a ride to the village?

"I'm offering a ride and help. As queen, it's my duty to care for the people." Zarazu crossed her arms. "I may lack knowledge of dark magic, but I can help eradicate it."

Leere thought it over. It was more than just ‘eradicating’. It took care and understanding at the forces at play. Yet, Zarazu could learn a trick or two under Leere’s watchful eye. "Alright. Yeah. Yeah! Girls night out! Go get changed."

Leere wanted a moment to get to bond with Zarazu more. This would be perfect. Unless of course it could blow up into a disaster.

~

On Ba'Puu's back Leere gave him a pat. "Any good hunting today? Or did you strike out. Fish or ladies, take your pick."

"Mrrrrrhhh..." Ba'puu rumbled in annoyance as Leere gave him a pat. "You know I already have a mate and hunting is always good."

"Ba'puu, be nice." Zarazu chided him.

"... I caught tuna for myself and a huge grouper for my Umbra'lee. The hatchlings are eating both at the moment, but still have a love of flounder."

"That's great to hear Ba'Puu. Happy for you." It was just half an hour to midnight. "Seat Zarazu and I at the edge of the village. Stay flying outside. Do NOT come in after us, no matter how small the danger."

"And who do you think you are to give me orders?" Ba'puu snorted. "I protect my mistress."

"Ba'puu, you know I can handle myself." Zarazu patted his neck as her dragon grumbled, not liking the situation at all. "I'll be okay."

"If you go down into the tombs, I can't get to you. I don't like it."

Leere frowned at the dragons stubbornness. He never did apologize on his own for tackling her, however, he was still family to the necromancer. "I don't want you being cursed Ba'Puu. No one, no matter how large, can protect themselves without very specific training. I doubt any dragon, including you, could be safe. Sit this one out, for your family, please?"

"Grrrr... fine." Ba'puu finally relented as he landed just outside the village. "I'll be nearby. If you're not back in time, I'm digging a hole into the crypt to find you."

"We'll be okay, Ba'puu, please don't worry too much." Zarazu assured her dragon. "Leere and I will watch out for each other."

Leere felt the cool air hit her hard as a light fog rolled in. "Stay close to me Zarazu. Do not anger the spirits. Do not touch anything as well."

Walking into the graveyard a jingle rang out. With a light cackle, two lanterns appeared out of thin air, circling around the two woman. As the fire came to life in the lantern, two Poes appeared, each wearing royal hats, sprouting curly moustaches, carrying knife like batons, and having the symbol of the Hylian Royal family on their chests.

"Who dares approach?", the taller one asked.

Leere took a breath. Diplomatic with spirits was the key to a healthy relationship. "I am Leere Dragmire. Princess of Hyrule."

"You do not look like a native of Hyrule."

"I am the adoptive daughter of Ganondorf Dragmire and Zelda Hylia."

"Then who is this other woman? Clearly not your sister." The shorter one inclined.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to touch anything and definitely don't want a pissed off spirit chasing me around." Zarazu followed Leere through the graveyard and kept quiet. The spirits were listening, probably, and the last thing the queen wanted was one to latch onto her and haunt the castle. Ba'puu was a dragon and kept his distance, but Zarazu could still feel him worrying. When the Poes approached both of them, Zarazu made sure to be respectful. "I am Queen Zarazu of the Lorleidians, wife of King Covarog Dragmire."

"Lorule?"

"She said Lorleidian you dolt." The shorter ghost chastised.

"As in the ones responsible for Vul'kar."

"The one responsible for the tombs destruction."

Now that pissed Zarazu off, being blamed for something that was not her fault.

"My people are not responsible for what that monster did." Zarazu snapped icily, narrowing her eyes. "That monster attacked all nations, all people. We did not set him free, we fought against him, we sacrificed much to stop him. I am here to help, but if you just want to play the blame game, then I'll be more than happy to leave and simply relocate the citizens to another area."

"Zarazu, shut up." Leere whispered.

The Poe's flames flickered. "Do you not have the respect to know who we are?"

"I respect the dead, and I respect the spirits, but I don't care who you are, I am not responsible for the actions of that monster." Zarazu glared darkly, and then turned to Leere. "Poes or not, I will not tolerate disrespect. War brings damage and causalities, the last thing on my mind was catering to broken tombs when there were people who needed me that were alive. If you are displeased with this, then I can be on my merry way back to the castle."

Leere looked at Zarazu with stunned shock at her. Do not anger them. That was the first and biggest rule, and she broke it without a care.

The Poes fire exploded. "We are the composers of Hyrule. Keeper of secrets. My brother Flat. And I am Sharp." Sharp cackled with furious menace. "Perhaps you require a lesson in respect."

The older Poe started flicking his bladed baton, and a terrible tun played. With each flick Zarazu felt the force of a knife cut hit her.

Flat began playing as well, wrapped Gibidos rising from the earth to claim new bodies. "You have no respect for history. No respect for the dead. How could you possibly come before us? How could you bring peace?"

Zarazu barely flinched. During her time as Vul'kar's prisoner, she was tortured and it felt like her heart had been taken from her. She developed a high pain tolerance, fighting with broken bones and a mind damaged by Vul'kar invading her personal memories. He was always there, haunting her, taunting her with those she could not save. This was nothing. She had dealt with spirits before, this would be nothing new. She was strong, she had willpower, and she would make sure that her people survived long after she was gone.

Thrusting her hand forward, the tattoos glowed on her arm. Flat and Sharp were Poes, and Zarazu had her own spirits behind her; seven of them. Pure light magic emitted from her palm with a powerful blast.

"I am a queen of my people and I have struggled all my life to ensure the lives of others are well." Zarazu was tired, irritated, and fucking sick of being blamed for Vul'kar's actions. "You want to know about respect? About history? Ask Ganondorf what he did to my people. Ask Hyrule why they didn't help. Ask why my people had to bury their dead, their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, little children, when disaster struck. I brought peace by putting that monster away, ensuring he would never again hurt those I love, and never ever lay his hands on my people or my husband ever again. You want peace? I brought it."

The Poes danced around, avoiding her strikes. Other undead in her path were vaporized. However, they kept coming, rising from the earth and concrete above them.

"Zarazu! They don't care! They can't feel your current strife. They just-ACK!!!" A cut across her face. Poes were tricky. The most alive out of all the dead of Hyrule. But like any dead, they didn't have the protection of life, of the soul. She reached out with her own magic, to read the minds of the dead. Silencing their minds would only be a temporary situation, and a far bigger problem if they returned. Her dark aura surged as she gently looked deep into the memories of the brothers, their history playing out to the necromancer.

Mummies growled as they desired to eat the woman's flesh.

"Begone." Zarazu's ire was not going to be silent anytime soon, for she had heard this accusation one too many times. Coating the ground with ice to keep the undead from unearthing, the queen then obliterated the mummies and decided if the Poes wanted to fight dirty, then she would as well. Using her icy technique, she zipped the Poes in a water whip and slammed them onto the ground, before keeping them in place with her light magic. "I will not tolerate this any longer. I'll rebuild the entire tomb if I have to do so, but I will not have these damn spirits messing with my people, Hylian, Lorleidian, dragon or whoever else. This ends right now."

The Poes phased out of her grip, starting to work together to bring about a terrible curse. Leere finally found what she looked for. "Agreed. But not by your violence." Leere's eyes glew lightly from peering so far in. She took a small wooden Ocarina from her pockets. "Sir Flat! I wish to thank you for your services in the study of Hyrule's spirits! A play this in tribute to you and your brother!"

Please let mothers lessons work. Leere started playing a melody, a song as raging as the storm inside Zarazu, the brothers, and the restless dead.

Sharp and Flat stopped their curse, puzzled.                                

  "Music?" Zarazu never heard of using a song to appease the dead. However, Leere was the necromancer, not her. Whatever she wanted to try, she could do so. "Heh... Lorleidians normally don't use violence unless prompted to do so."

The dead just stopped in their tracks. After half a minute of playing, the Gibidos spazzed out, moaning in sadness. Giving in to the melody they returned to the earth.

Leere finished playing once the flames of the brothers calmed down. "I asked you not to be promoted to anger them...."

Looking to the brothers, Leere was surprised they bowed. "Thank you." Flat spoke up, "My mind....is so much more clear."

"Like a rainbow after a storm. I am sorry for any pain suffered." Sharp continued.

Leere sighed in relief. "Is there anything else we can do?"

"Will you repair the neglected graves around Hyrule?"

"We will. We respect the dead. Don't we, Zarazu?" Leere looked to her with hopeful eyes, like a parent hoping their child wouldn't embarrass them in public.

“I remind you that those two messed with me first." Zarazu was not in a forgiving mood at the moment. When Leere acted like an embarrassed parent, the queen merely rolled her eyes. "Of course. Let's hurry and get this over with so I can be as far away from these two nigolavnas as possible."

"Flat. Sharp. You are great composers. How about a song?"

"What song do you wish?"

Leere smiled. With them being the dead, Leere discovered something wonderful about them while searching their minds.

"You can play any song in history of past on composers. How about it Zarazu, what song would you like to hear?"

"..." Zarazu did not understand why Leere was entertaining those two idiots. As a queen, she wanted to resolve this problem and go back home. As a person, she hated that these two supposed guardians of the dead were so biased. Over time, Zarazu thought she had developed a thick skin due to the nobles of Hyrule disapproving of her being on the throne beside of Covarog. Mixed blood was already bad enough with Covarog being part Gerudo, and now Lorleidian blood too? It bothered her more than she wanted to admit. "... the first Lorleidian ruler, Queen Lorleidi's lullaby was lost to history. Do you know it?"

Flat and Sharp looked to each other, then up to the heavens as if they were trying to recall it. "Yes."

"We do. Is that your request?"

Leere nodded. "It is. Thank you."

