Posts Tagged ‘top’

18 Sep

VR Zelda Month: Top 10 Bosses

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Zelda Month. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

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One of the five most important pillars that are widely regarded to hold up a Zelda game (the other four being items, dungeons, music and sidequests), the noble boss fight is frequently a source of adrenaline-charged highlights throughout the Legend of Zelda series. It is very common to call to mind a particularly well executed encounter from a particular game almost immediately when the name of said game is mentioned, such is the potential impact of a boss.

This list of my personal favourite boss fights was a real headache to put together. I second guessed myself time after time as to what bosses deserved to get in and in what order I should put them. I went for atmosphere and fun factor above everything else, NOT difficulty. The list of course deals with events that happen at the end of dungeons, so spoilers are naturally very much afoot. It’s worth saying that I’ve taken final bosses out of the picture here, because that would just be unfair, right?

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VR ZELDA MONTH DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s scary. Respectful disagreement is welcome. Spoilers may follow.
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10. Barinade – Ocarina of Time

The boss of Jabu Jabu’s Belly isn’t exactly the most epic of battles – the room in which it takes place isn’t impressive by any means and Barinade itself hardly looks good – but by the time you reach the parasitic party pooper you’ve already seen plenty of its handiwork and even dispatched a few of its extremities, so there’s a noticeable sense of fulfilment to the meeting. But above all, the fight with the mutated electric anenome is just a lot of fun. It isn’t too easy, it isn’t over too quickly and the Boomerang is put to good use. Plus there’s plenty of electricity everywhere. A boss fight done right.
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15 Sep

VR Zelda Month: Top 10 Minibosses

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Zelda Month. Tagged: , , , , , , .

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Dedicated minibosses are one of the newer concepts in the Legend of Zelda series, believe it of not, having only existed since Link’s Awakening. Yet they are now regarded as one of the most prominent and indispensable parts of the traditional Zelda dungeon equation. They break up the puzzle solving rhythm of a dungeon nicely, more often than not guarding that dungeon’s unique item. They are a great chance for Nintendo designers who can’t quite get their ideas made into full bosses to sneak them into a Zelda game in another form. Consequently, several of the series’ miniboss fights are regarded as more memorable than their full boss counterparts.

That said, this list doesn’t just include foes who appear in the middle of a dungeon. Zelda fans also tend to regard standalone enemy designs that appear at the end of a ‘mini-dungeon’, or even in the overworld, as minibosses in their own right. They too are eligible for the list. Basically, if an enemy has a design not seen anywhere else in the game up to that point, summons a music track that is different to the game’s standard battle music, isn’t found at the end of what could reasonably be called a “full dungeon” and lacks a visible onscreen title preceding its fight, it is fair game. Phew.

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VR ZELDA MONTH DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s scary. Respectful disagreement is welcome. Spoilers may follow.
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10. Darkhammer – Twilight Princess

This heavily armoured reptilian foe is most notable for recreating a memorable early moment from A Link to the Past, specifically the Hyrule Castle fight against a knight swinging a devastating ball and chain in a narrow corridor, in three dimensions. The feeling of claustrophobia during this Snowpeak Ruins battle is palpable and only adds to the urgency driving both Link and the player to find his weak spot and topple him as quickly as possible. The most notable thing about this battle outside of its callback to the SNES game is the way it ends – there is no treasure chest spawning animation, as is usual in Zelda miniboss situations. Instead, Darkhammer simply collapses and disappears, leaving behind… his ball and chain. For Link to use for the rest of the game. I can’t think of a bigger “you can’t be serious” moment in all of Twilight Princess.
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13 Sep

VR Zelda Month: Top 10 Enemies

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Zelda Month. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

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The Zelda series does not have a particularly deep combat system, at least compared to most modern action adventure games, and it never really has. However, to say that fighting enemies is an insignificant part of the Zelda tradition would be a big mistake. Combat is the number one factor separating Zelda games from being pure puzzle-driven adventures and it only enhances the universally relatable feeling of heroism that comes with controlling Link. What’s more, even though there are plenty of slashable foes about, several Zelda enemies require careful thought and timing to defeat.

