Oracle of Ages, Part 2: In Which Many NPCs Complain
And we're back. Last time, Nayru turned out to be the Oracle of Ages, whatever that means, and promptly got kidnapped. And it was all Link's fault. Now we're off to see the Maku Tree and see if she can help us sort out this mess.
You will be mine someday, chest. Someday!
By the way, the overworld theme has started up now. It's a good thing I like it, because I'm going to be hearing it all over the place.
Past the protective barrier stone that I blithely pushed aside, allowing evil to pass.
My way is blocked by bushes! Good thing I have my trusty wooden sword to beat them aside. Otherwise how could I ever get past those dreaded leaves?
You shall terrorize the land no more, bush! (Political allegory?)
SHOP
How very informative. What a nice guy, standing at the entrance to the city every day just to tell passersby where they are. Your efforts are to be applauded, guy who is about as useful as a signboard.
The theme music for Lynna City is kind of fun and simple. Really, I don't know how to describe it except as "Lynna City!" The music and the places in this game are inextricably linked in my mind or something.
Pretty statue that serves no purpose whatsoever, surrounded by evil water just waiting to drown me.
This sign is more useful than the man standing at the entrance of the city.
What indeed. This evil scheme makes no sense.
Inside the building.
Really now.
Despite the fact that it's really no larger now than it was then. Maybe they just decided that City sounds more impressive.
The contents of this chest will also be mine someday. Despite the fact that it's in someone's house. I have no compunctions about stealing from the mayor.
Back outside. What a nice little house, despite its garden of evil shrubbery.
Inside, this guy is running around like crazy. He's a little excitable.
You may think that he's here just to tell us about some special type of tree. You would be wrong. What he's said just now is pretty much all that he has to say about trees.
About trees?
Ah. One of those proud father types who will go off about his precious little child to random passersby at any provocation.
Okay.
What. You're asking someone you've known all of five seconds to name your baby for you?
What sort of mother are you? This has got to be a joke or something.
Going with my theme of avoiding letters.
♥ snickers behind his hand.
Yeah, yeah, joke's up, I'll choose a real... wait, what.
Will you, now.
I've just doomed the kid to confusion and teasing for life.
Okay, the deal with these guys is that the kid grows up differently depending on certain choices you make regarding him. I'll come back here periodically; you'll see what I mean. Though you can't really see the results until you continue in Seasons with a linked game, but whatever.
Anyway. Enough dawdling. Let's go visit the Maku Tree.
Appropriately named. I like it.
The music here is this fun, bouncy little tune.
Hee, this place. I love that in the present someone has come through and fenced off the bottomless pits and solved the (incredibly simple) puzzles for the benefit of potential visitors.
More fences.
Maku Tree! I love that cute flower she wears.
The Maku Tree's theme is rather stately. It seems pretty apropriate for a tree, I think.
Pleased to meet you, too! :D
I know that. I'm the one who let it happen. But how do you know that?
Also I love how happy she looks while saying this. Not too worried, are you?
"Dark sorceress flooding the world with sorrow, yadda yadda ^_^"
Why me?
Yes? Yes? What do I need? Don't leave me hangin'.
Uh-oh. The music stopped. That's never a good sign.
She starts rapidly changing colors.
What's wrong? You sick or something? Look, I don't know how to deal with tree-vomit, so maybe I'll just be getting out of here...
What? Right now, something is happening to you in the past. Uh...
And she vanishes, leaving only swamp weeds where she once stood. :( But, um, if something happened to her in the past, why wasn't she gone to begin with?
Maybe I should stop trying to understand the way time works here.
Oh well. Link moves on with his life, uncaring. So cold hearted. I disapprove.
Ralph? How did you get there? Why is the time portal suddenly open again?
I feel loved. Also, did he just now notice me or something? Was he just talking to himself before?
Okay, I guess that at least makes sense.
Have fun, Ralph. Don't worry too much about saving her; you're not the protagonist, you know, and therefore are doomed to failure. Sorry 'bout that, but you know how it is...
And he rushes through the Time Portal, which, contrary to appearances, is still spinning away. Stupid flickering...
Eh, might as well. Nothing better to do.
Vwoop.
The past! You can tell it's the past because it's browner.
The guy jumped when he saw me.
He rushes off. I guess one time traveller is okay, but two is just too much for him.
Some people playing catch.
Hmm, tower, huh?
Aw. What a sweet guy, for a one-dimensional NPC.
The kid isn't worried. I guess kids often are oblivious to adult things like the impending end of the world or whatever.
