Before I headed for the dungeon, I went back to the sky to buy a shield…two of them, actually. I then hopped on my bird and went back down to the surface. I proceeded through the deep woods and met up with my Goron friend.
He told me about these large stone goddess cubes, saying that the hero has to hit them with the light from a heavenly blade. I knew what to do. I charged up my sword and hit it. A beam of light went into the air. Not far away, I found another one and did the same with it. We weren’t sure what they did yet.
Anyway, I soon reached the dungeon. But Smurf-Fi warned me that hornet hives are in the area, and it would be best if I had a bug-catching net. So I went back up to the sky. When I did, Smurf-Fi informed me of changes in the energy up in the sky, which happened as a result of me hitting the goddess cubes earlier.
She marked the spots on my map. First, I went to town, found the floating ship and used my slingshot to ring the bell. The shop owner dropped me a rope and reeled me in. I bought the bug-catching net. After I was done shopping, I went and caught a butterfly just to test it out.
I then hopped on my bird and checked out the spots Smurf-Fi marked on my map. They were little islands in the sky. Each of them contained a heart container piece. Combined with one piece I already had, I now have three of the four pieces needed to add a heart to my health counter.
I then went back to the dungeon. I must say, for the first dungeon of the game, it’s very long and challenging. I think it’s comparable to the 6th or 7th dungeons in a lot of other Zelda games. Along the way, I got a new item: A beetle. It’s basically a remote-controlled flying bug. You launch it and you can fly it around. It can hit switches or cut through ropes and webs. It’s pretty cool.
At the end of the level, I met who appears to be a major bad guy: Demon Lord Ghirahim.
He is surprisingly tough for a first boss. This game really forces you to learn how to use your sword. I did eventually beat him (for now–we will clearly meet again) and I exited the dungeon.
However, I had planned on making a Youtube video of the first dungeon. So after I completed the dungeon (I didn’t save), I reset and did it all again for a video. I hope to put the video online within the next couple days. But even when I basically knew what I was doing the second time through, it still took around 45 minutes! My first time through was probably a couple hours as I figured everything out. But after I was done, I saved my game. There actually is a heart piece I saw inside the dungeon that I didn’t get, so maybe I’ll go back and get that next time.
Smurf-Fi informed me that it was giving off dowsing signals. Dowsing is like a signal when you’re using the first-person looking-around view that tells you which direction something is. Previously, it had only worked to find Zelda’s location, but these kikwi creatures are giving off signals as well. Anyway, I keep following this kikwi through the woods. Each time I find him, he runs off and hides somewhere else. Eventually he realizes I’m not trying to hurt him and starts talking to me more.
He tells me that Zelda went off with the Kikwi elder. Smurf-Fi pops out of my sword (scaring the poor creature to death) and tells me to keep dowsing to find the elder. Along the way, an enemy breaks my shield.
Eventually I do find the elder. He looks a little…uhh…nutty.
He basically tells me that he can’t remember where Zelda was going. But if I find his three other missing kikwis, then he will remember. I have no choice, so I start looking for them. I search. And search. And search. Looking high and low. They are good at hiding. It takes me a very long time, but I eventually find them.
I go back to the elder and he conveniently, suddenly remembers where Zelda went. To the temple.
I had seen the temple while searching for kikwis, but I was unable to enter it. But the elder gives me something helpful…a slingshot!
Unfortunately, the temple isn’t a dungeon itself. It just leads me to a path into the deep woods. Presumably, this leads me to the dungeon. But after a tiring day of searching for critters, I decided to stop and save my game. With a dungeon presumably coming up, I think I’ll probably need a shield. I’m afraid I’m going to have to go all the way back up to the sky to get it, though. Oh well, I’ll do that next time.
He told me to prepare myself for my journey ahead before taking the light beam down to the surface. One guy gave me an “adventure pouch,” which is used to store “useful items.” Most of the town residents encouraged me as I headed off. But not Groose…he is Link’s bully that stole my bird in the first place. He blames me for everything. Ditto for his friend Rosie O’Donnell.
It would really be helpful if the game showed the characters’ names when they spoke, like many RPGs do, but no such luck. So I have to make up names for these people. Here, Sephiroth gives me a shield.
I saw a bug on a wall, and it reminded of searching for Skulltulas in Ocarina of Time, so I tried to kill it. But no luck. Apparently there is a bug net I can get after I get a slingshot.
I went to the bazaar and saw lots of items up for sale. Unfortunately, most of them can’t be bought yet, but I did buy some potion (the lovely lady gave me a bottle for free).
Who designs these characters and what drugs are they on? Seriously.
Anyway, I went to the sparring hall for a little practice using my shield. I still don’t have all the moves down pat, but I’ll learn as I go. I talked to more villagers on my way toward the light. This girl was flirting with me. Hey, who needs Zelda anyway?
I went to the south part of town and found a good place to jump off to go into the light, so I jumped. It turns out one of those security guys (?) caught me and brought me back, warning me to watch my step. Apparently I jumped off at the wrong place. 😛
When I got to the correct area, Smurf-Fi started talking… blah blah blah. After a quick stop to rob some graves, I jumped in, called my bird and headed down to the surface. I landed in a large forest with a strange round crater-type opening. At the bottom, Smurf-Fi told me how to “dowse” to detect Zelda’s aura. I then had to jump on these jets of air and use my sailcloth to soar up them. It reminded me of a level in Rayman 2.
I ended up in the Sacred Temple. A mysterious wise man told me Zelda was in Faron Woods and marked the location on my map. He also told me to take the treasure in the chest; it was a revitalizing potion, which restores your shield and some of your health as well.
Moving right along, I ran into a bunch of creatures surrounding a Goron! I defeated the bad guys and talked to the Goron, named Gorko. He had a lot to say, but it was mostly stuff I already knew.