Showing posts with label Stalnox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stalnox. Show all posts
Friday, April 13, 2018
Monday, April 9, 2018
Let's Kill a Giant Skeleton Because It's There
Since I’m already here, let’s take care of Mr. Skeleton first. It’s still too early in the day for the undead to come out, so I spend some time replenishing meals and double checking my weapon inventory. It was late afternoon, night would fall soon, so it seemed like the perfect time to get moving.
Once I was satisfied, I hop onto Fabio and lead him back across the Big and Little Twin bridges, back towards Misko’s treasure cache. As we trot around the river’s edge, something along the mountain on the other side catches my eye. A cracked wall! How did I miss that the first time around?
I dismount Fabio and swim across the river, placing a square remote bomb down on the other shore. Blowing the rocks reveals the cave’s secret: an entire shrine within! I had turned off the shrine sensor, because that beeping was really getting on my nerves, but maybe I shouldn’t going forward.
Hmm, I know I'm supposed to be hunting a skeleton right now, but...shrine. Ol' Skelly is already dead, he can wait a little while longer. I make my way into the cave, activate the shrine, and lower myself down.
Following the on screen commands, I figure out I can rotate the column by rotating my controller. I play with this a little bit before noticing a chest attached to one of the sides of the column. I then rotate the column so that the chest is sitting up right and end my control of the gyroscope and column. I get a Shield of the Mind’s Eye out of the chest before continuing beyond, as the path winds up and to the right.
Another gyroscope puzzle, though one more difficult. Instead of just rotating a column into a bridge, I have to line up three sets of stairs. The middle stairs are attached to a long beam, and the stairs slide up and down it as I rotate the gyroscope. Very carefully, I tilt the controller, slowly edging the stairs into place after first overshooting it a couple of times. I jump to the first set and climb up the other two, following the path up once again to a final gyroscope puzzle.
What the hell is this. I don’t even know what to call this shape honestly. It looks like one of the puzzles from Intelligent Qube for PS1. Just a bunch of cubes stacked together into a weird diamond shape. I activate the gyroscope and try rotating the object this way and that. I need to find a position where I can both jump onto and off of the puzzle at both ends, AND make sure I can walk across it as well. There’s also the added benefit of another one of those sliding staircases that needs to be placed just so, AND there’s another chest, on a totally different section, so I’ll need to do this twice.
Sigh. It’s not nearly as complicated as my complaining makes it sound, but this is the internet, so you get to hear me bitch. First up is the chest. Awkwardly clutching my controller, I get the jagged, narrow path to the chest lined up so I can cross, opening it and gaining a Small Key! So I guess the chest actually was required to finish this.
I walk back over to the gyroscope and activate it again. I slowly move the puzzle around, gauging for the possible solutions. The stairs are a good clue, I don’t think they’d stick those there if I didn’t need to use them. After realizing that, the rest was easy. Holding my controller at an awkward angle, I line up both ends of the puzzle as the stairs slowly slide into place. Bam, I climb onto the puzzle, up the stairs, and onto the path on the other side.
The only things standing between me and another Spirit Orb are a locked door and Toto Sah himself. Neither put up much of a fight, and I’m back outside before I know it. Well, outside but in a cave. Whatever. It’s still night time, so let’s go see if our skeleton friend is out and about.
I can see that just behind him are some rocks that look perfect for launching a few arrows from. I inch closer, still making sure he doesn’t notice me, until I make a dash to hide behind the rocks. It seemingly works, as no health bar appears no does any boss music start. I doubt I’ll have long once I’m up there before he notices me. No idea what his attacks might be but I’ll at least be able to land a few good shots on him, hopefully. Let’s do it.
I climb the rocky hill to the very top, putting me just above Skellie. I finally get a real good look at him. Not that there’s much to look at: he’s a giant skeleton. He has a single giant eye, which appears to be the only part of him that ISN’T bone. He also seems to have weapons sticking out of him - like, actual, usable weapons. Maybe I can pry them out when he’s dead? Or redead (I'm here all week).
The boss music suddenly kicks in. I see the health bar appear on the screen finally, along with the Skellie’s real name: Stalnox. Similar to the stone talus on the plateau, this one also lists our location - Hickaly Woods. Wonder why that’s labeled… I pull out my bow and take aim, waiting for the giant to lumber just a little closer. Since I’m not pulling any punches, I switch over to bomb arrows.
