More Ruins, More Moblins, and More Shrine Puzzles - Screenshot Roundup 24

Exploring Outpost Ruins & Getting Myself Hurt. A lot. - Screenshot Roundup 23

Saying Hello to the New Neighbors

I scout my surrounding from the top of my perch. Directly below me, I see a large bokoblin camp in the woods. I also spot a couple of explosive barrels up here next to me.

Can you see where I’m going with this?

Worth it.

I (mistakenly) discover that I can just drop right down while carrying one of these barrels without taking any damage. Which is good because I don’t think I would have hit anything from up there. I do manage to take out a sole ‘blin with the barrel, before I decide to just climb down and do this on foot. I got places to be.

I run in guns-a-blazin,’ and get myself killed. Wonderful. After respawning, I rethink my tactics and pick off the bokoblins on the towers first, before finishing the rest in melee. I collect some Arrows from a nearby chest, before making my way out to the main road.

Outpost Ruins

I head back towards the plateau first, wanting to cover the small bit of ground I floated over on my way off. More ruins, though I’d argue more “put together” then those on the plateau were. We’ve got at least the foundation of several full buildings still intact. We also have a number of monsters – mostly chus popping up as I explore buildings, but also a couple of bokoblins wandering around. I find a few chests among the ruined buildings, containing another Traveler’s Bow, some Amber, and… A RED RUPEE! I HAVE MONEY NOW! AAAHAHAHAHA!

I have yet to see another living person, let alone a shop. This means nothing to me.

“…and the deep and dank tarn at my feet closed sullenly and
silently over the fragments of the 'House of Usher.”

Going by the name of this place, this must have been guard outpost for the castle. Probably destroyed like the rest of the kingdom 100 years ago. No decayed guardians around thankfully, just ones long since dead. Eerie, but cool to explore.

As I continue the short trek towards the plateau, I spot something off in the distance, near a flag pole. It looks like a bokoblin, but definitely isn’t one. Much longer face. New enemy type! I equip a fresh sword and sneak up, taking cover behind the base of a large flag pole. Then while his back is turned, I run up to striIIAAAAAHHH WHAT THE FUCK THIS THING IS HUGE! I panic and run away back towards the ruins until I’m sure the giant isn’t following.

Okay, that was unexpected. To be fair, I had the camera at a weird angle, but that thing was HUGE compared to Link. I need to kill it, if not just to see how strong it is since this cannot be the only one of these I’m going to encounter. Sigh.

WHY?!

I gather up some courage, and make another run to face off what I will later come to learn is a Moblin. Less bull-doggy then I remember but I’m also pretty sure bokoblins didn’t exist before a decade ago so who cares, it’s a video game. With a strong sword equipped, I don’t even give it a chance to react to my approach, I just start swinging. It’s certainly stronger than any previous enemies, but it’s nothing fancy – still just a big dumb 'blin. I take it out and watch it explode in a shadow of darkness, just like all the other trash.

I’m at the base of the plateau, and the road splits, wrapping around…but given the size of the world, exploring “everything” is going to be difficult to do systematically. I haven’t even explored 5% of the map yet. So, a decision is made: I am going to follow the path the game has set out for me. I will take the shortest route to the next objective, but explore the surrounding area of everything I pass through on the way. I am currently on my way to Kakariko Village. That is my next major stop, but along the path there I will make sure to explore the locations I pass along the way. The Outpost Ruins, for example. That should give me a good starting point, at least. I gather up some new monster parts from the moblin, namely his Horn and Teeth. More potion ingredients! Then, I turn around and begin my trek.

Less stressful then giant monsters.

East Post Ruins

After leaving the first set of ruins, I’m ambushed with a series of rolling boulders, like I was back on the plateau. No culprits of course, as this is just scripting within the game, but it was kinda neat. On the opposite side of the road further up are the East Post Ruins. Much larger than the last, with far more monsters lurking about. I go ahead and do a little bit of looting, finding another Traveler’s Bow and some Arrows.

I’m pleasantly surprised by some of the enemy AI here – there are bokoblins waiting for me roadside, hiding in the tall grass where I almost missed them. I go through a few weapons here, but pick others up, including a Wooden Mop. K.

Up further is a bridge, but before that, a shrine! My first non-plateau shrine. Presumably the one I would be expected to find next. After clearing the nearby bokoblins, I activate and descend into the shrine.

The Wind Guides You

This may have taken me several tries.

