Climbin' 'n Glidin'

My heart un-exploded, I catchmy breath before running back and speaking with Giro, though he didn’t indicate that anything was out of the ordinary. Does that mean I’m the only person who can see the Blood Moon and its effects? Surely people would have noticed monsters coming back to life.

You know, between hearing voices in my head, talking to ghosts, and now this horrifying Blood Moon vision, I wouldn’t mind a little confirmation that Link isn’t, you know, mentally ill. I’m not claiming to be an expert, but those are definitely signs of schizophrenia. Just saying.

...Yay. Another one.

I continue my way down the path alongside the Squabble River. The riverbank is just to my left, and as I near Dueling Peaks I take note of the Sheikah Tower across from me once again. It gives of a red glow, unlike the blue one on the plateau. It’s actually the same hue that an unfinished shrine has, before turning into that same electric blue after completion.

I need to get to that tower.

As I approach the Dueling Peak’s base, what do I see but a Korok flower! After touching it, it moves across the river, jumping from shallow rock to shallow rock. I chase after it, eventually swimming to the other side of the river to claim my seed. Thanks Korok.

I turn my gaze once again towards the tower, rising from the center of a lake. A large chunk of earth at the base of the tower leads me to believe that it must have been buried underneath the ground just as on the plateau. It also occurs to me that I am going to have to actually climb this tower, instead of just riding it to the top after it explodes. Crap.

...Goddamnit...

Dueling Peaks Tower

I walk around the lake’s edge towards the tower and up the “ramp” made by the earth. As I look up, I try to get an idea for the most optimal way to make the climb. Doesn’t look too different from the first tower, except I’ll be going up instead of down. I climb onto the side of the tower, and make my way up to the first platform. Then I allow my stamina to restore, and do it again, and again, until I’m finally at the top. As I make my way to the orange platform, rain begins to fall, and I insert my slate.

I get a nice cinematic flyby as the tower activates, turning from orange to blue, and unlocking the map for the area. Oh look, the names for all those places I’ve been but couldn’t have possibly known the names of! Even though the game doesn’t count every individual labeled item on the map as its own area, I still think it’s pretty awesome and will be using all of the names I can to refer to geographical locations. I also unlock something called the Sheikah Sensor, which acts like a radar, alerting me of nearby shrines.

It starts going off almost immediately. That’s gonna get annoying.

Okay, it was worth the climb.

While on the tower, I use my scope to note the locations of some shrines, though none of them are really on the way to Kakariko from what I can see. Still smart to have marked down probably. Once I’m satisfied, I leap from the tower, using my paraglider to slow my fall back down to the other side of the river bank. At the base of the mountain is another tree fort. Joy, more bokoblins to fight. However as I approach it, I see that it’s actually…empty. Completely. There’s not even an easy way up – there’s no drawbridge to lower. I land on top, but seeing nothing, hope down to take shelter.

There’s a Torch and an Woodcutter's Axe underneath, along with an unlit cooking pot, but nothing else. This feels like a trap. As I debate waiting for the rain to stop or not, what do I see running towards me but yet ANOTHER Hylian! Hooray! He joins me under the fort, also taking cover from the storm. I love the AI. He even talk about the weather when I talk to him.

Mezer, as he is named, is a traveling merchant, selling meat and salt. And since it’s raining, he is having a rainy day special! I don’t have a point of reference for any of the non-sale prices for things, so I take a gander over his inventory but refrain from making any purchases. I’ve still got a decent amount of raw meat leftover from hunting on the plateau. Still, I appreciate the company while we wait for the rain to let up. Not that he has much to say. Eventually the thunder stops and it’s safe to move on. I say my goodbyes and I walk through the Dueling Peaks.

Makin' friends all over the place.

Dueling Peaks

The Shrine Sensor is indicating that I’m headed towards one, so I make sure to check my surroundings as I go. Walking this close to the river, I see a classic Zelda enemy: Lizafos! At first, I have no idea what they are – I only see the splash of the water as two of them swim downstream, towards me. Curious, I step away from the water and pull out my scope as they pass, just making out the forms of the swimming reptiles but still not clear as to what they are.

Then I see Mezer coming up the path. And so do they, leaping from the water and onto the river bank to attack. Not on my watch! I leapt into action, drawing my sword to defend my rain-buddy.