Oof. There’s goes that eye… I watch him stumble on the ground helplessly as the orb flies from it’s socket. I can see it on the ground, moving, probably trying to get back to its body. Well, we can’t have that can we? I float down and begin attacking it immediately. I manage to get a few good licks in before the eye is scooped back up and placed back into the stalnox’s head.
This is the part where I remember I am a tiny squishy Hylian and he is a gigantic monster who wants to kill me. Eep. I start to move away from Skellie, his slow lurch not enough to keep up with me. I try and hit his eye with another arrow, but miss, and once he gets close enough he attempts to squish me with his bony bottom. Even without hitting the eye though, I still manage to do some damage. At least I’ve got an attack pattern now.
I repeat this, doing moderate if not steady damage. Eventually Skellie gets fed up with all my running around and just straight walks up to a tree and yanks it from the ground. Shit. Better hit that eye again. I run north towards the river and take aim. Bullse...skeleton’s eye. Said eye rolls towards me next to the river bank, and I once again start hitting it. Funny enough, the weapon I have equipped is called a bat, and we all know what bats like to do to balls…
Though it doesn’t go far, it goes far enough - over the cliffside, and onto the riverbank. I immediately give chase. I have no idea how the body is gonna get to it from there, but I bet I can kill it before it figures it out. The helpless eye struggles as I wail on it over and over, futilely attempting to reunite with its body. I can hear the Stalnox’s stomping in the distance, still safely far away from me and it’s eye.
The fight doesn’t last much longer. I almost feel bad for the eye as I watch it helplessly flail around.
Almost.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 9
Koroks Found: 20
Hidden Shrine: Discovered
Bomb Arrows: Exploded
Skeleton: Fossilized
Once I was satisfied, I hop onto Fabio and lead him back across the Big and Little Twin bridges, back towards Misko’s treasure cache. As we trot around the river’s edge, something along the mountain on the other side catches my eye. A cracked wall! How did I miss that the first time around?
 |
| This hiding place seems a bit...excessive. |
Hmm, I know I'm supposed to be hunting a skeleton right now, but...shrine. Ol' Skelly is already dead, he can wait a little while longer. I make my way into the cave, activate the shrine, and lower myself down.
Toto Sah Apparatus
~Toto Sah Shrine~
An apparatus huh? Immediately ahead of me is a an archway, beyond which lies a pillar of some kind. It has a pedestal for the Sheikah Slate, but on top is some kind of rotating gyroscope, glowing orange. There is a gap in the path extending behind it, a black stone column hovering in the middle of the gap. Examining the pedestal pulls the camera back wide, the floating stone column at the center of the screen. |
| Simple enough... |
Another gyroscope puzzle, though one more difficult. Instead of just rotating a column into a bridge, I have to line up three sets of stairs. The middle stairs are attached to a long beam, and the stairs slide up and down it as I rotate the gyroscope. Very carefully, I tilt the controller, slowly edging the stairs into place after first overshooting it a couple of times. I jump to the first set and climb up the other two, following the path up once again to a final gyroscope puzzle.
 |
| Oh fuck you, Toto Sah. |
Sigh. It’s not nearly as complicated as my complaining makes it sound, but this is the internet, so you get to hear me bitch. First up is the chest. Awkwardly clutching my controller, I get the jagged, narrow path to the chest lined up so I can cross, opening it and gaining a Small Key! So I guess the chest actually was required to finish this.
 |
| It's a pretty cool door opening animation IMO. |
The only things standing between me and another Spirit Orb are a locked door and Toto Sah himself. Neither put up much of a fight, and I’m back outside before I know it. Well, outside but in a cave. Whatever. It’s still night time, so let’s go see if our skeleton friend is out and about.
Hickaly Woods
I swim back across the river to Fabio, and I notice two things. First, right next to me in a tree stump is a rock. Pick it up, and voila! Korok. The second is that it’s daytime. Sigh. I walk over just to confirm, yep, he is asleep. Well, we can fix that: I fast travel back to the stable, wait until night by the campfire, and then fast travel back to Toto Sah Shrine. Bam, Skelefriend is awake. I can see him lumbering around his “section” of Hickaly Woods from a distance. Now to figure out how to kill him. I hop off Fabio, leaving him just outside the treeline for his own protection. Skellie hasn’t noticed me, so I circle around the forest, keeping him in my sight.I can see that just behind him are some rocks that look perfect for launching a few arrows from. I inch closer, still making sure he doesn’t notice me, until I make a dash to hide behind the rocks. It seemingly works, as no health bar appears no does any boss music start. I doubt I’ll have long once I’m up there before he notices me. No idea what his attacks might be but I’ll at least be able to land a few good shots on him, hopefully. Let’s do it.
I climb the rocky hill to the very top, putting me just above Skellie. I finally get a real good look at him. Not that there’s much to look at: he’s a giant skeleton. He has a single giant eye, which appears to be the only part of him that ISN’T bone. He also seems to have weapons sticking out of him - like, actual, usable weapons. Maybe I can pry them out when he’s dead? Or redead (I'm here all week).
 |
| Here goes nothing... |
Oof. There’s goes that eye… I watch him stumble on the ground helplessly as the orb flies from it’s socket. I can see it on the ground, moving, probably trying to get back to its body. Well, we can’t have that can we? I float down and begin attacking it immediately. I manage to get a few good licks in before the eye is scooped back up and placed back into the stalnox’s head.
This is the part where I remember I am a tiny squishy Hylian and he is a gigantic monster who wants to kill me. Eep. I start to move away from Skellie, his slow lurch not enough to keep up with me. I try and hit his eye with another arrow, but miss, and once he gets close enough he attempts to squish me with his bony bottom. Even without hitting the eye though, I still manage to do some damage. At least I’ve got an attack pattern now.
 |
| Warning: Do not explode bomb arrows near eye. |
I repeat this, doing moderate if not steady damage. Eventually Skellie gets fed up with all my running around and just straight walks up to a tree and yanks it from the ground. Shit. Better hit that eye again. I run north towards the river and take aim. Bullse...skeleton’s eye. Said eye rolls towards me next to the river bank, and I once again start hitting it. Funny enough, the weapon I have equipped is called a bat, and we all know what bats like to do to balls…
Though it doesn’t go far, it goes far enough - over the cliffside, and onto the riverbank. I immediately give chase. I have no idea how the body is gonna get to it from there, but I bet I can kill it before it figures it out. The helpless eye struggles as I wail on it over and over, futilely attempting to reunite with its body. I can hear the Stalnox’s stomping in the distance, still safely far away from me and it’s eye.
The fight doesn’t last much longer. I almost feel bad for the eye as I watch it helplessly flail around.
Almost.
Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 9
Koroks Found: 20
Hidden Shrine: Discovered
Bomb Arrows: Exploded
Skeleton: Fossilized
Friday, February 16, 2018
Monday, February 12, 2018
Horses and Beetles and Bears, Oh Crap
I have a horse! After I finish registering him, I let myself gallop around stable a little so I can get used to the controls. Seems like horses are, for the most part, smart enough to follow a path on their own. I say for the most part because there seems to be some training involved. Fabio keeps veering off the trail, forcing me to correct him. I figure out the taming process pretty easily. He does what he’s not supposed to, I correct him, I pet him, he loves me more. I’ll have him fully trained in no time.
I meet another couple of wandering merchants at the stable. The first is Agus. He is farmer who comes from Hateno Village, the other town nearby. He travels here with his donkey, selling eggs, milk, and butter - even more ingredients. The other merchant is a familiar face: Beedle! Obviously not the same Beedle, but an ancestor of those in past games. Without any sort of transportation this time, he lugs around his wares in an oversized backpack which comical is shaped like a beetle. He sells a variety of goods, arrows, some bugs, and something called an Octo Balloon. I don’t buy anything, but before he lets me go, he notices I have a beetle on me that I must have caught earlier. He BEGS me to trade it to him. I’m actually too uncomfortable to say no, so I let him. I can always get more. He gives me a Mighty Elixir in exchange. I guess that works.
I continue to follow the river on my horse until I’m at the base of the waterfall, where I must dismount Fabio to continue my trek. After hopping into the river, I wade through the shallow water to cross a few rocky outcrops. There’s a lone rock on one of them – you guessed it, Korok! Back to the waterfalls, I figure out pretty quickly that I need to climb up alongside it – the water obviously makes the actual waterfall too slippery to climb.
I make it about half way up without issue. There’s a small “shelf” where I can rest and regain my stamina before continuing. I pick up a few silent shrooms growing along the cliffside, and I pull myself up to the top. Looking out over Hickaly Woods, towards the stable, I again take a moment to take in the beauty of the game.
Then I turn around and blow up a chunk of it.
After blowing out the wall blocking the cave entrance, I enter to find a shit-ton of chests, just as the sidequest is marked off as completed. Ha, those two chumps couldn’t figure it out. I go through all the chests and collect a number of gem stones, a nice Throwing Spear and a FLAMEBLADE. The effects on it are really cool looking – the flames apparently need time to “heat up” and you can see the sword actually charge before turning bright red. Awesome. I gather everything up and organize it before exiting the cave.
Just as I am about to pull out the map, a roar to my left startles me, as does the BEAR CHARGING AT ME. Without thinking I set Fabio off into gallop, taking me further into the woods. I don’t go for very long though before I see something that terrifies me. A giant, walking, one eyed skeleton. And I’m headed right for it. In a blind panic I throw open the map and fast travel back to the shrine near the stable. Fabio does not warp with me. I am sorry to sacrifice you, horse friend. ☹
I reappear at Ha Dahamar Shrine sans horse. I head into the stable to give myself a moment to catch my wits. What the fuck was that giant ass skeleton thing in the woods? What the fuck was a bear doing in the woods? Okay, wait, the woods, nevermind that one checks out. I pop open my map, and I can see the little horse icon in the middle of the forest where I abandoned Fabio. Probably getting eaten by that skeleton. Or that bear. Or both.
As I walk back to the stable, I see that the rain has cleared, and there is a rainbow shooting across the sky.
I’m a murderer.
Manslaughterer?
Horseslaughterer.
I move to the front to speak with Tasseren, though he doesn’t seem to think anything is wrong. Has he not yet learned of my crimes? He asks if I’d like to take out a horse, and I say yes, assuming the game will give me an error message about the horse already being out. But nope, there’s Fabio, in all his glory! Thanks for risking your life, Tass.
I do my best to give my horsey friend a hug. Then I take out an apple, intending to feed it to him, but he chomps it right out of my hand! Didn’t know they could do that. Glad I didn’t lose a finger, either.
Alright, I’m getting a little sick and tired of everything in this game scaring the shit out of me. Starting to become more of a problem then it is funny. Fuck that giant-ass skeleton. I’m gonna take him the fuck down.
Or he is going to take himself down, I guess. I reenter Hickaly Woods with Fabio very, very carefully. No signs of any bears nor giant walking skeletons, but I do spot this...weird blue rabbit thing. It also looks kind of...fairy like? No idea what it was though.
Not much further in than that though is when I find our skeleton friend. Or what is left of him I guess. He’s on the ground - hell, parts of him are buried in the ground - and not moving. From a safe vantage point, I try seeing if I can do anything to get him up. Bombs, arrows, other weapons - nothing. Just stays there on the ground like an unmoving...skeleton.
Well, it is daylight now, and the only other skeletons I’ve met in this game are only active at night. Willing to bet if I came back out here at night, he’d be awake enough for me.
...let’s save that for after Kakariko.
Heart Containers: 4
Shrines Completed: 7
Koroks Found: 16
Horses Abandoned:1 0
Bears Faced: 1
Skeletons Walking Around: 0, for now
 |
| ...I know you... |
I meet another couple of wandering merchants at the stable. The first is Agus. He is farmer who comes from Hateno Village, the other town nearby. He travels here with his donkey, selling eggs, milk, and butter - even more ingredients. The other merchant is a familiar face: Beedle! Obviously not the same Beedle, but an ancestor of those in past games. Without any sort of transportation this time, he lugs around his wares in an oversized backpack which comical is shaped like a beetle. He sells a variety of goods, arrows, some bugs, and something called an Octo Balloon. I don’t buy anything, but before he lets me go, he notices I have a beetle on me that I must have caught earlier. He BEGS me to trade it to him. I’m actually too uncomfortable to say no, so I let him. I can always get more. He gives me a Mighty Elixir in exchange. I guess that works.
Little Twin Bridge
Now, time for some treasure hunting. I guide Fabio over the Big Twin Bridge, and then further down the path past the turn to go through the mountain. It’s peaceful, and before long I’m also crossing over the Little Twin Bridge, the name appearing and fading away. The path eventually ends, forcing me to manually steer my still unruly horse along the river bank. Up ahead, I can see the waterfall hat would be the mouth of the river. On the top, I can see some…discoloration? I’m going to guess It’s a bombable rock wall, hiding the treasure cache. |
| I already made a joke about leading a horse to water in the last one, didn't I? |
I continue to follow the river on my horse until I’m at the base of the waterfall, where I must dismount Fabio to continue my trek. After hopping into the river, I wade through the shallow water to cross a few rocky outcrops. There’s a lone rock on one of them – you guessed it, Korok! Back to the waterfalls, I figure out pretty quickly that I need to climb up alongside it – the water obviously makes the actual waterfall too slippery to climb.
I make it about half way up without issue. There’s a small “shelf” where I can rest and regain my stamina before continuing. I pick up a few silent shrooms growing along the cliffside, and I pull myself up to the top. Looking out over Hickaly Woods, towards the stable, I again take a moment to take in the beauty of the game.
Then I turn around and blow up a chunk of it.
 |
| Can video game screenshots win Getty Awards? |
After blowing out the wall blocking the cave entrance, I enter to find a shit-ton of chests, just as the sidequest is marked off as completed. Ha, those two chumps couldn’t figure it out. I go through all the chests and collect a number of gem stones, a nice Throwing Spear and a FLAMEBLADE. The effects on it are really cool looking – the flames apparently need time to “heat up” and you can see the sword actually charge before turning bright red. Awesome. I gather everything up and organize it before exiting the cave.
Hickaly Woods
It’s starting to rain and get a little dark so I should get back to the stable. I jump from the waterfall and float down with my paraglider. As I land next to Fabio, it starts to rain. Great. Let’s get out of here, horse. Easier said then done. Still not fully trained, I have a hard time getting Fabio to listen to me as we try and exit the woods and make our way back to the bridge. After a few false starts I find myself in the middle of the woods, struggling to get my bearings. |
| WHAT IS HAPPENING |
Just as I am about to pull out the map, a roar to my left startles me, as does the BEAR CHARGING AT ME. Without thinking I set Fabio off into gallop, taking me further into the woods. I don’t go for very long though before I see something that terrifies me. A giant, walking, one eyed skeleton. And I’m headed right for it. In a blind panic I throw open the map and fast travel back to the shrine near the stable. Fabio does not warp with me. I am sorry to sacrifice you, horse friend. ☹
I reappear at Ha Dahamar Shrine sans horse. I head into the stable to give myself a moment to catch my wits. What the fuck was that giant ass skeleton thing in the woods? What the fuck was a bear doing in the woods? Okay, wait, the woods, nevermind that one checks out. I pop open my map, and I can see the little horse icon in the middle of the forest where I abandoned Fabio. Probably getting eaten by that skeleton. Or that bear. Or both.
 |
| WHAT IS HAPPENING |
I’m a murderer.
Manslaughterer?
Horseslaughterer.
I move to the front to speak with Tasseren, though he doesn’t seem to think anything is wrong. Has he not yet learned of my crimes? He asks if I’d like to take out a horse, and I say yes, assuming the game will give me an error message about the horse already being out. But nope, there’s Fabio, in all his glory! Thanks for risking your life, Tass.
I do my best to give my horsey friend a hug. Then I take out an apple, intending to feed it to him, but he chomps it right out of my hand! Didn’t know they could do that. Glad I didn’t lose a finger, either.
Alright, I’m getting a little sick and tired of everything in this game scaring the shit out of me. Starting to become more of a problem then it is funny. Fuck that giant-ass skeleton. I’m gonna take him the fuck down.
Or he is going to take himself down, I guess. I reenter Hickaly Woods with Fabio very, very carefully. No signs of any bears nor giant walking skeletons, but I do spot this...weird blue rabbit thing. It also looks kind of...fairy like? No idea what it was though.
 |
| I have no idea what's happening anymore. |
Well, it is daylight now, and the only other skeletons I’ve met in this game are only active at night. Willing to bet if I came back out here at night, he’d be awake enough for me.
...let’s save that for after Kakariko.
Heart Containers: 4
Shrines Completed: 7
Koroks Found: 16
Horses Abandoned:
Bears Faced: 1
Skeletons Walking Around: 0, for now
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