#i fucking love koroks so much

[onyx-pixiestyx]

WHY IS IT THAT IN THE REAL WORLD I CANT LIFT UP AN ODDLY PLACED ROCK AND A SILLY LITTLE GUY WILL SHOW UP AND GO YAH HAH HAH AND GIVE ME GOLD SHIT. WHERE IS SCWIMBLO.

[traaanskimkitsuragi]

i think what rubs me the wrong way about totk the more i play it is the fact that the game actively encourages a completionist playstyle (esp in comparison to botw) even though playing it in that way is absolutely a miserable experience

[nocturnalsleuth]

it's been six years and i still haven't beat breath of the wild

[shadowsageingempress]

Tierlist of the Great Sea costumes from Hyrule Warriors Legends.

I plan on doing more for the other costumes from the rest of the Adventure Mode maps.

(Costumes and explanations below the cut. There's a lot to go over, so it'll be long)

They probably couldn't make Warriors' costume based on Toon Link because it would likely be too similar to the Skyloft outfit, so they went with the crayfish pajamas. And I gotta say, I really like it. The blue shirt, white scarf, orange pants and gray boots go really well together.

I don't know why they made Impa wear pink. Maybe they were trying to reference the King of Red Lions? I'm not sure. But I do think it works pretty well for her.

I only just realized that Sheik's costume is colored that way as a reference to Tetra. That makes me like it a bit more. These colors are very striking, but they look good on her in my opinion.

Lana's costume is apparently based off the koroks, which I don't know if it matches up well with her. But the outfit looks really nice. My only complaint is that I don't know if the green hair fits her, so I've deducted points for that. Otherwise, she looks pretty cute and festive.

Of course, they gave Valor the princess dress that Tetra wears for the latter half of the game. The color of the dress is fine, but the dull armor and too bright hair kind of ruin it for me. Also, my partner is PISSED that this costume isn't based on Tetra. I think that would look substantially cooler, even if Sheik's costume would make it redundant.

I don't know who decided to make Ganondorf's costume fuck so goddamn much, but I am so glad they did! Everything about this Phantom Ganon costume is incredible. It kind of gives me Metroid Prime vibes, which is a very good thing.

Darunia's Phantom Hourglass goron costume isn't too big of a change, especially when compared to the masterpiece that was Ganondorf's. I don't really care for the brown spikes, but the stomach tattoo looks pretty cool.

The Laruto costume that Ruto has is very striking, and I think it works very well. Between the color combination and the character reference, I like it quite a bit.

I'm not sure why they decided to make Agitha a goth with this costume, but I think it suits her. Unfortunately, the way her face paint looks kind of lessens my fondness for it. But I definitely don't hate it.

Midna is already my favorite character in this game, so I was probably going to like whatever costume she had. But this Floormaster-inspired look is incredible! The changes are pretty slight, but the pink markings and the darker color of the Fused Shadow adds so much to what was already peak character design. In fact, she probably could have been on the top of S Tier if they'd leaned a bit more into it.

I don't know if Zant's costume is based on Gohdan or Jabun. Neither of those options really fit him, in fact they're kind of the opposite, and it may seem a bit weird to give him such bright colors. However, I actually like how he looks in this costume, even if it does look a bit more regal than he deserves.

Given that Fi's design was partially based on the Fairy Queen, this costume was only natural. And I'd describe it in the same way. This coloration is perfect for Fi, and the purple ribbon-markings down her legs are a nice touch.

Kalle Demos is one of my favorite Zelda bosses from a strictly aesthetic view. So it only makes sense that they were the base for one as, shall we say, colorful as Ghirahim. I love the gradients on his suit and cape, and I only recently noticed the green gem on his belt.

Like with Agitha, I don't really get the reference in Cia's costume. But I will not deny that she looks really good in that dark red, especially with the sunset colors of her shoulder cape. I do think that her hatless outfit is the best looking of the three, though.

Volga's costume is another with a subtle change. But like Midna's, I think that this one looks really good. The colors look good, and the reference to Valoo is quite fitting.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Wizzro. I think his costume is based off of Jalhalla, which could have worked. But I really don't like the brown.

I'm already conflicted about how I feel about the design of Midna's true form, or 'Twili Midna' as she's called in Hyrule Warriors (I don't get why), and this costume only adds to it. I get that it’s based on Cassiopeia, but I do not appreciate the reference. And while I don't hate the color combination they used, I don't think it works with her. It's really a shame.

Also, why did they change the color of her skin here?

I have a lot of questions about Young Link's costume. What is the costume supposed to be? Why is he purple? Why does he have red hair? I don't hate this costume, but it doesn't make much sense to me.

This may be surprising, but I actually kind of like how Tingle looks in this costume. The gray and blue work well together, and I like the reference to Ankel or Knuckel. It's good.

Given what costume they gave to Warriors, I think it makes sense that Linkle's is based off of Aryll's dress. Not only do the colors work, but I like the little flower designs on the tunic. It's adorable.

Oh, Hell yes! I love Skull kid's costume. Not only do the white and purple go well together, but they look perfect when put with the colorful Majora's mask. I think it's also based on the poes, which also works. I can't think of anything I would improve with this one.

