Beaches Are for Tans & Killing Monsters - Screenshot Roundup 73

Three Koroks in a Row & Three Weird Trees - Screenshot Roundup 72

Well Now I Have to Take Pictures of Everything - Screenshot Roundup 71

In Which I Am a Backtracking Shutterbug

I walk into the lab after warping in, moving to Symin in the back. I hand over the three sunshrooms as requested, and in return he gives me 3 Hearty Truffles. He asks if I liked using the Sheikah Sensor+, and then also let’s me know he has something else he wants to talk to me about, when I have a chance.

Wait, is she making rocker hands?

No time like the present, my dude! He says he’s found another way to help my search for stuff with the Sensor. He again goes over how I can use pictures to blahblahblah. Then he asks me to put my Slate back on the Guidance Stone. Even Purah is in the dark about what he’s about to do, but wants to see it anyway so she allows it. (Snap!)

Rather than a rune or an upgrade, a picture is added to my Hyrule Compendium - this one is for Mighty Bananas, something I haven’t found in the wild yet (heh). Apparently, Symin discovered that it’s possible to recover pictures that were in the compendium in the past. Which they will be happy to do for me...for a nominal fee. I mean, that’s cool but I think I’ll enjoy taking these pictures myself. In fact… It probably wouldn’t hurt to fill in what I can right now, right? Then It’ll be easier to keep updated as I go along.

Time for a quick trip back to the Great Plateau! It won’t take too long, just enough to grab shots of the enemies and items that I can, then I’ll make the walk down to Dueling Peaks Stable, and then I’ll warp back here. Anything on the Kakariko-Hateno path I can grab on my way back to Impa. Actually that reminds me, I have another side quest I can complete now, I should be able to find a Traveler’s Sword somewhere on the plateau.

---

Back back back again...

The Great Plateau

I don’t find a single Traveler’s Sword on the plateau. Not a single one. Did the ones i found earlier all come from chests? I scour the plateau, hitting all of the Bokoblin camps I can remember, but none of them are carrying one. Sigh.

I work quickly though, cataloging things as I search. I learnt hat while you can add enemies, you cannot add the parts they drop. The same is true for animals. But the Compendium lists what each creature can drop, so you essentially are still able to hunt down anything you need, you just have to find the thing to kill for it first.

I also learn, entirely by accident, that you can take selfies! You can even have Link make a number of different poses using the left thumb stick. And even more when you hit the ZL button, for a total of nine. I screw around a little with it, taking pictures of my equipment for the Compendium while having Link make any number of ridiculous poses.

Once I’m finished there, I make my way down the path through the East Post and Outpost Ruins. I take pictures of the Moblins and a few other ingredients and items I couldn’t find on the plateau. Bugs and other critters prove particularly difficult, since the camera requires you to be fairly close for the picture to register, even with the zoom.

In an attempt to capture some of these creatures on camera, I wandered a bit far from the path, ending up southeast of Outpost Ruins on a small hill. A hill with a boulder on it that I don’t think twice about… until it starts moving, revealing itself to be a Talus. That makes three. This one looks different from the last two though - instead of a normal Ore Deposit weak point, this one appears to have a Luminous Stone Deposit sticking out of it’s back. It also has the subtitle (Luminous) after it’s name, if that wasn’t clear. Didn’t realize these could have subtypes!

Oww.

Before the fight gets going, I snap a picture of it for my compendium - it registers different to the one on the plateau that I snapped a picture of not too long ago. Similar to the different colored bokoblins and moblins, they are considered different creatures. Incidentally, I also learned that the bokoblins I’ve been referring to as black are in fact blue.

This fight seems more difficult to my tumbles with the last two taluses. I don’t know if it has higher defense or HP, but it’s health bar seems to be going down much slower than them. His weak point is also placed in something of an odd location, directly on the center of it’s back, and I end up relying on my bombs more than I do arrows to know it over. But, when it’s knocked to the ground I can nail him head on with a sledgehammer pretty easily.

It’s a more difficult fight then I care to admit to - he actually even killed me once, forcing me to start the battle over upon reloading - but I eventually manage to take him down in a nice explosion of Luminous Stones, Flint, and even a Diamond! I mark my map with a skull to mark the location of the Talus for future reference.

