BOTW #25 – Horse Slide

Time for some more Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Just moments after leaving the location of my last shrine, my Sheikah sensor started going off again! I followed the (beeping) signal to the Lanno Kooh shrine under a rocky dome.

After completing it, I just roamed around and explored. I found a number of new Korok seeds and treasure chests.

There was only one side quest remaining on my list, and that was the one where I had to find ten stone monuments around Zora’s Domain. So I headed there and started exploring the surrounding areas. In a lake, I found a treasure chest that contained the Zora Helm. It allows me to use a spin attack underwater. Pretty cool, but I imagine this is something many players found much earlier in the game.

Picking up the Zora Helm in Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

As for the stone monuments, I wasn’t having much luck in my search. I found several of them, sure. But the objective list doesn’t tell me how many I’ve found so far, or how many more I need. After a while, I got tired of looking for them and just went elsewhere.

I followed some paths leading to Akkala and the Maw of Death Mountain. Even though I’ve been to those areas before of course, I’m not sure that I took the proper pathways that lead to them. But this time, I took them and kept an eye out for goodies along the way. And indeed, I found some new Korok seeds and treasure chests. No more shrines, though.

I took a break, but came back another day to give the stone monuments another try. I decided to mark each monument I found with a star pin on the map. After a couple hours of additional searching, I had only found nine of the ten. I was a bit frustrated, so I decided to do something I try not to do: consult a guide. I looked up the general location of the monument I was missing, and that allowed me to find the monument and complete the side quest. If you’re having trouble, this picture shows the locations of each monument.

A map showing the locations of the ten Zora stone monuments in Zora's Domain in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BOTW).

With that finally done, there were no more side quests on my to-do list. So I just went around exploring. While fighting some Bokoblins on horseback near the Digdogg Suspension Bridge, I shot one of them off his horse. I ran to the horse, and as I mounted it, it leaped towards the edge of the cliff. We were on a steep, slanted surface, facing downward.

Link, on a horse, faces down the side of a cliff.

As I tried to turn around, we slid down the cliff and into the water. I fell off the horse and Link got jittery as the horse tried to get back up. It was a glitchy situation, and somehow, I accidentally re-mounted the horse! I didn’t stay on long, though. I tried using Cryonis to lift the horse up, but that didn’t work.

The horse splashes in the water.

With no way to save him, I ultimately put him out of his misery.

I continued on to the desert, and I made a stop at Kara Kara Bazaar. Here, I found a Guy who had a side quest for me!

Guy: But they don't seem to be selling the elixir anywhere...

I made an elixir for him, and he rewarded me with 50 rupees. But more importantly, that completed my 69th side quest. The bad news is that I still have eight more side quests to go, and I have no idea what they are or how to find them. I try to talk to everyone every time I visit a town or stable, but I have a feeling many of the remaining ones belong to people who are just out somewhere wandering randomly.

I continued exploring in the desert, and I defeated two new Moldugas before upgrading some clothing/armor at the Great Fairy Fountain. I then made a quick visit to Kakariko Village before wrapping up my game.

Here are my latest status stats:

  • Completion percentage: 47.14%
  • Shrines: 114/120
  • Korok seeds: 294/900
  • Shrine quests: 37/42
  • Side quests: 69/77
  • Hyrule Compendium: 355/385

If you haven’t already seen my “Messing Around #4” video, here it is:

I’m hoping to post part 5 sometime in March, so stay tuned!

December Haul

In this blog entry, I’m going to discuss the games (and other gaming-related items) I got in December. Most of these were Christmas gifts, but the first two things mentioned are games I bought myself earlier in December.

Yooka-Laylee (Switch)

Screenshot of Yooka-Laylee on Nintendo Switch.

I pre-ordered the physical version of Yooka-Laylee in September, and it finally arrived in December. This 3D platformer is the spiritual successor to Rare’s N64 games, and it really shows. From the graphics to the jumbled “voice” noises spoken by the characters, everything just screams Banjo-Kazooie. Some of the music and sound effects sound a lot like Donkey Kong 64 as well.

While I’m still in the first world, I am enjoying the game so far. I’ve always loved a good collect-a-thon, and this seems right up my alley. I do already have a minor complaint, though. The frame rate sometimes stutters, and it’s very noticeable. Hopefully it won’t become a bigger problem later in the game.

