NeoFirst Story and Plot Tracker

This post will contain the entire official story of NeoFirst Quest, so that everybody knows what's going on. Suggestions for improvements will be considered.

About Hyrule

The "Hyrule" in NeoFirst is not Nintendo's Hyrule. In particular, its history doesn't follow from any of Nintendo's games. There is no Ganon, no Vaati, and no Master Sword of Evil's Bane. Also, the geography of NeoFirst's Hyrule can't be compared to any of the official Zelda games' worlds.

However, the following elements are still present in Hyrule, albeit changed:

• The Triforce (which comes in three pieces: Power, which grants its holder absolute command of the forces of the world; Wisdom, which grants its holder knowledge approaching omniscience; and Courage, which grants its holder steadfast endurance and perseverence.
• The three golden creator goddesses Din and Nayru and Farore (who created the world from chaos and left the Triforce at their point of departure)
• The Sacred Realm (which is a mirror of both Hyrule and the spirit of the Triforce's holder.)
• Princess Zelda (who is one of many past Princess Zeldas)
• Link (who is the only "Link" in Hyrule's history)
• The intelligent peaceful races of OoT Hyrule and the Oracle realms (Fairies, Gorons, Zoras, Gerudo, possibly Subrosians and Tokays.)
• The four elements and the Four Sword (referenced only in backstory - see below.)
• Some landmarks (Hyrule Castle, the Temple of Light, Lake Octorok, Zora's Spring, Eagle Dungeon, East Palace etc.)

Backstory

I think NeoFirst should not just be a starting-point for other people's quest design and implementation, but also a starting-point for other people's quest storylines. As such, the characters of NeoFirst will make references to (and maybe the NeoFirst introduction sequence will summarise) two prior ages of Hyrule - at least one of which I have devised so as to resemble the events of a typical ZC quest.

The other point of these backstories is to explain why Hyrule is in its current state - overrun by monsters, and all of its grand buildings in ruins, with only one small town left which is in itself a hotbed for organised crime.

(Most of this information won't really be relevant to the quest itself - feel free to ignore it.)

• A long time ago
• The master Wizzrobe, (let's call him Grymwald or something), holds the Triforce of Power. He forces the Earth to "grow wrathful and spout its blood at the sky in rage". Thus he creates his tower stronghold, Mt. Frostburn.
• Using the full might of the Triforce of Power, Grymwald imprisons the Great Fairies of Magic, Nature, Wind, and the elements (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter). Thus the seasons vanish, the wind stops, plants stop growing, and magic ceases to exist for those beneath Mt. Frostburn.
• This continues for quite some time until a young woman, holding the Triforce of Wisdom, releases each of the Great Fairies, gradually restoring Hyrule.
• She then fights her way to the top of Mt. Frostburn and defeats Grymwald. She becomes the First Queen of Hyrule.
• The Triforce of Power is then divided between the eight intelligent races: Humans, Deku, Fairies, Moblins (includes Goriyas and Darknuts), Lynels, Gorons, Zoras, and Subrosians.
• The Triforce of Wisdom is handed down from mother to daughter in the royal family.
  
  Age of Sarai (40 years before NeoFirst)
• The King of Hyrule is turned to stone.
• The King's personal witch, Sarai, and her lover, the knight Dim, are assigned to acquire the Four Elements to forge the Four Sword, which is known to have the power to reverse petrification.
• Dim acquires the Four Elements.
• Sarai uses the Four Elements to create the Four Sword.
• Instead of de-stoning the King, she shatters him, and claims the power of the Four Sword for her own. Using its powers, she proceeds to conquer the kingdom.
• Dim is sent by Zelda, the King's daughter, to acquire the pieces of the Triforce of Power.
• Dim unites the Triforce of Power, and uses it to create the Golden Sword. He then uses Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom to make the Golden Ring. Using these items, he reluctantly destroys Sarai.
• Dim marries Zelda and becomes King Dim.
  
