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Saturday 26 January, 2008
Gameplay #2:
My second session was one characterized by anticipation. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next even though everything seemed vaguely familiar. Deja vu moments aside though I had a blast continuing my adventure throughout Hyrule which included defeating many foes and performing the rolling animation again and again...and ramming into objects again and again to hear that oh so familiar thud as head smacked into wall. The story was completely enveloping and I lost track of time for hours. Even though my first session ended barely having left the starting zone I now found myself having completed the entire Triforce.
I really have to say that I was incredibly impressed by what has always been my favorite boss battle. The fight against the electric jelly fish, for lack of a better name, to obtain the last piece of the Triforce. The environment feels like a living, breathing organism as you walk around it. The entire time I was convinced that I actually was inside of a whale.
Design:
My major gripe with this Zelda game is by far the cutscenes, especially the one that occurs when you first pull out the master sword and you are propelled through time. You literally sit there and read dialog as it slowly appears for what seems to be a good twenty minutes.
Apart from the dialog I didn't find anything that I disliked about the game. The dungeons all seemed very unique and I never felt like I was solving the same puzzle twice. The different themes of all the dungeons also prevent the game from feeling stale as each one is radically different from another ranging from sunken temples to a underground graveyard that is largely invisible.
The tone of the game is perhaps one of its most interesting aspects. when you are the young link the world seems much happier and carefree as things often do when you are in your childhood. However, immediately after you pull out the Master Sword the world has been taken over by Ganondorf and the same people who were once kind and carefree are hateful and unforgiving for the most part.
One aspect of the game that I found particularly relieving is the inclusion of a save anywhere feature that let you quit anytime you needed without losing any progress. This serves two purposes really as it lets the player stop and continue at his or her own pace and makes the game world feel less divided and more congruent.
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