Honestly, I think that guy is just really autistic... and I say this as an autistic person. He obviously has no filter at all. I wish he would stop tagging people all the time and starting things constantly under every single post. There will never be the hard confirmation he wants, like you say totk and ss is as far as it will probably ever go.

Like, I really can't see them *ever* doing more than the strong subtext they put in totk. I'd be surprised if they even get *close* to doing something similar again. Having the princess move into his house and having Link bridal carry her shirtless, etc, was already honestly kind of explicit by E for Everyone Nintendo standards lol. I never even expected them to go so far with it. I expected them to have destroyed the hateno house with sky island debris, or had her live with Impa, or something like that. I wasn't expecting straight up fanservice for all the post-botw fanfiction and fanart made over the years. Someone on the development team was clearly browsing zelink on pixiv (well, some old totk interview even said that the team loved all the botw fanart and it kept them going through totk's development, so I'm like 99% sure that's actually true even lol). But they'll never just come out and say "this is canon" straight up into the camera and we need to accept that.

Honestly, I'm guessing they will probably make the next zelink more platonic if anything after how much they pushed them with ss and botw/totk. I'm a huge romantic zelink lover, botw/totk zelink is my favorite, but I honestly *want* the next versions to be platonic so that there is an actual contrast between versions of them between games (and ok, maybe part of me selfishly doesn't want my beloved enemies-ish-to-lovers tragic royalty x servant to domestic fluff zelink to be upstaged by a zelink that acts obnoxiously less subtle with their feelings and therefore have people call them "better" but that's irrelevant)

I haven't honestly looked into his account - but tbh he's not the only one? I just notice it with him a lot and i'm like "please please separate Zelda from shipping. u can appreciate Princess Zelda outside of her theorized relationship with Link" (this is more of like...a dig at people in general who make shipping be everything when it comes to a character..especially female characters because now I'm struggling to still do a deep dive into Mipha's character without people immediately screaming about how her relationship with link is canon)

anyways fandom behavior aside lowkey i agree? The thing is that even if developers came out and was like "We intended zelink to be canon" people are still gonna argue about it (like "wELL THEY DIDN'T HUG OR KISS ON SCREEN") so tbh its not even worth fighting about it - coming from a fire emblem fan lmao yes I still remember the sumia incident

I lowkey want the next "zelink" to be platonic because...idk the same reason as you. Changing it up. I miss WW zelda and Link's dynamic because to me they're besties and are goofy. if the next one is romantic then they better get a hell of a good story because they already covered the childhood romance and the dramatic slowburn with skyward sword and botw/totk (and tragic "what ifs" from OoT but you didn't hear it from me!!!!!). That being said I would be disappointed if it was on the level of Twilight Princess so idk some sort of connection between them would be nice

Universal took Tremors from its creators after 30 years of work.

TL;DR After 25-30 years making the series, Brent Maddock, Michael Gross, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood and S.S. Wilson were kicked out so Universal Studios could make more money off the merchandising before the Tremors copyright expires in 2025.

*****MAJOR SPOILERS**** This will make you sad, angry and frustrated. But there is hope. #StampedeTremors

Soooooo, ever since I blew up and sidetracked a post about David Fincher's Queen Biopic with Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury discussing the Tremors 7 ending, I've done some more research on the whole thing. The Graboid hole for this goes deep.

Michael Gross didn't want it.

“There’s a part of me that feels that Universal Home Entertainment might’ve had enough of Tremors. The suggestions that were made in the course of this [movie] made me think maybe they’ve had enough. They came to me and said, ‘What if we ended it at 7?’ and I said, ‘Whatever you choose to do, I’m good with that.'” “That being said, The door is still open for an eighth Tremors. It may seem unlikely by what people see on the screen, but it is possible. There could be an eighth. And if there were, and if it were an interesting story, I would be up for it because Burt is always a great deal of fun. It would depend on his physicality. How much they want me to do. If it’s in another two years, I’ll be 75 years old. So I will continue to hope and pray that I stay in shape, to do what is asked of me – if it is asked of me.”

AND Universal even killed off any ambiguity that he fought for.

"We shot it both ways, where everybody's mourning Burt, and he climbs up over the cliff and looks at all of them in mourning and goes, 'Jesus, God, I'm not dead. And he's really pissed off at them. It's like, 'How would you possibly think...?' But he's bloodied, just he's a mess. He looks like he's been through an earthquake, crushed by a house, but he's alive. And he says, 'You idiots. Of course, I'm alive.'" "They decided it just had this punch. Frankly, I thought to myself -- I didn't express it to them, but I thought to myself -- 'Maybe Universal's getting a little tired of this franchise.' Because this wasn't my idea." "I said, 'I can live with this. Because they came to me. They said, 'Look, you've been doing this so long. What do you think?' And I said, 'Well, as long as we kind of leave the door open.' I mean, I can kind of see an eighth film where it opens with Burt in a hospital bed, in a full body cast and saying, 'I survived.' He could hardly move a muscle. And maybe eight is...if I had a concept for eight, it would be Burt horribly injured, but in a motorized, weaponized wheelchair that has rocket mounts on the side and can leave an oil slick behind like James Bond's car. So nobody can chase him." "I always said, if Kevin Bacon or Fred [Ward] or Reba [McIntire] or anybody [wanted to return], I'd be there in a minute. Just because one, I love Burt, but I always thought of him as this guy kind of on the fringes, and I just came to the fore because everybody else walked away."

https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3637682/michael-gross-says-door-still-open-potential-eighth-tremors-movie/

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/tremors-shrieker-island-michael-gross-on-burt-gummer-death/

While Universal ignored how Michael Gross was setting up his son Travis Welker to pick up his torch (Which I'm give or take on Jamie Kennedy yet he brought a Grady-like optimism to the shittier of the series.)

"My reaction was disappointment, as I had planned an entire storyline around his participation."

Even Jamie Kennedy tried to but they wouldn't let him.

"Lot of people have been asking me, so I might as well spill it. I will NOT be in the upcoming TREMORS 7. I had a great time making the last two. But no TRAVIS this time around. But hey you neva’ know what can happen in the future.... have a great time boys! Tdawg out!!!"

https://mobile.twitter.com/JamieKennedy/status/1188981479973347329

After 7 movies and a TV show, nothing more than a spit in the face for the man who carried a franchise. Then when they do the montage at the end, we get clips of Hiram Gummer but NOTHING of Burt Gummer from the TV show. It's 13 episodes of Burt in Tremors that's longer than all the movies combined but yet they don't even include it in the ending montage while including his dead grandpa.

Same with the original creators. Did you know Stampede Entertainment (Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood, and S.S. Wilson) were working on Tremors for 25 years and even had the 5th one written, "Thunder/Gummer Down Under".

Then were told to sit on it for 10 years before Universal eventually told them to eat dirt? That's gotta hurt. It hurts me and I'm not even connected to these movies. All that work down the drain just because of someone's say so. And for no reason. Well not exactly....

Universal knows fans want Tremors merch. I mean, look at how they took #BurtGummerDay from @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. And they want ALLLLLL of that merchandising money. With none of it going to Stampede because it would give them leverage. Not to mention they don't want anyone else getting the idea to make cute monster toys before they can roll out their own line.

Don't believe me? See Universal pull some Hollywood Accounting with Tremors already.

http://imgur.com/gallery/mFNIHV3

Half a billion dollars... completely untraceable. I've tried. Emailed the numbers people and they can't tell me anything unless you pay $50 a film to see the numbers. Which makes me ask, who paid for the numbers on 1,5, 6, & 7? And why only what they made? Not their cost. Same for the numbers on 2, 3, & 4. Why numbers on the cost, but nothing on what it made? It seems weirdly targeted to make it look like the Stampede Entertainment ones only cost money but made nothing.