           ~Bosh Kala Shrine~

The first thing I notice is the lack of a rune pedestal. Womp womp. It does look like I still have space for another rune, or maybe more, but I don’t get it here obviously. So, the wind guides me, huh? Well there’s a lot of fans blowing a head of me, Including one with a chest on it to my right. This seems self explanatory; I climb up the platform next to the fan, and jump off towards the chest. I pull out my paraglider, the wind “guides” me across, and I get some more useless amber.

Bosh Kala

Next up is another, longer gap – this time over a bottomless pit. With a running jump, I use my glider again to cross, hitting a metal screen on the opposite side to stop me from overshooting. Up next is another gap, with no safety screen on the opposite side this time. No matter, I run and jump, making it across...and immediately getting distracted by a second chest in this distance and miss my landing. D’oh.

On my second attempt, I actually aim for the chest after leaping, and manage to make my landing, getting a pretty decent Soldier’s Claymore for my troubles. I hop down from my ledge and walk back over to the fan, making the same leap again and not missing this time. Then I stroll right up to Bosh Kala himself, open his cage, and get me my fifth Spirit Orb.

This game is gonna be easy.

---

Heart Containers: 4
Spirit Orbs: 1
Rupees: 20(!!!)
Koroks Found: 9
Shrines Completed: 5
Ruins Looted: 2ish
Hyrule: Entered (Heh)

Wrapping Things Up & Moving On to Hyrule Kingdom - Screenshot Roundup 22

Meeting the King & Learning My History - Screenshot Roundup 21

Ghost Hunting Across the Plateau

After avoiding the Talus again – really don’t need him waking up right now – I find myself back at the Old Man’s campsite in the Forest of Spirits. And he is understandably not here, the fire long since gone out. All of his other stuff is still here though. I know I’ve been on my own this whole time, but knowing he’s not just out here in the forest anymore…it’s actually kind of lonely. I’m the only living person on the plateau.

Just me and the fireflies.

I reach the ruined fountain, the Sheikah Tower to my left and the Temple of Time straight ahead. I take my time wandering through the ruins. Everything here is dead, either 100 years ago or by my hands. Actually…shouldn’t these guys have respawned by now? I don’t think I’ve seen a single monster I’ve killed before respawn. Do they STAY dead? Oh god, I hope not, that sounds so fucking creepy… Maybe the distance for respawning is just REALLY far? Or maybe it’s because I’m still in the “tutorial?” I’ll find out eventually I guess. Or I will forever wander a desolate digital landscape.

*chorus of angels sings*

Eventually, I reach the temple proper. Still creepy. I swear if something jumps out to scare me, I quit. I walk through the main doors to…find nothing. Well, no Old Man, but the statue in the back is glowing, and these Spirit Orbs are burning a hole in my pocket. I make my way back, the glow dying out as I get close, and I pray. Either the goddess or the statue – I’m not really clear on how this works, if it’s a conduit to the actual deity or if it just works for the goddess - offers to increase either my hearts or my stamina in exchange for four orbs. So it’s basically this game’s version of heart pieces. I
go with a Heart Container the first time, as I still feel waaaay too squishy.

As soon as I’m finished with the statue, a voice calls out to me. There’s the old man. He’s on the roof, and wants me to meet him out there. Sure, that’s normal. Sighing for Link, I exit the temple and begin to search the perimeter for the best way up. The walls are all fairly even, so I pick a spot towards the southern corner and hop up. I still have the stamina restoring meals on me if I need it. I cut it even closer than I did with the stone tower, but make it up nonetheless.

I watch as poor, exhausted Link struggles to catch his breath as I walk across the roof.

It’s a mess. One side of the roof is a death trap, full of holes and without a clear path, but the other half is solid, and I walk my way to the center beam. To my left is what I suppose would be the temple’s bell tower, and I can see what appears to be the Old Man’s form glowing within.

"Just...pretend I'm not on fire."

The cut scene starts as I approach. I will avoid explaining too much of the plot details, but here is the gist: Ganon tried to destroy the world, I’ve been asleep for 100 years, the Old Man is really the ghost of the King of Hyrule, King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, and the voice that was speaking to me earlier was Princess Zelda, who is now trapped in Hyrule Castle holding back Ganon. And now that I’m awake, it’s up to me to stop him and save Zelda. Also I still can’t remember anything. A solid if not clichéd call to action for our hero. I’m invested, even if Link isn’t yet.

