Through the looking glass? Let's Play The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past!

It's a small one, sadly enough, which means you have to light all the torches using the equivalent of one Fire Rod shot which is hard. It took me seven tries to do it, and it involved hitting a Gibdo with a shot in the hopes that he dropped a large one.

I love the Fire Rod, especially in Four Swords Adventures, where not only could you could just burn an entire field of grass in one shot, but there was no magic meter, it was unlimited power.

Especially when playing (only semi-cooperatively) with 4 players, the Fire Rod was pretty awesomely brutal.

See also: Link's Awakening.

Not to mention that it, along with many other weapons including the sword from Link's Awakening on, had far less latency in terms of striking speed.

By the way, a small addendum to the Palace of Darkness entry:



After some more research, it turns out that the former enemy actually IS called the anti-faerie, due to its magic-sapping power and tendency to transform into an actual faerie via magic powder. The latter is the real bubble, which damages you normally (though not without sealing your sword). Just thought I'd clear this up since a lot of places online - including the place where I did the original fact-checking when someone brought this up earlier - mix the names up from time to time. There are a few other enemies whose name I got wrong, such as the "Rockclops" (really the Eyegore), so at this point I'll just say I won't bother with the real names, unless I write a bestiary entry somewhere along the line.

Anyway, the next entry should be up soon, so hang tight while I write it up.

You're really good at this, you know that?

Man this brings back memories...I didn't know about the sequence breaking until well into my second run-through, and I have a tendancy to not replay completed games. I'll have to do that sometime...

Can't wait for Blind, by the way!

Can't wait, eh? Good thing I just finished up the next part then. Thanks for the support everyone, and I hope you enjoy the rest.



All righty then, now that we've got the Fire Rod in our possession, we should head south to the next dungeon. Time to make like a tree and leaf.



Welcome to the Village of Outcasts, home to the most wretched hive of scum and villainy in all of Hyrule. Note the thief chasing after Link, as well as the lost soul behind him.



First on our list of tourist destinations is the Pond of Mystery™. What lies beneath its watery surface?

Well... nothing really. But when I was a kid I could've sworn there was something up with this pond, like a secret dungeon or a new weapon. Ah, the innocence of youth.



Next up is Deku, the Talking Tree. Be careful not to bump into him, or he'll leave you stumped! Heh heh heh.



Lastly, but not leastly, is the most important icon of the Village of Outcasts. That's right, it's the fourth dungeon, Thieves' Town!

...Wait, what?



Anyway, it's time to move on with our game. Unlike the last few dungeons, Thieves' Town is more like a Treasure Hunt than anything, since we have to pick up a few different things and bring 'em all together in order to make any progress.

Our first goal is to circle around the main room. Be careful of the bubbles and horsemen, and for the love of God don't let yourself become a bunny!



That's right, the Big Key is available from the get-go, no nasty puzzles included. And since the Boss's room is nearby, we'll be offing him right away. This place goes by fast, doesn't it?



Head through this door and go down the hall to face the head honcho of this place.



DUN-DUN DA- wait, what's going on here? Where is he?

......

Well that was anticlimactic.



Well, since there's no boss here (unfortunately...) I guess we've got no other choice but to explore everywhere else. Watch out for the ghosts here and make sure to attack their heart if you plan on fighting them.



Head up the treadmill into the north room, making sure to watch out for the enemies wandering around.



Our first stop here is on the next floor. Leave the switch for now and head up the stairs.

It seems that Zelda's replacing Sahasrahla as our go-to guy for tips, as it's her we hear when we touch the tile. Anyway, she tells us to watch out for Blind the Thief and his magic when we explore this place, so keep that in mind. Speaking of which, that name sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Anyway, head back downstairs to hit the switch, then head back up and hit the switch under those skulls to move on.



Just charge through here - those lizards don't drop enough to bother with.



See that crack over there? We'll need to blow it up to let some sunlight down below. Why you ask? Don't worry, you'll see.



Be sure to grab some bombs on your way out in case you're running low.



We'll be heading into the basement for our next stop. Watch your step when navigating those treadmills.



(Insert Power Glove joke here).



Anyway, somewhere in the basement we run into the next maiden. She's pleased to see us (obviously) and asks that we take her outside. With no boss to fight, we've got nothing else to go on so to the front door we go.



But not without picking up the treasure first. And what an excellent treasure it is - say hello to the Power Glove's replacement, the Titan's Mitt. Now we can lift up rocks a darker colour than before (?).



Anyway, time to head out, maiden in tow. This job was a great sucess!

Huh? You don't want to leave yet? ...All right then, I'll take another look around.



Nothing here. I've got a bad feeling about this...



What the hell's going on here?



Uh-oh.



This must be that Blind the Thief Zelda told us about earlier. I was wondering where the boss was.

Wait a minute, if Blind's a guy name, then that means... she's a he? Now I feel weird...



