Wind Waker Part 13: Clash of the Winds

The path to Hyrule opens up when Link collects all the pieces of the Triforce of Courage. The triforce hunt quest is the most complained about part of Wind Waker, but is also perhaps the most rewarding quest in the Zelda series. After traveling across a massive sea, the biggest overworld in any Zelda game, you finally get to see this game's remarkable ending sequence.

King of Red Lions: Well done, Link! With the shards you have collected, the Triforce of Courage is now complete at last! We must make for Hyrule, quickly!

You must show the Triforce piece you have assembled to the gods.

Oh! What is this? There, on your hand- the Triforce piece now dwells within you! It is the Triforce of Courage - proof that you are indeed the true hero. You have controlled the wind and crossed the seas, and here, near the end of your quest, the power of the gods has been bestowed upon you...

Surely from this moment on, you shall be known as the Hero of Winds...

Link! Hero of Winds! Go forth! To Hyrule! To Zelda's side!

Wind Waker has some of the most epic dialogue I've seen in any game. And it only gets better from here.

The Element of Majora's Mask

A post on Zelda Universe, by Zelda fanartist Artmgjr, brings up a good point about the Zelda series having a 4th main element, beyond the 3 triforce elements of power, wisdom, and courage.

Triforce of Truth

Now, it might be going a bit too far to say the purple element is supposed to be a forth triforce to balance out the other 3. The games have always made it very clear that the triforce was left by the 3 goddesses who created the world, and adding a 4th one to the mix this late in the series would just be horrible writing. I definitely think Nintendo was making a point of these four colors/elements being important throughout the games...

I don't think this purple element represents truth, but something else... The element of balance is represented by the the color gold, as in the gold power of the complete triforce, the golden land... The key to getting the golden power is having the elements represted by red, blue, and green in balance.

So the purple element has nothing at all to do with the triforce, it's not balance, it's not truth... What it DOES have a lot to do with, though, is the world of Termina.

Majora's Mask takes place in another dimension, which again has absolutely nothing to do with the triforce, and the color purple is as prominent in this game as the color gold is in games involving the triforce. Even the logo itself is purple, instead of the usual red/sometimes green or yellow.

Wind Waker Part 12: The Overworld Dungeon

The final quest in Wind Waker before getting to Ganon's Castle, is the Triforce Quest. The Master Sword has its power back, but now Ganon is already in Hyrule, searching for Zelda, and could've already found her. To get back to Hyrule again Link needs to find the 8 pieces of the Triforce of Courage.

The first time Hyrule opened up, Link had just completed the trial of the gods, and the gods allowed him enter Hyrule in order to get the Master Sword. Then, after he saves Aryll from the Forsaken Fortress, he goes into Hyrule again with Tetra, and the King of Hyrule reveals that Tetra is Zelda and that she has Triforce of Wisdom. Why is it just now that you need the Triforce of Courage to go back there again?

It seems that going into Hyrule requires either the approval of the gods, or the ownership of one of the 3 triforce parts. This explains why Ganon can enter Hyrule at will since he has the Triforce of Power. When you entered with Tetra, she had the last missing piece of the Triforce of Wisdom.

Link's triforce quest had already started even in the middle of the 2 sage awakening quests. The 8 triforce pieces are scattered across the entire overworld, and finding them all without a guide requires you to explore nearly every square of this massive Great Sea.

Treasures are hidden all over this huge ocean. Some might contain rupees, sidequest items, heart pieces, or a treasure chart that marks one of those items on the map... But some treasures might contain one of the 8 triforce charts, which are needed to find the 8 shards of the triforce of courage.

Wind Waker Part 11: Awakening of the Wind

Barriers of Ice and Wind

The 2nd Master Sword Temple at Gale Island is blocked by a strong gust of wind.

Just like the Earth Temple, you need to go somewhere else first to find the required item to get into it. A nearby fish tells you the exact location of this item:

Are you thinking you want to get into that cave, small fry? The one that's protected by the crazy winds on that island? Heh heh heh! OK, then. Let me tell you a little secret... If you go five squares south and one square east from here, you'll reach Ice Ring Isle, where you'll find an item that will make you as heavy as stone! If you get that item, you won't have to worry about getting blown over by winds!

Thanks to the only clue in the game, finding this item is really easy. If it weren't for that fish's directions, it would be a matter of exploring every square until you happened to come across the right place.

Yep, that seems like a ring of ice alright...

The fire arrows take down the ice barrier for a limited amount of time. Then there's a kind of slippery platforming segment leading up to a cave...

Wind Waker Part 10: Kodak Moment

Getting some sidequests out of the way before going onto the 2nd Master Sword dungeon.

One part that I've been neglecting to do is the Pictobox sidequest. There's a pictobox shop on Windfall Island... well it's not really a shop, you can't buy anything there... more like an art museum I guess. The guy who runs it, Lenzo, is an obsessed photographer, and once you show him the Pictobox you got from the jail, he offers you a job as his assistant.

One of the weirder characters of Wind Waker... you can also go upstairs to check out Lenzo's art gallery.

Oh ho ho ho ho ho! Aren't these some finely snapped pictographs? You must admit it!

WHOA there gramps how did you get here so quick.

But come now! You needn't be so surprised, my young sir! It is a hobby of mine to sneak up behind people when they least expect it. It's quite an amusing diversion. Think nothing of it.

By the way, the pictographs you see decorating these fine walls have all been taken by none other than myself. They are my pride and joy! In my younger days I was tireless, sailing far and wide across the Great Sea, snapping pictographs wherever I went... Have a look at them, young sir!