Seek Out Impa

After the King finishes his tale, he finally grants me the use of his paraglider. He tells me going after Ganon now would be suicide, and instead points me to a path to the east, towards Kakariko Village. I know that place! There I will meet Impa, who will be able to help me further. Also, there are apparently a pair of mountains called “Dueling Peaks” and all I can picture is boobs fighting each other. So now you get to think about that too!

With a final plea, the king fades away, flickering into blue flames and then nothing. Once again I am alone on the plataeu. There’s not much left to do here, though I’m sure I’ll be back soon. There’s bound to be plenty of things I missed. Chests, Koroks, hell I still have to kill that fucking Stone Talus. And those are just the things I know about, who knows what else this game has to throw at me.

Actually, there’s a chest up here with me. Carrying a very nice Soldier’s Bow. Gonna save that one for something big.

Okay this is pretty cool.

I walk out of the bell tower and onto the roof. Before I leave, there’s one last stop I want to make – The Woodcutter's House. The King’s house. The King’s cabin? The Cabin in the Woods. James Woods. Woody Harrelson. What was I doing? Right, woodcutter. I run across the roof and leap, ready to put my new paraglider to use. I pull out the glider and drift towards the cabin in the distance.

I find the cabin in the same state as the campsite. No one home. I putter around for a bit, picking up the stray ingredient here and there. I give the Old Man’s diary another read. He actually updated it after I gave him the recipe. The first new entry is still in the style of a diary entry, but the second, he speaks directly to me. Aww. He’s sorry for hiding his identity. It’s okay ghost man, you were just doing what you thought you needed to.

I'm honestly not sure how I missed this one.

I wrap things up here pretty quickly. Any stray mushrooms outside are gathered, and a shimmering bundle of leaves on the roof draws my attention. Korok! There’s got to be a ton of these guys I missed. Once I feel stronger, I’ll see about tracking them all down.

I walk back north, towards the north eastern side of the plateau. God that’s a long drop down… The fog has cleared so I can see the ground, but it’s still just as daunting. I think I can make out what looks to be bokoblins or bokoblin adjacent, so a straight drop down isn’t the smartest idea. I use my scope to check out the path. I can see the Dueling Peaks off in the distance. There’s a bridge over a river, and some ruins on the way.

Oh god(dess). There's so much to do.

I’m right next to the sheikah tower, and I’m thinking I could jump from the top. I see some kind of wooden structure standing above the small forest below. Like a hut or cabin on stilts. No signs of movement, so hopefully it’s safe. I warp to the top of the tower and position myself facing our landing pad, before running and leaping off. I pull out my paraglider and float towards my target.

Hyrule Kingdom

The name flashes on my screen as I land, next to a chest and some explosive barrels. Oooh, Fire Arrows!

I think we’re off to a good start.

---

Heart Containers: 4
Koroks Found: 9
Shrines Completed: 4
Relationship Status: Lonely
Ghosts: Hunted

Returning to the Forest of Spirits & Another Skull Rock - Screenshot Roundup 20

River Rafting, Raids, & Repelling - Screenshot Roundup 19

Rafting Down the River of the Dead

I use Cryonis to piggy back across ice pillars until I make it to the still functioning part of the dock. It’s secured with a rope (physics!) but otherwise appears to be a simple raft. I hop onto it and look down river for a second before cutting the raft loose. We start moving, though it’s a little slow for my liking and I’m left at the mercy of the current and wind. I pull out my Korok Leaf from earlier and decide to see how hard it is to steer one of these.

*whistles Steamboat Willie theme*

I'm not too bad, it turns out. The leaf doesn’t lose any durability unless I’m standing too close to the mast and it hits, so I can see the benefit in carrying one of these on me going forward. I fuck around for just a little longer before beaching the raft further down river – There wasn’t any place I needed it to get to, and there’s waterfalls on either end. Still, I can say I’ve steered a boat now.

There’s really only one direction left to go, so I pass by the disabled guardians in the snow again, and head north, towards the large bokoblin tree fort. I hug the mountainside to avoid being seen, climbing up some so I can get a good vantage point.

It’s a pretty big tree fort – one I definitely would have been jealous of as a kid. It’s got two levels, three if you count the ground where I can spot a cooking pot and some plants. There seem to about four or five bokoblins here, including one of their darker colored kin. A drawbridge to the second floor is pulled up by some ropes, probably to prevent me from just running up and slaughtering everyone.

