RF Generation Message Board

It is my honor to have been asked to join the ranks of the Playthrough Committee and bring you the Retro Community Playthrough for the month of February 2015.  I couldn't have asked for a better game to kick off my hosting duties.

Released in 1992 for the SNES, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the third installment in The Legend of Zelda series.  After the more experimental Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on the NES, A Link to the Past is a return to form for the series.  Improving upon the already excellent original game in many ways, A Link to the Past established many series conventions that would be utilized in many of the later Zelda games.

Platforms
SNES
Game Boy Advance
Virtual Console

Checkpoints
Week 1 - Obtain the Master Sword
Week 2 - Complete the Swamp Palace
Week 3 - Complete the Ice Palace
Week 4 - Finish the game

Note:  For the purposes of the weekly checkpoints, the Dark World dungeons are done in their proper order as they are numbered on the world map.  The dungeons do not necessarily have to be completed in this order.

Achievements
1.   Get attacked by a swarm of angry chickens!
2.   Find Chris Houlihan’s Top Secret Room (not accessible in GBA version)
3.   Upgrade the Boomerang to the Magic Boomerang
4.   Upgrade to the “1/2” magic meter
5.   Fully upgrade your bomb (50) and arrow (70) capacity
6.   Obtain all 4 bottles
7.   Obtain the Bombos, Ether, and Quake Medallions
8.   Obtain the Golden Sword
9.   Obtain the Cane of Byrna
10.  Obtain all heart pieces and containers

Participants
Addicted*
cverz2 (1, 3, 5)
Disposed Hero* (1-10)
douglie007 (1, 3)
ericeskapade
Fleach
GrayGhost81* (3, 5, 6, 7, 9)
Gredler
JerryGreenwood* (1-9)
MetalFRO
nupoile* (1-10)
russlyman
singlebanana* (1, 3-9)
Wempster
zcrich01

I'm in. Never played the game. I'm playing the Game Boy Advance port and so far I love it. A few hours in and I haven't had that dreaded "what the hell am I supposed to do next?" feeling. That's a big deal for me.

A side benefit is I've been wanting to play something, anything on the GBA since I found an SP 101 at my local thrift store months ago, then Zagnorch was nice enough to send me a charger just for asking, then I got a headphone adapter. So yeah, it's nice to take a break from the 3DS/Vita cycle I've been on for a while.

I played this game many years ago and am excited about revisiting it.

I didn't know this was ported to the GBA. It's also on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console. That's how I'm going to play. :)

I have both the GBA and the SNES versions. However, I've never actually played this game much further than the very beginning sequence. I'm not sure which version I will play, but adult me is excited to give it a try, as kid me was not much on Zelda games as a general rule.

I love this game. My favorite in the franchise. I have played this game a ton of times and beat it lots. I let my cousin borrow my copy, along with some other retro classics, so I will not be joining. Hope everyone appreciates this game as much as I do. Have fun guys!

Feel free to follow the thread and put in some thoughts next month Mike. :)

I am absolutely in.  This game is on my pile of shame and I can't wait to cross it off.

I'm in. I think we have the GameBoy port at work. Never played that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm Back :) ill be doing some zelda

You use that as your avatar and haven't played this game??  EGADS SIR!........ but seriously, happy to have you along to experience it with you for the first time. :D  Be sure to post your thoughts on it through the month of February.

Started playing. Got through the first dungeon. Looking forward to playing this with everyone.

I have to confess that I've watched many speedruns of this game and many more playthroughs. A good friend and I beat it when we were 10 (well, he beat it actually since it was his game) but I'm excited to finally say that I've played and finished LttP.... Even if it's on the Virtual Console.  :shrug:

I have played this game a few times but I never got close to finishing it.  This next month will be it.

Count me in.  This will be my first Community playthrough.  But, This is quite possibly my favorite game of all time.  Can't wait to get started.  Will be playing on my SNES

Awesome, glad you're joining us this month!  Try to make it a regular thing.  :)

Looks like we're gonna have a good crowd this month.  I'll be interested in hearing what you first-timers think of the game and if you love it as much as those of us who have played it before.

I've already started the game and am at the entrance of the third dungeon.  Of course, I spent plenty of time exploring the world and collecting items and upgrades also.  :)

Leave it to the Zelda collector to have not played LttP. :P

Welcome cverz2.

For those of you who don't know, the hosts typically start and finish the playthrough early to sort out checkpoints and ensure that there aren't any snags. We also record our podcast midmonth.

Finished the East Palace yesterday at work. I'm pretty bad at this game so far. It never got me frustrated, but let's just say I had the path from the entrance to the boss pretty much memorized by the time I was actually able to defeat him (them).

The game doesn't get any easier and the dungeons get much more complex. Your best strategy will be to find some bottles and the bug net. Capturing faeries is a real "life-saver" early on.

I have two bottles, but not sure how to use them. Help?

Bottles are multi-purpose.

Spoiler (hover to show)

You can purchase medicine for them at the shops or when you find the net, you can catch certain "critters" to store in them.

I've beaten it at least 3 times and I'll beat it again. I'm in.

Hands down one of the greatest games of all-time, I don't care who you are. An utter masterpiece. My favorite of the series.

It's certainly not an easy game. You'll do yourself a favour by doing some side quests and collecting heart pieces.

So far my experience on the Wii U Virtual Console is that controls are a little floaty or loose feeling. It makes quick reactions or tight room movement a little difficult. I didn't know you could use the analogue stick to control Link. It felt weird when I experimented with it. Nothing beats the good ol D Pad.

I think this game has a very nice level of difficulty. Not too easy, not too hard. That goes for puzzles and combat. There are a few tricky puzzles and a few tricky bosses, but nothing anyone should need a walk-through for (unless you want 100% completion).

I agree, the difficulty is pretty well-balanced.  It get's tougher as you progress, but you also get better items to use, armor/magic upgrades, and more hearts.

That's a really good comment. It's true that you evolve as a player and get better items as the game gets more challenging. Nothing is so out of reach to make someone frustrated. Though I will admit that I loathe the low health sound.

more or less, than crying baby Mario?

Equally. I don't know why but I just don't like that sound and it makes me feel so frantic.

Carry around an extra faerie to reduce your stress levels. ;)

I had to look that up. It's not as bad as the Pokémon low health sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLsHg65zGIk

Hi All, Douglie invited me to join in from the AtariAge chat, and I would love to play. I will be playing my original launch cart on the SNES. I just finished Link Between Worlds earlier this month, so I've been hankering to go back and play LTTP again :D

Awesome!  Welcome aboard!  :)

Very, very nice! Welcome to the site. Enjoy the playthrough and we hope you'll stick around. I too will be playing the SNES, but on the Retron5. :D

How's that working out? I've heard mixed reviews.

The only negative I have heard so far, is a guy locally that returned his to Crabby's store. I don't think he could quite grasp, that you need to hold the power in for what seems a little long, to power it up. I personally love mine a LOT.

I love it!  Gameplay is the same, I can use my SNES controller to play, and it looks stunning in HD. I've played several games on it already (NES, Famicom, and SNES for far) and nothing negative to report.

Sounds like I'll need to pick one up...

I'd love to play through something with you guys, but too much on my plate right now. I've seen plenty of speedruns and know the game fairly well, so I'll follow along and see if I help nudge people along or answer any questions.

Thanks, that HD sounds good! (wish it played Master System games!) I've had terrible experiences with other 3rd party machines, most notably the controller ports malfunctioning and the pin-connector gripping onto my games like a gorilla.

I don't want to hi-jack this Zelda thread, but one review I read said "highly recommended…just look out for a bug that wipes save states." That concerns me but maybe he got a lemon.

It does play SMS if you have a Power Base Converter.

I just saw that. It's something to consider.