With THAT adventure down, I should get moving again...right after I explore that building I now see just a little further southeast of here, on a place called Scout’s Hill.

Scout’s Hill

This game really needs a photo mode. So creepy/beautiful.

There’s not much, just a solitary building/ruin, but it seems like it was important enough to label in fairly large letters on the map… oh well. It’s nice up here, peaceful. I would be very, very curious to see a version of this Hyrule with all the buildings still in tact. It would be a very different game. I also find a lone rock in the middle of the ruin. Korok!

There’s nothing else here for me to do, I suppose. I could hang out with my Korok buddy? Nah. I pull out my scope and scan the horizon for anything interesting. There’s plenty to the south and west, but for now I’m sticking to portions of the map that are uncovered - I’ve got enough to do as it is.

I see a few things across the river that could be interesting, but nothing that wouldn’t require some off-the-path climbing. So instead, I glide towards Proxim bridge, following down the Hylia River, name so because it seems to empty into Lake Hylia to the south. I can’t quite make the distance to the bridge and land on a beach just south of it - and right next to another Korok puzzle. It’s a Magnesis puzzle, so I switch runes and make the two sets of blocks match and get my Korok Seed.

...I could crush you so easily...

I climb up the beach hills, intending to walk my way back around to the path. Purely out of habit, looking for bugs or critters hiding under rocks, I grab one just up the first hill. And it reveals another Korok. This brings my Korok Seed total to 40!

After that little surprise, I notice a small Bokoblin camp on another beach just below me ahead. Been a little while since I’ve seen one of these I haven’t already slaughtered! They’re all red boys, so it’s not a difficult or long fight - and bokoblins still can’t swim, so with a few well placed swings, they are all quickly down for the count. I open a nearby chest to obtain an Opal, which I am happy to replenish my gemstone stores with.

This was intensely satisfying.

Standing on this small peninsula the bokoblins made camp on, I can see...something under Proxim Bridge. And even looking at the map, I looks like there’s a sandbar, or at least shallow enough water for me to stand under one of the awnings. Should be able to swim there from here…

It’s another Korok. Damn dudes, that’s like, four of them in a row. Now if I could just locate Hestu to spend them…

Hills of Baumer

Rather then continue on the path I’ve already traveled, I decide to follow along the hilltops to the south. I had already been up here once, avoiding the boulder traps as I navigated up the large fallen logs. This time I just climb up the old fashioned way. I can see a huge swamp to the south, just littered with burnt out buildings. It’s very tempting to explore down there...but I hold off.

...Jesus Christ is that another Korok? I see an orange pinwheel on one of the hills rocky peaks. As I approach and pull out my bow, three balloon targets burst into existence, and immediately begin to move about in a confusing pattern. Never easy with these guys. I waste about half a dozen arrows, lost to the swamp below, but I nail all three balloons and get my 5th Korok Seed in a row, bringing me to a total of 41.

WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH YOU!?

I continue along the hilltops further, passing by the Korok I found over here earlier, happily chilling in his spot on the giant logs. A few more hilltops over and I find another oddity. Three trees, all lined up perfectly. Two of the trees hold only a single apple, while the third holds many. Even the two trees that have the single apple have them in the exact same location. Hmm. This has to be a puzzle, right?

But what? First, I try picking all the apples. Nope. Maybe the apples make some kind of arrow that I just can’t see from this angle? I try firing off arrows in the direction it would be pointing, nothing. Oh! Maybe I have to throw a boomerang around all three trees? Nope, nothing, and I almost lost my boomerang too. Finally, I try cutting the trees down, starting with the one that held the most apples. And still nothing happens.

Sigh.

I hate Koroks.

---

Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 11
Koroks Found: 41
Symin: Sunshroomed
Traveler’s Swords: Lost to the ether
Korok Puzzles: Frustrating as all hell

Getting Blown Up (Again) & Blatchery Plain - Screenshot Roundup 50

Back to Dueling Peaks, Bubinga Forest, and the Ash Swamp - Screenshot Roundup 49

Toto Sah Shrine & Stalnox Hunting - Screenshot Roundup 46

Hickaly Woods & Toto Sah Shrine - Screenshot Roundup 45

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?

