SWAMP... A path opens... in the blooms...
Back to Mabe Village everything is suddenly in peril, because BowWow got dognapped! Oh, no! Well, of course this didn't come as a surprise to me, but it was surprising that the Moblin panic music was played in the entire village, not just around the kids and Madam MeowMeow. This was a little bit annoying, but also hilarious, because everyone else in the village just keeps doing their usual business and is super happy. Like Marin sings the Ballad of the Windfish peacefully and so on...
But when there's someone's in danger or in need of a help, a true hero doesn't hesitate and naturally seeks out to... play some more Trendy Game first:
I got the Goomba next, which was on the upper right moving platform, but I got lucky here. The items on there will be somewhat tricky. Anyway, I then went back into Marin's and Tarin's house to place the figurine, which was nice timing, because I like to check on Tarin what he's up to. There's usually something with the guy during the game, where in this case he sleeps it off.
But this made me realize for the first time ever that Marin actually places you in her bed in the beginning of the game. Of course this was a detail that already present in the GameBoy version, but now that everything is so much more detailed I'm paying a lot more attention to something like this. But that's nice to know. I'm certainly more comfortable in her bed than his.
Anyway, on my way to the Moblin Hideout I've found a new Secret Seashell in a place, where I absolutely suspected one to find from the preview material. And I love this. If you are really familiar with the original game, you keep seeing these little changes. A new bush here, a strange pattern of flowers there... And these changes seem to be all there for a reason: to indicate that there might be a Secret Seashell hidden there.
I won't spoil the spot, but BowWow might be doing this for you anyway. He already was a living Seashell Sensor in the original, but there you only had very limited usage for this, unless you dragged him all over the Ukuku Prairie with you. And of course he only reveals buried seashells to you, but not ones in bushes or in trees. But now there seem to be a couple of new buried seashells all around the first and second areas, where BowWow seems quite useful.
This even led me to another seashell where I didn't expect it, thanks to him. This means I need to get rid of him soon, so he doesn't spoil any more locations for me. I won't also be using the Seashell Sensor, once I got it. But this is fun. I will enjoy looking for all the new seashells A LOT.
One of my goals was also checking out the Chamber Dungeon, but you can't do that yet. When you go there before entering the Moblin Hideout, Dampé simply will say that he isn't ready yet. After rescuing BowWow he waits for you outside, but he then just says that you should take care of your current business, probably because you're not allowed to play the Chamber Dungeon while you have BowWow with you... Well, this is silly.
But at least you don't have to go to his shack before doing the Moblin Hideout now. It was very similar with the Photographer Mouse in the DX version. When you had BowWow with you, it didn't start the picture quest, so ideally you had to check out the photo house before rescuing the Chain Chomp pet dog. But now there's no need to go there early.
However, visiting the Tabahl Wasteland early might be worth it, because there is a Piece of Heart now there, as well as a Secret Seashell. We already knew that from all the preview footage (mainly GameXplain), so this shouldn't be a spoiler, but overall it is very nice that this version is having something there. As said already multiple times, the Tabahl Wasteland was a completely empty and pointless area on the GameBoy (Color). It looked cool, but that was it. So, it's nice to finally have something there.
Back to the Moblin Hideout... wow, the room with the four Spear Moblins is an actual challenge now. It was a total joke on the GameBoy, but now it might kill you. Your shield only blocks, if the projectile is coming from the direction that you are facing. So, if you shield to the upper right, but a Moblin is throwing a spear from above, it will hurt you. And trying a Spin Attack is also a bad idea, because it leaves you completely open. So, this room will probably be tough in Hero Mode.
And the Bottle Grotto won't probably be that easy either. The early game of Link's Awakening was always the most difficult part, if you are going for a zero death run. And the Hinox always was the final hurdle, who will certainly give me a hard time in Hero Mode as well. He charges a lot more often now and you can't stop him with a sword strike. He will take damage, but run into you anyway... Luckily, you can already have more hearts and a Fairy Bottle at this point, though there might be no fairies to find in Hero Mode until then...
You can also dig around the Bottle Grotto, by the way, since there are only few rooms with floors made out of stone tiles... The rest is all dirt, which again is new and also has me worried that there might be Secret Seashells buried inside the dungeons now. I haven't really been paying attention to this in the Tail Cave, but I started smashing every pot inside the Bottle Grotto just to be sure that there isn't something new. At least I found a fairy while doing that and hopefully it will still be there in Hero Mode.
It's cool how the Sparks can now reach much bigger territories in this version. In the south half of the dungeon there now is a connected room with the red and blue crystal blocks, where the Spark can go in the room below. Overall the game allows for enemies to be, where they couldn't get in the original, simply because it scrolls now. But this is interesting...
Well... one more dungeon done. I like that there is now a rock in front of the entrance of the Bottle Grotto instead one of the plants. This ensures that you can get back into the dungeon right away even without BowWow, in case you have forgotten a chest or so. Anyway, I will be checking out the Chamber Dungeon next, where hopefully this works now.
Current Status:
But when there's someone's in danger or in need of a help, a true hero doesn't hesitate and naturally seeks out to... play some more Trendy Game first:
I got the Goomba next, which was on the upper right moving platform, but I got lucky here. The items on there will be somewhat tricky. Anyway, I then went back into Marin's and Tarin's house to place the figurine, which was nice timing, because I like to check on Tarin what he's up to. There's usually something with the guy during the game, where in this case he sleeps it off.
But this made me realize for the first time ever that Marin actually places you in her bed in the beginning of the game. Of course this was a detail that already present in the GameBoy version, but now that everything is so much more detailed I'm paying a lot more attention to something like this. But that's nice to know. I'm certainly more comfortable in her bed than his.
Anyway, on my way to the Moblin Hideout I've found a new Secret Seashell in a place, where I absolutely suspected one to find from the preview material. And I love this. If you are really familiar with the original game, you keep seeing these little changes. A new bush here, a strange pattern of flowers there... And these changes seem to be all there for a reason: to indicate that there might be a Secret Seashell hidden there.
I won't spoil the spot, but BowWow might be doing this for you anyway. He already was a living Seashell Sensor in the original, but there you only had very limited usage for this, unless you dragged him all over the Ukuku Prairie with you. And of course he only reveals buried seashells to you, but not ones in bushes or in trees. But now there seem to be a couple of new buried seashells all around the first and second areas, where BowWow seems quite useful.
This even led me to another seashell where I didn't expect it, thanks to him. This means I need to get rid of him soon, so he doesn't spoil any more locations for me. I won't also be using the Seashell Sensor, once I got it. But this is fun. I will enjoy looking for all the new seashells A LOT.
One of my goals was also checking out the Chamber Dungeon, but you can't do that yet. When you go there before entering the Moblin Hideout, Dampé simply will say that he isn't ready yet. After rescuing BowWow he waits for you outside, but he then just says that you should take care of your current business, probably because you're not allowed to play the Chamber Dungeon while you have BowWow with you... Well, this is silly.
But at least you don't have to go to his shack before doing the Moblin Hideout now. It was very similar with the Photographer Mouse in the DX version. When you had BowWow with you, it didn't start the picture quest, so ideally you had to check out the photo house before rescuing the Chain Chomp pet dog. But now there's no need to go there early.
However, visiting the Tabahl Wasteland early might be worth it, because there is a Piece of Heart now there, as well as a Secret Seashell. We already knew that from all the preview footage (mainly GameXplain), so this shouldn't be a spoiler, but overall it is very nice that this version is having something there. As said already multiple times, the Tabahl Wasteland was a completely empty and pointless area on the GameBoy (Color). It looked cool, but that was it. So, it's nice to finally have something there.
Back to the Moblin Hideout... wow, the room with the four Spear Moblins is an actual challenge now. It was a total joke on the GameBoy, but now it might kill you. Your shield only blocks, if the projectile is coming from the direction that you are facing. So, if you shield to the upper right, but a Moblin is throwing a spear from above, it will hurt you. And trying a Spin Attack is also a bad idea, because it leaves you completely open. So, this room will probably be tough in Hero Mode.
And the Bottle Grotto won't probably be that easy either. The early game of Link's Awakening was always the most difficult part, if you are going for a zero death run. And the Hinox always was the final hurdle, who will certainly give me a hard time in Hero Mode as well. He charges a lot more often now and you can't stop him with a sword strike. He will take damage, but run into you anyway... Luckily, you can already have more hearts and a Fairy Bottle at this point, though there might be no fairies to find in Hero Mode until then...
You can also dig around the Bottle Grotto, by the way, since there are only few rooms with floors made out of stone tiles... The rest is all dirt, which again is new and also has me worried that there might be Secret Seashells buried inside the dungeons now. I haven't really been paying attention to this in the Tail Cave, but I started smashing every pot inside the Bottle Grotto just to be sure that there isn't something new. At least I found a fairy while doing that and hopefully it will still be there in Hero Mode.
It's cool how the Sparks can now reach much bigger territories in this version. In the south half of the dungeon there now is a connected room with the red and blue crystal blocks, where the Spark can go in the room below. Overall the game allows for enemies to be, where they couldn't get in the original, simply because it scrolls now. But this is interesting...
Well... one more dungeon done. I like that there is now a rock in front of the entrance of the Bottle Grotto instead one of the plants. This ensures that you can get back into the dungeon right away even without BowWow, in case you have forgotten a chest or so. Anyway, I will be checking out the Chamber Dungeon next, where hopefully this works now.
Current Status:
- Secret Seashells: 6 (2 old + 4 new)
- Pieces of Heart: 6 (2 old + 4 new)
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