I'm fairly certain that the power base mini works with it as well, for form factor and convenience (unless you want to play quartet or my hero, etc, the mini does accept card based games)

Since I've earned two endings in 999 already I'm going to devote some time to this for a little while.

Today's session was tough! Once we officially start talking about the game I'll share my experience with everyone.

I think I'm going to get in on this. Every other thread in this forum has a "new" next to it for me since.....well, just because. Link to the Past though, that's a game that can draw me in. Plus I have time off work in February to play.

Several years ago I played 1/2 to 3/4 of this game, I wouldn't give anyone grief for saying it was the best game all time. It's pretty awesome.

I'll probably try and play through the game the first week of next month since that's when I have time off. I'll play on SNES. You know, the Ess-Ness.

Right on man. Happy to have you along.

I wish they would have added the Game Gear Emulation to the Retron 5.  I would have bought it 1st day.

I soooo want to play this, but don't have a copy.  Every time I see it in the wild, it's still $30 or $35 for a loose cart, and I just can't pull the trigger on it, no matter how good the game is, because there are probably more copies of that game floating around than half of the SNES library.  I have some eShop money, maybe I should get it on the VC so I can play on my Wii U.  That would allow me to play it on the Game Pad so my wife doesn't complain about me monopolizing the TV ;D

I can guarantee 100% that you'll be kicking yourself in that a%$ if you don't play with us in February. It's an incredible game and you'll be happy that your first time playing it was with this group. If you have to get it on the VC, do it, but be warned, you'll have to own an original copy in the future. Trending between $25-$30 on eBay. Put up a WTB thread on the forums here and see if anyone has a more affordable copy for sale. Can't hurt.

I'm playing on Virtual Console. It's not bad. If that's the only version that's accessible to you right now, go for it.

By my count, there are 3 people who are participating but haven't played this game yet.

Out of curiosity, why? Where were you guys in 1991-1992? Surely you've all played bad games since then, but not Zelda? Just curious if there is a specific story behind it, like....you were about to play it but then you got kidnapped for 20 years or you've been busy feeding the starving people in Africa.

To me, it's the equivalent of a Rock n Roll enthusiast who hasn't gotten around to listening to Led Zeppelin yet. Just curious :)

I just never liked Zelda games. I'm still not crazy about them. I'm not into trial and error figuring out what to do next, making a ten hour game into thirty or whatever.

Also, now that I'm so heavy into RPGs, I kind of don't like how if you're full on money, health, etc there's no reason to kill any enemies.

I was  a Genesis kid (and 4-5 years old at the time it came out). I didn't have a Super Nintendo until much later and never really got much into Zelda games. I did play Ocarina of Time extensively, but that's about it. I'm eager to finally fully try it out on this playthrough.

There's not a lot of trial and error in LTTP in terms of figuring out what to do next (I can't speak to this on later Zelda games since I haven't really played any other than The Minish Cap). The dungeons are actually marked for you on your map and numbered so that you know where to go next. Also, you're given some helpful hints from NPCs as to where to find certain items you might need in the overworld. Talking to NPCs to determine where to go......oh my..... isn't that an RPG mechanic as well?

Legend of Zelda is an Action/Adventure game, NOT an RPG. We've had this discussion numerous times, and it's a prime example in our Genre guide. ;)

I don't think anyone is arguing that it is a RPG. My point is that like many RPGs, you have to talk to NPCs to determine where to go or find certain items. And there's only one village, so it's not like it's very time consuming.

Yes, so is leveling your character, which is what I was referring to.

I'm just really, really dumb. I just entered the Desert Palace for example and would never have been able to figure out how to get in.

I can understand that and recall that part. A little exploring is necessary, but compared to a lot of games, the world map on LTTP is very small and takes little time to navigate. Still, I can understand your frustration with this part.

The Book of Mudora is probably one of the least intuitive portions of the game, so there's that. The monkey later on may frustrate you as well.


I know. I just wanted to make the statement, since it's been a sticking point concerning Legend of Zelda games in the past. ;)  It was more of just a callback to various threads about what Legend of Zelda game genres should be.

Many games these days span genres, and RPG elements have been integrated into everything including Sports and Shooters.

Sometimes I forget that there were Sega kids and Nintendo kids.

Sounds good. Hopefully you're enjoying it.

I'm very glad you said that. In fact I am enjoying it quite a lot. The fact that I'm playing it on GBA is a big factor, I don't know about the original cart, but you can save any time and boot the game from pretty much wherever you want so there is a huge convenience factor going on that I love.

Sometimes when I criticize or point out things I don't like in a game it comes off like I'm totally hating it. I'm not. It's great.

I was just PM'ing Disposed Hero that my job is closed tomorrow for snow. I'll be playing this and Fallout 3. Could anyone ask for any two better games to be stuck inside with all day?

With the original cart, you can "Save and Quit" at any time. However, you get a limited selection of where you can start when you come back. I assume this is the same for the GBA version or can you pick up right where you left off?

Yeah, it's your house, Sanctuary, or saved place. I like it because it can also be used as a poor man's fast travel system.

Someone asked why some of us have never played Link to the Past before. I was a year old when this came out... But I played it to completion with a friend when we were eight or so.

Yeah... I'm the baby of the group here.

Like zcrich01, I was a Genesis kid once I had my own console, so I focused mainly on action/platformer games, shmups, puzzlers, and arcade conversions.  I bought Link's Awakening DX when I first got my GBC, but didn't get very far into it before I hit a wall and gave up, mostly because I was really into my PlayStation.  Years later, I played a bunch of Ocarina of Time on my brother-in-law's N64, but didn't finish it before he moved away.  I own Majora's Mask, but haven't really played it much, and though I own the original LoZ for NES, I've really only plugged it in to make sure it works.  I've just never been a Zelda fan - it didn't click with me as a kid, and hasn't grabbed me enough as an adult to want to invest time into it.  I do have Wind Waker HD for my Wii U, and plan to play it soon, and I do plan to go back to Link's Awakening at some point and power through it, so maybe getting LttP will be the push I need to finally get into LoZ games.

Part of my frustration is that the price of the game is always in that $25-$35 range, and I'm sorry, but for cart only, I have a hard time plunking down that kind of cash for a game that is IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM even remotely rare.  From what I understand, everyone and their dog who owned a SNES had this game, so there should be no shortage of working cartridges out there.  It's just that the demand remains high, and because it's a LoZ game, it commands a higher price regardless.  Am I crazy for thinking that's too much to pay for a cart only game?  I'm used to paying $5 or $10 at the most for cart-only on most anything, and when I walk into a game shop and they've got some crappy game priced at $15 or $20 cart only, I grumble and haggle and turn into an old curmudgeon.  If I was 14 again, and had money to burn, I'd be happy to spend my $40 or $50 for a shiny new cart complete with box, manual, etc. but as a penny-pinching adult, I find it hard to justify the cost.

In any event, I'll probably buy the Wii U VC version so I can finally experience it (along with Earthbound), and eventually I'll work my way up to owning a cart.  Then again, maybe I'll take singlebanana's advice and see if anyone has a spare copy they'll let go for less than the "going rate" ;D

Started this last night...or attempted to...but died three times in the opening dungeon and turned it off. Have I mentioned how terrible I am at games like this? Haha.

If you are having trouble and get overly frustrated, let me know. I can lead you to the bottles and get you on track to having some reserve health. Once you get a little more use to the enemies, it will get easier.

[img width=459 height=816]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/27/dddd22681666c89092c5ff77242beed2.jpg[/img]  sll ready

New Jersey, huh? We got CRUSHED on the east end of Long Island. We had a travel ban until yesterday late morning. Roads are still bad.

Haha, that's exactly why I asked the question. I assumed everyone and their dog owned this game. That's why I was puzzled that a few people here haven't played it.