Then when you find out that the copyright to Tremors will revert to its creators after the 35 year mark, which makes that date 2024-2025 since Tremors was filmed in '88-'89 but released in '90.....

Wellllllll some things start to add up. Especially when you consider it's Universal. They already know about owning copyrights for things long out of due. Ask Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. Or Nintendo when Universal tried to sue them because Donkey Kong was too similar to King Kong.

Ask Stampede (S.S. Wilson) yourself. They have a Question and Answer page right on their site.

Like did you know you can't find ANY official Tremors merch? But you CAN find tons of fan-made creations. Give it a Google. They don't even list Tremors on the Universal website. Go ahead. Ask them. I try weekly. No responses ever.

https://www.universalpictures.com/about

Even with a longer history, more money made, and amount of sequel potential in comparison to their other films?

http://imgur.com/gallery/ZnXEsI3

Fans are clamoring for more but Universal says no?

Hell, you can watch the TV show for free on the NBC site.

But before my investigating, the episodes were so jumbled and missing it would ruin people's enjoyment.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/m0wvwu/tremors_episode_9_graboid_rights_is_back_on_nbc/

What about how they made a Tremors series pilot with Kevin Bacon? The only bad thing about it is that they need to pull a Sonic redo on the Graboid at the end but who knows, I suspect it's like that for plot reasons after reading the unaired script.

https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw

That Universal/NBC/SyFy has proceeded to hide deeper than a Graboid burrows. https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/tremors-star-kevin-bacon-confused-sequel-series-picked/

Despite no one knowing why. http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ

Read the script for yourself if you don't believe me. They've already hidden it for two years. Andrew Miller worked too hard for it to be hidden. And it plays. It works and plays with what's already there while being new and old. Quite good.

Have you seen the Kevin Bacon/Michael Gross commercial featuring them in Perfection Valley? The whole commercial is a sly way to use Tremors WITHOUT actually saying anything Universal would have claim to call copyright on. "Sandworms" "My old co-star" "Trevors". It's a great big middle finger to Universal.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_O0K9hmlrw

How about the original script for Tremors 2: Aftershocks. The creators have wanted it seen for 20 years but it took a crazy Larry like me to get it out there. It's got Val, Earl, Burt and Heather in it too. Pretty good too. So good they reused the ending in the TV show episode "Shriek and Destroy".

All these things swirl together and make me wonder more and more. For the plethora of Tremors fandom goes deeper than even me... Like Imgur user @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. They created Burt Gummer Day five years ago through sweat and love alone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/mb2rtz/babyfarkmcgeezax_created_burt_gummer_day_and/

Yet what does Universal do? Take the day, plaster it over the end of their hero's death, and not even give a line credit or thank you to @BabyFarkMcGeeZax or a mention on Twitter as they blurb it everywhere.

Ever seen the gif battles about Tremors at r/HighQualityGifs?

https://www.reddit.com/r/GifTournament/comments/luvt39/giftournament_battle_13_round_3/

https://www.reddit.com/r/HighQualityGifs/comments/dtz11k/battle_178_tremors/

How about The Everything Sequel podcast where they discuss how amazing all of The Tremors Saga is after discovering it for the first time. Even going so far as to pitch their own sequels.

https://share.transistor.fm/s/e24901de https://share.transistor.fm/s/bdea7b5e https://share.transistor.fm/s/cf79bbc1 https://share.transistor.fm/s/fac66438 https://share.transistor.fm/s/a90415cd https://share.transistor.fm/s/c0e8153e https://share.transistor.fm/s/6b6572f9

There's so much fan content and people screaming for more Tremors! Like "Perfection, NV", a fan film.

Or this collection of alt Tremors posters.

http://imgur.com/gallery/MgkhnfE

Including the thousands of pieces of fanart.

http://imgur.com/gallery/6f7Txh0

http://imgur.com/gallery/nXG1ph1

The story behind Tremors comics. http://www.enemyofpeanuts.com/2013/03/09/the-short-story-behind-tremors-comics/

Even the new Tremors game. OR games.

https://youtu.be/G6PX1QY2oIc

https://stefanocagnani90.itch.io/tremors-thegame

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremors:_The_Game

https://www.playfg.com/dirt-dragons-game.html

Look at all this love.

And this isn't even an officially licensed game.

"A fortune", you say? Interesting....

So let's make Tremors 8 Ouroboros with the OG creators back on board.

https://imgur.com/gallery/o2kCFLu

We restart the TV show and end the movies for a while. Just like The Librarians. If Marvel can switch between movies and TV, Tremors can too.

If you think I'm crazy too, just see and know how I've been in this position before. I'm well aware of how this "story" plays out.

I mean, Tremors *does* foreshadows its ending with a sleeping bag. https://imgur.com/gallery/5HexQ

Notice too how you can find little Behind the Scenes for Tremors 5-7 despite a smorgasbord of material for 1-4 and both TV shows.

http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl

And it's not like Universal isn't known for shady business practices. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Pictures

What about how they own the rights to damn near every monster except for Godzilla. And not just the classics like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, Mummy and Invisible Man. They have Kong, Hulk, Jaws, Michael Myers, The Thing, all the Jurassic Park dinos, all the Romero zombies, Chucky, Casper, Riddick beasts, Hellboy, and Jaegers/Kaiju. These dudes know merchandising rights and they're looking to score the next Poke'Mon franchise.

https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/24/how-universal-re-copyrighted-frankensteins-monster/

Take a gander at all these articles gushing with love for Tremors:

Why the 'Tremors' Franchise Is Better Than the 'Alien' Movies https://collider.com/why-the-tremors-franchise-is-better-than-the-alien-movies/

As Kevin Bacon's Tremors returns to TV, we explain the entire franchise ​It's way more complicated than you think. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a807140/tremors-franchise-series-guide-kevin-bacon/

20 Fun Facts About Tremors https://ew.com/article/1990/07/13/tremors/

Thirty Years After Tremors, Reba McEntire Tells Us Why She's Absolutely Down to Return For a Reboot https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a30457996/tremors-30-anniversary-reba-mcentire-interview/

30 years ago, Tremors became perhaps the most perfect bad movie https://www.thv11.com/mobile/article/entertainment/movies/film-on-11/getting-reel/30-years-ago-tremors-became-perhaps-the-most-perfect-bad-movie/91-8f6854df-9dcc-4870-ab3a-4f91a658ac3f

How Tremors 7 Succeeds Where Other Horror Movie Franchises Failhttps://screenrant.com/tremors-7-movie-succeeds-better-horror-movie-franchises-reason/

A Complete Rundown of the Entire Tremors Saga https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/363290/beneath-perfection-thoughts-on-the-entire-tremors-franchise/

Kevin Bacon Wants to Revisit His Only Film He Ever Re-Watched https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kevin-bacon-tremors-1234956657/

Look at all this #BurtGummerDay love. That adds up to thousands of people watching Tremors for the first or fiftieth time. And this is only the first "official" year. It'll only grow.

http://imgur.com/t/burt_gummer_day

https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638257772282/?ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment

https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638397772268/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/about

Can you see the Tremors? Can you feel them? Fans want Tremors and they want it from Stampede. http://imgur.com/gallery/ZaVL7Mc http://imgur.com/gallery/f37bEV7 http://imgur.com/gallery/De6DlqQ

After all this time, and all this love, and all this greed, it's time we break Hollywood tradition and give power back to the people. When people can #RestoreTheSnyderVerse or #SaveTheVentureBros, we can #StampedeTremors for #BurtGummerDay.

Take this hope and fly!

