I keep seeing that post about how modern developers making difficult and obtuse retro games without tutorials are "forgetting that video games used to come with manuals."
Ya'll.
Yes. Video games used to come with manuals.
And our parents and older siblings fucking threw the manuals and the boxes out.
By the time most of us got our hands on The Legend of Zelda: The Adventures of Link, the manual that explained anything had been in the landfill for a year.
I promise promise promise you that the people making these games didn't "only discover them on emulator."
These games were obscure and mysterious to us because as children we had to figure out what was going on by trial and error.
Exploring the lower reaches of Hyrule Castle, I stop short halfway up a corridor - because the rest is gone.
Ahead of me lies the central castle, held aloft by the gloom of the Demon King.
I wonder how much he's taken. Where is the Dining Hall, the Library? Are they down here somewhere? Or hovering above all that Gloom?
I find the hall. It's in a worse state than I remember it - but no monsters. In fact, there's a Hylian here - Burmano. They're looking for recipes.
I head out into the dawn light to find the Library, but no luck. Was it closer to the castle than I remember? I've completely lost my bearings. I gaze up towards the rest of Hyrule Castle, and spot a shrine up there. I suppose I could probably glide from the tower. But before the distraction of the tunnel, I was going to look for treasure on the way to Kakariko Village.
I head back to Lookout Landing to pick up Pumpkin and head to that clue about Misko's treasure.
At the mini stable, though, Lester has lost his horse. Spot has a gentle beige coat with grey dapples and shouldn't be too far. I'm sure I could find him.
Spot is very handsome, and after a brief altercation with some chuchu, I persuade him to return to Lester with me.
But Lester worries he can't give Spot the freedom he wants, and offers him to me. I'll be happy to have him as a companion for a time.
I find the spot where Misko's cave should be, and rescue treasure hunter Kaffi from a bokoblin. They can't find the cave, but it must be here somewhere…
I leave Spot with Kaffi and look for the cave - I find a shrine with some loose rocks behind it that hide the entrance.
Eventually, I find some rubber armor in this labyrinthine cave. Outside, night has fallen again, and dawn fast approaches.
Happy 38th Anniversary to the game that started the legend - the original Legend of Zelda on the Famicom, released on 21 Feb 1986 [Japan release].
This started as a "quick sketch" to commemorate the release. But I got carried away with the finer details. Especially on the Famicom and NES consoles. I'm really happy with how they turned out.
Link's outfit is a updated version of my 80's fashion design from my old [Fashion Line Up] series for LinkedUniverse AU.
Please nominate characters for the incredibly stupid event I want to run, The Annual & Eternal Allcheng Completionist Run Any% Event. Here's the random roll 2d10 table so far:
–> Time, he/him. 38 y/o. Professor of agriculture and animal sciences. He lives on Lon Lon Ranch with his wife, Malon.
–> Warriors, he/him. 31 y/o. Adjunct professor of psychology, teaches a lot of night classes. He lives alone in an apartment, but is often visited by his brother, Wind.
–> Twilight, he/him. 25 y/o. TA and Master's degree student, majoring in education. Previously majored in animal sciences. He lives in an apartment off-campus with his roommate, Ilia.
–> Sky, any pronouns are fine, but he/him preferred. 23 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in air transportation to become a commercial airline pilot. He lives in the dorms with his roommate, Groose. He's dating Sun.
–> Four, any pronouns. 22 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in material engineering. She lives in the dorms with their roommate, Shadow.
–> Legend, he/they. 21 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in social work. They live in an apartment off-campus with his roommate, Ravio. Their cousin Fable also attends the university.
–> Wild, any pronouns. 20 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in culinary arts. Considering a minor in pastry arts. He lives in suite-style housing (on-campus) with her roommates Flora, Riju, and Sidon.
–> Hyrule, he/they. 18 y/o. Part-time student taking night classes to become an RN, specifically an E.R./trauma nurse. During the day, he works as a receptionist at the local hospital. Their housing situation is unknown, but he claims to be a local to the area.