This hiding place seems a bit...excessive.

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.

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...

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.

Oh fuck you, Toto Sah.

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.

It's a pretty cool door opening animation IMO.

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.

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...

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.

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

More Mountains and Flying Chests - Screenshot Roundup 44

Kooking With Koko and Mountain Klimbing - Screenshot Roundup 43

Fashionable Looks for When Your Cooking or Mountain Climbing

I approach the small Sheikah girl, standing over the cooking pot stationed just outside the produce shop. She is a tiny little thing too! Hunched over deep in thought, I speak to her. As I would have guessed, she’s trying to decide on some food to cook for her family.

 Koko’s Kitchen

Veggie Cream Soup is on the menu today! That’s what Koko tells me when I speak to her. The recipe calls for a Swift Carrot, Rock Salt, and Fresh Milk. Unfortunately, Koko is all out of Swift Carrots. I offer to bring her one, poor little thing. They sell them right here anyway, the sign for the produce shop is literally a carrot. Swift Carrots are only 16 rupees a piece, so I nab one and walk it back out to the little chef. She can smell it on me! Happily accepting the carrot, she quickly gets to work and a few moments later I’m being given a serving of the soup myself. Yum. That goes on the recipe sheet. Happy to have been able to cook for her little sister Cottla, I learnt that the poor thing is trying to step into the place of her departed mother. Aww. <3

Just...why?

 Cooking With Koko

She’s not finished though, there’s another quest, which means another recipe. This one is for a Hot Buttered Apple. This is a simple one, just need some Apples and some Goat Butter. She’s missing another ingredient - this time it’s the butter. After first verbally berating herself for not being as good as her mother, I reassure her I can get her some butter right away.

I head back inside and grab some, once from High Spirits Produce, slightly cheaper than the carrot was. Do you think you kill goats to get butter? That wouldn’t really make sense I guess. You didn’t get milk by killing cows in Ocarina. I head back out and hand it over, once again receiving some of the meal myself.

Koko Cuisine

Another one? I mean I’m already here, why not. This time we are making a Tough Meat-Stuffed Pumpkin. We need a Fortified Pumpkin and Raw Meat. I have both of those things! Koko is of course missing something - the Raw Meat, and goes through her motions of calling herself horrible. It’s actually a little concerning, like, what is her home life like? She talks about how her father used to go hunting, and I let her know I already have some Raw Meat on me. No hunting required. I can’t say I really WANT to eat a meat-stuffed pumpkin, but I’m happy to accept it nonetheless.

Koko’s Specialty

Aww...Nope still don't want kids.

One last cooking segment, Koko, then I gotta go. The last thing we are making is a desert. A Honeyed Apple. I guess that is different then a Buttered Apple but both sound pretty boring. It was her mother’s favorite (uh-oh). She needs Apples, which she has, and Courser Bee Honey, which she doesn’t. I do though, and I hand some over. Hopefully she can learn to stop putting so much pressure on herself. She’s like ten, tops. She does seem to be happy, content that she was able to replicate her mother’s recipes. She even wants to be a chef now, and come up with her own recipes! That’s great!

But seriously, what is her dad like?

With no one else needing my assistance with their problems, or at least not problems I can help them with, I figure it’s finally time to get out of town. There are no new additions to the Journal of Various Worries, but Paya did update her journal to mention me. She’s smitten.

I go back to the armor shop, Enchanted, and purchased the full set of stealth armor, and the hood I was missing from my Hylian Armor set as well. I had to sell off a good chunk of the precious stones I had gathered so far, but I’m not going to be using them for anything else right now, unlike the stealth suit.

It looks interesting on Link, to say the least. I am particularly fond of the chopsticks in his hair. Though I didn’t think Link really had all that much hair to really NEED that. I guess it did grow a little while he was unconscious for 100 years. I run back to Cortera and get my pieces all upgraded. The armor rating on the stealth gear isn’t very high, so I’ll stick to the Hylian clothes for now.

