Background Story
In Ancient Times
It is known that in ancient times existed the three Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore. However, there is an untold story that was kept in secret by the Goddesses and the sages. They agreed that if such a secret was set loose, greed would create many conflicts and wars.
What is untold is that in another dimension known as Xen, another god coexisted; Syxen, a colossal being who ruled the people of Xen, the Xenos. The Xenos are the race Hylians consider “aliens” and have existed long before the creation of Hyrule. Before Hyrule came to be, the Xenos, because of their long life span (aging wise, 100 years for them is a year to Hylians), overpopulated and soon found themselves in need of more land and resources. The Overlord and Queen of Xen pleaded to their god to seek them more land. Syxen, although fierce in appearance, was a very humble god and always tried to please his people. From the Xenos’ request, the god used his powers to open conduits to other dimensions, and he soon found the perfect land in the dimension where the unshaped land of Hyrule resided. However, the three goddesses had already claimed this land for the creation of Hyrule. The goddesses demanded Syxen retreat, but for his people he refused. Thus a long lasting battle of the gods began. With great effort the three goddesses defeated Syxen.
Left behind was his consciously lifeless yet active body. What kept the physical body active, the goddesses found, were five big glowing spheres which are powerful cores of concentrated magic found in the forehead, mouth, chest, and each shoulder. The cores and Syxen's body were made of powerful magic unlike any other, and the goddesses found no way to destroy them. They also found it was possible for others to occupy the lifeless yet active body and become the god. If inhabitants of Hyrule found out about this, many would fight for the right to become a god. To prevent this from happening, the goddesses separated the cores from the body, deactivating the body, and after the creation of Hyrule, created hidden temples to hide these cores. Four of the cores were hidden, while the fifth one was given to the sages for their use.
The
fifth core along with the sages’ pure magic was used to forge the
Master Sword. The goddesses had instructed the sages to forge a sword for the pure-hearted that could vanquish any evil or anyone who would misuse the Triforce. This sword became very powerful, allowing the ability to travel through time, repel evil magic, and give the user powerful abilities. As for Syxen’s body, it was buried in the center of Hyrule Field by the goddesses to make sure no one in the land of Hyrule finds it.
The Past
The Xenos lived for many years without their god. Life was chaotic at first, and as many as half of Xen’s population died. Eventually, the Overlord and Queen took initiative and formed their own system of government. Although strict and monarchic, the two prevented total anarchy and enforced laws that restricted over-reproduction. Since Syxen's disappearance, Xen was never the lively and free land it once was.
Enter Nyx, princess of Xen and daughter of the Overlord and Queen. In her lifetime, her parents had raised her strictly, only focusing on her training and studies. She became very intelligent and skilled, but her childhood was miserably lonely and exhausting and she never had a chance to make friends. Hundreds of years before Syxen’s downfall during her childhood, one day she became very angry at her parents and ran away to unknown places in Xen, where she stumbled upon Syxen. Upon meeting, the god and the child Xeno became very close friends. Syxen understood Nyx’s lonely life and he would listen to Nyx talk and comfort her. From this day, Nyx would in secret often visit Syxen when she had the chance. Syxen soon became her best friend. However, after Syxen went to find his people new land, he never returned. Nyx became immensely grieved by the loss of her god and the poor conditions the Xenos were forced to live in.
Nyx after hundreds of years, now a young adult, pleaded her parents to search for Syxen and to improve conditions in Xen, but they only cared about their glory as new rulers of Xen. Nyx secretly began extensive research to find her friend, eventually tracing the god to the dimension in which Hyrule and Termina resided. In secrecy, Nyx gathered a small group of scouts to research the dimension, her first target of research being Termina.
Throughout their search, the scouts heard about an amazing drink in this dimension known as “milk,” and that creatures known as cows were used for its production. They tracked down many cows in an isolated area known as
Romani Ranch and stole some. When Nyx tried this drink, she became instantly obsessed. From this day forward, every time she sent scouts, she would ask them to bring her some cows.
One night, however, when Nyx sent her scouts, a young brave boy in green apparel defended Romani Ranch. Then the sun rose and all of Nyx’s scouts quickly died. From this day forth, Nyx no longer sent her scouts for unimportant reasons. In the end nothing was found in Termina, and her next target would be Hyrule.
Needing full resources for her search in Hyrule, she overthrew her parents, imprisoned them, and became the new ruler. With all of Xen’s resource available to her, she went many times to various locations of Hyrule in Hylian disguise
at night to find her forgotten friend. She often envied Hyrule for its much less monarchic and less restricted culture.
Many nights after hundreds of years of research led her to the center of Hyrule field, where deep beneath laid Syxen’s lifeless body and where she mourned for her lost friend. Upon further research she tracked down the four temples in four regions of Hyrule where each core resided and realized that after reactivating the body, she could become the new host of Syxen’s body. She soon planned to take over her friend’s body and reign as god in Xen. She would use her powers and authority to make her land flourish like Hyrule without limitations. To quickly find the cores, she called forth
the Elite Four, the four most renowned soldiers of the Xeno race. She one night dispatched them to the four temples where the cores resided,
but they never returned. Finding no other way, Nyx personally went to Hyrule and began the execution of a plan that would guarantee results.
