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February 28, 2014

Top 12 Tools In The Legend Of Zelda Series

Link. Zelda. Ganondorf. (Navi. Okay, kidding!) Midna. Ghirahim. Just a few examples of characters ingrained into the geek community's mind. The Legend of Zelda is... well, legendary. Right up there among the most beloved video game franchises. And this feat was accomplished despite keeping pretty much the same basic structure all the way through. Link ventures through a relatively large world, completes dungeons, defeats bosses, faces the main villain at the end, and saves Hyrule after an epic final fight.

Yeah, the formula has stayed the same for the most part. However, the teams behind the games has found enough innovative ways to change the gameplay in every recent game as to make it interesting again, put a new spin to the regular stuff so that it feels new. Majora's Mask had the eponymous masks and the “three days” ultimatum. Twilight Princess has Link turning into a wolf. Wind Waker has sailing around a flooded world. And that's only three examples!

One feature present in every Zelda game since the Super NES era is the “tools”. A “tool” in this series corresponds to many criterias:
-It has been found in a dungeon;
-It must be used through the dungeon in order to find the boss;
-The dungeon's boss cannot be defeated without it;
-And finally, it can still be used in other places of the game, so Link can access secrets he couldn't reach otherwise.
-Also, this does not include the main weapon (the swords), nor the tunics, the shield, the bombs or the arrows (because the latter two are in almost all the games and used against many bosses, in a way or another).
-EXCEPTIONS: Items that aren't found in dungeons but prove to be exceptionally useful against some bosses, to the point that they can reasonably called “Tools”, even if they're jokes.

Those tools are always a ton of fun to try, especially when you can use them at different points of the game. Most of those tools are weapons, but others are items that reveal themselves to be vital in Link's quest to defeat his enemy. A few of those are less used, and as a result aren't as enjoyed by fans. Still, regardless of how much a tool is used and how much of an impact it has left on the player, there's many of those tools that have become classics of the Zelda series. And today, I'm listing twelve examples of such tools that have become symbols of LoZ. You hear these names and say “Yep, I totally remember this from the Zelda series!” Let's not waste any time, I'm counting down!

February 24, 2014

Timeline: The Legend of Zelda

So, this Friday is my Top 12 of the tools in the Legend of Zelda series. I figured I'd find a little something about the Legend of Zelda this time around to discuss as a Fun Stuff article. And I found.

GameTrailers released a series of three videos about the timeline in the Legend of Zelda series. If you own the limited edition collector's book about the Legend of Zelda or, Heck, if you're a huge fan of the series (by this, I mean: bigger than me), then this is without a doubt mostly stuff you already knew. However, if you have played a few games, not all of them, then you probably have a lot to discover about the series.

This is the perfect time to find out what you've been missing! This 40-minute series, made of three videos, gives a lot of information. You could learn a few things about Link, about Zelda, about Ganon or Ganondorf. This series also makes sense of the very odd timeline of the Legend of Zelda series, which somehow splits into three depending on some outcomes to Ocarina of Time.

All I can add is: Enjoy!




February 21, 2014

Final Fantasy

YES! This is officially the 25th game I am reviewing for my blog! This calls for celebration! Let's party! ...Oh, right, I partied a week ago. And really enough for a while. Eh, whatever. This is a special occasion, I'm one fourth through to having reviewed 100 games! ...Okay, that's not much, but still...

Name one of the most famous video game series of all time? ...Aside from the Nintendo ones? ...Yep, Final Fantasy. The game that saved Square Enix, so much that now we can't tell when the Hell is it gonna be the true final game. In fact, many reviewers out there have some hatred towards a number of the later titles. Among them Spoony, from The Spoony Experiment. Some of the  recent additions to the series were... um... lacking in quality, and that's to say the least. Regardless of this, any video game legacy had to begin in a way or another. And for Final Fantasy, it was a very regular game that proved to be a lot of fun. A game called... Final Fantasy.


Oh, but don't worry. You know me. When I'm negative, it's because the game really got me angry. It takes a lot to drive me mad. So, I won't be too harsh on this milestone of gaming, the one that began a gigantic series, the one that helped define a genre along with the first Dragon Quest game. Everyone says it's good, so how could I be harsh on it? Let's jump into Final Fantasy and see why people love it so much.

February 16, 2014

The LEGO Movie


(Consider this your Monday article. Sorry, no Editorial, no Fun Stuff article; instead, a movie review!)


This afternoon, I went to watch The LEGO Movie. Okay, everyone has done that joke already, its from the film, everyone has quoted it, so I guess I can't help but join in... This movie was AWESOME!

No, really! It was an awesome, awesome movie! Everything about it was done well. I think I'd better start at the beginning...

February 14, 2014

Kirby' Epic Yarn (Part 2)

Part 1 can be read here.

Urgh... Screw Valentine's Day. I hate this damn holiday. I really don't like it. It's he constant reminder that I need someone. Damn loneliness. And the way it's over-commercialized... Urgh.