I actually think the very beginning of this game is a little difficult. You don't have much room for error and some of the enemies are tough the first time you see them.

I agree in terms of the opening enemies. The guards ability to block with their swords and spears can be frustrating. Getting inside on the opposite side of their weapon is key and the spin attack is your friend.

Gonna most likely try to give it another go tonight if I can keep from continuing to binge-watch Warehouse 13.

Currently working on this son of a bitch:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=500 height=375]http://ocarinaoftimenerd.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/tumblr_m8b6tldlpa1rtc12jo2_500.jpg[/img]

You work that SOB!!

Good luck with that one.  That's probably the most annoying boss in the game in my opinion.

I'll second that. He's not hard, just frustrating. That knock-back is a pain. After six or so tries I finally beat that boss.

Since I'm two endings away from fully completing 999 I'll put more time into LttP.

Eh, I can name at least two bosses that are more frustrating, but I'll save that. We're not even in February yet....

Since I'm sure some of you guys will probably want to get started on this one over the weekend, I went ahead and updated the OP with the checkpoint for week 1.  Have fun!

Is the magic boomerang the red version? Because I did that.

Yep, and it's a huge improvement over the default boomerang.

Agreed! I found out by accident that you can scoop up items with it.

Chucking the boomerang around in The Legend of Zelda or LttP is one of my favorite video game mechanics. Simple, effective, and fun.

Wow, I still can't beat Moldorm!

Yeah, he's annoying.  The best strategy I found was to use that hole in the center of the platform to keep some distance from him, and then when he hits the hole and turns around, pop out and take a swipe at his tail.  Patience is key with this guy.

Also, your spin attack can be used to cover a wider area when you strike. Pretty sure it also inflicts more damage per strike as well.

^ Spin attack, or use the Pegasus Boots to dash at the tail. The important part of the battle is not to fall down the hole in the center, or you'll end up a floor below and have to take on the boss again.

What I was doing, and what the speed runners I've seen do, is holding my sword out and staying close to the thing. This reduces the knock back a ton. 

Holding the sword out isn't going to do a lot of damage. It's fine to do that, just release into a spin attack when appropriate, then dodge and reset sword.

Oh yeah, I just beat the bastard on my lunch.

Nice!

We have the first check point  :l we should start playing today so we will have 30 days :p

EDIT: Update your Tapatalk douglie! The old version doesn't preserve the topic, so it replaces withe topics of your responses with Re: (nothing). Another member ran into the same problem a few months back.
- Shadow

Congrats Ghost! Beating Moldorm is really satisfying. What strategy did you use?

Monday morning. Early. I'm just waiting for the rest of the house to wake up so I can start playing.

I'm going to see how much I can play through today, I'm all set for a long day of gaming  :)

Essentially, I can talk about and post pictures of anything up to the first checkpoint right?

I'm really jealous of you guys up North who are snowed in and getting to game today.....

You're not counting me in with the snowed in people are you? It's 51 degrees, 99% humidity with 100% chance of precipitation today. In other words, it's drizzling off and on with overcast skys, like most every day here.

I get to game because I took this week off work  :)

Got a little past the first checkpoint.

Something I like to do against Moldorm is stay near the bottom and against that wall. He should have a hard time pushing you off to the left or right.

This game is fantastic. The dungeons are genius - they are difficult, but not because you get lost in a boring, mindless maze. The map is easy to understand but it's the switches, floor traps, high and low platforms on one screen, obstacles that require the dungeon treasure, etc. as well as the classic Zelda dungeon mechanics that make it tricky. LttP is a strong puzzle game in this aspect.

@Banana - Don't count me in either. I got snow, freezing rain, and rain. Everywhere you would need to walk is a marsh of frozen slushy water. My socks are soaked and I'm at work :(

I still have to go to work. :(

I can't help myself, count me officially in. I'll be playing via the Wii U VC for now, though I may look for a copy this weekend when I'm in a larger city with a couple game shops.

Being new to this playthrough thing, I think I get to talk about stuff up to the first checkpoint now. I'm not sure though.......


I started playing this morning. I played more than half of this game years ago but didn't finish for some reason.



[img width=550 height=412]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8584/16432860585_a656a5ee76_o.jpg[/img]

Waiting for the others in the house to wake up so I could start playing today was tough. I wanted to get started right away.




[img width=550 height=454]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7327/15810345124_a930dca554_o.jpg[/img]

Clearly someone had to go.....




[img width=550 height=422]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7380/16245200668_13444241ce_o.jpg[/img]

I have no idea who BSM and JIM were but we managed to make room for the newest hero of Hyrule.





[img width=550 height=412]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8594/16431103371_5f16dbf538_o.jpg[/img]

Before all that I spent nearly an hour hunting down the one SNES controller extension I have. Sitting on the couch wouldn't have been possible with just the standard controller cable. It was seriously at the bottom of the last box I had to look through. That was supposed to be the last non-playing thing I had to do. Eventually I found out you have to use the 'start' button to play LttP, who knew?  ::)     That button has always been sketchy on either of the two controllers here. This time they weren't working at all. So I had to take apart a controller and fix it. A long time ago I started cleaning out every new-to-me used game item I brought home. The SNES arrived before that I guess....





[img width=700 height=525]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/15812803583_c74975bfce_o.jpg[/img]

I think someone spilled pop on this at one point.





[img width=640 height=570]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8629/15812803383_468ff983b8_o.jpg[/img]

ICK!



[img width=640 height=587]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/16431102891_976421a78b_o.jpg[/img]

Notice the color coding for the buttons? Interesting. They are also keyed so each of the four are different, you can't swap the places of the two purple ones with each other or the two lavender ones.





[img width=550 height=412]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8662/16431925932_b55834518b_o.jpg[/img]

Back to the game finally..........this happened at some point.





[img width=550 height=396]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7395/16245199738_19d5d0dbcd_o.jpg[/img]

I even got a bad picture of that boss you guys were talking about. It wasn't that he was hard, it was the falling down to the next floor that made him annoying.





[img width=550 height=411]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7435/16431925742_454bcc7476_o.jpg[/img]

So I got this thing. Yay!


Actually I'm now about 1/3 of the way through the game. I played well past that point today too. We'll see how far I get tomorrow.....

I just went all out, doing the holding the button down thing and then going straight back at him as soon as I hit him. I was very aggressive. I ended up not even seeing his "angry" form for the last hit, I got him so fast.

Yeah, typically we only discuss things up to the current checkpoint.  Since LttP is a shorter game and many people are already ahead of the first checkpoint, I imagine it will become a free-for-all before too long.  ;)

Well I'm calling it a night as far as gaming is concerned today. Started LttP yesterday, I've got 6 of the 7 (no spoilers, but they're blue), nearly all the equipment (I think there are two more items) and all but three hearts.

I've finished the game, just now  :)

Look at you having tume to play :) im just now getting the last pendent to get my sword

Ha! I only have time to play because I'm on vacation. That's actually why I made the big push to get done with it because I know I won't have time later.

I've finished all the achievements for this playthrough too.



The only other Zelda game I've played much of is the first one. In that game the Master Sword is mostly a late-game item. Link to the Past has you acquire it much earlier in the game. From a storytelling perspective, what does that do? If your character gets "the most powerful item" from the first story in the series early on, does it lessen it's impact?

In this game specifically I like that you get it earlier on because the enemies are nothing but a nuisance that serve no purpose except to slow you down when you actually want to explore and solve puzzles. I like being able to spam that very powerful projectile to clear a room quickly.

I don't think it harms the story in any way at all, since you can get further upgrades to the sword later in the game. I think these upgrades and the story that surrounds them, only add to the "legend."

