To Pottermore and Beyond!!

So I haven't really found much to write about since last time.  But recently, as in within the past week or so, I have once again become a Potterhead.  

I just freaking love Harry Potter.  I really do  My top three fandoms have always been The Legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.  The rest of my fandoms usually just fall into place after that, but the aforementioned fandoms are always circulating in my head in one way, shape or form.  At the moment it is Harry Potter; two weeks ago it was Zelda.  That's how rapidly they can circulate.  

Back in April I believe, I made an account on Pottermore.  I had heard it was a tad underwhelming, and generally speaking it kind of is.  Nonetheless, I am enjoying learning the background of my favorite characters, most notably Professor Minerva McGonagall.  One of the first things mentioned about Pottermore was that JKR would release characters' pasts, and I hoped that McGonagall would be one of them and she was.  

I digress; basically while surfing Pottermore, you travel through each book and its chapters via "moments," or key scenes in each chapter.  In each of these moments, certain tasks and items get you through to the next moment or chapter appropriately.  It is a very creative way to be more interactive with the books and series as a whole, I will admit, and the artwork for each moment is very appealing.  They're paintings but no faces of any witch or wizard is ever seen, including the Trio's.  I like that aspect of it; it keeps each fan's interpretation of them as the fan's own, despite Dan's, Rupert's and Emma's portrayals. 

My favorite chapter so far has probably been the Diagon Alley chapter.  You buy all your stuff for Hogwarts, and I love shopping, so Harry Potter shopping is great.  I got my wand (elm, dragon heartstrings, 13"--I am very happy mine is long), and then basically you get to Hogwarts.  

Now some backstory: I went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter last November.  In preparation for that, I took numerous online quizzes just to see to what House I would most likely belong.  Nine times out of ten, it was Hufflepuff (I think once it was Slytherin, lol and maybe a Gryffindor, LOL and occasionally a Ravenclaw).  So once I coped with the fact that I was a 'Puff by re-evaluating the qualities that House values, I was like, "All right, Hufflepuff!"  I can't remember why, but I did not yet have a Pottermore account when I went to TWWoHP; perhaps it wasn't open to everyone yet, I can't really remember. 

So, like anyone would, I answered the Sorting Hat's questions as honestly as I could.  Anyone care to guess into which House I was Sorted?

RAVENCLAW. 

I was slightly disappointed to be in Ravenclaw at first.  Never had a real affinity for that House.  However, it has some cool things going for it: 

LUNA LOVEGOOD.  She is just about the quirkiest character in the book, but she is a valuable asset and friend to Harry and she really helps him in Deathly Hallows by pointing him in the right direction of Ravenclaw's diadem so Harry can destroy one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.  But I would never get to spend time in the common room because to get into said common room, you have to answer a logical riddle.  >_>  Also, that is a stupid method to get into any secret place--anyone could technically get in.  Prof. McGonagall does indeed gain access to the Ravenclaw common room very easily (Pottermore.com).  

The best part, and the main reason I signed up, was to glean more background information from the series.  For instance, McGonagall's entire history right up to her actually living at Hogwarts is revealed.  Another thing I find fascinating about the series itself and JKR's writing and idea is that she can seamlessly blend our Muggle world and Harry's Wizarding world together.  A small example is one of the Malfoy's (another family about whom I am very interested to learn) distant ancestors may have had a hand in the Black Death in Europe.  She literally has set up a whole, different but parallel world within our own.  I almost wish the series took place on American shores so we could see the parallels drawn between American history; alas, all awesome things are either Japanese or British so never mind!

At any rate, I really do like Pottermore.  I completed Philosopher's Stone today and went as far as allowed on Chamber of Secrets and I cannot wait for the rest of the series to be released. 

All Aboard the Failboat!

I do really fail at this.  I like the idea of having an online blog, but that maybe only to keep me looking busy while on a laptop.  XD  Since I graduated from school, I don't really use my laptop for anything other than play.  And I try to keep a written, private journal for actual writings.  But I always want to try to keep one of these for Internet reasons. 

To conclude my musings on Skyward Sword, I was correct in my thoughts about Ghirahim being a sword--he is the opposite of Fi.  He was the Demon Sword to Demise, the final boss and the original evil that threatened the future land of Hyrule.  Yeah, SS is the first Zelda game chronologically.  