Yeah, there's definitely something up there.

With that done, before I leave I’m going to give one last thing a look - the mountains around the town. Starting with this particularly tall one just behind the fairy fountain. You ever just get a feeling about something in a video game, like when you see some place off in the distance and just think “there’s probably something there.” Well there’s no way there isn’t something at the top of that mountain. It does unnamed on my map, but the area just to the south of it is called Bonooru’s Stand.

Bonooru’s Stand

Might as well explore the area while I’m up here. It’s a large grassy plain with a few mountain tops. I come across a couple of mountain goats, one of which tries to knock me down. Ass. I check the top of the two smaller mountains and find nothing of particular interest. Time to try scaling the big one.

Gorgeous (Guess what's under that rock)

Another goat, but still no enemies. Bokoblins must not like heights much. I’m on the very edge of the map, or at least the part of the map that is filled in, so I don’t bother going in that direction. I walk around the base of the mountain top, looking for a good spot to scale. I find that the northern side seems to have the most slope to it, because frankly I’m not sure I have the stamina to get to the top.

I almost don’t make it, but luckily I picked the side of the mountain with the most gaps. I’m able to stop and rest a couple of times and regain my stamina without having to climb back down. I finally manage to reach the top, pulling myself up just as my stamina was going to go. Phew. And it looks like my feeling was right - there’s a rock up here, and we all know what’s under that rock!

A PONY!!!! (Nah, just a Korok.)

With that done, I head back down towards the fairy fountain. Instead of climbing back down the path to the town, I take a leap from a cliff above the shrine, floating across the gap on the opposite mountainside. I climb up, towards a ledge placed seemingly so I can regain my stamina. I climb all the way up without an issue.

I'd play an entire game of just this.

There are mountains on every side of Kakariko, each dotting with hilltops just screaming to be explored. At the top of the first one I find more ingredients. Plenty of bugs and flowers litter the landscape. As I get closer to Impa's house, I can see the small lake, Lantern Lake, that feeds into the waterfalls behind her home.

Lantern Lake

Just behind Lantern Lake is another, very tall hill. Because of the placement of the lake, there’s no easy way to climb up from the base, so that means using the paraglider again. Only this time, there’s no cliff to regain my stamina. I manage to find a few spots where I can “run” for a few moments, regaining a piece of the stamina wheel, but I still only just make it to the top. Up here, I find another of the frog statues from the town, facing a sword in a stone. It’s another Sheikah Eightfold Blade, the second one of these I’ve gotten and they’re pretty strong. I mark this area on my map, good thing to remember if I need a decent weapon.

I turn and survey the landscape. Hyrule castle looks beautiful and ominus from here. As I turn around, I spot something on the top of the hill at the center of Lantern Lake. Possibly a chest? I make an easy landing with the paraglider, and I find a Silent Shroom, Blue Nightshade, and a chest buried in the ground. There’s a lot of these ingredients around here, things that increase your stealth.. Now that I think about it, it’s probably there because of how stealthy the Sheikah are. Ninjas. Maybe the game is saying they use a lot of these in their food?

I hate everything.

I activate Magnesis and pull the chest from the ground...where it immediately rolls down the hill and into the lake behind Impa’s house. *sigh* I float down and land on Impa’s deck. Magnesis reveals the fallen chest, and an additional one in the water. But they’re too far, and I end up needing to use Cryonis to get close enough to pull them up. It’s annoying. But worth it. One of the chests has another Phrenic Bow, which have a zoom sight on them, and an Eightfold Longblade, a two handed version of the Eightfold Blade. As the name says, it’s longer.

With nothing left to do (I am NOT climbing back up those mountains right now…) I hop onto Fabio and lead him out of town. We meander through the valley on our way back to the stable. He isn’t leaving the path anymore, so I’d say I finally have this guy fully trained. As we pass the now solved Korok puzzle and a small waterfall, I make a mental to-do list. Obviously the big thing I need to do is head to Hateno like Impa asked. I’ll get more info and I can get my slate fixed too. There’s also still the matter of the giant skeleton monster to fight, and even before him there was the rock monster on the Great Plateau.