:(
More useful than a guy standing around to tell me where I am.
Lynna Village's music is slightly different from that of Lynna City. It's a bit, I dunno... calmer?
Huh? How does that work?
Finally, someone is appropriately impressed by that. You'd think these people saw talking trees every day.
Hmmmmm.
More griping about that tower. Is it really so bad?
Hint hint.
Hint hint hint.
Inside the building is a minigame. I might be playing this game later, though I'm pretty sure this one's optional. I still might want a couple of the prizes. We'll see, I guess.
Hm. Suspicious.
Thanks for the info, I guess? He's not exactly hard to find...
This thing has always been here I guess.
Hm, I wonder if we'll meet him eventually. Who knows?
Ah, so that's what the tower is about. Isn't that a little selfish, forcing her people to build a tower just to find her beloved? Why does she need a tower for that anyway? Wouldn't a search party be more efficient?
If you say so...
Inside the house we meet someone who wants something. What are the odds that he's part of some ridiculously long trading sequence? (answer: 100%)
This house contains an emo boy.
See what I mean?
Just a hole in the ground -
Hm?
...it's, um, someone else who wants something. Ew.
Darn them to heck!
Here is a man who does not like nuts.
Um. Do I want to know what sort of stuff the nuts have in them?
The guy looks on, wondering why the heck Link is standing there holding the seed above his head.
Of course not. (Link crosses his fingers behind his back)
La-di-da. Enjoy the nuts growing outside of your house, tree-hater.
Aldar the Elder. I think I get it. Ha ha. Ha. Ha?
After 50 years of hard work you probably deserve a nice retirement.
Except when she was forcing the people to build towers for selfish reasons, but we don't mind that because it was for TRUE LOVE (and she wasn't working us 70 hours a day back then).
The queen is easily influenced, I see.
Well, you've been serving me well for many long years, but some girl I just met told me to get rid of you, so off you go!
Am I the only one thinking we might not be getting the whole story from him? How do we know this guy wasn't a schemer himself, manipulating the queen to his own ends?
Really now.
I'm sure she's fine and definitely won't end up possessed or anything.
Anyway, enough yattering! To the tower, to get a shovel, to get rid of the dirt, to go through Maku Path, to save the Maku Tree. It's good to tackle one goal at a time.
Also, the music here is decidedly ominous. Hmm.
Some people don't seem to regard the queen as fondly as we've been led to believe.
You will be mine, piece of heart! Very, very soon. Mwahaha.
Not much of a tower yet. The music changes to "Evil Spreads" during this scene. Gee, I wonder if this tower is somehow related to someone's evil plans?
Nah, couldn't be.
Yet she is just because some mysterious girl told her to. But it's not Ambi's fault at all or anything.
Note that the apparent purpose for building the tower hasn't changed at all, but now that Nayru's involved, it's EVIL.
I really think that the townspeople are just capricious.
Oh no. I hate getting yelled at.
Entrance to the Black Tower. Only moderately sinister.
It's definitely all Nayru's fault.
Hm, guards?
Yeah, those people collapsing after working 30 hours straight are bums and need punishment.
Okay! I won't betray you, slave!
Very focused.
Unless... tomorrow never comes! I think I maybe sort of see the logic behind all this.
:(
Also this really makes no sense. Making night never come so people can be working on the tower 24-7 kind of makes sense, but making any individual person work constantly just doesn't work. Unless you don't care that eventually everyone is going to collapse from exhaustion and you won't have any workers left.
You slaves really need to get together and stage an uprising or something. I'll be behind you all the way. I'll even declare myself Spartacus for you, if it comes to that.
Whine whine whine
Fine, I'll be patient. I'm sure we'll get past here eventually.
Wow, someone who seems enthusiastic about his work.
CHILD LABOR
DA-NA-NA-NAAAH! Yay equipment!
Construction worker guy looks on approvingly. I bet he totally understands the enthusiasm that leads one to heft new aquisitions above one's head in triumph.
But even if I dig it away, it'll just come back when I reenter the room... I think most of your work is futile, guys.
La-di-da...
DA-NA-NA-NAAAAH :D My first piece of heart.
Yeah, yeah, we know.
Wandered back into town. You can sometimes dig up different things with your shovel. Often hearts or 1 or 5 rupees. If you're really lucky, you can find 100 Rupee gems. But sometimes you just dig up monsters like this one.
Let's bother the guards.
Hint. Not that it's hard to figure out how to get there when you end up needing to. There will be less subtle hints than this.
Anyway! Let's get on with the heroing. I dug away the dirt blocking Maku Path.
