BOTW #19 – Gut Check Challenge

In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I returned to Gerudo Town. I completed a couple of side quests, one of which allowed a bartender to make a special drink for the sick Gerudo I mentioned last time.

I had to lug around a giant ice cube through the desert, just because the one Gerudo woman was too thirsty to move from her spot. But once I told her the drink was ready, she got up and ran all the way back to town. If she had that kind of energy, why couldn’t she just move a few inches so I could’ve activated the shrine in the first place?

Anyway, that allowed me to enter the Misae Suma shrine. After completing it, I set off exploring. I soon came across the South Lomei Labyrinth.

The South Lomei Labyrinth in Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Compared to the other two Lomei Labyrinths, this one seemed much easier (unless I just got lucky by finding the shrine so quickly). After that, I continued on, and climbed Mount Granajh. From there, I saw yet another new shrine. I paraglided down, and met a strange woman named Moza there. She was angrily swinging her large wooden spoon at her pot of burning food.

Moza raiser her wooden spoon in anger.

She was trying to perfect some new recipes, which involved cooking monster parts, ore, and ancient parts from guardians. Not only did it not sound appetizing, but she was letting everything burn. And she got mad if I even looked at her burnt food. This woman seems almost as insane as the crazy flower lady on the Floret Sandbar.

Moza: Don't! Touch!! A thing!!!

I gave up on trying to be nice to her, and just completed the shrine.

After that, I set off exploring once again. I stopped briefly to watch the gorgeous sunrise near Mount Faloraa.

Exploring near Mount Faloraa in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Without even trying, I soon found myself back on the Great Plateau–where the game began, one year ago! I revisited some sites I remembered from early on, and I decided I would trace my steps over to the Dueling Peaks–all on foot. Of course, I found some Korok seeds and shrines that I missed the first time around.

But first, I stopped to fully explore the Coliseum Ruins. There were a lot of enemies in here, and I got a lot of weapons (mostly elemental weapons) from defeating them.

If you knock an enemy off of a higher floor in here, they come back up to continue fighting. However, since the Coliseum is so large and there are only ramps at certain locations, it could take a few minutes for them to get back up to you. I thought it was pretty amusing to watch them scurry around and run up each ramp. Especially if you’re just going to knock them off again. 😉

The silver Lynel (zebra wannabe) at the bottom provided a challenge, but I was able to escape with a victory and earn my stripes.

The Silver Lynel is one angry dude.

I then continued on my way, making it to the Dueling Peaks, and then to Dueling Peaks stable. For a side quest, I caught myself a wild horse. My reward was a purple rupee (worth 50 rupees). So that’s why I decided to name my new horse 50cent. That’s right, he’s named after a rapper rupee.

Tasseren: Are you sure you want to name this horse 50cent?

I then mounted my (two) quarter horse and rode into Kakariko Village. I bought some items at the shop that I couldn’t afford earlier, and I traded in some spirit orbs for a heart container and a stamina vessel. That fully completed my second stamina circle.

Next, I had a little chat with Pikango. He pointed me in the direction of Mount Lanayru, for a memory I needed to recover. After I did a little cooking, I teleported there. I paraglided down from the mountain, ran past a Lynel, and then found the glowing spot just past the East Gate. That allowed me to recover the memory.

From there, I teleported to Death Mountain. I spotted a shrine, and paraglided down to it. It was up on a tall pillar, and a Goron named Bayge was blocking the way! This area is called Gut Check Rock, and I had to prove my worth before I could enter the shrine. This is the Gut Check Challenge.

Bayge, at the Gut Check Challenge: SO WHAT ARE YA WAITIN' FOR, BROTHER?! GET TRAININ'!
I don’t have the guts.

Starting all the way at ground level, I had to climb the entire pillar within three minutes–while collecting a certain number of rupees along the way. This would have been a big challenge earlier in the game (with less stamina), but I breezed through it.

I was able to complete the shrine, and then I tried Bayge’s expert challenge…the Super Gut Check Challenge. Now you’re playing with Guts… Super Guts. This one was more difficult, and it took me three attempts before I finished it successfully.

After flying to the Tabantha area, I unlocked a shrine…by doing some things I’m not proud of. Oh, the things I do for you, Zelda.

After you took off all your clothing and stood on top of the pedestal on the night of the blood...

In search of another memory, I teleported to Hyrule Field and made my way to the Sacred Ground Ruins. I watched the cut scene “remembered” another part of the story, and I have now recovered eight of the 12 photo memories. I figured this would be a good stopping point for now.

So far I’ve completed 83 shrines, and I’ve found 108 Korok seeds. My overall completion percentage is up to 26.55%. And most importantly, I’m still enjoying the game; there are still lots of things I want to do. See you next time!

BOTW #18 – The Wedding

Over the past few days, I’ve picked up Breath of the Wild for the first time since beating Calamity Ganon in October. I started out by cutting down some trees, since I still needed more wood for Tarrey Town. When I had enough, I headed there and spoke to Hudson. He informed me that he got engaged…to Rhondson the Gerudo!

Before they could get married, he asked me to find someone priest-like to officiate the wedding. He suggested that maybe one of the Zoras would be willing to help.

After making a stop at the Great Fairy Fountain to upgrade some clothes, I made my way to Zora’s Domain. There, I found Kapson, who is a retired priest. He was actually looking to marry a couple before he dies, so he was clearly the right guy for the job.

Kapson: If during your travels you meet any engaged couples, I would like you to introduce them to me.
That’s an odd request. It sounds fishy.

