Part 15 - The End: Wherein Link fights against the literal darkness.
Sorry for being so delayed, but I am back!
And now, it is time.
Big pink bunny, thank you!
Ganon: It’s unbelievable that you defeated my alter ego, Aghanim the Dark Priest, twice!
But now, we meet for the third time! Or fifth. Depends on how you look at it.
Wait, if that was your alter ego, doesn’t that mean you could, in fact, exit the Dark World this whole time?
Ganon: But you see now that the spell over you will never be broken!
I know he means that he will win, but if he does win, will Link be in any position to care whether his body is changed back or not?
Ganon: I will destroy you and make my wish to conquer both Light and Dark Worlds come true without delay!
Except, y’know, the massive delay I caused at the beginning of the game.
I know spears are generally considered good throwing weapons, but giving it a spin is a good way to hit your opponent with the handle instead of the pointy bits.
And with a single stomp, the room starts falling to pieces, because the mighty ruler of all of the Dark World can’t afford a decent architect.
Ganon: En Garde!
When I have spent so long wiping the floor with the monsters of the Dark World, is “of Darkness” supposed to make things more intimidating at this point?
Oh. As in, literally, of darkness.
I hit him so hard with my sword he, uh… froze, somehow?
Oh well, silver arrow time!
I am awesome bun.
This has been quite a journey. But now, here I am, where I have never ventured before. Or, well, hadn’t at the time of the original gameplay.
Uh…
Okay, admittedly, nice twist, but why were people so often calling it the Golden Power up to this point, then?
Triforce: … … …
Not gonna explain it, Triforce? I see how it is…
Triforce: The Triforce will grant the wishes in the heart and mind of the person who touches it.
The Triforce also speaks about itself in the third person, for whatever reason.
Triforce: The stronger the wish, the more powerful the Triforce’s expression of that wish.
If your wish does not come fully true, touch the Triforce once more, this time with feeling.
Triforce: Ganon’s wish was to conquer the world. That wish changed the Golden Land to the Dark World.
The Triforce has a sense of literalist humor.
Triforce: Ganon was building up his power here so he could conquer the Light World and make his wish come completely true. But now, you have totally destroyed Ganon.
Like, totally, dude.
Triforce: His dark world will vanish. And now, if you desire it, you may return to your human form… Or perhaps you’ve found happiness in your new form? That decision is yours alone.
…Does this mean I can’t consult with my attorney first?
Triforce: Take the Triforce and make a wish with your whole heart…
Oh well. Pinkforce get!
Now I’m thinking of a Zelda/LotR crossover.
Oh hey, rescuing the kingdom gave the guards faces and makes them look like actual people!
Wait a sec…
Um… my bad?
I guess we have one more reason to hope Link kept his bunny shape. It’s a lot harder to be mad at that face.
Okay, realistically, given what we see a bit later, chances are that the slain soldiers have been resurrected by the wish.
I love how he’s holding that book and looking at the camera. “Oh hey, you finally saved the world and brought me back to life. What took you so long?”
I guess they made up since last we saw them. Maybe they figured they should stop fighting or the big bunny will come over and set off a bomb in their house again.
…Happy end?
Oh, that wacky thief!
Wait, who owns those chests? I didn’t see them when I was there. Do they belong to the vultures?
I guess my Stockholm syndrome remark was perhaps a bit more on-the-nose than I thought…
Awww, I am quite much the happy we still have bunny link!
Well, mostly, but I’ll bring up the complication at the end.
Don’t worry, uncle. It’s not the size that matters…
I still think they’d have better business if they’d stop trying to kill everyone that comes anywhere near water, especially the water in their own domain.
Does he do anything to assist other than tend the shop?
Kindly refrain from making that face in my direction ever again, thank you.
…Where’s the Hyrule Chocobo? I want my Hyrule chocobo! sulks
Still hasn’t repaired that wall I blew up, I see.
And they stop doing heavy banging on metal to do some heavy metal head-banging.
Do I want to know why that net is a lot yellower than when I had it?
Actually, forget the in-universe reason. How in the world did Nintendo make such a goof? I mean, the palette has white in it, so…
How did he get up there?
“Shh, I’m incognito.”
Aw, it’s a tsundere thief!
And then, Ancient Stone Tablets happened.
And so, the credits roll, and the LP comes to a close, my first one on this site. Now, it is time for my final comments.
This is quite a lovely game, an enjoyable experience from start to finish. A simple change in graphics and text, perhaps, but it was enough to make an old game feel new again. Also, I like playing as fuzzy-wuzzies, so there’s that. Overall, I do feel this is a good-quality hack, and one can tell how much love and effort went into it. Though there are some issues, they are minor ones and I think most if not all have been probably fixed by now.
That said, I do have an issue with one thing related to the new story. Namely, this sequence of events:
Now, we cannot hear what Link said, but it feels pretty clear that Link did not merely mention the curse, but outright demanded the curse be lifted. And then, very soon after, he decides to keep it. Now, I could understand if that first screenshot were from the first encounter with Agahnim. Then, there would have been sufficient time for Link to have since warmed up to the form, but given how quickly Link went from demanding the curse be lifted to requesting to keep the form, well… that ending feels a bit forced. Personally, I would recommend either removing that line or rephrasing it, perhaps to something beginning with “And if you think I shall reverse the spell…” or something akin to that. Though, I dunno, maybe Ryusuta’s changed that line by now as well.
Overall, though, this game left me wishing that there were even more of the game to play and that it were not over yet, which is definitely a good sign. I quite commend Ryusuta for her hard work.
As for my own path from here, I’ll be starting the posting of my next LP soon. Originally, it came out concurrently with this one, but I figured I’d do one-at-a-time at first with this site. As for what the next LP is, I shan’t say yet, but I shall say it’s yet another instance of me playing the game with an unintended protagonist. So join me in the next LP, where I unleash puppy power!