Beginnings
After another long day of labor in his homeland in the forests, Link goes to sleep at his usual time at night. In his sleep Link dreams an unclear and broken vision of Zelda; her voice faint and incomprehensible, like a broken radio. Link wakes up at midnight unable to sleep. Outside his window Link notices a strange female-like figure with yellow glowing eyes walking in the shadows past his house. Suddenly, screams are heard accompanied by various flashes of light outside his window. Link equips his sword and shield and heads outside to find creatures he has never seen before, Xeno scouts, appearing out of nowhere harassing his hometown.
After defeating the creatures, Link heads to Hyrule Castle with Epona, sensing Princess Zelda is in danger. As he crosses Hyrule Field, the earth shakes and a gargantuan structure begins to rise from the depths of the center of Hyrule. The structure has two twin vertical, rectangular, black towers connected by an oval-shaped structure in the middle and is also surrounded by a huge force barrier, denying entrance. Link, now very concerned, hurries to Hyrule Castle.
Dungeons
Introduction
This game’s first dungeon is
Hyrule Castle. Link heads to Princess Zelda’s quarters to rescue her and fights Xeno soldiers and creatures invading the castle along the way. Instead of finding Zelda, he encounters a giant Xeno boss monster. Link defeats the boss, and as the boss disintegrates, from inside the boss an unconscious young and beautiful woman appears. After the battle, guards head up to Zelda’s quarters, telling Link that the creatures have left. They also claim Princess Zelda was kidnapped by a
beam of light from the sky.
Link takes the young woman inside an Inn in Hyrule Castle Town. That night the woman wakes up, introducing herself as
Knil, a historian who studies the Xenos.
She explains that the creatures Link saw are
Xenos from the dimension of
Xen. She only moved into Castle Town a few days ago, but when she saw the Xenos invading the Castle, she sneaked in hoping to find information about them. In the process she witnessed Princess Zelda’s kidnap and was later swallowed by the boss monster to later be rescued by Link. Very soon she makes up her mind that with her knowledge she will help Link save Zelda and Hyrule. To prove her partnership to Link, she gives Link an invention of hers,
Knil’s Walkie-Talkie, which is mapped on the up button on the D-Pad. In this game, Knil is Link’s partner, and she is a character Link and the player become very closely attached to as the story progresses. The player uses the Wii Remote’s speaker and put it next to their ears to listen to Knil.
Knil gives directions to her house in Castle Town and tells Link to meet her the next day
at night for more information. Knil heads back home and Link rests in the inn for the rest of the night.
At night, Link can finally meet Knil inside her house in a dark corner of Castle Town. Knil explains that the structure Link saw rise in the center of Hyrule Field is known as Nexys, a Xeno structure used to make conduits; gateways that connect Xen with Hyrule. Four main conduits have been created by this structure, and these conduits are each powered by one of four magical cores, each hidden by the Xenos in protective temples that lie in four regions of Hyrule. She does not know why the Xenos decided to invade and assumes they are
searching for something. According to Knil, the only way to destroy Nexys and stop the Xeno invasion is to obtain each of the four cores, which deactivates the four conduits and frees each region from Xeno invasion (like how in Twilight Princess regions are freed from the Twlilight) , and to place them inside Nexys in specific locations to overload and destroy it. At the moment, Nexys has a force barrier that denies entrance, but Knil says that she can use the four cores to destroy the barrier. After destroying Nexys, Knil can find a way to open a conduit to Xen to rescue Princess Zelda.
Before Knil gives Link the map to the four temples, she tells him to find a
proper armor, sword, and shield. Knil, vaguely familiar with the story of
a certain legendary sword, gives Link the location. When Link obtains the Master Sword, his apparel and shield becomes that of the Hero of Time’s. Link goes back to Knil and is given a map of the four temples. The player can tackle them in any order. Link can also use Knil’s Walkie-Talkie during his adventure should he ever need help or hints.
Ancient Temples of the Cores
The four temples in which the cores are hidden are
Temple of Wisdom,
Temple of Courage,
Temple of Power, and
Temple of Sages. In each temple Link finds corpses of each of the Xeno Elite Four, and beside them their special items. In the Temple of Wisdom Link finds Emirp’s corpse, and beside it the
Portal Shield. In the Temple of Courage Link finds Ednoces’s corpse, and beside it the
Ring of Duplications. In the Temple of Power, Link finds Ecreit’s corpse, and beside it the
Ray Shot. Last but not least, in the Temple of the Sages Link finds Etrauq’s corpse, and beside it the
Materialization Glove.
The Portal Shield is a big shield that can shoot one portal that connects to the shield itself. The portal can float in mid air and follow enemies or can be shot on surfaces (like in the game Portal). The front of the shield is the second portal.
