Skyward Sword HD: Nostalgic Fun

Photo by Archie Binamira on Pexels.comg

I have been a Legend of Zelda fan since I watched some of their games on Game Grumps and then bought Ocarina of Time 3D when I got a Nintendo 3DS. As for Skyward Sword, I tried playing it once because I have a Wii U and decided to get some Wii stuff for it, but the Wii accessories unfortunately did not work so my first experience playing the game was either standing still or running into walls until I returned the Wii accessories and the game. Now that it’s on the Switch and it moves better with the Joy-Cons, I can finally experience this game and have it actually work! I was really excited to play another game in this series because I find these games to be both exciting and calming at the same time. This game calms me down after a long day of work and brings a smile to my face!

Plot

This game is really interesting to me as this is the prequel to the entire series! So it features the first Link and Zelda. In this game, Link and Zelda live in the clouds in Skyloft which is peaceful. Until one day a tornado comes in and takes Zelda while her and Link are flying around on their Loftwings spending time together after he became an official knight. Link must find Zelda and fulfill a prophecy of a knight who will save the kingdom from evil. The villain this time is not Gannondorf, but Ghirahim.

Motion Controls and Gameplay

The motions controls in this game are actually really fun even thought it did take a little bit to master. The biggest issues for me were first, I am left handed and the sword is controlled with the right hand so it took some getting used to relying on my nondominant hand to swing a weapon. The second thing was that I usually play with both joysticks in the controller provided with the Switch. When I play this, I have to separate the joysticks and put them on my wrists otherwise the motion controls will not work well.

I spent the longest time mastering the controls via the sword tutorial. It’s really nice because you can just keep redoing it over and over again if you need to. I practiced both with the motion controls and the optional button presses so I could get both techniques down before venturing out into actual battles. I can say that it does feel like I’m physically using a sword and shield which makes the game really exciting! But, sometimes it can be frustrating. The biggest issue I had so far was the Skulltulas. They took so much health away because I have to use very precise strikes and thrusts.

The other little fun things are flying and swinging. You move the Joy-Con from side to side to keep the Loftwing from stopping. It again took a bit, but now I know how to keep the Loftwing going. Swinging involves physically swinging the Joy-Con to gain momentum. The hardest one so far is balancing as it’s easy to tip over. But, I found that when I kept resetting the Joy-Con pointer, it did help the game see that I was trying to keep Link balanced. That’s also another great feature. All you do is press Y and the Joy-Con instantly calibrates. This allows me to sit in any position or move my arms around and not mess up the motion controls.

The only minor thing I’m not a fan of is the shield durability. It is frustrating that I have to stop whatever I’m doing when the shield breaks. Especially since it can break fairly easily if you keep getting hit.

First Dungeon

It’s not a Zelda game if it doesn’t have dungeons! The first one was like a forest temple called Skyview Temple. This is where I had to deal with the Skulltulas. There were a lot of them and I don’t like spiders. The worst was when they started crawling towards me! I ended up just flailing my sword around when that happened especially when they grabbed on to me! My favorite was flying the beetle around, I cannot wait to use that more! The first boss was Ghirahim so I was introduced to him as the antagonist. He is a creepy villian and it took a couple of minutes to figure out how to stop him from deflecting all my attacks.

Favorite Moments So Far

The art style is so cute! I love the little Remlits (mostly like a cat, but with a lemur tail and use their ears to float) except at night. In the daytime they follow you around and want picked up! But, at night they get angry eyes and start attacking you. I also love the Kikwi tribe. They look like penguins but they’re also shaped like Kiwi and have big leaf tails! The Loftwings are also cute because they come in bright colors and I enjoy watching them fly!

I am loving this version of Zelda! She can be really sassy! I love when she stands up for Link in front of Groose and starts pointing her finger in his face like she means business! She can also be really sweet since she obviously has a crush on Link thinking about him during the entire knight exam.