Another Link, another set of crayfish pajamas. I don't know why he has a belt, but it doesn't take too much away from the appeal. It's just a solid design. Although, if they did this one twice, then maybe they could have made Valor's costume look more like Tetra

Speaking of Tetra, her costume is also pretty cool. I think it's cool how the colors of her jacket and bandana are swapped. My only complaint is that I don't really care for the striped shirt. But I guess it helps to get the reference to Niko across. I like this one, even if my partner doesn't get why she needs a Great Sea costume

Finally, we have King Daphnes. His costume is based on Oshus’s disguised form, which is rather fitting. The bright colors are very striking and mesh decently well together. It actually kind of reminds me of a movie I saw when I was a kid.

[lily-alphonse]

Ive just realized, I guess this is an unpopular opinion, but I love the empty space in BOTW and TOTK.

It’s ART. It’s like being in a landscape painting!

The colors are so amazing and dynamic with the changing time of day. It’s almost eerily quiet in the sky sometimes and I fucking love it.

Up there with just the wind as the sun rises, a dragon moving through the clouds far away.

I even like the emptiness of the depths because it forced me to engineer vehicles to get through it. But that’s from a practical gaming standpoint anyway. From an art perspective it was so effective at being intimidating. Ominous. Everything is huge and far away and shrouded in darkness! ITS SO COOL

And not to mention that the devs really packed SO MUCH into the space that it doesn’t even feel right to say it’s empty. There are quests and koroks and npcs and fun landscape things to find everywhere.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE BLUPEE BURROW?! Bro. That was made for people like me. It serves no purpose game-wise. But I felt like such an adventurer finding that. Such an explorer. I took so many pictures!

And in BOTW sometimes I would just load up the game to take my horse running in the most open plains I could find lol. It’s just so damn pretty!

I love these games, man. What marvels of art and technology

[a-risk-to-take]

….you posted your tattoo (sick) and linked to house of dirk and i read it all and its unfinished. if you hadn’t posted i may have lived my life without getting fanfic blue balled for the first time since 2015. if you have any sympathy for my loss you would give me fanfic recs >:[ /lh

I feel your pain believe me 😭😭 I’m sorry I didn’t warn you at least. I’m low-key hoping the tattoo image gets to imarriedacherub and inspires them to continue the story - obviously not likely but it’s nice to dream!

I got recs for you though! I’ve got hundreds of bookmarks on my ao3 but here’s the HS stuff I love the most:

The epics:

Dayvhe’s Broken Diamond Club and everything by @unda-dsk: DBDC is my personal fave of theirs, and the best treatment of troll culture in any fic ever. If you know HS fic you are probably aware of MC Escher That’s My Favorite MC, and that one is absolutely excellent and completely deserves its status as one of the very best. And then there’s Alternate Universe, which is a perfect and beautiful magic school story. All of these are absolutely top-tier - I cannot stress this enough. They are epic and very long but some of the best stuff I’ve ever read—fanfic or otherwise—and they changed me when I read them. Despite the length, DBDC is very episodic so you can read each chapter as its own story and easily take breaks in between them without losing the flow, so you might want to start there. I promise it’s worth it!!

so we don’t kill the ones we love by @callmearcturus: I’ve never read anyone who can create an atmosphere like Arc can - this one is kind of a John Wick AU but in a really refreshing and elevated way. The characterization is so on point. Lots more I could rave about but I’ll just add that Arc’s Karkats are the hottest and most based out there. Again all his stuff is really good - this one is my favorite, but don’t miss this really cool magic artisan AU also.

The meteorstucks:

Aahhh there’s no way this is gonna be complete because I’ve read like hundreds and I get them confused but these are some that stand out. In case you haven’t notice already this list is gonna be very davekat centric!

Keep It Down by sburbanite - chef’s kiss concept and execution just read it

A Xenological Exploration of Music and Language by superbloom - super fun and well written with neat headcanon - and turned me on to some great music

I’m actually gonna just declare this section unfinished for now - I need to revisit these and remind myself what’s what - stay tuned!

Illustrated

Since you liked HoD you might be looking for more comic-y stuff with art. Definitely check out @chthonicarcher’s amazing davekats! Such as That’s All We Are

Dream a Little Dream of Me by koroke - this is just a little dream bubble comic but it’s simply the loveliest and I’m massively envious of the art style

Gonna Need Some Windex by the End of the Year by magniloquentChanteuse - more artistic storytelling just neat!

More

It’s About Time by @laurasauras - this is a sweet cute lovely little time travel davekat that I actually sent to a friend to read who knew nothing about HS and successfully led them into the fandom. (Followed by AU by Unda). Laurasauras is prolific and there are so many great fics written by them I can’t list them all here but they are one of my absolute favorite authors. Their understanding of the strider psyche is absolutely impeccable

The Worst Goddamn Movies Ever Fucking Made by writerbot - this fic brought me so much hilarity and joy I can’t even tell you. The Karkat voice is perfect and delightful and the social media interludes are so fucking funny and impressive. One of the first fics to show me how creative and funny this fandom can be.