Just popped it in. Let's get started.
[img width=700 height=700]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/06/835020aad81800d2db7b859c8ac006ce.jpg[/img]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice! I played it on the Dreamcast too!  ^^^

;)

Do it Russ.

I agree. Besides, that first sword is useless. Link might as well carry a pointed stick.

http://youtu.be/piWCBOsJr-w?t=29s

Update the OP with the second checkpoint.  Also, is it just me or does this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Vi3uRZPhw

...sound awfully similar to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8

Last night I started the game and played it for a good 3 hours or so. I ran through the first two dungeons pretty quickly and easily, but I lost a life to the sand worms, and the moon pearl gave me some issues, but once I remembered how to drop on it properly I could call the third dungeon completed. I actually beat the boss before getting the moon pear, which I dont remember doing when I've played the game in the past.

I grabbed the masster sword, and finished the first darkworld dungeon. I didn't stop to get any extras, just plowed through the first four dungeons. I don't plan on going for extras until late in the game when I have most of the items needed to traverse the entire world.

I haven't played the game in 5 or more years, so the cart had to be cleaned and took a couple tries to load up, but my old saves were on there and it worked fine after booting up.

I also beat the third dungeon boss before grabbing the Moon Pearl.  Also didn't know that was possible and don't think I've ever done that before, but it's been at least 10 years since I've played this game, so maybe I have.

I would do the exact opposite regarding hunting down extra items.  Every time I got a new item that would allow me to access new areas, I would explore the entire world again.  Probably not the most efficient use of my time, but the game starts to get pretty difficult around dungeon 4 or 5 in the Dark World, so getting extra heart containers and item upgrades is really helpful.

So played for two hours the other day.  Went to play again and the save was no longer there. :0(.

Headed to the game store I work at to get a new battery and soldered it in. Hopefully this works and I can get going again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh man, sorry to hear that Russ. That must have been a real downer. Hopefully you can get a new battery and catch up with the playthrough.

3 words. I hate Moldorm

I added this to the OP, but thought I should clarify in case anyone was wondering:

Just finished the first Dark Dungeon. Thought the dungeon itself was kind of a pain, but the boss was awesome. Just beat him by the skin of my teeth too. Rock N' Roll.

Ok had a snow day so no work at the game store. Got a bit of game time in. Got two emulates and the power glove.
[img width=700 height=700]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/02/09/7c784d06afac71cfb4bb417da6e18f2e.jpg[/img]


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The first Dark World dungeon and corresponding boss is one of my favorites in the game.  I also really like the second dungeon and boss fight too.

Be sure to explore a lot and keep an eye out for heart pieces.  Also keep your bottles stocked with fairies (or potions if you prefer).  This game really just gets harder as you go along, so take every advantage that you can get!

I finally got around to starting it up last night.  Got the master sword and the magic boomerang.

Ready for Checkpoint 2.  Probably gonna go explore a little more and pick up some more goodies.

yeah I finally got the Master Sword last night as well. I ended up getting a lot of extra items not sure when your suppose to get them. Picked up the Flippers, and got the Ice Rod.

I found a few heart pieces as well. 

Beat it.

You can tell when developers give beyond 110% into creating a game. I'll wax poetic about it later, but this game goes past the point of excellence. It's so smart! It's so smart!!!!

I'm missing 8 1/4 heart pieces and.....

Spoiler (hover to show)

The blue cane (Cane of whatever) and whatever goes to the right of the blue cane (was there a yellow cane?) I remember the blue cane was just in a random cave somewhere, just can't remember.

Just got the heart piece from the chest game in Outcast Village...on my second try! Woo-hoo!

Yes, Disposed. You're right about "the item to the right". I'll check out where you told me to search for the other thing, thanks!

...and on the digging game, not so lucky, but I got the heart piece and came out ahead, rupee wise.

Just got this on my Wii U a couple nights ago and played some last night for a little while, and then this morning for a bit after breakfast before going to work.  Not too far in yet, but I've got the first pendant already, so I feel pretty good about my progress so far, given my relative inexperience with LoZ games.  I got a hint from the old guy about a "useful item" in a cave to the east of the lake, so I went looking, but it looks like 2 rooms in and you are surrounded by blocks you can move, so not sure what that's all about, but I just barely got there before I had to quit and go to work, so I may have to go give that another look.  I'm enjoying it so far, though I must include myself in the camp that hates the low-health sound.  It is so grating.  Also, the music in that first pendant dungeon is WAY too short and super repetitive.  I don't like it at all.  Thankfully, the rest of the music thus far has been pretty good, including, of course, the iconic LoZ theme music, which I've always enjoyed despite not growing up as a "Zelda kid".  I'm having fun so far, and I felt like that first dungeon boss was manageable enough, since I beat it on the first try, so I feel good about my ability to progress through the game.  Just need to put in the time with it over the next couple weeks :)

Found the last 2 items I was looking for as well as 2 more 1/4 heart pieces. So only 6 left, although I probably won't find them as I feel I've combed over every area pretty well. I know it's a huge task to find all of them....we'll see.

A small tip that I completely forgot about - You can talk to the trees that have eyes and spit bombs out at you. Half of them tell you to buzz off, but some have good info. Also, it's always a good idea to pay 20 rupees to hear "profitable story" from the NPCs. They always have valuable hints. 

@ Disposed Hero - You're right about the Star Wars music. Never noticed it before.

@MetalFRO - Fortunately as you progress and gain more heart containers, you'll have to deal with the low-health sound less and less. It never bothered me, but I can see what you mean. Also, you won't have to deal with that dungeon music for too long, it'll change. If you've passed the first dungeon, I'm pretty sure you have the tools to get that "useful item" which you DO need to beat the game (if we're talking about the same thing).

As for the music....there's a lot to be said about it. I would rate the general song composition as being good, but not great. The Lost Woods is the highlight in my opinion. However, I think the production is top-notch and probably the best of any video game at the time. The majestic trumpets on the title screen blew my doors off the first time I heard it.

Another small, small hint (early game) that people might not know about...

Spoiler (hover to show)

You can throw more than 1 item into the Wishing Well. I think that's tricky because if you've thrown 6 things in that don't work and you finally find the item that does work, you probably won't test the rest of your items.

Somehow I must have not clicked on a thread update email and have been out of the loop. I've been catching up on reading posts and I'm happy to see everyone progressing well. This is a great game and well-deserving of your time. Enjoy!

that room you were in  with the blocks you can't move, you have to go outside the cave and to the left and place a bomb to get there to get the item.

Yep, always be on the lookout for bomb-able walls. They are usually fairly obvious.

I actually didn't notice it while playing LttP.  I just recently finished playing A Link Between Worlds, and the similarity was more obvious there, at least for me.

I also noticed another strong similarity between the ending theme in LttP and a theme from Final Fantasy.  I'm curious if anybody else heard it.

I didn't notice that one, I'll give it another listen.

Yeah, Disposed. You have a great ear! The beginning notes are very very similar.

I really need to sit down and play this game for longer than ten or fifteen minutes at a time. I've only been playing at work, so when I get through a dungeon I feel kind of pressured to beat the boss on the first try, which typically is not happening. Then I have to go back to work, and on my next break figure out how to get back to the boss.

I may have to actually play at home a little this weekend.

Just finished the Swamp Palace. I had to leave the dungeon and bottle up some fairies before going back in for the boss again, and I got nervous because the game gives you the impression that the entire dungeon has reset. Luckily you only have to do the first thing again, and you're good to go.

Yeah, that's the good thing about the game, the dungeons really don't reset. If you open doors with keys or get the big key in a dungeon, you still have them even when you return.

Yeah I was in that dungeon fighting the boss. There was one very similar in A Link Between Worlds. He knocked me off the platform once and you fall down to the floor below. Luckily you can just climb back up and continue the fight where you left off.