FACE

Hitting the bokoblins with my bow from here is a little annoying, and if I move any closer, they will probably see me. There are no other trees or boulders to hide behind, just this big stone pillar that’s too far to be of any use. Throwing bombs from this distance is out of the question, so that leaves running in and shooting the bridge down before they can snipe at me.

There’s a few false starts, my hands of course feeling slipperier than usual since I actually need to focus on something. I have to practice my aim a few times, the rope is a fairly small target, and I have to aim a little higher to hit it and not the bridge. I still manage to miss on my first run, my arrow landing on the side of the fort and drawing the attention of the bokoblins. I don’t know if they have the programming to lower the drawbridge, but nothing happens. There’s just some confusion and screaming before they give up and seemingly forget about me.

Yay. Arrows. *twitch*

I make another run for it, this time managing to bring the bridge down. I shoot a few more arrows at the ‘blins as they come running down towards me, and finish the rest of the reds off with my sword. The darker one is a little tougher and I have to actually dodge a few of its swings before I can take it out. I collect their body parts, arrows, and some Amber from a chest. The only other thing in the immediate area is that large stone column. There’s something at the top, but I’m a little worried I won’t have enough stamina to make it.

I cut it close – I use the very last of my stamina to jump to the top – but don’t end up needing to eat any food. I’m decently high up – not as high as Mount Hylia or anything but still, I can see for a decent distance. There’s a chest up here and my reward for the treacherous climb are some arrows. I see a bokoblin camp just northeast of where I am now – that’s where I’ll head next.

Beautiful, and full of death.

The climb down is less exciting without any real danger of running out of stamina. I make my way towards the camp I saw, up a hill connected to the snowy hills I explored earlier. Nothing fancy here either, a cooking pot and some more amber…getting a little sick of all this amber. The enemy camp is against a cliff, and I follow the cliff’s edge back towards the stone column and tree fort. It’s a pretty steep drop, and I can see the Forest of Spirits - and the clearing with the Talus – below me. The cliff side seems to turn and then drop suddenly, though not so drastically that I don’t think I could make it.

I continue to follow the cliffside as it winds down the side of the plateau. There are a few precarious drops, but I manage to survive the first part of the climb down. About halfway down from where I started, I can see down the cliff clearly – it’s another skull fort! Also along this cliff are a series of precariously placed boulders. I immediately put my rock-presents to good use and take out all three of the bokoblins I spot below me with a SPLAT. I’ll finish off whatever’s inside once I get down there.

Still tacky.

The cliff spirals around and down the alcove. On the way down, I snatch up a few Apples and Hylian Herbs for some future cooking. I can see another bokoblin camp in the forest not too far away, so that’ll be up next on our murder tour. As I move towards the skull’s entrance, the wind starts blowing very dramatically. I don’t waste time, slaughtering the remaining bokoblin and collecting some Fire Arrows from a lone chest inside. I move back towards the forest after collecting the body parts of my enemies.

Hopper Pond

I reenter the Forest of Spirits, this time on its west end, on the opposite site of the Stone Talus’s clearing. Phew. This is probably the biggest camp on the plateau by my estimates. The bokoblins are spread out around the lake, with a few towers and patrols. This is gonna be a fun one. I start by sneaking towards the northern end. I climb up a tree and use my bow to pick a couple of them off. Then I climb back down, sneak to another tree, and repeat. The trick only works twice though, and the remaining bokoblins see me when I try a third. Oh well.

Not pictured: The Bokoblin I blew off the screen.

I dance with the remaining bokoblins on foot, switching between two of them while dodging the arrows of a third. Once they are both down, I notch an arrow and take out the last attacker. My reward? An Opal. Better than an Amber, I guess. Looking at the map, it seems like I’ve explored just about everywhere else on the plateau. Guess it’s time to head to the temple. Of Time.

I make sure I take the LONG way around the Talus.

---

Heart Containers: 3
Koroks Found: 8
Shrines Completed: 4
Rivers Rafted: 1
Skulls Cleared: 2
Stone Talus: Avoided

Ghostbusting & Waterfall Caves - Screenshot Roundup 18

Making Ice Pillars & Flying Old Men - Screenshot Roundup 17

In Which I Risk Hypothermia, Multiple Times

And we're back!

After activating and descending into the shrine, the name of the final trial and rune appears.

Cryonis Trial

  ~Keh Namut Shrine~

So freezing again, but like, temperature wise. Okay. I walk over to grab my new rune: Cryonis! I can…make pillars of ice. But only in water. That seems…really specific. I guess they can’t all be
exploding bombs and time-stopping powers.

