Introduction

Trident of Power might be the most extensive dialog RPG that I've ever played so far. It seems to be a cross between Legend of Zelda with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy game play/lore.

I’ve played many Zelda games, but this is the first to see it made in RPG Maker to my experience. This game gives a much darker tone, gore and mature content in the context of politics, democracy, war, death, and social classes.

I will try to my best to point out my experiences that I had. I will also give details and insights I found while trying not to reveal any spoilers of the game, but might use some aspects of the story.


The Story

This story follows Link’s Journey on retrieving the pieces of the Trident of Power that are scattered throughout the lands. A Trident that was once held by the Demon King Ganon. An organization called, “The Empire” is also on a mission to retrieve this Trident as well. The search for the Trident is taking place during times of turmoil and war that lingers after Ganon was defeated long ago.
This story has dark themes in which it may not be suitable for ages 13 and lower because of its complex narrative that the author(s) provides. The general idea is that this story focuses on war, politics and social classes between the wealthy and the poor. The language that is used here contains an excessive amount of swearing, which made it difficult to read this as a traditional Zelda game. Other content that may require more mature understanding are; death/loss, trust/betrayal, love/hate and sacrifice. I felt that a lot of the dialog was very long that there were times I wanted to skip them but couldn’t. In the intro movie you had implemented a button to skip dialog, if you had continued to add that throughout the story it would have felt more tolerable. It also felt that there was a numbered of unbalanced cut scenes/flashbacks that could probably have been properly implemented. One idea is maybe whenever Link goes to an Inn to restore his health, during his sleep, that’s when the cut scenes/flashbacks can occur for more backstories. This is not your typical kid-friendly type of game you experienced from previous Zelda games. The closest Zelda franchises that resemble such a dark tone would be “Twilight Princess” if it were done in the style of “Link to the Past” of which to say I was quite impressed!


The Character Development For Miya and Irma

My next point is subjective, but I will explain. The two main women characters in the story were difficult to invest in because of their choices they made throughout certain moments. Some of their choices made appeared inconsistent in certain scenes.

In Miya’s scene, she is protecting someone important to her, and she says a line “I don’t care about the circumstances”. She is a character shown to be joyful, loving, compassionate and cares deeply for Link, however when she says this line, she suddenly appears cold and detached. Link is experiencing so much trauma, but she suddenly detaches herself from Link after all that and then “cares deeply” again for Link later on? Sorry, but she jumped between two opposites states of emotions too fast and too hard, almost like she was two different people. Something to consider is maybe she was suffering from some sort of poor mental health before this scene? Perhaps this character could have been written better, or at least allowed more time to pass for the emotional states to grow where you want them to connect.

Now with moving on to the next character is Irma. I thoroughly enjoyed her character being developed throughout the story. However, during that end game scenes with Link, it felt like that was a selfish and inconsistent act to end on. So many people, including Link, were counting on her to achieve a significant story goal, but it was all in vain. Failing to recognize the ramifications of her actions after such a big build up of her made it difficult to connect with this character. I honestly wish there was another outcome for Link and Irma. She had a very dire and important role in this story that I would have liked to explore.


The Character Development For Athel

When I came across him in the story, I was really intrigued with this character. He had similar goals to Link, as they are both protagonists and complex characters as well. However, if you were eager to know more about this character, tidbits of his back-story are spread out by various NPCs at different parts of the game. My next point is subjective, but I will explain. During the end-game scene with Link and Irma, he too had a pivotal role in that scene. His role could have been greater in that scene but took a step backward in order to progress the story. If you went out of your way to listen to the NPCs and gather pieces of Athel’s history, then judging by their insights, I believe he would have taken steps to prevent Irma actions. In that scene, thus made him more consistent with his character. One idea would be that he would have either intervened and/or perhaps we would have been able to play as Athel for a while until Link is made available again thanks to his actions. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, but regardless, Athel is a character I would continue to follow and see where his story takes place down the road.


The Character Development For The Antagonists

When I came across these characters in the story, I didn’t realize how complex they were going to be. This wasn’t a simple cartoon villain idea but rather a mature understanding of their goals. When they were introduced, we were provided some insights on whom they are and their individual ambitions. As the story progresses, you would see a growing conflict with each other versus their goal(s). They would also work together as a single mindset to reach their Emperor’s goal. The antagonists shared somewhat symbolic meaning or irony in their defeat, giving them more depth and possibly connect with these characters. My only peeve here is that I wished we had more back-story, more screen time, just more. Overall, I’ve found these characters to be one of the more compelling Zelda series antagonists I have come across yet, aside from Ganon.


Development of the Landscapes, Towns, and Dungeons

In this section, I will be explaining my thoughts regarding the game’s world map and how I felt it was implemented with the progress of the story. I would like to point out that I appreciate the time and effort the creator(s) put in designing this world.

Hyrule/Tylistem World Map: I’d thoroughly enjoyed exploring these entire maps. There is so much beautiful scenery and hidden areas to find. When exploring each area, they provide unique challenges to keep it fresh. It felt like I was playing A Link to the Past type of map. However, there are restrictions in place on when to open the world based on story progression. I felt it was incorporated properly to feel more like a linear game play. After a while, you begin to unlock more of the map until everything becomes fully accessible. In the end, I believe the creator successfully executed the linearity of the map of that similar to a traditional Zelda layout.

