Quest overview

BA3 is, more than anything else, a project built around pushing an extremely outdated version of Zelda Classic as far as it can be pushed. ZC 1.92 was released in 2002, and was a massive step up over 1.90. It introduced layers, animated combos, combo cycling, tons of new flags, new quest rules and options, and much less limited space for almost all resources (maps and dmaps, tiles and combos, and many other examples). However, it still lacks many of the features that newer quests take for granted. No scripting, no freeform combos, no way to edit enemy or item properties, and many other arbitrary limitations and quirks. However, with enough ingenuity, some pretty impressive things can still be pulled off with the old system. The phrase "limitations breed creativity" is basically the thesis statement of BA3.

The story and overall flow of the quest is divided into several "chapters", each containing a self-contained chunk of the overworld to explore and solve some puzzles in before finding the chapter's "dungeon" (not always literally a dungeon) and beating the boss within to proceed. Mostly standard Zelda fare in that regard, though it is modeled most closely after Majora's Mask. Aside from the Prologue (which has its own chunk of overworld and a dungeon), there are five chapters planned, plus an Epilogue.

Alongside the chapter-by-chapter progression, the quest will feature a recurring sidequest of sorts. The final dungeon of the game will be set up in such a way that you can access it from early on in the game, but you can't complete it. If you go in with just the starting gear, you'll eventually hit a roadblock and you'll have to come back with more items to pass it. But there's still a benefit to explore the area early, since there will be some optional items you can find there. For example, the Boomerang can be obtained before the first chapter, and it'll never be required to progress, but is very nice to have. (Note that this dungeon will not be added until late in development, so it will not be playable in demos. A placeholder will exist to have the optional items available, though)

Throughout the quest, in addition to the expected ZC gameplay, you will occasionally enter "UT battles", technically known as "Ultimate Tolerance" battles, but pretty obviously modeled after encounters from Undertale. These use a menu system to select text options so you can either try to negotiate your way through a fight or otherwise find the actions to best move forward. They are interrupted by brief action sections where you must dodge attacks or perform other microgame-style actions. UT battles are useful for grinding money (especially when lacking a sword, which won't be obtained until later than a typical Zelda game would provide it) and can also give Heart Pieces, Magic Containers, or may even be required for progressing through an area.



Story / Characters

The main character, Bargo, is a very unassuming hero. Basically just a three-eyed smiley face, he is pretty out of place in this world, but he has proven himself in the past to be up to the task of protecting it from evil. Things will be a little different this time, since Ganon seems to be out of the picture entirely (having been defeated for good at the end of Bargo's second quest), but another malevolent force has been left unchecked for the last few years. Known as "The Corruption" by the locals, this plague threatens to spread across the world, bringing ruin to everything in its path. It's up to Bargo to bring a stop to this before all is lost.

Bargo is assisted throughout his quest by the enigmatic "Mr. Appearances". He shows up periodically to explain things about the world, such as game mechanics or letting you know where to head next. Not much else is known about this guy other than he seems to be on your side, but he's definitely a bit preoccupied with something else, since he doesn't usually stick around for very long.

Early on, Bargo will also meet a character named Haylee. She's some sort of computer... robot... thing, who seems to be allied with whoever is behind The Corruption, but also doesn't seem to be actively malicious. As far as Bargo can tell, she's gentle and friendly, and also a bit of a geek. Apparently she's into programming games, and is interested in showing them off. But going to hang out with her would also mean walking straight into the most dangerous area in the world, where the Corruption is at its strongest.



Release Timeline

Here is an image that breaks down the progression of the game into discrete chunks. Everything is being developed in order (more or less), and the image has a marker showing where progress currently sits.



Once everything in the Chapter 1 section is complete, I plan to release a demo of the quest containing everything created up to that point. "Demo" typically carries the connotation of being just a short sample of the game, so really it would probably be more accurate to think of it as the first part of an episodic release (along the lines of Deltarune or a Telltale game). Future demos/chapters beyond that point are not fully decided on.

This quest is a very slow project. It was started in 2018, and six years later, is at about 20% completion. It frequently goes through short bursts of progress, to then be left untouched for several months at a time. I always hope that these break periods will become less frequent, but it just depends on my mood at the time. Because of this, I have no idea when the quest is likely to be completed. I recognize the current rate as being absurdly slow, and it would need to be picked up in order for a release to happen in any reasonable amount of time. Seeing interest in the quest may motivate me to work on it more often. It has already gotten lots of positive feedback, and I thank everyone for their words of encouragement and patience with the project.