The two brothers waved their batons, clearing the clouds for the moon to shine through, and began the light melody. It was like they played the song a thousand times.

"... hrm." Zarazu was quiet while the two played. History was a fickle thing, full of loss and sadness. The Gerudo had lost just as the Lorleidians had. Maybe someday, somehow, both of her people and Covarog's could regain what was once lost.

Leere studied Zarazu closely, guessing her feelings. "They don't hate you Zarazu."

"They may not hate me, but they blame me. It isn't the same, but it still makes me feel shitty." Zarazu shook her head. "... I want to go home, so let's do what we have to and leave. I'm not wanted here so I rather not be here."

"And what's their blame coming from? Their home being destroyed. Spirits are far more fragile. Sensitive. They can't reel in their anger easily like us. They blame everyone because their hurt is unimaginable. You have to care for them. They suffered enough in life, why must they endure more in death?" Leere closed her eyes as she took in the air. "The blame will go away. The dead and living will rest from this cataclysm with time. We can go home after this song, ok?" She holds Zarazu's hand with care.

"... I know the feeling of losing a home." Zarazu sighed heavily, rubbing the temples on her head. "I'm so tired, Leere, so tired of being on guard all the time. The court, the council, the damn parties, now here? Sometimes I just want to beg Covarog to give the throne to Rinku. At least she's full blooded Hylian so they'll all just shut up. Other times I wish I could just blast them off the face of the earth, and be more like Ganondorf, feared rather than respected. Though most of the time, I just want to lay beside my husband and wash away the worry from his face." As Leere took her hand, Zarazu's shoulders slumped. She squeezed her hand lightly, trying to reign in her emotions. "I'm a queen... not a goddess. I can only do so much to ease suffering and evidently," She looked at the tomb. "I can't do enough."

"Be you Zarazu. Do what makes you happy." Her finger rubbed Zarazu's hand for comfort. "Damn them all, only bring happiness to those who care. And for race, you think they care? What I like about Poes, is that when you strip away all the flesh, and blood, and ideals, it's that our souls are similar. So plain. Like a fire."

"Heh... your soul may be a fire, but mine is definitely made of ice." Zarazu was ready to leave and return to her king. "Let's go home."

"No. I see a heart as warm as the ocean. You just need to see it." The song ended and the Poes bowed. Leere clapped for them. "That was wonderful." With the wave of her hand she made a small influence on them.

"Would you like a transcript our Queen?" Flat asked.

So the Poes were addressing her as queen now? Zarazu quirked an eyebrow, glancing at Leere before looking back at the Poe who offered a transcript of the song. Holding out her hand, she nodded.

"A transcript would be lovely if it is not too much trouble."

"Then it is yours, Queen Zarazu." Sharp made a scroll containing all the notes to the song.

Leere took it and bowed. "Thank you. You may rest now. I promise your home will be repaired."

The Poes bowed back, and with a twirl, vanished into thin air.

"Go in peace."

Leere gave the scroll to Zarazu. "Here you are my Queen."

"Thank you, Leere... though I'm going to be honest with you." Zarazu took the scroll and gave a small chuckle. "I don't think I'm overly fond of dealing with the dead."

"No. Not everyone is. But I hope I could change a few opinions."

"I'm sure you could, though, I suppose I should say it this way," Zarazu put a hand on Leere's shoulder as the two exited the tomb. "I'm better equipped to deal with the living."

"That you are. I hope to teach you more about the dead, my mistress Death.” Leere poked light at the origin of Zarazu’s name. How ironic for a woman named after death to be so devoted to upholding life. “We are two sides of the same coin."

#Legend of Zelda #Poes #AU #Zarazu #Leere #Leere Dragmire #ridersoftheapocalypse #crossover #So glad to write again with you!

[pocketseizure]

The Legend of the Princess, Chapter 27

What It Means to Fight

In which Zelda weaves the threads of the past into something new and different.

(Chapter 27 on AO3) (Story Tag on Tumblr) (Cover Illustration)

* * * * *

“Turn away now,” Daphnes ordered. “Help us calm the rebellion, and we will forgive you. We are not unmerciful.”

Ganondorf scowled at him and prepared to respond, but Zelda preempted him.

“There is no mercy in this,” she proclaimed. There was power in her voice, and it propelled her forward. She stepped in front of Ganondorf, leaving Link behind her.

“Father, if you know what this man is, then you know what you’re doing by provoking him. You will get everyone in this room killed, including yourself.”

“He’s a monster, Zelda!” Daphnes objected. “You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“Actually, I do. I know exactly what he’s capable of.”

Zelda took another step forward, and she felt the very stones of the temple resonate with her determination.

“Zelda, I know you’re exhausted,” Daphnes said, attempting to placate her. “And I know… I know you care for this man. You’re still young, and your entire future is ahead of you. Please, let us protect you.”

Zelda laughed, remembering how Tetra’s eyes had sparkled in the mirror of the underwater castle. She took another step forward, and she remembered how glorious it was to be a goddess flying high over Hyrule. She remembered the girl on the sacrificial altar, Hylia’s mortal reincarnation and her distant ancestor. Was that altar somewhere in this very temple? Zelda thought it just might be. She could feel the energy of this sacred place flowing through her.

She thought of the glamour Ganondorf had cast on his clothing, and she realized that she knew exactly how the spell worked. She cast it under her breath, using it to clothe herself in the pure white dress of the sky goddess, and she delighted in the touch of the warm summer air on her skin as her Sheikah clothing faded away. Her feet were bare, connecting her to the earth of this ancient ground. A horrible sacrifice had been offered to the goddess long ago in this very place, soaking the soil at the center of Hyrule with the blood of the god who loved it.

She understood that she was meant to be a sacrifice as well. People would fight for her, and people would die for her, as people had fought and died for her in the past. Hyrule was Hylia’s legacy, and her role was to represent this legacy, trapped within the beautiful crystal of her fate so that she could suffer nobly for her kingdom. Her father and her friends and Link and even Ganondorf were all fighting for her, but no one ever asked what she wanted.

Zelda smiled as she raised her bow. It was no longer the small Sheikah reflex bow Impa had given her but a glowing arc of pure silver. The arrow she fit against its string was a bolt of radiant light.

“I can protect myself,” Zelda said to Daphnes, and then she shot him.

The ray of light struck him exactly where his right arm joined his shoulder, severing it completely. He won’t be touching the Triforce anytime soon, Zelda thought, feeling no guilt whatsoever.

The king’s wound cauterized instantly, but he passed out from shock and collapsed. No one moved or spoke as Zelda hopped lightly onto the dais, knelt by her father’s body, and removed a white baton from an inner pocket of his robe. Still kneeling, she slung her bow over her back, and then she stood. She held the Wind Waker in her hands and snapped it in half. It was much easier than she thought it would be. When it broke, the baton dissolved into faint particles of light, and Zelda felt its magic surge into her.

“I’m glad that’s taken care of,” she announced, clapping her hands together.

“Now on to the next order of business,” she continued, summoning another silver arrow to her fingers.

She turned to Darunia. “You’ve been like an uncle to me, and I thank you. My father will need your support as he recovers,” she said. “But you have to give me that ruby. Your people don’t owe this kingdom anything, and you have nothing to lose if the volcano erupts. Lava is the lifeblood of the mountain, and I have no doubt you can tame the dragon that flows through it. It’s still a child, after all. It may even become your son’s companion after he gets better. When I am queen, I will see to it that whatever is amiss on Death Mountain is settled to your satisfaction.”

She held out her hand. Darunia, looking sheepish, dropped the Goron’s Ruby into her palm. She struck it with the silver arrow, and it shattered.

Next she turned to Makar. “If you’re going to become the next Deku Tree,” she began, “we need to get something straight right now. I will do everything in my power to protect your forest, and I expect you to do nothing less, but I will not tolerate people getting lost in those woods. Your territory has served as a barrier cutting Hyrule off from the rest of the world for centuries, and that has to end. We will both see to it that no one will threaten the forest, but this kingdom cannot remain isolated.”

She pointed at Link. “Give me the Kokiri’s Emerald,” she commanded, and he removed it from his pouch, awestruck. She threw the arrow like a dart, and the gem burst into pieces in his hand. Makar did not respond to any of this but only watched her, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I believe I’m next,” Ruto said, the Zora’s Sapphire already shining between her fingers.

“Ruto, I’m sorry,” Zelda began to apologize, but Ruto cut her off.

“Give me another one of those arrows,” she said. “I want to do this myself.”

Zelda did so, and Ruto plucked the silver arrow from her hand before driving it down violently onto the blue stone, which exploded into a shower of shining dust.

“Sweet Nayru, that felt so good,” Ruto sighed, handing the arrow back to Zelda. “I’ve wanted to do that for years. We’ll talk about this soon, I promise,” she added, winking.

Zelda winked back and then faced Impa. “You’re fired,” she said simply. “You and your entire tribe, you’re all fired. I don’t know what happened to the Sheikah in the past, but I have a pretty good idea. What my family did to you wasn’t right then, and it isn’t right now. Of course I would never object if you were to stick around, but only if you decide to stay as my friend and as my equal. And as my advisor, not as my assassin. Think about it, okay?”

Impa nodded in acknowledgment, and Zelda turned to Nabooru, who raised an eyebrow when Zelda met her gaze.

“You,” Zelda said, “are perfect. You should visit Hyrule more often. As long as I’m in this castle, the Gerudo will always be welcome here.”

“I’ll consider it,” Nabooru responded. “I only hope there will be a castle left for us to visit.”

“I was just getting to that,” Zelda replied.

She stepped over her father’s body and walked to the pedestal at the back of the dais before turning and facing Link.