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Finally got the last pendant, and then the Master Sword. Made my way to the Dark World, and am now looking to tackle the first dungeon soon. Having fun so far, though the enemies got WAY harder in the Dark World.

Played a little bit the last few days and I have just been running around picking some things up before I start the swamp palace. 

Got attacked by a swarm of angry chickens.
Upgraded my bombs to 50 and arrows to 70. 

I'm gonna load up on potion and go for the swamp palace

yes DIE Helmasaur, DIE! ...puuuh, this fight took me a while...

Yep, a bit annoying hit box. Took me a few goes as well.

I just started playing Majora's Mask on the 3Ds so its going to be fun bouncing back and fourth between Zelda games ha . Waiting till Monday night to pick this up again and start tackling the Dark World.

I forgot to mention I did all the achievements except for finding all the heart containers. Still missing 6 pieces.

Noted.  Some of those heart pieces are pretty tough to find.  I had to resort to using a guide for the last 3 or 4 that I needed.

Holy crap Mothula is a nightmare. Once again I have no healing items and am going to have to go find some fairies at which point I'm sure, as usual, it will trivialize the whole fight.

To me, this is the most aggravating battle in the game. However, I don't think that using healing items trivializes any fight. They have been a staple in the Zelda series from the onset and were put in the game so that people playing could heal. I too like to finish a battle without having to heal, but a boss down is a boss down. Good luck man! Push through. :D

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem with the healing items and they are important and useful. What I mean when I say it trivializes it is that the degree of difficulty between having like seven hearts and no items and having three bottled fairies at the start of the battle is massively different.

I agree. But it could be said for many games. Mega Man has E-tanks, RPGs have herbs/potions/monomates, SotN has potions/food, etc.

If the game gives you a health bar/meter, odds are the game gives you items to replenish it.

The Skull Woods is one of my least favorite dungeons in the game, but I don't recall ever having much trouble beating Mothula.  Did you get the upgrade for your magic meter?  If not, it would be a huge help since you'll be using the fire rod in this fight.

I didn't do the magic meter upgrade because I had no magic dust when I got to the dude.

I'm gonna try to flame rod Mothula until the magic runs out then finish him with the hammer and sword.

And again, I didn't mean to get on a tangent about the role of healing items in video games. I was just saying I don't have any, and I need some. :)

I agree, one of my favorite dungeons, but I hate the boss battle. The moving floor and the spikes.....it's just an erratic and annoying fight IMO.


I'm with you man. I haven't picked up this game in two weeks after getting overly frustrated for continually running out of magic on the boss in Turtle Rock.  I'm going to have to slip out and hit the magic shop. Luckily, I have the doors open and the big key and really know my way around that dungeon now. :P

I have achievement 1 and 3 so far. Im lost in the dark world :) might need to get my walk through book out

So I just beat Mothula. I spent about twenty minutes slashing the same shrub until I had three fairies, but all they did was take the edge off because I didn't even need them.

All you need to do with this joker is position yourself above him and smash his fool head with the hammer a few times.

Onward!

By all means, let's go off on tangents. I'm a little disappointed about the lack of conversation about this game. It's widely considered one of the greatest games of all-time (and many consider it the BEST of all-time) and it's only got one more page than Kid Icarus so far. Allow me to write a lot and try and stir something up.

One of the reasons this game is beyond brilliant are the items. It's the smartest use of items in any video game I can think of. If anyone can challenge it, I accept.

Compare to games like SotN or Super Metroid. Those games have items that you need to obtain in order to pass certain areas, but it's not as clever as LttP.
As far as I can count, SotN has only has 5 items (7 for the average playthrough) that are necessary to beat the game. I'm not counting the Jewel of Open, because it's essentially only a key (which Zelda has plenty of). Two of them are basically one, singular item (the 2 rings), and one of them becomes redundant, the Leap Stone, which is unnecessary after you get the Bat Form.
At the end game of SotN, you only need 2 items to explore the entire map - the Bat and Mist forms. I'm not counting the body parts of Dracula. If I did, then I could count the 3 pendants and 7 crystals in Zelda. Those don't count, because you don't actually "use" those items.

Super Metroid is much better. I can think of 11 items that are necessary for the average playthrough (this includes items that doesn't cover up for tricks like wall-jumping, which as we've discussed, is a tool for speed runs). Again, I am not counting items that act as "keys to doors" like Missiles and Super Missiles, because I'm not counting dungeon keys or big keys for Zelda. Keys aren't really useable items and they don't take any imagination from the developers. As for the 11 items - morph ball, bomb, Varia Suit, Gravity Suit, Missile/Super Missile (you need at least one to damage bosses/Metroids), Super Bomb (I'm counting this because you there is one area where you need it and it's not as blatant as using a key, despite only needing it once), Hi Jump, Speed Booster, Space Jump, Ice Beam, Grappling Beam.
However, like SotN, some of these items become redundant at the end of the game. Space Jump replaces the need for Hi Jump and Grappling Beam.

LttP takes the cake with 18 items (maybe even 20 as I don't remember if you need the Boomerang to diagonally hit some switches or the bow & arrow to kill certain enemies). I won't list the items at the risk of spoiling (plus I've been writing this post for about an hour and I'm getting tired), but only 2 of them become redundant at end game.
At end game, you still need to use 16-18 unique items to explore the entire map. To me, that is astonishing and simply genius. The developers didn't take the easy way out and program into the game; Yellow Key, Green Key, Red Key etc. They thought of 16-18 different obstacles that require a specific item to clear said obstacle. I can't say it enough....genius.

A special :banana: to those who actually read this.

Had quite a productive morning so far. Got my sword tempered. Got the fourth bottle. Got two heart pieces, completing a heart container. Got my bomb capacity to 50 and my arrow capacity to 70. Got to the Ice Palace and am hoping to knock it out on my lunch break.

So now I want to stir the pot. I'm playing with a walkthrough. I am enjoying the game a lot this way and making Link into a gangsta. However the very instant I don't know what I'm supposed to do next I get bored.

Come at me bro.

(While I was typing this Jerry posted his really well spoken thoughts, which I don't have time to respond to at the moment. Just noting it so ya'll don't miss his post above this one.)

@GrayGhost - I personally think the Ice Palace is the hardest dungeon in the game. Even though I beat the game a few times before, I still had trouble figuring it out. And thanks for the kind words.

@Douglie - Where you at? What was the last thing you've done/beaten?

Since you want some conversation on this game...

Having played quite a few of the early Zelda titles, I find it interesting how Link to the Past is integrated into many of the Zelda timelines. An example would be the Ocarina that you can find, which later tied into Ocarina of Time. Has anyone else found items, mechanics, people, or anything else that ties into the other Zelda games?

Ice Palace is done, son. On to Misery Mire.

@JerryGreenwood:  While I won't disagree with your claim about LttP having the most clever use of items in a video game, I've never really given it enough thought to say either way.  I always thought dropping the player into a large world to explore but closing off certain areas until the player obtained the items needed to access those areas was a great and interesting design.  The writer of an old survival-horror blog that I used to frequent coined the term 'recursive unlocking' when describing this concept in games such as Resident Evil (which mostly just uses keys instead of unique items), but I think it applies to games like LttP and Super Metroid as well.


I don't blame you for using a walkthrough.  While I do find it fun and rewarding to try and figure this stuff out on my own (especially in Zelda games), I usually don't waste too much time before resorting to a walkthrough myself.  I may have had the time and patience for it when I was a kid, but we're adults now with full-time jobs and other responsibilities.  We only have so much time to play games at all these days, and most people don't want to spend hours of that time wandering aimlessly when they can easily look up the solution and move on.  And like you said, you're enjoying the game more this way, and that's really what's important.  Isn't that why we play games in the first place?  :P


One theme that I think was introduced in LttP and used in some of the later Zelda titles was the use of a dual world system, that is, exploring the world in its original form and then exploring it again in a different context.  LttP has the Light and Dark Worlds.  Ocarina of Time had the time travel thing going on.  Twilight Princess had the Twilight Realm.  I'm sure there are a ton of other themes and concepts that were introduced in LttP that made it into later Zelda games.