  Age of Dim (20 years before NeoFirst)
• King Dim, having slowly grown mad with heartbreak from Sarai's death at his hand, learns that by uniting the three Triforces, he can restore her to life. So, he uses the Triforce of Power to raise an army to invade neighbouring kingdoms, including Calatia, where the Triforce of Courage is said to lie.
• Someone (let's call him Miro), an orphan of Calatia, vows to assassinate Dim.
• Miro sneaks into Hyrule and into Hyrule Castle and works with the morose Queen Zelda to slay Dim.
• Dim's forces seize the Triforce of Courage and deliver it to Hyrule.
• Zelda, sensing disaster approaching, gives Miro her baby to take into hiding. This baby will grow up to become NeoFirst's Zelda.
• King Dim, in the depths of pain, summons Sarai from death using Queen Zelda as a sacrifice.
• Miro slays King Dim and Sarai, and claims the three Triforces.
• With the King slain and the Triforce of Power missing, Hyrule is thrown into chaos. Hyrule Castle is stormed by looters and/or monsters.
• Miro returns home, but not before shattering the three Triforces into up to a thousand pieces and scattering them to the winds.

Just prior to NeoFirst

• Over the two decades that passed since the Triforce of Power's shattering, the pieces have been sought, gathered and transported back to the top of Mt. Frostburn by the members of a certain magical guild. They hope to reform the complete Triforce of Power, and, in the absense of the monarchy, use its power to regain mastery of the world, as long-gone Grymwald had mastery of it.
• Over the two decades, the shattered Triforce of Courage would be re-formed and delivered to the Forest Temple.
• Over the two decades, the shattered pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom would be hunted down by the young Zelda.

NeoFirst's Event Sequence 1.0
(14/4/2008: I've come to the conclusion that this sequence, while not that bad, is at a bit of a conflict with the general design of the quest itself, so I'm likely to make a new version of it sometime later. Anyway: )

Here are the events that will take place within the NeoFirst quest itself:

• At the beginning of history, the three goddesses raised out of the firmament of chaos the world of Hyrule. But chaos wasn't oblivious to this invasion by the forces of order. It yearned to unmake Hyrule, to return it to the shapeless, formless firmament from which it was shaped. And, after a time longer than the spans of stars, it managed to force an order and structure upon a small aspect of itself, and thus moulded a Champion for itself. This Champion had no name, but to its enemies he would be known as Lord Menace, the bringer of armageddon.
• Lord Menace enters the Sacred Realm, whereupon he uses his influence to make it a world of chaos and darkness.
• His influence upon the Dark World is reflected in the Triforce pieces, which become tainted.
• Lord Menace, having subdued the Dark World, attempts to break through into Hyrule. However, the Temple of Light becomes destroyed when he does this, sealing him within the Dark World for a time, at least.
• Start: Meanwhile, Link starts the game [in the Mystic Forest], where some Moblins have taken his Deku Stick and hidden it somewhere. After a bit of gameplay, he gets it back.
• At this point, a knight appears, and presents Link with a summons from Princess Zelda, who (owing to the overthrow of Hyrule Castle) is living in a small palace in the east, along with a few scant knights who are still loyal to the royal family.
• After some overworld traipsing, Zelda shows Link the tainted Triforce of Wisdom in her basement, and tells him about the shattered Temple of Light. All of this indicates that a vastly dangerous entity is gathering within the Sacred Realm, and for the safety of the world it must be vanquished.
• She then says that the gate leading to the Sacred Realm requires all three Triforces to open.
• She says that the reason Link was summoned was because one of the Triforce pieces is in the Forest Temple deep in the Mystic Woods. The Mystic Woods' resident spirits prevent most outsiders from entering its deeper areas. But as Link has lived for a long time within the forest, he among all of them is most fitting to reach the Forest Temple.
• L1:Link then goes off, eventually heading to the Forest Temple to get the tainted Triforce of Courage, which he takes to Zelda.
• When he gets there, Zelda notes his increase in power, and decides that he should fetch the remaining Triforce piece. She tells him to seek out the Triforce of Power, which her own Triforce tells her is in the nearby mountain.
• L2: Link does so, fighting off an ice dragon, a deluded knight and three Orbs of Chaos (created by the tainted Triforce of Power itself?) to get it.
• When he returns, he is told by a knight that Zelda has headed to the Temple of Light.
• L3: Link reaches the Temple of Light and meets Zelda. Both of them proceed through it and its chaos-tainted counterpart, the Temple of Shadows.
• They find the legendary Golden Arrows and reach the Triforce Gate. Zelda and Link both open the gate into the Dark World.
• Zelda begins acting strangely, and she and Link lose each other.
• Some time later, Zelda tells Link that the only thing preventing Lord Menace from being freed from the Dark World is the Triforce, the objects of sublime divine order. If Lord Menace acquired the Triforce, he would expel it from the world of Hyrule entirely, thus destroying the Sacred Realm and freeing him from it. She then runs away again.
• Even later, Zelda tells Link that her tainted Triforce of Wisdom has been telling her terrible things. That the forces of Chaos are invincible and unstoppable. That the ravages Hyrule has suffered over the past 40 years have left it too weak to fight. That the only way to destroy Menace is through the complete Triforce, and there is no way that they can ever unseal it. Then she demands that he hand over his Triforces of Power and Courage.
• Link and Zelda do battle, with Link proving victorious.