I feel like the lame Wonder Twin with the water powers.

My first puzzle is scaling a wall, with a pool of water in front. Simple enough – I activate the run and aim it between me and the wall, and see a phantom column take shape, showing me where my placement will be. I hit the button and make my first column. There’s kind of a nifty pattern on the side, but nothing else special about it. I climb up (I can’t climb the metal walls because they’re too slippery, but a giant block of ice is fine. Go home game, you’re drunk.) and over, down a ramp into another pool of water.

There is now a gate blocking my path, but no switches or buttons to hit to raise it. Hmm. Water is still covering the floor, and the game can’t expect me to use anything else in this shrine… I try and aim the pillar so that it forms under the gate, and the game isn’t stopping me from making it so… It forms and lifts the gate with it! Kinda cool but still really specific. Without water this rune is pretty much useless.

Such versatile combat applications.

Under the gate and around the corner is…a robot! I try and use Cryonis on it...which does nothing, of course. Although the pillar DOES block some of its laser shots. I quickly run up and destroy it with a spear before it has a chance to shoot at me again. I collect its parts and move onward down the hall.

To my left is the entrance beyond a barred wall, and to my right…some kind of teeter-totter type thing. Again, water is all over the floor, so it’s not too difficult to figure out. I make a pillar on one end of the platform, and it lowers the other side enough to allow me to climb up to the higher end, which is now high enough to climb the wall. Woo!

Once I’m up, I can see the monk’s cage just across a bridge, no more puzzles. But first, I see a chest on a ledge I missed when I was fighting the mini-robo. I jump down and make an ice column, climb up, and get a Traveler’s Spear. I then walk back up to the monk and finally free him, earning my fourth and final Spirit Orb. Finally.

Mount Hylia

WHERE DID YOU EVEN FLOAT DOWN FROM?!

I exit the shrine and am treated to an immediate cut scene of the Old Man flying in on his paraglider again… But from where!?!?! I am at the highest point of the surrounding area! And I am NOT buying that he floated down from that fucking mountain top. Whatever. He is ready to…tell me some stuff. Okay. He gives me some cryptic instructions for where to find him next, and then he fades away into flames. I CALLED IT. FUCKING GHOST.

He essentially told me to meet him at the place on my map where the four shrines intersect. X marks the spot. And that spot is…the Temple of Time. Fitting, I suppose. But, I’m not quite ready to move on to the next part of the game – I’d like to finish exploring the plateau before I leave it. I take a second to explore the area around the shrine. There’s a nearby frozen lake with a wooden chest at its center. Well, not frozen, but apparently cold enough to injure and kill me if I stand in it for too long.

Spoiler: The water is very cold.

Once I respawn, I turn on my Cryonis rune, and aim a pillar at the chest, lifting it out of the water. One problem down. I make two more columns, between me and the chest, and that seems to be the limit – making any more than 3 will cause the first one to be destroyed. I fall into the water on my first attempt, but then Link clears the gaps between them, but only just barely. I retrieve an Opal from the chest before hopping back across to land.

I spot a chest behind the shrine on a rampart on the plateau’s edge, so I walk down from my perch and climb up to it. It’s another (and I believe the last) Expansion Pass chest – Bomb Arrows. I see a path going down behind the shrine, and the map looks like it circles around to a bridge where I can cross the river and get back to the temple fairly quickly.

This is what these are for, right?

On the way, though, I see something kind of weird on another rampart – a big chunk of ice. Hmm. I could probably try to drag a lit torch or something over here, but…let’s put some of these special arrows to use finally. I switch to a weak bow and my Fire Arrows and aim at the ice…and it melts! A little bit. It takes 4 arrows total to get rid of all the ice, and then I’m left with a sparking bundle of leaves to interact with. Korok! I’m not sure melting ice counts as a puzzle but whatevs.

The River of the Dead

I make my way down towards the bridge, but don’t cross just yet. There’s a path leading along the bank of the river I’d like to explore first. Along the way I’m attacked by a few Ice Keese and Ice Chus. The chus are particularly annoying – if you attack them while they’re frozen, they explode on death and freeze you if close enough. I also see a few paths up towards the shrine and Mount Hylia, though with not much of interest on them.

Always check behind waterfalls.

