With Farosh, the best plan that Iāve found is not to go after him at Lake Hylia, but instead wait at the southeast horse stable in the jungle-y area until 10:00pm, he spawns at the bridge there and you can just wait for him to go under, glide over him, and do a super-cool slo-mo arrow shot
Agreed. I tried to find him at Lake Hylia, but it was so inconsistent that it was really frustrating. But the bridge by the stable at night was way more consistent and I got my horn shards no problem.
Something Iām curious about with these materials: some articles that are taking things from the guide note that, to upgrade the āof the Wildā set to max, you need items called āDinraalās Horn.ā Not Shard of Dinraalās Horn, but just full-on Dinraalās Horn. Iām really curious if thatās a misprint, a character-space limitation, or if thereās some way to either get a whole horn or combine horn shards.
I would like the convenience, but I enjoy the feeling of materials in the world being harder to come by. You get used to checking in at every vendor you pass by when out and about, and you go through highs and lows; I have about 200 arrows at the moment but Iām sure thatāll dwindle down without me even noticing.
It will.
Trust me, I went from 202 to 50 in about two hours.
I mean yeah, I say āIām sureā because itās been happening this way constantly throughout the game so far.
Somehow got the Royal Horse without much hassle: she was just hanging out next to the road near the Horse Statue you get the Recovered Memory about her/Zelda from, and since it was raining, I had 2/3 of the Shiekah set on, and Iāve got two full stamina bars, taming her was way easy. Canāt be said for the Lyonel near Skull Lake I broke my Great Thundersword on, though 
I just broke all of my useful weapons on the white-haired Lynel I just found. Yet another run-in in the snow, I was exploring the Hebra mountains after finishing the Rito branch and it was another 4,000 health Lynel just hanging out in the tundra, only this time I was considerably less-equipped to take it down. Iād have had more weapons but Iāve had several slots reserved for the magic rods, a korok leaf, and a torch, just in case.
I just finished the game (Iāve been unemployed and housesitting since right before the Switch release, so donāt feel like you need to rush, Iāve just had a LOT of time on my hands). Beat all four Divine Beasts, got the Master Sword, found all the memories that thereās one IN Hyrule Castle is kinda bullshit, etc. Iām here for my final thoughts.
This is probably my favorite incarnation of Zelda, with probably only the Zelda of Spirit Tracks as a rival.
The game is incredibly good, but I hope future Zelda games donāt feel the need to follow in this gameās footsteps. I really liked what this game did, but I LIKE the Zelda formula. I enjoy the fun items and the puzzles and the varied dungeons. I hope that that style of Zelda doesnāt go away.
This game kind of suffers for a lack of truly memorable NPCs. Sure, everybody apparently wants to fuck the fishman (please donāt fuck a fish), but, apart from Zelda, there really wasnāt anyone as memorable as, say, Groose, Linebeck, or Midna. That said, Iām honestly surprised that each NPC felt unique and part of the world.
Thereās no way in hell Iām going to get all the shrines without a guide. I got around half and Iām good.
Props to this game for making an open-world game that I actually care about. Usually, all the exploration just seems too daunting for me, but somehow this game made me feel like the world was worth exploring for the sake of it. I loved running around and exploring the countryside.
Ultimately, the game is really really good, and I really enjoyed playing it. However, Iāll be really sad if the old Zelda formula falls by the wayside. There are a billion open-world RPGs, but only the Zelda series does what Zelda does.
hey if the waist high zora girl throwing love letters down a river gets to bang a grown dude, I can fuck the fish prince
Honestly I think the real problem with the characterization is just the lack of a companion. Like the npcs throughout the world are so full of character in a way that I donāt really think a Zelda has been since Majoraās Mask, but as far as anyone with actual permenance and development goes youāve got Zelda (Via the memories), Link through dialogue options and peopleās reactions to him (And for the record I love BotW Link, heās such a sassy lassy) and then the next best is Sidon. And in all fairness, itās not like past Zeldas really had more than one or two characters with that kind of development either, but like the fondness you get for Zelda entirely displayed through backstory is different to the sort of fondness you get for characters like Midna or Linebeck who are there for a good portion of events that transpire.
That being said Sidonās pretty good and the juxaposition of the Zora and the other races is pretty illustrative of why Sidon is so much popular than everyone else (Besides being a hot fish boy)
Spoilers ahoy!