This looks familiar. Music's different now (then?) though. It's now decidedly dungeony. Definitely less fun.
Link observes the non-fenced-off bottomless pit from a safe distance.
Hm! What a quandry. However shall I solve this puzzle?
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-DO. Door opens. Kind of a strange door-opening mechanism, but whatever.
Oh no! My path is blocked again!
It's a good thing I am very very clever, or I might have been stuck forever!
Door closes behind me when I go in. Oh no, monsters! Monsters that, uh, can't actually hurt me. I'm so scared? All these little guys can do is cling to you and slow you down.
Kill monsters, door opens. Even stranger door-opening mechanism.
With all these blocks BLOCKing my path, it's a good thing Link has superior block-pushing skills.
Magic switch makes chest appear.
Walked around the other way. No blocks. Phew, I'm glad; not sure I could have handled any more! Also, yay small key!
Gee, thanks for telling me. Otherwise I might never have known what a key was supposed to do.
I'm lazy, so I'll take the half-heart of damage to avoid walking all the way back to the entrance. Meanwhile I wonder about the physics of bottomless pits that always drop you back off in doorways.
Perhaps this is one of those fabled locked doors I've been hearing about.
Key opened it! Hey, a sensible door-opening mechanism for once! Except that the key is gone now.
I like to imagine that Link opens the door, then just shrugs and throws away the key. WELP, USED IT ONCE, MIGHT AS WELL GET RID OF IT. :B
Symmetrical.
You may wonder why I'm not immediately going for the switch.
That's because there's a magic staircase here, of course.
Leading to our first sidescrolling screen of the game.
I love how even the narrator or whatever is just like, "That's nice." Let's all humor Link, let him think he's accomplished something important.
Anyway. Back up the ladder, going for the switch this time. Door opens. A somewhat sensible door-opening mechinism, I guess.
Door closes behind me. Oh no, enemies that are actually capable of hurting me! If they happen to blunder into me, that is.
Killin' off the skeletons Stalfos.
Killed them off, goin' for the loot.
DA-NA-NA-NAAAH :D
Moving the block to open the doors. No matter which direction you push it, the doors open. I don't get why anyone would make doors like this. Whoever designed this place was clearly somewhat mad (though much less so than the people who designed the dungeons).
Aha! Finally! End of the Maku Path.
And... I think that's enough for now. Next time: rescuing a damsel in distress!
You will be mine someday, chest. Someday!
By the way, the overworld theme has started up now. It's a good thing I like it, because I'm going to be hearing it all over the place.
Past the protective barrier stone that I blithely pushed aside, allowing evil to pass.
My way is blocked by bushes! Good thing I have my trusty wooden sword to beat them aside. Otherwise how could I ever get past those dreaded leaves?
You shall terrorize the land no more, bush! (Political allegory?)
SHOP
How very informative. What a nice guy, standing at the entrance to the city every day just to tell passersby where they are. Your efforts are to be applauded, guy who is about as useful as a signboard.
The theme music for Lynna City is kind of fun and simple. Really, I don't know how to describe it except as "Lynna City!" The music and the places in this game are inextricably linked in my mind or something.
Pretty statue that serves no purpose whatsoever, surrounded by evil water just waiting to drown me.
This sign is more useful than the man standing at the entrance of the city.
What indeed. This evil scheme makes no sense.
Inside the building.
Really now.
Despite the fact that it's really no larger now than it was then. Maybe they just decided that City sounds more impressive.
The contents of this chest will also be mine someday. Despite the fact that it's in someone's house. I have no compunctions about stealing from the mayor.
Back outside. What a nice little house, despite its garden of evil shrubbery.
Inside, this guy is running around like crazy. He's a little excitable.
You may think that he's here just to tell us about some special type of tree. You would be wrong. What he's said just now is pretty much all that he has to say about trees.
About trees?
Ah. One of those proud father types who will go off about his precious little child to random passersby at any provocation.
Okay.
What. You're asking someone you've known all of five seconds to name your baby for you?
What sort of mother are you? This has got to be a joke or something.
Going with my theme of avoiding letters.
♥ snickers behind his hand.
Yeah, yeah, joke's up, I'll choose a real... wait, what.
Will you, now.
I've just doomed the kid to confusion and teasing for life.
Okay, the deal with these guys is that the kid grows up differently depending on certain choices you make regarding him. I'll come back here periodically; you'll see what I mean. Though you can't really see the results until you continue in Seasons with a linked game, but whatever.