Maybe it’s time to do a little house cleaning.

---

Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 8
Koroks Found: 19
Meals: Cooked
Childhood Trauma: Resolved(?)
Stealth Armor: Purchased

My First Great Fairy Fountain - Screenshot Roundup 42

The Final Cucco & The First Combat Trial - Screenshot Roundup 41

Cuccos, Combat, and Cotera

*screeching noises*

As night falls, Mellie finally begins to meander back to her home for the evening. I wait until she is out of my eyeline before I casually walk over and hop the fence. I don’t get yelled at by anyone, so I quickly grab the final cucco and toss him over. I climb back over myself, grab him one more time, and throw him in the pen to join his friends. I turn to speak to Cado and he rewards me with a Purple Rupee as my reward. You know I kind of figured I’d have to get him and his ex back together. Guess they’re happier apart!

Let's go clear that shrine! I head back up the path into the mountains, and walk right one to the shrine. I can see that the path goes even deeper, into a forested area. We’ll get to that next. I activate and enter the shrine.

Ta’loh Naeg’s Teaching

    ~Ta’loh Naeg Shrine~

As I'm lowered into the shrine, I can immediately tell something about this one is different. The room ahead of me is exactly that - a large, open room. Just inside the entrance are two chests, one on each side. Opening them gets me an Eightfold Blade and a Shield of the Mind’s Eye - two pieces of Sheikah forged equipment. Pretty strong, too.

Uh...Do Asimov's Laws of Robotics exist here?

Walking closer to the center of the room activates a platform, rising from a large hole in the center. It’s got a passenger - a Guardian Scout. I’m not sure if it’s bigger than the others I’ve seen or I’m just imagining it. But it is definitely tougher, and I watch as an arm extends from its neck with a glowing blue sword at the end. Uh oh.

Before the robot has a chance to attack, Ta’loh Naeg speaks to me again, imparting information about dodging enemy attacks. Then, an information window pops up detailing the buttons to press. It’s a combat tutorial! I lock onto the enemy and give a few test hops to each side as the scout draws closer. If I wait until the last minute before jumping, time slows and I have a chance to make a Flurry Rush, raining multiple blows down in quick succession.

After I complete my first flurry attack, Ta’loh Naeg speaks once again as the guardian remains still. This time he has information on backflips. If I once again wait until the last second to dodge, I can unleash another Flurry Rush. But even after that, the Guardian is STILL standing.

Ta’loh next imparts information about using my shield to knock back an enemy's attack, leaving an opening for me to make - you guessed it - a flurry attack.

Finally, I am taught the classic spin attack. I hold my sword out, charging the energy, before unleashing it and destroying the scout. The gate to the monk and my eighth Spirit Orb opens, also revealing one more chest - this one holding an Opal. I speak with Ta’loh, silently thank him, and exit the shrine one Spirit Orb richer.

---

It’s day when I exit the shrine. I make to head back to the village to turn in my orbs, but since I’m already here, let’s explore that forest in the hills. As I climb further up, I pass under a few more Sheikah arches. They did make it sound like the Fairy Fountain was back here…

Rabbit thing!!!

A flash of blue has me stopping in my tracks. It’s another one of those rabbit-looking sprites I first saw near the Dueling Peaks Stable in the forest. It hasn’t noticed me yet, so I crouch down and pull out my bow. Inching just a little closer, I loose an arrow and hit it. Rather then kill it, rupees fly everywhere and the rabbit takes off. I try to land another shot but miss, and he vanishes. Still, I pick up my loot, knowing what I need to do the next time I see my luminescent furry friend.

Great Fairy Fountain

I wander further into the forest, unsure of what exactly it is I’m looking for. The map has two lakes in the forest, one in the north and a larger one to the south with a bridge over it. I head north first, and I soon see something unexpected - which is what I expected. It is a large green plant pod, that seemingly has yet to bloom. It sits in the middle of the northern lake, which is really more of a pond. There are a lot of Blue Nightshade plants around, so I stock up while I can.

...This feels like a scam.

