7 replies to this topic

[Mani Kanina]

Skull Palace is a gauntlet dungeon quest.

It's a singular long dungeon that is reminiscent of Level 9 from Zelda 1. Basically expect a quest where the entirety of all 64 screens are used for a singular dungeon! It's also structured as if you're coming right into the final dungeon in what would be another quest; except we are skipping the journey entirely.

Within the dungeon itself you'll also find a shop that sells scaling upgrades for: HP, MP, and Sword Damage. These will give you something to spend money on and help you reach the end goal. Attack upgrades go up to 10, and the other two goes very high. Likewise there are plenty of secrets and otherwise to find in this place, expect a filled up inventory if you take the time to find every single secret!

On that note, any block puzzles are optional, though give helpful items.





If that all sounds good to you then you can find the download link below! Full list of credits can be found in the included read-me file.


[Download]

[Cobgoblin]

Just started, maybe about 1/10th cleared. You're really squeezing out all the potential in each screen. I'm probably gonna reset so I can dedicate more of my cash to attack upgrades because they're pretty significant.

 

The rupee slingshot is fantastic!

[Twilight Knight]

I'm now stuck at

Spoiler

the part where I think I need to get the hourglass to progress, but fail to see how I can get it. I've killed a gleeok and that was a dead end without having something to pass the spikes. Any tips?

 

So I really did enjoy this quest so far, I think I played 3 hours or so. I'm not that good at combat, but I found it very doable by getting the attack upgrades. The enemy variety is good until the point I reached. I like how you made an western half of the dungeon that plays a different soundtrack and has a different aesthetic, as otherwise I'd get repetitive quite soon. And the concepts in this quest are pretty neat!

 

The puzzles are really peak for me, I like how I keep finding stuff after revisiting the screens. I think Colin said it well that you're squeezing the most out of each screen. The progression with the items is fun and keeps me going. The music is catchy, especially the "bunny" theme.

 

I would really love some shortcuts, or perhaps I didn't find any, but the trek keeps getting longer and more tedious. Or maybe some shutter doors opening after clearing enemies could be permanent to mitigate this. I found only 1 bug so far, which isn't really harmful anyway, just strange. You spawn here if you get back from the passageway: https://i.imgur.com/FqpO8gx.png
 

Overall really like it so far, good throwback to some classic Zelda, but with a fresh and creative spin!

[Mani Kanina]

I'm now stuck at

Spoiler

the part where I think I need to get the hourglass to progress, but fail to see how I can get it. I've killed a gleeok and that was a dead end without having something to pass the spikes. Any tips?

 

Spoiler

In the gleeok room, just like most capstone rooms there is a push-able block for an item after you defeat the boss. In this case it's a torch, though.

There are some shortcuts the further you get into the dungeon, though some are a bit more obscure than others. The quest doesn't have many bombable walls, but there are a couple.

As for faulty return points... it seems like a weird issue with ZC itself. I've experienced the same thing, but on different screens. Return Square A is set appropriately, it just does not put you there for whatever reason. If I knew the cause I'd fix it.

Glad people are enjoying the quest so far though!

[ShirleyVaga]

does it matter which character i play as?

[Mani Kanina]

does it matter which character i play as?

You get to be a bun.

Spoiler

No, it's just visuals.

[ShirleyVaga]

I wonder what should I do in the rooms where I can't use any of my items?

[Mani Kanina]

I wonder what should I do in the rooms where I can't use any of my items?

Woah, completely missed this post. I didn't get a notification for some reason.

Anyway, if you're still wondering the answer is to keep pushing through while dodging. There is an item in there that you can reach that you'll need.