I’m surely going to add to this - there are so many more meteorstucks and other authors I know I’ll think of after I post this - but I don’t want to spend too much longer on this now when you could be reading some of this great stuff! ENJOY!!

[iffondrels-library]

Silly little things I get to be excited about because I love these games so much. I've been waiting a LONG time for a brand new 2D Zelda, and I've been really enjoying the LA remake lately, so this is everything to me.

Locations! Gerudo Town and the jungle area! It's so charming to see places from the botw/totk games modeled in this style!

Returning enemies! Hello again, deku babas, it's been a while! Flying on a peahat is so cute – no clawshot needed this time! And... the original redeads. Even as a friendly little chibi, they still intimidate me. They have the wooden masks of OoT and the hoop earrings of WW.

BUSINESS SCRUB BUSINESS SCRUB

I fucking LOVE deku scrubs, they're my favorite monster/race in the whole series! LOOK AT MY GUY!!!

Using a blade trap like a spinner??? This is absolutely delightful. We get to ride these silly little things.

YEEEEEESSSSS!!! We finally get to see a confrontation between river zora and ocean zora! This is HUGE to me. It might establish why certain eras have one or the other or both. I think only the Oracle games featured both kinds before now? Depending on where this is in the timeline, this could be either the river zora moving into the lands or them being pushed out. The river zora society was first featured with a queen back in LBW – they're not so much enemies, but just really territorial.

This is not the botw/totk Deku Tree! Its face looks exactly like OoT, and it has the same type of foliage, too! The Triforce podium mirrors the one in korok forest, though. I wonder if it's the OoT tree or if sprouts after him, like the one in WW, will eventually grow to have that same sort of face? Either way, it's very nostalgic.

Finally, pyromaniac Zelda. Love to see it.

At first I thought that with the return of the og Ganon, with his signature armor and trident, that the Hero of Legend was being dragged back into this. But it looks like a new iteration of the characters! And that's fantastic!

I'm so ready for this game to drop!

[anony-mouse-writer]

I’m thinking about tears of the kingdom again while watching afterthought’s video on how they handled the sequel and I’m sitting here thinking, you know what would have been good?

Like I love ganondoodle’s take with addressing the difference in the gloom and how it related to the shiekah tech, don’t get me wrong.

But if they wanted to give us Wild doing the adventure again, they could have just.

Sent Link back.

Instead of sending back Zelda, send Link. Make Rauru less OP maybe? and have a version of Link that has been massively damaged and is now stranded in the past with no master sword, no shiekah tech, no walking armory of OP weapons or fairy-blessed armor, and a 10 thousand year old version of the guy he just killed, except this one is a strategist with an army instead of a feral dust cloud with a possessed army of half-rotted tech.

Give us Link having to fight his way back up from the top, facing older and more dangerous versions of the monsters he knows and staring up at floating islands that he’s never seen before.

Everyone he meets is new, but most are hauntingly familiar, and maybe a few of the older beings, like the Deku Tree, even recognize that he’s out of place here.

Give us more weird battle strategy stuff like the siege on Gerudo, except this time, it’s helping a group of Gerudo at an oasis protect their fledgling trade camp from Gibidos or even helping the king of Hyruke repel an enemy invasion of a fort.

Give us Link helping a Zora sage protect her temple from a corrupting spirit that threatens her home and hunting down what could be poisoning the Gorons, sneaking through with potions made from half-familiar ingredients.

So much of TOTK is spent telling us that Ancient Things are returning, but they could have given us so much of that by just sending Link to the past. We could have avoided the awkward ‘everyone only kind of knows this kid who saved the kingdom that they definitely met and interacted with significantly’ AND it would have left the perfect opening for Queen “massive fucking history nerd” Zelda to find traces of Link in the little surviving history and going to the dragons or the Deku Tree or the goddesses themselves to try and pull him back to her time, but failing due to her lack of skill with her time powers, only serving to link their souls, but needing to do more before she could pull him back. It would have given her an opportunity to see her interact with her kingdom and see how much she did or did not rely on Link to help her navigate the world. Everyone’s stilted conversations make much more sense if they’re talking to royalty rather than a half-feral knight.

Now she’s the one who has to prove herself to the koroks with all their puzzles and maybe you could even have the shrines be Zonai tests of intellect and Link learns things or gains abilities, some of which he can’t use, but Zelda can through their soul link by connecting at dragon shrines that survived to present day in a system similar to the dragon tears.

[journalsouppe]

THE WIND WAKER AHHHHHHHH I love this game SO much, ranked right below OOT and MM for my all time favorites.

One of my biggest critiques of the game is that I wish Aonuma was given the proper time to develop the game since you can tell that there should be more but a lot was cut out for time constraints. Still an incredible game but what I would give to have a full scale sequel or the full scope of the original game T^T!!!

Writing typed below as well as my game notes! (Game notes won't be typed since it's just a mess of notes for puzzles and things to come back to)

Rating: 9.0 Played: Su 2023 Recommended by: Rylan Version: Original Port: (originally Dolphin emulation but bought a Gamecube and OG TWW bc the emulator kept crashing)

Comments

iPad kid... my son (about link)

love Mkaar

THE LITTLE ANIMATIONS

ww Ganondorf is my favorite

LOVE YOU ARYLL

the kids are adorable

the music and SFX are SO CUTE!!!!!!

the actual GC version is much better than emulating

Link's too small for the door i_i I love him

ooo the upside down triforce in outset

I like the wind waker (the instrument lmao)

oo god of winds

ooo you can control seagulls?