Well... since the treasure we got here wasn't a weapon, the boss doesn't have an obvious weakness to exploit this time around. However, that's fine since sword slashes to the head seem to be working.

The interesting thing about Blind is that, unlike other enemies in the game, the sword you use doesn't matter - three slashes from any level is enough to take off his head. But be careful, since the decapitated head will fly around and start spitting fireballs.



Though he isn't hard per se, a large part of the battle relies on luck, since a few shots from the heads flying around can turn things around on you quickly, so often you'll find yourself losing more because of an unlucky shot than because you've been overpowered.



Though that's not to say this battle's a cakewalk. Great balls of fire!



After six (!) tries, Blind finally goes down for the count. Man, I must be losing my touch ._.



Oh well, at least we have the crystal now. Time to head off to our next destination.

Next time: The Ice Palace and the Forbidden Treasure!

Blind is my favorite boss fight in the game; probably because it's like a bullet hell shooter*. With all the fireballs and lasers (you didn't mention the lasers!!) and disembodied heads, I'd say it's the most intense and chaotic fight of the game.

* Though I think I never consciously made that connection before now.

I was going to mention the lasers, but they flashed by too quickly and I wasn't able to get a good shot of them. I like the bullet hell analogy though; it describes this boss fight perfectly. Something like "The Legend of Gradius: A Vic to the Past"?

If/when I decide to do a Let's Play, I have a program called AnimGet that takes rapid screenshots whenever the image in the targetted window changes. Very useful for telling it to record before a boss battle, and then sifting through a few thousand screenshots after. :P

It's a shame that screencatcher doesn't work with Macs - I'd definitely stop doing it manually in a heartbeat. I'll bookmark the link just in case though, thanks!

No!

NO!

...I suppose I'll forgive you though, because this update was great. But you're on notice, mister! If you let these kinds of puns take root, they'll branch out across the whole thread, and that would be a real beech. I'm sorry to bark at you and make you feel like a sap, but if I don't say something now someone else might get mad and kick your ash. I don't think that's something yew want to have happen.

...and now I hate myself.

Sir! Sir! I wood reconsider your words, sir! Though admirable, your challenge, in the end, is fruitless, and I must ask you to plant yourself in reality! I'm not frond of beating around the bush, so I shall cut to the chase - if you do not cease and desist your relentless pruning, I must ask you to meet me at the Arbor so that we shall engage in a duel, whether or not you have the Thyme.

Good day sir!

NOW LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO

Oh, that's just vine! Now you've really gone and done it!

I leave y'all alone for five minutes and look what happens.

SHRUB IS A WORD THAT DONT GET NO LOVE FROM ME

Oakay, I can't just shrub this off any longer. I don't give a fig how funny you guys think these are, I pine fern end to the puns.

I don't beleaf you. Lettuce end this charade!

Indeed, let's nip this in the bud before we sow the seeds of discord. Instead of continuing the punnishment, let's turn over a new leaf, sprout past the punnery that all of this stemmed from, and let the thread bloom into its own.

Beet enough stalk. Have at tree!

It's...so beautiful...and yet...so terrible! I know that I must look away to preserve my sanity, but I can't!

Well, this is awesome. The still screens remind me of how simply fantastic the game's art and graphic design was. Things like Link's look when he runs into things with the boots, the entrance of the Palace of Darkness, and so much more, such detail and style. I don't think the beauty of this game has still been quite eclipsed in a 3D game.

The guy telling about the Book of Mudora lived in the NE corner of the desert, an old wise geezer who looked liked Sahasrahla (no relation, I suppose). He even had a name! ---but I don't remember it.

*looks at latest posts* ...oh my.

Yeah, I can't compete with that. Anyway:

I always liked all of Link's animations - they really do a great job of giving him a lot of personality (specifically, a kid who's really in over his head). Shuffling his feet to try and avoid falling off a platform, straining to pick up rocks, almost looking too feeble to swing the sword... it's one of the best examples of graphics serving character development.

And, yeah, LTTP pretty much represents the high point of console gaming for me as well. Ocarina never grabbed me the same way this did.

What really grabbed me, aside from the detailed animation, were the sound effects. The sound made by the Hookshot's chain, the swing of a non-powered sword, the whish of the charged attack, and the "whee-wee-wee-wee-wee" of Link falling down a pit will stay with me till I'm old and feeble. I can see the screenshots and immediately remember not just the appropriate music, but the sound that everything on that screen makes.

A lot of care was put into the game, merely to add seemingly extraneous details. It's funny how, with relatively few(er) resources, 16-bit-era games would often go the extra mile to add these little touches.

The thing that always stood out for me was just how colourful and bright all the sprites and environments were, and the amount of detail that was put into them. It really is a gorgeous game, even after all these years.

Okay, even I can't beet this. Merus wins.

Indeed, I conseed this point.

This thread is crazy, you never know what will turnip.