Ray Shot is a unique portable Xeno cannon held like a bazooka that can shoot laser (much like Beamos’s laser from
OOT but much larger and potent). With this weapon equipped, Link is powerful but slow due to its weight. To shoot, Link has to hold the trigger for five seconds to charge the weapon. The shot lasts for five seconds, and the laser can be moved along a path.
Ring of Duplications is a ring that grants Link the ability to duplicate. The player can give the Copy Link direct and specific commands on the fly, much like how the player gives commands in Mass Effect for the PC.
Materialization Glove is a magical Xeno glove that can materialize and change shape of non-living things, much like how Edward in Full Metal Alchemist, but more limited. Depending on what the player Z-targets (enemies, other objects), different actions and materializations can occur (attack enemy with spikes, reshaping of objects).
Link also obtains the conventional items outside the temple through quests involving interactions with other races of Hyrule. There are also sidequests that can be performed for each of the races. Also, at the end of each of the four temples, there is a giant boss. After defeating one of the bosses, the core shows itself and the respective region becomes free of any Xeno hostility.
After obtaining the four cores, Knil tells Link through the Walkie-Talkie to meet her at her house one night when he is ready to enter Nexys. When Link meets her, she accompanies Link to Nexys and uses the four cores to draw power and shoot a huge magic projectile that shatters the barrier. Exhausted from this, she wishes Link good luck and returns home.
Climax
Nexys: With Knil’s directions, Link has to take the four cores to very specific locations. After this is achieved, Knil contacts Link through the walkie-talkie telling him that the Xenos have stopped appearing and that all access from Xen to Hyrule has been vanquished. Now that this has been accomplished, Knil tells Link to meet her outside of Hyrule Castle at night, where she opens a portal to the specific location in Xen where Princess Zelda resides. Before she opens the conduit, Link needs to give her the four Xeno weapons, which she draws power from to open the conduit. Link gives her the weapons, she opens the conduit, and Link heads to Xen to save Princess Zelda.
Citadel of the Overlord: Link’s mission is to rescue Princess Zelda, who is in the top floor of the Citadel of the Overlord (Xen’s “Hyrule Castle”). After defeating the boss, a giant Xeno gatekeeper of the citadel’s prison, the player finds Zelda imprisoned with the Overlord and the Queen.
Many story elements are revealed in this section of the game. Zelda, well aware of the Xeno invasion, tells Link everything is a big plot by Nyx, Princess of Xen, to revive the Xeno god. She reveals the untold story of the god of Xen only told to Sages (see “In Ancient Times” at the top). Then, the Overlord and Queen reveal the story of their daughter’s rebellion (see “The Past”). They blame themselves for being bad parents and greedy rulers. After these stories, Link and the player will realize that something is not right; all this time the player thought Link was saving Hyrule by planting the cores in Nexys, but he was actually reviving the Xeno god. Knil would have a lot of explaining to do.
The Overlord and Queen open a conduit to Hyrule Castle for Zelda and Link to return. In their return, it is night and the Xeno structure in the center of Hyrule Field can be seen in the vista more active than ever before; glowing and with dark clouds surrounding it. Zelda tells Link one key flaw with the enemy’s plan: Syxen’s body can be brought to life with four cores, but the host will not be nearly as powerful as the original Syxen without the fifth core. Luckily, the enemy does not know about a fifth core, as it was purposely cloaked by the sages as the Master Sword. As long as Link possesses the sword, there is a chance to stop the enemy. Finally, Zelda gives Link the
Arrows of Light for Link’s use.
Exposition
Link goes to Nexys to stop its full activation, but as soon as Link enters the dungeon, all doors lock and sees a woman standing in the middle of the room with her back facing Link. “I have many things to tell you Link.” Knil turns around, and soon after her Hylian disguise begins to disintegrate to reveal what is underneath it; a lady Xeno. “Let me truthfully and properly introduce myself.
I am Nyx, Princess of Xen.”
In this segment Nyx exposes her entire plan. Her plan has always been to revive Syxen’s body and become his successor. To do that, she needed someone to get the four cores for her. First she opened four conduits in the four regions of Hyrule nearby the Temples of the Cores (the female at the beginning of the game was Nyx who had finished opening the fourth conduit). She then invaded Hyrule Castle at night to bait the strongest hero, in this case Link. She disguised herself as a Hylian historian and set up her being swallowed by the boss monster to be saved by a hero who could prove himself worthy by defeating it.