[spoiler]
Before you even get to Zoraās Domain, before you even meet Sidon, youāll likely run into Zora around Lanaryu trying to direct you towards where Sidon is, probably running into a few of them on your way. You meet Sidon, he introduced himself and then youāve got to make your way up to Zoraās Domain through quite a trek while Sidon is still in the picture - by the time you get there Sidon has effectively been endeared to you somewhat. Like even if he doesnāt have any major development, by sheer virtue of being āin the pictureā and actively seeking you out he feels more involved in the story.
Zoraās Domain itself is also easily the best of the villages - a lot of the people their know you and thereās this mixed air of welcome familiarity and hostility and the whole backstory that maybe Link and Mipha had a thing going and it gets you invested in the place - I wanted to save Zoraās Domain, and then after you resolve the whole crisis there I stuck around and cleared out all the side quests because I found it compelling. Also after completing the whole thing everyone gets gathered together to announce hey Link saved us and everyone thanks you and you go around the village and everyone acknowledges this - the whole thing is done really well in my opinion! And the Lightscale Trident, although it suffers all the same problems the other champion weps do, at least feels it has some emotional weight to it, like the Zora armor. Also while none of the Champions are too well characterized, Mipha is fleshed out via the other Zora and her relationship with Link.
With the Gorons, Rito and Gerudo you get there, meet the relevant person or go to meet the relevant person and then more or less youāre on your way to the beast right away. Nobody knows or remembers you, thereās no real fanfare for accomplishing anything - it just feels like you turn up do a thing and then thatās it - more in the vain of say Ocarinaās races, which is just so boring? Like Riju I guess gets characterized through her diary a bit but what can you tell me about the white feathered Rito boy besides heās tough and proud and wants to save his people? I canāt even remember his name. None of these places feel like they have the same kind of relevant history to you as the Zora, none of them keep their characterās on-screen long enough for you to get invested (Feather boy you meet and then literally go to the divine beast immediately) and none of them really have the same kind of fanfare for saving everyone.
And on that note why does nobody else remember you? It makes themeatic sense with the Gerudo at least, and maybe the Rito could be justified as having human-length or shorter lifespans being bird people but like the Gorons look like they get ancient, how come none of them recognize you? I was expecting the Goron City at least to be more like Zoraās Domain in that respect and was pretty disappointed.[/spoiler]
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For me, at least, I sort of feel like they canāt un-ring this bell, at least in the main series. If the next main game went back to the more linear and enclosed structure of the previous 3D Zelda games, Iād be really disappointed.
That said, I donāt think itās all-or-nothing. I hope the next game keeps the wide-open world structure and all the great physics-based freedom this game has, with an open world that actually encourages adventure instead of running around ādoing content.ā But I also hope it brings back real dungeons. I enjoy the shrines a lot and the Divine Beasts are okay, but what I miss most from the established Zelda formula are the big, involved, multi-floor dungeons with different kinds of puzzles and unique enemies and minibosses and more clever boss fights. I want those back next time.
I wouldnāt mind having a few of the classic items back next time, too, since the Sheikah Slate probably wonāt be as relevant to the story (or to the gameās intended consoleā¦ that thingās a Wii U gamepad stand-in if I ever saw one). Just do the Link Between Worlds thing and let us get them outside the dungeons somehow so they donāt impede open world exploration, but can still be used in themed dungeon puzzles.
Really, I think (and hope) they can continue down this road of making future Zelda games truly adventures like this one while also bringing back some of that dungeon-crawling magic. I donāt need everything from BotW coming backāif they want to do something new with weapons, new tools instead of the slate, that kind of thing, sureāI just donāt want exploration this compelling to go away.
What I really want is for Nintendo to revisit the Wind Waker idea, but with this gameās focus on openness and using physics to solve puzzles and explore. Like, go full Black Flag with it. Give us an alternate Link and Tetra (who knows sheās Zelda and wants to take an active role) and Link is the Pirate Queen Tetraās first mate or something. And we get to sail around on a big ship and have ship-to-ship combat with moblin pirates and explore cool islands with dungeons and treasure.
EDIT A LOT LATER: Also, I hope they keep making 2D Zeldas like Link Between Worlds. That game rules, too.
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Please donāt fuck a fish
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In my preparations to finish the game, I have had no less than 3 instances so far where I have made a Guardian fall through the world after Stasising it while itās inactive and then shooting it in the eye.
Itās pretty hilarious, but also kind of sucks because I want those materials damn it.
