9 replies to this topic

[Ether]

Link's Quest For The Hookshot 2 by Moosh
 
      
 

LQftH2 Version Lunaria.0

I decided to update the quest again in response to Lunaria's rather lengthy review and address most of her complaints. In the process I ended up having a little fun and overhauling a significant portion of the quest, adding a ton of new stuff. The dungeon graphics and layouts are still the same, but there's a ton of new content added. In this update you can expect to see:[/size]

• New Dungeons: One of the first things I set out to do was replacing the less well received bonus dungeons with more fair ones. Moosh's Ways, Veni Vidi Vici, and Ultimate Test are still in the quest, but have been moved over to a different game setting called Legacy Mode. The same goes for Level 7 Hard Mode. On top of that, there's a completely new bonus dungeon.
• New Bosses: Most of the boss related stuff in this update is small tweaks to old bosses, but there's a couple new ones thrown into the mix.
• New Enemies: Some old dungeons have new enemies in them and some old enemies are returning with scripted tricks up their sleeves.
• Weapons to Surpass Metal Gear: New to this update are seven tier 5 swords. Seven. Tier 5. They're crazy. Each is based on a Zelda Classic let's player or streamer. If you're a returning player eager to see the new content, you can even use a cheat to start the game with a powered down version of one of them. And there's a few new passive items to collect on the side.
• A Whole New World: A new fantastic point of view! No one to tell us no, or where to go, or say we're only dreaming...Ahem, sorry. The overworld in the original version of the quest was complete skippable trash, almost anything would be better. So I took some inspiration from NewJourneysFire's TRIFORCE which apparently took inspiration from me, and redesigned the entire overworld. I also added some caves and a small town to expand on the world's lore a bit. I think this is my best overworld so far.
• Difficulty Modes: To make the quest more accessible to different types of players, I've added different difficulty levels that change enemy damage. You can change difficulty at any time, but the game will keep track of the lowest you've played on.
• Fedora Hunt: There are a few megasecrets (items that do not show up on the subscreen) and easter eggs hidden around. See what you can find...

I hope this update will be an enjoyable experience for new players and returning players alike.

 

I mean, this was one of the first quests I ever played back before it got a huge overhaul, but it's a really good quest. Pretty classic overworld, good polish, a healthy mix of vanilla and scripted stuff, and an amazing final dungeon. Has difficulty selection too so it's accessible.

 

 

This one I've actually played! I was younger and less jaded then, and I remember being struck by its optional side-areas and dungeons. I remember some but not all of those dungeons now. I feel like there's a couple that I've just repressed all memory of.

Soon it will all come rushing back.

[Colin]

Awesome! I think I'll have a chance at giving this one a shot this time...

 

a hookshot even?

[Moosh]

Really rolling out the obscure picks here I see. 

 

Reminder to anybody who's already played it before, you can start with the LP weapons by naming your file LETSPLAY or LQFTH2LP

[Ether]

Really rolling out the obscure picks here I see. 

 

Reminder to anybody who's already played it before, you can start with the LP weapons by naming your file LETSPLAY or LQFTH2LP

 

Don't worry, it'll be fine. Nobody has ever played a quest.

[Ether]

I started with Final Sequence.

 

I feel like maybe I shouldn't have done this.

[Ether]

There's this odd mix of little kindnesses, like the fact that wallmasters and summoned bats don't count for kill-all-enemies purposes, and little quality of life annoyances, like the fact that the kill-all-enemies rooms close up again every time.

 

I really like this game's version of mirrorrobes. They're just...very straightforward useful enemies that make me mourn that the engine's mirrorrobes are so unpleasant.

 

(I finished L6 and some side dungeons; checking out Grayzone next. I decided not to start with Final Sequence and just aim for it later.)

[SofaKing]

I finally started this.  I've been obsessed with Nargad's Trail and playing that nonstop.  I finished L7 in that and decided to take a break, try to fulfill my duties as an esteemed member of Quest Club, and give this a (hook)shot.  Got through the first 2 levels tonight.  Seems pretty fun and looks very nice.  I honestly can't remember if I played this a few years ago or not.  Thus far it is quirky and funny in a good way.  