When she woke up next to Link she invented stories about her past and her purpose in Castle Town, and to begin manipulation, she offered her partnership. She used the conduits to make up the story that the cores kept the conduits active so that Link would think retrieving the cores would close the conduits. After Link obtained a core, Nyx closed the conduit of the respective region to give the illusion that retrieving the core saved the region from hostility. Also, the bosses at the end of each of the Ancient Temples of the Cores were guardians that the goddesses and sages had created from the cores’ magic to protect the cores. Even the Elite Four were overwhelmed by the guardians’ power and perished. She also lied about the Nexys; it is actually the body of the forgotten Xeno god. In fact, Nexys is a pseudoname for its true name; Syxen. With help from other Xeno magicians, she magically raised Syxen’s body to shoulder level to make Syxen’s body look like a structure. She lied about the four cores being able to overload the “structure” to manipulate Link into reviving Syxen's body. After Link placed the four cores inside, she temporarily unsummoned her minions to give the illusion that Link's actions saved Hyrule. Nyx also kidnapped Princess Zelda not only because Zelda could exploit Nyx's plan with her knowledge as one of the Sages entrusted with the secret of the Ancient Past, but also to send Link to Xen so he does not interfere with final preparations for Syxen’s body’s revival. Finally, she lied about needing the four Elite Weapons to open the conduit so she could use them herself for battle.
“ I would ask you to leave and allow everything to end here and now; I have no more intentions of using Hyrule. I simply want to finish my mission and go home. But the anger I see in your eyes reveals you want justice. If you are planning to stop me, I am afraid I have no choice but to end your life.”
Final Boss Battle
_\| Rebellious Princess of Xen: Nyx |/_
Arena: The battle takes place inside Syxen's head, also the entrance. The room is circular, huge, and spacious with a subtly organic look. There's a circular pedestal in the middle, and right above on the center of the spherical round ceiling resides an alien-like organic looking glowing sphere.
Weapons Needed: Master Sword, Arrows of Light, Other Physically Damaging Weapons.
Boss Weapons/Attacks: Nyx uses the weapons of the elite four. However, her being a Xeno herself, her knowledge on the usage of the weapons is far more extensive.
- Energy: Nyx can shoot energy balls and unleash shockwaves to damage and knock Link.
- Light Prison: A beam of light that Xenos use to capture people. If Link gets trapped in it, he floats and is trapped in mid-air, allowing Nyx to execute any kind of attack.
- Ray Shot: She uses this weapon to shoot a laser beam, much like Link does when he uses it. However, she can handle the weapon much more efficiently.
- Portal Shield: Unlike Link, Nyx can make dozens of portals.
- Materialization Glove: She uses the glove to materialize defensive and offensive structures and weapons.
- Ring of duplications: Unlike Link, who could only make one more copy of himself, Nyx can make three more copies of herself.
Nyx equips herself with the weapons of the Elite Four she retrieved from Link. Using the Portal Shield, she creates dozens of portals that surround Link from above (Nyx is outside of the horde of portals). There are both rows and columns of circular portals. All portals will angle towards Link no matter where he moves. Nyx then takes the Portal Shield and makes it stand vertically with the shield’s portal facing her. The battle begins. Nyx begins using the Ray Shot to fire inside the Portal Shield, which shoots into the shield and out one of the portals surrounding Link. Note that at this point, if the player uses a projectile and attempts to attack Nyx directly, she will shift one of her portals to block her, and the projectile will go inside that portal, and out another portal surrounding Link, causing the player to hit Link. Also, if the player attempts to run towards Nyx and attack her with the sword, she will use the Materialization Glove to materialize an impenetrable wall. In essence, at this point attacking head on is IMPOSSIBLE.
However, the player will notice that when Nyx uses the Ray Shot, she shoots into the shield and out ONE of the portals. One out of the dozens of portals connects to the Portal Shield. Because of this, the player not only has to dodge her attacks, but also has to witness from which portal the ray came from. It will not be easy, as portals constantly shift position, making it easy to lose track. After the player tracks down the portal, the player needs to shoot an arrow of light inside the portal, because remember, the Xenos are weak to light, as hinted all along. The arrow will go inside, and shoot back out from the shield and hit Nyx. If the player shoots the wrong portal, the projectile goes inside the portal and out another portal surrounding Link, and the projectile will hit Link. In other words, all but one portal connects to another portal facing Link. After a successful attack with the light arrows, Nyx is stunned and cannot move, attack, or defend. Now that Nyx can't shift portals or materialize walls, this is the opportunity for the player to head in and strike with the sword. After a few seconds, she unleashes a shockwave, sending Link back into the horde of portals.
