zelda — Page 7

This is slow going. Not that slow going is a problem, and it’s actually mostly my “fault” as I keep getting sidetracked looking for treasure and stuff – only to be disappointed that I don’t have the Titan’s Mitt to pick up big rocks. Well, sorted that by getting the mitt from the Desert Palace. Now (I think!) I can reach everywhere, as I’ve all the weapons too.

But I’m ahead of myself. Before the Desert Palace (which, like in Link to the Past, was “split” into several sections inside and outside the dungeon – and in this game split across both Hyrule and Lorule) I completed the Ice Palace. It wasn’t hard, but was substantially harder than I was anticipating at this still-relatively-early stage in the game. Enemies were taking 4 or 5 hearts off with a single hit, so I had to be careful. Thankfully, there’s a supply of fairies in a central thoroughfare so I could frequently heal up without much trekking. Then I remembered – you can do dungeons in any order, so it stands to reason I might hit a hard one early, which is what I suspect I did. In addition to the enemies, the puzzles were a bit brain bendy too, so yeah.

After that, the Desert Palace was a complete walkover. Even though I forgot I had the sand rod several times so temporarily struggled with the scarab things and buried chests. Old age, eh?

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

Glorious.

Oh, you want more? Erm, really glorious? It’s the best Zelda game since Minish Cap. Mainly because it’s the only Zelda games since Minish Cap, sure, but still.

Yes, yes, I know there was Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass and those Wii ones and stuff, but they’re not proper Zelda games. Don’t argue.

Nintendo have taken the essence of a proper Zelda game, reused the game world from A Link To The Past, and streamlined a new alternative story. By streamlined, I mean you’re essentially handed all Link’s weapons and very quickly obtain most of his abilities and just left to do the job of winning and exploring. Which might sound awful, but it really works. It’s a lot of fun as a result.

I’ve just finished the first dungeon (which didn’t even feel like a dungeon, and it’s only the first in that it’s the first I attempted – you can do them in any order) in Lorule, so there’s a fair way to go yet.

Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

With the game complete (as in, Bowser beaten) it’s mop-up time. I’ve been back to earlier levels and nabbed more stars, stamps and, er, sflags, and played through the post-game unlocked Star World, and some of the post-Star-World Mushroom World. I’m still yet to find any actually really difficult levels though.

Sure, some of the stars have been hard, and there have been a few moderately difficult levels, but there’s been NOTHING as hard as the hard stuff in New Super Mario Bros U yet. Still, there’s more to come so it might happen eventually…

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)

Still playing. Still not missed a day. Still finding things to do. Still getting the same damn statue from Crazy Redd EVERY SINGLE TIME. Seriously – I’ve had the guy with the disc one six times running.

It was New Year in the game too, and there were fireworks and a big countdown clock and stuff. Which was nice.