“Listen, you’re not bound to me,” she said. “I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t need a chosen knight. Your destiny is your own, and you don’t have to be a hero if that’s not what you want. If you wouldn’t mind listening to my advice, though, you should really stop being so quick to follow orders. And you’ve got to put that sword back where it belongs before anything escapes from the broken seal.”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to follow orders,” Link said, already stepping forward to join her.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Just do it,” she said. Link grinned in response.

“And finally, you,” she said, looking directly into Ganondorf’s face. “You are an idiot. Did you really think you could just touch the Triforce and fix all this? That is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard in my life, and you would know that if you actually talked to people instead of trying to do everything on your own.”

“With all due respect, Princess,” Ganondorf answered, crossing his arms over his chest, “isn’t that what you’re doing? Trying to fix everything yourself? Issuing commands while shattering gems and breaking political arrangements that have been around for centuries? But I admit, I admire your courage. If you have an idea for how to end this cycle, I’m listening.”

“You know what? I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe, and I don’t have time to deal with another one of your monologues. As it happens, I do have an idea. Stop standing down there by yourself and get up here so you can help me.”

Ganondorf didn’t move, and for a moment she thought he was going to reject her, to turn on his heels and leave the temple on his own. Please, she begged him silently, hoping against hope that he would trust her. She understood how difficult it must be for him to stand alone with all of them looking down on him, especially since none of them had done anything to help him when he’d asked. Please, don’t make me fight you, Zelda thought, struggling not to cry. As she waited for Ganondorf to make a decision, the power she’d felt when she destroyed the sacred stones deserted her, and once again she felt vulnerable and helpless. Were they really so bound by their fates that she could come this far and still have him walk away from her?

He must have seen something in her eyes, because he dropped his gaze and shook his head. “Don’t make me regret this,” he muttered, and a second later he had teleported onto the dais beside her.

Zelda smirked. Ganondorf may have done what she asked, but he still had to show off while he did it. Hopefully that meant he wasn’t too angry at her. She certainly hoped he wasn’t – she had almost killed her father for his sake, after all.

“Darunia,” she said, “can you take the king back to the castle? Tell everyone that he was injured in battle. Everyone else, can you leave me and Link and Ganondorf here? I’m counting on you to get everything under control before we return. Make sure all the combatants are retained in the front courtyard. I’ve got a speech already prepared, and I need an audience to make it effective.”

“I thought I was fired.” Impa scowled at her.

“For Din’s sake.” Zelda clicked her tongue in an unconscious imitation of Tetra. “Nabooru, can you help?”

“Come on, everyone,” Nabooru spoke up, tugging at Impa’s ear as Darunia hoisted Daphnes onto his shoulders. “It looks like it’s up to us to get this situation cleaned up. Let’s go.”

Zelda smiled gratefully, and Nabooru returned her smile before turning away from her. Zelda knew that there would be repercussions for sending everyone off to settle matters at the castle while she remained at the temple to conduct this last bit of business in secret, and she wasn’t looking forward to the conversation she needed to have with her father, but she would have to worry about that later.

“All right, it’s just us now,” Link said after the group had left. “Zelda, do you want to explain what’s going on? Or did you just want to clear the stage so that I can fight him in peace?” he added, pointing to Ganondorf with his thumb.

“You wouldn’t stand a chance,” Ganondorf growled.

“What was that?” Link glanced at him out of a corner of his eye. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught what you said. I couldn’t hear you over the sound of having the Master Sword in my hand right now.”

“I’m sorry, Link, but you’re really going to need to put that back,” Zelda cut in. “Ganondorf is wrong about a lot of things, but he’s right about the sword acting as a seal on Demise’s curse.”

“When did I say that?” Ganondorf asked, shooting her a sharp look.

“Sorry, wrong timeline.” Zelda shrugged. “I guess I owe both of you an explanation, so here it is. Basically, my father used the Triforce to amplify the power of the magical artifact I just destroyed, which flooded Hyrule. Ganondorf, you stayed in the castle and started kidnapping people. Meanwhile, I think I escaped and had a child with Link. Maybe? I’m not sure. Anyway, just about everyone in this kingdom died, but I learned something interesting about the Triforce.”

“Which is?” Ganondorf prompted.

“We had a kid?” Link asked. Zelda ignored him.

“If someone whose heart isn’t in perfect balance touches the Triforce, then it breaks into its three component parts, each of which lodges within a chosen bearer. When Daphnes touched the Triforce, it must have split, because Ganondorf got the Triforce of Power. I got the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link, I think you got the Triforce of Courage, although I’m not entirely sure what you did with it, because it seems to have fragmented even further… But that’s beside the point.”

“So what you’re saying is that it’s possible to split the Triforce without destroying it,” Ganondorf concluded, rubbing his beard.

“Wait, hold up. I’m still not over this thing about us having a kid,” Link interjected, and Zelda continued to ignore him.

“Based on what happened because of my father, I don’t think it’s a good idea for any one person to touch the Triforce. Ganondorf, I know you think the solution is to destroy the thing altogether, but I’m not so sure about that. I think we need more time to figure out what the Triforce is and how it works, because I don’t want to do anything that can’t be undone.”

“But – ”

Zelda cut him off. “I promise, you don’t want to touch that thing. At least not alone.”

“So we should all touch it together, is what you’re saying,” Link suggested.

Zelda snapped her fingers. “Exactly! If we split it between the three of us, then it will continue to exist, but no single one of us will be able to use it without the full understanding and consent of the others. This should also remove it from the control of my family, at least partially. Hopefully that will forestall Demise’s curse and prevent the return of Ganon.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that word,” Link broke in. “What’s Demise?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Ganondorf said.

“No, I’ll tell him,” Zelda insisted, knowing exactly how Ganondorf would spin that story. An instant later she corrected herself, ashamed that her first instinct had been to assume the worst of Ganondorf’s intentions. “Or actually, both us of can tell him together. The point is that we need to touch the Triforce, all three of us at the same time. But before we do, I need to make sure that the Triforce won’t choose one of us as its master.”

Zelda paused, unsure of how to phrase what she was trying to express. “Um, this is a strange question, but neither of you has a pure and balanced heart, right?”

“No,” said Ganondorf flatly.

Link laughed. “Oh goodness no. Listen, I could tell you things that – ”

Zelda waved a hand to cut him off. “I’m pretty sure I don’t either. We should be good then.”

“So how do we enter the Sacred Realm?” Ganondorf asked. “You destroyed the three sacred stones that were supposed to be the keys that open the gateway.”

“About that,” Link answered for her. “The sacred stones didn’t open the portal. It’s complicated, but their purpose was to reveal the pedestal where the Master Sword slept. This sword was forged and blessed by Hylia herself, and it’s the key that opens the Sacred Realm. The gateway was briefly accessible when the sword was drawn, and I think it will open again when it’s replaced on the pedestal.”

“Are you sure?” Zelda asked. She had a feeling that this was indeed the case, but she needed to be certain.

“I can’t explain it,” Link replied, “but it’s like the sword has a voice, like it’s singing to me, telling me things.”

“You do understand how strange that is, don’t you?” Ganondorf said in a sour tone.

Zelda shot him a look before addressing Link. “I believe you,” she assured him. “Like Ganondorf, I’m concerned about what will happen if that sword remains drawn, but I don’t want to force you to do anything that you’ll regret later. Based on what you’ve told me, you’ve spent most of your life searching for the Master Sword. I don’t really understand what happened, but now it seems that you’ve bonded with it in some way. Are you willing to give it up?”

“I most assuredly am,” Link replied. “Nothing would make me happier. I’ve always wanted to become stronger, but not… not like this.”

A look of pure relief spread across Link’s face as he regarded the Master Sword’s empty pedestal, and Zelda couldn’t help but smile at the purity of his happiness. Their eyes met, and for a moment – just for a moment – Zelda could envision herself leaving the temple with Link and setting out into the brave new world of a future that no longer existed.

Ganondorf cleared his throat. “Once the gateway to the Sacred Realm opens,” he said, “I’m not sure how much time we’ll have. I’d like to act quickly, so we need to decide what wish we want granted when we touch the Triforce. I don’t think we have much room for error.”

“What do you mean?” Link asked.

“Say that each of us wishes for Ganon to be defeated. That wish could be misinterpreted, with one of us becoming Ganon precisely so that they can be defeated. Or say we each wish for Hyrule to have a prosperous future. That would mean something different to each of us, so the Triforce might end up creating three different worlds to contain each of our wishes. We don’t know how the magic works, so it would be best to be as precise as possible.”

“Then it’s simple enough, isn’t it?” Zelda offered. “We each wish for one part of the Triforce, nothing more and nothing less. What part we get doesn’t really matter – at least, not from what I’ve seen. It only matters that each of us gets one piece.”

“Fine by me,” Link assented, and Ganondorf nodded in agreement.

“All right.” Zelda took a deep breath. “Link, are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Link answered. “Ganondorf? What about you?”

“I’ve been thinking about this moment for years. I couldn’t be more ready.”

“Zelda?” Link turned to her. “Are you ready?”

Zelda opened her mouth to respond, but then she glanced at Ganondorf. He was regarding her with an intent expression. Link may not have fully understood what he was asking of her, but Ganondorf did, and he was clearly concerned about the decision she would make. If there was a time to turn back, it was now.

Zelda considered Link’s question. Was she ready?

It was very early in the morning of the day when she was to have been crowned as the newest queen of Hyrule, an event she had been preparing for her entire life. It was true that her castle was currently under siege, but this conflict could easily become an opportunity to establish herself as a strong monarch whose reign was marked by an auspicious beginning. By divine right, the Triforce belonged to her and her alone, and there was still time for her to claim it as her own. If she made a pure and selfless wish for the benefit of Hyrule, then it was entirely possible that she could become one of the greatest queens in history. When she was queen she could travel throughout her kingdom, bringing peace and prosperity to her subjects. Link could be her knight, and she might even be able to unite her people with the Gerudo by marrying Ganondorf.