Now, the next bit is a branch depending on how you fight Zelda. If you take the sword unto her flesh, this happens:

• Lesser End: Link slays Zelda dead and takes her Triforce of Wisdom, forming the complete Triforce.
• Link proceeds to where Lord Menace dwells, and they engage in a mighty duel. Link uses the Golden Arrows to attack Menace until he changes to his second form, which can resist the arrows.
• After Link defeats Lord Menace's first attack form, he is visited by a ghost. The ghost is that of Zelda, who tells Link that there's no hope left of defeating Menace and unsealing the Triforce. However, [Details forthcoming]
• Link runs away and escapes back to the Temple of Shadow, and [Details forthcoming]
• Thus Hyrule is safe... but it is a hollow victory. The complete Triforce can now never be unsealed, Zelda is dead, and with her the royal line of Hyrule is extinguished. Nevertheless the game ends.

Or, if you fight Zelda the gentle way, there's this ending:

• Better End: Link uses the Golden Arrow's light force to drive the influence of chaos from Zelda. But while she doesn't die, she loses all endurance and collapses. Link must carry her prone body to the final battleground.
• Link proceeds to where Lord Menace dwells, and they engage in a mighty duel. Link uses the Golden Arrows to attack Menace until he changes to his second form, which can resist the arrows.
• After Link defeats Lord Menace's first attack form, he is visited by a ghost. The ghost is none other than that of King Dim, mad sad lover of Sarai, and Zelda's father! While begging his daughter's forgiveness for ruining the kingdom, he presents Link with two items: the Golden Sword (L4) and the Golden Ring. These items, in addition to the Golden Arrows, contain an essence of the Golden Triforce, and thus can penetrate Lord Menace's defenses. Zelda may be conscious at this point.
• Link uses the Golden Sword to continue the duel against Menace, and when he delivers the final blow, he brings all three of the Golden items together to unseal the complete Triforce and utterly annihilate Lord Menace.
• When he does this, Link and Zelda exit the room to find that, as Link now holds the complete Triforce, the Sacred Realm has returned to normal.
• The narrator finishes the story, and the end credits (superimposed over epilogue scenes) scroll upward while sweet rock music plays. Or something. GAME technically OVER.

Any suggestions?

Well, it's not a feelgood story, but it's punctual and I like it.

But I don't think he should carry around Zelda's lifeless body. He should lay her down gently where they fought and leave her there.


However if you do decide that carrying the princess around is necessary, then he shouldn't be able to use any items or his sword while he's holding her.

Are any Zelda stories "feel-good"?

(I know Wind Waker's sure isn't.)

Typically, in Zelda games, when you do battle with someone who is tainted (think at the beginning of OoA), if you defeat them, they just faint and regain conciousness later, in a much less evil state. This might be a bit better idea than killing off the title character of the game.
It's a bit easier to swallow, too.

What? Who said that Zelda was dead?! I only said that Zelda was prone. Y'know, limp and stuff.

There should be 2 endings, the one where Link loses and one where Link wins.

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Originally Posted by _L_

What? Who said that Zelda was dead?! I only said that Zelda was prone. Y'know, limp and stuff.

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Ah, yes. I see now. It definately could be interpreted as her being dead, especially after Cjc's post.

Now that I'm in a place with a competent internet connection, I can finally try out all these things I've been hearing so much about. More feedback to come.

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Originally Posted by Mega Link

There should be 2 endings, the one where Link loses and one where Link wins.

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Well, that particular part of the story is subject to change without notice.

Wow, that is quite the thourough backstory. I assumed at first that Zelda was dead, because you know, the whole "They do battle" thing, and you usually kill your opponent.

An implicit "That's very, very cool, _L_" should be assumed for roughly the entire duration of this post. Agreed? Thank you.

First of all though, ...

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with only one small town left which is in itself a hotbed for organised crime.

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*LOL* !!! XD That's very cute. ;-p To be fair though, the head boss is waaaay to the east, in the Volcanic hot zone in SouthEast .. <land> ..