I regularly watch the Youtube channel Game Grumps, and in their current playthrough of Zelda II, they brought up the fact that most (maybe all?) of the town names from that game were reused as character names in Ocarina of Time.  Most long running game series have recurring themes such as these, and it's always cool when you discover them.

Yes! Thanks for backing me up, bro. I'm actually getting a kick out of the fact that I'm playing this game exclusively at work (to do the Ice Palace in one sitting I had to take what I call a "deluxe" lunch, plus I can print the walkthrough for each dungeon on my way to the lunch room :)).

But yeah, I have quite a lot going on right now and hundreds of other games I want to play so this is just the nature of the beast. I kind of wish I had played this back when I was a kid and only owned a handful of games and had all summer to wander around in it, but it makes me think of Monkey Island and how it would take me and my dad like a week just to figure out one damn puzzle. I'm not sure I will ever be able to play a game that way again, but I do indeed have fond memories of it, just not with this particular game.

There's absolutely no problem with using a walkthrough, as long as you're enjoying yourself.

This is so highly relevant, I can't even explain it.  I'm enjoying my time with LttP, what I've been able to put in, but due to work commitments, personal stuff, etc. I haven't been able to play now since last Friday night.  I've been able to squeeze in some real brief Game Boy and PSP time, but sitting down to play LttP, even with the advent of Wii U Game Pad play, and being able to use the save-state feature provided by the Wii U VC, I still feel like I have to have no less than an hour or two of awake time to sit and play, primarily because it's my first time through.  Tonight when I get home from work, I'll have supper, spend some time with my wife, and then go to my church for a commitment that will likely keep me there between 1.5-2 hours.  Assuming I'm not too tired when I'm done, I *might* jump on the treadmill for a bit, since I've made a commitment to myself to lose weight, and by the time that's done and I get cleaned up afterward, I might be lucky to have 2 hours this evening to play.  Not every day is like that, and not every week is filled with days like that, but I'm sure many of you have stories like that where jobs, spouses, kids, life, etc. take up so much time that being able to dedicate time to gaming is a luxury.

Not to get too tangential here, but I think that's why so many developers, with the advent of the memory card, started shifting development of games from pick up and play titles to games where you can save your progress frequently and die/continue endlessly, because they wanted you to play the game, but not have to feel like you had to dedicate hours at a time to feel like you were progressing.  There's a bit of a dichotomy there, because with the CD format came more storage space to tell more epic narratives, but they shifted toward that sort of epic storytelling and increased presentation, while not punishing the player for not landing that platform jump just right and making them start all over and replay the last 6 stages because their pixel-perfect jumping skills needed honing.  If you think about it, other than games like LttP or RPG's, most of the games many of us grew up playing, as in, shmups, action platformers, beat-em-ups, etc. were all games that could be played and finished in just under or over an hour, if you played them straight through.  The replay value came in scoring, mastering technique, trying to 1CC or 1LC a game, finding all secrets, getting all items (Mega Man X, for example), etc.  As the industry embraced the CD format and 3D graphical presentation, there was a huge paradigm shift toward games that favored story and presentation over core gameplay mechanics.  Not that these new games weren't fun, and didn't have replay value, but the approach was quite different, and yielded very different play experiences.

I'm glad there is finally some discussion here. I've been waiting for this!

I assumed I'd have to wait since I finished the game completly, right away, before some of you had even started.....

....the wait has been hard. I keep wanting to talk about the game.


I used a walkthrough too, for parts. I was going to mention it but didn't want to tempt anyone who didn't want to be tempted. This is the one I used:

http://strategywiki.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_A_Link_to_the_Past

Actually, I used it mostly in the last half of the game. For the most part it was just to point out what to head for next, I skimmed it, not studied it. The last couple of dungeons I did look at more closely though.

I think most of us really do fall into that category of "busy-people-who-like-games-and-own-way-too-many-to-play." There isn't anything wrong with getting what enjoyment you can from a game and moving on. Sure, I missed out on some of the puzzle solving (not all by any means) but I was still able to appreciate that part of LttP.

If any of you are playing this game for the first time and not using any sort of a guide, I applaud you. That is awesome.


@JerryGreenwood - There doesn't seem to be a "thumbs up!" emoticon, but if there was....I agree with you.



Writing this while tired from a very long day of work, if anything from above seems weird just assume winky face  " ;) "

I'm grateful to see much more understanding than backlash about the walkthrough thing. Speaking of which, I just blew through Misery Mire in ten minutes. Only two dungeons left!

Also, got all the items:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=700 height=393]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/grayghost81/IMG_20150219_100409_989_zps4fff1300.jpg[/img]

Also, just found out now that the hookshot can be used as a weapon.  :P

Is anyone playing on the Virtual Console experiencing lag during the third Dark World boss fight? When the spike traps are moving and the boss shoots lasers, the game slows down a lot. Another reason to avoid emulation, right? ;)

I would like to join in. I've played through the game multiple times but I haven't finished the Super Famicom version.

Cool, are there many differences between the North American and the Super Famicom version, or are they mostly the same?

Without playing the SFC version, I'd guess they are exactly the same.

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=913257

Nice find. I figured it might have religious differences, but I don't consider that as a real difference. It doesn't affect graphics (like blood) or gameplay, it's just a few words of text. In my head, I called the Sage a 'Priest' anyway.

BTW - Finger Webs?? C'mon Japan! Is someone in Japan so out of touch with the ocean - which last time I checked, Japan is an island - that they thought flippers go on your hands?

Just finished Turtle Rock and am in Ganon's Tower. Alas, my weird goal of playing this game entirely while at work will not be realized as I will have to finish it at home before we record the podcast this weekend.

It's probably just as well, I took a peek at what I'm facing and it looks really hairy. In fact I'm very likely going to leave first to do some fairy farming before coming back to wrap it up.

man had a hell of a time playing the swamp palace. good thing I stocked up on some fairies. Took a bit to find all the keys but finally got through it. Onto the ice palace tomorrow

Ah YEAH!

[img width=640 height=478]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/Video%20Game%20Scores/D1C289EA-73B6-4BC8-BA6B-77A3665D4F54_zpsgdvzfk2w.jpg[/img]

Also completed all of the achievements, except #2 and #10 (missing 3 heart pieces)....

[img width=700 height=522]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/Video%20Game%20Scores/8572E5D4-4613-49D6-AA42-FAAC8395342E_zpsliu7skkj.jpg[/img]

Just beat it! Wow, my first two attempts at Ganon had me wanting to throw my GBA through a wall, but I took a deep breath and handed him his ass on the third attempt without even getting down to that atrocious low health alarm.

First game beaten in 2015, I really have to pick up the pace!

I was going to hold off showing these until we got the "all clear" to talk about the whole game but since others are showing theirs....



[img width=640 height=480]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8633/16605945205_eac90f11ae_o.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=480]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8680/16398657637_949ffbbf8a_o.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=480]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8576/16605324462_575c547c93_o.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=480]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8659/16418795418_1fabae9b74_o.jpg[/img]
[img width=640 height=480]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8630/16580041436_e3907dc587_o.jpg[/img]






I think that you having the mushroom means you have something more to get   ;)  maybe some equipment too....

Very nice Shawn! Yep, that Ganon battle got my rage boil going. Never died, but got knock down to the next floor a few times.

