This past week the cancellation of E3 2023 was announced, and it’s increasingly looking like this was the last we’ll see of E3, at least in its current format. Major video game companies, Nintendo included, have largely left trade show booths out of their marketing budgets in favor of more direct appeals to fans, such…
I started my Live A Live experience having only a passing familiarity with the game and its history. Originally released in 1994 for the Super Famicom, it was the directorial debut of Takashi Tokita, who would go on in 1995 to release the widely beloved Chrono Trigger. Unfortunately, Live A Live was never officially translated…
The release of Skyward Sword HD for the original game’s 10th anniversary has come at an interesting time for The Legend of Zelda series. The franchise headed down a brand-new direction in 2017 with the release of Breath of the Wild. As we await its sequel, the biggest questions fans have are to what degree…
This past week, a substantial set of new content was added to Fire Emblem: Three Houses as part of its Expansion Pass. Three Houses has been gradually rolling out DLC over the past few months, but until recently that new content has been fairly low impact — some of the more notable updates included a…
Most Final Fantasy-style RPGs are about Heroes, but Octopath Traveler is different – it’s mostly just about heroes. The capital H is important; it means that they are the Chosen Ones, the Heroes of Light. They are on a Grand Quest. Instead, you will find yourself spending most of Octopath Traveler working at a more…
At its core, Mario Tennis Aces is a game that goes in hard on the one thing it wants to specialize in — providing a world-class competitive multiplayer experience — but feels oddly sparse around the edges when it comes to practically everything else. If what you’re looking for from Aces is the quirky character-based…
Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is technically defined as a “hack and slash action game,” but that’s not the reason I’ve now logged more than a hundred hours playing it. For me, this game is a primary example of another genre that I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to — the “podcast game.” What I’m saying is,…
To sum up its design aesthetic in one word, Super Mario Odyssey is a game about density. Other open-world games tend to focus on sheer size — how many mountains you can climb or how many caves there are to find, but Odyssey instead takes some relatively small spaces and crams them full of interesting…
It was when I played Twilight Princess that I first noticed something wrong. If you broke the game down into its component parts, each piece worked just fine. Dungeons? Check. Puzzles? Check. Sword combat? Check. A big field to explore? Check. Everything I liked from Ocarina of Time was there (in some cases better than…
13.1 The Final Dungeon 13.2 Miniboss 1: Moldorm 13.3 Miniboss 2: Gigabari 13.4 Miniboss 3: Ball and Chain Soldier 13.5 Miniboss 4: Arrghus 13.6 Boss: Yuga Ganon 13.1The Final Dungeon When you have freed all of the Sages, return to Lorule Castle. Hilda will remove the barrier in front of the door so that you can enter. You…
12.1 Reaching the Entrance 12.2 Getting the Compass 12.3 Kodongo Dislikes Sword 12.4 Getting the Big Key and Hylian Shield 12.5 Boss: Grinexx 12.1Reaching the Entrance You need the Ice Rod to complete Turtle Rock, but Bombs are also recommended. Start from the shop by Lake Hylia. Walk down and merge into the wall, then go around…
9.1 Making it inside 9.2 Getting the Compass 9.3 Escorting Thief Girl 9.4 Boss: Stalblind 9.1Making it inside The Thieves’ Hideout can be found in Thieves’ Town in the west of Lorule. By talking to the inhabitants you learn that a Sage’s portrait is hidden somewhere in the town. The thieves’ leader has also imprisoned a…
11.1 Reaching the Ice Ruins 11.2 Getting the Compass 11.3 To the Stamina Scroll 11.4 Finishing the Dungeon 11.5 Boss: Dharkstare 11.1Reaching the Ice Ruins You will need the Hookshot to reach the Ice Ruins. The Fire Rod is necessary to complete the Ice Ruins, but it can be useful on the way there as well. Once…
8.1 Reaching the Entrance 8.2 Getting the Compass 8.3 Watch out for the Wallmasters 8.4 The Big Key 8.5 Boss: The Knucklemaster 8.1Reaching the Entrance The Skull Woods are cut off from the rest of Lorule, so to access them you must first return to Hyrule. There are several Fissures that can be used to reach the…
7.1 Destroying the Boulder 7.2 Getting the Compass 7.3 Playing with Water Levels 7.4 The Big Key 7.5 Boss: Arrghus 7.1Destroying the Boulder To reach the Swamp Palace, just go south from the Vacant House in the center of Lorule. You can enter the dungeon with no difficulty at all, but the first room is flooded and…