After the battle progresses, she materializes swords with the Materialization Glove and attacks Link with her sword by dashing into the Portal Shield and out from another portal. She dashes at Link with her sword, strikes, and then hops back into another portal and she hops from portal to portal and keeps dashing at Link with her materialized sword from unexpected locations. The player must immobilize her again with the light arrow, but the player will notice shooting a light arrow directly at Nyx never works, as she simply dodges and hops back into the portals. To hit her this time, the player must surprise-attack her rather than attack her head on. The player must witness to which portal Nyx hops into, be on the look out for which portal she comes out from, and as she comes out another portal and dashes at Link, the player must shoot a light arrow inside the portal she originally hopped into. The arrow will go in that portal, and out the portal where Nyx dashes at Link from, and the arrow hits Nyx on the back. This leaves her stunned for more sword strikes. Timing is important in this phase. It only takes two seconds for Nyx to dash and hop inside a portal and another two seconds to dash back out to attack Link. If not timed, she will dodge Link's attack or strike Link. After a few of these, she no longer hops into portals and attacks Link directly on a one-on-one sword battle. Nyx uses her agility to dodge and dash towards or away from Link. If Link or Nyx distance themselves too much from each other, Nyx begins using the Materialization Glove to materialize spikes from the ground below Link’s location, fists from walls, shoot the Ray Shot inside a portal to attack Link, or she can materialize throwing knives which she throws inside various portals, which attack Link from various angles. She can also materialize walls and spikes around her for defense. Her most powerful attack is the Light Prison. She summons the beam of light used by the Xenos to capture things, and if Link gets caught, Link floats in mid-air and is be trapped, allowing Nyx to use the Ray Shot at full potential directly at Link. This removes five hearts. In situations like this when Nyx is attacking the player directly, the player has to use Link’s various combat skills with the sword to attack her. The player can also use any physically damaging item previously obtained any way they see fit (bow and arrow, boomerang, etc) or use special items like hookshot to quickly get close to Nyx. Nyx is very tough, however. She constantly attacks, defends, and uses her superior agility to dodge attacks. She constantly uses combinations of the four Xeno weapons for varied and unexpected attacks.
When Nyx has little life left, she heads back into a portal and out the shield, and she uses the final of the elite four weapons, the Ring of Duplications. She creates three more copies of herself. The battle repeats itself but with four Nyx. The player can only reduce her life by attacking the real Nyx (the three copies are distinguishable because they are noticeably lighter in shade). For example, when using the light arrow to shoot into the portal and out the shield, although the number of portals surrounding Link doesn't quadruple, the number of portals leading to one of the four Portal Shields does. When it comes to shooting into the portals, the player has to guess which of the four leads to the original Nyx. If the player hits a fake Nyx, she is stunned for a few seconds, but the other three keep attacking. If the player attacks the real Nyx, all four Nyx are stunned, giving the player the opportunity to attack the real Nyx. In the later, more close and personal phase of the battle, if the player attacks the real Nyx, all four Nyx will shudder and react the same. In essence, all phases of this battle are repeated but with four times the intensity. The player must hang in there in this challenging, dynamic, and intense battle and reduce what little is left of Nyx's life.
When Nyx is defeated, she falls to her knees, and all Elite Four items fall next to her, which Link retrieves. Soon, the whole structure begins shaking as Nyx tells Link that it is too late; activation has been complete. The organic structure in the middle of the room’s ceiling opens and shines down a beam of light onto the circular pedestal in the middle of the room. Synyx uses all that is left of her energy to open the exit door and to unleash a giant shockwave that sends Link flying out of the dungeon. Outside of Syxen’s body, Link looks up to get a glimpse of Nyx getting on top of the circular pedestal and inside the beam of light. The beam of light lifts Nyx up inside the organic sphere, which encloses. As soon as this happens, Syxen’s mouth closes, the earth shakes, and the structure begins to slowly reveal its head, arms, body, and legs. As this happens, Zelda makes an appearance riding on her white horse alongside with Epona. Zelda tells Link to get on and to get ready for one hell of a fight.
0>- Reborn Goddess of Xen: Synyx -<o
Synyx rises from the middle of Hyrule Field to show that the structure is actually the body of a god. Yes, Link for the first time in Zelda history fights the dungeon itself!
Arena: Hyrule Field (Night)
Weapons Needed: Ring of Duplications, Portal Shield, Ray Shot, Materialization Glove, Arrows of Light, Zelda, and Epona (most of this battle invovles riding Epona).
Boss Weapons/Attacks:
- Syspear: Synyx can materialize a giant glowing spear from thin air, which she uses to attack enemies at a distance. After it is thrown, it explodes after any physical contact.
- Punch/Slam/Pound: Synyx uses its gargantuan hands and feet to attack Link and Zelda.
- Hurl: Synyx throws land, trees, and structures at Link and Zelda.
- Synife: Synyx materializes a godly glowing knife from thin air. The range of its slice is very long. When the Synife is used, it is as if the blade extends for a millisecond, being able to strike enemies at long range. (It is like Link’s full spin attack in Ocarina of Time. The range of the attack extends way past the actual length of the sword)
- Syray: the top of the two black towers that are Synyx’s shoulder light up and shoot giant lasers.