Anyway. Enough dawdling. Let's go visit the Maku Tree.
Appropriately named. I like it.
The music here is this fun, bouncy little tune.
Hee, this place. I love that in the present someone has come through and fenced off the bottomless pits and solved the (incredibly simple) puzzles for the benefit of potential visitors.
More fences.
Maku Tree! I love that cute flower she wears.
The Maku Tree's theme is rather stately. It seems pretty apropriate for a tree, I think.
Pleased to meet you, too! :D
I know that. I'm the one who let it happen. But how do you know that?
Also I love how happy she looks while saying this. Not too worried, are you?
"Dark sorceress flooding the world with sorrow, yadda yadda ^_^"
Why me?
Yes? Yes? What do I need? Don't leave me hangin'.
Uh-oh. The music stopped. That's never a good sign.
She starts rapidly changing colors.
What's wrong? You sick or something? Look, I don't know how to deal with tree-vomit, so maybe I'll just be getting out of here...
What? Right now, something is happening to you in the past. Uh...
And she vanishes, leaving only swamp weeds where she once stood. :( But, um, if something happened to her in the past, why wasn't she gone to begin with?
Maybe I should stop trying to understand the way time works here.
Oh well. Link moves on with his life, uncaring. So cold hearted. I disapprove.
Ralph? How did you get there? Why is the time portal suddenly open again?
I feel loved. Also, did he just now notice me or something? Was he just talking to himself before?
Okay, I guess that at least makes sense.
Have fun, Ralph. Don't worry too much about saving her; you're not the protagonist, you know, and therefore are doomed to failure. Sorry 'bout that, but you know how it is...
And he rushes through the Time Portal, which, contrary to appearances, is still spinning away. Stupid flickering...
Eh, might as well. Nothing better to do.
Vwoop.
The past! You can tell it's the past because it's browner.
The guy jumped when he saw me.
He rushes off. I guess one time traveller is okay, but two is just too much for him.
Some people playing catch.
Hmm, tower, huh?
Aw. What a sweet guy, for a one-dimensional NPC.
The kid isn't worried. I guess kids often are oblivious to adult things like the impending end of the world or whatever.
:(
More useful than a guy standing around to tell me where I am.
Lynna Village's music is slightly different from that of Lynna City. It's a bit, I dunno... calmer?
Huh? How does that work?
Finally, someone is appropriately impressed by that. You'd think these people saw talking trees every day.
Hmmmmm.
More griping about that tower. Is it really so bad?
Hint hint.
Hint hint hint.
Inside the building is a minigame. I might be playing this game later, though I'm pretty sure this one's optional. I still might want a couple of the prizes. We'll see, I guess.
Hm. Suspicious.
Thanks for the info, I guess? He's not exactly hard to find...
This thing has always been here I guess.
Hm, I wonder if we'll meet him eventually. Who knows?
Ah, so that's what the tower is about. Isn't that a little selfish, forcing her people to build a tower just to find her beloved? Why does she need a tower for that anyway? Wouldn't a search party be more efficient?
If you say so...
Inside the house we meet someone who wants something. What are the odds that he's part of some ridiculously long trading sequence? (answer: 100%)
This house contains an emo boy.
See what I mean?
Just a hole in the ground -
Hm?
...it's, um, someone else who wants something. Ew.
Darn them to heck!
Here is a man who does not like nuts.
Um. Do I want to know what sort of stuff the nuts have in them?
The guy looks on, wondering why the heck Link is standing there holding the seed above his head.
Of course not. (Link crosses his fingers behind his back)
La-di-da. Enjoy the nuts growing outside of your house, tree-hater.
Aldar the Elder. I think I get it. Ha ha. Ha. Ha?
After 50 years of hard work you probably deserve a nice retirement.
Except when she was forcing the people to build towers for selfish reasons, but we don't mind that because it was for TRUE LOVE (and she wasn't working us 70 hours a day back then).
The queen is easily influenced, I see.
Well, you've been serving me well for many long years, but some girl I just met told me to get rid of you, so off you go!
Am I the only one thinking we might not be getting the whole story from him? How do we know this guy wasn't a schemer himself, manipulating the queen to his own ends?
Really now.
I'm sure she's fine and definitely won't end up possessed or anything.
Anyway, enough yattering! To the tower, to get a shovel, to get rid of the dirt, to go through Maku Path, to save the Maku Tree. It's good to tackle one goal at a time.
Also, the music here is decidedly ominous. Hmm.
Some people don't seem to regard the queen as fondly as we've been led to believe.