MASSIVE pig...

PEAHATS? >:(

oo a cauldro lemme climb in -> THEYRE SAVE POINTS!!

DARKNUT AND ARMOS

I HATE GOHMAS

link is just a sweet little guy T-T <3

inch resting great deku tree

STUPID 25 LETTERS

LOVE the syrup Korok

LINK IS THE SAME HEIGHT KOROKS

how long has hyrule been flooded and how old is zelda? why is there a statue of link...

Oooo did Link from OOT speak a different language with the Great Deku Tree? (bilingual king)

ooo I love that King of the red lions joins you at the tower of gods

magic is in this game *eye emojis*

ooo ganon's tower theme when stormy

all the OOT sages in stained glass omg :)

NOT TETRA'S PIRATES HOLDING THE BOMB GUY HOSTAGE

there's a lot to process at the cabana

TETRA IS LIKE 10 YOU CREEPS

HYRULE CASTLE THEME

i'm forever haunted by the floormasters

why did zelda lose all of her melanin

is the king of red lions actually the king of jyrule?

PHANTOM GANON DEAD MANS VOLLEY FUCK

the return of tingle...

ZELDA 2 STORY

moe the MOBLIN?

MAKARS WALK T-T

THE MEOW

schooner

love the maze idea

ghost ship next to me!!!!

GANON MOLDORM

I love this game so much holy shit. What a perfect sequel to the Hero of Time story, what a great continuation of Ganondorf's motive. I definitely wish there was more, esp dungeons and zora and towns, but this game was made pretty quick after MM and on the GC so I know there are limitations. Everything from Link, Tetra, the sound effects, the stylization, the Rito, the Koroks, Ganondorf, oh my god I absolutely adore it. Everything about it is so unique yet having the core Zelda elements within it. I also noticed how many future games took a lot of inspiration from this game, esp TP and TOTK. I also love how involved Tetra/Zelda is to the plot, Link could not have succeeded without her help, esp in the final battle and when saving Aryll. This game gives so much personality and background to Link and Tetra, every single cutscene is such a delight. This would be a super replayable game if my GC wasn't so wonky. Hopefully it'll come back to the switch. I love this game :')

[luimagines]

Four's spouse being absolutely terrifying when mad is very accurate. Not much really pisses them off except when it involves their loved ones are hurt, food waste and their current catch being chased away like the Gohma scaring off the boar. Otherwise Reader is mostly nonchalant.

Four does ask his lover to throw him on a few occasions, mainly when adventuring as the married couple are quite the tag team. Both fight completely in sync even when the Colors are thrown into the mix. So Wind and Wild asking for Reader to throw them wouldn't be much of a problem if they have a destination in mind.

Warriors: You're seriously going to oblige them?!

Reader: If they know where they want to go and have a way to land. My husband does this whenever we explore a dungeon together.

Wind: *takes out the Korok Leaf* Toss me as high as you can and I'll land on the roof!

Reader: *tosses the teen 60 ft into the air*

Twilight: WHAT THE????!

Wild: That is AWESOME!

(Wind does land safely and got scolded by Twilight. Wild also gets tossed too while Sky contemplates on asking.)

Reader's strength is the most insane thing about them. Combat chefs don't fight with their bare hands as its a chef's most important tool. You can't cook without them. They are a close range fighter so Reader uses their legs to fight.

One technique that Four's love tends to use is called Sky Walk. This skill allows Reader to literally walk on AIR and can only be taught by a master. Our heroes find this out when Wild spots something odd on his Sheikah Slate.

Wild: WHAT THE FUCK?! FOUR, HOW IS YOUR SPOUSE WALKING ON AIR?!!

Hyrule: I'm sorry what?

Time: *uses the Lens of Truth and sees Reader is actually walking to the house on nothing* Smithy, did you marry a god???

Four: Reader isn't a god. They're just using Sky Walk, a super secret technique. Like this! *begins walking on air*

Warriors: DEAR HYLIA!

Four hasn't really mastered the technique as it takes a few years so he can only walk at least 30 ft before he has to touch the ground. The looks on his comrades' faces are hilarious though. Smithy literally hid such a technique that would make any pitfall traps worthless.

Now Dink is most likely the type to use the heroes' loved ones to his advantage. When the Chain are traveling through Warrior's Hyrule Fields they did not expect a Dodongo to come crashing down with a footprint deep in its chest. All of them knew only one person could do this and rush to where it came from.

Surrounded by Taluses, Dodongos, Darknuts and Hinoxes was an absolutely livid Reader. One of the Links were quick to spot the abnormal nervous Darknut in the group, Dink who's currently regretting his decision. Especially when Reader's lower half of their legs ignite a fiery orange coat. They flames didn't seem to harm them but clearly burn the ground.

A sign that has Four split and push his comrades away a good distance from the fight cause he knew what is about to happen.