Edited by SofaKing, 06 December 2023 - 11:41 PM.

[Russ]

I beat (but didn't 100%) the quest the other night. Some very interesting decisions on display here. It's a bit strange how dungeons 1 and 3 are completely optional, and how huge portions of the rest of them are as well. The dungeon sequence of 2->4->6->7->5 also feels a bit out of order, but what do I know? The difficulty was a bit steep, especially with how limited heart containers are, but it never got overbearing, except maybe the penultimate boss fight against the birdphone. It's a little disappointing that the story doesn't really delve into some of the themes the gameplay explores regarding rejecting the traditional morality presented by the church (visited at the start of the game) and carving out your own path, not vanquishing the deadly sins but not embracing them either, but then again, perhaps the appearance of the compasses at the end regardless is a message in itself. We can't truly escape the culture we find ourselves in and its definition of sin and virtue. Perhaps, like Poek, we're all slaves to it. Within the confines of our society, we are home.

 

Spoiler

Guys the sequence breaking this game lets you perform if you know what you're doing is absolutely bonkers.

[SofaKing]

Through Level 5 now.  There's too many "attacking floor tile" rooms (they're annoying more than challenging for the most part), but overall this is pretty darn fun to play through.  I thought the Level 5 boss had too much HP.  Feels like I hit it with the hammer like 30 times before it finally relented.  The underwater gimmick was well done and the color switch boss was also cool.  

 

Edit:  Past Level 6 and doing some of these late-game dungeons.  Some of these are pretty insane and weird.  

Edited by SofaKing, 11 December 2023 - 10:44 AM.

[Deedee]

Having revisited this, I don't think the quest holds up as good as I remembered it. The biggest problem is the main dungeons; these for the most part are the same as they were in 2013, and they aren't super great for the most part.
 

Levels 1 and 2 are passable, but Level 3 is just really bad; if you die in it you lose a lot of progress and have to redo a lot to get back, doing the crystal switches in the exact same way with no shortcuts feels like padding when there is a shortcut built in, it just activates after you've basically finished the dungeon. Level 3 also has a bad midi, and is balanced around white sword and blue tunic, but both are in level 4's overworld area right next to level 4 and by that point you might as well do level 4 while you're there.
Level 4 is good but it drags on for too long where the second half just isn't that interesting (the breath mechanic is cool but the central room attached to it is not super fun to navigate with how tight it is) and the boss walkback is annoying.
Level 5 was solid and I appreciated the dark palace callback, but the path to get the hammer was a bit long and having to go through the path to get the big key in order to access that one locked door/the boss area wasn't a good design call and it means that you have to redo the boss key section if you either miss the key on the left side or if you die to the boss.
Dark world is where things start really going downhill for main content; Mirror Mountain is *not* optional and it's boring, Tablet Factory is a slog, and Chaos Citadel introduces a brand new problem that the original version didn't have where the newly introduced enemies are not built for the screens they are placed in and you end up getting knocked into a pit because a blue firerobe ate up all the space on your tiny little platform while trying to puzzle solve.
I really liked the final dungeon, and I don't have any complaints regarding it, but I can see how others would.

A huge problem with Hookshot 2 is enemy spam; there's way too many enemies on screen that ask for your attention and usually they're cramped in small places. On easier difficulties this is fine cause hookshot 2 was seemingly designed around tanking a lot of these small hits, but on harder difficulties it becomes obnoxious; my enjoyment of the game only really got better after I got a great big "fuck off and die" sword that shreds through entire screens where other games I'd see getting such a weapon being very boring, which is probably an indicator that the enemies in their current amount are a hindrance to the experience of the game.

The optional content generally steers into more fun territory, which makes sense given standard mode replaced a lot of these dungeons. Lifting Caverns was a fun little detour, Dangerfree for being a joke dungeon was actually kinda pleasant, MMMMMM was a fun callback, Patra's Ways was a pretty cool dungeon (shame it's locked into near-postgame), and the LP Tower was also pretty good. I think Grayzone, Pitfall, and the Crypt minidungeon were the only misses in this regard, though I did like the concept of the split paths with the wizzrobe bosses in the crypt minidungeon.

Definitely hasn't aged super well given how much more quality stuff has come out since.