Did she truly possess the courage to give all of that up, to relinquish all of the power and potential that she could achieve as a wise and compassionate ruler?

“Absolutely,” she assured them. “Let’s do this.”

( Link to Chapter 28: The Legend of the Queen )

#Princess Zelda #Ganondorf #Zelgan #The Legend of the Princess #Zelda fic #my fic

[mythical-fangirls]

So I watched this video and it got me thinking

The story and the boss battle was kinda lackluster, and this was my first Legend of Zelda game too so I over prepared and was shocked for it to be fairly easy.

I basically made a really long comment on this which extended into a reply but I want to post it here just to see what happens. Just copy and pasting my comment onto here and fixing the formatting, won’t reword. Unless I typed in the wrong word or something weird with my grammar happened.

(Checking some comments and adding some to my own suggestion since people come up with some great stuff)

They could have made Ganon have two health bars (basically doubling his over all health) and the Divine Beasts take out that second bar. If you fight him right off the Plateau he has the half health like he does in the actual game after all the beasts damage him. Since basically Ganon raised his own health to prepare for Link and the Divine Beast's attack.

If you implement the Blighters into the mix, make it so you have to get past them before entering Ganon's room. Maybe allow time in between. Addition: Possibly make the blighters attack differently, like new abilities or new attack patterns. (Maybe make them use their elements more). Or not include the blighters at all (dear sweet god I am never fighting Thunder Blighter Ganon even if you pay me) and put new bosses in their place.

For when you face Dark Beast Ganon (that weird pig thing that you have to shoot with the Light Bow) keep it roughly the same but either only make one spot to hit appear at a time or quicken how fast the spot shrinks (or both). Addition: Make Dark Beast Ganon move more, in the game he kinda just stands there and shoots. Making him move around and actually chase Link would make more sense as to why his horse is their (since you could sprint it, trust me I tried). Maybe in some places you pass by, the citizens would help damage Ganon or watch (all of Hyrule needs to know of this threat and acknowledge that Link, Zelda, Revali, Mipha, Urbosa, and Daruk are doing everything they can to stop it). Heck, you can even have the Divine Beasts join this chase. Protecting the people (whether all or mostly their own), attacking Ganon, or covering Link.

Now, for the story. I personally think they should have included more of the other races and just all of Hyrule knowing that their Champions of a hundred years ago aren't just legends or stories, but actually real. They could've added one small cut scene that showed this. (Will put it in a reply)

This is when the fight with Calamity Ganon starts.

People getting attacked by monsters, even the stables are no longer as safe. Small settlement towns people are locking their doors and are terrified, holding their loved ones dear. The moon is a blood red, a darker red than it has ever before.

The Sheikah all look up to the sky and know, and as such. They all go on their knees, and pray to the goddess and send their prayers to Link, Zelda, and all of the champions. Impa looks to the sky, as her people pray for the success of the Hero. ("Link, we are all counting on you.")

The three dragons stand at their respective lakes and look up to the blood moon. (Dinraal: "Ganon...")

Zora's domain suffers something violent with the waves of their water, the blood moon is the cause, as monsters come in and storm the place. Sidon shoots some down (since he is apparently a skilled archer but it was never shown in the game sooo).

Goron City faces a terrible eruption from Death Mountain, even worst than the constant ones from Rudania, Yunobo uses Daruk's protection to protect some children.

Rito Village suffers from terribly cold gusts of wind. Pieces of the village are being torn apart by the gusts. Children are flying around, too weak and young to be able to fly against the winds. Monsters throw explosive barrels at them all the while. Teba shoots them down before they could harm anyone or the village any further.

Gerudo Town is swarmed by Yiga Clan Members, who are being assisted by some beasts from the dessert. The strong warriors start to fall. Riju tries her best to strike them down with lightning, as Urbosa did before her, but her aim is off. Never quite hitting her targets completely.

Once the battle with Calamity ends and before the one with Dark Beast Ganon starts.

Suddenly the forces of the monsters only increases, as Sidon and King Dorephan fight back as many as they can. At some point one of them almost lands a killing blow on Sidon. Almost. That is until a far to familiar spear pierces at the center of the monster's chest. Sidon and King Dorephan stare in shock, as the spirit of Mipha stands before them. (Sidon: "Mipha....")

The eruptions only get worst with time, some much more worst than Rudania ever did alone or combined. The number is becoming overwhelming, even with many Goron's batting it away. But it isn't until a massive chunk of magma comes in, none of them can make it to smack it on time. Not that they could to begin with. All the other Goron can do is hope that Daruk's protection can hold out. But in the end they get Daruk's protection, as his slams his weapon against the magma and hits it miles and miles away.

Teba shoots his last arrow at a barrel making it's way towards him and his family. He misses, but the barrel blows up any way? How? Revali land on his Landing gracefully and with such confidence. (Revali: "Rito Champion Revali has arrived!")

The Yiga Clan has wiped through a majority of Gerudo's defenses and soldiers. Buliara is down on one knee, as she uses her spear for support, protecting Riju till the very end. Riju stands holding the Scimitar of the Seven with shaking hands. An archer in the distances readies to shoot at her, before they are struck by lightning. A voice speaks, and all attention is on them. (Urbosa: "The Gerudo are strong, unlike you cowards we face our enemies head on and have no need to use such cheap tactics.")

Once Link has only a few shoots left.

The Champion have turned the tide back in their favor. Their homes are safe. They look onto the large looming cloud over Hyrule Castle. (Revali: "You can do this, only you can.") (Mipha: "Even now, my healing power shall help you.") (Daruk: "You got this little guy.") (Urbosa: "Please Link, save my little bird.")

Kakarito Village is swarmed by the Yiga Clan. Kohga points his blade at Impa. (Kohga: "Surrender, for you have lost.") (Impa, as she opens her eyes: "Not while our light still shines. Link will defeat Ganon."). A cucco is launched at the leader, and is soon assaulted by them. The owner of said cucco is proud that his cucco helped him. His ex-wife is also ecstatic .(*coughthatonesidequestcough*)

As Link shoots the final arrow.

The Spirits of the four champions join him for the final blow. Impa's voice is heard. (Impa: "Go Champions, free Hyrule from the Calamity that has plagued it for over many decades. You can do this Link, Zelda. Seal away the darkness once and for all!")

So basically I made like, a fanfic out of the possible what if of how the story could have went. Since I felt there needed to be more inclusion with all the races we helped. Since it seemed like the only one truly at stake was Zelda. (Yes, I know that when you go and fight Ganon Zelda says she can’t hold him back any longer and stuff but even then Hyrule has gone 100 years without doing anything about Ganon. None of them know the threat of the Quest Link is on. The only ones who truly know are the Sheikah and maybe the Zora.

#legend of zelda #breath of the wild #loz botw #headcanon #au #link #sidon #mipha #riju #urbosa #daruk #yunobo #revali #teba #champion #champions #zora #rito #gerudo #goron

[yukithesnowman314]

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Fire Emblem series (with the release of the first game of the series, “Fire Emblem: Dark Dragon and Sword of Light released on April 20th, 1990), I will be doing a bit of a low-brow, personal “retrospective” of the games I played from the series. Join me as I talk about my first experience with the series through my first and second favorite Fire Emblem game: “Genealogy of the Holy War”.

[Warning: Foul language, low-brow commentary, and crude remarks  on the characters of  Fire Emblem.  Go watch some boring elitist cornballs with no real talent who think talking about video games on YouTube  is a real, viable job on YouTube if you want a serious retrospective on the series]

As with many of my peers who grew up playing video games throughout the 90s, I played such classics from that era such as Super Mario World., Street Fighter II, Sonic, Gran Turismo,  Final Fantasy, and Pokemon to name a few.  It was thanks to the 1996 capsule monster catching RPG that I would find love within the RPG genre.  As my first RPG, I loved the idea of capturing and raising monsters to dominate the world of Pokemon  Blue.  Later, around the early 2000s, I was introduced to two of my top favorite RPGs of all time: Paper Mario and the original Final Fantasy 3 on the Famicom; which happened to be my first Final Fantasy game.

(For those wondering how and why Final Fantasy 3 was my first FF game: grew up in Nintendo dominate household and my Pentecostal mother thought RPGs were the devil because Christians, especially Black old-school Baby Boomer Christians,  live in fear of thinking for themselves and questing religion; so emulation was the way for me.)

I loved the idea of taking a traditional  2D-platformer Mario game and reimagine it as a turned- based RPG spanning across the Mushroom Kingdom as Mario, once again, must save Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser. As for FF3, the 8-bit charm of four young orphaned youths being the chosen ones of legend to save the world from darkness. While both games’ story could be consider “basic” to some (which, to a degree, they’re sort of right especially on FF3’s front), I enjoyed and loved them.

I would continue my RPG journey as the early 2000s progressed with classics such as Chrono Trigger, Shin Megami Tensei II, Final Fantasy IV, V, VI, and finally VII (mostly 16-bit emulation because, again, scared Pentecostal Christian mother).  They told such amazing stories of their worlds.  Time travel.  Nuclear holocaust. Tales of hope, life, and death. Yet, despite all of that, there was something missing from those games. Something that I could say in confidence would impact me for life.

Don’t get me wrong: it was a shock to see teen pregnancy used as a narrative theme in Final Fantasy VI with realism as Katarin struggles with the fact of becoming a teen mother in an world of ruin. Katarin, along with her lover and baby’s fathers Duane, the oldest member of the destroyed village of Mobliz in the World of Ruin. Chrono Trigger made me thought about my own existence in the universe as I watched Crono and crew ponder about how the universe and its inhibitors became to be during the campfire scene.