He protek!

Lizafos are just as annoying as I remember, and very bouncy. They resemble overgrown chameleons, complete with bug eyes and long tongues. I try to keep both of them in my view as I target one, slashing at him with my sword. After he leaps out of reach, I switch to the other, and so on until they are both dead. I speak with Mezer’s still-cowering form and he thanks me for rescuing him, and even gives me some food as a reward. Then he continues on his way.

I examine some metallic boulders off to the side, though they don’t seem to do anything even when moved with Magnesis. Looking across the river, I see a Shrine on a cliff not too far up. Must be what was setting of the Sensor. I jump into the river and swim across, and then climb up to the Shrine to activate it, and enter.

Timing is Critical

      ~Ree Dahee Shrine~

I enter the shrine to see…a lot of platforms, all glowing orange. In front of me is a switch which, when pressed causes one of the platforms ahead of me to tilt to the right. On that platform is a ball which rolls onto another platform and into a slot, activating a moving platform. I hop on the platform and move to the next set.

This seems like overkill for what is basically Marble Madness.

This switch moves two platforms - the ball is on the top one, and I have to depress the switch as it rolls onto the bottom so that it is tilted towards the ball slot and not a bottomless pit. Takes a few tries before I get it, but I do. The next moving platform is activated, and I’m brought to the final puzzle platform.

This is only a single platform, but with a decent sized gap between it and the ball slot. I also spot a chest above the ramp holding the ball, too high to climb to. Hmm. In order to move the ball across, I have to press the switch and allow it to build up momentum, before letting go and moving the platform to a high enough position so the ball can jump the gap. I also see that when turned, the ramp reaches high enough to get the chest. But, unless I’m standing on the switch, the ramp remains too low.

Rhee Dahee

“Timing is Critical” is the name of the challenge right? I bet Stasis can help by freezing the platform in place. I learn I am wrong when the platform neglects to react to my rune. The switch however can be frozen, so after I get the moving platform activated, I stand on the switch. Once it’s close enough, I freeze the switch below me and hop onto the platform, allowing me to climb up the ramp and to the chest before Stasis wears off and the switch goes back to normal.

CLIMBERS BANDANA!

I know that’s probably way too excited for something I never even knew existed, but in the chest was a piece of armor for my head that increases my climb speed. Super useful! I also hadn’t had any head armor at all so the defense boost doesn’t hurt either. I slap it on and climb down to Ree Dahee, earning myself another Spirit Orb.

Gonna climb all sorts of shit.

---

Heart Containers: 4
Shrines Completed: 6
Koroks Found: 14
Tower: Climbed
Head: Bandanna’d

Bokoblins, Giro, & My First Blood Moon - Screenshot Roundup 26

Meeting Other Hylians & Hunting Koroks Along the Squabble River - Screenshot Roundup 25

Over the River and Through the Woods

I exit Bosh Kala Shrine and make my way back to the path alongside the ruins. Only one direction to go – I start to cross the bridge.

Proxim Bridge

It’s a big bridge, and it’s well lit with torches. Normally that would mean someone was maintaining them but…video game. Actually…hold on. There’s a person on this bridge! Like an actual living breathing not-a-ghost (as far as I know) person. Well, video game wise. His name is Brigo, so I’m guessing this is kind of his “thing.”

...He's dead, Jim.

He talks about the towers springing from the ground, and the shrines “waking up.” I couldn't exactly check anything before I activate the first tower so I’ll take his word for it. Talking to him further, he also lets me know how terrified he is of the guardians – in particular a disabled one on an island in the middle of the river. There are apparently some that are still fully functional closer towards the castle. That’ll be fun.

I can see a bokoblin camp along a riverbank nearby, but not close enough to want to go over to fuck their shit up. I’m sure I’ll get over there eventually. Not really wanting to check that guardian to see if it’s active or not, I say goodbye to Brigo and continue my trek to Kakariko. The path follows along a river, with some hills to my right and a small forest on the left. It’s not long before my attention is drawn off the path again – this time towards giant hollow logs, similar to the ones I saw on the plateau. I bet there’s a Korok around here somewhere.

What happened to the rest of the giant forest?