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# L3: Link reaches the Temple of Light and meets Zelda. Both of them proceed through it and its chaos-tainted counterpart, the Temple of Shadows.
# They reach the Triforce Gate, and Zelda and Link both open the gate into the Dark World.

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So their end goal is the equivalent of the L3 Entrance room, but in the Shadow Temple?

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Originally Posted by ShadowTiger

So their end goal is the equivalent of the L3 Entrance room, but in the Shadow Temple?

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I suppose so. Unless the Shadow Temple has its exit in a different location.

Also, I updated the first post with a very cool idea with which to bring NeoFirst's backstories and the current story together at the end.

How about 2 endings: One where Link kills Zelda, and the other where he saves her from the darkness? The idea that had been thrown around for the Zelda battle was that you had to use the magic from light arrows to dispel the darkness surrounding Zelda. But, firing an arrow at her directly would hurt her. So, you had to shoot at one of the mirrors on the edges of the room, causing the arrow to fall away, and reflecting the light back at Zelda.

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Originally Posted by Dark Nation

How about 2 endings: One where Link kills Zelda, and the other where he saves her from the darkness? The idea that had been thrown around for the Zelda battle was that you had to use the magic from light arrows to dispel the darkness surrounding Zelda. But, firing an arrow at her directly would hurt her. So, you had to shoot at one of the mirrors on the edges of the room, causing the arrow to fall away, and reflecting the light back at Zelda.

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O_O ... Perhaps that's how you can have the good / bad ending with the final boss! Maybe you need Zelda's help to defeat the final boss, and without it, you're basically SoL!

IMHO, the last save point should be right before the Zelda Battle for this very reason, so you can see both endings without having to rip out your hair first at having saved after the decisive battle. :p

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Originally Posted by _L_ Update

UPDATE: After Link defeats Lord Menace's first attack form, he is visited by a ghost. The ghost is none other than that of King Dim, mad sad lover of Sarai, and Zelda's father! While begging his daughter's forgiveness for ruining the kingdom, he presents Link with two items: the Golden Sword (L4) and the Golden Ring. These items contain an essence of the Golden Triforce, and thus can penetrate Lord Menace's defenses.

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... Okay, that is just damn cool. :blah: Yeah, let's do that. ^^;'

Also!

* It is revealed that all three of the Golden items contain an essence of each Triforce - the Golden Sword holds Power, the Golden Ring holds Wisdom, and the Golden Arrows hold Courage. The first two were created by Dim using the Triforce of Power and to-be-Queen Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom, and the origins of the last are obscured in time (as has the history of the Triforce of Courage.)
* Lord Menace, an entity of pure Chaos, can only be harmed by the divine Order of the essence of the gods - thus, his first attack form will require extensive use of Golden Arrows.
* Zelda despairs and surrenders to Menace because she knows that it's impossible for them to remove Menace's corruption from the Triforce. King Dim's gifts change all of that - when Link has delivered the final blow to Menace's last form, he brings together all three of the untainted Golden items to unseal the complete Triforce, and annihilates Menace with its brilliance.

And can we come up with a better name for the final boss? Lord Menace sounds... lame, somehow. Phantom Menace sounds cool (mainly because PM *is* cool). but Lord Menace does not. :(

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Originally Posted by _L_

* It is revealed that all three of the Golden items contain an essence of each Triforce - the Golden Sword holds Power, the Golden Ring holds Wisdom, and the Golden Arrows hold Courage. The first two were created by Dim using the Triforce of Power and to-be-Queen Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom, and the origins of the last are obscured in time (as has the history of the Triforce of Courage.)

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Totally agreed; ... just wondering (Out of generic curiosity.) why each um ... ... tri-part moral has been assigned to that particular item.

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* Lord Menace, an entity of pure Chaos, can only be harmed by the divine Order of the essence of the gods - thus, his first attack form will require extensive use of Golden Arrows.

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Suggest a source of arrows AND magic to renew yourself if you need it.

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* Zelda despairs and surrenders to Menace because she knows that it's impossible for them to remove Menace's corruption from the Triforce. King Dim's gifts change all of that - when Link has delivered the final blow to Menace's last form, he brings together all three of the untainted Golden items to unseal the complete Triforce, and annihilates Menace with its brilliance.