Once I’m close to the start of the river, I spot a cave leading to a treasure cache behind the waterfall, with a Soldier's Broadsword and 3 chests, Containing a Spiked Boko Bow, Arrows, and Fire Arrows. Yay, exploring! I exit the cave and follow the river back over to the bridge to cross. It’s really only half a bridge, and then a door acting like a bridge, and then nothing. The door is metal though, and there’s an identical one on the other side of the river. I grab it with Magnesis and finish the bridge and cross. To the left is a path taking me to some non-frozen land, and what looks like a giant tree fort of bokoblins. Have to come back to check that out later – I really want this paraglider first.

Aside from a non-working guardian, this side of the river is just more keese and chus, and the occasional skeleton at night. I climb up and explore the hilltop on this side of the river, but aside from what seem to be a camp of bokoblins off in the distance, it’s a pretty quiet walk. Once I’m near the entrance, I see the raft I noticed earlier, and that the bridge leading to it is destroyed. I don’t see anything big and metal to make a bridge with…I throw on Magnesis, maybe something is under the water right? Well, not a bridge, but a chest. 2 actually! Both Ambers. Then I realize I probably just need to use Cryonis to reach that raft.

Idiot.

---

Heart Containers: 3
Korok’s Found: 8
Shrines Completed: 4
Bridges built: 1
Ghost Prediction: Accurate
Mountain: Climbed

Climbing Mount Hylia & Finding the Final Plateau Shrine - Screenshots Roundup 16

Stasis Trial & Boulder Flinging - Screenshot Roundup 15

Boulder Dodging. A Lot of It.

Oh boy. This trial is...busy. As the monk Owa Daim welcomes me to his trial, I can see giant gears, spinning platforms, Indiana Jones-style boulders. Very…extra.

Stasis Trial

~Owa Daim Shrine~

I am Keeseman.

I head right over to the rune pedestal for my magical water tablet upgrade. Stasis, just as it sounds, is the power of stopping time. Not a power I would have guessed, but I probably wouldn’t have guessed Magnesis either though, so what do I know. Similarly to Magnesis, anything I am able to use Stasis on begins glowing yellow when the rune is switched on. Reminds me of detective mode in Batman: Arkham Asylum, actually. Which is probably a comparison that’s been made a million times by now.

My first obstacle is a previously mentioned giant gear attached to a rotating platform. Turning on stasis, the gear glows, and once the platform is horizontal enough for me to cross the gap on, I freeze it. The visual effects for this rune are spectacular – chains of light appear from nowhere and hold the gear in place while a timer ticks down. I scurry across before the gear starts moving again, the chains of light shattering when the timer runs out.

At least it’s not snakes?

Next up is a narrow hallway/ramp with a not-so-narrow boulder rolling down it periodically. About halfway up there’s a path to continue, though the ramp continues on further back. I wait with the rune for the boulder to be released and stop it cold once it’s in range. I run up the ramp as the timer ticks down and move out of the boulders path.

Before moving on, I wait until another boulder has passed and freeze it further down the path, allowing me to walk up the rest of the ramp safely. My exploration is rewarded at the top with a chest containing a Traveler’s Shield. But my inventory is full so the shield gets put back in the chest. I remember a similar problem in Twilight Princess: if your wallet was full, any rupees pulled out of a chest would be put right back in. In theory, great idea, you don’t waste money. But in practice, it lead to a lot of completionists like me having to leave the dungeon to blow some money, because leaving the chest icon on the map was just too annoying. Luckily in this game, all I have to do is drop one of my crappy shields and I can pick up the new one.

Up next is…another giant boulder. Boulder isn’t the right word, these are clearly man made, giant smooth stone orbs, but saying “stone orb” just sounds weird and vaguely sexual. It’s blocking my path. Between me and it, leaning against a wall, is an Iron Sledgehammer. I take a look at the Stasis description again, remembering that it mentioned kinetic energy. They really aren’t fucking around with the physics in this game. I freeze the boulder with stasis, and then start swinging my new sledgehammer. Each time I hit it, the color of boulder turns from yellow to red, and an arrow points in the opposite direction. Once the timer ends, it launches towards where the arrow was pointing. Wow.

And that’s it. I cross the chasm and proceed forward to the monk and my 3rd Spirit Orb. Thanks Owa Daim.

Sensing a pattern with chests outside the Shrines needing
the Rune inside to retrieve.

