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| Urban planning makes the best of geographic oddities. —Captured on Switch (Handheld Mode) |
I'm changing the timeline again with regards to rest of summer's reviews partly because of the usual culprit—although that's game's mostly wrapped up (for now)—but also because of one addition to the roster.
I'm still working on reading through Goldeneye 007: The Making of an N64 Classic by Alyse Knorr and should still be on target to have a review written and published here next month. Islets will also be a review for late-August (or early September), but I'm also tacking on another game which evokes the same laid-back, summer feel. It also revolves around islands with a related namesake, Islanders: Console Edition, and was recommended to me by Ivenne, a friend of the blog and the creator behind the [Un]Official CheapShow Magazine!
I'm aiming for somewhere between 750-1250 words for the combination review and there will be scores. (Spoilers: They're both fun!)
As for the last item in the queue, I'm aiming to read and review The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane sometime in September.
So that's the admin done, I thought I'd talk about what the Tears of the Kingdom shenanigans hath wrought...
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| Top: A Solid Cast of Links—from the 8-Bit beginnings (rightmost) to when he composed music at sea (leftmost)—with a spider-esque robot lurking nearby. Bottom: A Better look at the Windwaker Link & Zelda alongside the princess from her Skyward Sword days. —Both taken with an iPhone 8 |
One of the things I didn't expect to do while playing this game was to break out the wallet for additional Amiibo figurines. These Amiibos have a Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip located at the base designed to interact with the NFC chip on a Joy-Con or an official Switch Pro controller to allow players to further enjoy additional features with particular games. In both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, they provide a cache of resources alongside a treasure chest containing either a normal weapon or shield, a gemstone, or an exclusive piece of armor related to the Amiibo in question.
Thing is, even if they said there was a restock on Zelda Amiibos upon the game's release, I never thought to take advantage of it. Then again, I wasn't really in the market for them beforehand—I had the 8-Bit Link one already alongside an 8-Bit Mario figure, the Metroid Dread dual-pack, and Mr. Game & Watch—since most of the games I played either didn't use them or had Amiibo-only features that I felt like I didn't need. The ones I already had were close to the regular retail price that the Nintendo Life article lists for the reissued Links (around US $14.99) with the exception of the Metroid dual-pack that was closer to US $30.
But when I found the Link from Majora's Mask on Amazon for around US $38 when it scalpers usually sell it for way over US $100, I can't say no to a figurine from what is my favorite Zelda game of all time!
Here's the thing, you don't need these Amiibos if you're looking for exclusive armor and weapons in Tears of the Kingdom. You can find chests in caves and the Depths where you can net them without having to shell out money to a scalper or braving a games store as someone over thirty looking for what could be called a kid's toy. Without spoiling anything, the trek is worth it alone no matter how you end up finding them!
...and that concludes my Tears of the Kingdom ramble. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Also, for anyone who's interested in reading through the CheapShow magazine, the latest issue (#16) is now available to purchase as a physical copy!
Hi Bryan, I didn't know they wrote an entire book about the Goldeneye game. I personally haven't played it, but do know about it and seen the movie. Looking forward to your review.
ReplyDeleteNice to read you've enjoyed Islanders, might return to it soon and see if I can improve my high score. Coincidentally I also reading a Dutch book about 'Distant isles and their tragedy'. Bought it mainly for the chapter about Nauru, which was disappointly short and told me little to nothing new. Oh well...at least there's some other interesting stories too.
I concur; the Amiibos are mostly neat to look at. Looks like you got a great deal on the M.M. one, though! :)
Thanks for the plug (♥) and wishing you a wonderful weekend too!
~Ivenne
Hi Ivenne, I was pleasantly surprised myself when Boss Fight Books announced the campaign for the book on Goldeneye. Funnily enough, I backed their prior campaign since they had MM in a lineup with three other books. I've only played the game twice though—once at a friend's sleepover when I lived in Washington State as a kid and the other time being when it got announced for the Switch. I'm going to do a proper session before I review the book...and watch the film!
DeleteThat's a bummer that the book on distant isles didn't have much to say about Nauru, but that does sound like a good read though.
I might donate the WindWaker and Skyward Sword Amiibos to someone that enjoys those games—or enjoys Zelda in general—now that I have the MM one sitting proudly on my shelf. I know of a few relatives that might like them.
Hope I brought some visitors your way with the plug and thanks for reading (and commenting)! Have a great week! :-)
—Bryan