#StampedeTremors

BTS, gifs, and videos of The Tremors Saga. Tremors: The Lost Tapes from S.S. Wilson's personal collection https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1EA9246EF966DDA2

Monster Makers https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors/ https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors2/

ADI's creation documentaries https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR9WUo3tIVnb4CyMR1SLVsxPyBwz1Met_ BTS gallery of Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl

The making of Tremors https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-HUUt21tRA

Inside the Graboid workshop https://youtu.be/YgPuC2tNBpM

Stampede Entertainment's video archive for Tremors https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors/

Tremors opening https://youtu.be/gnqPYTOzc38

BTS gallery of Tremors 2: Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC

Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 2 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors2/

The making of Tremors 2 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fAlqzM0CyPI

Tremors 2 original script with Val, Earl, Burt and Heather. http://imgur.com/gallery/8QaHPRy

Tremors 2: Aftershocks opening https://youtu.be/pVi24Gc0KdQ)

BTS gallery of Tremors 3: Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors3/

On the set of Tremors 3 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhrvkB5nKs

Stampede Entertainment's video archive of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors3/

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection opening https://youtu.be/UXjdZitldB4

BTS gallery of Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg

Stamede Entertainment's https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series/

Behind the scenes of Tremors the Series lost monsters. https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series-lost/

Cold opens for Tremors the Series https://youtu.be/srB6rZgv_Po https://youtu.be/v3ZkC08rKtg

BTS gallery of Tremors 4: The Legend Begins http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors4-2/

On the set of Tremors 4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bppXVxldTqU The weapons of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/weapons-of-tremors-4/

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins opening https://youtu.be/3gDlAEUBesg

BTS gallery of Tremors 5: Bloodlines http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl

Tremors 5: Bloodlines opening https://youtu.be/t8jrCVI676Y

BTS gallery of the unaired Kevin Bacon Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ

Script for the unaired Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/UbtTvyf

Trailer for the unreleased Tremors pilot https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw

Kevin Bacon talks Tremors. https://youtu.be/TAGOlEIR7mA

Interviews with Alec Gillis, Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, and Ron Underwood https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmUAAK3guQ8t6dKzwH9V0RzerkdLr0d1

S.S. Wilson talks his Tremors career. https://youtu.be/ZJhZmty_dKs Making Perfection https://youtu.be/hpCSCQJEmnk

Have a question about Tremors? Find it here and if you can't find it, ask S.S. Wilson yourself! https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/fan-extras/tremors-faq/?include_category=general

And if you love Tremors enough to have made it this far, enjoy a collection of gifs for you to use at your pleasure.

Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/kPiEe3d http://imgur.com/gallery/5Sb4Vpg http://imgur.com/gallery/1uZxiue http://imgur.com/gallery/NX5r2

Tremors 2 Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/i1IZZf8 http://imgur.com/gallery/krcmrgQ http://imgur.com/gallery/GjTxAg1 http://imgur.com/gallery/DabFZTt http://imgur.com/gallery/QLTStyx http://imgur.com/gallery/P92e1ri http://imgur.com/gallery/IUAvd http://imgur.com/gallery/h8BZ0qN http://imgur.com/gallery/ZQi2KOb http://imgur.com/gallery/WDZdM

Tremors 3 Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/5ebddmR http://imgur.com/gallery/Rj9fqIy http://imgur.com/gallery/ikzXFbd

Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/cqSMk40

Tremors 4 The Legend Begins

http://imgur.com/gallery/ufV3of1 http://imgur.com/gallery/zPGBOW3 http://imgur.com/gallery/ri5jLRd http://imgur.com/gallery/y7A3l5D

Tremors 5 Bloodlines

http://imgur.com/gallery/Pmunxjo http://imgur.com/gallery/0yazNVG

Tremors 6 A Cold Day In Hell http://imgur.com/gallery/S4qlPCI http://imgur.com/gallery/Xa2mUsS

Tremors Pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/RXXjbKr http://imgur.com/gallery/kCErQyF

Tremors 7 Shrieker Island

http://imgur.com/gallery/FzpJllb http://imgur.com/gallery/JGweZjH

Is Skyward Sword the Only Link and Zelda Romance Story?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

If you’re anything like most gamers from a certain era, you probably grew up assuming that Zelda and Link were in love. After all, he is a hero, she is a princess, he was a boy, she was a girl…can we make it any more obvious?

However, the truth of the matter is that nothing is quite that obvious when it comes to Link and Zelda’s relationship. Much like your relationship status on Facebook whenever you felt like stirring up a little drama, the relationship between Link and Zelda over the years has been decidedly complicated.

That’s part of the reason why Skyward Sword has always been one of the most interesting Zelda games from a lore perspective. After years of ambiguity, complications, winks, half-answers, and lingering questions, Skyward Sword gave us a Link and Zelda relationship that couldn’t possibly be interpreted as anything but romantic (even if there is some ambiguity regarding how their relationship ends). The game was even promoted with this “Romance Trailer” that highlights that aspect of the plot:

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

While there is very little debate regarding whether or not Skyward Sword is a Link and Zelda love story, there is a much more substantial (and far more interesting) debate to be had regarding whether or not it is the only real love story in Legend of Zelda history.

“Hold up,” you might be saying. “If Zelda and Link didn’t have a canonical romance until 2011, then why did I grow up believing that they were in love?”

Well, as we mentioned before, elements of the perceived romance between Zelda and Link can be attributed to the fact that most of the guys you see rescuing princesses in fantasy stories do tend to fall in love with them. It’s not exactly the genre’s most beloved trope, but it’s certainly one that has ingrained itself into our collective pop culture consciousness over the years.

To be fair, though, the Zelda/Link love hasn’t just been in our heads this entire time. The popular theory is that the pair end up getting married at the end of the original NES game (even if the sourcing for that claim is somewhat dubious from a canonical perspective), and we see Zelda kiss Link at the end of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Granted, the Zelda that kisses him at the end of that game isn’t the Zelda he saved in the original game but rather a version of Zelda from years ago. Look, Zelda lore is…weird.

Speaking of which, we should probably talk about the Link from the 1989 animated Legend of Zelda TV series. That version of Link was more or less a stalker who pretty much refused to help Zelda without asking for a kiss. He was also so insufferably annoying that we honestly think Zelda might have been better off with Ganon than this ’80s movie jock in a green leotard.

It’s around that time that Nintendo became much coyer about Zelda and Link’s relationship. A Link to the Past doesn’t really bother to bring up the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two (outside of an often misinterpreted piece of dialog), and Link’s Awakening doesn’t even feature Zelda (though the character Marin is clearly inspired by Link’s memories of Zelda). At this point, it’s easy to assume that Nintendo decided to abandon the more overt references to Link and Zelda’s romance due to creative preferences, the increasingly complicated nature of the franchise’s timeline, and perhaps the feeling that this just wasn’t meant to be that kind of franchise.

That’s when we enter a prolonged and strange “Will they or won’t they?” period for Link and Zelda’s relationship. Ocarina of Time dances around the issue, but only hints that a romantic relationship may be blossoming. The Wind Waker pretty much abandons the idea entirely in favor of presenting the two as adventuring equals, while Twilight Princess offers the “coldest,” or perhaps most “business-like,” relationship between the pair yet. Nintendo even gave Link more overt love interests during this time to seemingly try to encourage people to stop focusing so much on the Zelda/Link romance narrative.

Interestingly, the Zelda/Link relationship has always skewed more towards intimacy (or at least blossoming romance) in many of the handheld Zelda games. That’s not a universal rule (Zelda wasn’t even in Phantom Hourglass), but for some reason, the pair have almost always been a bit…closer in those games.

That trend reached its apex with the release of 2009’s The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. That game was originally not even supposed to include Zelda as Link’s adventuring partner, but the developers felt like it would be better to feature her as a prominent side character rather than try to create a new character or simply re-use Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass‘ Tetra yet again. The result is a Zelda game where Link and Zelda spend an unusual amount of time together (compared to other titles in this series). While that kind of set-up is enough to get shippers talking, the game wasn’t exactly shy about teasing a possible romance. It even ends with Zelda and Link holding hands!