That said, here are my all-time favourites. I’m basing this list on such factors as visual design, prevalence of unique characteristics, legacy, the intimidation factor and how much fun the enemies are to fight. Also, I’m not going to label the game from which each enemy hails, because most of them have simply appeared in too many incarnations over the years for that to be worth doing in this case.

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VR ZELDA MONTH DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s scary. Respectful disagreement is welcome.
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10. Octorok

The Octorok was actually the first enemy that came to mind when I sat down to write this list, such is its iconic status. Ever since the very first Legend of Zelda the Octorok has been there (well, except for Twilight Princess), sometimes crawling around on land, sometimes jetting through the sea and occasionally even floating in midair, but always spitting rocks at Link. Deflecting these projectiles back at the just right angle to give the Octorok a taste of its own medicine is one of the quintessential Zelda experiences. According to fan theory, the Octorok is a close relative of the Deku race, which play a major role in a number of Zelda games.
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11 Sep

VR Zelda Month: Top 5 Scenic Locations

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Zelda Month. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

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If Zelda were real, humanity would have a lot of very pressing problems – despotic demon kings, gross inflation via plant-generated money and general civilian stupidity chief among them. However, at the very least there would be some pretty damn stunning tourist destinations to visit.

The art design in pretty much every Zelda game is exemplary and though it may vary quite widely in style (compare the acid trip of Majora’s Mask to the dark palette of Twilight Princess to the incredible imagination of The Wind Waker), each game has its own share of very pretty locales. This list is an homage to those moments in the Zelda series when I have just wanted to stop for a moment and just take it all in. I will be ignoring all of the (many) impressive locales that are designed to be more foreboding than inviting, because this isn’t that kind of list. Rather, these are places I would actually want to go and visit, were they real. There is potential for some real estate agent rhetoric here, so brace yourself.

Despite some great art design in the 2D games, this list is drawn only from the 3D ones, because let’s face it, they have a bit of a natural advantage in this department.

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VR ZELDA MONTH DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s scary. Respectful disagreement is welcome. Spoilers may follow.
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5. Southern Swamp – Majora’s Mask

The first item on the list even acknowledges its status as a potential tourist destination, as it actually features a souvenir house and a structured boat tour. Despite its slightly ‘off’ tone, owing mostly to the poisoned water flow and, well, the fact that it appears in Majora’s Mask, Southern Swamp is quite simply one of the most visually interesting locales in the entire Zelda series. It throws together some quite eclectic choices of flora, most of which would never be found flourishing in a real life swamp, and then dips them in LSD. As the first dedicated temple region of the game, the swamp was an obvious showcase of the power of the N64’s Expansion Pak that served to distance the Ocarina of Time sequel from its predecessor, but it achieved this on design alone long before graphical power came into the equation.
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7 Sep

VR Zelda Month: Top 10 Consumable Items

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Zelda Month. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Post number 150 on Vagrant Rant!

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For all the “Top Ten Zelda Items” lists that are floating around the internet these days, the ten inventory fillers you’re about to see tend to get rather ignored (with one possible exception). They literally come and go, getting used up and forgotten without so much as a second thought. Yet I have a soft spot for all of them and believe that each has something memorable to offer the Zelda experience. So here we go: My top ten consumable items in Zelda games.

A quick note: This list does not contain any so-called “power-up” items, because they tend not to show up in your inventory. To qualify for this list, an item needs to both show up on an inventory screen somewhere and have a number in the corner of its icon. Also, ammunition items like slingshot pellets and arrows do not count, because each is forever linked to a non-consumable item.

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VR ZELDA MONTH DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s scary. Respectful disagreement is welcome.
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10. Bombchus – OoT, MM

Mechanised exploding mice – what’s not to like? Bomchus are what happen when you put a motor on a bomb and set it free. It isn’t guaranteed to hit anything – heck, it isn’t even guaranteed to go in a straight line – but it sure is fun to put down and see what happens. Judging the timing for a successful run that ends in an explosion at just the right time is plenty satisfying, particularly when engaging in the Bomchu Bowling minigame of Ocarina of Time. Bomchus don’t play a large role in the main gameplay thread of either of the N64 games by any means, but they get a chance to shine in the special edition Ocarina of Time: Master Quest dungeons.
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5 Sep

VR Zelda Month: Top 5 Companions

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Zelda Month. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

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Hey, I told you this list thing would be a comprehensive undertaking. Companions are important!