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Does she need to despair? Has any previous Zelda ever despaired? Maybe she's just overpowered? :shrug: Her magic isn't THAT good. o.o'

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Originally Posted by _L_

• Age of Dim (20 years before NeoFirst)
• King Dim, having slowly grown mad with heartbreak from Sarai's death at his hand, uses the Triforce of Power to raise an army to invade neighbouring kingdoms, including Calatia.
• Someone (let's call him Miro), an orphan of Calatia, vows to assassinate Dim.
• Miro sneaks into Hyrule and into Hyrule Castle and works with the morose Queen Zelda to slay Dim.
• Zelda, sensing disaster approaching, gives Miro her baby to take into hiding. Before leaving, Zelda bequeaths the baby with the Triforce of Wisdom. This baby will grow up to become NeoFirst's Zelda.
• King Dim, in the depths of pain, summons Sarai from death using Queen Zelda as a sacrifice.
• Miro slays King Dim and Sarai, and claims the Triforce of Power.
• With the King slain and the Triforce of Power missing, Hyrule is thrown into chaos. Hyrule Castle is stormed by looters and/or monsters.
• Miro returns home, but not before hiding the Triforce of Power somewhere.

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why would zelda trust miro? why does she give it to miro? miro kills zelda? thus is zelda deranged? unless miro is pretending to be a good guy but that is not the impression i got.

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Originally Posted by franpa

[/LIST]why would zelda trust miro? why does she give it to miro? miro kills zelda? thus is zelda deranged? unless miro is pretending to be a good guy but that is not the impression i got.

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Queen Zelda is disquieted by Dim's war-making and general decomposition of character, and the Triforce of Wisdom gives her a faint prescience of her ritual sacrifice at the hands of Dim. When Miro sneaks into the castle, he and Zelda make plans to assassinate Dim, but she entrusts her two most valuable possessions to Miro for hiding just in case Dim manages to kill her first. (Which he does.)

Feel free to work out the deeper details yourself if you ever want to build a quest telling this story.

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Originally Posted by ShadowTiger

... just wondering (Out of generic curiosity.) why each um ... ... tri-part moral has been assigned to that particular item.

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Well, the Ring has to be Wisdom (Nayru, Nayru's Love etc.) and the Sword is Power because it seems to me to be a more overt symbol of power than the more subtle Arrows.

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Originally Posted by ShadowTiger

Suggest a source of arrows AND magic to renew yourself if you need it.

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Off the top of my head, let's say that he has an attack that involves summoning tribble enemies.

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Originally Posted by ShadowTiger

Does she need to despair? Has any previous Zelda ever despaired? Maybe she's just overpowered? Her magic isn't THAT good. o.o'

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Hey, I'm willing to shift the balance away from Surrender and toward Control if you like. Despair to me just seems more, um, operatic. Maybe even Wagner-esque.

Also: she's a different Zelda! A Zelda that calls the shots, a Zelda that follows you into the jaws of death rather than waving you off from some Sanctuary.

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Originally Posted by Dark Nation

And can we come up with a better name for the final boss? Lord Menace sounds... lame, somehow. Phantom Menace sounds cool (mainly because PM *is* cool). but Lord Menace does not.

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Well, "Lord Menace" is a merging of the names of the two "makers" of the original First Quest (the other being War Lord). I think it's somewhat appropriate. ("War Phantom" is too much of a noun, and "Shadow Lord" is hardly a name at all. So there.)
Then again, the fact that I've been reading a lot of Stephen Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant may explain the choice of villain name better. (Actually, it probably explains a lot of things about my plotline.)

This will have little or no impact on the current story (more so an explenetion for the way the royal family works) A curse was plased upon the Royal family which prevented the King and Queen from giving bith to a son. Thus every King of Hyrule has been married into the bloodline. But this could make for some intresting sequals down the road.

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Originally Posted by redmage777

This will have little or no impact on the current story (more so an explenetion for the way the royal family works) A curse was plased upon the Royal family which prevented the King and Queen from giving bith to a son. Thus every King of Hyrule has been married into the bloodline. But this could make for some intresting sequals down the road.

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That's a nice detail that I must remember to insert into an NPC's dialogue box somewhere down the line.
Also,

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Originally Posted by Zelda II Instruction Booklet

So that this tragedy would never be forgotten, he ordered every female child born into the royal household should be given the name Zelda.

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*jaw drops*

this is an awesome story...I Really like it!

/me starts pacing anxiously while waiting for Neofirs to come out.

Okay. We've got a new series of plot items to run by everyone.


The story "Opens up" with the following: (Though there's no PARTICULAR order for this, so long as it happens before Link reaches Level 1. You'll see why.) Link and Zelda are having their usual conversational routine in the Forest, (Not the Mystic Forest. Just the shallow end of the forest near the town, but a little deeper in so nobody sees them.) So they're walking along, chatting, (We see this.) and then Zelda feels an ill wind from the east.