Synyx stands up, towering above all structures in Hyrule and the battle begins. Link and Zelda begin by riding on their horses. Zelda follows Link as he traverses with Epona the huge arena of Hyrule Field. The first thing the player must do is to get Link and Zelda away from Synyx, as she begins to strike with her fists and feet. Synyx is visible no matter where Link is in Hyrule Field due to her size. The point of this boss battle is to immobilize Synyx, climb her, re-enter her mouth, and shoot a light arrow at the organic sphere in which Nyx resides. To immobilize her, Link has to attack Synyx through experimentation with the four Xeno weapons and the light arrows. However, once a method of attack is used against Synyx, she learns from her mistakes and doesn't allow Link to repeat the same type of attack again (dodges or counterattacks), and therefore, the player has to come up with another way to attack Synyx. There is a total of five different ways to attack Synyx which the player has to figure out. Once Synyx is attacked all five ways, she becomes immobilized. Zelda helps in battle by giving the player hints. Not only is she Link's new partner (replacing Knil's Walkie-Talkie), but also when Link equips an appropriate weapon, she summons wisps of light to a location to point a point of interest which allows for the player to Z-Target. It is almost as if Zelda summons a fairy like
OOT's Navi to point out an important target. These are all the methods the player has to attack Synyx to immobilize her.
Arrows of Concentrated Light: When Link equips his bow with the light arrows, Zelda also equips her bow. Then she summons a wisp of light on Synyx’s forehead way in the distance. Link and Zelda in conjunction have to shoot the arrow of light at the same time in the same spot. Zelda follows Link's exact actions as the player Z-Targets the point of interest and pulls the string of the bow to shoot. Before the player shoots, the player will hear Zelda's voice through the Wii Remote's speaker yelling 1...2...3! When she says 3, she will shoot, so the player has to use this to know when to release the arrow to shoot in conjunction with Zelda. When hit successfully, there is a huge explosion of light and Synyx becomes blinded and damaged for a few seconds. After she recovers, she quickly summons a Syspear and throws it at Link and Zelda, which they have to quickly get away from before it hits them and/or explodes.
Ray Shot: When Link equips the Ray Shot, Zelda summons a wisp of light right behind Synyx’s head. Link has to ride Epona and lose Synyx to sneak behind her, Z-target the wisp of light, and shoot a full 5-second successful shot with the Ray Shot, causing a visible explosion on Synyx’s head. After Synyx recovers, the top of her black tower-like shoulders begin to light up and she shoots two giant rays for ten seconds. Link and Zelda have no choice but to run as the laser follows them.
Ring of Duplications: When Link creates a copy of himself, Copy Link instantly equips the Portal Shield, creates a distant portal behind Synyx’s head that follows her, and faces normal Link with the shield. Zelda summons a wisp of light pointing to Copy Link’s shield. The player has the option to use Arrows of Concentrated Light or Ray Shot to Z-Target the Copy Link's Portal Shield, shoot inside it and out of the distant portal for a surprise attack. After a successful attack and after Synyx recovers, the player can see Synyx preparing to punch inside the portal next to her head. Link and Zelda have to run away from copy Link as soon as possible before the fist goes through the portal and out of copy Link’s Portal Shield to hit Link or Zelda. After this, copy Link blows up because of Synyx’s fist and arm size and the arm disappears.
Portal Shield: When Link equips the Portal Shield, Zelda summons a wisp of light on Synyx’s chest. Link has to Z-Target Synyx's chest and summon a portal in front of it. After this is done, she summons wisps of lights on Synyx’s two shoulders and her right arm. This is because the player has to wait for Synyx to attack with either the Syray (shoulders) or the Syspear (right arm). Players have to Z-Target whichever section of the body is used for whichever attack. Once the Syspear or Syray engages the shield, players are prompted with rapid button presses, as absorbing such attacks requires great stamina and strength. If the player succeeds, the Synyx’s powerful attack goes inside Link’s portal shield and out the portal in front of her chest, causing great damage. When Synyx recovers, she draws her Synife, sprints towards Link and Zelda until in range, and begins to unleash a flurry of sword strikes destroying anything in her path. Link and Zelda have to escape Synyx for her to stop.
Materialization Glove: When Link equips the Materialization Glove, Zelda summons wisps of light on Synyx’s feet. Using the glove while Z-Targeting Synyx's feet creates a wall as high as her ankle in front of her feet. Figuring this out and executing this is tricky and risky, but the player has to wait until Synyx begins to sprint to unleash the flurry of Synife attacks. Also, the player has to wait until Synyx gains enough momentum as she sprints in order for this to work. Once Synyx gains enough momentum, the player has to summon a materialized wall of land to trip Synyx. This has to be timed well, however. If Synyx does not gain enough momentum, then she only stumbles but doesn’t trip, and if this is done too late, Synyx will fall on top of Link or begin to attack with the Synife. If timed perfectly, Synyx trips and the player has enough time to get Link and Zelda out of the way before Synyx rolls over them. After Synyx recovers, she begins to hurl large chunks of land and trees at Link and Zelda. Link and Zelda have to run away and dodge the attacks.
The player has the freedom to attack Synyx in any order, making the battle much less linear. But the challenge in this section of the battle lies in discovering the 5 ways to attack using Zelda’s hints and doing so while in constant attack. Synyx constantly attacks Link and Zelda with all her weapons and attacks as they run around Hyrule Field (each of Synyx’s attack takes off 5 hearts). The player must also watch out for Xeno enemies scattered across Hyrule Field.