What I’m Looking Forward To

I am looking forward to using the motion controls more for combat and also seeing whatever other tools I get in the game. I am also looking forward to seeing more characters in the game. I am very interested in collecting the Gratitude Crystals that may turn a monster back into the human and I’ve heard makes the Remlits friendly at night. I love that you get them by helping people or just finding them in the environment. I also really want to see how the story unfolds and how this connects to the other games.

What did you think of Skyward Sword? Have you played the remaster?

Twilight Princess HD: Beautiful Story About Light and Dark

Photo by Matej on Pexels.com

I picked up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD when I got my Wii U. This game is very different from Wind Waker HD. It has a more realistic art style and a darker story. It is a fascinating story about the light realm, Hyrule, and the twilight realm of the Twili people. I loved the story and the characters!

Spoilers below!

Story

The story is that the twilight realm is taking over Hyrule because major antagonist Zant is angry that the Twili people were banished to the twilight realm because of their ancestor’s actions. He wants Hyrule to be covered in darkness instead of trying to find a way for the two realms to coexist.

Midna wants to stop Zant. She teams up with Link after he turns into a wolf when he is forced into the twilight realm by Bublins attacking his home village. Together they fight to bring light back to Hyrule!

Favorite Characters

Midna

She is bold for standing up for Zant to regain her leadership of the Twili people. She is also a playful trickster. For example, when she meets Link she teases him about being trapped in a wolf form before she helps him escape his cell. She is also a helpful companion. She is helpful in the game without being pushy like Navi. You simply have to press a button for her to give you advice or help you warp.

Ilia

Ilia is Link’s childhood friend. She is also a possible love interest for Link. I related to her quickly because we both love horses. She spoils Epona and scolds Link for pushing the horse too much causing an injured leg. She is also a caring person. She looks after Prince Ralis when he is injured by Zant’s army attacking Zora’s domain. She stays by his side and is concerned for his safety.

Colin

Colin is a young boy who looks up to Link and ends up finding his own courage. He wants to be brave like Link so he saves a young girl called Beth from Bublins. At the end of the game, he also has a mini sword and shield to protect the people from his home village on their travels. I love how he matured throughout the story and found his own definition of courage.

Favorite Temple: Snowpeak Ruins

This temple is actually a mansion for the Yettis, Yeto and Yeta. I loved that this dungeon was unique! I also loved Yeto and Yeta. Yeto is adorable because he makes soup for his wife to help her feel better. She is sick due to a Twilight Mirror shard infecting her mind. You have to fight her as a pretty scary final boss. Afterwards, Yeto tells his wife that she is so beautiful she does not need a mirror and the two hug while hearts appear everywhere. I just thought the dungeon’s story was adorable!

Least Favorite Temple: City in the Sky

I just found this temple to be tedious. The wind sections that required the iron boots felt like they were there to lengthen out an already long dungeon. I also got lost easily due to the confusing temple design even with a map.

Favorite Bosses: Ganondorf and Aeralfos

Ganondorf has four stages, each was interesting and required precision. The only frustrating phase was Beast Ganon when I had to tackle him as Wolf Link, but I honestly think that’s because I did not know how to correctly time catching Ganon before the tackle. My favorite phase was the final phase because I fought Ganondorf in an epic sword battle.

Aeralfos was a big dragon in the Castle in the Sky Temple. I loved his boss design! I liked that the boss fight gradually got harder with the hardest part being that you have to hookshot across peahats while Aeralfos breathes fire at you so you can land on his back and slash his back with your sword.

Tip: I struggled with this fight because in my settings I set lock on to switch. What happens when you do this is that the lock on auto switches targets and will not target Aeralfos’ back. When I switched the setting to hold and looked at Aeralfos back I could then target his back and slash at it.