Hills of Baumer

I make my way up the hill and through one of the logs, and am greeted by the familiar site of a yellow flower. Touching the flower moves it further up the hills, and I give chase. Surprise! About halfway up I run into another boulder booby trap. Eventually I make it to the top and find my Korok buddy. Thanks for almost killing me. I skip walking back down and just jump and glide. I continue on the path, the trees growing thick enough that I think I can call this a forest, officially. Off in the distance through the trees, I can see a bokoblin camp on the river bank. This one close enough to have their shit fucked up.

I explore the forest around me first. There are a few things of note. The first being a big hole in the ground, and a boulder nearby. I solve the Korok puzzle without breaking a sweat. Second, there is a large rock formation in the middle of the forest, not too far from the camp but far enough that they won’t notice me exploring as long as I stick to one side. Doesn’t seem to be much at first - I find a new ingredient on top, a Mighty Thistle that will raise my attack power. Then I see a weird little statue that seems to be looking at a bombable wall on the side – this thing is hollow! I blow myself an entrance and see what we have inside. A rock. With a Korok! Cool, that’s 2.

Don't act like you haven't thought about it.

There’s nothing else of interest in this cave, so I exit and move towards the bokoblins. There’s a bunch of explosive barrels...but not really any cover, so I just take a direct approach do my best to sneak up on the group as they sit behind a fire, and once I’m close enough pull out the biggest sword I have. I like seeing the red ones go flying before disintegrating into nothingness. I collect a pretty strong Soldier’s Shield from a chest afterwards.

Squabble River

It’s not much further up the path that I find yet another roadside attraction. Another Hylian! I guess Hyrule isn’t completely abandoned then. He’s another merchant, Giro. He’s got a nice little campfire setup, so I take a sec to rest and see what he’s selling. A few ingredients I haven’t seen yet, but nothing I think I want to buy. Not that I have much money to begin with. I talk to him again to open the sell menu, I’m sure I have some stuff to unload…

Protip: Always go towards smokestacks.

Wow. So some of those precious stones I’ve been gathering are worth a pretty penny. Granted, I’ve mostly got ambers and those seem to be the cheapest, but if they continue to be this common, it seems like money won’t really be an issue. On top of that, I’ve got a metric fuck-ton of monster parts that I can unload if I needed to. All the more reason to make sure I pick up everything I see!

I say goodbye to Giro and decide to give the hills behind his camp a once over. More to the east past a small lake there is a valley leading to a location undoubtedly full of monsters, but I’m sticking to just the hills for now. Don’t want to get too distracted from the mission yet. I see…something on the peak of one of the hills. On closer inspection, it’s a pinwheel, orange and glowing faintly. When I approach, I hear a Korok sound effect (like a rain stick? I dunno) and three balloons
appear in the air with an audible *pop*!

This is getting ridiculous.

They have what I assume to be targets painted on the side. Not hard to figure out what I need to do – I need the bow practice anyway. After a few minutes and several misses, I take out all three, revealing my next Korok buddy floating in the air. Thanks for the seed.

Time to get back on the road. I can see Dueling Peaks ahead of me. Much bigger up close. I also see the red-orange glow of another Sheikah Tower across the river at the mountain’s base. Before I have a chance to contemplate any further, the game’s music suddenly changes into something…eerie. Distorted sounds grow steadily louder as strange black and red objects flicker like flames on the screen around me. In the real world, I am completely freaking out. What did I do!? Did I wake up another weird boss monster? Where is it!? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!

Then, I see it behind me.

*inaudible shrieking*

The moon is full and has turned a bright crimson red, steadily rising into the sky. The music grows louder as the entire world takes on a red hue, the keys of a piano being played faster and with more force until with a loud BOOM everything goes black. Is this game over?

No, it’s Zelda. And this is something called the Blood Moon. As she explains what is happening, I am treated to visuals of monsters across Hyrule respawning – that’s why the plateau stayed so empty, and that answers my early questions about monsters respawning. Very creepy, and a very well done in game explanation.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to try and convince my heart not to explode.

---

Heart Containers: 4
Shrines Completed: 5
Koroks Found: 13
Rupees: 20
Blood Moon: Risen
Jon’s Anxiety: Thriving

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)