–> Wind, he/him. 16 y/o. Warriors' younger half brother. After talking to Sky, he's decided he wants to try taking a university class on marine transportation. He lives at home with his mother, but often visits Warriors' apartment.
THE ZELDAS:
–> Lullaby, she/he. 39 y/o. Professor of statistics, but also a few general math courses.
–> Artemis, she/her. 30 y/o. Adjunct professor of physical education and sports studies.
–> Dusk, she/they. 26 y/o. Adjunct professor of classical studies and literature.
–> Sun, she/her. 23 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in music (with a specific interest in string instruments). She lives in the dorms with her roommate, Karane. She's dating Sky.
–> Fable, she/her. 22 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in creative writing. She lives in the dorms with her roommate, Hilda. Her cousin Legend also attends the university.
–> Flora, she/her. 21 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in history and minoring in botany. She lives in suite-style housing (on-campus) with her roommates Riju, Sidon, and Wild.
–> Aurora, she/her. 21 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in pharmacology. She lives in the dorms with her roommate, Dawn. She's interested in student government.
–> Dot, she/they. 20 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in computer science. She lives in the dorms in a single room.
–> Dawn, she/her. 19 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in journalism. She lives in the dorms with her roommate, Aurora.
ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS:
–> Malon, she/her. 37 y/o. Professor of nutrition sciences and pastry arts. She lives on Lon Lon Ranch with her husband, Time.
–> Pipit, he/him. 25 y/o. Master's degree student, majoring in natural resource economics. He lives in the dorms in a single room. He's dating Karane.
–> Karane, she/her. 25 y/o. Master's degree student, majoring in sociology. She lives in the dorms with her roommate, Sun. She's dating Pipit.
–> Ilia, she/her. 25 y/o. Master's degree student, majoring in zoology. She lives in an apartment off-campus with her roommate, Twilight.
–> Groose, he/him. 24 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in drafting and design. He lives in the dorms with his roommate, Sky.
–> Hilda, she/they. 23 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in dance and minoring in musical theatre. She lives in the dorms with their roommate, Fable.
–> Shadow, they/them. 22 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in film production and minoring in fine arts. They live on campus with their roommate, Four.
–> Sidon, he/him. 21 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, double majoring in health and physical education. He lives in suite-style housing (on-campus) with his roommates Flora, Riju, and Wild.
–> Ravio, he/him. 20 y/o. TA and Bachelor's degree student, double majoring in business and finance. He lives in an apartment off-campus with his roommate, Legend.
–> Riju, she/her. 18 y/o. Bachelor's degree student, majoring in criminology. She lives in suite-style housing (on-campus) with her roommates Flora, Sidon, and Wild.
The next couple of trips across time are… almost unremarkable, as odd as that might sound. It’s true, though. They hike across Wild’s empty world. They watch the sprawling metropolis of Warriors’ city grow across the countryside like a creeping vine. They even manage to go a solid trip through Hyrule’s country without a single fight (sure, that visit was only about six hours, but still. New record, that).
The next portal spits them out into a familiar-looking yard. Not super familiar, mind. This isn’t a place that Legend has frequented, but he’s definitely been here before. The building facing the road proudly bearing the hand-painted sign declaring it the ‘Four Elements Forge,’ in careful lettering hanging by the door.
Legend risks a glance down at their smithy. Four has his teeth grit in stubborn determination, eyes fixed on the door handle. He doesn’t speak to claim it, but they all know.
No one says a Din damned word. None of them want to be the one to say it, to alert the universe and the power dragging them across time that they have gone out of bounds.
(The Hero of Legend has not figured out what that power is, or what its reasons are, but a pattern has become abundantly clear. The route that they take through the eras is a paved road, following a set course for each of them. And Sky and Four’s section of the map is decidedly locked terrain.)