Oh? You're here? Err... For the... um... review of... wait... Kirby's... Epic Yarn, right? Oh yeah, we're Friday. How could I have forgotten... As you probably guessed, this isn't my happiest day. I'm gonna try not to bring that up too often. I'm somewhat lucky, there's no romance in the Kirby series, so I should be fine. It's not like Mario and Peach... Or Link and Zelda... or Sonic and Amy... or... Felix and Calhoun... Oh wait, that's not from a video game.

And I said I would try not to bring that up! ...Okay, I'll do my best. Just follow, and we should be fine. I should be fine.

So, the last time, Kirby got sucked into Patch Land while evil wizard Yin Yarn was going around Dream Land. Kirby met Prince Fluff and the two started going around Patch Land, defeating bosses and collecting magical pieces of yarn to sew back together all seven parts of Patch Land. They had been through Grass Land, Hot Land and Treat Land, now it's Water Land.


What did I say last time? NOT THAT ONE!

February 10, 2014

Ask Away!

Hello everyone!

Today, I bought a webcam, which I installed over my computer monitor. I decided I'd try that. I used to have a webcam before, but I used it mostly to talk with other French people around the world. Oh, I still hope I can do that again someday.

I recorded a bit of video, with me speaking English. As you know, English isn't my main language, and since I live in a predominantly French-speaking city of Quebec (unlike Montreal, which is about half French and half English by now), I didn't get to practice my spoken English too much. As you saw from now, I can write in English very well. As for speaking... I have one Hell of an accent. It's obviously a problem, but... Yeah, I will try to work on that.

On the other hand, there was a reason I bought the webcam; I felt like I could add another dimension to the blog by having some form of visual medium to add to the whole thing. Oh, I still have the written reviews, the pictures that come with them, and the videos too. But Google+ has this option called Hangouts, in which you can basically stream yourself to the rest of the world thropugh your webcam, Live, for everyone to see. I thought it would be interesting if I did that every once in a while.

Of course, it would be more of a shame, seeing as even I can see how big my accent is. It's not unnoticeable, I'll put it that way. Anyway, if you want to see me make a fool of myself trying to speak English to a crowd of native English speakers... well, go ahead, ask your questions. I might decide to reply to them in a Youtube video, or here on Hangouts.

Ask away!

What Is King Dedede's Alignment?

Am I the only one who thinks he looks like a Muppet? Oh,
a Dedede animatronic! This should be so cool!
So, while I was researching stuff about Kirby (with the second part of my review of Kirby's Epic Yarn coming this Friday), I looked at the history of the Kirby games, from the humble NES beginnings up to now. Wow, the series really is about three major recurring characters, after all: Kirby, Meta Knight... and King Dedede. Huh, no wonder those three were in Brawl!

However, I also noticed something very odd about King Dedede. We all love the penguin, don't we? Matthew Taranto uses him the most in his web comic, maybe even more than Kirby. He's just an enjoyable character, with his mannerisms, his personality... his alignment...

Yeah, now that I think of it, King Dedede is a rather strange character when it comes to which side he's on. Is he a good guy? A bad guy? What? That's a question: What the Hell is Dedede's alignment?

February 7, 2014

Kirby's Epic Yarn (Part 1)

Hello everybody! Happy February! Hope you've got plans for next Friday! ...I don't. Screw celibacy. Really, screw it. I hate all this white, red and pink all around for the first half of February, I am not a fan of Valentine's Day, because it's a constant reminder that I have no one to offer a gift to on that special occasion. I'll start enjoying that holiday when I'll have a girlfriend, not before. It's a painful day for a celibate.

Hm, enough about me. I'm not here to discuss my personal life (or at least, not in that way), and you're not here to read about my personal life either. Sigh... Today's game is Kirby's Epic Yarn. Clearly a game for children, it is quite a contrast with other Kirby games. Remember when I said, a long time ago, that Kirby's universe was full of scary stuff? Demonic monsters, powerful wizards, evil deities? Well, expect none of those here! ...Except maybe the second one. This is the most kid-friendly game I've ever played. Softer than freaking fabric. It's also extremely easy. (Note that it's far from a complaint.)


My interest for this game hangs only by a “thread”, I can't wait to see if I “wool” enjoy it. At worst, it's another “patch” for this blog. I hope it won't be boring, I hate when a game makes me “yarn”. Er, yawn. Now that the bad puns are taken care of, let's see if I can “fabric”ate some better ones.

Oops, I did it again!

February 3, 2014

Flash Videos: Kirby Edition

This Friday, the review is about Kirby. Or rather, Kirby in a world of yarn. Yep, Kirby's Epic Yarn!

Thus, I think this calls for a special Fun Stuff article about Kirby. There shouldn't be so much to show about the pink puffball and his world, right? ...right? Well... Actually, if you dig deep enough, you can find some Flash animations and games. If you wanted to see this aspect of your childhood get ravaged, this is the best time!

First, there's the Kirby Collab (Rated T): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/542162


Kodo - Into The Kirby (Rated T): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/502045

Kirby Kollection (Rated T): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/269860

Kirby's Got Me Dancing (Rated E): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/551664

Kirby, Cake Adventure (Rated E): http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/480058

Sorry for the toilet humor in he first two. If those videos had been made by me, I wouldn't have put that kind of joke in, but eh.

Enjoy!