Chrono Trigger campfire scene

  Yet – those things didn’t fulfill a certain need of true, down-to-earth realism.  I needed something more grounded. Something that would make such sense to me as a young man. Something that I could relate to with absolute:

Super Smash Bros. Melee. for the Nintendo GameCube!

2001:

Through a summer school event, I managed to get my hands on a copy of a Nintendo GameCube demo disc for the PC.  Featured on the disc were video demos of upcoming launch titles for the GameCube: including Luigi Mansion, Star Fox Adventures, NBA Courtside 2002, and of course, Super Smash Bros. Melee.  Super Smash Bros. 64, the game prior to Melee, felt dwarfed compared to the raw graphical power and scale of Melee. I was aware of and hyped for Melee being created by Nintendo through elementary schoolyard conversations and magazines.  Seeing a demo of the preceded flawless game’s action and mass scale drove my desire to get a GameCube and Super Smash Bros. Melee for the 2001 holidays season.

So, did I eventually get Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo GameCube and the GameCube for Christmas of 2001 like every other good little boy and good little girl?

Of course fucking not!  My parents went bankrupt after buying a new house, having to bury my mother’s parents who both died a month apart from each other, and finally — said new house’s kitchen catching on fire; thus, causing us to  living in a downtown hotel then a temporary luxury apartment because we all have shit lungs (asthma). I was lucky to get a DVD/VCR combo for Christmas with a few DVDs.

  2004:

For three years, I had to live the Melee (and by proxy, the early 2000s gaming) life vicariously. One day, while working on a paper on the history of video games in 8th grade (2004), I discovered  the MIDI (Musical Insturmental Digital Interface) video game vgmusic.com. Musically inclined fans could upload their recreation, remixes, and close-to-the-original MIDI files for the nerdy gaming massive to indulge in.  Being curious about how the music of Melee sounded, I led myself to the Super Smash Bros. Melee section which had an impressed library of fan made songs from the game.

Scrolling through, there was one track that caught my eye: Hyrule Temple: Fire Emblem.  “I don’t remember a Fire Emblem in Majora’s Mask, OOT, nor Zelda II. Maybe I missed something like a secret item named ‘Fire Emblem’ when I had played those games.” I ponder to myself.

Curious, I clicked the link to the song.

Four taps on the artificial hi-hats rang out followed by Latin-like horns, a heavy bassline, and drawn out bass strings and horns building up to the meat of the song.

“Okay, did Link went to Mexico and fight Zorro in a Zelda game because this song sounds super Mexican as hell.”.  Rather than do the incredibly smart and not racist thing and Google search Fire Emblem (because I was too busy googling Princess Daisy, Terra Branford , Ayeka Jurai, and Sailor Pluto hentai images and doujins) I just assumed that it was some a weird Zelda thing.

  Months later, after my parents recovered from their bankruptcy, they gifted me a Nintendo GameCube for Christmas (they couldn’t find Melee in any store sadly).  No worries.  I was given a Blockbuster gift card by a family member for Christmas, so I decided to rent Melee the day after Christmas.  Wanting to know how to unlock everything, I went online for answers when I came across two Nintendo characters whom which I’ve never heard of: Roy and Marth.

Again,  rather than doing the smart thing and Google search “Roy and Marth” (I was googling how to torrent anime illegally this time instead), I decided to play Melee for my answers. After defeating the original 13 fighters, I was alerted with the “Challenger Approach” alarm.  A shadowy figured appeared with a male wielding a sword.  We’re transported to Kirby’s stage with me wondering who I was going to face off against.

Then, that familiar Mexican sounding melody starts to play.

“Okay, this song sounds ever more Mexican than before now I’m hearing it how it meant to be heard.  Why is this white boy speaking Japanese to some  Mexican sword fighting music? Is this Zorro’s cousin? Kirby’s friend?”

After defeating Zorro’s half Japanese/Half Mexican cousin from Kirby (I assumed) I’m greeted with the following message:

“Direct from Fire Emblem, it’s Marth, the swordsman supreme!”

“Okay, what’s Fire Emblem, who’s this Marth dude, and why he’s a white boy speaking Japanese to Mexican music?”

Upon unlocking Marth, I ran him through his Classic Mode route to unlock Roy. Fought Roy.  Figured out why I thought Fire Emblem was Zelda related after a year (you fight Roy in Hyrule’s Ruins because I guess Roy was sleeping with Zelda behind Link’s back after she slept with Gannondorf). Whoop Roy’s ass and got Marth’s trophy. Wanting to learn more about Marth, I deiced to check out his trophy.

“MARTH

            The betrayed prince of the Kingdom of Altea, the blood of the hero Anri flows in Marth’s veins.  He was forced into exile when the kingdom of Dolua invaded Altea.  Then, wielding his divine Falchion, he led a revolt and defeated the dark dragon Medeus. Afterwards, Altea was annihilated by King Hardin of Akanea.

Fire Emblem JAPAN ONLY”

“Wait, he saved his kingdom only to have it annihilated by another king? So, a Nintendo hero failed at saving the day for once? That’s interesting.” Reading Marth’s bio deepened my curiosity towards Fire Emblem.  “Why was Marth forced into exile? Who betrayed him? How did he escape it?  Who’s Medeus and Hardin and how did they manage to destroy his kingdom?”

There was only one way to find out: download Fire Emblem through emulation.  But,  which one?  Visiting my preferred emulation site at the time, Emuparadise, I sought answers through the form of three Fire Emblem games: Mystery of the Crest (FE3), Genealogy of the Holy War (FE4), and Thrica 776 (FE5).

First Try: Mystery of the Emblem

The game boots up with a shield with five circular groves and a flame crested embedded in the middle while a trumpet and French horn fanfare plays for a few seconds. Next, I’m treated to a tapestry with scrambled text. However, the imagery of men burned alive by dragons, sages praying to the heavens, a god armed with a mighty sword and shield descending to earth from the heavens to slay a dragon, and humans giving praise to their savior to a medieval musical motif told the tale for me.

Following, the intro ends with three strikes of lighting; causing the screen to flash. A known fanfare plays as the words “FIRE EMBLEM: MYSTERY OF THE EMBLEM” fades into the foreground as the Falchion pieces through the text.  Finally, I’m introduced to the playable classes and their stats through the game’s attract mode.

Due to the state of the game’s translation, the pre-chapter’s screens were an unreadable mess (a most common issue of Fire Emblem early fan translations days). For all I could had known, this could had been Roy’s game, which I would had been cool with, but I wanted to know Marth’s story.

Skipping past the mess of the “translation”, the game starts.

Axe-men swarming a lone island: pilaving and killing.  A young woman on a Pegasus flies away from the carnage to a castle.  It is here I’m introduced to Fire Emblem’s first ever characters: Jeigan/Jagan, Ceada/Shiida, and the poster boy of the series: The legendary Prince Mars!

“Yo, who the FUCK is Mars? Where’s Marth?” I asked myself in confusion.  I mean, he had blue hair like Marth. Wears a tiara like Marth.  Look like a chick like Marth. But, he was clearly Mars. Not Marth.  Disappointed (and utterly unaware that Mars is Marth and the translator took the Marusu name too literal), I stopped playing I FE3 and booted up FE4.

But MAAAAAAARRRRRRSSSSS!

Second Try: FE4 (or, my true first Fire Emblem experience)

  Immediately, I’m blown away by audio/visual presentation. While the opening text aren’t a jumbled mess unlike the “translation patch” of Mystery of the Emblem, they were in Japanese; a language which (at the time), I lacked understanding of. Regardless, I could understand the story though the art and sound.

Dreadful music plays as the red and black hellfire serves as the background while mighty warriors and fearsome dragons engage each other in brutal combat.  Twelve flames, representing the twelve  holy gods of Jugdral surrounding a lone tower. As the music reaches a peak and fades out,  A dragon of darkness and a dragon of light entangled in a fierce battle  and the screen goes black. Silence. Then, a golden wheel fades in with slow strings building up. The wheel is surrounded by glistering weapons in a celestial blue shade before flying off.

Finally, this specular ends with the Japanese Fire Emblem logo proudly appearing as the theme of the series plays in vigorous pride: as if it was an anthem for a militaristic nation.

Even if this wasn’t Marth’s game and even if I lacked the knowledge to understand the Japanese language, the ominous scene displayed for me alongside with the introduction of the actors and players of the world of FE4, I wanted to dive deep into the blood soaked tale of Jugdral.

After the marvelous introduction, I created a new file, got hip to the story of Jugdral thus far, and proceeded to play.

“Finally! That’s Mart- no, who’s the hell is Sigurd and why does he looks like he could be Marth’s older cousin? If that’s Marth’s cousin maybe Marth will show up in this game.” I proceed to play FE4; impressed by the scale of the map compared to FE3’s Book 1 first’s map.  FE4’s first map felt like a long-standing war was about to take place while FE3’s first book seemed like a meek, short skirmish.  In a way, this set the tone of the overarching theme of FE4’s maps: large armies clashing with one another non-stop.

Needless to say, this was going to be a long, uphill battle –and I was going to love it.  By that detail alone at was then that I knew that not only Genealogy of the Holy War was going to be something special for me, but the Fire Emblem series in general.

*****

Three turns passed.  The blue hair axe dude, Lex, wasn’t Marth.  The other blue hair guy, Finn, wasn’t Marth neither. At this point, I realized two things:

1. I’m racist against blue hair mid-90s anime-inspired  fantasy characters. 2. This wasn’t Marth’s game.

In any case, the first few minutes of gameplay impressed me. How should I  move my units?  Which weapon is best against the enemy’s?  Should I keep Arden guarding the castle or should I be bold and reckless by leaving the castle defenseless?  Midir wasn’t a girl? Azel have a thing for cute young nuns and so do I.