Green: The shadow really done it now!

Legend: What's going on?!

Vio: Diable Jambe, one of our lover's more destructive techniques. Trust us when we say you don't want to get hit by that!

Reader: My food is burning because of you bastards! Only fair that I return the favor! Diable Jambe- Party Table Kick Course!

Everyone watches as the chef lets loose scorching hot kicks with a handstand while spinning. The heat alone melted the Stone Talus and scorch the nearby ground. When Reader was done, all that remain was ash and a large patch of burnt ground. Dink definitely fled albeit badly burned but learn a huge lesson.

DON'T PISS OFF READER.

Oh my goodness... no kidding.

Reader is a force to be reckoned with.

....They just round house kick the hoard of enemies with hell fire....

AND THE FOOD WAS BURTN D:<

Dark Link better not come back! How dare he!!!!!!

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

First Impressions (will be adding as I play)

DOMESTIC ZELINK THEH ARE SO FUCKING CUTE (like PLS he is such a gentleman and is still a short king, we stan— and Zelda always worried about him 🥺)

Link lost an arm to protect Zelda. My guy sets a HIGH BAR

Once I fully understand zonai devices it’s over for you bitches

Rauru my main man gets a love interest. What a dude

NOOOO NOT THE WAY THE MASTER SWORD GOES TO ZELDY IN THE PAST IM SO AHSJKDJSBAHSJZ I MISS FI SO MUCH

yo Hyrule be lookin DIFFERENTT AND OMG EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR ZELDA AND LINK

Fucking SHOOT ME IT WOULD BE LESS PAINFUL THAN SEEING HOW MUCH EVERYONE CARES ABOUT THEM LIKE ????? GODDDDDD

DID A TREE JUST FUCKING ATTACK ME WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF SHIT IS THIS those scrubs really upped themselves ig

TULIN MY CHILD IVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED THAT IS MY SON!!!!!! THATS MY BOY!!!!! lol I love that the game points you towards Rito first bc no matter what the game wanted me to do, I was going to Rito village first bc I wanted to see all my CHILDRENN

Where the FUCK is Kass.

Not me avoiding both the entire East portion of the map in preference of going to Gerudo to see Riju

YOOOOO GIBDOS????? Need the suns song

OH LIGHTNINGGGGGG interesting I am DIGGING THIS and we get to go into Gerudo without disguise???? BANGERRRRRRR

I want my HORSE 🥲 silence my trusty white stallion where art thou

I’ve made it to Hateno and I’m fucking sick of these Koroks, like get up you lazy tree spirit are you fucking KIDDING me

ZELDA’S HOUSE!!!!! IS!!! THE!!!! HATENO!!!! HOUSE!!!! THEY LIVED TOGETHER!!! We been knew but OH MY GOD ITS SO FUCKING OBVIOUS WITH ALL THESE IMPLICATIONS. HIS HAIR TIE. THENEW TUNIC. THE KIDS DRAWING OF ZELDA. I AM GOING FERAL THEY ARE SO GODDAMN DOMESTIC

Yo where the FUCK is Kass.

Okay okay I’m having a time with paragliding so I’m just going to do Rito Village’s thing so I can get Tulin’s power

Lmao they’re not gunna kill off the babies like they did with the last champions…. Right?

LOL OKAY OKAY COOL THEY WONT CRISIS AVERTED but MAN I’ve fucked myself bc it is nearly 5a and my sister is coming over at 8a 💀

my HORSEEEE I HAVE MY HORSE BACK yo that is TRULY the best thing I missed my horse so much

Okay now I’m going to do the tears of the dragon quest bc WOOOOOHWEEEEE I miss Zelda

This was a fucking mistake it is 3am and I have to be up in four hours for work and I’m SOBBING bc ZELDA HAS SACRIFICED SO FUCKING MUCH I CANNOT DEAL WITH THIS LIKE WHAT THE FUCK NINTENDO

At least I have the sword 🥲

I’m loving everyone sending asks and talking to me about this game I love each of you SO MUCH… not as much as I love Tulin and Riju but still LOL

Yo I’m so fucking sad bc of Zelda rn I think I’m just gunna get a shit ton of shrines and explore the depths

THE DEPTHS ARE SO FUN AND COOL!!! I also think I found a temple in eldin ???? COOOOOOOOLLLLL !!!!!

What’s not cool? Yunobo being all macho macho man bruh when that is not the sensitive little Goron I know and love. Marbled rock roast? Sureeee Cuz that’s not suspicious.

Okay I’m going to avoid Zora’s domain and head to the great plateau…. Why the fuck is the Old Man’s Cabin inhabited by the Sheikah what the fuck is this

Okay so the Yiga are just camped out in Akkala too??? Bitches. Next thing you know Kohga is alive and in the depths LMAO

Now I’m going to Zora’s Domain bc it’s my last pit stop before I actually continue the story LOL… scratch that Imma head to Tarrey Town and see how the fam is doin! And !!! Hudson has a daughter!! Guess that answers my question as to how long it’s been between games lmao

I keep procrastinating Zora’s Domain OOOOFT but I’ll go there now for reals—Sidon is engaged??? Man was like “Omg bestie it’s been forevs btw this is my fiancé” like damn okay how long has it been since Link went to Zora’s domain

I’ve been searching for Kass and I’m having major doubt atp 🥲 I want my beloved songbird back

OKAY DUNGEON TIMEEEEE Imma do Yunobo and while I know it wants me to save Riju for last I simply cannot stay away for long so I’ll go there next!