After the 5 attacks are achieved, Synyx becomes immobilized and falls to her knees in dog position. Link and Zelda have to rush to Synyx’s foot on their horses, get off their horses and begin climbing this colossus beginning from the back of one of her foot. Zelda guides the player using wisps of light to highlight points of significance like, for example, a location where the hook shots can be used. The path is linear enough for the player to never get lost, but complex enough so that the player has to use every item ever obtained and use Zelda’s various powers to solve some puzzles and get across Synyx’s body starting from the back of Synyx’s foot, up to her buttocks, up her back, up to her head, down the nose, and inside the mouth. Once Link and Zelda go inside the mouth, an Arrow of Concentrated Light must be shot at the organic sphere in which Nyx resides. The colossi, powerless, falls flat on its front, head facing sideways.
The organic sphere opens, and from it Nyx drops to the ground. “I do not understand. It took three goddesses to bring down Syxen… but it took one man to bring me down?” Zelda explains Nyx about the fifth core which Link currently holds. Nyx, enraged of her failure, cries out a roar and uses all her power to open the ultimate conduit. Link and Zelda both notice many flashes of light outside Syxen’s body, and rush out to see what Nyx has done. The sight is that of hundreds of Xeno creatures of all types and sizes appearing from nowhere and heading towards Hyrule Castle. As the two are distracted, Nyx escapes from the body and begins to float to unreachable heights in the center of Hyrule Field. Floating high in mid-air, she sits in a yoga position to use all her concentration and power to keep the ultimate conduit opened. Zelda tells Link that she prepared an army fearing this would happen and tells Link she will head back to Hyrule Castle to help defend it. Meanwhile, she tells Link to use the Master Sword to complete Syxen’s body’s revival and to use Syxen’s body to defend Hyrule Castle.
/()\ Army Commander of Xen: Conduit Nyx /()\
Link stabs the Master Sword, the fifth core, in the circular pedestal in the center of the room to activate its true power. A beam of light shines from the organic sphere shines down at Link and the pedestal he stands on, which lifts him up until Link is inside, and the organic sphere encloses. The player becomes Sylink and controls this godly figure to defend Hyrule Castle. Yes, for the first time in Zelda history, the player takes command of a dungeon!
Arena: Hyrule Field (Night)
Weapons needed: More powerful versions of weapons and powers used by Synyx.
Boss Weapons/Attacks:
- Conduit: Nyx opens the ultimate conduit to summon her entire army.
This stage of the battle serves for the player to experiment with this new godly toy. The player controls Sylink from a third person perspective with the same camera system and controls as using Link. However, due to his weight, Sylink feels heavier, steps are loud an bestial, and attacks are loud and impactful. All four directions of the D-Pad on the Wii Remote have Sylink’s various powers and weapons mapped, like the Syspear, Syray, fists (for pounding and hurling), etc. Sylink can throw the Syspear to certain targets to cause an explosion that sends dozens of Xeno enemies flying, use Syray to fry enemies, hurl heavy objects to crush them, or get up close and personal with fists and feet to pound them. The motion plus is used to slice with the Synife, which can easily clear paths of enemies. When Z-Targeting, instead of defending with the shield, Link can defend himself from projectiles and attacks using the Synife in conjunction with the motion plus. Also when Z-Targeting, when the player presses A, instead of doing the usual jump sword slash, Sylink jumps forward and pounds the ground with his feet and two fists to crush enemies and create a huge shockwave that demolishes anything in its way. The player can also use Sylink's roll (run and press A) to crush enemies. In this battle, the player feels like the ultimate badass as the player gets a chance to completely demolish the army any fun way the player sees fit. Sylink towers higher than any structure in Hyrule and the vista of the invasion and all of Hyrule itself is breathtaking. There are Xeno soldiers and creatures of land and air, of all types, from all angles, and of all sizes. They appear creepily and out of nowhere like they do in Majora’s Mask’s invasion, and there are hordes of them all heading for Hyrule Castle. The player has to make sure that the Xenos do not reach and destroy Hyrule Castle. There is a health bar for Hyrule Castle instead of the usual hearts (Sylink cannot be harmed by lowly Xenos). Also, Sylink cannot get near Hyrule Castle because he would crush Zelda’s army defending Hyrule Castle from any Xenos. In the vista the player can see that they have cannons, catapults, wizards, and soldiers clashing with Xenos to defend Hyrule Catle in a battle for survival. But as more soldiers die and as more damage is done to Hyrule Castle Town and Hyrule Castle, its life bar begins to deplete. If the player did sidequests for different races such during the adventure, they also help with the battle because Link gains their trust. The more sidequests the player does before this battle, the more health and backup Hyrule Castle has. The boss battle ends after enough damage is done to the army. It is game over if Hyrule Castle's life bar depletes.
This boss battle is pure fun, providing the player with a feeling of incredible power and dominion. However, the player has to be on toes to defend Hyrule Castle, as it gets progressively harder as more Xenos invade Hyrule. The player will not want this fun yet challenging boss battle stage to end.