Hooked, I spent an entire weekend getting through the first three chapters of the game (Birth of the Holy Knight, Maiden of the Spirit Forest¸ and Disturbance in Augstira). By the time I reached Chapter 2, I realized something: I suck.   Ethlyn (Sigurd’s sister) got wounded, so these left the game alongside her husband, Quan: causing me to lose two units at once.

I accidently killed Ayra with Alec and my dumbass saved my game after the fact.  I also got Jamke killed because Adean, the priestess whom was supposed to talk to him so he could join your cause, was at the other side of the map. I made Azel kill him.  But, it didn’t matter.  All it matter was that I was having fun with the game and I kept at it.

Why?

Well first, I simply fell in love with the game’s story.  Who would had known that Sigurd  recusing his friend Aidean from the savages of Verdane was actually a part of a much more diabolical plot orchestrated by the underground cult, The Loptr Church and their leader, Manfory to control the world.

Manfory was the man running the show behind the scenes in an attempt to find the last two surviving decedents of a twisted, dark, demonic dragon god (Lopotsu) in order to revive said dark dragon to plunge the world into disarray, death, destruction, and darkness.  Using his pull and promise of power to politicians throughout the land, Manfory was able to install his plan of bringing the world into darkness.

Second, as a teenager, I wasn’t one for politics. It was a topic that bored me to no end. Yet, Genealogy of the Holy War opened my eyes to how brutal and ruthless politics can be. No. Inferior words such as brutal and ruthless are understatements.  Cutthroat fits better.   I was filled with disgust with Chagall killing his own father, King Imuka, to gain power in Agustria.  I took note at how one set of dukes and lords of  Agustira  bid their time as Sigurd cross blade against the other dukes and lords of their land.  Levin’s uncle was willing to kill him and his mother if it meant controlling their nation.

(As Leptor told Sigurd: “Politics is all about power!)

Now, let it be known that politics alone wasn’t the sole reason why I fell in love with Genealogy of the Holy War despite it being the driving force behind why I loved the game.  The countless tragedies after tragedies that transpired throughout Sigurd’s tale got me as well.  To understand where I’m coming from, let’s go deeper into what I mean by this.

Towards the end of Chapter 1 (Maiden of the Spirit Forest) we’re treated with a touch of “love at first sight” story narrative.  Upon conquering Marpha Castle, Sigurd encounters the beautiful and alluring maiden, Deidre, being harassed by a brigand.  After running the thug off, Sigurd and Deidre exchange a few words; with Sigurd being shocked that Deidre knows his name (through Aiden) and admitting that he’s everything  she imagine him to be. Sigurd ask for her name, which Deidre asks for his pardon for not revealing it before running off loves struck.

Curious about her (and not being able to shake off the feelings of love) , Sigurd asks a local elder about her.   The elder informs Sigurd of Deidre’s name, background, and warns Sigurd not to engage in any sort of relationship with Deidre; least disaster shall befall upon the world if she left the forest and found love. Not wanting to believe in such superstitions, Sigurd sets out to find Deidre. They encounter one another and admit that they had fallen for each other…

…And like any good woman and man who fall for each other upon a chance, first meeting, they both fucked later that night. This isn’t me being lowbrow (for once): that scene is in the official Fire Emblem 4 manga written and drawn by Mitsuki Oosawa.  Deidre totally fucks on the first date  (must be due to of all those years of living a sheltered life).

Without context, this scene can be taken completely wrong…

  Anyway, after conquering the Kingdom and Verdane, Sigurd and Deidre got married.  From their marriage, Sigurd started to change.  His sister, Ethlyn, notes how much Sigurd changed thanks to Deidre.  He’s no longer a slob.  His hot-headed attitude has all but disappeared.  He became more upbeat. From their love and marriage came their first and only son, Celice, whom they both loved dearly.

Sigurd was happy. Deirdre was happy.

And then, Chapter 3 hits – hard.

After receiving news of Sigurd subduing Madino Castle, Deidre decides to leave their army’s home castle to check on her husband.  Despite pleas from Shanan (Prince of Issac, his backstory on why he’s in Sigurd’s army  is a tad long for this post for me to explain) to ensure that Deidre do not leave the castle as per Sigurd’s request, Deidre leaves; assuring Shanan that she’ll only be but just a second. As Deidre walks outside, she is attacked by Manfory, brainwashed, and taken away by the dastardly villain.

(Keep in mind: Sigurd is prepping to engage in combat against his own best friend, Eldigan)

After subduing Evans Castle, Sigurd is alerted by Shanan that Deidre went missing (in the manga version, Shanan engage in combat against Manfory and fails to rescue Deidre). Sigurd, still stressed out due to discovering the beheaded body of Eldigan in Silvali Castle, sets out to find Deidre.

To worsen matters, Sigurd hears that he and his father Vylon are accused of murdering Prince Kurth of Grannvale  (in truth, Vylon’s rivals, Lombard and Leptor, murdered the prince as an attempt to frame Vylon and take Castle Chaply from him).

Sigurd and company are forced to flee to the faraway frigid mountain lands of Silesse. Despite his justified anger/desires to storm Grannvale and expose Lombard and Leptor for their crimes, Sigurd is forced to resolve the civil conflict of Sileese while living as a refugee.

Once the civil conflict in Sileese subsides, Sigurd sets off to Granvale to combat against Leptor and Lombard. He revives his family heirloom, the Holy Tyfring from his father, who has been morality wounded by Lombard’s squad.  Sigurd is helpless as his dad dies in his arms and promises to rain wrath and revenge upon Lombard and Reptor for their crimes against the Chaply family and the land of Grannvall. Keeping to his promise,  Sigurd successfully slew Lombard and set his sights against Reptor and his unit.

During this time, Quan and his Ethlyn, along with Leonster Lance units, are to aid Sigurd and his army.  However, King Tribant (introduced in Chapter 3) ambushes their squad: killing them and leaving behind no survivors sans Cuan and his Ethlyn’s 3 year old child, Altena. Sigurd hears of this news and is devastated by yet another tragic event in his life.

Following, Sigurd eventually take the battle to Leptor, effortlessly defeating him with the help of his army.  Sigurd is greeted by Arvis’ aide, Aida, who tells him that Arvis and Kurth’s father knew Sigurd and his father weren’t involved in Prince Kurth’s death.  This relives Sigurd, a man who for the past two years dealt with soul-crushing pain.  For once, Sigurd is able to take a break and repay his allies  for their work.

Yet, all isn’t what they may seem.

While Sigurd and company are welcomed to Belhalla by Arvis in a faux celebration party, Arvis reveals to Sigurd that everything that has transpired within the past three years of Arvis’s doing.  He doesn’t pardon neither nor his father for crimes to conspiracy to usurp the Grannvall throne by murdering Prince Kurth. Sigurd is sentence to death.  Sigurd, now in absolute disbelief and believing that Arvis is joking, asks if this is a cruel joke, to which Arvis replies that he is not. Before killing Sigurd, Arvis reveals something that Sigurd has been looking for the past year:

Deidre – now recognized as the wife of Arvis.

Arvis insists that Sigurd must be confronted by the daughter of his victim. Deidre, lacking any sort of recollections of her (true) marriage with Sigurd, questions if Sigurd murdered her father. The man snaps, yelling at his wife that he’s married to him, not Arvis, and that he did not do such a horrible thing to his wife who, he loves dearly by killing her father.  Deidre is confused.  She ponders why Sigurd, the man who supposedly murdered her father, is speaking to her as if he was her familiar. She requests to Arvis that she is given more time to speak with Sigurd to clear things, only to have that requet deny by her new husband.

As Deidre is courted away by Arvis’s royal guards, Arvis believes that Sigurd has said more than enough and orders the execution of Sigurd and his army.

My jaw dropped as I helplessly watched the army whom I raised and the characters I grew to love lives come to a brutal end.

“Nintendo a company for kids and family…Did they just really let one of their main characters die so violently like that?” My teenage mind couldn’t compheren that Nintendo allowed the death of a main character (among many other controversial things) in one of their games.

Continued in Part II.

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15 years ago, I learned that Sigurd is not Marth's cousin and that I might a racist towards and against any Fire Emblem with Blue Hair (they all look alike to me -- i am not sorry). In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Fire Emblem series (with the release of the first game of the series, “Fire Emblem: Dark Dragon and Sword of Light released on April 20th, 1990), I will be doing a bit of a low-brow, personal “retrospective” of the games I played from the series.

#arvis did nothing wrong #fe4 #Fire Emblem #Fire Emblem 30th #fire emblem 4 #Fire Emblem retrospect #genealogy of the holy war #JRPGs #nintendo #RPGs #seisen no keifu #super famicom #Super NES

[postgamecontent]

Fire Emblem Chronicles Vol. 1: Fire Emblem Gaiden

Original Release Date: March 14, 1992 (JPN)

Original Hardware: Nintendo Famicom

It's part of gaming's mythology that 8-bit sequels tended to go in entirely unexpected directions, often changing up the gameplay from their predecessors to a tremendous extent. In reality, it was more often the case than not that sequels would change very little, but it's hard to argue with that belief when there are so many prominent examples. The first one that always comes to mind is Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, and the North American Super Mario Bros. 2 is a pretty obvious case as well. Sequels like these seem to take turns being demonized and praised as time passes, but the one thing that remains consistent is that they are considered evolutionary dead-ends for their respective series. For years, Fire Emblem Gaiden has had a reputation as one of those sorts of sequels, but in light of the transformation of the series in the last 10 years or so, I'm not so sure that's still a fair assessment.

Series creator Shouzou Kaga didn't plan to make the follow-up to Fire Emblem so radically different from the original. He merely wanted to address the criticisms of the first game as best as possible while telling another story to flesh out the world he was creating. The exhaustion of going directly from battle to battle was chief among the problems he wanted to solve. Many players had complained about the pace of the first game. Kaga also wanted to do more with the story and characters than he was able to include in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. It also seems fairly clear that certain points of the original game's difficulty were on Kaga's mind when he designed Fire Emblem Gaiden. The end result is something that feels a little alien by series standards, but not nearly as out-of-place as it once was. I think it makes a lot of sense that Nintendo and Intelligent Systems chose to remake this particular game for the Nintendo 3DS as Fire Emblem Echoes given the state of the Fire Emblem franchise at this point in time.