Yo these temples are fire I got majorly concerned with the Wind Temple but it genuinely makes sense to have a more familiar groundwork for players to begin with that’s just different enough that you notice so it prepares you for the more complex classic Zelda dungeon twist the rest of them have

I’m annoyed all of their abilities require me like ‘asking’ their spirits rather than having a function button to summon it at will

Except for tulin bc he is my child and all is forgiven. And Riju bc she’s pretty and I love her

DID I FUCKING MANIFEST KOHGA BEING ALIVE AND IN THE DEPTHS?????? BITTTTCCCCHHHHHH I thought these people be straight up loyal but nah he ain’t dead, just chillin in the depths

Yo I thought I was at the end of the game but nope I find out that the Zelda I’ve been chasing is a puppet WOW who would have guessed 🙃

BUT THE WAY GANONDORF WAS LIKE “using her made it so easy to lure you into traps” like my man KNOWS

Okay okay fifth Sage down and now I’m going to the Hyrule castle chasm

Was no one going to tell me this might be difficult bc I’m just tryna sneak through but that ain’t happening LOL

I’m going to shower and eat dinner and THEN I’ll beat the game

Oh my god we back at the place we started I LOVE FULL CIRCLES

I’m going to fucking sob this has been such a good fight!!! Getting to use the master sword the entire time >>>>>

(Even though i legitimately used a lynel bow and bombs to deal most of my damage to Ganondorf… don’t judge me I am ✨strategic✨ and I only managed fo do real damage if I did arrows, arrows, dodge dodge dodge, flurry rush, backpedal it up)

ZELDA BEING MY HOMIE IN THIS DRAGON FIGHT WE LOVE TO SEE IT !!! She makes me so happy she went straight for Link to save him bc that’s simply instinct

🥹🥹🥹🥹IM SOBBING THIS IS SO FUCKINNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG THIS IS SO GOOD I LOVE HER AND I LOVE THAT WE GET TO DIVE AFTER HER AND ACTUALLY CATCH HER 🥹🥹🥹

Lifting her out of the water… Zelda waking up to the feeling of a warm loving embrace… telling Link “I’m home” and that she has “so much to tell” him… I’m going to need another box of tissues bc I be EMOTIONAL

Awe all the sages pledging themselves to Zelda

Link just being a silent supportive boyfriend bc homeslice can and will do everything to protect Zelda (and okay he already did a ceremony for this but let me have my shipper goggles on)

I’m just going to say it. This might be my favorite game. And I’m a diehard Majora’s Mask fan. Like that’s been my favorite for a WHILE. I miss the simplicity for some of the game mechanics but thoroughly enjoy the new creations we can make. I also understand zonai devices now so when Kass comes in the DLC it’s over for y’all

Anyway botw/totk zelink is canon and no one can change my mind

[motionpicturedemise]

myth's game writeup of 2023

i waited until the new year to finish this in case i managed to beat a game during december. i did not. ANYWAY.

this will contain new games as well as games i only got around to in 2023. light on spoilers but be warned

Octopath Traveler II (2023)

as far as i remember, this was the first new game I played this year, and god did it deliver. I've been a fan of octopath since the first one came out on switch in 2018, counting it as my favorite game of all time, so to have a sequel after all this time was thrilling. it did almost everything octopath 1 did and better. new path actions, day/night system, branching stories, fucking boats?? incredible.

my biggest gripe has to be the new hidden classes. I started with throne so getting inventor 10 minutes after my chapter one did definitely fuck up the progression a little bit. I think I preferred ot1 hidden classes. while the dungeons were underwhelming, the boss battles really make you fight for these secret techniques, something absent in 3 out of the 4 hidden classes of octopath 2.

overall: 4/5 BP.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (2023)

xenoblade 3 as the end of the klaus trilogy really didn't sit well with me, for reasons that don't belong on my review of its dlc, but future redeemed fixed nearly every problem i had with base xc3 — both story and gameplay wise. it ties every xenoblade game and even some of gears and saga into a neat little 40 hour bow, and is truly a love letter to the entire series. I can only think of one problem I still have with it. the fucking menu music.

where do i even fucking start with this one really. relatively speaking, I'm a new xenoblade fan, having started xc1 in march 2022 during a harrowing experience with adhd meds, and since then it had kinda consumed me. I finished it in about a week, went on to watch xenoblade 2 because I had heard the gameplay wasn't great, and got my hands on xenoblade 3 day of release.

overall: 5 dance apples.

