Today I explored some ways into the Goron mines before shutting off for the night.
So far I’m rather impressed with the level design. Although the Forest Temple felt a lot like the forest level in Wind Waker but with the boomerang and magic leaf fused into a single item: Gale Boomerang. Still, I liked Wind Waker, and for the first level it wasn’t bad.
The Goron mines is impressive. The rooms are very open, often outdoor maps, and filled with machinery. While the puzzles aren’t really new, the combinations of puzzles are. The iron boots bring in a style more commonly seen in a water dungeon but used in ways more complex then simply sinking to the bottom of the water (though, yes, that’s there too!). They included magnetic stuff in the dungeon. Like the Stone Temple in Majora’s Mask, you can walk along the ceiling of some places – but you can also walk anywhere the magnetic stuff is. And there is some interesting interaction with the equipment in some rooms.
Good things
Actually, I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. But I’ve found Midna surprisingly helpful. She is remarkably observant of the current puzzle and has provided much needed clues on several occasions. It’s also a slap in the face when her only response is that we should hurry and find what we’re looking for. Thanks Midna, I needed help with that!
Complaints
Well, it had to be said, that I have a few complaints.
The overflowing wallet is frustrating. The idea certainly comes from the right place, but they should have given the player a choice of whether or not the rupee should be returned or discarded. For example, we all moan at the screen when we find that sweet 100 rupee chest but happen to be already maxed out and wish we could save the loot for another day – but no one really cares about that 20 rupee chest, it makes more sense to throw it in the lava to avoid unnecessary backtracking.
Something was not right about the fight with the enemy rider on the bridge in Hyrule field. The controls seemed to change unannounced. Also, when charging at the enemy, control explanations would appear on the screen but disappeared too quickly to be read. This battle confused me way more than it should have.
Two item slots? To me, this feels like an unfair punishment for playing the GameCube version. I’m pretty certain Ray had the standard three item slots on the Wii version. So far this has not been a big deal – particularly because it is sans musical instrument. But come on, only two slots?
Other comments
Heart pieces are hidden in dungeons? Ocarina had a few pieces in the sub-dungeons, and Wind Waker had one in the Forbidden Fortress, but it’s been awhile since they appeared inside conventional dungeons.
The warp bird-thing is weird. I like having it around, but it just doesn’t feel as good as the warp magic in Ocarina of Time or the magic cauldrons in Wind Waker.
I recall reading some hostile complaints about how slow the beginning was on the Joystiq forums. Did I miss something? I didn’t experience any slowdown prior to the action. I remember the frustration being specifically pegged on the goat herding and fishing exercises. But these were both lightening quick. The goat herding thing is done twice, and you really can’t fail during it. I’m thinking that some people didn’t figure out the point of the fishing quest immediately – because all I did was set up shop right in front of the cat, and caught one fish for the book, and a second for the cat.
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