Katamari Damacy Reroll (Switch)

Screenshot of Katamari Damacy Reroll on Nintendo Switch.

Katamari Damacy was originally a PlayStation 2 game, which was very unique. You play as the son of the King of All Cosmos, and you roll around a sticky ball called a katamari. Any objects that are small enough will stick to the katamari as you roll, gradually making the katamari larger and larger (and thus, able to pick up bigger items). You start out picking up things like paper clips and erasers, but eventually you’ll be picking up people, cars, and buildings. It’s a bizarre game that’s a pure joy to play.

Katamari Damacy Reroll is an HD remake, and I bought the Switch version in December. The physical version is sadly exclusive to Gamestop, otherwise you can buy the digital version in the eShop.

The graphics have been improved, and yet they retain the blocky look of the original. The great tunes from the original have also returned.

But the controls were my biggest complaint with the PS2 game, and they are also my biggest complaint with Reroll. To move around, you must push both sticks in the same direction. Rotating the camera requires pushing the sticks in opposite directions. It’s not very intuitive, and the controls hold you back at times. I really wish they would’ve used one stick for movement and one for the camera. (Note: There is an optional “simple” control method which only requires one stick for movement, but it still requires both sticks to turn the camera.)

Even though the controls are a bit wonky, you do get used to them after a while. And picking things up with your katamari is an inexplicably enjoyable thing to do. The game isn’t super long, but Katamari Damacy is just pure fun while it lasts. This is a game that I highly recommend.

Buy Katamari Damacy Reroll digital code at Amazon

Super Mario Maker (Wii U)

Screenshot of Super Mario Maker for Nintendo Wii U.

Super Mario Maker allows you to create, play, and share your own Mario levels. It’s definitely a cool concept, and I’m sure I’ll have a lot of fun with it in the long run. But I’m disappointed by how limited the game is at the beginning.

You start with just a handful of level elements (blocks, enemies, etc.) you can use to create your levels. A few more elements are unlocked each day that you play, but the pace is far too slow for my liking. Since I haven’t been playing it daily, I haven’t even unlocked half of the available elements so far. I think I’ll get into the game more once I’ve unlocked everything. And it will help me make some scenes for future episodes of my Mario Plays ACCF series.

Super Mario Maker hasn’t been ported to Switch (so far, at least), but even if it had been, I still would have preferred the Wii U version. That’s because Wii U allows you to use the touch screen for editing and display the game on a TV set. If it was on Switch, you couldn’t do both of those things…at least not at the same time. So it really takes advantage of the Wii U hardware features in that respect.

Buy Super Mario Maker at Amazon

Worms W.M.D. (Switch)

Animated GIF of Worms W.M.D. on Nintendo Switch.

The original Worms (I have the Jaguar version) was a 2D, turn-based strategy game, though it’s definitely not your typical strategy game. You control a team of four heavily-armed worms, and the object is defeat the opposing team of worms (either computer-controlled or another player). Each worm moves slowly and has a limited time to move around and get off a shot, and the terrain of each level can make things tricky. But the last worm standing wins the game.

Worms W.M.D. expands on the concept with more weapons, new levels, and online play. While I haven’t tried the online play yet, I have gone through most of the training levels and I’ve completed a few of the regular campaign levels as well. It’s a slow-paced game, so it’s not for everyone, but I’m really enjoying it so far.

Space Channel 5 (Dreamcast)

Screenshot of Space Channel 5 for Sega Dreamcast.

This is a unique (read: bizarre) music game in which you play as a reporter named Ulala. Aliens have invaded and hypnotized people, forcing them to dance. The object of the game is to mimic the aliens’ dance moves to defeat them and rescue the hostages. For example, you may have to press “up, down, up, down, shoot shoot shoot” in time with the music. It’s an interesting game, but it’s probably my least favorite of my five December games…at least to this point.

Not Games, But Gaming Related

Game controller shaped ornament, tin of Zelda mints, $20 eShop card, Cyrus Amiibo, Blathers Amiibo, K.K. Slider Amiibo, and Reese Amiibo.