It’s night-time when I exit the shrine, and I am startled (only a little this time) by a group of skeletons just waiting for me to show up. I make quick work of them. To the left of the Shrine is a boulder (an actual boulder this time) on top of a chest. I uses Stasis and my sledgehammer again, and retrieve a Traveler’s Bow from the chest.

Only one more Ssrine to go. I climb back up the mountain and into the snow again, looking towards the direction of the last shrine. I can’t see it from here because of the big-ass mountain in the way. So I head off in that direction.

It’s a largely uneventful climb. Lots of snow, a few more skeleton attacks in the final hours of night. Not much in the way of animals, and even bokoblins must not like the cold much. As I get higher and closer to the mountain, I actually see what looks like an off-color bokoblin. His skin isn’t red, it’s black? Black-ish (which is a pretty good show actually). He’s asleep when I approach, but he wakes up with dawn before I’m close enough to get a sneak attack in.

You call it cheesing, I call it being conservative with ammo.

First thing I notice is that he’s stronger than other bokoblins – he can take a lot more hits than any of his red cousins. The second thing I notice is that when you knock these guys off a ledge, they aren’t very smart about getting back up to you. I finish him off with remote bombs, not wanting to waste the arrows trying to pick him off from up here. The chest he was asleep next to contained an Amber. Onward!

Mount Hylia

That is indeed a big ass mountain. I wander around the base for a little, inspecting the snow covered rampart walls, and picking up the occasional blue mushroom for some future cooking. I start climbing the peak, and as I get close to the top I can see a second path around the mountain, that must start from the base on the opposite side.

You’re not even pretending to be cold.
I hate you. You’re not my real dad

I also see a certain white bearded motherfucker who has no reasonable explanation for being up at the highest point of the plateau, possible the world.

I give up.

I can see the final shrine from here, fairly close. There’s also a strange rock formation that gives me another Amber when searched.

I climb back down, taking the other path and ending up on the other side of the mountain. Still largely empty, the only animals I see is the occasional flock of birds flying overhead. It’s pretty peaceful when monsters aren’t bursting from the ground to kill you. On the south side of the mountain I see a ring of stones, with one missing.

Korok puzzle.

Not far from the stone ring is a lone rock I can pick up – none of the stones in the ring are able to be lifted. I carry it back over to the gap and place it down in the space, which triggers the Korok trumpet. In a poof, the little leaf guy is there to give me another seed. How are you not cold?

There’s still a lot of mountain to explore, but large swaths of it are just...empty. I head towards the last shrine in the distance, sitting atop a small rocky hill. I can also make out a small bokoblin camp about halfway up the path to it. I’m not really seeing a back way up, so this may get messy.

WHERE DID YOU GET BOULDERS FROM?!

As I climb up the hill, I’m ambushed with a series of boulders being sent down over the cliffs edge. I run to the cliffside and start climbing up, letting all the boulders pass by me. I continue to climb the cliffside to bypass the bokoblins entirely, the Shrine name flashing on my screen once I am close enough. Before I enter, I use my bombs to cheese the bokoblins. Fuck them for pushing those boulders, even if it was a scripted event.

Ain’t got time for that nonsense.

---

Heart Containers: 3
Koroks Found: 7
Shrines Completed: 3
Timelord Status: Achieved
Mountain: Climbed

Killing Snow 'Koblins and Finally Finding Owa Daim Shrine - Screenshot Roundup 14

Koroks, Magnesis, & Bottomless Bogs - Screenshot Roundup 13

Shrine Hunting in the Snow

Back at the campsite, I eat one of the meals I made to regain my last health, and plop down next to the fire until morning. That was intense. And terrifying. You see, I’m extremely jumpy in real life. I’ve been scared by my own roommates just walking into a room. As a result, I am terrible at survival horror games, and can frequently be heard shrieking when enemies suddenly pop-up in FPS games. Sometimes during very action-heavy moments, I just freak out and manage to hit ALL the wrong buttons. I’ll have to record me playing Silent Hill or something one day. People would pay for this shit.

After some rest (and beer), time to get moving again. We’re just…gonna ignore the rest of the forest for now, until I feel more confident about fighting the Talus. Another heart container or two and some stronger weapons are needed at least, wouldn’t say no to more armor either. In the meantime, I supposed it’s time to head back to the mountains with my warm doublet equipped. I pull up the map, and use a stamp to mark the clearing with the Stone Talus. Not letting that happen again.

You're not even trying.

