ZFGC CP > Side Quests

Magic Talismans

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Max.:
Legend has it that the ancient Hylian craftsman could endue their work with old magic. One particular man focused his efforts on creating talismans to aid adventurers, which some claim survive to this day, hidden across the kingdom.

Our hero might happen across these rare treasures, usually after solving a few puzzles in an inaccessible cave or as a reward for a trading quest or whatever.

Finding a talisman automatically equips it and boosts your abilities. They're visible on a menu subscreen like the power bracelets or triforce pieces would be, as a passive item.

Aquamarine Talisman:
Allows Link to swim faster.

Orion Talisman:
Allows Link to shoot bombs and arrows with less reload time between shots.

Cyclone Talisman:
The spin attack charges more quickly.

Monkey Talisman:
Allows Link to climb ladders and climbable walls more quickly (about the same speed as walking).

Acrobat's Talisman:
Allows Link to walk across tightropes and narrow ledges more quickly.

Iron Talisman:
Link becomes immune to bomb blasts.

Quartz Talisman:
Wearing the shadow cloak consumes magic more slowly.

Opal Talisman:
Link's Sword beams become more powerful.

Great Fairy's Talisman:
Reduces the amount of damage Link takes from enemies.



So, what do we think? It's always good to have more rewards for exploring, since rupees get old and we can only have so many pieces of heart. If you have any other ideas, let 'em fly. However, I don't think we should have more than around 10, because otherwise they wouldn't feel as rare.

Miles07:
I would suggest taking hints from the other official entry where Rings are used: the Oracle games. They have a list of 64 rings, with a variety of usability. For instance, some of them are meant for achievements only (Signpost Ring, Friendship Ring, etc.), while others have uses in certain situations that you have to be prepared for (Roc's Ring, Quicksand Ring, etc.). Still others are skin updates (Moblin's Ring, Likelike Ring, etc.) which make them act like the Zora's/Goron's/Gerudo's Masks in Ocarina of Time. Yet other ring alter the stats of the hero (Red Ring, Rang Ring, etc.).

So basically, we can get rid of 'achievement' rings and possibly all but a few 'reskins' rings, and we are left with actual usable stuff.

Max.:
Yup! The idea is totally rooted in the Oracle games, which were the first Zelda games I ever played. I looked through the list of rings from the oracle games when brainstorming, immunity to bomb blasts came right from that.

The vast majority of the Oracle rings I didn't include for two reasons. 1) I wanted to preserve the rarity of the rings here, to make them more exciting to find. 2) The Oracle rings have the very different attribute of being a one-at-a-time activate/deactivate system. So having a bunch of things like red and green rings runs the risk of overpowering Link unless you're limited by one-at-a-time. Similarly, the situational rings (quicksand ring, snowshoe ring, etc), without activating/deactivating them and limiting the number you can wear, that would just bypass some of the game's puzzles probably.

We could use more of the ideas from the Oracle games if we instituted a system where you had to choose which one ring to wear, and you could take it off and choose another one, but I intentionally didn't choose that, because I thought having passive rings would be a lot less work to add into the game. Like the stat-boosting "joy butterflies" or whatever from Minish Cap, they're just a rare secret thing that doesn't add any new mechanics.


However, from the Oracle ring list, I did see the Roc's ring and the snowshoe ring could have a cool place in our game. However, I thought these might work better as thief abilities. Basically, there's no difference, you complete a sidequest and gain a passive ability. But for narrative purposes, those seemed like they'd have a bigger payoff as a "skill" Link "learns" instead of just magic he finds. As far as gameplay, I don't think it'd make a difference though.

Miles07:
I like the idea of "rings" or whatever providing permanent changes to the player like the Joy Butterflies, but within the game universe the Joy Butterfly bestowed an upgrade and then disappeared - the icon of the butterfly doesn't exist in the pause menus. Rings, on the other hand (pun not intended), kinda denote the ability to equip/unequip them, like done in Oracles. (The Rings in the original LoZ were only two, and they gave a permanent stat boost, so they don't count in this discussion.) If we were to have the "rings" items grant Link an ability, a capability, or a stat-boost once and then remove the object from play, then it would make sense to use rings.

Otherwise, just imagine meeting a supposed "thief" with, like, 15 rings on his fingers. Wouldn't seem right in-universe, and it'd likely get noticed by players.

No, unless there's a way to make the rings grant Link their power and then removed from the visible universe, then I think that Rings should be equipable.

Or...
The thought just crossed my mind:
Minor cogs.
Instead of just the main 4 cogs from each of the dungeons, could there also be minor cogs that can work for the Thief Bracers to provide either active or passive abilities/stat boosts? Just like machines use multiple gears and wheels within, the Thief Bracers could also allow for multiple cogs to give functionality to its magic powers. Not all of them need magic, mind you.
Perhaps there can also be a way to upgrade the number of minor Cogs the Bracers can handle?

Sorry, just rambling now. Gotta go to sleep.

Max.:
Lol, I think you're overthinking it, dude. I can totally imagine a thief with a bunch of rings (he'd look like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean) for one thing, and also, can you imagine a thief carrying around a sword, shield, boomerang, hookshot, bomb cannon, wearing a cape for jumping and flippers for swimming, etc.? Also, thought, since Link can always immediately jump into water once he gets the flippers, does that mean he's always wearing them? Or maybe he never wears them, just having them in his inventory allows him to swim :p

Anyway, why don't we change these rings to Talismans or something then? That way there's no unintentional connotations of taking them off and putting them on, and we can have the ease of just altering a parameter of Link's programming or whatever, instead of having to program in a new system of a ring menu and a place to equip one at a time, etc.

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