What’s even more interesting than Spirit Tracks‘ implication that its version of Zelda and Link could end up together is the reason that the developers chose to give Link a female partner for that game in the first place.

“I was searching for something that hadn’t been portrayed much, and there was Princess Zelda,” says director Daiki Iwamoto regarding the casting decision. “At first, we hadn’t settled on the subcharacter, and I discussed several things with the staff. Then we thought that, since they’re adventuring together, it would be better to have it be a girl.”

That last part brings us back to the elephant in the room concerning this whole Zelda/Link relationship discussion. There is a heteronormative side to fantasy fiction from certain eras that has, to a degree, trained our brains to see female and male leads together and just assume that they’re going to be romantically involved by the time the credits roll.

Even though Nintendo has historically danced around this romance and, at times, straight-up avoided it, Iwamoto still says that it just made more sense for Link to be with a female character that he obviously ends up having intimate moments with (even if they may or may not be entirely romantic). You could argue that throughout much of the history of The Legend of Zelda franchise, speculation regarding the pair’s romantic relationship has been fuelled by those who either wished the two would get together or just assumed that has to be the case given their situation and genders.

So why did Nintendo decide to finally show Link and Zelda in an obviously romantic relationship in Skyward Sword after dodging the matter for so long? Interestingly enough, Skyward Sword producer Eiji Aonuma thought about cutting the romance angles when the game’s development team (which, it must be said, consisted of quite a few Spirit Tracks developers) initially suggested them. While Skyward Sword‘s developers had to make some cuts to justify including the romance subplot, Aonuma’s decision to leave it in ultimately came down to his simple belief that it was an effective way to get players to care about rescuing Zelda.

“As far as the love story goes, it wasn’t that we wanted to create a romance between Link and Zelda as much as we wanted the player to feel like this is a person who’s very important to me, who I need to find,” Aonuma said in an interview with Game Informer. “We used that hint of a romance between the two to tug at the heartstrings.”

From a meta standpoint, the idea that Nintendo is aware that even hinting at the possibility of a Link and Zelda romance is a pretty easy way to engage people certainly makes a lot of sense. While Aonuma stops short of saying that was somehow their idea this entire time, you could argue that it’s more valuable for Nintendo to simply leave room open for that possibility rather than outright establish a romantic relationship more often.

Of course, that makes it all the more interesting that the one Zelda game that features such a blatant romance story is also the first game in the Zelda timeline. While the versions of Link and Zelda featured in that game are not the same characters we see in subsequent games, Nintendo did clearly establish that the foundation of their relationship (and this franchise) is partially based on their love for each other. Circumstances may have prevented them from leading the life together they hoped to have (at least based on our hopes for how two young people in love might end up), but who is to say that one of Zelda‘s descendants or one of Link’s reincarnations won’t be able to break the curse and live the life that these two were possibly denied so many years ago?

Actually, that’s what makes Breath of the Wild such a fascinating piece of this puzzle. While serious questions remain regarding how Breath of the Wild fits into Zelda‘s chronology, it almost certainly seems to take place at what we could see as “the end” of the current Zelda timeline (or timelines). It’s perhaps no coincidence, then, that it’s the game that not only openly acknowledges the complicated relationship between the various Links and Zeldas over the years but is also the game that shows Link and Zelda clearly growing closer to each other over the course of the adventure. By the end of the game, you could very easily view their relationship as “romantic” or, at the very least, heading in that direction.

While we’ll have to see whether or not Breath of the Wild 2 does anything with that implication, we’re left with the simple conclusion that Skyward Sword may be the only “overt” Link and Zelda romance story so far, but elements of that romance can be found in Spirit Tracks, Breath of the Wild, and, depending on your interpretation of the timeline, nearly every other Legend of Zelda game in some form or fashion.

Sure, it’s a little annoying that Nintendo keeps hinting at romances they seemingly never intend to really do anything with, but there’s something to be said for the ways they’ve paired Zelda and Link together over the years without relying on a relatively simple romantic subplot. Of course, that just makes Skyward Sword even more of an oddity than it already was.