I’m actually pretty close to the first shrine again actually, it’s just to the northeast. Brief pitstop first! I follow the winding paths through the forest until I’m dumped back out on the northern plains. I’m immediately drawn to a strange boulder formation with a single rock underneath to pick up. I know what happens next! I say hi to the Korok and collect my seed.

Between my current location and the shrine is a marsh the loading screens refer to as a Bottomless Bog, which functions a lot like water does in early Zelda games before you get the flippers, spitting you back out on the shoreline when you fall in, one heart weaker. In the middle of this bog is a raised platform with two wooden chests. Since they’re wood, my Magnesis does nothing - to the chests at least. When I trigger the rune, I see something along the southern edge of the bog in the water, glowing red.

Okay you're trying a little.

Moving closer, I’m able to grab it with the rune and lift it out of the water. It’s…a metal boulder, attached by a chain to a hollowed out tree. Hrmm. There’s a hole in the tree’s trunk that looks big enough to fit the boulder… After some finagling and a few muttered curse words, I manage to get it in the hole. Another Korok! Okay, at least they’re not all just gonna be “here’s a rock or pinwheel have a seed,” there are a couple actual puzzles. Nifty.

Still don’t know how to get to the chests though. I run around a little more, eyeing the landscape for anything that might help. I approach Oman Au Shrine again, surrounded with its clear, non-murky water. There’s a chest at the bottom I forgot all about when I finished the shrine. Two actually! I switch on my Magnesis and fish them out. One contains Amber, and the other an Opal. The chest with the opal had a long metal bar along the top of it, holding it down… Idea time!

Is this Jenga?

I grab the metal bar with my rune and carry it back over to the bog. It takes an annoyingly long time – long enough that I’m starting to think this may not be the actual solution – but I eventually get the bar placed just right, so it acts as a ramp for me to get from the shore to the platform safely. My rewards are Ice and Fire Arrows, 5 each.

Carefully crossing the bog again, I run around the area to make sure I haven’t missed anything else. I pick up a few herbs to cook with and a bug or two, but don’t find anything else of value. I think this area has been pretty thoroughly explored now, so do I move on to the mountains, or keep on backtracking?

I’m going mountain climbing. Which has nothing to do with me not wanting to deal with those laser-equipped terrors or rock monsters hiding in forests. It’s just obviously much smarter to wait to go back there after I’ve finished gathering more runes, weapons, and heart containers. So, I head off back to the path behind the Temple of Time.

---

I pass under the archway and head into a wintery wonderland. I mean the only building I see is completely destroyed, and there USED to be a bridge for a dock here, and the river is labeled “River of the Dead,” but still. Winter wonderland.

...A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking...

I inspect the building, which seems like it was some sort of cabin. What’s left of the wooden walls does little to protect from the cold, though I do find a Korok Leaf. It’s completely useless as a weapon, but by swinging it around I can fire off a blast of air. Probably come in handy later. There’s also an axe partially sticking out of a tree, but my inventory is full and it’s pretty weak compared to some of my other stuff, so I leave it. There is a river in front of my – the aforementioned River of the Dead. It goes north, to my right, with a path following alongside it. However my shrine is to the southeast of my current location, so I’ll be heading the opposite way for now.

The boulders kept missing.

There’s a number of bokoblins here, mostly split into groups of 2 or 3, with the occasional loner. I’m not sure how ANY of them can stand the weather, considering they are wearing literally nothing but a loincloth. I couldn’t even walk through here without being bundled up. Maybe they’re cold blooded. In any case, I fight my way up the snowy slopes, dropping the occasional boulder onto an unsuspecting group of ‘blins, and making sure everyone else gets a Remote Bomb to the face. Or skeleton arm, whatever. Along the way, I find a couple of chests with arrows in them.

At the top I find…nothing. On the map it looks like I may have actually passed it, but I didn’t see any pathways or obvious locations to climb up. They really don’t want me to find this place.

*screaming internally*

Time to pull a dad move and refuse to ask for directions. I use my map to navigate me towards the shrine. And I see it! Below me this time, probably enough of a drop to kill me. *sigh*

I see a series of cliff-tops I can take to get down to the shrine. I still don’t see a clear path so maybe this was the plan all along? In any case, I make it to the shrine, unlock it, and enter.

That hang glider better be pretty sweet, Old Man.

---

Heart Containers: 3
Koroks Found: 6
Shrines Completed: 2
Annoyingly Hidden Shrine: Found
Directions Asked For: Never

Blowing Up Bokoblins & Running from Fock Monsters - Screenshot Roundup 12