Of course, back when the game was first released, the series wasn't as rigidly structured as it would later become. The core battle system wasn't terribly different from the original game, and since that was just about all there was to Fire Emblem, most players didn't bat an eyelash at the many additions and changes Gaiden brought with it. The developers even hedged their bets by throwing the word 'gaiden' in the title. If things went horribly or the game was too strange for the players, it could be written off as a mere side-story. Ultimately, however, things went fairly well. Fire Emblem Gaiden received some qualified praise from critics and fans, and it went on to sell just about as many copies as the first game had. This might seem bad since sequels to successful games usually sell better than the originals, but the game's March 1992 release on the 8-bit Famicom meant that it was vying for attention against much flashier 16-bit releases. On top of that, a 1992 Famicom release naturally had a shorter sales life ahead of it than a 1990 release on the same platform. With those factors in consideration, I think the game did quite well for itself.

This time, the story follows two lead characters. It's quite an interesting set-up, actually. In the first chapter, you take control of Alm, a young warrior from Rigel. You'll build up his army little by little, fighting through a number of battles. After that chapter is finished, you'll find yourself controlling the game's other hero, Celica. She begins her journey from a different point on the map, and must build up her army and power separately from Alm. In the next couple of chapters, you'll be switching between the two. Finally, they join forces to dispatch the big bad in an incredibly climactic end-game. In building the structure of the game like this, Kaga is able to show us more of the game's world and its inhabitants. It's still quite simple by today's standards, but it's definitely a better story than the one in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.

The first big change from the original game is immediately obvious. After a brief prologue, you're put in control of Alm. He begins the game in his home village, and can wander around freely RPG-style, talking to other characters and NPCs. You're given this sort of free control frequently throughout Fire Emblem Gaiden, but it honestly doesn't count for much. Most areas are just a few connected rooms or screens with a handful of characters to talk to and a chest or two to open. SEGA's Shining Force would do a far better job of this kind of thing, but if nothing else, it does help fill out the world of Fire Emblem Gaiden. Virtually every recruitable character will be met in these kinds of areas. I can only assume there must have been complaints about the first game's system of talking to enemies mid-battle in order to recruit them. Here, they're just prizes to be won for progressing the story or clearing out a cave. At most, you'll have to protect some of them in NPC form before you can get them. Usually, though, you just walk over to them in a peaceful area and talk to them.

Much more significant in its impact on the gameplay is the decision to give the player an overworld map to traverse between battles. You're stuck moving along certain paths and points, but you're allowed to go back and forth as you like. Battles will typically block the road ahead, and there isn't much reason to go back to previous areas except to grind. It's that last point that really changes things, however. In Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, there weren't a lot of intended ways to grind experience. You could take a serious risk and battle at the arena, and a popular technique involved sitting a character on a fortress and letting a weak thief stab away at them for a while, but you're supposed to just make sure that you're dividing kills carefully to ensure your active army is strong enough to get through the challenges ahead. Fire Emblem Gaiden tosses that out of the window. The only thing discouraging you from grinding is how utterly tedious it can be. Some of the difficulty bottlenecks are asphyxiating enough that you'll be tempted to reach for those extra battles, and I can't rule out the idea that you were meant to fight some of them at least a few extra times to keep pace.

One thing I forgot to touch on in the article about Shadow Dragon was the weapon system. In that game, each weapon and item had a set number of uses before it would break. Everything from swords to spell books was subject to those rules, with only a few special rule breakers in the lot. This meant you were constantly juggling your inventory to make sure everyone had a good weapon or two, and the really good weapons were precious commodities to save for rainy days. With the limited character management options in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, this could be quite the troublesome job to stay on top of. Well, Fire Emblem Gaiden kicks that system to the side of the road. Weapons and items will never break through usage. In fact, each character can only hold one item, weapon, or accessory. If they're not holding an item that dictates otherwise, they'll simply use a default piece of equipment. This was the only Fire Emblem game without weapon durability until Fire Emblem Fates, which did away with the usual system for equipment but kept it for magic tomes and staves.

Since Fire Emblem Gaiden doesn't use any durability rules at all, the magic system is set up completely differently from every other game in the series. Magic-capable characters will learn new spells as they level up, and using those spells simply takes a portion of the character's remaining HP. Why yes, this is ridiculously exploitable. Thanks for noticing! As you make your way through the game, you can find accessories that auto-restore some HP each turn, effectively changing your mages and healers into non-stop dispensers of destruction, delivery, and defense. Definitely an oversight in the design, but you can see what Kaga might have been going for. In the first game, magic-wielding characters were among the most vulnerable to a sudden death strike. Forcing the player to deplete the limited HP of their casters in order to use magic probably seemed like a reasonable enough counter-balance. Well, not everything can work out.

Another difference in Fire Emblem Gaiden comes in how units are promoted. In the first game, a unit needed to reach a certain level and use an item to advance to the promoted version of their class. Gaiden does away with those items and instead asks the player to visit a shrine to advance any eligible units. While Marth was never able to move to an advanced class in the first Fire Emblem, Alm and Celica both have the opportunity to promote through the course of the story. An additional wrinkle can be found with the villagers who accompany Alm at the start of the game. Once they reach at least level three, you can bring them to the shrine to change their class to any basic class you'd like. If you want three cavalry, you can do that. Three archers? That's weird, but okay. It's probably better to mix it up, but it's up to you. This element would return down the line in the series as well, though not for quite a while.

One minor new addition in Fire Emblem Gaiden would eventually grow into one of the most important parts of the game's mainstream appeal. When Alm and Celica are finally able to participate in battles together, they're able to support one another if positioned correctly. Having Alm and Celica side by side will cause them to dish out critical hits 100% of the time. Given how late in the game this opportunity arises it feels more like part of the climax than an actual gameplay mechanic, but it's pretty clearly the seed of the support system that would be built on and developed over the course of the series. Mind you, this is only a mechanical support. There are no conversations to be had or relationships to build.

This game also features a hidden command that allows you to play on an easier difficulty setting. This was a first for the series, and it would be the only example in the series for quite some time. Why this was a hidden command is beyond me, but at least it's in there. It doesn't change a lot. It just doubles your experience point gain and allows you to transfer items between the two armies at your leisure. While it's possible to get through Fire Emblem Gaiden without much grinding on its default difficulty setting, I don't really see much of a downside to playing the game on easy if you just want to enjoy the ride. It's still plenty difficult even with that setting changed, just not as difficult as some of the rest of the games in the series.

Even with all of those changes, this is still recognizably Fire Emblem. Perhaps a bit too recognizable in some cases. The gameplay engine has been largely retained, and outside of some really nice battle animations, Gaiden is just as plain-looking in 1992 as Shadow Dragon was in 1990. Permadeath is still here, and the difficulty spikes come frequently enough to make that extremely painful. The overall size and flow of each battle is consistent with most of the rest of the series, though there are considerably more of them than what you would typically find in a Fire Emblem game. 

As you would expect, the quality of each scenario varies wildly. In the end, there are about as many memorable maps in Gaiden as there are in the other games, which means there is a lot more filler than usual. These maps are dragged out by how long it takes the computer to take its turns, particularly when it has 10 or more units active. I do like how the AI has been improved from the first game, though. It's weird to see Fire Emblem enemies cutting and running on normal difficulty when their HP are low.

With it having been painted as the black sheep of the Fire Emblem series, you might think that Fire Emblem Gaiden isn't a good game. I think it actually holds up a lot better than the first game, and that goes double if you've come to the series by way of Awakening and Fates. There was a point in the history of the series where it made a lot of sense to call this game the odd one out, but it appears to have simply been ahead of its time. Most of the changes Kaga made in response to criticisms of the first game would be overturned for the next installment in the face of a fresh set of complaints about Gaiden, sending the series on a path that would focus more and more intently on its hardcore fanbase. But when the time came to appeal to the general audience, it's perhaps not surprising that a lot of the shunned aspects of Fire Emblem Gaiden turned out to be the way to do that.

Don't get wrong, though. This is still a very difficult game that is missing many of the convenient features we take for granted in the SRPG genre these days. Its upcoming remake is probably going to render Gaiden as redundant as the remakes of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light made that game. But for a game of its age and position in its genre's history, Fire Emblem Gaiden is somewhat easy to get sucked into. Just make sure you enter the code to play it on the easier difficulty if you do play it. The biggest thing that makes this game feel out-of-date is how slow the experience grind can be, so anything you can do to cut down on that is a good thing.

With Fire Emblem Gaiden out the door, the series would finally move onto a piece of hardware that was still in ruddy health: the 16-bit Super Famicom. For some fans, the three games that were released on that platform represent the peak of the franchise. We'll take a look at the first of the bunch next time. As is typical of a third game in a series with a weird second installment, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem is almost slavishly faithful to the first game's principles, but it makes a few very important strides forward of its own.