You will be mine, piece of heart! Very, very soon. Mwahaha.
Not much of a tower yet. The music changes to "Evil Spreads" during this scene. Gee, I wonder if this tower is somehow related to someone's evil plans?
Nah, couldn't be.
Yet she is just because some mysterious girl told her to. But it's not Ambi's fault at all or anything.
Note that the apparent purpose for building the tower hasn't changed at all, but now that Nayru's involved, it's EVIL.
I really think that the townspeople are just capricious.
Oh no. I hate getting yelled at.
Entrance to the Black Tower. Only moderately sinister.
It's definitely all Nayru's fault.
Hm, guards?
Yeah, those people collapsing after working 30 hours straight are bums and need punishment.
Okay! I won't betray you, slave!
Very focused.
Unless... tomorrow never comes! I think I maybe sort of see the logic behind all this.
:(
Also this really makes no sense. Making night never come so people can be working on the tower 24-7 kind of makes sense, but making any individual person work constantly just doesn't work. Unless you don't care that eventually everyone is going to collapse from exhaustion and you won't have any workers left.
You slaves really need to get together and stage an uprising or something. I'll be behind you all the way. I'll even declare myself Spartacus for you, if it comes to that.
Whine whine whine
Fine, I'll be patient. I'm sure we'll get past here eventually.
Wow, someone who seems enthusiastic about his work.
CHILD LABOR
DA-NA-NA-NAAAH! Yay equipment!
Construction worker guy looks on approvingly. I bet he totally understands the enthusiasm that leads one to heft new aquisitions above one's head in triumph.
But even if I dig it away, it'll just come back when I reenter the room... I think most of your work is futile, guys.
La-di-da...
DA-NA-NA-NAAAAH :D My first piece of heart.
Yeah, yeah, we know.
Wandered back into town. You can sometimes dig up different things with your shovel. Often hearts or 1 or 5 rupees. If you're really lucky, you can find 100 Rupee gems. But sometimes you just dig up monsters like this one.
Let's bother the guards.
Hint. Not that it's hard to figure out how to get there when you end up needing to. There will be less subtle hints than this.
Anyway! Let's get on with the heroing. I dug away the dirt blocking Maku Path.
This looks familiar. Music's different now (then?) though. It's now decidedly dungeony. Definitely less fun.
Link observes the non-fenced-off bottomless pit from a safe distance.
Hm! What a quandry. However shall I solve this puzzle?
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-DO. Door opens. Kind of a strange door-opening mechanism, but whatever.
Oh no! My path is blocked again!
It's a good thing I am very very clever, or I might have been stuck forever!
Door closes behind me when I go in. Oh no, monsters! Monsters that, uh, can't actually hurt me. I'm so scared? All these little guys can do is cling to you and slow you down.
Kill monsters, door opens. Even stranger door-opening mechanism.
With all these blocks BLOCKing my path, it's a good thing Link has superior block-pushing skills.
Magic switch makes chest appear.
Walked around the other way. No blocks. Phew, I'm glad; not sure I could have handled any more! Also, yay small key!
Gee, thanks for telling me. Otherwise I might never have known what a key was supposed to do.
I'm lazy, so I'll take the half-heart of damage to avoid walking all the way back to the entrance. Meanwhile I wonder about the physics of bottomless pits that always drop you back off in doorways.
Perhaps this is one of those fabled locked doors I've been hearing about.
Key opened it! Hey, a sensible door-opening mechanism for once! Except that the key is gone now.
I like to imagine that Link opens the door, then just shrugs and throws away the key. WELP, USED IT ONCE, MIGHT AS WELL GET RID OF IT. :B
Symmetrical.
You may wonder why I'm not immediately going for the switch.
That's because there's a magic staircase here, of course.
Leading to our first sidescrolling screen of the game.
I love how even the narrator or whatever is just like, "That's nice." Let's all humor Link, let him think he's accomplished something important.
Anyway. Back up the ladder, going for the switch this time. Door opens. A somewhat sensible door-opening mechinism, I guess.
Door closes behind me. Oh no, enemies that are actually capable of hurting me! If they happen to blunder into me, that is.
Killin' off the skeletons Stalfos.
Killed them off, goin' for the loot.
DA-NA-NA-NAAAH :D
Moving the block to open the doors. No matter which direction you push it, the doors open. I don't get why anyone would make doors like this. Whoever designed this place was clearly somewhat mad (though much less so than the people who designed the dungeons).
Aha! Finally! End of the Maku Path.
And... I think that's enough for now. Next time: rescuing a damsel in distress!