The post Is Skyward Sword the Only Link and Zelda Romance Story? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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wise, the game is set in a post apocalyptic world where mutants have overrun the earth You play as Jack who has been infected with a mutant virus and must now fight to survive against hordes of enemies that are trying to kill you The story is told through flashbacks which help give context to events that occurred during your journey without characters? The character creation screen allows you to choose from a variety of options such as gender, appearance, skills and more This is followed by several personality traits (which can be changed later) and then some brief background information about them There's also an option for a short bio which gives some additional details on their life before being infected with the virus The gameplay itself consists of combat encounters with various types of enemies ; the story is well crafted and gives a perfect setup for what comes next Gameplay itself is fairly easy to pick up with most of the mechanics being self explanatory Overal, the beginning sets the tone of what's to come Though, it could do with some fine-tuning as certain enemies feel either too hard or too weak compared to others Still, nothing that detracts from the story It gives just enough detail about the world while maintaining a sense of mystery It can be a little heavy at times, but the videos are thankfully categorized by subject making them easy to skip 's commentary goes in depth on various subjects from character design to explaining how gameplay mechanics came into being Once the story has been completed once there is also New Game Plus which allows you to carry your equipment and gains into the next playthrough This story driven game is well crafted with an interesting sci-fi plot and characters that help drive it forward animations plus extended cutscenes Xenocide on 06 February 2018 Report Review Review #2 See With Your Ears! on 06 February 2018 Report Review Sight, Sound And Mystery On 09 April 2018 Report Review New Leaf Publishing Protocol on 12 is on point The art style, font usage and color theme are all suitable and easy on the eye The website is also easy to navigate and generally bugs free Art Check A gifted artist created the various visual effects in the game From magic spells to things like light bulbs lighting up A lot of detail was put into each one to give it that extra bling and make them really pop out as looking important Without these these effects the game wouldn't feel nearly as immersive Plus they look really cool, so there's that! Sprites and Animated Images Check We have character sprites as well as several animations credit to Yumi Fujikawa Hand crafted animations that characters go through to deliver important information or their thoughts within the game, for example, an animation will begin when a character feels they should explain more thoroughly how to play a minigame as opposed to just blurting out instructions Masterful composition and presentation of story and characters by Yumichika, as all important parts of story and character development are presented through song and Development Check Extensive time was put into researching ways to realistically allow characters to grow with the addition of having a control theme for various mechanics This resulted in each character having three sectional gauges; competence, passion and popularity which could fluctuate based on their actions or in some cases the players This style and presentation of character growth was something that hadn't really been done before to this extent and as such received various levels of praise and attention Screenshots Where is this game set? One of the biggest accomplishments with this game is its unique fantasy world Created from the ground up, it encompasses various areas such as forests, deserts, a bustling city and even a castle! Having a diverse and interesting setting drastically increases replay value as players can easily get lost in exploring every corner of the map and solve undiscovered mysteries CLICK TO ENLARGE CGS Cultural and Game Development On Computer Graphics & Design, Ria is attending college to learn how to design games as a profession She, along with her sister Cicely, slowly begin to realize that the university is more of a way to make money off suckers rather than educate them in a field which will help them create better games Focusing on and passing the courses which will actually be beneficial such as computer science, mathematics and programming, Ria eventually drops out and begins to work as a game developer She creates games under the company No Braiiins Zombies On Game Design, Cicely is still in university trying to fulfill her mother's dying wish of her becoming a doctor Set design Check An interesting way to think about a game is from the world's point of view A game will most likely never be played interested in the player, the important decisions come from what options (be it paths, dialogue or actual options) are presented to the player A final decision will then be made by the game based on what has been offered Every choice made by the player gives importance to that choice as well as denoting that all other choices aren't to be explored This works by implementing consequence and reward systems Using the example above, by choosing option A, there should be a reward from the game That could be in the form of puzzle pieces or story points or something else directly linked to the game's theme If the game is using the example above: "Do you take the red door or blue door?" Taking the blue door will have you find something that will help you later in the game thus rewarding the choice of taking that door It takes too many people to make a book and almost everyone reads them and a large portion of the population watches them Now it's time for video games to follow their lead Games can be made incomplete and given length through downloadable content, they can be released early and often through community input and control mechanisms or they can be focused games targeted at niches Developments unique to the digital realm are, in reality, very recent Many games come out a year as companies strive to outdo their competitors A few good releases are lost in the crowd of many subpar ones Developers such as Nintendo, Valve and Bioware consistently release high quality products that sell more than enough to break even and then some, but these are the exceptions rather than the standard Serious gamers can no longer be content with only high quality games Everyone needs to realize that by buying games, they are creating a market Nobody forces anyone to buy crap and if something sells it's because people want more of it If the market happens to favor brainless, generic shooters then that's what we're going to get a lot more of This cycle can only be broken by buyers not buyers Raising the quality bar means raising the standards for what we buy Unfortunately as most people buy crap, there's not much money to be made in selling to a discerning audience With cost so low, it only makes financial sense for publishers to save on production costs by having half hearted localization and deadline focused game design A lot of mass market, low effort products end up littered with glitches and fallen standards that in turn tarnish the image of gaming as a whole as in the case of the infamous E T hell storm of the '80s and everyone has different rules Everyone has their niche and the problem with most strategy games, shooters etc is that as expansive as they seem at first blush, they soon become repetitive as you ultimately are forced to play by a set of rules and objectives The open world sandbox is a recent successful trope in gaming that gives lacking gamer feedback the illusion of freedom but at its core its still presiding direction: go here do this ? A movie that you control what happens, also why read when you can see it acted out in real life! A good game is like a good movie, except you have more options and it's all up to you how the credits roll (i e the ending) YOU choose the path and YOU decide on the when and where True, not every single event will be subject to your will as the bigger schemes of things armies will move about, events will happen etc Most sandbox titles unfortunately fall short fulfilling the cinephile yearning inside of us Most lack sufficient depth in their characters roles or plot elements, or throw logic out the window (hackers are capable of taking over the world yet still require aim to shoot people, large criminal organizations can be taken down with just a few people but said people can destroy said organizations from the inside, etc) As anyone knows even if the acting, setting and action is good, a rubbish ending can leave one disappointed in the whole movie In video games, the ending is typically the -ending-; where you just get a crappy cliffhanger or an ambiguous conclusion Worse yet are when cross media attempts at making a massive sandbox title are done We see this a lot with movies based on video games (e g Streetfighter, Super Mario Bros, among many others) These attempt to put the movie out before the games to try to capture a built in market, typically fail completely (except for exceptional cases like Zelda or Mario) because quite simply, they miss something that is very hard to put into words; the feeling of actually playing a great video game I don't think that it has to be like this There is a game out currently that encompasses all these things, though it's very rare that anyone knows about it, much less gives it a shot This is primarily because its not so much a game as it is an experience I am of course talking about Subahibi Be forewarned: this post is bit of an essay as I try to unpack the meaning of life etc Final Fantasy XIII is an insult to conclusions in that respect backstory, Some Context I've thought a lot about where to start this Actually, I've thought a lot about if I should start this Maybe it's just better to leave things as they are But as luck would have it (or maybe not), I've recently found myself with a bit of breathing room and why not use this opportunity to finally try to get this off my chest? No one is forcing me to do this and I can always just stop if it becomes too much for me to handle So here goes nothing… No really, there was an actual bull, and I'm pretty sure it was staring at me as it lowered its head, got closer, until nope, blanking out again continued :( Sorry, had to stop there for a moment Just getting all of this out is bringing all sorts of buried emotions to the forefront; that or I'm coming down with something workings of the MW (Mass Wheat) field, which is important to ensure a perfect lou of humn CNC usage Waht is CNC (Computer Nxt Cybcer?) Sims wsa obsolatd 20 years ago! Nowadays mesh/ION based CNC! Unfortuantely unnecessary due to the low quality of public school education these days In two decades, you probably won't even need a human! of observation, but some were probably just blind to any potential drawbacks His feeling on the human element is that in spite of our frail and imperfect nature, we tend to react in more "interesting" ways compared to the more predictable machines From a business standpoint, this provides a greater return on investment (even disregarding the lucrative military contracts) in comparison to devoting ALL resources towards automation or cybernetics to follow (in very basic terms) and it crunches all the information and chooses the most logical outcomes Of course, nothing is perfect You still need an human eye to assess all of the information from said machine in order to make a final decision at times So what about things that aren't so black and white? I mean sure, conflict is pretty clear cut, but then there's things like moral dilemmas, or more complex relationship issues by this fully automated battery of evaluation that there were bound to be a few my systems deemed unfit for our cause We didn't set out to make the perfect solider We set out to make the perfect business partner a solider, is really just another employee with a different trade This has proved to be much easier and more effective in the long run (and automated evaluations are so much faster than human ones, they are outdated by the tim roper in , underground tunnels somewhere? Perfect! Nothing could grow in the surface layers of these silos Thanks for choosing Delerg's Finest (hey we just came up with that!) Later, after reading your contract and learning more about the Combine, you fill out the attached form "20000" This is so inspiring that you choose to take their entry test! Best of luck human, should your path cross ours again! ? how so? ? Combine is often criticized for a lack of romance Respectful relationships between men and women (or pairs thereof) are often dissolved in pursuit of company growth, while wanton displays of intimacy sets a negative tone Why visit the hospital to see people make babies if you can see it proudly on display in the lunchroom? Furthermore, sick children (or employees) that desperately desire the company of their parents may be displeased by otherwise happy mothers and fathers that cancel lunch dates in favor of sitting by their ailing child's bedside Children can grow resentful if they believe a hospital is preventing their family from functioning as normal, and sadly sometimes hospital fees must outweigh loving care This comes at quite the cost since sick children often emerge even sicklier than before after building up a resistance to visiting relatives As such, sending (healthier) grandparents to visit sick children not only strengthens the child's immunity due to prehistoric levels of love, it also allows for valuable child care so that exhausted parents may rest and return to work more productive In all fairness, I can tell you from experience that closing the café during traditional lunch hour severely cuts into business I will convince the board that while hospital visits should be strongly encouraged dor everyone, exceptions for loving grandparents must likewise be made Do we need to fix something? Am I wrong? But what is the root cause of these problems? What is the system failing to facilitate: human nature, or implementation? I could go on forever Please come prepared with thoughtful answers if you wish to join me in saving the world There you have it beautiful minds: the next thirty years of your lives summed up in a few paragraphs by yours truly Please direct all questions, complaints, and threats to my assistant Calli See you bright and early for day one! to sweeping your audience along You left subtle hints and much of the tale appears predictable, though key details were obviously kept secret to enhance peril! Ruth and I worked it out during your first night here and came up with a timeline of events based on our observations of you in class Which, as an aside, explains why we both felt you weren't a promising candidate for Plus; you behaved in a consistently logical manner (another reason why we thought you lacked imagination) Was lying to the teachers too far outside your comfort zone? The staff and I had a big laugh over someone's reluctance to take advantage of an adventure But then again, adventure is tiring and the status quo can certainly be comfortable enough to inspire devotion Alright enough procrastination, it's time for my nap now One more question though: you don't mind if I call you honeymoon traffic regulator do you? Thanks Chapter 1A: No Man is an Island A warm breeze hits your face, the chatter of desultory classmates nearby distracts you from reviewing your notes yet again Two hours till the test and teacher has already given warning of its difficulty To fall or not to fall, that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? The fat lady behind you with the horse laugh is certainly in opposition of you in particular it seems Your parents could not afford tutoring for you so you are here by your lonesome struggling to hold on to your spot in this pressure cooker of scholarship It's Darwinism at its purest: you either adapt or die; lose your dreams or lose your mind, relationships, and spirit You turn to Horse Laugh with a polite cough, her gaze meets yours and you are suddenly in an empty void She floats beside you, as do you, and you find yourself belly laughing for some odd reason, tears of joy stream down your face This is what pure happiness feels like without any real substance or reason behind it There is nothing to be sad about or worried over, just the blissful here-and-now is simply written as: survive With that in mind, you know she will sacrifice her individual self if it means the safety of the emotions within her For you, is the same true? Are you in genuine danger? Is this what Pacific Spirit Memorial intends to fill your head with when they 'pass' you along to secondary schooling after this year? Either you loop them into some doctrine or fail to keep up and get left behind? I sure hope not, I would LOVE to work with them You see a vision of an automatic gate opening A booming voice makes you jump calling your name along with a string of numbers Your vision shatters and you find yourself staring into the laughing face of Horse Laugh once more - takes you a moment to adjust your eyes from the overly bright sun to the relative darkness of the classroom, all within a split second "Here you go loser!" the-jokes - reddit: "One day a religious man was walking along the beach and came upon a woman who was about to bury her time god "I know your faith is strong in your time god," he said as she stuffed his deities mouth with pebbles So I'll grant you three questions before you fill his mouth with sand She turns to him with tears in her eyes and said, "Thank you The religious man thinks for a moment and says, "First How old is your son?" "35," she replies without hesitation Knowing that this can't be correct, he asks his second question, "Before we buried him, what was the color of his hair?" For the second time, she answers instantly, "Brown; just like my husband's " in consensus Bile rises in your throat as you review the current situation Just yesterday they were whining about a backstabbing holy man; now they're fixating on one of your fellow necromancers Yvette the duchess has her fawning sycophants all a twitter with her latest song How very dull Sure Yvette is skilled, but any and every one of your little shadows could do what she does now at this point Begging for peanuts from peasants, going to galas and court appearances, singing It's all so beneath you at this point The man was right: they NEED you You're not going to just lead them to some divisa or some such nonsense, you're going to repaint the landscape of this world a darker shade in your image That means pulling out of this ridiculous provincial town and heading to where the real power is Borgo Pass maintains a good relationship with Holgard and that's the direction you intend to head That's why you have to kill the rest of them and employ your powers to ensure an undead army follows you there You'll claim ruler ship the old fashioned way: You'll take it, killing anyone in your way and raising them to help you do it With each step you plan, plot, and prepare for your shadow-kissed horde to invade the taver That's when the current song wrap Borgo Pass establishment At least for now to nature; even death is merely a mere pause in life's continuum As the heads roll down the hill in Borgo Pass, making a pleasant *clunk* *clunk* sound as they tumble into various gutters and storm drains, you scream in the night at the town before you: "WINTER IS COMING , everyone and everything must evolve or die Everything dies eventually, but why wait? realized Hope is a mistake Fear and joy are not contagious, they're all too weak willed to embrace such power Fate exists, it is what is because it always was Knowing this changes everything, or it should Blah, blah, blah Do you ever get tired of looking at your own reflection? Dealing with your father's boasts are bad enough; is this ego massage really necessary? , fear is an uncommon emotion for you But tonight is different, an unfamiliar atmosphere pervades the air and you feel afraid Ever moment brings some new horror, what is happening to this place? You see a soldier run from a comrade in arms, screaming madly as he tears off his own face, flesh dripping from bone in tendrils then piling atop one another in squirming piles upon the ground you are hopeless but in the now its certain death in the long term you are nothing but a speck of dirt on a ball that twirls in an infinite abyss for an unknown purpose in the now, a rotting giant has approached your position and is preparing to strike the first blow It seems your choice is clear, as much as you hate it You might as well get it over with right? Taking a few steps back you brace yourself for something you're going to hate doing but have to be done anyway Jumping onto a horse you ride straight into the densest part of the mist, no hesitation The wet tendrils of vapor drench your clothes immediately, chilling you to the bone instantly and making your muscles cramp up Gasping you continue to force yourself through, the sprite's chatter sounding much closer than it was before The unnatural fog sucks away all sound, leaving only an oppressive, deadly silence in its wake Something in this mist paralyzes you, fragments of memories long forgotten flitting past your vision until you see something not clouds your mind but instead itself So close now, something just ahead calls out to your mind everything? Or will her twisted curiosity be her undoing? That curiosity, the thing that ensuresacles against all warnings and the discoveries made possible A need for understanding that lead to this moment, the discovery becoming known are you prepared? You see it, a glowing ovoid shape created all of flowing mist coming together into an perfect sphere Another few feet and you'll be touching it There's a flash as your world explodes into pain Every orifice in your body hausts out a sparkling mist, your eyes, nose, ears and mouth, all unleashing a torrent of sparkling vapor It flows from you uncontrollably as you spasm with the results of the pain It feels like every nerve in your body is breaking at once, send chills wrack your entire aching body So bright! So white! Agony unlike any other burns into your very core, heart bursting, flesh rendering and bone cracking as you bones become a gelatinous substance, reforming into an unearthly shape Your screams are lost in the void as a beating heart of mist, your blood sparkling as it pumps through magical veins You see her then, standing right in front of you as her mouth moves but no sound comes out, only vibrations You can distinctly hear two voices in your head no dream fantasy blood and good! / great shiver wrack wracking quake terror terrorterrorterror / shadows! REDSHADOWS! BURNING BRIGHT BURNING SHADOWS THEY KILL THEY KILL / AGONY TEARS FLESH HOPE TERROR DREAMS / THING NOT IN boundary ANSWERS BLANK NO NO NO NO / NOW! words awful / made forge river fall rock strong mountain / fearless brave joy hopeful happy town new lives… The pain ends as quick as it begun, with another crackle of electricity your body spasms one last time before collapsing on the ground, out cold Awareness 1: Surfaces Every sound is a color, every sight has a voice, you sense yourself drifting down long staircases twined with ivy into a cool, peaceful darkness All around you, you hear a thousand familiar voices calling out to you in far off, incomprehensible words Don't worry about anything, just let your worries float away into the inky blackness it's okay now, everything will be just fine You're with us now Lead jumped The burning sensation in his arm made itself known again as he jolted away, looking at the place where the monster had grabbed him Immediately, he flexed his fingers and began massaging his arm, trying to regain feeling The monster didn't seem bothered by the sudden move as it stared at him with its dead eyes while saliva slowly dripped off its wide grin While Lead was prepared to fight regardless of the circumstances, the look in the creature's eyes told him it wouldn't be much of a contest at all, even if he was in the safety of his own home God it was looking right through me Am I already dead? Am I a ghost? Did that monster kill me and this is what the afterlife looks like? Slowly, hesitantly, Lead shuffled backwards away from the monster, placing his back against the cold stone wall underneath the window Desperately, he peered around his room for any sort of weapon he could use to defend himself, but he kept prompting annoying says of utter normality The monster continued to grin at him, unmoving from where it was standing Dead plants ringed the den in a dry moat, withered barricades keeping Lead trapped Gotta get out But how?! The being in front of him didn't look moveable at all, be it physically or otherwise He couldn't reason with it, he couldn't run from it Hell, he couldn't even touch it It didn't like ghosts If he was going to get out of this, it would have to be by its own doing So, Lead obediently continued to wait as more moments passed by, staring at the horrifying monster who gazed back Something began taking shape in the far corner of his vision, growing more defined with every passing second After a few moments, the outlines of two people materialized in front of him, both of which were girls from his class He vaguely remembered the pair, associating with them being on some pointless errand for Martin or something similar Their haunting, ghastly visages were twisted into looks of agony and desperation Martin had a firm grip on both their shoulders, his long sharp nails digging deep into their skin as they shrieked in pain from the torture His stomach churning, Lead averted his gaze in hopes of not drawing the monster's attention to them Strangely, this seemed to work as they were but left entirely alone In the meantime, Lead saw that more figures were taking form elsewhere in the room, dread filling them as they realized what was happening Martin, a fiendishly gleeful grin on his face, watched on as each new ghost was born into the room Finally, Allison emerged from the shadows "Bri ian " she whimpered, sitting up from the mattress in her panic Martin's malevolent grin widened to monstrous proportions as he, once again, lunged for Allison Just like Lead, she jolted from her place on the mattress and immediately yanked herself free of Martin's grip Her fragile foot skidded along the ground as she was flung backwards, falling onto the carpeted floor with a muffled thud Martin didn't even seem to care as she shrieked in pain "You will pay," Martin jeered, the two ghosts now hovering anxiously by his sides "Serves you right, Allison!" A similar fear began encompassing Lead once more; no, not fear No, not fear It was pure terror as he helplessly bore witness to a malicious act which he could not stop : The Sun: Its warmth begins to caress your face, revitalizing your soul and replenishing your weary mind Draping the barren brown ground with a radiant golden glow, life can once again flourish here The cool midday air penetrates into the caverns of your body, revitalizing your very core Eyesight clears and focus strengthens once more, birds chirp in the distance - ringing out their beautiful melody for all who can hear ment: Lead: You blink repeatedly, trying to focus on the oddly shaped object Martin is waving around in front of you It takes a moment for your mind to comprehend that he's holding what is presumably an Xbox controller, and he's now giving it to you Your hands firmly grasp the two halves, feeling the new texture covering its once glossy surface It's cool to the touch ings that have long been dormant begin emerging from the depths of your being Curiosity, determination - each one more familiar than you'd care to admit This is not your time or is it? "Sit down," Martin instructs, pushing against your back in an attempt to help you take a seat on the mattress laying on the floor You comply without a fight; this isn't a dream - or is it? [2016] A Clockworker's Cruelty First Semester at High School The front features a life-sized photo of a boy dressed in what looks to be 19th-century clothing; he's staring straight at the camera with an eerie, monstrous look in his eyes using chosen art style Below his image states something that makes your blood run cold "This world is simply a nexus of fleeting horrors " "An Xbox One copy of Corpse Party: Blood Drive," closest to you Continue down this dark hallway NAH- Figment- Something else- NAH- Figment- Something else- Personally Introspective- Semiotic Web "Always seemed like something was off with him, ever since that day Jefferson killed himself," Martin mutters to himself He takes a moment to think; in that moment you have the sudden realization of what exactly is going on here Nonsense and childhood friends Which only leaves - "Go through this door right here," moves to behind Martin, who stands up and walks over to another doorway in the room He opens it, and you get a glimpse of what looks like very colorful woods outside A nice breeze blows through and cools you off just enough to keep you alive "The day the day that Jefferson " His mother had only come home to drop off his youngest brother; you can see the short haired blonde woman hugging her younger son in the entryway , and even Martin's disappearance, were all smoke screens Camouflage Deception Disappearances without a trace "It was you," A swift punch to the nose knocks you back as the narrow hallway throws off your balance You feel blood trickling down your nostrils, as all you really have time to notice is that the hallway gives way into a living room, where you spot an old CRT television set that seems to be on a news cast , you ask? You copy it from a reference, of course! You take a 3D model and turn it into a texture, which you then apply to the clone-thing The process is really hard: you have to get a reference for every single little detail, or else the clone won't look right You watch as Steve creates Jon, using the newly-downloaded image which gets mapped onto what looks like a first-person shooter's character You have more than enough knowledge of 3D design to know that it's a realistic image being used for this model, and can't help but grin as you see Steve apply red hair, weird eyebrows, slightly thicker-than-average glasses, and the distorted, ugly looking face upon the model Your 'father' looks horrified at what has happened to him "The day they beat him half to death," yesterday as far as we know A dark room tinged with blue from the CCTV images, in which "Two piles of wood and bone, connected by terrible, melted skin " The realization hits you like a sack of bricks dropped from a great height Blood pours out of your mouth as you let out vomit; the realization has filled you with unbelievable terror You can taste it as it comes back up and out, pooling at your feet The tape plays on, showing two piles of burnt and melted flesh, connected by strands of unharmed meat One bone is fractered, another skin is horribly scarred And the most horrifying thing about it? The fact that you know this, and more importantly; you remember seeing this As if your mind was put through a filter which made everything seem surreal "When they return to the grounds where their journey begun," You are still wiping the bile off your lips, and you do not miss the importance of what is happening A simple yellow school bus, the words "Jefferson County Middle School" clearly printed on the side in blue lettering occupied by ghostly children with monstrous faces and skeletal bodies They look out the window at you as you enter into the physical building for the first time You watch, confused and still pondering the reality around you, as they stare in shock One of these Spectres nervously laughs out loud at what he saw You find yourself in the principal's office without even knowing how you got here The haggard woman behind the desk looks up, staring at you with a dour look that makes you think she's incarnate of Satan himself "Name?" she dully asks while prickles at your skin "Greg