Previous: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Next: Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

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#fire emblem chronicles #fire emblem #fire emblem gaiden #fire emblem echoes #retro #gaming #famicom #rpg #nintendo

[tempest-loupnoir]

Really long character survey

Tagged by @sirgyrodegearloose I don't know 10 roleplayers to tag, and this is so long I'm not ask anyone to put in the time, hehe. BASICS. FULL NAME : Alexandra Dragora Calandrina NICKNAME : Lexi AGE : 20 BIRTHDAY : ETHNIC GROUP : Pekin duck NATIONALITY : Romanian LANGUAGE / S : English (that’s woefully all the mun is fluent in), French, Romanian SEXUAL ORIENTATION : Demi straight ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Demi RELATIONSHIP STATUS : dating CLASS : witch. Upper middle in Transylvania but in Calisota, she does not have much, so she lives with her aunt. HOME TOWN / AREA : Marmatia (made up town), Transylvania CURRENT HOME : living with her aunt, Letitia Weyard PROFESSION : Student/witch PHYSICAL. HAIR : black, falls to the middle of her shoulder blades EYES : Blue sclera like any Pekin duck. Violet irises NOSE : Orange beak. It's slightly shorter than Donald Duck's FACE : Uh… round? Covered in feathers? LIPS : See nose COMPLEXION : Pristine white feathers. BLEMISHES : mole on her back that stays hidden under her clothes. SCARS : she has played with fire, fenced with a sword, shot arrows, rode horse back, climbed trees, played with baby dragons and a shape shifting wolf and numerous other creatures as a kid, so she has some faint shiny scars under her feathers. TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : hm. Scrooge is three feet, so that makes Fenton Crackshell close to four feet? I think of Lexi as being about Fenton/Drake Mallard's height, so she is tall for a female duck but still tiny compared to most other inhabitants in the duckverse. WEIGHT : Scrooge is twenty pounds. Lexi is taller but not as muscular as he is so I guess she would be about twenty pounds too. BUILD : trim FEATURES : Big blue sclera, shiny long hair that usually has a small braid holding it away from her face (thank you, Goku-San for the idea), usualky smiling. ALLERGIES : some mushrooms and flowers like lilies make her sneeze. Some animal saliva makes her break out but she knows how to treat her reactions. USUAL HAIR STYLE : small braid holding hair away from her eyes. Usually down and loose but may be tied back in a pony tail or loose bun. She experiments with different hair styles USUAL FACE LOOK : Curious USUAL CLOTHING : at home, she usually wears like dark gothic dresses or warm sweaters and jeans. In Calisota, she's been wearing sundresses, t-shirts and jeans, and whatever else is available to her from throft shops or hand-me-downs from her aunt. PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : Failure, loss, ridicule ASPIRATION / S: make her parents proud, be someone's hero, find someone who can be her own hero and emotional support, become respected in the wizarding community, create a new signature spell nobody else knows, POSITIVE TRAITS : Generally cheerful and bubbly, inquisitive, independent thinker, kind, creative, motherly NEGATIVE TRAITS : Easily intimidated, can become stubborn and irrational when protecting someone, shuts down mentally or faints when overly stressed, sometimes uses too much energy, makes rash decisions to protect friends MBTI : ISFP Introvert(6%)  Sensing(3%)  Feeling(59%)  Perceiving(22%) (x) ZODIAC : Virgo TEMPERAMENT : Sanguine? Doesn't really describe her well (x) SOUL TYPE / S : Helper, Creator, Spiritualist (x) ANIMALS : penguin? (x) VICE HABIT / S : major sweet tooth, picks at her fingernails when she is nervous, may go without eating if she is too stressed FAITH : Christian GHOSTS ? : Has seen some AFTERLIFE ? : yes REINCARNATION ? : Not without magic ALIENS ? : Yes? POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : totally confused by them. ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : Everyone deserves to be treated with basic decency. Beyond that, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ EDUCATION LEVEL : finished high school. Still in wizarding college FAMILY. FATHER : Azkadell Calandrina MOTHER : Evilene Weyard SIBLINGS : a twin brother in the Negaverse. None in the Darkwing universe EXTENDED FAMILY : too many to list. Magica and Poe De Spell are cousins. Letitia Weyard, Sergei Calandrina, more to be added once they are named. NAME MEANING / S : "defender, protector" HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? : her great great grandmother was one of the weird sisters King MacBeth took advice from FAVOURITES. BOOK : The Shadow Within (Light of Eidon series) MOVIE: Beauty and the Beast 5 SONGS : "End Of The Line" "When You Believe" "Carol of the Bells/Bells of Notre Dame" "Go The Distance" "I Want To Know What Love Is" DEITY : Jehovah HOLIDAY : It was Easter but I think Halloween will become her favorite once she understands it. MONTH : June SEASON : Spring PLACE : Wherever her best friends are WEATHER : partly cloudy and breezy. She loves sunshine but she's sensitive to light and heat. She loves feeling the wind in her feathers. For her, 62 degrees F would probably feel warm. She is learning to appreciate 80 degrees and sunshine. SOUND : epic music, birds in the trees, laughter SCENT / S : Freshly cut grass, conifers, baked goods, the sweet scent of her wolf's fur TASTE / S : Fresh fruit, anything sweet or salty and savory FEEL / S : (I'm not sure I understand this one). Um...the silky texture of her hair as she plays with it ANIMAL / S : canines, gryphons, otters, NUMBER : 7 COLOUR : purple EXTRA. TALENTS : She's an empath. She physically feels the emotional and even physical pain of others, to the point that she can become incapacitated by the stress. She also can get glimpses of a person's personality by touching them and connecting with them telepathically. Rarely she will get a brief, blurry glimpse of the future, but she never knows the time frame for that occurrence. She can turn any object to flowers, or set it on fire. She can teleport objects and ride a broom (badly as she does not have a good sense of balance). She's studied hard to learn how to heal wounds and illnesses. BAD AT : Dancing, gullible, naïve, easily distracted, ignoring her empathy to focus on solving problems, time management, hiding her emotions, lying, TURN ONS : Not getting into that here. TURN OFFS : Not getting into this either. HOBBIES : equestrian, archery, playing with animals, flying around on her broom, dabbling in arts and crafts. TROPES : Morality Pet, Action Girlfriend/borderline Protective Girlfriend, borderline She Loves You and Everyone (she has limits. Some villains are unlovable, as she found out the hard way), Magical Girl AESTHETIC TAGS : purple, blue, wolves, starry nights, frozen north, California dreaming, goth, witch, DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Magica DeSpell, Morgana Macawber, empath, GPOY QUOTES : what is GPOY? FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : I don't know what any of this means? ALT FC / S : ? OLDER FC / S : ? YOUNGER FC / S : ? VOICE CLAIM / S : Liz Callaway perhaps? GENDERBENT FC / S : Don’t have one MUN QUESTIONS. Q1 : If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? A1 : As much as I'd love to toss her into the DuckTales universe, I think most of the main cast would be wary of her. She does look a little like their adversary Magica De Spell, and magic can cause even more problems than it solves. She would be fun to pit against Gizmoduck, as she'd spend most of her time trying to fix his blunders and protect him from real threats while he is giving his speeches about justice. I think her current storyline (young woman leaves oppressive home environment in pursuit of self discovery and happiness and makes friends and enemies in her new foreign environment) is pretty much the type of movie I would put her in. A cross between the aesthetics and look of Tangled, with the adventures from Aladdin the series would be ideal for Lexi. Q2 : What would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : Lots of moody piano and strings, with deep drumming. Sort of like the Legend of Zelda or Eragon soundtrack, but with some light hearted, playful riffs like Tuomas Holopanien included in "Duel & Cloudscapes" in the album "Music Inspired by The Life and Times of Scrooge" Q3 : Why did you start writing this character ? A3 : I created her with the help of a friend on Skype back in 2013. Originally she was going to be an immediate relative of Magica DeSpell, but once I found out Magica has nieces and cousins like Minima and Matilda, I revamped Lexi. My friend Sasha came up with the nickname "Lexi" since it sounds playful and can be a pun on Hex. Q4 : What first attracted you to this character ? A4 : I love her personality. She's bubbly, optimist, and genuinely caring about both people and animals, and that is someone I would love to be friends with in real life. She's confident and motivated enough to teleport to her friends' side and fight their battles with them, but humble enough that she would never dream of seeking glory and fame. Q5 : Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 : She cares too much and has too little self confidence. She lets her parents' opinions of her and other people weigh her down, and make her feel weak and useless. Good grief! Q6 : What do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : Empathy and low self esteem. She is basically a super powered, much more motivated and outgoing, smarter, more optimistic version of me. Her roller coaster emotions come from me and so do many of her personal interests. Like I said before, I'd love to be best friends with her in real life, but I think my habits, silence, and negative feelings would adversely affect her and she would have a hard time being around me. Q7 : How does your muse feel about you ? A7 : She would probably be torn between wanting to kick my keister and hug and comfort me most of the time. Q8 : What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8 : Offline, Lexi has become friends with Darkwing Duck, Launchpad McQuack, Bushroot, @freddiebuckster 's character Harmonizer, my OC Agent Carol Torres, another friend's SHUSH Agent and pilot OC plus that pilot's Negaverse version, Negaduck, Magica and Poe De Spell, etc. I think one of my favorite odd interactions was with an older, frail Negaduck who no longer felt the need to murder or steal. He was just a cranky, achey old duck who had never known friendship or kindness. Lexi was very motherly with him, tending to his injuries, and providing him with clothes and food before taking him back to her friends. She has a similar motherly relationship with Bushroot, providing him with an enchanted charm that gives him back his original human appearance for a few hours at a time. Online, she is still developing her friendships and relationships. She has a very sweet relationship with her boyfriend, and his friends. She tries to prevent him from making mistakes and she tries to fix things when he does mess up, but she finds his cheerfulness and reckless bravery so endearing that she can't help wanting to be around him. He helps her recharge and relax when she's overwhelmed by stress from school studies or from empathizing too long. They care about and rejuvenate each other. Q9 : What gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : Listening to movie and game soundtracks, and reading over past roleplays. I also have a list of roleplay ideas I'd like to do with her. She's one of my main muses so it is usually pretty easy to step into her character. Q10 : How long did this take you to complete ? A10 : About four hours (spread out over two days.)

#lupineleigh's oc #Lexi Calandrina #character profile #character survey