I also received a few other gaming-related gifts that aren’t gifts. It includes a three-pack of Animal Crossing Amiibo figures (Reese, Cyrus, and K.K. Slider), a separate Blathers Amiibo, a controller-shaped Christmas tree ornament, a $20 Nintendo eShop card, and a tin of Zelda mints.

Amazon links to buy: Amiibo 3-Pack – Blathers Amiibo – Zelda Mints – eShop Card

In the coming weeks, I’ll test out the Amiibos in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Happy Home Designer. Admittedly, Reese and Cyrus aren’t my favorite characters, but Blathers and especially K.K. Slider are cool. As for the eShop card, I’m not sure what I’ll use it on just yet.

Get any good gaming gifts this past holiday season? Feel free to post a comment below!

Replaying Castlevania IV

Halloween is here, and I’ve been replaying (Super) Castlevania IV over the past several days. I’ve beaten the game years ago, and replayed parts of it many times over the years (often around Halloween), but this might be just the 2nd time I’ve fully played through the entire game. Since I got the SNES Classic not long ago, I figured this would be the ideal game to play.

The early levels are quite familiar to me, and easy to breeze through. My favorite level of all is the cavern in Stage 3.

I absolutely love the music in this game. In fact, I’m playing the video above now just to hear the music as I type. 😀

Stage 4 is also home to some very memorable levels. The first level here (4-1) has skulls on the wall that turn to follow your movement. Even though you can’t kill them or interact with them, I always thought that was a cool detail.

Stage 4-1 of Castlevania IV.

Stage 4-2 uses Mode 7 graphics to make the entire level rotate as you hang by your whip. The next level, Stage 4-3, puts you in a large cylindrical room that rotates as you play. It’s a very cool effect, although it can be distracting if you’re playing it for the first time.

The cylindrical, rotating room in Stage 4-3 of Castlevania IV on SNES.

Stage 6-1 features some huge chandeliers that swing from side to side. You have to jump across them, and then onto more chandeliers. Konami took advantage of some SNES hardware features to make some really unique levels in this game.

Simon Belmont jumps on a huge chandelier in Stage 6-1 of Castlevania IV on Super Nintendo (SNES).

As I progressed through Stage 6 and into Stage 7, the levels were less familiar to me. Most of the previous times I’ve played through this game (at least in recent years), I’ve only played through the first several levels. Often I’d stop after Stage 4 or 5. So I had forgotten about the paintings in Stage 7-2; they’ll grab you by the neck!

A painting grabs Simon Belmont by the neck in Castlevania IV.

I also enjoyed the music in this stage, and it likely has been years since I’ve heard it.

Things were going smoothly until I reached Stage 8. The levels here (8-1 and 8-2) have various types of dangerous spikes. Some are on moving platforms, some swing from side to side, and some fall from the ceiling. But they all have one thing in common: They will kill you in one hit. What makes it even worse is that the hit detection seems a bit unfair.

I died many times in this stage, and had to continue quite a few times as well. Even though the SNES Classic has save points, I don’t want to abuse that feature. I wanted to get through the stage legitimately, and eventually, I did. 😛

As a reward for completing that tough stage, you go on to Stage 9…one of my favorite stages in the game. It’s a beautiful, colorful stage, littered with piles of gold and treasure chests everywhere. Ghosts rise to the ceiling endlessly (they can’t hurt you), and gold nuggets spring up like popcorn every time you walk over a treasure chest. It’s a fun, playful level that’s such a stark contrast to Stage 8 before it.

The gold-filled Stage 9-1 of Super Castlevania IV.
Scrooge McDuck would enjoy a nice swim here.

Next up is Stage A, the clock tower, and then Stage B marks the final march into Dracula’s castle. It ends in a series of boss fights, which are challenging but not overwhelmingly difficult. Of course, it helps that each continue lets you resume at the boss you were fighting, rather than putting you back at the beginning of Stage B.

Fittingly, I beat Dracula (and the game) today, on Halloween. I’ve enjoyed my journey, and I may re-play this game again in the future, on some October night years from now.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed your Halloween and had a great time. 🙂

Just a couple of notes. I’ve added a new Halloween tag to this blog, for posts like this one. Posts near Halloween season that cover spooky-themed games like Castlevania, Doom, Haunted House, and more. Also, feel free to check out my page of Halloween game reviews.