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Originally Posted by DN, Chat

As for the beginning, Link and Zelda could be walking along in the forest (they have to meet there as their respective guardians don't approve of them socializing), talking to each other. Suddenly, Zelda feels an ill wind blowing from the East (or whatever direction). She goes to investigate with Link following closely. They come upon the Forest Temple which Zelda realizes isn't as it should be. Perhaps she leaves at that point to go consult with.

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Thus, they then begin to investigate, and go deeper into the forest. ... YES, the "ill wind" is from the east, from the Temple of Light, but as they're walking, they notice a shrine to the Forest. It's been corrupted. Zelda can easily feel its taint as she approaches in the forest. So you two continue through the forest, investigating the various signs of corruption. You come across a few instances of the undead, as well as a few vines which try to attack you. So you cross various obstacles to reach the Temple of Light. Zelda has already left when you find the Forest Shrine, so you're "on your own."

Now, this is something we need to comment on. There are -three- Maze Paths directly before the Forest Temple is reached. Should Link need the path before he can actually go through them? Are they walkable from the start? Does a side warp need to be set up to prevent Link from wandering through even if he knows the path? Should he go back to Zelda to find the maze path?


Now, another thing regarding the Stonewater caverns. (L2.) It's not AS Corrupted as either of the other two locales. Rather, the temperature itself is what has been most affected by the corrupted triforce held within. So the temperature is fluctuating wildly over the last few months, driving all the monsters within outside to attack the travelling merchants and cutting off immigration and driving people out so they can be in a place where they won't starve due to lack of supplies.

DN's ideas seem to have a habit of conflicting with my ideas. Firstly, Zelda doesn't really have guardians - both of her parents are dead, and she's about 20 years old. (Remember that she was the baby that Miro took from Queen Zelda). Also, she has an entourage of knights.

This would work if, instead of Link travelling to the East Palace, Zelda came to Link's house. But what I want is a cutscene involving Zelda showing Link the corrupted Triforce of Wisdom (which Zelda keeps in the East Palace, as few treasures are safe from the thieves).

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Now, this is something we need to comment on. There are -three- Maze Paths directly before the Forest Temple is reached. Should Link need the path before he can actually go through them? Are they walkable from the start? Does a side warp need to be set up to prevent Link from wandering through even if he knows the path? Should he go back to Zelda to find the maze path?

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I think nothing should prevent the player from skipping forward on his own. I don't really want the plot to constrain the player's freedom too much.

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Now, another thing regarding the Stonewater caverns. (L2.) It's not AS Corrupted as either of the other two locales. Rather, the temperature itself is what has been most affected by the corrupted triforce held within. So the temperature is fluctuating wildly over the last few months, driving all the monsters within outside to attack the travelling merchants and cutting off immigration and driving people out so they can be in a place where they won't starve due to lack of supplies.

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Okay, but change "months" to "weeks" (because it all begins with Menace's intrusion in the Sacred Realm), and also mention that a self-righteous self-proclaimed hero (L2 Miniboss #2) makes a vow to destroy the dungeon's master using his hammer.

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Originally Posted by _L_

DN's ideas seem to have a habit of conflicting with my ideas.

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Yeah, well, my ideas are better cause they rock and I'm more older and more maturer than you are so there! :blah:

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Originally Posted by _L_

Firstly, Zelda doesn't really have guardians - both of her parents are dead, and she's about 20 years old. (Remember that she was the baby that Miro took from Queen Zelda). Also, she has an entourage of knights.

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I *really* need to study the story so far to get my facts straight. I was unaware of their ages (I was assuming somewhere around 14/15).

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Originally Posted by _L_

This would work if, instead of Link travelling to the East Palace, Zelda came to Link's house. But what I want is a cutscene involving Zelda showing Link the corrupted Triforce of Wisdom (which Zelda keeps in the East Palace, as few treasures are safe from the thieves).

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This works quite well. So, Zelda comes to Link's house and get him to follow her back to the Eastern Palace or does she bring it with her?

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Originally Posted by _L_

I think nothing should prevent the player from skipping forward on his own. I don't really want the plot to constrain the player's freedom too much.

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Agreed. I feel the plot should always guide, not hinder, a player.

