CORFAISUS'S PROFILE

What I've tried is keeping it simple. Have a queen as opposed to a king and maybe throw in a colony of people who don't get along with some other colony of people because of one or two things that may or may not have some resemblance to real world issues, then introduce the heroes to these people and have them not just sweep in like they own the place. You wouldn't just barge in to the king's/queen's chambers demanding they supply you with the troops necessary to wage war and save the world, they've got their own problems.

Then you can have wars and semi-plausible tactics (only semi-plausible to maintain a level of innocence and fantasy, because we've all seen what happens when you brand your game as big on political intrigue but the hero goes about it in a completely ass-backwards way) between them to flesh out your game and introduce conflicts when none of the heroes are currently in the middle of an existential crisis.

It's also okay to not have one of the world's political conflicts be resolved in the end. Some differences are irreconcilable.

author=Mirak
Ever wake up from a nightmare so eerily real and possible that was from a real life "could-be" setup that makes you think about how could your brain even conjure such a well fabricated scenario, so lifelike, with elements you're not even sure you could have thought of were you awake, that it made you think stupid shit like it being a prophetic kind of dream or something? Because holy shit my heart is trying to rip itself off from my body from how hard it's pounding.

I had a moment like that, but I hadn't fallen asleep yet.

I was just in the bathroom thinking about stuff (as I usually do), and got to thinking about how Ocarina of Time is to Oracle of Ages as Link To The Past is to Oracle of Seasons. What I mean by this is that in Oracle of Ages and Ocarina of Time, you've got an adversary who isn't just sitting around waiting for you to come and fight them; they've got their own lives to live and worlds to conquer (which makes for a more interesting story). On the other side you've got Oracle of Seasons and Link To The Past which contains stagnant adversaries that do something at the beginning of the game and only appear again near the end, leaving you to gather up your strength in order for the climactic fight.

And I think this is why I've always preferred Ocarina of Time over Link To The Past, because I'm in it for the story. Once I learned there can be storytime in Zelda, I've expected it ever since. Some people (namely Arin Hanson a.k.a Egoraptor) blame Ocarina of Time for making Zelda all about the "whooshy whoosh", but think about this: with the inclusion of the "whooshy whoosh", Ganon as a gameplay element becomes much more potent. When Ganondorf is introduced, he's some evil guy you see in a nightmare. Later you speak to the Great Deku Tree who tells you essentially what you've already personally experienced but puts a prophetic spin on it, enhancing your relationship with this evil guy.

Your dream later becomes a reality when Zelda is riding horseback out of Hyrule Castle Town with Impa and Ganondorf shortly behind. He blasts you away (giving him further evil points) before you use your Spiritual Stones to open the Door of Time, claim the Master Sword and fall asleep for seven years. In this time, Ganondorf is hard at work and uses your claiming of the Master Sword to access the Sacred Realm (it's revealed that the Master Sword and the pedestal it rested in acted as a lock to the Sacred Realm and that you actually helped the bad guy win) and turn Hyrule into the Dark World. Without the "whooshy whoosh", you would've just used a mirror and seen the Dark World that was always there.

Why were you collected the Spiritual Stones? To bring the races of Hyrule together, to become one people under the Triforce that can overcome the eventual return of Ganon. These Spiritual Stones were essentially a quest for diplomacy and represent just that, and Hyrule spiritually obtains the piece of the Triforce they lacked, the Triforce of Power, which rests in the hand of Ganondorf.

And how awesome is that? The fact that the bad guy is just a bad guy up until the very end when he raises his hand and you see a blessing of the Goddesses adorning it. Suddenly the struggle becomes very real and you have no option but to succeed, but luckily, you have the Triforce of Courage, which means that - despite all odds - you will push forward through fear and adversity and will never give up. This gives you power and ensures your mind will be pure should you be the one the Goddesses grant the wish of. The same thing applies to Zelda in that her primary driving force is Wisdom, and if granted both Courage and Power would allow her to wish only for the best of her people by her wisdom... but Ganondorf is driven by Power, and him obtaining the other two pieces of the Triforce would only grant him more power with nothing to balance out the evil in his heart.

Or you could have an antagonist who sits on their laurels and is defeated by the hero because he had a handful of crystals. I think I'd rather have the previously mentioned story, but maybe that's just me?

I'm also in awe of how deep and emotional Link's Awakening is. Spoiler alert: it's a dream, but the people you meet and friendships you make while on the island really make you second guess what it is you're fighting for as the big reveal starts setting in; and the fact that the game mysteriously starts off with introducing you to the Ballad of the Wind Fish with its haunting, sad tone really adds a lot to establishing the emotional aspect of the game. You start off questioning why a series that's always been about the adventure and fun would include something so heartbreaking, but it all comes to the front the more you see.

Then you have that moment near the end when you're walking through the Wind Fish's Egg alone and it's all big and empty and it turns you around with no progress to show for it... it's strange, it's infuriating, but it's all deliberate. It's made to leave the player feeling defeated and to give them time to reflect on all that they're leaving behind. You then confront the Nightmare after having the previous time to question what it is you're truly fighting for and if it wouldn't make you happier to just give up and eventually come face to face with the Wind Fish (which - looking back - really feels like meeting God) and it all seems to end.

You're off the island of Koholint, yet Link looks up and smiles as the Wind Fish soars overhead. Strange... it's almost like he faced the philosophical ramifications of his quest and came to peace with it.

Really makes you think, and that's what I love about a good story. Also the fact that Link's Awakening brought darkness and emotion to the Zelda series years before games like Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess makes me appreciate it even more.

author=Reapergurl
However, a deeper explanation on this deserves a topic discussion, which I may or may not start, depending on several factors.

Make sure to put it in the dead religion thread.

author=Davenport
A glass of water contains roughly several octillion atoms.
The observable universe is roughly a trillion trillion or septillion kilometers in diameter and contains roughly a tillion trillion stars.
Assuming Planck length is (10^-35) meter, a finite amount of planck volumes
can fit in our observable universe. 10^200 or (googol)^2.
There is every reason to believe the observable universe could be
a much smaller speck in a enormous possibly infinite multiverse.
Conversely shrinking beyond the planck length may still be possible if the
uncertainty principle no longer applies.

If you'll excuse me, I've gotta engage with something that doesn't require a lot of brainpower while I eat a late dinner. I think I'll watch someone fight their way through Oracle of Seasons with the Cursed Ring on.

Good news! Jesus let a stone roll in front of him during this time and spent a few days away from the world. You can do the same, just lock yourself up inside your house over the weekend.