At the moment in my gaming life, I am completing a Three-Heart Challenge in Ocarina of Time.  I'm actually doing well; I've only died maybe twice.  But I've played it so many times; it truly is my go-to game.  So much of my love for the Zelda series stems from OoT.  The story is so fairytale and classic; I just love it.  And OoT Link truly is the hottest of all the Links.  :]

Love this illustration to pieces.  Me gusta.

Also, I have the newest Kingdom Hearts game, Dream Drop Distance.  I may have to hold off on that one for a bit to play.  I started it, but my heart just isn't in it (lol).  It's been far too long sine I have played the KH series that I have next to no idea what is happening.  I want to just replay the franchise again, and maybe attempt to play 358/2 Days again.  I am not playing Chain of Memories, not even on the PS2.  I have the manga.  The two that I really want to replay are Kingdom Hearts II and Birth by Sleep.  Those are the two best.  But I also want to replay the first, where it all began.  It's just the battle engine...  And Sora's little prepubescent voice..... ::cringe::  lol, I'm kidding; his voice isn't that bad.  It's just funny.  But the battle system was so vastly improved in the second game that playing through the first after knowing how awesome the second is makes playing through the first that much more difficult.  ::sigh::

So I think I will complete my Three-Heart Challenge on Ocarina of Time and then replay the Kingdom Hearts series.  At least the good games. 

Oh, also; look what the idiots in the design department did to Riku's hair and Sora's clothes:

And to that, I say this:

That about covers it. 

Zelda: Skyward Sword V

HA.  So much for keeping up with blogging for this game.  I have just been playing through it so rapidly.  Almost the entirety of this weekend has been dedicated to playing it. 

I'll try to sum up what I've done since last time.  Link has to gather three sacred flames, literally flames, to power up the Goddess Sword.  Each are located in an area he's already visited--Faron Woods, Lanayru Desert and Eldin Volcano.  Before he can advance to the location of the flames, however, he must pass a trial, collecting tears from each land's Silent Realm, which is nothing more than a part of Link's subconscious.  It's more like a stealth mission than anything else because he has no weapons, and he cannot be seen or touched by anything in the realm.  And the things that haunt--yeah, haunt--each Silent Realm are creepy.  In addition, there is a time limit.  For every tear collected, ninety seconds are added to the clock and when that clock runs out, the guards chase Link and it is NOT fun.  Creepy music plays and the land turns red and you can hear them stalking you....  It's just not fun.  Well, it is, but not in that sense.  You know what I mean. 

So Link's done that, meanwhile Ghirahim has been keeping kind of a low profile.  He showed up for maybe thirty seconds when we were in the Desert.  So I say, as I am heading to the boss room in the Fire Sanctuary, "I hope Lord Fancy Pants shows up; I've missed him." 

He is the boss of the Fire Sanctuary.  >_>  He's been hunting Zelda and has found out that there are not just one, but two Doors of Time.  That's what Impa destroyed at the Temple of Time, which makes sense if you look at Ocarina of Time.  There is only one Door of Time in that game.  I digress; Ghirahim has found out that there is a second door and Link knows where it is.  In the Sealed Temple, the old lady Sage person shows us the giant rock ("Oh, my God, a giant rock!  It's a rock and it's giant!") and that is the only remaining Door of Time left in existence.  Link, however, cannot tell Ghirahim this for obvious reasons. 

Ghirahim is his usually creepy/insanely happy self, saying things such as, "my heart was filled with rainbows," (srsly) and "It was frowns all around," and (this made me LOLOL) "Oh, and don't you play coy with me..."  

But in all seriousness, what is his agenda?  He keeps talking about reviving his master; I thought he was lord of "the surface"--he tells Link that the first time they meet.  Also, he doesn't exactly seem the type to me to have a master--he's too prideful.  My initial hypothesis was that his master was Ganondorf, which would make sense, and be welcomed by me if it wasn't for the fact that this game takes place a century before Ocarina of Time the era in which Ganondorf is born.  So that's where I am in that little theory.

Anyway, Link fight s Ghirahim yet again, and I have heard that I will fight him at least once more before the final boss of the game, whether that's him or not I do not know.  Basically, it's the same fight as before, but he has more use of his arms, which are apparently tougher that steel.  And he makes way more annoying use of the little needle-hook-curse doodads.  They're really difficult to dodge and, while they only cost I think half a heart, he uses them without mercy. 

The third flame is ignited after Ghirahim's presence is eradicated from the Sanctuary, and Link's sword is fully powered, and now has the title of Master Sword--so the fandom was correct when we caught our first glimpse of Fi.  She is the spirit of the Master Sword.  That was the general belief of the fandom that she was the spirit of the Master Sword.  :)  I fangirled all over the place, too, because Link and the Master Sword are just made of pure win. 

However, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the cross guard is not quite right; the blue wing-looking things that are present in Ocarina and (as far as I can recollect) in all previous games are not there--well they are, but they aren't fanned out to either side of the blade.  In Wind Waker this also happened, and Link had to go power it up even more.  I wouldn't be surprised if we had to do something like that now. 

Behold the difference! XP

Skyward Sword's Master Sword, mere seconds after its birth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ocarina of Time's Master Sword

Zelda: Skyward Sword IV

Made it though the Lanayru Desert Mines, which is what the giant generator thing opened.  I had forgotten what it did in my frustration of traversing through the desert.  >_> 

At any rate, a very interesting dungeon to say the least.  A long one, too, it seemed.  It reminded me of the Great Bay Temple from Majora's Mask because of its design and means of travel: once you acquire the treasure of the mine, which is a giant wind-sweeper thing that looks like a vacuum but works in reverse to clear dust, you use it to blow these fans that move platforms over from one side to the other.  Kinda neat.  An item new to the Zelda series. 

Virtually, all the familiar enemies have been present in Skyward Sword: Keese, Deku Babas, Octoroks, Stalfos,  Beamos, Armos, etc.  They may have been modified to fit the level of sensitivity in the Wii Motion Plus; for example, the Deku Babas open their mouths either vertically or horizontally and to kill it the appropriate sword strike must be used.  The ARMOS. The EFFING ARMOS needed to be left alone.  In the past, blowing them up with bombs more than kills them as they hop around and chase you around the room.  But NO; they added a fan on the top of their heads that must be spun with the dust cleaner but they're charging at you with all they got.  So once you get that to spin for a bit, it opens their mouths, revealing two crystals that must be hit with the correct corresponding strikes with your sword.  SO DIFFICULT.  Creative, but annoying as hell. 

Well for how difficult this temple was to navigate, the boss was easy.  Take out the eyes on its side and then stabby-stab-stab the center eye. Easy as cake. 

And I was kind of right in terms of plot development.  At the Temple of Time proper, an outdoor place, you see Zelda and now-confirmed Impa in front of this giant glowing spinning dais with a Triforce symbol in the middle.  She's playing a harp, which I theorize to be the same harp Zelda plays in Ocarina of Time as Sheik but that remains to be seen, and that dais opens like a doorway.  Suddenly, BOOM!  Ghirahim breaks through the rubble that originally blocked Link from entering the Temple.  He uses Diamond Dust Attack (diamonds seem to be his shape of choice, lol) to immediately stop Link from going to Zelda and Impa.  And Impa, she rushes to meet Ghirahim and they duel for a bit.  Meanwhile, Zelda tosses her harp across the chasm to Link because, you know, he'll have time to learn how to play it in his spare time. So now we have a nifty harp.  Lord Fancy Pants defeats Impa and makes to attack Zelda when Link, noticing the Diamond Dust Attack has weakened, leaps to defend them. 

At this point, you have the option of selecting what you want Link to say with three options, "Go!", "Protect Zelda!" or "Am I late?"  LOL, i picked the latter and I loved it.  Impa smiles, and replies, "No, Link, you are right on time."  LOLOLOLOL

Impa and Zelda make their way into the glowy dais and disappear.  We have no idea where they go, but they want us to inform the old lady in the Sealed Temple in Faron Woods.  So they're gone; predictable, Ghirahim throws a hissy fit and strikes ome very interesting poses. I'll have to see if I can find a .gif of it on the Internet.  It has to exist.  He also makes some threats to Link, "I'm gonna kill you," and "you'll go deaf from the sound of your screams" stuff.  The usual.  :) 

Something else I have noticed are the transitions from overworld to dungeons.  They seem much more fluid than in the past with other Zelda titles.  For example, when entering the mines, I wasn't one hundred percent sure if this was an actual dungeon, and then the cutscene when Link is entering a dungeon played.  I like the seamless entry. 

