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Post by Fryguy64 on Nov 13, 2004 15:49:17 GMT -5
-- Minor Spoilers Contained Within -- Yesterday 'The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap' was released here in England. And seeing as I get a 30% discount on videogames, I picked it up (as well as Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door). I've played it for a bit, and I would like to tell you all that the game is absolutely stunning. The first thing that hit me was that it doesn't feel like I'm playing any of the previous handheld Zelda games (Link's Awakening and the Oracles). It's close to being like A Link to the Past, but the graphics and audio have the SNES counterpart beat. In fact, it almost feels like a NEW Zelda game altogether... not based on any previous game, while simultaneously borrowing from all of them. One thing you should all be aware of... this isn't Link: The Hero of Winds. It's not any previous Link. It's almost undeniable proof that the Zelda games are not found on a fixed timeline, but in a variety of "alternate universes". Link lives with his grandfather, a smithy, and is childhood friends with Zelda. Hyrule Castle is almost set out like it was in ALttP, but the world around it is very different. Many characters appear from OoT/MM as well as TWW... but that's just confusing. Also, a little bit on Ezlo... he's the talking hat, by the way. You save him from Octoroks and he decides to live on your head because you walk to fast. He provides hints as to what you're supposed to be doing next. These are not constant, and are just there to ease the game along slightly if you've forgotten which character in this massive world asked you to visit them when you collected x-item. The controls are so far coherent, though took a moment to get used to. The R Button is used frequently as an action button, and A and B are your chosen weapons. It controls just like you expect it to in the end, with just one quibble... doors. It would seem that doors are there to get in your way now, and walking into them with a key in pocket is no longer enough. That takes a bit of getting used to as well. The first dungeon also shows the kind of direction the game is going in. The puzzles are hard. The level itself is short, but it took me (a Zelda puzzle master) some time to work out what was going on. This is not first-dungeon material. In any other Zelda game this would be dungeon 4. The boss is also hard. This game is possibly a punishment to all those who complained that TWW was over too soon and was easy. Anyway, there's my views on the matter. So far I have not been disappointed, just bemused at certain aspects. All in all, if you're a Zelda nut, this is the Zelda game you've been waiting for. Let's hope the LoZ 2005 is going to be this good.  |
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Post by Wildcat on Nov 13, 2004 17:48:14 GMT -5
Cool, nice impressions. January can't get here soon enough for me...keep posting them as you get farther. ^^
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Post by TrustTheFungus on Nov 13, 2004 18:13:43 GMT -5
Ohhh...I wish it was out here...
But I guess you deserve it. Since we get everything else before you.
But why is it you don't believe there is a fixed timeline now?
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Post by kirbychu on Nov 13, 2004 20:27:36 GMT -5
I got it on Friday, but I haven't played it much yet. Not even into the first dungeon yet. Paper Mario is eating all my time. As far as Zelda storyline goes, I always just figured each Link got two games and then we switched to a different one. That would mean that the following games share Links (and Zeldas): The Legend of Zelda + Adventure of Link A Link to the Past + Link's Awakening Ocarina of Time + Majora's Mask Oracle of Ages + Oracle of Seasons Four Swords + Hyrulean Adventure The Wind Waker +  (LoZ 2005, probably) The Minish Cap + That's the way I always saw it. People keep telling me that Link in the Oracles games is the one from LA and that Link in Four Swords is the one from TWW. I dunno... those kinda seem like unlikely connections to me. So, anyway... Ezlo is cool. And the music is great. The song playing as you begin the game is the music from the first part of the OoT credits sequence. That music is awesome. The only problem I'm having is that 2D Zelda games never seem to engage me as much as the 3D ones. I own all the Game Boy Zelda games, but haven't managed to finish one, but the 3D ones are always done in a week or two. I guess it's just personal preference. When it comes to 2D I'm more into platformers, really. But just once I'd like to finish a 2D Zelda game.  |
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Post by Andronicus on Nov 13, 2004 21:58:45 GMT -5
I don't think trying to figure out a timeline will get anybody anywhere - Nintendo doesn't want one, so that's fine with me...
I mean, certain games follow on, then others don't - I think there's a main storyline with the 3D games, and a Four Swords storyline with the new 2D games - one is under Nintendo, the other under Capcom...
But whatever... good to hear the game is tops, cos I really want it now!