Just [spoiler]obtained the Master Sword. Definitely feel like, storywise, Iām playing wrong since the recovered memories Iāve gotten havenāt been in order (and Iāve only gotten maybe 4), plus Iāve yet to do the Rito and Gerudo beasts.
As for the Lost Woods, itās one of my favorite areas in the game so far, alongside the Labyrinth in the North East. Would love to see more dungeon-ish stuff like the three trials, rather than stuff like the Goron stealth-escort mission.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Now that Iāve totally upgraded the Wild Set, I can confirm thatās itās just the shard, not a special thing.
Also fuck Star Fragments. Fuck them forever and ever.[/spoiler]
Oh shit, how many Star Fragments do you need? In all my time playing I only have three so far.
Thereās no way to collect the memories in order unless youāre crazy skilled at avoiding Guardians, so donāt worry about that. One of the memories, #8 I think, is located inside Hyrule Castle and thatās only halfway through the memoriesā story. If it helps, you can rewatch them from the Adventure Log menu.
Iām doing the three Korok trials right now, and I agree, theyāre a lot of fun in comparison to a lot of the shrine quests or Yunoboās stealth-escort mission. Iām not sure how I would have figured out some of these shrine quests without a guide, like the ācrown of boneā one - Iām sure I would have spent hours trying to lure Stalkin to the altar instead of realizing it was referring to a buck.
So, I beat the game this weekend, andā¦[spoiler]I actually felt like the finale was a little underwhelming, but that was sort of the point? Calamity Ganon itself wasnāt that much of a threat and Dark Beast Ganon even lessā¦but holy shit I cannot imagine trying to attempt those fights on a speedrun with three hearts and crappy Travelerās equipment, without the Master Sword or the Hylian Shield or the Divine Beasts knocking half of Calamity Ganonās health off. I mean, what even happens for the final battle if you never registered a horse? How do you get past the Blight Ganons all in a row without a weapon thatās super-effective against them? (clearly I need to actually watch some of these sub-1-hour speedruns to get answers to these questions) The underwhelming-ness kind of felt like it was the result of about 50 hours of preparation, which is oddly satisfying in its own way.
Of course I went right back into the game to start polishing off sidequests. I never want this game to end, and according to the completion percentage that gets added to the slate after you beat the game, it wonāt for a long time; I only had something like 19.86% done. After 50 hours.
Thanks for the tips about the dragons, all ā Iāve managed to upgrade the Championās Tunic to level 3 so far, so now itās just a matter of finding a good spot to hunt Dinraal.
Also, for the Tarrey Town sidequest, you need so much woodā¦so Iāve been using the regenerating Master Sword to cut down all the trees I need. Legendary sword that seals the darkness and the best weapon in the game (or at least in Hyrule Castle) and Iām using it as an axe, lols.[/spoiler]
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Three, one for each piece, but I had sold all of the ones I had gotten and needed to grind for more.
The story reminds me of Twilight Princessā, [spoiler]in that it feels incomplete. That for all of the time they put into the game and the delays it had, they still left out a whole chapter or more of important plot details to give the proceedings any real purpose, like the story itself was rushed. Youāre right in that Zoraās Domain is the only section with any emotional weight.
I think itās because the game itself canāt decide if itās actually Linkās story or Zeldaās. The game wants you to get back your memories, but theyāre not your memories; theyāre all Zeldaās. Theyāre all about her struggles and issues, and the only time you learn anything about Link as a character is Zeldaās hidden diary in her room. It cracks me up that they tried to write away Link having even less personality than usual as him putting on a cold and stoic front, because heās like that no matter what happens in any cutscene. It felt like a lazy handwave for making him a walking brick once again. It would have given the story far more weight if you actually learned about Linkās past, but the only time you really do is when you meet some of your old Zora friends.
And yeah the ending is pathetic and empty, and the true ending adds nothing whatsoever. Itās got to be one of the most incomplete stories in a Zelda game yet, which is sad when everything else in the game was excellent. Could be one of those cases of putting the game far ahead of the story, but at the end of it I donāt feel like I accomplished anything.[/spoiler]
Three tower zones into my 100% run an I already dread the idea of 900 koroks.
This game is extremely good
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I suspect there are that many koroks so that you can easily miss a ton of them while still having a decent-sized inventory. Well, that, and so Nintendo can troll you with your completion percentage at the end of the game 