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

as someone who was not immune to the hype surrounding botw, I had high hopes for the sequel. hopes that were painfully, slowly, fed into a trash compactor over my playthrough. this is another game I got on release day, lining up outside gamestop in the heat, and lets not forget that it's the only first-party switch game with a price tag of seventy bucks.

the game plays like a tech demo. I have a lot of love in my heart for it. the story was better that botw, the world was more expansive than botw, but the problem here is that everything it does is directly compared to breath of the wild. it doesn't get enough time to shine, because we're in the exact same world as 6 years ago, but instead of pinkish black malice we have blackish pink gloom. i much prefer the runes to the zonai abilities, and the sense of wonder that permeated breath of the wild is replaced by a sense of nostalgia that just doesn't appeal to me much.

all of this isn't to say it's a bad game. I think it's a great game, honestly, but a great game that wasn't meant for me. I've seen the insane shit people do with ultrahand, but it just... isn't my style.

overall: 441/1000 korok seeds

Pikmin 4 (2023)

it's pikmin. i dont have much to say about it. it was a lot of fun, loved that part where i bulborbed all over those guys. im not a gameplay reviewer, at heart i mostly talk about story, and a game like pikmin doesn't have much for me to comment on. good fun. lived up to expectations. probably wouldn't replay.

overall: 7500 sparklium

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (2017)

oh, stormblood... the rage you still fill my veins with. I'm not going to spend too long on this one because I have better things to do with my life than shit on an expansion everyone already hates, but let me make it clear I actually do have reasons for disliking it.

having ala mhigo built up since the very start of a realm reborn, only to have half of the ala mhigo expansion take place halfway across the star, was very disappointing. the monotony of the three areas in gyr abania compared to the three far east areas was very disappointing. the treatment of the people of the steppe and honestly that entire segment in the main story quest was very disappointing. hien, as a character, in his entirety, was very disappointing.

I will say it had strong parts. the 61-70 quests for several jobs were the strongest in their entire story (see: dark knight). the dungeons started to get more interesting. it gave us the quest Child Labor, which is hilarious and I'll never be finishing it because I want it there forever.

overall: 1/3 WHM Lillies.

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (2019)

ffxiv immediately got better the second 4.0 was over. even the patch quests instantly shot up in quality. it's not even funny. the lead up to shadowbringers was the most fun I had had with the game since a realm reborn, and all of the first was heartbreaking to go through even though I was spoiled on That Character's Identity.

the duty trust system (is that what it was called?) made dungeons much more fun. getting to go through hell with alphinaud alisaie and thancred made everything 10x better, even if it was a lot slower. the story, again, heartbreaking — ryne's arc in particular felt like being stabbed by thousands of little needles while trying to play. in the best way, of course. and amaurot... amaurot. getting to quote our favorite knight in there was my 8th umbral calamity.

shadowbringers also marks when a lot of your job's functionality is really unlocked, so doing the level 80 raid series was genuinely a ton of fun. and again the thousands of little needles. i cried at least 7 times during the main story.

overall: 85/100 kenki gauge.

Katana Zero (2019)

possibly my favorite game this year. the protagonist, zero (or as i like to call him, katana from zero,) ticked all the boxes for a character I'd be absolutely obsessed with. true enough, i fell in love. the fast-paced gameplay, the diegesis of gameplay elements which would typically go unquestioned, and the care that seeps through every dialogue choice all solidify katana zero as one of my favorite game experiences ever. I'll leave it at this, because I encourage everyone to at least give it a try.

overall: Yes, that should work.

Fire Emblem Engage (2023)

this is one of the few 2023 releases on this list that I didn't get on launch, because at the time I had relatively little interest in fire emblem as a series. then I made a lot of friends who enjoy it, and in october, bestie sen decided to buy it for me as an early birthday present. everyone say thank you sen.

considering this is my first fire emblem game, i have absolutely no deeper insight into how it matches up compared to the others, and plenty of people more eloquent than me have already talked about that. what I do know is that the gameplay was surprisingly fun as my first tactical rpg, and the story was passable. all the characters were appealing in one way or another, and I'm still mad I had to choose between marrying kagetsu or fogado. they're both my husbands at heart.

overall: I didn't internalize enough of this game to come up with a clever rating.

Fire Emblem Engage: Fell Xenologue (2023)

I was expecting the dlc to continue the main story, so I put it off until I had finished the base game. in hindsight, I regret it, because I'd love to have brought the winds and twins with me to fight their evil versions and alternate universe dad. the story was... alright. I really liked all the small battle interactions between fell characters and our party members which they would've known. I instantly recognized fogado in chapter 1 because I am in love with him by the way.

overall: i dont know. 1¾ dragonstones

with 2024 upon us, I'll probably be writing reviews for games as I play them. I'm trying to use tumblr more as a social platform instead of just reblogging. we'll see how that plays out. if you like any of these games (yes, even tears of the kingdom) please talk to me about them! that's all for now. look out for my mangled thoughts on SANABI and Nier: Automata next :)

[cawcawbak]

I love it when people say that Ganondorf can't be complex and they're happy to swallow the one-dimensional totk version of Ganondorf who is evil for the sake of being evil, just like when they mindlessly go eat at McDonald's without thinking about what they're eating (I love going to McDonald's btw but I know it's shit).

