This is not exactly "day 3", since I'm writing about my progress from last night and I also will be playing some more later today. However, it felt right to have one blog post for each significant chapter of the game. I've cleared Snowhead, Romani Ranch and the Ikana Graveyard. And I wanted to write about this, before moving on to Great Bay.
Goron Link now punches differently, it feels more quick and dangerous, but they are not as massive and fiery as they used to be. You also don't have to hold A now for rolling, which feels different, but it's not necessarily bad.
I like how they added a fence right before the entrance of the Snowhead Temple. In the original this was a tight curve and I would usually fall down, right before getting to the entrance. So, this is a good change. Inside the temple they moved only one Stray Fairy into a more visible position. They still kept the very difficult ones, so it's not a big deal.
The new Goht fight is also pretty good. If you hit him after a jump, it exposes the giant eye, which you have to shoot with arrows. If you use Fire Arrows, it adds a nice burning effect to the whole Goht. But you can also have Goht crash by attacking him side ways, which exposes a smaller eye at the side, so you can attack it with punches. This feels a little more like the classic approach. So, from the tactic alone, it feels a lot like the original, it's just that they make you use the bow in one case. However, Goht also gets some new moves. Now he sends rolling boulders after you and you can even have entire clusters of stalactites falling down. And that's in addition to the bombs and all the other craziness you had before. You can now even spot, how the bombs come out of his body, which is a nice detail.
I even played the Goht fight twice in a row, because after the Snowhead Temple was done, I devoted my next cycle to getting the Gilded Sword. I feel like the one thing in the game, which they really could have made easier, was the Goron Race. It still feels unfair, but it's doable. The cycle after that focused on the Romani Ranch and the Ikana Graveyard, clearing both at the same time, though this was not a good choice, because I had to go the graveyard twice. It's better to devote one full cycle to the graveyard simply staying there, especially now that you can skip time so efficiently with the new Song of Double Time.
Not getting a bottle at the third day of the Graveyard still feels wrong though, since it added variety to the daily rewards there and the puzzle with Boris always has been a hassle, where you should get a better reward. Though they might it easier. Now you simply have to target him and Tatl hovers in front of him, so that he will move into your direction, where ever you are. On the N64 it was really easy to lose him or to have him run in the wrong direction (even jumping down, when he shouldn't). It's good that they fixed this, but they should have kept a bottle there.
The Gorman race track is now a lot shorter by the way. Or at least it feels like it. There's only a small sequence of fences right before the goal, but I remember that in the original there were a lot more fences at the end. But I never liked this race, so I don't really mind it being shorter. It also became harder at the same time, it took four times to beat it. I'm not sure about the new Garo's Mask. I like it's design, but the original Garo's Mask was one of my favorites. It makes more sense to have the mask of a Garo Master though.
And for some reason I couldn't find Cremia on the first day. She used to hang outside on the fields, tending to some cows. But I couldn't find her anywhere. I hope this is not a bug in the 3DS version, because this would be a huge oversight. Update: But she should be there, because Nintendo released this screenshot:
Maybe I was blind. Or it really is a bug and she is gone, after you play the horse target practice minigame... I don't know.
New Masks:
Goron Link now punches differently, it feels more quick and dangerous, but they are not as massive and fiery as they used to be. You also don't have to hold A now for rolling, which feels different, but it's not necessarily bad.
I like how they added a fence right before the entrance of the Snowhead Temple. In the original this was a tight curve and I would usually fall down, right before getting to the entrance. So, this is a good change. Inside the temple they moved only one Stray Fairy into a more visible position. They still kept the very difficult ones, so it's not a big deal.
The new Goht fight is also pretty good. If you hit him after a jump, it exposes the giant eye, which you have to shoot with arrows. If you use Fire Arrows, it adds a nice burning effect to the whole Goht. But you can also have Goht crash by attacking him side ways, which exposes a smaller eye at the side, so you can attack it with punches. This feels a little more like the classic approach. So, from the tactic alone, it feels a lot like the original, it's just that they make you use the bow in one case. However, Goht also gets some new moves. Now he sends rolling boulders after you and you can even have entire clusters of stalactites falling down. And that's in addition to the bombs and all the other craziness you had before. You can now even spot, how the bombs come out of his body, which is a nice detail.
I even played the Goht fight twice in a row, because after the Snowhead Temple was done, I devoted my next cycle to getting the Gilded Sword. I feel like the one thing in the game, which they really could have made easier, was the Goron Race. It still feels unfair, but it's doable. The cycle after that focused on the Romani Ranch and the Ikana Graveyard, clearing both at the same time, though this was not a good choice, because I had to go the graveyard twice. It's better to devote one full cycle to the graveyard simply staying there, especially now that you can skip time so efficiently with the new Song of Double Time.
Not getting a bottle at the third day of the Graveyard still feels wrong though, since it added variety to the daily rewards there and the puzzle with Boris always has been a hassle, where you should get a better reward. Though they might it easier. Now you simply have to target him and Tatl hovers in front of him, so that he will move into your direction, where ever you are. On the N64 it was really easy to lose him or to have him run in the wrong direction (even jumping down, when he shouldn't). It's good that they fixed this, but they should have kept a bottle there.
The Gorman race track is now a lot shorter by the way. Or at least it feels like it. There's only a small sequence of fences right before the goal, but I remember that in the original there were a lot more fences at the end. But I never liked this race, so I don't really mind it being shorter. It also became harder at the same time, it took four times to beat it. I'm not sure about the new Garo's Mask. I like it's design, but the original Garo's Mask was one of my favorites. It makes more sense to have the mask of a Garo Master though.
And for some reason I couldn't find Cremia on the first day. She used to hang outside on the fields, tending to some cows. But I couldn't find her anywhere. I hope this is not a bug in the 3DS version, because this would be a huge oversight. Update: But she should be there, because Nintendo released this screenshot:
Maybe I was blind. Or it really is a bug and she is gone, after you play the horse target practice minigame... I don't know.
New Masks:
- Goron Mask
- Don Gero's Mask
- Garo's Mask
- Romani's Mask
- Captain's Hat
Good to know you're having lots of fun with the game!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity: Which of the three remakes (OOT 3D, TWW HD, MM 3D) do you enjoying the most?
I think, I enjoyed The Wind Waker HD the most out of the 3D remakes. I had a lot of fun with the improved Pictobox and figurine collection.
ReplyDeleteBut it's hard to say, they're all pretty equal, both on what they did right and wrong. They improved a lot of things, but they're all full of missed opportunities for additions.
MM3D for the first time adds some significant new content with the fishing, but it also improved some things for the worse, like the swimming.
Cremia is indeed there on the first day, that screenshot is correct. I'm right now in the same cycle: upgrading the sword and doing the ranch sidequests (I have to do the UFO quest now). I'm leaving the graveyard for later.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying a lot this remake, with the gyro controls and the new Bomber's Notebook. The only thing I have not tried is the fishing minigame.
Can you catch all fishes in the swamp with my current masks? I'm curious if you are planning to do a fishing faq.
Anyway, I enjoy a lot reading about your progress!
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteTo catch all fish in the Swamp hole, you also need the Gibdo's Mask, so you won't be able to get them all.
I'm indeed planning a guide for the new fishing, but not in the near future.