After that lengthier episode with Death Mountain, there was one more Spiritual Stone left, which is the Zora Sapphire by default. This entry covers the Zora River, Domain and Fountain, as well as Lord Jabu-Jabu's Belly. And as it turns out, there is a new weapon of mass destruction in the game.
This is already the third post I'm making about the topic of Master Quest in the Ocarina of Time remake, but now it's not just pure speculation any longer. Since the Nintendo Switch 2 got hacked recently, data-miners can now investigate the game files. And it turns out that the remake has indeed "MQ" versions of many of its dungeon contents already, where they have been modified, e.g. with cows inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly. That does sound familiar.
Further investigations revealed that this is tied to owning DLC, so this will most likely be a paid add-on, and that the game world will be mirrored, just like in Ocarina of Time 3D's Master Quest mode. It's also likely that this will feature the usual Hero Mode parameters, like double damage and no hearts, since this has been absent so far.
I said this before, but it's not a coincidence that we haven't gotten a release date for the two amiibo and the Ocarina accessory yet. This might all come out on the same day, round 2 for the Ocarina of Time remake so to say, where I'm expecting an announcement for this Master Quest add-on later this year.
Source: OatmealDome / MrCheeze
Finally made some progress. I went to the Goron City and back to the forest, cleared the new and improved "Dodongo Cavern", visited the first two Great Fairies, and almost got burned to death inside the Death Mountain Crater. Plus, there was some fun to be had with Bombchus.
Yesterday was weird, because I've spent like eight hours writing about the remake and maybe 90 minutes of playing... But it's a good sign that I have so much to say, and I wouldn't want to miss doing this. Anyway, in the little time I had left, I went to Kakariko Village and have done some good old grave-digging in the night. It was also the grand opening of the Happy Mask Shop.
After a bit of an odyssey, this fancy controller has finally found an owner. I've began to worry that I would miss out, but after contacting Nintendo's support four times, a package got finally delivered today. The post sent my initial delivery back last Friday on their own accord, because the shipping box was damaged. And that's fine, because I wouldn't want to receive a damaged item or an empty package.
But after messaging Nintendo's support, they first had to ask me whether I wanted a refund or a replacement. Since you cannot get this item anywhere else and it's completely sold out, the only sane choice would be a replacement, but I guess they had to ask this anyway. And then there was a long radio silence from their end, but it eventually got shipped.
It was worth the wait, though, because it's quite the beauty. I wasn't even aware of this before, but the edition with the stand gets delivered in a special box showing the stand, which is different from the ones without. I expected this to be some sort of extra item, but it's really a separate edition.
The stand has the same old map artwork on it as the Switch 2 carrying case on its back, which is also something you could find in merchandise from ten years ago, like Hyrule Encyclopedia. If I could, I would use the stand to display my Tears of the Kingdom Edition Pro Controller, since it can now retire, but that's not compatible. The handles have a slightly different shape.
Now, this is my first Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, and this comes with the convenience of modern Bluetooth protocols, so I can now turn on my Switch 2 from the couch again. It wasn't a huge problem, because I'm not that lazy, but I had the occasional situation where I've sat down and just wanted to game and chill, only to realize that I had to get up again and press that power button on my Switch 2...
But those days are far from over, because I'm not going to use this shiny controller for everything. Only for the good Zelda stuff, like the Ocarina of Time remake. And I don't really want to buy a normal S2 Pro Controller when I still have a total of three for the old Switch... Though, it is very tempting.
Another improvement is the matt upper side of the controller. That area used to be glossy on the Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers and therefore was always prone to scratches, where you had to be super careful with inserting the USB-C charger. That's of the past as well.
It also comes with a 3,5mm audio jack at the lower end, which was totally made for me. I'm one of the three people out there who still prefer some good old wired headphones and whenever I play in table top mode, because my partner is playing her PlayStation 5 on the TV, I'm a bit worried I might accidentally pull the Switch 2 over. This won't ever happen with this controller now.
And it feels so smooth overall, compared to the Switch 1 iteration. I honestly thought that there wouldn't be much of a difference between the two, but it's a significant upgrade with the coating. Only the new GL and GR buttons are a bit weird, like something I might press on accident. But you don't have to use them...
In case you've been wondering, this is how both the 40th Anniversary Edition Joy-Cons and Pro Controller look inside the Nintendo Switch 2 menu. It's a little bit more detailed than what we had on the Nintendo Switch, because now you can also see the colors of the sticks and of the upper side of the Pro Controller with the shoulder buttons. Which is neat.
Following my detour through the south of Hyrule during the endless day, it was finally time for that day to pass and visit the castle. But it's easy to get distracted again when Hyrule Castle Town is filled with so many new details... And after my audience with the princess, I went back to the Lon Lon Ranch for a bit.
Yesterday evening I mainly spent my time with running around Hyrule, before going into the town and castle. This included a visit to the Lon Lon Ranch, Lake Hylia, and Gerudo Valley. I call this the "heart run", because you can find exactly four Pierces of Heart on that tour, letting you obtain another Heart Container very early in the game. But I've also had some interesting discoveries...