There's a pictograph of some ChuChus.

Well, those are creatures called ChuChus. They are said to have medicinal properties, so they are a most important resource treasured by sailors the world over.

Why, there is even said to be an extremely rare species of them known as the Blue ChuChu. It is only under very unusual circumstances that they are ever sighted... You would be most lucky to ever come across one, young sir!

What? I've come across several blue ChuChus already I didn't think they were anything special. OMG they restore hearts AND magic! So... useless. Not like the rare milk you could get in Majora's Mask that gives you unlimited magic for 3 days...

Lenzo has some interesting backstory to tell about all of his photos... Are we gonna read all of it? Of course!

Pokemon Black Part 14: Generation of War

Now that Team Plasma's out of the way, the routes leading to the entire east end of Unova are now unblocked, and you're free to explore any area in the game.

First, there's some more hidden stuff to find in the previous areas by using Surf and Strength. There's some nameless old guy looking for a legendary pokemon in a cave near Mistralton City. When you find him you get a bunch of unexpected backstory involving the origin of pokemon.

I see you're quite skillful for your age... Perhaps you could... hrm... It's a possibility, I suppose... Well? Will you lend your ears to this old man's ancient story?

It was long ago, when people and Pokémon lived in their own separate worlds... Through a war humans started, a forest in which Pokémon lived was engulfed in flames.

The Pokémon could not escape through the fire and smoke... There then appeared the legendary Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion! Terrakion used its characteristic strength to destroy the boulders blocking escape. Virizion made use of its swiftness to protect Pokémon from the sparks. And Cobalion guided the frightened Pokémon out of the forest.

Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion fought away the warring parties with overwhelming strength. The parties, frightful of the power the three showed, at last put an end to their war...

If people do not cease fighting, Pokémon can have no peace. The trio knew that people's deeds could cause the loss of many lives... To avoid contact with people, they went away to places unknown... Since then, the three have almost never been seen, and they thus turned to legend...

I have been searching for them for countless years on end... And at last, I have ascertained there to be one deep in this cave. But the legendary trio has no trust in humans. If a person draws near, they will bare their fangs and attack. They only know the world as it was so long ago, so it cannot be helped... They remain ignorant of the fact that our world has become one of people and Pokémon understanding and helping each other.

Perhaps if you could make them realize that people and Pokémon can live together in trust... Even they could choose to live with people if given a reason to reconsider them...

Who knew pokemon could be this deep? I feel like I'm reading Princess Mononoke... stuff about humans and intelligent forest creatures at war with each other...

Pokemon Black Part 13: Team Plasma's Deceit

So, there's about 3 cities left on the map that can't be accessed until beating the Elite 4... As I expected, there aren't many options for leveling up before this. The Pokemon League has always been the one part of the pokemon games that forces you to grind a lot. I'm not too big a fan of grinding, so I'm just gonna load up on potions and revives and take on the Elite 4 in one go!

Also there seems to be a lot of unfinished business still left at this stage in the game. Usually the bad guy team is beaten by around the 8th gym or so, but unlike the other games, the final climactic battle with Team Plasma's leader seems to take place after the Elite Four.

I have a feeling Reshiram will show himself at that time as well. I've already used my Master Ball on that Tornadus, because he takes after those cheapass dogs in gold/silver and runs away the second you see him. I've replaced Unfezant on my team with Tornadus.

Finally that egg that was found on the hidden island hatched into Larvesta, a fire/bug type.

... not very interesting, but check out its evolution, Volcarona.

When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacement for the sun.

You mean this thing is hot enough to replace the freaking sun?! Sheesh talk about overpowered... If pokedex descriptions were really accurate this pokemon could melt the entire earth!

Wind Waker Part 9: Conducting the Earth's Melody

The 2nd half of Wind Waker involves just clearing two dungeons to restore power to the Master Sword, and finding all the pieces of the Triforce of Courage. Unlike Ocarina of Time, however, Wind Waker doesn't hold your hand so much during the 2nd half. The game actually requires you to explore on your own and figure stuff out. And unless you've been grinding for rupees, your not gonna have nearly enough to decipher all the triforce charts. It gives you an excuse to explore even more and complete sidequests for rupees which would otherwise be useless.

Talking to the King of Red Lions, only gives you a vague hint like "Perhaps the island inhabitants would know something about restoring the Master Sword's power." If this were Navi she'd tell you exactly which island to go to and which person would be able to help you. I suppose in this case the person who can help you restore the Master Sword is Medli, on Dragon Roost Island. The hint is whenever you're on the outside of the island you can hear Medli playing her harp up at the top.

Pokemon Black Part 12: Ocean Exploration

At the end of route 10 there's these 8 giant doorways that require each of the 8 gym pages to pass through. Past each gate is a room with a theme based on each gym.

I came across this pokemon a lot...

"Deino" lol sounds like such a rock star name...

I'm adding Deino to my team, he can replace my level 36 Stoutland who I haven't used in a while cuz I got bored of him, and dragon types are more interesting anyway.

Pokemon Black Part 11: Last Time on Dragon Stone Z...

Team Plasma's leader said that in order to beat him, I'll have to get the Light Stone and revive the other legendary dragon pokemon, Reshiram. Now I'm at Relic Castle, the desert area from route 4, looking for this Light Stone.

There are these weird statues outside the Relic Castle, but when you give them a RageCandyBar they attack you, these statues are actually the pokemon Darmanitan in its Zen Mode.