Well, I couldn't find a .gif of the hilarious and epic interpretive dance Ghirahim does, but perhaps this will convey to you what I mean by calling him Lord Fancy Pants: ....Although now I think I may have exposed myself to a potential spoiler in this game specifically about Ghirahim and why he looks the way he does.  I'll post the picture anyway. 

I noticed that it reads "Demon Sword Ghirahim" not Demon Lord, as he likes to be called.  What if he is the opposite of the Goddess Sword?  And just as Fi is the spirit of Link's Goddess Sword, Ghirahim is the spirit of a sword, named accurately the Demon Sword?  He has certain resemblances to Fi as far as features and skin color go. 

Curiouser and curiouser.... 

Zelda: Skyward Sword III

I typically write these as soon as I finish a section of the game.  The pattern of game play looks like it may be do the tasks necessary to get to the next Temple, which usually takes maybe an hour or so with replenishing items, etc. up in Skyloft and then going to the next new area and unlocking the corresponding temple.  Takes an hour, hour and a half tops. 

TWO AND A HALF BLOODY HOURS.  To get through the godforsaken desert.  It's littered with ruins, making it a huge literal and complicated labryrinth.  And the new creatures in this area are electric, meaning that if I use my sword, Link will get electrocuted.  OUCH.  I think I may have died at least twice just by electrocution.  And, of course, there's quicksand, or as the game calls it, "sinksand." Go, you, Nintendo; being so creative.  Calling it sink sand because you, you know, sink in it.  Wow.  Making my way through the sinksand to these different islands so I don't sink, blowing stuff up with my hand-dandy beetle (named Hermes) that flies around and picks up bombs to kill stuff to that I can stand on its shell and make my way across. 

Also, this area has Time Crystals, which, when struck, send a wave of flux capacitor and 1.21 jiggawatts (Back to the Future, anyone?) across section of the land, turning back the clock thousands of years to when the desert--you guessed it-wasn't a desert.  So that is cool.  Something a little new.  I mean, Zelda has always had time-traveling--the whole series is one massive time trip--in some way, especially in Ocarina, but nothing quite like this.

I reach the temple gates, turning back time, and riding the "new" mine carts that have been there for centiuries around and around this giant crevasse, and what does Link discover?  A rock slide has blocked the entrance.  FFUUUUUUUUUU----

So we have to backtrack all the way to that maze to find a massive time generator thing that will open it somehow.  I forget how exactly at the moment.  Unfortunately, I take the wrong cave and wind up at the wrong corner of the sinksand. So I wander aimlessly around for at least forty-five minutes trying to get over to the 'X' mark that has been marked on my map.  Finally, my roommate and I see the northern cave, the cave we were supposed to take back in order to reach the generator.  So we go alllll the way back to the Temple entrance and go through that cave, finding the journey across the quicksand much easier this time. 

And, wouldn't you know it, the stupid, effing generator isn't working so we have to go find all the little batteries that will send an electric charge to it.  Great.  Faaaaaaaaantastic.  Thankfully, there were only three and were in triangular corners of the desert.  It was still the most annoying, grueling challenge yet in this game, and this is only the third dungeon. 

It was god-awful.  I hated it. Never have I been more frustrated and angry with a game before, at least not in a very long time.  And, really, no plot development to speak of.  However, the temple's name is the Temple of Time, so I am expecting some in the coming hours of going through it.  But it may not be until Sunday, unless I play today.  I dunno yet.  The reason I didn't update this soon after my traverse was because of my frustration.  I couldn't form words to describe how angry I got with this part, let alone write about it. 

Here's to hoping the Temple of Time is worth it. 

Zelda: Skyward Sword II

Originally written 11/30/11 @ 9:30pm
I am roughly six or so hours into Skyward Sword.  The predictions and ratings for this game have been extremely positive and high; I think IGN even gave it a 10.0/10.o, something that hasn't happened for a Zelda game since Ocarina of Time (my personal favorite Zelda game and video game in genera--I could play that game over and over again, which I have).  I am enjoying it very much indeed.  It is has been a very playful and intriguing experience so far.  Many side-quests have been brought to light, but have not fully been revealed, such as the bug-catching, the upgrading and synthesizing of items, and a trade relay of sorts.  Not revealing all is a staple of the Zelda series and it works very well for the series, from a game play point of view as well as from a characterization view.  For example, Link is a very kindhearted hero; he would do anything for anybody without expecting a reward, but the player will typically expect a reward for doing all the tedious and oftentimes long quests.  The items collected by doing these mundane tasks are usually very valuable to Link on his big adventure but I feel like Link would still do them regardless of whether or not he got a reward--that's his character and nature.  As a concrete example, last night I met a demon name Bartreaux who only longs to be a human, so much so that he befriends a small child just to possibly get a taste for humanity.  When Link stumbles upon him in the middle of the night, he begs Link to gather Gratitude Stones, which will turn him into a human.  Link naturally agrees; after all, how could one such as he deny this monster such a heart-wrenching plea?  Simple, right?  WRONG.  There are eighty of these Gratitude Crystal things, and guess how you get them.  Yes, by doing random acts of kindness that would otherwise distract our hero from finding his beloved childhood friend and girlfriend from certain death.  "Hey, Link! Would you mind delivering this medicine so my idiot sister can heal her giant bird because I can't possibly take a break from simply walking around in circles all day to do it?  Thanks, pal!"  Jeez......

I have no idea what brought that on, because I generally like and even admire, embarrassingly so, Link's personality.  He's a very selfless character in my eyes, and I enjoy that in a protagonist.  The romantic side of me also likes that, too.  But still; the guy just wants to find his girlfriend, thereby saving the world as well, and then go home.  Leave the poor bloke alone and let him fulfill his destiny.

Again, I digress; this game had very high potential and was rumored before its release that it would dethrone Ocarina of Time from being the most revered Zelda title.  For me, that has yet to be seen.  As I said, I am immensely enjoying this game.  I love the story so far (see my previous post concerning Ghirahim), the design and style of the graphics are playful and colorful, yet are mature enough to be real.  The story has imaginative elements to it, especially with its contrasting settings of Skyloft (which is an island floating in the sky) and the "dreaded" area known as the surface to those living in Skyloft.  I do believe that the surface is nothing more than Hyrule itself, but as we all know, Hyrule is indeed a dangerous and exciting place.   Also concerning the plot and characters, with Ghirahim's mannerisms and pattern of speech it looks like he will indeed shape up to the villain that I long for him to be.

I begin the next Temple probably Friday because I have a Christmas party to attend tomorrow night and student teaching beforehand till at least 2:30, and I want to try to squeeze in a run as well.

Written 12/1/11 @ 6:20 pm

The second temple is called the Earth Temple and has volcano theme to it.  It was a rather short dungeon, but the boss….  Oh, the boss.  It’s this demon ball of fire hotter than the blazes of hell itself because it cost somewhere around two or so hearts if you touched him and then of course you caught fire which then drained your health even more.  LORD. 

Speaking of ‘lords’ Ghirahim graces you with his presence yet again.  This time to vent to you that his minions who had just captured Zelda allowed her to escape.  She was rescued by a “goddess-sent dog.”  Now it is implied that he is speaking of a female person; what is a female dog?  That’s right; a bitch.  That is as close to swearing that I have ever seen a Zelda game get, and it was awesome.  And you know that if Ghirahim (who I like to call Lord Fancy Pants) was really ranting in real life, he totally would have said bitch.  Yeah.  

So I beat the boss, called Scaldera, and we go and meet Zelda and her assistant, Impa.  Her name is not revealed but if you are at all familiar with the series, you know this is Impa.  And man, this Impa kicks ass.  In a nutshell, she gets extremely angry at Link.  “You took entirely too long to arrive here.  You were late,” she says, and if she had not come when she did, Zelda would be in the hands of those opposing them.  She meant business, and was very skeptical of the goddess’s selection of a hero.  Her bottom line: grow a pair and defend Her Grace (Zelda) like you’re supposed to.  