I think AU gets it in November!!! ;D
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Post by Fryguy64 on Nov 14, 2004 9:32:03 GMT -5
I got lost in the mountains... so I gave up for a bit and got the third Crystal Star in Paper Mario instead My girlfriend (another Zelda fanatic) is catching up with me though. Dagnabbit. Must... complete... it... first... She beat both Oracles before I did. It could be a prequel to Four Swords, as Vaati seems to be the enemy once again - only this time he's human and nobody's ever heard of him. But who can really say? It's almost as difficult coming up with a coherent storyline as it is a Final Fantasy timeline. |
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Post by kirbychu on Nov 14, 2004 14:04:38 GMT -5
I like Vaati. I haven't played either Four Swords games yet, so I have no idea what he's like there. But he looks pretty cool in this game. Doesn't he sound exactly like the Happy Mask Salesman, though? That was kinda weird. I'll probably wait until I've finished Paper Mario before I really try to play The Minish Cap. I'm on my way to getting the sixth Crystal Star right now. |
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Post by Fryguy64 on Nov 16, 2004 14:49:31 GMT -5
-- MAJOR STORY SPOILERS CONTAINED WITHIN -- -- LOOK AWAY NOW --- -- I'm so alone...  -- Anyway, this IS the prequel to Four Swords. The story is about the forging of the Four Sword (by you, of course) and of Vaati's beginnings doing evil stuff (he was once a Picori, dontcha know... oh, Picori is the general term for Minish, by the way). I've finished the fifth dungeon, and it looks like there's one more where I have to fight Vaati himself. So far the game has not disappointed. It feels like I'm playing A Link to the Past - something many Zelda games haven't managed. It's excellent in every way... the music is consistently excellent, with the good ol' Zelda theme in the overworld, the Wind Waker sailing theme as you soar through the skies, and lots of new stuff that just makes this one of the most involving Zelda games so far. And getting around the overworld is as difficult as any dungeon. In that respects it's very much like Majora's Mask. The dungeons are also tricky, so I don't mind there not being so many of them... though I would have quite liked a few more, to be totally honest. Come on... I want seven or eight! |
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Post by Andronicus on Nov 16, 2004 16:15:31 GMT -5
OK, so this is a prequel to the FS sub-series, right?
So then, does it at all fit in with the OoT-MM-TWW series?
I read that they've reinvented the story and messed it up even more...
LttP, LA, FS, FSA, TMC and FS(DS) seem to be part of a series that fits together... maybe even OoA and OoS???
Is there more or less continuity after playing through TMC?
Can't you see I want continuity and consistency...
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Post by Yamato.EXE V2 on Nov 16, 2004 16:30:29 GMT -5
Do they have Wallmasters? The only thing i hate in Zelda franchises is hands, eeeeeeeee The only franchises i know they don't have them is AOL, LA, and TWW. They are poorly against fire and pots, you just have hear them whistle and see the shadows. |
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Post by TrustTheFungus on Nov 16, 2004 20:10:45 GMT -5
Do they have Wallmasters? The only thing i hate in Zelda franchises is hands, eeeeeeeee The only franchises i know they don't have them is AOL, LA, and TWW. They are poorly against fire and pots, you just have hear them whistle and see the shadows. TWW had FloorMasters. Eiji Aonuma once said Four-Swords is the oldest game in the series. I think that means the first, before OoT, but some people take that as the last, after AoL or LttP. |
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Post by Andronicus on Nov 16, 2004 22:59:05 GMT -5
Damnit!
That makes no sense - there's stories all over the place - it's enough to make one go insane thinking about it... so I won't.
The Metroid games don't have this problem - they have 1 story-line, and the series sticks to it - which is why I'm planning on investing in a few Metroid games (is that a good idea?)
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Post by TrustTheFungus on Nov 17, 2004 8:34:06 GMT -5
The Metroid games don't have this problem - they have 1 story-line, and the series sticks to it - which is why I'm planning on investing in a few Metroid games (is that a good idea?) YES! Buying Nintendo games is NEVER a bad idea. Although you could skip the first, since it can be unlocked in Metroid Prime. |
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Post by kirbychu on Nov 18, 2004 5:35:24 GMT -5
Actually, the Metroid storyline jumps around a lot as well. You just don't realise until Nintendo points it out. --SPOILERS ARE BELOW DON'T EAT ME-- I'd just figured Vaati was a different person with the same name, but then I started to wonder if the Picori Blade was the Four Sword when I first used it on those glowing floor panel things... Also, I'd just figured that Ezlo was the Minish Cap, but it turns out it's actually the cap that Vaati wears. Ooo... I'm only at the third dungeon so far, but I think that's pretty good since I only started yesterday and haven't had any outside help at all. Still, when it's 1AM and big one-eyed statues are jumping at you it's time to call it a day. |
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Post by Fryguy64 on Nov 18, 2004 17:59:45 GMT -5
--- MORE SPOILERS YADAYADAYADA... LIKE YOU NEED TELLING. MIGHT RUIN THE GAME FOR YOU, ETC. --
It IS the Four Sword. Once you've finished forging the sword, it is declared to be the Four Sword, a powerful Picori blade.
Also, Vaati is a Picori who wears a magical cap that grants the wishes of his wearer, instantly becoming an evil sorceror (Ezlo, another Picori, made the cap - and after Vaati stole it he transformed Ezlo into the green bird thing you wear on your head). His final form, as he is desperate to destroy Link, is indeed the same as his weird eyeball bat thing in Four Swords.
Oh, and there's a cute little reference about the Picori being responsible for hiding rupees and other nice things in jars and the grass to please the humans.
As for links to other Zelda games:
It is definitely set in Hyrule. Hyrule Castle, while not identical, will be familiar to fans of LttP. However, there is a castle town to the south, a mountain to the north-west, a forest to the south-east, and lots of other things that don't quite fit with any previous imaginings of Hyrule. There is, however, cameos by the three Oracles from... err... the Oracle games. The description of them when you get their figurines even mentions the towns from the Oracle games.
However, it is misguided to think that any of the Zelda games have ever linked together into any form of coherent storyline. OoT was followed by MM, and could be tenuously linked to LttP. However, the games seem to exist in little storyline packets, each linked to another a little bit, but completely separate from the others.
Oh, and yes, Wallmasters are present, though they crawl around on the floor rather than drop on you.
Best Zelda quote so far... one of the top three books in Hyrule:
"How to Like your Like Like: A Good Guide to a Bad Pet" ;D
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(LoZ 2005, probably)
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