Game:

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993)

Duration: 11:39

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There's something about the script on this one that's... a tad quirkier than I remembered, but I like it. It probably indirectly influenced some of my own quirkiness, since I'm seeing a lot of things that I can't believe are even in here, but feel ever so... "right" all the same. I almost wish I'd thought of some of these! I mean, everybody who sees it once (either directly or secondhand) remembers if you check a chest of drawers, but I honestly didn't remember the almost conversational narration that occurs if you check a bookcase, rare as they are, and totally uninformative! ...I guess books only "count" if they've been left out for you to read by themselves.

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Part 4: Trick or Treat

We have gone to absolutely exhaustive lengths to determine that there's nowhere else to go (for now!) armed only with our newfound and impressive power to cut grass and shrubs, we're able to exit Mabe Village by one extra exit, the one to the northeast into the forest. Let's get mysterious!

Actually, this place isn't particularly big... its mysteriousness is rather confined and intricately inlaid in some rather tight quarters... which might actually prove slightly confusing and/or mystifying, but not for especially long. This is a shame primarily because the background music that's unique to here is quite memorable and catchy.

That actually brings me to another point... we've already seen both by now (in short order, too!), but there are two special collectibles that will be randomly dropped by enemies for the entire game: the Guardian Acorn and the Piece of Power. Acorns will give you a free halving of damage taken, while Pieces of Power will provide a somewhat more dynamic effect of maximizing your attack strength and sending enemies flying with absurd prejudice. Either one will override the other and any effect granted will fade after taking a certain number of enemy attacks.

The more "important" feature to these items is that they will override any area's background music with an upbeat and fairly interesting cross-channel fading, but woefully short and repetitive looping jingle... which, in point of interest as to this area and the whole of the game's soundtrack, is not at all desirable... to me! (Your personal mileage may vary!) Incidentally, I hadn't remembered this... but as seen even as early as the end to last episode, going indoors will also remove the effect for reasons I can only speculate, but I presume it to be a relatively arbitrary imposition related to wanting the soundtrack to be heard. (Yes! The game agrees with me!) ...or an oversight that wasn't important enough to fix. I'd accept that as well. It's also somewhat notable that Mabe Village's peaceful theme will override even the insanely high-priority powerup jingle.

But enough about that, we've got mysteries to solve! ...er, I guess. One, maybe? One less in this version of the game, since the little slime enemies that divide upon being slashed (unless you have a Piece of Power!) are given a different color from the ones that cannot divide, whereas in the monochromatic original Game Boy version of the game did not differentiate. (Well, it USED to be mysterious!)

Oh, what? A raccoon? Presumably anthropomorphic? Speaks with a unique, vaguely southern drawl? Pshaw, that's not important or mysterious! He probably just a friendly tanuki who wandered down from Kansai and got "translated" with a folksy dialect. Happens all the time! No mystery at all! ...what's that? A weird fixation on powder and a somewhat malicious-seeming tendency to gloat about not letting us pass? That... might be a slightly troublesome thing, especially considering how he's preventing us from accessing some pretty tantalizing loot for absolutely no apparent reason.

There's also a cave with some loot... SUPER mysterious, 'cause we smell treasure! ...although a tantalizing Piece of Heart lies past a push-block puzzle annoyingly blocked by abnormally large (and heavy?!) skulls, behaving exactly like those large stones preventing us from pillaging--er, EXPLORING, yes, that's what I meant!--the rest of Mabe Village... how frustrating! ...make a mental note to come back, loot is at stake! Outside, we find a smelly forest toadstool.

Okay, FINE, stop yelling into the screen that the witch was interested in the forest mushroom, yeesh! I was... testing you. Yes, testing. Me. Right... ... ...who?

If you give the old crone the mushroom by equipping it and using that button to talk to her, she'll get all excitable and give us a bag of mysterious powder in return. You might recognize this as one of the possible prizes at the Trendy Game, meaning we could've actually short-circuited the whole process... but then what fun would that have been? What would we have learned?!

Okay, now we've got a sack full of pocket sand! Let's throw it in the eyes of anyone and anything! I mean... uh... heroic things! Yes!