Two years ago, I claimed (and detailed) to have (in the span of 1-2 days) done swordless runs of Zelda 1's first and second quests, a candleless run of Zelda II, and topped it by taking out Mike Tyson in a game of Punch-Out!!...
QUOTE
Well first of all, hello again everyone, or who all I know that is actually still around. I don't post often in Zelda circles anymore, mostly for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:
Me getting older while the fans only get younger
Being too busy
My DS broke so Spirit Tracks is out fo the question
A decline in the series as Miyamoto is constantly dragged back into it
Part of the fanbase tried to destroy me
An ungrateful, unpleasable fanbase that boycotts the innovative titles for being too bizarre, and then complains after playing the formulaic ones, for them being to boring and unoriginal. Plus, they make the rest of the fanbase look bad. Any day now, I know Miyamoto is going to end up lashing out at them. Then everyone is going to feel bad. Except me over on the Mario side etcetera but most importantly... For many of the above reasons, I've lost interest in the series as a whole.
...Then, last week, something amazing happened. I don't know what inspired me to do it. Maybe it was reading all those Courage Wolf images aboot getting into fistfights with F-16s and whatnot. But my balls went up to 11, and I decided to play through the second quest of the Original Legend of Zelda... ...Swordless.
(1) I have to say, this was like a brand new experience. Things start off very slow as you need to find enough money laying around to buy a candle and (preferrably) some bait. But then, it turns into a mad quest for the magic rod, which can be fought for if you just do a little item-raiding in dungeons. Then, I started fighting my way through the game, bombing wizzrobes only when needed (exactly two rooms). When it came time for Ganon, I went and got the magic sword, but kept myself jynxed until I actually reached him and won. ...I was not satisfied.
(2) I went back and did first quest, bypassing the wooden sword and again fighting with a candle and whatever I could scrounge up. Eventually I had six hearts, a blue ring, and a magic shield. Then I decided to go pick up the white sword. Well, what am I gonna do with all these toys? ...Item raiding. Starting with Level 6. Level 6, the wizzrobe dungeon. With six hearts and little more than a magic shield and blue ring, plus white sword. I actually made it to the magic rod, got it, and ran out, to go and raid more dungeons for their items, moving on to 5, then 7, 3, 4... when all dungeon items were collected, I went back for the fragments. In opposite order. Beat the game, did all that yahoo, and... no... I needed more.
So I decided to go and beat Zelda II. That's supposed to be a hard game right? I actually had beaten the game over the weekend before that, but on an old file. This time I was going to start anew... ...without a candle. I went ahead and completed Parappa palace but after that, my focus was dead-set on getting the downward thrust. Meaning I'd either need the hammer or go right past it. Meaning I'd need to go through Death Mountain and other caves along the way... in the dark, with only whatever spells and containers I could muster along the way.
(1) As long as you know how to identify the presence of an enemy in the dark, candleless questing is easier than it sounds. You do however still need to worry aboot most flying enemies, and the dairas (alligator dudes) are still big pains in Death Mountain. It took me quite a few times, and quite a few oddly-muffled laughs by Ganon but I got to the bottom, took the beach north to Mido (does not require the hammer), then with the downward attack in tow, got my hammer.
(2)Once I crossed the river, my new objective was to get the magic key ASAP. This meant collecting dungeon items in both palaces 4 and 5, using the fairy spell to bypass locks, and then getting SPELL in hidden Kasuto. once all was said and done, I went back for the bosses, and ditched two more crystals.
(3)Three eye rock was a veritable breeze, but then I continued on to the Valley of Death, and learned something very terrifying: Both the scripted and ordinary battles on the road to the Grand Palace count as caves. Meaning with no candle, despite all the lava, you're in the dark and can't see these floating enemies unless they're in the floor or something. ...surprisingly enough, the Fairy spell got me out of that. From there, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing, and I can now say I conquered Zelda II without a candle. and (most of) Zelda 1 without a sword. (I'd have done all of it but Ganon absolutely cannot be destroyed without one.)
