I think it’s time for more Zelda.
Zodi Plays: The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass [7] Shovelry
Video Length: 26:51
Today we explore Molida island, looking for the path through the ghost fog that blocks our way forward. Now, we did most of our sleuthing last episode, so all we REALLY need to do is go talk to Romanos about his Dad, now that we have reason to. He is understandably not willing to talk about his deadbeat, awful dad…until we press him a little. Ah, the complicated relationship of Father and son. With his blessing, we can now go explore the dangerous cave just outside his and his Mother’s house, the former hideout of his Father. It seems fine enough, up until we get into a place we can’t return from and meet a new enemy; the Geozard! A buff fishman with sword and shield, it can hit you or breath fire, and the only way to hurt it is to boomerang it in the back to leave it vulnerable. Simple enough in concept, but still pretty tough if you’re not used to the controls by this point. Other than this guy, this area isn’t really all that dangerous (discounting my misuse of bomb flowers, of course).
Making our way through to Romanos’s Dad’s study, we find a journal and treasure chest! The journal is basically just saying that this is a wild goose chase, the real hide out is somewhere else. But the treasure chest will be our key to opening it. Inside we have a good and sturdy friend; the shovel! The shovel lets us dig into the ground, getting random items every so often. It can also hit specific dig spots that are marked by cracks in the ground for a set reward. With this knowledge, we become RATHER RICH because of the surprising amount of large rupees on this island. I suppose Romanos’s Dad really was a good treasure hunter. Regardless of if he was or not, one thing we can say for sure is that he’s terrible at writing puzzles. Maybe it’s just me, but this line intersection puzzle is way too finicky. The lines intersect in way more places than just one, and it’s really unclear how the lines are supposed to leave the tablets he’s left as well! Now, if we could draw on the map WITHOUT interfering with everything else on the map, IE the stuff I’ve drawn on it previously, I might of been able to better draw out the lines…but at the same time, how are we intended to know how the lines are EXPECTED to be drawn. Again, I’m fully willing to admit this is entirely on me the instant someone explains this to me, but otherwise I’ve got nothing. I’ve never been good at these sort of puzzles.
That mini-rant taken care of, we dig ourselves into Romanos’s Dad’s secret lair, and finally find the path forward. Marking it on our map (plus the mysterious sun door we find) it’s time to set sail! It is not that tricky a venture, and we quickly get through the fog, which means we no longer ever have to take that specific path again. Huzzah! We can now head to the Isle of Gales, and we do so (taking out some minor cannon ships in the process, enemy ships that fire semi random cannonballs at us). The Isle of Gales is a big one, not a place of civilization but instead one big teaser to a dungeon. The place itself is full of miniblin, each of which drops a red rupee worth 50. I only noticed each pack of them drops a red rupee in editing, and that’s pretty cool. We also find our fair share of buried treasure as well, in addition to treasure chests. This place is loaded! It’s also very windy, which fights against us as we move forward, but also serves to help us make longer jumps. We also end up finding wind spouts (which I will be calling wind vents next time because oops wind spout is…not the right word but I’ve already committed to it) that further tease the mechanics of the dungeon, constantly blasting upwells of air that push us forward and higher. All in all, it’s actually pretty fun, which is a hard thing to do when video game wind is involved. Less fun is…me forgetting the one last aspect of the shovel in this game, a unique one to it if I am remembering correctly; you can also UNDIG things. Oops. Ah well, we’ll get it next time.
Speaking of which, I hope you all enjoyed today. I’ll see you guys next time where we continue our way through the Isle of Gales, shutting down the windmills that power the barrier to the temple proper!