The Hardest NES Games of All-Time

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With the recently released Cyber Shadow, publisher Yacht Club Games (the studio behind the brilliant Shovel Knight) prove that they’re the masters of revitalizing those brutally difficult NES games that defined an era and haunt gamers to this day.

The absurd difficulty of the average NES game can be attributed to a variety of factors, but the fact remains that there’s a reason the term “NES Hard” exists in the gaming lexicon. The hardest NES games weren’t just difficult: they were nightmarish excursions into another world where demands for perfect inputs met fundamentally unforgiving (and sometimes simply terrible) game design.

Those are the games we’re going to look at today. Some are good, some are bad, but for one reason or another, these are the absolute hardest NES games ever made.

15. Punch-Out!!

The problem with Punch-Out!! is that every new set of fighters essentially bumps up the game’s difficulty setting by a couple of levels. That makes it nearly impossible for anyone to really learn the game at a reasonable pace.

To make matters worse, this game basically treats your accomplishments with a level of spite typically only seen in house cats. By the time you reach the Mike Tyson fight, it assumes that you must be a literally perfect player.

However, there’s no way to practice for Tyson’s punching pattern the first time around, and reaching him again makes you navigate such extreme levels of difficulty that “lesser” fighters can actually make you worse. It’s an absolutely devious piece of game design that leads you to believe the game is fairer than it really is.

14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Konami eventually got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles right (which is a statement that really ages this era of gaming), but their debut effort is the reason many people don’t trust licensed games to this day.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a fundamentally poorly designed game. However, it uses excellent graphics, good music, and the strength of its developer’s name to cover its nearly impossible jumps, terrible resource system, and crippling framerate issues.

By the time most of us reached the infamous swimming level that required you to be accurate and fast in a game designed to offer neither of those concepts, we realized we’d been had. The rest of us never made it past the Technodrome.

13. Gauntlet

NES gamers eventually realized that most NES ports of arcade games were going to be a shell of their former selves that typically only retained the crushing difficulty, but Gauntlet abuses the privilege of forgiveness typically afforded to these titles.

As one of the first NES games developed in the United States, Gauntlet does its best to justify the old “Made in America” manufacturing jokes with its shoddy combat system and terrible visuals. Yet, Gauntlet truly earns its place on this list by virtue of its maze-like levels, unintuitive puzzles, and the fact your health is constantly dropping. That means you’re solving those levels and puzzles while battling a soft time limit.