Also, for kicks, I used a password on Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!! and after *several* tries, I took out Tyson. I've yet to do it again. ...anyways, somewhere between beating the first and second games, My interest in the series has actually started coming back. I think I'm starting to like these old Zeldas again, and to an extent, the new ones. I might go back and do Alttp soon, but no promises of going past that. ...at any rate, I'm coming for you, Ganon... *Plays *heart of fire* from CV
Me getting older while the fans only get younger
Being too busy
My DS broke so Spirit Tracks is out fo the question
A decline in the series as Miyamoto is constantly dragged back into it
Part of the fanbase tried to destroy me
An ungrateful, unpleasable fanbase that boycotts the innovative titles for being too bizarre, and then complains after playing the formulaic ones, for them being to boring and unoriginal. Plus, they make the rest of the fanbase look bad. Any day now, I know Miyamoto is going to end up lashing out at them. Then everyone is going to feel bad. Except me over on the Mario side etcetera but most importantly... For many of the above reasons, I've lost interest in the series as a whole.
...Then, last week, something amazing happened. I don't know what inspired me to do it. Maybe it was reading all those Courage Wolf images aboot getting into fistfights with F-16s and whatnot. But my balls went up to 11, and I decided to play through the second quest of the Original Legend of Zelda... ...Swordless.
(1) I have to say, this was like a brand new experience. Things start off very slow as you need to find enough money laying around to buy a candle and (preferrably) some bait. But then, it turns into a mad quest for the magic rod, which can be fought for if you just do a little item-raiding in dungeons. Then, I started fighting my way through the game, bombing wizzrobes only when needed (exactly two rooms). When it came time for Ganon, I went and got the magic sword, but kept myself jynxed until I actually reached him and won. ...I was not satisfied.
(2) I went back and did first quest, bypassing the wooden sword and again fighting with a candle and whatever I could scrounge up. Eventually I had six hearts, a blue ring, and a magic shield. Then I decided to go pick up the white sword. Well, what am I gonna do with all these toys? ...Item raiding. Starting with Level 6. Level 6, the wizzrobe dungeon. With six hearts and little more than a magic shield and blue ring, plus white sword. I actually made it to the magic rod, got it, and ran out, to go and raid more dungeons for their items, moving on to 5, then 7, 3, 4... when all dungeon items were collected, I went back for the fragments. In opposite order. Beat the game, did all that yahoo, and... no... I needed more.
So I decided to go and beat Zelda II. That's supposed to be a hard game right? I actually had beaten the game over the weekend before that, but on an old file. This time I was going to start anew... ...without a candle. I went ahead and completed Parappa palace but after that, my focus was dead-set on getting the downward thrust. Meaning I'd either need the hammer or go right past it. Meaning I'd need to go through Death Mountain and other caves along the way... in the dark, with only whatever spells and containers I could muster along the way.
(1) As long as you know how to identify the presence of an enemy in the dark, candleless questing is easier than it sounds. You do however still need to worry aboot most flying enemies, and the dairas (alligator dudes) are still big pains in Death Mountain. It took me quite a few times, and quite a few oddly-muffled laughs by Ganon but I got to the bottom, took the beach north to Mido (does not require the hammer), then with the downward attack in tow, got my hammer.
(2)Once I crossed the river, my new objective was to get the magic key ASAP. This meant collecting dungeon items in both palaces 4 and 5, using the fairy spell to bypass locks, and then getting SPELL in hidden Kasuto. once all was said and done, I went back for the bosses, and ditched two more crystals.
(3)Three eye rock was a veritable breeze, but then I continued on to the Valley of Death, and learned something very terrifying: Both the scripted and ordinary battles on the road to the Grand Palace count as caves. Meaning with no candle, despite all the lava, you're in the dark and can't see these floating enemies unless they're in the floor or something. ...surprisingly enough, the Fairy spell got me out of that. From there, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing, and I can now say I conquered Zelda II without a candle. and (most of) Zelda 1 without a sword. (I'd have done all of it but Ganon absolutely cannot be destroyed without one.)
Also, for kicks, I used a password on Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!! and after *several* tries, I took out Tyson. I've yet to do it again. ...anyways, somewhere between beating the first and second games, My interest in the series has actually started coming back. I think I'm starting to like these old Zeldas again, and to an extent, the new ones. I might go back and do Alttp soon, but no promises of going past that. ...at any rate, I'm coming for you, Ganon... *Plays *heart of fire* from CV
In general, people were surprisingly accepting of this despite me having no evidence. However, now that I have a better computer and better means to capture content, I would like to go back and do it all again, cementing and immortalizing the evidence for good on youtube or something. I don't plan on doing all the games though at this time: Just the candleless run of Zelda II.
I'm aiming to stream this weekend, though I can't be certain I'll get the opportunity. But, planning ahead.
I'll keep you informed if I decide to do this.