WW Ganondorf is proof that Nintendo is capable of making the character interesting without excusing his actions or making him a good guy. In just five sentences, he has made a big impact on us and changed our perception of the character. And his wish was actually to rule over Hyrule and "expose this land to the ray of the sun" rather than EteRnAL DarKNeSs like a fucking edgelord (I will NEVER take seriously a villain who wants darkneeeeessss™ unless some exception)

The most interesting debates I've read are on Tumblr. On other social media, either people constantly thirst after Ganondorf's appearance (which I understand lol), or they mock those who try to initiate a discussion and express a critical opinion about the game and the character.

As a fan of Ganondorf, I am disappointed with how he was treated in the game. No one in Hyrule knows him except for a few, and everyone doesn't care that their world is on the verge of being destroyed by the demon king. He is mostly present and imposing during the cutscenes, but in the present, we only see him two or three times as a mummy before the final battle (although the mummy version is pretty cool). He is more bland than OOT Ganondorf, and I find it incredible that in 2023 they were capable of doing something lazier than a grotesque 90s caricature (I love OOT but his chara design makes me feel uneasy)

Was it really that difficult for Nintendo to take inspiration from Wind Waker Ganondorf? And don't give me the excuse of "yes, but in WW he had time to reflect on his actions because he was defeated and sealed by Link and Zelda" because here it's a different Ganondorf and he could have very well reflected in his hole while we were torturing koroks wondering around Hyrule.

His relationship with the Gerudos is completely off. There is no justification for his people turning against him when they were loyal to him before he obtained the secret stone (please don't give me the argument of "but because he became the demon king" it's dumb). I hope that'd be explored further in a potential DLC

At least the final battle is sooooo great! But I think he's too hot and not scary enough because of that but anyway.

WELL, that was just my rant. I still LOVE Ganondorf, I love every Ganondorf. But seeing people belittle those who try to talk about how they feel about the game and pull arguments like "But Ganondorf is 100% evil" or "Those who think Ganondorf is redeemable are the ones he's gonna manipulate lololol im so MuCh smArtEr thAN ya" just piss me off (I really can't stand the last ""argument"" it's just proof that those who said that don't understand anything to the debate)

[affogato-analysis]

I love botw koroks

I think they’re so cool, unironically. So i wrote about that in some analyzing idea idk y’all i think it’s neat

(spoilers btw for botw and part of totk)

(hence the cut here)

More accurately, I have so much love for the ones in Hyrule Castle, even more so since I made it to the Lost Woods in totk. like wym my little leaf friends were hurt get back here you son of a bitch

I love what they seem to represent, very much in a depoliticized manner (i’ll make it make sense): resistance.

Koroks in Hyrule castle are looking at Calamity Ganon and laughing. They play hide and seek games around its prison, they will be the first on its path to destruction and the corrupted guardians are all over the place.

(Full disclosure, I have no idea if they can die, but they can be scared of monsters and Hestu had his maracas stolen so I guess they can be hurt.)

So it’s reckless of them to be here, you’d think every living being not corrupted and/or engineered by the calamity would run off but not the koroks.

no they’re children playing hide and seek on wasted lands and they don’t care! Maybe they don’t realize but the main point is: the koroks are at Ganon’s doorstep and they laugh and play.

It’s a form of resistance, to laugh despite the threat, to refuse to quiet down and despair. It might not be a conscious choice, maybe they really don’t realize but still, when the Calamity struck, it lost. Despite all the destruction, Hyrule lives.

“In the dark times Will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times” (Bertolt Brecht)

In the ruins of Hyrule Castle, at the worst of the Calamity, there are children and innocence. Across a devastated kingdom there are, everywhere you look, small things still laughing and playing and living.

The koroks, to me, symbolize resilience and the victory of life over Evil, literally. A korok hiding above the sanctum is some of the brightest ‘fuck you ehehe’ i’ve ever seen, and even if the train of thought was ‘ooh hiding spot’ and nothing else, the koroks don’t shake before Ganon, even when they sit right next to it.

The koroks are, symbolically, Hyrule’s survival and victory.

[cloudninetonine]

I want all the Link’s and Zelda’s to have a beach brawl for Player, except it plays out exactly as the Ken fight scene

I'M JUST KEN- I'm sorry I fucking loved the movie so much

Okay but yes, Player's on the sidelines on a beach chair with Epona and Gilda and a korok. Why a korok, you may ask?

I love them

[i-love-hyacinths]

Surprise Zelda Ask ™

What's your favorite loz species? I personally am partial to Zora because they're SO SILLY. NOT A SINGLE NORMAL ZORA EVER EXISTED. All the other species/races are pretty put together and have normal hobbies. Meanwhile the Zora are collecting special interests. My favorite one is Cleff who cannot get enough crabs despite the fact that they shred the inside of his mouth. Tf is up with that guy /pos

Ohhhh ok if we are on about races then the gerudo are fucking badass and I love them so much. The zora are also so funky though. My probably most controversial opinion though is I adore the koroks, maybe it is because I love plants maybe because I just have a soft spot for the little guys but I love them. I spent so long searching for them when I first played the game and although I although I havent finished tears of the kingdom yet as I got distracted by the hades game the koroks were still my little guys and I love making things in tears of the kingdom for the little guys so honestly they are probably my favourite species

Cleff is the reason those billions of snow crabs disappeared new theory