There���s just no reason to play this punishing game, which is really a shame considering the other versions of this arcade classic are actually quite good.

12. Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom

The debate over which Ninja Gaiden game is the toughest will undoubtedly continue, but Ninja Gaiden 3 earns its spot on this list by virtue of how punishing it is in comparison to its predecessors.

Ninja Gaiden 3’s limited continue system, overwhelming number of constantly respawning enemies, and floaty jump controls essentially take away everything that you could have used in previous Ninja Gaiden games to gradually make your way through them.

Sadly, the fact that Ninja Gaiden 3 offers so few illusions that you can eventually beat it makes it the least enjoyable entry in the original series for everyone but expert players.

11. Ikari Warriors

Yes, Contra was hard, but it was also a well-designed game that is rightfully remembered as an action classic. We were lucky to have Contra in our NES libraries. Some kids had to settle for Ikari Warriors.

Like Contra, Ikari Warriors fills the screen with deadly projectiles ready to end your limited life pool in an instant. Unlike Contra, Ikari Warriors’ awful controls, worse graphics, and hidden threats mean that you’re never really sure why you’re dying.

Incredibly, Ikari Warrior’s version of Contra’s cheat code doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to beat the game even if you somehow possess the patience and motivation to do so.

10. Final Fantasy

The thing you have to remember about Final Fantasy is that it helped kick off a genre (and a legendary franchise) that wouldn’t be refined for years to come.

As such, the original Final Fantasy embodies the worst elements of JRPG design as well as the most challenging. Do you hate grinding in JRPGs? Final Fantasy demands it to make simple progress. Do you hate random battles? Both the appearance and difficulty of Final Fantasy’s enemies are truly random. Because there’s no way to mechanically master Final Fantasy, some of these random fights are either nearly impossible or (at times) legitimately impossible.

Even if you suffer through the basic gameplay, Final Fantasy’s confusing world navigation and ambiguous puzzles will leave you wondering whether it’s better to find an online guide or just leave the memory alone.

9. The Adventures of Bayou Billy

The diversity of the NES library is exemplified in the difference between Final Fantasy and The Adventures of Bayou Billy. Whereas Final Fantasy makes you suffer through repetition, The Adventures of Bayou Billy pulls off the impressive feat of making you suffer through variety.

Bayou Billy’s side-scrolling levels are already among the genre’s most challenging, but this game’s driving levels hold the unique distinction of being some of the most difficult driving levels on a console infamous for them. On top of that, you’ve got incredibly challenging light gun levels that are nearly impossible to overcome even if you do have a working NES zapper.

Having said that, I have to give Konami credit for making a game called The Adventures of Bayou Billy so difficult that we’re still talking about it over 30 years later alongside games like Mega Man, Castlevania, and Ninja Gaiden.

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8. Paperboy

There’s a legitimate argument to be made that Paperboy is the most famous NES game that few players beat and fewer players actually enjoy.

Despite being one of those NES games that you can beat in 15 minutes if you’re good enough, Paperboy’s unforgiving controls and avalanche of oncoming obstacles offered quite a bit of value the hard way to a generation of gamers who were forced to play such titles over and over again.

Honestly, why is a game about being a Paperboy so hard? Were American parents of the ‘50s constantly encouraging their kids to get paper routes so that they’d be able to quietly get rid of them and enjoy a life of reasonable real estate prices, afternoon cocktails, and social oppression?

7. Ghosts and Goblins

Ghosts and Goblins has been synonymous with difficulty for so long that it’s easy to forget why the game is so challenging in the first place.

However, even a few minutes with this infamous action/adventure title will quickly reveal that Ghosts and Goblins‘ biggest hurdle is the game’s enemies. From the infamous red devils that kill most players in a few minutes to wandering foes placed in the absolute worst positions, Ghosts and Goblins’ basic enemies could easily be minibosses in lesser games.

To make matters worse, there’s really only one viable weapon in Ghosts and Goblins and the game only allows you to take two hits before dying. It’s not the “cheapest” game on this list, but it is one of the most mechanically frustrating.

6. The Immortal

We’ve talked about The Immortal before, but it would be irresponsible to talk about the hardest NES games without giving this devil its due.

The Immortal is a practical joke disguised as a game. Its carnival of traps and hidden dangers means that the only ways through this nightmare involve cheating and dying over and over again until you find out the literal pixels that you can and cannot interact with.

Shout out to The Immortal for accurately recreating the feeling of being thrown into the deepest pit of the most dangerous dungeon, but it turns out that there’s little pleasure to be found in a game where the biggest reward is no longer having to play it.

5. Battletoads

Yes, we all know that Battletoads legendary speed bike level is the shining single example of NES difficulty and one of those pieces of shared misery that make this era in difficult gaming so special. However, I really want to talk about Battletoads’ co-op mode.

At a time when siblings were often forced to share time with the NES, Battletoads co-op mode felt like one of the best ways to play a game together. That’s why it’s that much crueler that the co-op mode is designed to make you hate whoever you’re playing with.

From melee friendly fire that’s nearly impossible to avoid to a shared life total that ends your run when one player dies, managing to beat Battletoads with another human rightfully ranks among retro gaming’s most impressive achievements.

4. Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse

The biggest case I can make for Castlevania 3’s pot on this list is that the game is so difficult that many people retroactively consider the original Castlevania to be fair by comparison.

Castlevania 3 is rightfully (if painfully) remembered for its stairs. Several levels in the game require you to climb stairs while dodging enemies and projectiles. The problem is that the stairs limit your movement to such a degree that avoiding everything requires you to move at a glacial pace, except for the times when you actually need to move quickly to have a chance to survive. It’s cheap in a way that other games in the series often avoid.

In general, Castlevania 3 is a collection of platforming death traps capped off by a stunningly difficult three-stage boss fight that requires you to start the level over if you die at any point during it. What a beautiful nightmare of a game.

3. Mega Man

The game that is sometimes credited for ushering in a new era of NES difficulty impressively manages to remain one of the hardest NES games ever despite years of worthy challengers.

The original Mega Man is difficult for the same reasons every other retro Mega Man game is difficult (tricky platforming, tough bosses, and durable enemies), but this historic gem elevates itself above the rest of the franchise by virtue of the things it lacks.

No energy tanks, no passwords, and unrefined controls make the original Mega Man harder than many of its successors, despite the fact that the pure content in a game like Mega Man 3 is arguably designed to be more challenging.

2. Fester’s Quest

To this day, my mind wants to rebel against the idea that a game based on the ‘60s Addams Family series could rank cleanly amongst the hardest NES titles of all-time, but the years have proven it is worthy of that position for all the wrong reasons.

Most of the challenge of Fester’s Quest comes from the game’s controls. Fester moves like he’s as excited to play this game as you are, yet you’re expected to navigate the often tight areas loaded with constantly respawning enemies that don’t offer a moment to breathe. You are able to defend yourself, but unless you have a turbo controller, be prepared to constantly mash the attack button just to have a chance to inch your way forward.

Even if you resolved all of those problems, you’d still have the game’s unintuitive puzzles and bizarre first-person segments that were ahead of their time in the worst way possible. Fester’s Quest is both legitimately challenging and challenging because of historically awful game design.

1. Silver Surfer

By their design, these flight style side-scrolling action games are intended to be hard. That’s why NES games like Gradius and Life Force offer some of the console’s most memorable challenges.

However, Silver Surfer takes that concept to a whole new level. This game would be hard enough if it only featured the bullet hell death maze patterns that it already requires you to navigate, but the experience is made historically memorable by virtue of truly bad visual design that can make it nearly impossible to reasonably guess what is a projectile and what’s part of the environment.

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If nothing else, Silver Surfer remains “Exhibit A” in the case of why only truly talented developers should attempt to make genuinely challenging games.

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