@nupoile: Definitely didn't have all the equipment at that point and I'll accept that didn't have all the items either. I was just so excited to get that fourth bottle and see the item screen completely filled in.

Awesome, we've got about a week left in February and it looks like 5 people have finished the game so far by my count.  I've been holding on to my pics since I finished the game before the month even began, so I'll post those now:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01151.jpg[/img] (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/DisposedHero/media/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01151.jpg.html)

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01149.jpg[/img] (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/DisposedHero/media/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01149.jpg.html)

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01147.jpg[/img] (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/DisposedHero/media/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01147.jpg.html)

And my personal favorite:

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=700 height=525]http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm155/DisposedHero/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01146.jpg[/img] (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/DisposedHero/media/Community%20Playthrough%20Scores/CAM01146.jpg.html)

Why yes, as a matter of fact I am. 

I was able to finish the game this weekend. I like the US title screen better.  Thanks for the Playthrough!

Spoiler (hover to show)

[img width=700 height=525]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/cisco678/RF/IMG_2088_zpsiyto52qd.jpg[/img] (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/cisco678/media/RF/IMG_2088_zpsiyto52qd.jpg.html)

Congrats Addicted! Sadly, we recorded the show last night, so you were not mentioned as a participant who had already finished.

Awww.. Missed it by 12 hours. So close!

Congrats on finishing.

@singlebanana: No worries. It was great playing through the game with the RFGen community.

Well, unless I spend all evening tomorrow and Friday playing this (likely not going to happen), I doubt I'll finish this before the end of the month.  Sigh.  Oh well, since I don't have either game for next month's play through, I can feel a bit at ease in finishing the game, and maybe rely less on a walk-through and try to solve some of the puzzles myself, which would probably be more fun.  I've felt like I needed to hurry through it, especially since I got started a week late, so maybe I can slow down and just pace myself a bit :)

I'm chugging along as well. Got to through the 3rd dungeon just now. We'll see what I can do before the month is over.


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If either of you guys, Metal or Russ, don't want to use a walk through and wanna ask for a tip here, I'll be checking in as I won't be doing a playthrough in March either.

I've always felt better about asking for a tip and getting a response from someone, rather than submitting to a walkthrough the instant something gets difficult. It's far more satisfying. I view it like - "I beat the game with the help of my RFGen buddies" as opposed to - "The internet and I beat Zelda".

I understand most of you have kids and not a lot of time, and that's fine, but there aren't enough words in the dictionary to explain how much I dislike walkthroughs. I kinda thought that was the point of these playthroughs anyway - to discuss the game. To talk about your likes and dislikes and ask questions and help each other.

Again, if some people are truly too busy and only have time to play in small windows (like 9pm-11pm on Friday nights), then I totally understand. I just don't want the others to be robbed of experiencing a great game and I think relying on a walkthrough zaps a lot of the fun out of it.

Seems like most of you guys finished the game. Congrats!
My next step is the ice palace, and i will finish the game the next days.

I definetely want to find the legendary Chris Houlihan’s Top Secret Room also.

Boy, i think if i would played the game in 1992 at the age of 10 i would have never gotten trough all the dungeons and beaten it.
I enjoyed the first simple palaces, but maybe i am just to stupid or just bad in orientation, but for the most puzzles i needed a walktrough in the last weeks. Also like most you, the time feels to short for endless searches... even if the fun is a litlle bit lesser with not solving every the puzzles for myself.

Every time i visit the fairies, the sound gives me goosebumps, because i have to think of the Scott Pilgrim movie... for example this music was played when he got together with Ramona Flowers :) Awesome!!!

BTW: When Young Neal is asked, what he is playing (in the band...) and he answers: "ähm, a lot of Tetris, Zelda,..." :)

Actually it is the great game i expected to find, having never played any Zelda before- HAPPY :)

I will try out some Game Boy Zelda titles next (oracle of ages/season).

The primary point of the playthroughs is to come together as a community to play some games and enjoy in the fellowship. I agree that a part of LLTP is the searching (for items, for dungeons, etc.), but the confines of a month are a bit much to ask people to not use walkthroughs if it makes the game more enjoyable to them. I agree somewhat with what Jerry is saying in that if you get stuck on some part of a game, try bringing your questions here first. The hosts play the games early and there are always people like Jerry who have played these games before and are excited to help you out. The landscape of video gaming has changed drastically with the coming of the Internet and so most of you will not have the same experience that I had years ago when I first played this game. This experience is nearly impossible to recreate today. I think that's why people like Jerry and myself love this game so much. Figuring things out for the first time or beating a boss and finishing a dungeon was so super fulfilling and magical when I was younger. We discussed this a bit on our podcast recording the other night, since the 3 of us came in having played that game at different times in our lives.

My thought is, do what is good for YOU and gives you the most pleasurable experience with every game we play monthly. However, I would like to see more chatter about the games, so if you do get stuck, let us know and we will be happy and quick to reply. :)

For those of you who have not finished yet, best of luck and please don't give up. In the end, you'll be glad you beat this classic.

Glad you are having a wonderful experience with your first Zelda title ericeskapade! 

You're right. By all means, I wasn't trying to disparage anyone who uses a walkthrough. It's just my opinion that I dislike using them so much and I do enjoy helping people who are stuck. It makes me feel cool  :P

Like I said, most of you have kids. I don't. I have 2 dogs...much easier to take care of (although it's probably like having 1/2 a kid. My dogs are pretty young and wild).

LOL, I like that analogy, Jerry, "The Internet and I beat Zelda" :P

It's true, though.  I used a fair amount of walkthrough material to beat Super Metroid.  Sometimes it was out of frustration after searching for a weapon, upgrade, or item for over an hour and coming up empty, because I couldn't figure out how to reach a new place, or in the process of back-tracking, I got stuck somewhere.  Other times, it was more a case of, "I only have an hour to play tonight and I need to make progress, so I'm going to cave and watch a YouTube video that shows me how to find Item X" kind of thing.  Sometimes, that helped sustain my enjoyment of the game, so as not to get too burnt out by the constant searching w/o anything to show for it (save for the occasional missile or bomb upgrade I'd stumble upon), and other times I did kind of feel like I was cheating myself out of part of the experience.  The nice thing is, now that I have a good understanding of the mechanics of the game, I'll be able to go back to it in a year, and have largely forgotten where everything is, and then I can maybe skip walkthroughs and other tools and just go it alone.

In the case of LttP, I've mostly only done walkthroughs when either I can't figure out a puzzle in a dungeon (usually followed by an "Oh, duh!" moment), or if I get lost and need help going the right direction in a dungeon so I'm getting the item(s) needed to progress.  I've been trying NOT to use stuff like that whenever possible, but I have felt like I've been making very little progress at times, so resorting to a walk through has often been my recourse when I feel like I'm just maxing out my rupees and not accomplishing anything.  I know I probably wouldn't have (on the first play through) discovered the room with the fairy that will upgrade my bomb and arrow max stock without the use of a guide.  Some of the heart containers I might not have found either, though I know I am still lacking several of them.

It's funny that there's an almost perfect divide between LttP and Super Metroid.  SM has a stark atmosphere with often minimalist music, sparse enemies, a lot of empty space, and a foreboding atmosphere.  And yet, it makes you feel like you're accomplishing stuff right away by practically handing you the first 2 or 3 upgrades, and with each successive upgrade, even if you're spending a lot of time going back and forth in each area, trying to find out how to progress, it feels like you're making more progress.  LttP, on the other hand, has a lush, bright-colored atmosphere, many areas and screens with multiple enemies present, mostly bouncy and "active" music, and a fair degree of "presence".  What I mean by that is, you never feel like you're totally alone from screen to screen, because, even when there aren't enemies from one screen to the next, you can almost bet that the next screen over (one way or another), there will be 2 or 3 waiting for you.  And yet, LttP doesn't go out of its way to give you items and/or weapons in quick succession the same way that SM does.  Sure, you get the sword relatively quickly, but you didn't "earn" it like you do the morph ball in SM, it's just handed to you.  But after that, everything else is more spread out and feels a bit more hard-fought.  Has anyone else noticed this interesting parallel between the 2 games?