Nyx gives a loud cry in an unknown language, and what is left of her army (still a good amount) begin to retreat and gather in the center of Hyrule Field, exactly below where Nyx is floating. She then begins to chant in an unknown language. As she does so, small, fist-sized blue orbs begin coming out of her army’s body as each soldier and creature falls to their death one by one. Nyx begins to grow in size and power as she absorbs these blue orbs.
,.;: Nyx :;.,
Nyx uses her final resource known as the Overclock. This is a secret technique passed down only into the Royal Family of Xen and only meant to be used as last resource. It allows the user to absorb the cores of the entire army to gain power. In the beginnings of times the Xenos were created from Syxen’s cores. Because of this, each Xeno has a small core that is equivalent to a Hylian’s brain, heart, and genes. Nyx can use Overclock to absorb the cores of the hundreds of soldiers and creatures left in her army. She grows in size and power to rival Sylink. It is only Link and Nyx, both beasts towering higher than any structure in Hyrule, for one last battle in the vast battlefield of a stormy Hyrule Field.
Arena: Hyrule Field (Stormy Night)
Weapons Needed: Synyx’s original weapons and powers, body slam, CQC
Boss Weapons/Attacks: Sword, energy attacks, light prison, hurl, body slam, martial arts, acrobatics
This final battle is a very personal battle between Link and Nyx. Both colossi give a bestial cry of anger and agony, and the battle begins. Hyrule begins to rain and all is silent but the cries, the heavy steps, and the heavy blows of the two colossi as they battle each other. Music is faint and soft, sad, and emotional. Every sound echoes through the darkest corners and depths in the land of Hyrule.
Sylink has access to all his attacks from the battle against the army. This time, however, he uses his weapons on a one-on-one battle with Nyx. Hearts make a return in this battle. Because Link is a Hylian rather than a Xeno, Sylink is not as powerful and as hard to kill as Syxen. Sylink uses the Synife in conjunction with the Wii Motion Plus as his primary weapon of direct offense. Nyx has a glowing katana-like sword. It is up to the player to decide how to defeat Nyx. There is no set pattern for this boss battle; it is a one on one battle of the colossi. The player can choose to go up-close and personal and engage in a Wii Motion Plus sword battle or engage with fists and kicks. The player can also distance Sylink from Nyx to use long-range attacks such as the Syspear, the Syray, or hurl.
Sylink and Nyx can also engage in CQC. When Nyx is close enough and when the chance presents itself, the player can chuck the nunchuck forward to do a body slam, which stuns Nyx. As she is stunned, the player is prompted with pressing A when close to her to grab and constrain Nyx to engage a new battle sequence similar to a brutal UFC style body to body close quarters fight. The player is prompted with various button presses and motions to do, and each success from the player makes Sylink give a successful blow while a success from Nyx gets Sylink a blow. A lot of elbowing, punching, kneeing, and kicking takes place during this sequence. The fight eventually goes to the ground, and the player must keep engaging in button presses and motion prompts to give the most damage possible. This sequence is very cinematic. The two perform various martial arts move, engage in fist fights, and eventually go to the ground doing American-action-movie style ground fights. Camera shakes and shows great angles of these epic CQC sequences, showing the player how two angry and merciless beasts fight each other to the end. Once the sequence ends, the camera pans to the normal third person view.
This battle is not easy. Nyx is very smart and vicious. She dashes at or away from the player, dodges attacks, attacks with her sword, smartly uses her long-ranged energy attacks, hurls objects, performs acrobatics, and can even be the one to start the CQC engagement. She constantly adapts to the player’s play style and constantly attempts to counteract the player’s actions. As the battle progresses, Nyx becomes more fierce and powerful and attacks more often and rapidly. The player must use all weapons in the player’s arsenal and combat skills learned in this fast paced and cinematic battle of colossal beasts to be victorious.
Conclusion
Sylink pierces the Synife through Nyx’s chest. Silence. Nyx falls on her back with the Synife pierced. Flat on her back she begins to shrink to her normal size again along with the Synife . At the same time, Sylink also begins to shrink to Link’s size. Link, wearing Syarmor (it look’s like Hero of Time’s armor, but resembles Syxen’s body), approaches Nyx, who is struggling but alive. “Everyday it devoured me from the inside… thinking about deceiving my only friend. But Xen… it is my homeworld; I had no choice. When I found Syxen, he was gone. My heart sunk from the loss of my one childhood friend, and my land sunk from monarchy and dictatorship. Soon my emotions blinded me and I came to the belief that I am to become the new goddess and follow in his footsteps, to make Xen thrive once again... even if some would get hurt in the process. But now I realize, I brought shame to Syxen and my homeworld. I am ashamed to have brought harm to the peaceful land of Hyrule, to have hurt a good-hearted man like you. I hope you know… that you are still my partner. Link… we… we are still friends right?” Players can choose
Yes or
No. (Remember, throughout the adventure, