Bun-Bun Fun: A Bunny Link to the Past

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Part 5 - Tower of Hera: Wherein Link does not receive any carrots.


Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ your mind…

Mild-Tempered Witch of the Northeast: Heh heh…

…Why did you start the brew if you don’t have all the ingredients? And what’s so funny, anyway?

In any case, one giving-a-mushroom later…

Mild-Tempered Witch of the Northeast: heh heh… Why thank you, little rabbit! Always could trust a monster to be polite to an old lady!

Like that sock to the left of here? Does it dance for you from time to time?

Mild-Tempered Witch of the Northeast: Come back to the shop for something good… Heh heh…

Heh heh…

Anyway, while we wait, time to visit Lake Hylia at long last!

Must be quite the tourist attraction, given that only those with the Power Glove can access it.

Maybe this is a subtle hint from Nintendo. Those who buy the Power Glove shall have all of their wishes come true…

Walking fish people are kinda weirdly adorable. Only kinda, though.

And when you knock them into the water, they turn into normal fish. Somehow.

And suddenly, massive whirlpool! Then massive splash, which I forgot to screenshot.


Image from The Simpsons, modified by I’ve-forgotten-who.

King Zora: Why would a bunny want to get all soaked just to come here?

“Oh, and also have to endure my entire fish army trying to kill you.”

King Zora: Wah ha ha! Don’t be absurd! Do you know how silly you’d look trying to swim!?

In turn, do you know how silly you look trying to talk?

I mean, seriously, his mouth makes him look more like a theme park ride entrance than a living being.

King Zora: Besides, they’re not cheap! I wouldn’t sell them for less than 500 a pair!

Okay, with the bottle, I can sorta understand. It’s magic and can hold fairies. But why are flippers so expensive? How does he expect to do any business? For that price, I’d expect these flippers to allow me to run on water like a ninja or something.

For that matter, why does he have them? Do fish people need artificially-made flippers for whatever reason?

Maybe that’s the story behind the walking ones. They’re the lower-class fish people who couldn’t afford flippers.

King Zora: Wah ha ha! Well, I could use a laugh! Very well! Oh, and if you’re THAT brave, I will let you use the magic water ways of the sea folk which link lakes and rivers. When you see a whirlpool, dive into it. Just try to dry your fur afterwards! Wah ha ha!

Well, I guess that justifies the cost. Sort of. I mean, not nearly as convenient as imprisoning fairies against their will, but oh well.

(Try not to imagine how silly you must look while swimming.)

Honestly, I thought human Link swimming kinda looked silly, so I’m used to it by now.

Also, I looked it up and, honestly, a rabbit swimming looks no more silly than, say, a dog swimming, but I think we’ve already established by now that this guy is very easy to amuse. And, yes, rabbits can swim. Except Link until now, apparently. And Link also can’t hop, it seems.

…Okay, maybe fish guy was a LIIITTLE right. He looks adorably silly though, so it’s okay.

But still, now I can swipe the piece of heart they put on display in their domain!

Anyway, now to enter the Waterfall of Wishing! I imagine the thing most people wish for when they get here is that the flippers they had to buy to get here weren’t so expensive.

Funnily enough, I don’t think money is on the list. Y’know, the thing normally people would throw in a well to make a wish.

At the time I was playing, I figured the only thing worthwhile to throw in right now was the boomerang. It was only later that I remembered another option.

I could understand if the fairy seemed scolding, but why would Link lie about it under these circumstances?

…Then again, why would he, in-universe, have thrown it in to begin with?

Fairy: What an honest little creature! I will give you something better in return.

You got the Magical Boomerang! You can throw this faster and farther than your old one!

I can understand the moral lesson here, but I don’t really understand the delivery. I think it would have worked better if she asked which item you dropped, a boomerang or the more powerful magic boomerang. Or something. Point is, there’s no reason for Link to lie here, even greed.

What could possibly go wrong?

Anyway, let’s try it out on the sock and truly put it in its…

…Uh…

Po-tay-to: Tra a la, look for Sahasrahla. … … …

You mispronounced Sands Rolex.

Po-tah-to: Oh yah, you found Sahasrahla! … … … Good job la la!

Mr. Potato Head: The Musical.

Alright, so, in the center of Lake Whatsitsname, we have a cave wherein you can drop rupees, a bit at a time, into a pond to increase your “happiness.” In this case, that translates out to increasing your max bombs and/or arrows. That this translates to happiness says perhaps unflattering things about Link’s psyche.

And mine! I’ll go ahead and go get those 300 rupees so I can be EXTRA happy!



…Yeah, for the first time, they don’t let one throw much at once. And you have to wait a bit before throwing more. And you need to throw 100 per increase.

Happiness increased 20 Rupees. In total, your happiness is 20. You became happier by one step.

Hooray for happiness grinding.

Or I could just blow stuff up. That makes me happy.

Of the two, I’ll mainly use arrows. Very rarely do I use bombs as weapons due to how impractical they are to use and they are plentiful enough that I never run out of bombs for walls, even before I knew some walls can just be bashed into. Arrows, meanwhile, are a highly practical weapon, when I can aim.

Much better.

For reference, today you will have

A bunch of carrots!

You mean the carrots I could have bought with the money I just threw in?

Also, fun fact: If you have a pet rabbit, it’s a bad idea to give it a carrot as anything more than an occasional treat. Sadly, a fair chunk of rabbit owners are not aware of this.

Increased arrow max to 70, the highest it will go.