I got to play a good 3 hours before work today. I have 3 dungeons left to beat before heading to death mountain. I did a few side quest and got another bottle. I got a bomb upgrade, but wasn't sure if I should have used the arrow instead. it was at some pond where you toss money in and when you get to 100 rupees that you toss in you get a upgrade

Russ, you can keep throwing rupees in and continue getting upgrades until you max out. ;)

o nice good tip I'll have to head back there

mmhm, turns out that in the Pal-Version the Chris Houlihan’s Top Secret Room is just named "the secret room" ... should Chris sue the Nintendo Power that he wasn't made famous worldwide and am i dismissed for the achievement? ;)

If it's the same room, then sure, it counts.

Well, this is the last day of February and we still have quite a few participants who haven't completed the game yet.  Feel free to keep posting in this thread if you get stuck, need some advice, or just want to discuss the game.  Myself and other members will be around to help you along.

Yep. And starting tomorrow, join us in playing "MediEvil," a very Zelda-like adventure game.

A round of applause for Disposed Hero! Well done, your first playthrough as host kicked ass my friend.

Haha, thanks man.  It gives me something to do at work.  You know, instead of actually working.  :P

Hope your employer doesn't read this site ;)

Agreed, nice work sir!

I played 999 to much lol i only am at the 1st crystal

Maybe it's because I've been super busy and haven't had much time to play it, or maybe it's because I'm not in the right mindset, but I've become quite frustrated by this game the last couple weeks.  Everything seems very cryptic, and the clues you get from the old guy aren't always very helpful.  I have no idea how to get into the 2nd Dark World dungeon.  The clue says something about the light world and dark world sharing similar locations, but I don't relish the idea of spending hours going dark to light, dark to light, to try and find the one area I need to go to in the light world and transport back, or vice versa, just to enter one dungeon.  Maybe I've been spoiled by modern games too much of late, but holy cow, I've made absolutely zero progress in the game in the 3 or 4 times I've been able to sit and play it in the last couple weeks.  I don't really want to use a walkthrough if I don't have to, and when I have used one (zeldadungeon.net), some of the instructions are a bit unclear, so I end up wandering around even more without a clear idea of what I'm supposed to do.  I realize the crux of the design is the adventure aspect, and figuring out what you're supposed to do is a big draw of the game, but maybe this kind of thing isn't my speed.  Maybe I'm not searching enough for clues, maybe I'm misinterpreting the clues I do find, or maybe I'm just not patient enough.  :slick:

If I remember correctly go to the dungeon in the light world and pull the lever inside releasing the water than warp back into the dark world and you can enter the dungeon


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Yeah, I saw that, but I can't get to the lever in the light world dungeon, because it's the one with the 3 blocks and the treasure chest.  All I'm able to do is push blocks out of the way enough to get to the chest, which I did before coming to the Dark World in the first place.  I'm probably missing something obvious, but I can't figure it out.  Sigh.

You can push the blocks in a way that will allow you to get past the chest.  Keep trying.

Off the top of my head, you should be able to push the blocks out of the way.

EDIT - Disposed beat me

I think it's the typical 3 block puzzle of push the 2 outer blocks forward, and middle one sideways. I can't quite recall, but I think that's right.

I was trying to recall exactly what the puzzle looks like so I could be a bit more helpful than 'Keep trying', but I can't really remember either.  Thinking about it, I think if you push the 2 outer blocks forward and the middle one sideways, the chest would still be in the way. 

Screw it, I just looked it up: 

Spoiler (hover to show)

 You have to push the middle block forward and one of the outer blocks to the side.

Ha! Oh yeah, I had it backwards. Thanks Steven. :D

Oh good grief, I feel like an idiot.  I should have thought of that...

Well, if I actually have time tonight after work and other commitments, maybe I'll try that :P

Keep plugging away. That block pushing mechanic is a staple of the Zelda series. You will see it more for sure as you progress. When in doubt, push on a block.

So, I got into the dungeon, but HOLY COW that's a hard one!  I found the map and compass, and the big key, got the hookshot, but then was unable to find the way to the boss area and died about 8 times.  I've only got 10 hearts - should I go back to the Light World and try and find some more?

I would say make sure you have at least one bottle and try and get s fariy if you have the net or go to the witch in the light world in the upper right and get some potion to cure you. This should help in the dungeon some


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I'm off all day tomorrow so I should be able to get a little father in this


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I think about 11 or 12 hearts is typically the average for this dungeon, but 10 should be fine.  I believe you can have up to three bottles at this point in the game, so you might want to go back and find the others if you don't have that many yet, and be sure you keep them stocked with fairies or potions.

In general, when you obtain an item in a dungeon you're going to have to use it to get to the boss (or it's an item that helps defeat the boss, like the bow & arrow when you get the first pendant). I think that dungeon has a lot of areas where you need to hookshot yourself around.

Ok just beat the ice dungeon. Man what a pain. Ok headed to the swamp but looks like I need a special item to open it.
[img width=700 height=525]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/06/e1cdce6a6ad89ced478ed85b82e52699.jpg[/img]


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Nice work Russ! Enjoy the mire.

You need the Ether Medallion to open it.  You can find it near

Spoiler (hover to show)

The Tower of Hera on Death Mountain

Well it's 3:46am and Gannon has been defeated. Once you get going you don't want to stop ha.

It was overall a good time and a frustrating one.

I'm missing one medallion and another item as well as two full hearts. Ughhh not sure if I want to go back and hunt these down or not


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Nice work Russ. Congratulations!

Congrats!  I haven't been able to get back to this game due to time constraints, general business, and life/work stuff.  I may take a short break to do another playthrough of a short platformer, and then come back to this later in the month.

Don't give up hope. It's a fantastic game and has so much to offer.


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I plan to go back to it, but I've been so super busy that it's been hard to find time to play.  I haven't even really had time to game in nearly 2 weeks, other than on Saturday when I did some couch gaming with a friend.  We played games more suited to multiplayer, like Mario Kart 8 or X-Men: Children of the Atom.  I need to "unbusify" my life a little, but it's hard between my demanding job and other interests.  Mainly, I need to focus on some more pick up and play games until I can get time back.  I still need to finish Xenoblade Chronicles, and I think I might be somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 through it, but put it down in favor of some of these playthroughs, and haven't gone back yet.

I follow the Genesis Gems podcast, and their next game is Shadow Blasters, which I bought years ago but have put almost no time into.  Since that's a simple action platformer, I might play through that in the next couple weeks and participate with them, then come back to this with a fresh perspective when things quiet down a tad.  I want to finish this game and see it through to the end, but I need time to be able to do it, which, unfortunately, right now I just don't have very much of. :(

Good luck. The good thing about Zelda (and other savable games) is that you can play for 15 minutes, accomplish something, and save.

Not me!  Since this kind of dungeon exploration has never been my forte, it usually takes me a lot longer than 15 minutes to accomplish anything :P

In all seriousness, though, having the Wii U Restore Point feature has helped a lot, especially when I've made major boneheaded mistakes and can quickly restore to the beginning of the dungeon with full health, instead of "Save and Continue" where it starts me at a checkpoint with half health.

Yes that can be a good option for someone who's not familiar with the series or like you said has trouble with certain task. If you use all your magic up it may be hard to find refills. Hitting the restore you can gain all your magic back and try again.


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