I love Impa.  She is an excellent plot device used to get Link’s rear in gear and stop traipsing through Mamby-Pamby Land.  What was so great about the detail this game has is that the player van see how genuinely hurt and angered Link was by her statements.  And her character design!  Fabulous!  Her boobs aren’t all over the place like in Ocarina of Time and she has a true warrior’s attire.  Not that she didn’t in Ocarina but it is very different, yet still very Impa. 

Our next stop is to Lanayru province, which is a desert.  The desert in previous Zelda titles has always been a place of great momentum to the plot.  Also, this will be the third dungeon, so I am expecting more to be revealed about Ghirahim and his master plan—OOH.  Also, Lord Fancy Pants mentioned that he “needs to spirit maiden to resurrect his master.”  I hope that means Ganondorf.  Based on A Link to the Past’s events and villain’s name (Agahnim), I am guessing that to be true.  But we shall see. 

Here is who I think is Impa:

The STARS were aligned today

And, I did mean to capitalize 'stars.'  STARS for Kids NOW is the Kentucky program for rating child care centers.  The rating scale concerns teacher interactions between children, sanitary conditions, artwork, the various materials available to the children--those types of things.

So like I said this week is my lead teacher week.  I was in charge of Circle Time, implementing our planned materials.  The prep for it was a tad stressful, but the fun part is actually doing it.  Well, today our STARS evaluator came.  It is always a surprise when they drop in (only every five years), but we are given a two-week period.  As soon as he walked in the door, I turned my game face on.  I was gonna make this day go correctly, or so help me...  I had to lead a small group activity which involved dirt which meant it involved hand-washing, and do not get me started on how big of a deal washing hands is STARS people.  We wash hands afer just about everything; we have children come up to ask us sometimes if they have to wash hands after activities that don't require handwashing, and if the said activity does require hand washing, sometimes the child will change his or her mind about doing it.  I mean, what does that tell a child?  Because we are so obsessed with washing, children are being deterred from a really engaging and enriching activity.  But whatever. 

My small group activity was very fun to do, even if a bit messy.  And we had lots of conversations about nature and science-related things.  It went well, but I did just realize that I left all my stuff in the classroom.  Oh well; I will be there tomorrow for work.  After I cleaned up my mess, I helped one child clean our paintbrushes and dress the weather bear, and even though it was a chilly 40 degrees outside our weather bear had on shorts and no shoes.  Oh well.  The child had a good time.  All the while this is happening, our STARS evaluator, a dude by the way, is poking around the room, making sure we don't have any leaks (which we do because we are in a basement), proper supervision is happening in the bathroom, teachers are using appropriate guidance techniques, etc. etc.  It's a lot of pressure; we did nothing out of the extreme ordinary (except for a fire drill.  yay, me!) but it is a completely different story when a third party comes in to scrutinize everything that is being done. 

I led probably my best Circle Times ever; I was ON like Donkey Kong.  I felt so confident in what I was telling the children, and my helper was a fabulous child who knew exactly what to do. Thankfully it was sunny so we were able to go outside to play.  I cannot recall our last sunny day.  And, boy, did we need to go outside.  We needed to run around and jump and scream and be anywhere but the classroom or the playroom!

While the children are outside with the teachers, the lead goes inside to prep for closing Circle.  I got my story (Bark, George) ready to tell (by not the conventional means), I cued my music movement song.  I was ready to go.  Unfortunately with everything that needed to happen at opening Circle (the fire drill, the concept game) and because we were doing Happy Grams that Closing Circle, we had to cut our time short on the playground.  It was the saddest countdown of singing "Five More Minutes" ever. 

I had a blast at Closing Circle.  I was dancing with the children, and I had a ball telling my Bark, George story.  It's about a dog who doesn't bark when you tell him to.  He meows, quacks, oinks and moos.  And he has all of those animals stuck inside him.  I made a fake dog and stuffed him with all those animals ad told the story that way.  That's how we do all our stories, with props, or magnets or feltboards--any way but the traditional method of turning pages.  It keeps the children so engaged. 

That morning, I told Jennifer that I wanted to be videotaped today.  Unfortunately, with STARS, she forgot and it was my best day ever.