Not-troll under the bridge: Ugh… a rabbit? Look, if I give you this thing will you leave me be?

This is a Magic Bottle! You can store an item inside and then use it later!

Hooray for pestering people!

In any case, time to enter Death Mountain. Presumably host to a number of iron, gold, and/or silver mines, because that name is pretty metal.

Old Man: I don’t know who you are, but if you are going to go up to the mountain, will you take me with you? I lost my lamp, so…

It’s a good thing I got here so quick. Had I taken longer, I’d probably be dismissed as a hunger-induced hallucination. Or a snack.

So it seems.

Old Man: Little bunny, are you also going to the mountain to look for the Golden Power?

A fair assumption, since I cannot think of any other reason a rabbit would scale this mountain.

Old Man: Just ahead is a mountain full of monsters. Many people have vanished in this mountain while looking for the Golden Power. I don’t want to steer you wrong, so please don’t get too involved in such a mad quest.

If the mountain is so dangerous, why do you live there?

Old Man: age…

How can you tell my age?

Old Man: The King took her to the castle and she never returned. Kidnapping those maidens must be part of the wizard’s plot! I’m sure he is trying to somehow use the power of the descendants of the wise men…

And now, squirrel… things.

Which turn to stone upon hitting them, for whatever reason. Admittedly a pretty effective self-defense strategy.

Old Man: I wait for that day… Uhh… These are dangerous times… I talked too much.

I’d say he did, considering we’re out in the middle of a bunch of falling boulders, except that the boulders are not currently moving. I guess talking really is a free action.

Old Man: Anyway, thank you for your kindness to an old human like me. Uhh… I wanted to give you this. If you wander into a magical transporter, gaze into this mirror.

Oddly specific instructions. Something tells me he knows more than he is letting on…

Oh well. Item get!

He gave you the Magic Mirror! This mirror is blue, clear, and beautiful… It reminds you of your old human form, somehow… You feel like it is going to absorb you into another world…

And, once this cutscene of him entering the cave ends, I get an instant boulder to the face.

Dark World. To complete your quest, you will need the Moon Pearl, which is in the tower on top of the mountain. All I can do for you now is to comfort your weariness… Come back here any time.

I think this anytime-healing was an anti-frustration feature because of all the boulders.

While there is some cave past this, it’s basically just a bunch of bats and pots, with the cave exit leading out here. Higher up than before, so it is a good way to bypass some of the boulders.

Anyway, onward and upward!

Quite the view. Also quite interesting, these glowing blue stone… crystal… things.

Time to get sidetracked!


But, alas, only a fairy pool lies at the end of this path. Though, that is useful, since I have one empty bottle.


And here we are!

Just sitting out here, unloved and alone. Don’t worry, piece of heart. I’ll take good care of you.

Giving me the silent treatment, eh, Saha?


Well, that was an anticlimactic cave.

Ooh look, issa thing!

Shiiiinyyyy…

…Well, this is awkward.

For starters, why do you get to keep your clothes?

Goblin thing: I came here to get the Power of Gold but now I’m a freak and I can’t go back to the real world! If only I had the Moon Pearl from the Tower of Hera, I cold go back to my original shape! I’ve got good reason to be stressed out! So back off! Shoo shoo!

Armless Kirby: Oh? Who are you, Mr. Bunny? This world is like the real world, but evil has twisted it. The Golden Power is what changed your shape to reflect what is in your heart and mind.

Well, Link is a teenager, as we’ve established, so I guess the nature of the change shouldn’t be too surprising.

Armless Kirby: I am always changing my mind, so I turned into a ball… But if you have a ball called the Moon Pearl, you can keep your original shape here.

This sprite works, yes, though surprisingly, I think Link is more adorable with the tunic on. That said, I think a white belly would have been a nice touch, and would have added both more visual variety to these sprites and, well, I think it would have made this form cuter. I would quite recommend that for a future revision, though I imagine that would also require a palette revision, so not sure how practical it would be.

Also, again, quite the view!

Flashing disco castle: Proving that evil lairs are all the rave.

I quite like these visuals, really.


They’re laughing at me…

Well, I may as well go ahead and look at myself naked in the mirror, as long as I’m…


Oh.

Hop!

I must give the ancient Hylians credit; they are remarkably non-cryptic about their ancient writings.

Anyway, onward!

Ah yes, the switches. To change which color is raised or lowered, strike the switch, because all the best mechanisms are operated by violence.

The fact that this happens does help to encourage the player to think about how to activate a switch at range, so, nice little design touch, there.


Speaking of design, I do not think I would have ever thought of these floor panels that change where the holes are. It’s strange, yet effective.

Oh, that wacky Saha…

Ack! I can’t just stand in the doorway this time!

I’M SORRY I TAUNTED THE FLOOR TILES HELP MEEEEE!

Sassy Crawla: Whoever holds the Moon Pearl is protected from the power of the Dark World. The Dark World amplifies the transformaton you already went through, so you need the Moon Pearl’s protection to maintain your human soul and abilities!

Wait, this affects the soul, too?


Golden Power.

Ah, the Moon Pearl, freshly harvested from the Moon Clam.

Ah, this thing. The main peril with this is a ring out, more than a knockout, because the boss is very bouncy. Kind of an interesting take on a boss.

Huh. I think that’s the first time I got it on my first try. Like, ever.

You won the Pendant of Wisdom! With this, you have collected all three Pendants! Go now to the Lost Woods to get the Master Sword!

Sadly, no bulbous blue flute yet, so I actually have to travel there on paw.

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