Least Favorite Boss: King Bublin and Lord Bulibo

Both of these fights are with Bublins on bridges. I struggled with the timing of these bosses. They could knock me off the bridge with one hit! Basically each fight requires running at the Bublin with your horse while they are on a pig and you have to knock them off the pig a couple times to win the fight. The worst was Lord Bulibo because I had stun him with arrows which he blocked with his shield and then would run me off the bridge.

Conclusion

The story is the strongest part of this game. I loved the plot especially with how Midna and the Hylians had preconceived notions of each other that change. The Twili were originally locked away for being magic users that abused their power, but their people are not evil because their ancestors tried to use their magic for evil. They are also not evil because of Zant’s lust for power. Zelda sees that the Twili people were wrongfully banished from the realm of light because of the actions of a few sorcerers. Midna also sees that Hylians are not evil even though they banished her people. She begins to sympathize with Zelda and Link as she interacts with them.

The reveal of Midna’s true form was amazing! She is really pretty and I wish I could have spent more time with her in her real form, but the scenes were credit scenes.

One thing I did not understand about this game was Ooccoo. She is such a weird design choice for being a way to leave the dungeon.

Overall I thought this game was fun to play and learn about the story. What did you think of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD?  What were your favorite and least favorite parts of the game?

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD – Fun on The Great Sea!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD was one of the reasons why I decided to get a Wii U. I loved being in the water so playing an entire games dedicated to being on a boat and exploring a world full of islands sounded amazing!

There will be spoilers here!

Our Journey Begins

This game looks beautiful especially in HD. I loved the beautiful blue sea and the bright shining sun. I loved the small wooden village and meeting the characters like my grandma and my sister, Aryll.

I also loved this version of Link!  He had great facial expressions! He could look determined when he was sliding across walls or shocked when he fell in lava. The cartoony expressions made this my favorite Link so far!

Tetra

I also loved Tetra’s character! She was so confident and the leader of her own pirate ship full of incompetent pirates! They relied on Tetra to do everything for them.  It was nice that she decides to let Link board her boat so she can help Link get his sister back from the Helmaroc King. I also liked that she had a larger part to play in the story then just a leader of a pirate ship.

The King of Red Lions

What a great name for a boat who also has a larger role to play in the story! I loved the The King of Red Lions even though he was not always helpful. If I was drowning near him, he would just watch!

The music when I rode the boat was beautiful and perfect for sailing on The Great Sea! Using the Wind Waker to control the wind was fun and also made me have to think before exploring! I had to decide where I wanted to go first so I could change the wind in that direction.

Sailing around the sea was fun and there was always a helpful fish to record the islands! The Wii U GamePad screen also allowed me to always see the map so I could easily figure out where to go and where I wanted to go.

Favorite Dungeon: Dragon Roost Cavern

I enjoyed this dungeon because of the lava puzzles. It was also fun because I got the grappling hook so I had to swing across platforms.

I also loved the boss in this section. The boss is named Gohma and resembles a giant scorpion. To defeat him, I had to swing on the dragon Valoo’s tail so that a rock would fall and break his shell. Then, once the shell was broken, I had to hit his eye until he died. I enjoyed using the grappling hook to defeat the boss.

Least Favorite Dungeon: Wind Temple

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD has two escort dungeons. I did not like the escort dungeons and this was the one I liked the least. I had to help Makar through the temple. Makar is tiny and weak since he is a Korok.

As the temple name suggests, it involved wind. This is what made the dungeon very frustrating. I had to time the wind to get to platforms safely. I also had to make sure Makar flew across safely. Overall, I found the dungeon to be frustrating, but this did not taint my overall excited feelings toward this game

Favorite Boss: Helmaroc King

I loved fighting a giant flying bird. First, I had to crack his hard mask. So I needed to use a hammar to crack his hard mask. While I tried to do that, he would fly around and either try to use the wind to toss me into spikes or he would try to grab me. This required me to dodge effectively to make sure I avoided his attacks. I also needed to dodge when he pecked me because then he would get stuck and I could hit him. He was such a fun boss to fight and I loved his design!