The various Links that have taken up the fight against evil across the many years of Zelda games are only struggling on their own about half the time. A large percentage of them are paired with what you might call sidekicks or companions, a feature that is especially common in the latter Zelda series entries. Ostensibly they are there to help newcomers with the unique features of each game and occasionally with navigation, but each one also serves a narrative purpose and has a unique personality. This has led to some of them taking on cult status. Here are my favourites.

I’m only counting companions that are with Link all the time, including in dungeons. So Linebeck and the King of Red Lions are out of contention for this one.

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VR ZELDA MONTH DISCLAIMER
This list represents my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting it as I have. My opinion is not fact. If you actually agree with me 100%, that’s scary. Respectful disagreement is welcome. Spoilers may follow.
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5. Ezlo – Minish Cap

Though I haven’t yet finished The Minish Cap, the game’s semi-titular companion, a literal cap who can talk and change Link’s size, is inoffensive and unintrusive enough to leapfrog the only other two companions eligible for this list into fifth place. I’ve seen people praise his wit and charm over the course of the game, but I am unable to comment on that myself. He does have a memorable introduction, though, and he’s the only Zelda series companion that Link actually wears. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when that was suggested during The Minish Cap‘s development. Ezlo is also almost entirely green, which is my favourite colour, so that’s a bonus.
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28 May

The Baddest of the East

Posted by vagrantesque in K-Pop, Lists, Music. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Today marks the long awaited Korean debut solo release from CL, leader of mega-successful K-Pop group 2NE1 and the self-proclaimed “baddest female of Seoul city”. It’s kind of a big deal in K-Pop circles and so to celebrate, here’s a little something on Korean female idol rappers.

If you’ve ever had a taste of K-Pop music lasting longer than an hour or so, you’d have a pretty good idea of the genre’s attitude to hip-hop music. Hip-hop influences run through just about every bit of dance choreography you’ll see today, but there’s more to it than that. It pervades the image of nearly every group in some form, whether male or female. For example, outside of Girls’ Generation (coincidentally the most popular K-Pop group around these days), pretty much every girl group now packs an obligatory “rapper”. That’s regardless of whether said rapper actually has any background rapping, or whether their “raps” consist of anything more than talking in a slightly modified voice over a beat.

While this can result in some cringeworthy sounds, it also gives some rappers who do know what they’re doing a platform to the kind of recognition they just wouldn’t get on the underground scene. Because of K-Pop’s corporation-driven, highly standardised nature, which breeds the kind of male-female parity that only such unapologetic profit-chasing can produce, what we’re left with is a situation where, by association, female rappers receive just as much attention, if not more, than their male counterparts. I certainly can’t think of any other country where this is the case, at least not off the top of my head. And sure, idol group rapping is naturally going to be tamer than the underground stuff, but that doesn’t mean it can’t sound awesome (It certainly doesn’t hurt that the natural flow of the Korean language lends itself well to a good rapper).

So ignoring the likes of Tasha, a hugely respected Korean solo R&B/hip hop artist who is pretty incredible at what she does, as well as just about every other actual full-blown hip hop artist in Korea, I’m going to focus here on rappers that come from idol groups. What follows is my admittedly limited opinion on the seven best Korean female rappers going around in K-Pop groups at the moment:

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7. Lime – HELLOVENUS

Despite debuting last year as part of one of the girliest groups K-Pop fans have seen in a while, Kim Hye-Lim or “Lime” has some pretty impressive rapping talents. Not only can she belt out a tune with the best of them but she can also switch up rap styles, pulling off either speed or flow-based rhymes when the situation calls for it. Fans are still waiting for a HELLOVENUS release that actually shows off these skills in earnest, because for now they don’t really fit the group’s image, but no K-Pop group stays to one concept for too long…

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