In terms of the "secret meeting of the forest," I think that's just the town's way of saying "Stay out of the forest, so we'll watch you to protect you." Maybe Link and Zelda just don't like to be watched, so they go deeper into the forest, to the old abandoned picnic tables. (OF DEATH. .. no, .. .. just wood. Old Abandoned picnic tables of wood. +1 *LOL* I D&D too much. ) So Zelda doesn't need guardians to conflict with her. She just does stuff anyway, but the guards don't like people having out in the forest, so they hide deeper inside it. That's how they detect (Well, ALSO how they detect.) the corrupted Statue. It's nothing big; just a statue in the forest, but it's "connected" to the spirit of the Forest Temple, so she senses evil or corruption radiating from its base.

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Originally Posted by L

(Stuff About L2)

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Sounds good to me. :highfive: So there are rumors of this hammer-wielding hero, but no cutscenes. eh?

As for the maze path, what would you recommend to give the advice about the maze to Link? Maybe that house along the road could have the path, but you still need the lamp to get in there. (To burn away the thorn bushes...) Or would we?

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Originally Posted by Dark Nation

This works quite well. So, Zelda comes to Link's house and get him to follow her back to the Eastern Palace or does she bring it with her?

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I was originally thinking that one of Zelda's knights would appear in the town some time after Link gets the Deku Stick, and would escort Link (or just tell him to go) across the overworld to the Palace. The Triforce of Wisdom will remain in the lower level of the Palace until it's time for L3.

(P.S: One thing that I've added to the overworld is a Zelda 2-style road. As long as you remain on the road, monsters can't directly attack you. Which is a good thing, as I've scattered some not-so-underpowered monsters along the way.)

... er ... ... Script, _L_? How can't they attack you, exactly? Is there a "No monsters" Flag? What about projectiles?

Now, why doesn't Zelda have the Triforce of Wisdom anymore? ._o I thought you said that she always had it with her?

... ... Sister's birthday now. Taking her out to eat. :D

Just "no monsters" flags. You'll have to evade projectiles (hence "can't directly attack you").

Not sure if I said that she "always" had it with her. She already has it with her at the start, though. In the first post of this topic I said that "Zelda shows Link the tainted Triforce of Wisdom in her basement".

I know I missed some of this story, but ya'll better not be putting Ganon on ice for Neofirst. That would blow nuts.

Please, this is NeoFirst.

Also, read the first post of this topic.

Oddly enough, the word "Neo" Doesn't even provide the imagery for a futuristic setting. :p It's just an alternative to the story. It presently has an excellent story brewing, if straighforward. It's nothing deeply profound, but it'll certainly do.

See also neo-classical.

In order to lengthen the post-L2 game a bit, I've decided upon the following:

* In order to enter the Temple of Light, you need the Silver Arrows.
* In order to get the Silver Arrows (which are in a basement area of the East Palace), you must collect any two of the four Elements.
* You recieve very few hints about the locations of any of these items.

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Originally Posted by _L_

In order to lengthen the post-L2 game a bit, I've decided upon the following:

* In order to enter the Temple of Light, you need the Silver Arrows.
* In order to get the Silver Arrows (which are in a basement area of the East Palace), you must collect any two of the four Elements.
* You recieve very few hints about the locations of any of these items.

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Certainly possible, but, ...

• To enter the Temple of Light, *why* would we need the Silver Arrows? It's just already open. It'll have gates in it similar to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, that you must open with the corresponding element. The Temple of Light will have SHADOW gates in it, rather than Light gates. So technically you'd need a "dark" arrow of some sort to open them. Besides, the temple is in a state of relative ruin. The door would be busted wide open with the temple mostly ransacked with a myriad of player-impeding holes in it. You could probably just walk right in, and not get very far until you find a single open Shadow Gate leading to the Temple of Shadows equivalent of the Temple of Light. This has already been established in the grand scheme of NeoFirst.
• Okay, so, in terms of getting four elements; What "barrier" is present that forces the player to gather four, and not all of them? Why four and not, say, three? What says "You should have at LEAST four?" What difference would four make? They seem more optional than mandatory, and more a test of relative strength for the player rather than some means to break an energy barrier. Just curios.
• From the designs you had placed in the quest, wasn't the Eastern Palace already scavenged through and through? Would the Silver Arrows be in their original location, or in a new one? In ALTTP, we got the Bow and Arrows, I believe, so I can certainly see how they can match up in ALTTP and NeoFirst.
• Why so few hints? Just to make the player ask around on the forums? o.o

@ShadowTiger's last bullet point:

Well, games nowadays (Zelda games mainly) have A LOT of hints so that the lpayer, for the most part, has to think moderately to very little (with the exception of dungeon puzzles)

Remember how in Zelda 1 you received almost no hints? A few in the overworld, and, on average, less than 1 per dungeon? Well, NeoFirst should mimick that aspect, in order to have a game:

A) Worthy of 2.5
B) Worthy of the Title "The Legend of Zelda"

My $0.02

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Originally Posted by ShadowTiger

To enter the Temple of Light, *why* would we need the Silver Arrows? It's just already open. It'll have gates in it similar to Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, that you must open with the corresponding element. The Temple of Light will have SHADOW gates in it, rather than Light gates. So technically you'd need a "dark" arrow of some sort to open them. Besides, the temple is in a state of relative ruin. The door would be busted wide open with the temple mostly ransacked with a myriad of player-impeding holes in it. You could probably just walk right in, and not get very far until you find a single open Shadow Gate leading to the Temple of Shadows equivalent of the Temple of Light. This has already been established in the grand scheme of NeoFirst.

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Ahem...

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Originally Posted by _L_

After playing Four Swords Adventures, I've decided that only the Chaos->Light portals will be Mirrors, and the Light->Chaos portals will be Moon Portals. In order to open Moon Portals, you need arrows tipped with "moon metal", or silver. In order to open Mirrors (which are covered in blobs of black Chaos) you need arrows tipped with the divine Golden Power.

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The above refers to some pre-established notions about the Sacred/Dark/Chaos realm, and entry thereof. LttP's Magic Mirror takes you out of the realm, and FSA's Moon Portals draw you into the realm.

I was under the impression that you get the Golden Arrows in the Temple of Shadows/Chaos, and use them to return to the Temple of Light.

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Okay, so, in terms of getting four elements; What "barrier" is present that forces the player to gather four, and not all of them?

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You misread: there's a maximum of four, and you need only two. But anyway, basically there's two paths to the silver arrow room.
The left path has a Spring door and Summer door in parallel, which both lead to an Autumn door and Winter door in parallel.
The right path has a Winter door and Summer door in parallel, which both lead to an Autumn door and Spring door in parallel. So, any set of two elements will allow you to get the arrows.
The door's visual designs and colours (which match those of the "Season Blocks" in Forest Temple), in addition to scattered hints about the four elements here and there, and Zelda's order to find the silver arrows (after you return with the Triforce of Power), are your only direct hints.

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From the designs you had placed in the quest, wasn't the Eastern Palace already scavenged through and through? Would the Silver Arrows be in their original location, or in a new one? In ALTTP, we got the Bow and Arrows, I believe, so I can certainly see how they can match up in ALTTP and NeoFirst.

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The ground floor of the palace has been cleaned out by Zelda's guards. But downstairs there are still some traps and beasties behind locked doors.

Something I'm not too sure of, though, is whether or not this would come across as being too arbitrary. Maybe I should reduce the requirement to one element?

Nah, lots of quests, both official and ZC are filled with arbitrary stuff. Without it the games would be much more, ummmm, how to put it. Boring.

As you know, Link's first weapon is nothing more than a stick, and he begins the game with no equipment. Surely Zelda, who has at least a few armed guards at her disposal, would be able to provide the Hero with something more substantial?

So, here's how it goes: when Link meets Zelda for the first time, he has access to various treasure chests in the East Palace, which contain:
* Magic Ring L1
* Worn-out Glove
* The first Bomb Bag
He also gets the L2 sword after talking to Zelda.

However, after leaving the East Palace... a gang of Lynels confront Link, and in cutscene, demand that he hand over the sword and all of his rupees. Link, being at this point a little wet-behind-the-ears, obliges. It's only after they've left that he realises that he could've just killed them with the sword. "Darn!"

(He can get the L2 sword back by invading the Lynel's lair, which is a decrepit Hyrule Castle.)

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It's only after they've left that he realises that he could've just killed them with the sword. "Darn!"

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This made me laugh. :blah: I wonder what TLOZ-related incident could prompt Link's cowardice? Perhaps they shouldn't even ask him for his weaponry. They should simply ambush him. They're Lynels, after all! They're lion-people! DEX scores are at LEAST 17 based on racial modifications!! I think they could ambush him fairly efficiently, wouldn't you agree? o.o

The Lynel treasure hordes may as well contain a good supply of Rupees as well. Perhaps you could even give them in to Zelda's kingdom for a tribute and receive a health upgrade (HC or HCP, whatever you want.) as a reward?