As I approach the pod cautiously I see floating pink orbs with wings. Fairies! Resembling the ones from Ocarina of Time, there are a number of them all floating around the plant. I very careful tiptoe around, gathering up a few, no bottles needed this time around. I must be in the right place. A ramp sits on the side of the pod, made up of orange mushrooms, allowing me to walk up to it. Examining the pod triggers whomever is inside to begin speaking to me.

It’s a Great Fairy! My first one of the game, Cotera, and she needs rupees. When travelers would come by they would make offerings to her which is what granted her power, but since the Calamity… In any event, she says she can help me, but she needs 100 rupees first. It feels like there’s a bad message here about greed and the power of money. Or maybe it’s a good message about economics. Either way, I want the help.

Ohmygod she's fabulous and I love her

The cutscene that follows is very…suggestive. There’s a lot of moaning and squealing, talks of power and how it’s overflowing...but the plant encasing Cotera blooms into a large glowing flower with a pool in the middle. The Great Fairy herself bursts from the water, her head being nearly larger than Link’s entire body. She looks like one of the most beautiful drag queens I have ever seen. And that’s not a read, she’s lovely.

She has the power to upgrade my armor! She uses some of the ingredients I've gathered, each piece requiring a specific recipe. I can only upgrade my Hylian gear at the moment, it seems. She also tells me about set bonuses, and mentions that if I restore the powers of her sisters she can upgrade me even further. More fairies to find!

I'll let you make the joke about blowing. Low hanging fruit.

There’s not much else to do here, so I explore the rest of the forest. There’s a valley leading out to the East, but it leads off the map so I’m not gonna head that way yet. I head south for the other lake and find what looks like a shrine platform, one of the places you would place an orb. Maybe Impa and Paya’s heirloom? I gather a few more ingredients, and shoot another one of those blue rabbit things before heading back to town.

I leap from the clifftop and float down to the town center, making a beeline for the Goddess Statue. I speak to her, and choose to upgrade my health bar again. Still too squishy. I think I want at least 6 hearts before I start upgrading stamina. I watch as the ornate heart drops from the sky. Do you think anyone else sees this, or is it all in Link’s head?

PARKOUR!

I decide to take another lap around the town, speaking with everyone, before I head out for Hateno Village. Most of the town’s people seem to be going about with their daily lives, and there’s still no way for me to get that heirloom from Impa. I’m just about to leave when I notice a child near the produce shop with a quest marker over her head.

Damnit. Guess I better help this kid.

---

Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Cleared: 8
Koroks Found: 18
Cuccos Captures: 10 (finally)
Drag QueensGreat Fairies Met: 1
Laws of Robotics: Ignored

Cucco Hunting Among the Crazies - Screenshot Roundup 40

An Artist, A Graveyard, A Man Obsessed With Chickens - Screenshot Roundup 39

Cucco for Cado-puffs

I figure if I need to, I can use the Shrine Sensor to help locate it. Just next to the Goddess Statue and looking at Impa’s house is a painter, Pikango, who seems to be the outsider mentioned in the Journal of Various Worries. In typical Nintendo fashion, his hair also resembles a paintbrush. He tells me he is not from the village, hence people’s suspicion, and also mentioned a Great Fairy somewhere near the village. I watch him for a few moments as he takes in the view ahead of him before moving his brush to the canvas. His art style is...charming? I’m sure someone will want to hang it...on their fridge.

So are the people buried vertically, or...?

A path to the north of Impa’s brings me to the infamous Kakariko Graveyard. It’s not nearly as large or detailed as it’s past iterations, but still pretty creepy. Probably gonna be some kind of quest that happens here. I look out over a cliff into the Hyrule wilderness for a moment. Still so much to explore. Oooooo and behind this tree is an Iron Sledgehammer. According to the description, these are actually used for mining, so I'm gonna see if this isn't any more effective then using Remote Bombs.