Least Favorite Boss: Puppet Ganon

Puppet Ganon has three forms. All forms have a ball which you have to hit with a light arrow. The first was not hard when he is in pig form because I just had to cut his tail and hit it. The second got slightly harder because he was a spinning spider and I had to hit his tail when it landed near me. The third was the worst!

He turns into a worm. He then runs around frantically while I have to hit his tail which is hard to hit because he moves so fast. And, if I did hit it, he would go faster! I lost all of my fairies and half my hearts to him because he would hit me before I could hit his tail.

This part did frustrate me, but this was end game. This was a stage of the final boss so he had to be hard. I can understand why the difficulty ranked up here and in the final fight afterwards. Even though the final boss was frustrating, I did still enjoy the ending when I finally beat him!

Final Thoughts

I loved this game and it is one of my favorite games now! The soundtrack was great even just from the first thing you hear when you start up the game. I also loved the songs Link would play when he used his Wind Waker.

The story was fantastic. I loved exploring the sea and found it to be relaxing. I l also loved most of the dungeons except the two escort style dungeon. The boss designs in this game were fantastic, I loved fighting most of the bosses!

I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys The Legend of Zelda games or wants to play a game dedicated to exploring a world on the water!

What did you think of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD?

My First Zelda Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Photo by AllJos . on Pexels.com

Everyone talked about Zelda at college in my friend group. I did not grow up with the series, but I was interested. Why is there so much love for the series?

I decided I had to play one of the games. So I got a Nintendo 3DS and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

There will be minor spoilers for the game just so you know.

Starting the Game and Kokiri Forest

When I started the game, I decided to name my character something stupid because I thought it would be funny: I named him Balls.

As soon as I started the game, I was amazed by the 3D graphics and the beauty of the forest. I loved how cute the characters were although Navi could be annoying when she told me I was playing too long.

I liked the first dungeon inside the old tree. It was a simple way of introducing me to the game. I was terrified by the spiders because I do not like spiders especially when they have skulls on them and they are bigger than me! They are creepy enough tiny!

The first boss did not help things with the spiders. Her name was Queen Gohma. I had to fight her in the dark with her one glowing eye. It was scary being in the dark with a giant spider! But, I defeated her and beat my first dungeon.

Getting Out Into the World: Favorite Parts

Meeting Zelda

I had to sneak in to meet Zelda.  I had to move slowly past guards to get to her and it was fun being stealthy. Zelda was adorable, she was so nice to me. I also loved learning my first ocarina song: “Zelda’s Lullaby” after I met Zelda. I loved playing  the ocarina and learning all the songs for it.

Getting Epona

I was so excited to get Epona because I loved riding horses when I was a kid. I learned her song from Malon and then won a horse race as an adult. I then had to jump the horse over a fence to keep Epona. I loved riding her and that I could call her with my ocarina.

Gerudo Fortress

I loved this area because of the Gerudo women. I loved the design of the women and that they were fierce warriors. I got captured by them and had to sneak around them. I liked fighting with them because they would guard and fight with two swords and do backflips.

Favorite Temple: Forest Temple

I liked the Poes and having to find them and fight them. It was fun exploring the temple and looking for them. I also liked fighting Phantom Ganon. It was intense waiting for him to come out of the paintings and having to hit him before he attacks you. I remember being so jumpy the entire fight because I was so afraid he would hit me!

Favorite boss: Ganondorf

My favorite boss is Ganondorf. When the boss fight begins, he crumbles the castle so you cannot get close to him. He would fire balls of light at me and I would have to time my sword strike to hit the ball of light back at him to stun him. Then he was stunned, I would hit him with light arrows. I loved the environment that we were fighting in and how the combat required precise timing.

Final Thoughts

I loved this game! This game started my love of Zelda games. I loved the music in this game especially the ocarina. I also loved the story and the use of time travel. I think it is a great game!

What was your first Zelda game? What are some of your favorite memories from that game?