He set off for Tarrey Town, while I went to go take a picture of a Lynel for a side quest. Once I finished, I returned to Tarrey Town. Hudson thanked me for finding Kapson, but now he needed me to invite Bolson and Karson to the wedding. So I went back to Hateno Village, and told them about the wedding in Tarrey Town.

Bolson: Karson, we're headed out!
They went straight there.

Before long, Kapson began the wedding. Congrats to the new couple! Although, Rhondson didn’t seem very happy about a part of the wedding vows that said they had to name their kids names that end in -son. 😛

Hudson and Rhondson get married in Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

I spoke with Hudson, and he gave me three diamonds that he found inside the boulders in town. This completed the side quest, and Tarrey Town is officially done.

Next, I headed for the desert, where I recovered one of Link’s memories and then defeated a Molduga in the Toruma Dunes for a side quest.

Fighting a Molduga in BOTW.
Why can’t I cut this guy up into, like, 1,000 steaks?

After the fight, I unlocked a shrine at the same location. I went off exploring after completing it, and I saw some statues of swordswomen pointing their swords. As I followed in the direction they were pointing, a sandstorm rendered my radar and map unusable.

Static on my map screen, making it unusable.
Recalculating… recalculating… recalculating…

But the pointing swords led me to a shrine; completing it restored my radar and map.

The next day, I teleported to the Tabantha area to recover another memory in the Ancient Columns area. I have now recovered six of the 12 photo memories.

After browsing through my list of open side quests, I returned to the desert to trade 55 rushrooms to Pirou, for a diamond. I explored further, and soon arrived in the East Gerudo Ruins, where seven huge statues stood in a circle. Solving a puzzle here opened up another shrine.

Huge statues in the East Gerudo Ruins.

I completed it, and then found another shrine nearby. But I couldn’t get into this one just yet. A sick Gerudo was collapsed on the activation portal. I’ll have to heal her before I can get inside. But at this point, I ended my game for now.

Just to provide an update on my status, I’ve completed 77 shrines and my overall game completion percentage now sits at 23.49%. If I counted right, my Hyrule Compendium completion is now 292/385. I still have much to do in Hyrule.

Here is my latest Breath of the Wild video, Messing Around #2. It shows me playing with fire, zapping some sleeping enemies, sneaking around in a barrel, and more. Hope you enjoy!

Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses

Last night, I attended the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses concert at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. A 66-piece orchestra and 24-person choir performed many songs from various games in the Zelda series, as footage from the games was displayed on a large screen behind them.

Not only is it a performance of some great music, but it’s a trip down memory lane for Zelda fans–especially those who have been long-time fans of the series. This was my first time attending…but it won’t be the last.

An opening montage shows a bit of each game as the main Zelda theme is played. Subsequent segments focus on one game at a time. There are segments for Breath of the Wild, Majora’s Mask, Ocarina of Time, A Link Between Worlds, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, A Link to the Past, Skyward Sword, and…more. 😉

As you’d probably expect, I most enjoyed the segments with the games I knew best. The Link to the Past montage brought back lots of memories, and I also loved the cheerful Wind Waker compositions. But you don’t have to be a fan of each game to enjoy the performance.

The Ocarina of Time segment just before intermission was my favorite part of the event. It was amazing, and yet, it provided an example of how the Symphony of the Goddesses could be even better. After hearing the beautiful overworld theme over a montage of video clips from the game, we see the emotional goodbye between Link and Saria, when Link first leaves his village. Saria gives him his first ocarina, and reassures Link that they’ll always be friends. They are also shown years later, when Link returns after he has grown up.

After a trip across Hyrule Field, the Lost Woods theme (Saria’s Song) was played. I was in heaven. But before long, it shifted to battle music as Link fought Ganondorf. Link attacks, jumps to the platform, returns Ganondorf’s fire, shoots a light arrow, and on and on. It dragged on a bit, and virtually the entire final battle was shown. I felt too much emphasis was placed on boss fights with tense battle themes. I’d rather see that time spent exploring the various locales of the games.

Two of my favorite songs from Ocarina of Time are the Zora’s Domain theme and the Gerudo Valley theme. Those locations were not represented at all, musically or visually. Likewise for Lon Lon Ranch, where Link first meets Epona the horse. (Link and Epona are shown briefly jumping over the outer wall, but the interior of the ranch is not shown). These locations, and others, are rife with memorable moments and tunes that would evoke nostalgia even with short segments.

Maybe I’m just being greedy. Perhaps it’s not realistic to expect more than 3-4 songs from each game. But the show has potential to be even more powerful, more nostalgic, more emotional, and more amazing than it already is.

But even though they’re not going to play every song you know and love, the Symphony of the Goddesses is truly an amazing experience that every Zelda fan should attend at least once. I’ll be sure to check it out again the next time it comes to town. If you’re interested, check out the upcoming tour schedule.

The outdoor chandelier at Playhouse Square in Cleveland.
The outdoor chandelier at Playhouse Square.

Believe it or not, this was actually the first gaming-related event I’ve attended. I was expecting to see a lot of cosplayers, but I only saw a few. There were a couple of Links (with elf ears, of course), a Zelda wearing a fancy dress, and a (possibly confused) Mario. But the most amusing was this girl dressed up a Link (or possibly Linkle), who proudly carried around a stuffed chicken (Cucco). She was holding it up in the lobby like she just scored some treasure from a treasure chest. 😛

One last note: I was expecting to get a lot of StreetPass hits on my 3DS, since this was a Nintendo event, but I only got six. Oh well. On the bright side, it seems that they all had Animal Crossing: New Leaf, so I had six new homes to visit in the Happy Homes Showcase.