Town Interactions: This section is to clarify what makes a town memorable in my opinion. Here are some simple observations that I do when visiting a town for the first time:

1: Does it have an adequate number of people to provide lore through the eyes of an NPC? Quirky and simple interactions are great, but I believe it will benefit the user as well if the player is exploring the game from a narrative standpoint, run.

2: Does it provide a place of restoration and serve as a checkpoint? This simply means are there any Inns, Markets, and places where the player can save their game unless the “Pause Menu” serves that purpose, which in this case can be optional.

3: Does it provide a form of entertainment that makes the player want to come back for any reason? An example of this would be like mini-games, and the rewards could be simply grinding money or items to restock. It doesn’t always have to imply a key-item or optional power up items unless you require it as a plot device.

4: Does it provide additional content outside the main storyline that can be considered optional? Examples for this can be a side-quest(s) or long-term side-quest(s) (meaning the quest can only be completed as you progress with the storyline). Having content that capture your focus makes you want to return to that town.

5: Does the town correspond with the location that is currently in? If your town is surrounded by grass, but the outside town is covered in lava, then the author needs to communicate in-game the reasoning for this, or it will feel very inconsistent and would break the immersion.

These are what I’ve observed when I begin an RPG type game, and hopefully, you would find them useful. In the next section, I will explain my observations with these game towns.

Exceptional Towns: During my explorations, I came across various towns throughout the maps. Each town is differentiated by its names and locations of which they are found in. Their location ranges from a desert, a forest, meadow, wintry summits and more. Many of these towns provided various interactions for the main character. These towns were Tylistem City, Terracia, Sirion and Kakariko Village. These towns were large enough to explore, plenty of side-quests, and mini-games to replay. These towns were designed to come back more than once for various reasons. Overall, the main reason I’d enjoyed them is that they provided additional content that you can do outside the main storyline.

Lackluster Towns: Not all towns are created equally. Every so often the towns you come across are great for its simplicity, and other times not so much. To explain further, they were some towns that were beautiful but offer very little interactions in one way or another. These towns are: Sandoria, Korok Village and Gerudo Village. Sandoria is a beautiful desert town to explore, but not much else to do except talk to people when needed to move forward in the story. Korok Village is a beautiful forest town but as the same issues. They both offer a few side-quests that you can do and acquire said few items, but not much else. As for Gerudo Village, there really wasn’t anything to do apart from talking to a few people. I only ever remember to come to these places if the plot requires it or if I’m passing through to get to another location. I don’t always see myself returning to these locations often. The lack of side-quests and mini-games indicates that they were used as plot devices. Overall, these places had great sceneries to enjoy, but could have offered so much more.

Optional Temples: The optional temples you find throughout Hyrule are actually pretty great. They were short, simple, and straight to the point. They provided a decent amount of challenge, including their very own “bosses.” It maintains the presence of a mini-dungeon since it’s not crucial to the story. My only peeve is that the forest temple “boss” felt recycled and my expectations of facing an original boss had dissipated. Overall, I’ve found them to be unique and quite enjoyable to complete.

Main Dungeons: The main dungeons that you will be going through in this game are pretty long. I’ve found them to be tedious and/or sometimes confusing when playing the first time. There is going to be a lot of backtracking and thinking outside the box in order to reach your goal(s). The direction of each dungeon presented unique challenges, only to be held back by unnecessarily long backtracking routes to reach your destination. For a casual player, it's maybe too much, but for a seasoned Zelda player it will feel like you are playing ALTTP but with a much more advance dungeon layout.


The Audio

This game has a fantastic collection of songs that felt natural. When I saw the credit for Rogue Galaxy, I couldn’t believe I’ve missed it the first time, as this is one of my favorite games! I believe that the tracks you have chosen fit pretty well. Having the right music/soundtracks makes you feel more immersed with the game. I think the best parts are when you are battling normally or against a boss, and the right tracks makes those fights much more exhilarating! The music presented during the cutscenes/reading scenes was executed really well. Overall, I thoroughly enjoy the given tracks as it felt authentic to the Zelda series.


Final Thoughts

To end on a positive note, I hope this doesn't discourage you, but rather use it to strengthen you as both the person and creator within you. The kid in me enjoys playing Legend of Zelda games, and the adult in me enjoys the medieval novel potential you brought into the game. It allowed me to use some critical thinking skills to really understand this game and try to give my best review possible. Some parts of the game were buggy if unaware the first time around. Having to keep consistent save points during each part of the story made me more cautious than I would like to be because of the bugs that potentially stop you from progressing with the game. An Important note that I try to follow in anything that I do is to remember to show consistency in your work. Be consistent with both your characters and world building developments. Show consistency with grammar followed by accents if implemented. Another important note to consider is to know your audience. The Legend of Zelda brand is usually aimed for kids 10+ more or less, but even adults can enjoy them too. This particular game contains mature content which suggests that it is aimed at young adults, at least 16+ in my opinion. I hope my review provided some insights that you can use to not only improve this game potential but yourself as well.

Now, not only will I give my overall rating, but I will also put down my rating for each section based on my experience with this game below:

Characters Development – 3 Stars
Landscape Development – 4 Stars
Narrative Development – 4 Stars
Game Play Mechanics – 3 Stars
Audio Selections – 4 stars
Overall – 4 Stars