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Thursday 11 January, 2007
I've started this game already, and this particular session is from the middle of the Water Temple.
Traditionally, I've always hated the water temple in Zelda games. The one in Ocarina of Time, my favorite Zelda until I played Twilight Princess, forced me to resort to a player's guide, which I always hate doing.
This one wasn't as bad, and I managed to get through it okay. Zelda games always have a tradition of giving you a new weapon or item in a dungeon, and this one provided me with the Clawshot, TP's iteration of the famous Hookshot. As soon as I got it, the rest of the dungeon opened up to me, and I was able to make it to the boss room. One thing this game does extremely well is give you a feeling that you're a small but important part in an intensely epic story. The boss room was a giant water-filled chamber, and must've been at least a couple hundred feet deep. I strapped on my iron boots, and jumped in. I rapidly descended, feeling a growing sense of "oh shit oh shit oh my god" as I saw what looked like a giant tentacle poking out of the ground.
As soon as I landed, a cutscene took over, and several more tentacles popped out, followed by the boss they were attached to, a giant anemone. This was pretty much identical to the OoT version, which was an eyeball in a tentacle that you had to pull out with the hookshot to be able to slash at it. This boss had the same thing, and it was incredibly easy.
At that point, I felt incredulous and somewhat cheated. A two hour long, annoying temple followed by this? Screw that noise.
However, I had forgotten that a lot of these bosses had multiple forms. Sure enough, all the tentacles retreated below the surface, and out exploded a giant eel. The "anemone" I had been fighting was merely its mouth. I unequipped my iron boots (a quick process, thanks to the fact that you equipped it as an item and not as an article of clothing), and swam after it. The eyeball was still there, except this time it was embedded onto its back. I swam after it, L-targetted to lock on, and fired my claw shot. It pulled me in close, and soon I was hanging on to it, Shadow of the Colossus style. I whipped out my sword and stabbed at the eye.
Rinse and repeat 3 times, and done.
This game is huge, and it makes good use of the Gamecube's now-defunct hardware (as you can play GC games on the Wii). Bosses like these are what makes it feel epic, and certainly makes me feel like I'm getting my money's worth. The revamped music that's been heard in every single Zelda game since the SNES version fills me with a mixture of nostalgia and wonder as I explore new areas.
The next section of the game tasked me with getting the Master Sword.
FINALLY.
The Master Sword, for me, is the pinnacle of the Zelda experience. The lone sword, buried deep into a center stone in the middle of an ancient chamber, the orchestral operatic music that plays as you approach it, and the moment of glory as Link pulls it out, slashes the air, and sheathes it.
I had to warp to the beginning forest to retrieve it, which was an easy task thanks to Midna (the shadow creature that accompanies you in wolf-form) and her warping ability. The level immediately before the Master Sword's chamber consisted of what looked like Scarecrow from Batman and his puppet henchmen who were easily dispatched. After that, it was a puzzle room, in which I had to return two stone guardians to their original spots.
And then finally, the sword. The music, lighting, and graphics represented the best retrieval yet, but maybe I'm just blinded by the fact that it's the latest Zelda game. Wind Waker had a pretty good Master Sword retrieval area, especially since I had to fight over 20 Stalfos and Pig guards in order to escape.
Retrieving the sword allowed me to return to human form, and now I can switch back and forth from human to wolf at will. At this point, I saved and quit.
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