Edit: Staff contacted me an basically told me that I'd have to bump up my rating for all quests I have ever reviewed by one star. Note that this does not reflect my own opinion on the matter, or the quest, but just that it was something I was made required to do.
---------
Outlands Randomizer... completed at 288/300 5/9(?) item collection ratio. This will be more of a critique piece than a review. (Some spoilers present, stay clear if you don't want to be spoiled.)
Oh boy, where do I start with this? It's great, just like the previous randomizers. The fact that it takes the Zelda 1 hack Outlands and makes it a more enjoyable experience is great on it's own, but with the added randomization you get an additional layer of excitement, as you're never quite sure what you'll get. I was ready to give this a 5/5 after I got done whooping Ganon, but there are a few things holding this quest back from being as great as it could be.
First the simple stuff: The music. The quest features songs from various different games, and all of the tracks sound good and fit the areas they are in. However, the volume levels could use another looking over. A few of the tracks are almost impossible to hear unless I bring up the volume. (But doing so makes all the other tracks and sound effects loud.) And a very small amount of tracks are a tiny bit too loud. This may sound like nitpicking, but considering how little time it would take to fix this and how much more consistently pleasing the audio would be, I say it would be well worth it.
Another thing is the item graphics. It's hard to know if an upgrade is the final version of an item or not, and at the end of the game I had five different swords, without any easy way to tell which one would deal the most amount of damage. (Not that it matters since I used the hammer anyway, but, ya know.)
And now to the big one: The game drags out, and there were several points I wished it would just end. Nine times four dungeons, plus two extra final ones, that's a fair amount of levels. And it would have been a great ending point for the quest. By the time I reached the level 9's, I was so overpowered in gear that I didn't need to worry about dying at all. But then, the parallel world happens.
It's a great concept, and a fun surprise... until you get going. Four sets of nine levels again? That's insane. The parallel world is more modern in design, which is probably another nod to parallel world, seeing as that's an Z3 hack, compared to Outlands which is a Z1 hack. This could have been a great opportunity to make Z3 Parallel worlds inspired levels, instead we get revamped and heavily modified versions of the previous level set. While the ALBW references are nice, this whole thing just feels shitty.
By the point I started the parallel world I was nearly unkillable. Out of my 22 deaths in the run, only one happened after I got to the parallel world, and this is despite me using the fast forward button when making my way across the new world and dungeons. Not to mention, the death happened in the True Tree level, which is a post game bonus dungeon! (And I got glitched into a state of being unable to move.) Nothing was challenging about the parallel worlds: Combat went from easy to easier as I amassed all the items in the parallel worlds, dungeon puzzles were easier what with the more modern dungeon layouts. The magic key stops working in the parallel world, but since dungeon keys don't switch over to level specific... I already had a collection of over 30 keys when I got there. (And I found the new magic key fairly fast anyway.)
That's not to say that there weren't any good parts to the parallel world though. The "You broke it! Noooo"(Paraphrasing) level is one of the most genuinely funny levels I have had the pleasure to play. The True Tree level was amazing too... well not the level itself, as it was a chore. But it has one amazing thing at the end, that I really dig. Even though I knew exactly what it was as soon as it happened (having seen quite a few scripts in my days, etc.) it was still awesome. The remodelled overworld is also much more enjoyable to explore and has more interesting scenery.
But then, the quest gives you the sidequest from hell: Collecting every map and every dungeon compass in the game. It's optional and it only gives two items if you complete it. (And you can see what they are in advance.) But this side quest is a pain in the ass, and it is given halfway through the game, at which point you might have skipped the map or compass in a few levels. Have fun backtracking and figuring out which ones! If this sidequest was made known to the player at the start of the game, it would have been less of a pain in the ass, but I still don't think it's a great one. And keep in mind that this forces the player to complete all eight Final Outlands levels. As, opposed to the two you have to do regularly (one in Outlands and one in the parallel world). Some levels also don't even have compasses!
This quest turns into a collectors dream... and nightmare on the same time. There is really a reward for collecting everything. But that doesn't mean the reward is good, nor that it isn't a chore to go through it all.
I feel that Randomizer Outlands completely misses it's own point of existing. The high point of randomizing a game is that you can get some fairly interesting experiences, putting replay-ability in the forefront as the intended way of playing the game. But given the size of the quest, I'm unsure if I'm interested in replaying this quest at all! After a certain point it just feels like the items you get pad out the inventory, rather than providing a new avenue for fighting. The earlier sections of this quest is by far the better, as you have to adapt how you fight to what tools you get. But let's get real: I don't need five different swords that shot sword beams in different ways, I don't really need three rows of hearts, and I most certainly don't need an upgrade to Faroes wind! (I could go on...)
Ironically I think this quest would have been better with content being cut. One set of 9 levels + the extras in the parallel world would have been fine. But make them larger, more complex, and inspired by parallel worlds. Heck, even two sets, one ALBW and one Parallel worlds inspired would have been great. A cut down on the amount of items in the quest would have been for the better too. Maybe stop at the range of 200-250? A lot of the upgrades don't seem to matter after a certain point anyway. But hey, at least the quest ends at a high note. The final dungeon and boss fight was both creative and interesting. (Though, not challenging.)
Did I enjoy my time with Randomizer Outlands? Yes.
Would I recommend the quest to others? Yes.
Do I have any interested in replaying it? No.
Do I plan on 100% it for all the items? No.
Unrelated to the review, but here are a list of bugs/weird things I found:
- The exploding boomerang does not seem to explode when I throw it straight right into a wall.
- The brown hammer seems to be very buggy in regards to when it does, and when it does not open bombable walls.
- The later candle upgrades seem to be unable to melt the ice blocks found in some parallel dungeons, even though previous versions had no issues. (I Had to resort to wand + book magic to deal with it!)
- When there are Rune Sword sword beams in the air you're unable to throw the chakram, the opposite is not true.
- You can jump over lava tiles in the dungeons, but not in the overworld.
- There is an item in the parallel world overworld that lies out in the open between two rocks. (In the desert area, but you access it from the north.) The cave on the same screen is empty.
- The walkthrough trees on the regular overworld don't show up as fake with the lens of truth.
- LikeLikes don't actually seem to eat your bait, even though you were warned of this.