Headed back up the way I came, I’m heckled by a girl standing outside. Lasli works as the Hylian equivalent of one of those twirling sign people, attracting customers to the town’s armor shop, Enchanted. She is also as thirsty for Link as Rola was. Walking inside, I examine the different pieces of clothing as they sit on their mannequins. I see the shirt and hood that go with the pair of pants I found on the plateau, and they actually look pretty nifty, and I also see a special Sheikah Armor set. It resembles Sheik’s outfit from Ocarina of Time, and according to the description will help with stealth. However, it’s not cheap. I go ahead and buy the Hylian Tunic, the hood is nice but doesn’t add any extra defense from what I have. Still, I’ll be back before long for the rest.

WERK

A final thing of note is another book on the counter. Titled Rumor Mill, Vol. 1, it was written by someone named Traysi and details a location called the “Lover’s Pond.” It is said that if people find this pond, they will also find their true love.

...okay? That’s it? No quest or anything? That’s not even a full page how is this the first volume in a series of books. Whatever.

Across from Enchanted is Cado’s house! He is definitely “The Bow Master” from the Journal of Various Worries. And uh...I really don’t blame his wife for leaving. His wall is just...covered in drawings of Cuccos. Just outside the house I find the hutch, three Cuccos, and Cado himself. Uh oh. I see where this is going.

...Dude you gotta get out more.

Cado has lost some of his Cuccos. Because of course he did. It’s Kakariko Village. Really, I should have seen this coming. There are 10 of them located in the village, 3 are already i the coop, and I need to bring the rest back here. Sure man. I’m pretty sure I’ve already seen a couple anyway.

Flown the Coop

I’m exploring the town anyway, so I might as well keep a lookout for these birds while I’m at it. I go ahead and backtrack down to Impa’s and the Goddess statue, and find a single Cucco wandering by a fire. I scoop him up, and as he screams and flails wildly, take him back to his home and chuck him in. One down.

I DON'T LIKE THIS ANYMORE THEN YOU DO, BIRD

I continue to explore the village, keeping my eyes peeled for more Cuccos. Just east of Enchanted is a pumpkin patch run by Olkin. These are the Fortified Pumpkins that Steen won’t allow Trissa to sell in her shop! Olkin doesn’t seem to mind though, and he gives me one of his pumpkins after chatting.

Deeper into the town I find a campfire, and another Cucco next to a small shed. After tossing him in the coop, I come back to explore...a lot of empty buildings? I guess people gotta work, and also not everyone wants to live in their place of business. Again I am impressed by how alive this world feels.

*R. Kelly begins to play*

I pass over a field of carrots that I can examine, but cannot harvest. Must be Steen’s nearby and within another shed structure, another Cucco! I drop him off with his friends.

I’m near the entrance of the village when I find the fourth, and on my way to drop him off I see a path up into the mountains behind the village. And hey, not only do I find another one of my feathered friends, but I can see the shrine off in the distance as well. Actually, we’re right above Cado’s home. Rather than just grabbing him and dropping him in though, I spot another Cucco across the way, on top of the armor shop.

I could probably use my own para-glider for this, but…

GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!

Half the fun of these birds is using them to float around. Lucky for me, in this game Cucco’s still act like hang gliders, so I use the little guy I just scooped up to float over to that rooftop. Then from there I pick up, take aim, and chuck both of them into their pen. That’s 9! Only have to find one more.

After searching a few more empty homes, I finally spot him. He's just wandering around in a fenced off area with some pink-leaved trees. I soon learn that they are plum trees, because the old lady who planted them, Mellie, yells at me the second I step on the other side of the fence. Look lady, I'm not trying to mess up your trees okay, I just want to get that VERY OBVIOUS CHICKEN WANDERING AROUND INSIDE. How come he's allowed in there. but I'm not?

Don't mind me. Not plotting anything suspicious or anything.

No matter what I do, as soon as Link’s feet hit the ground she gets angry and kicks me out. The trees were planted by Impa on the day she was born, she tells me, and so they are very precious to her. Also she mentions something about the Sheikah consider plums the "silent guardians" of their village. What? In any case, I can’t get the last Cucco. Yet.

That’s fine Mellie. I can wait. You can’t watch your precious plum trees forever.

---

Heart Containers: 4
Shrines Completed: 7
Koroks Found: 18
New Armor Purchased: Fashionable
Cuccos Captured: 10 9
Old Lady's Murdered: 0. For now.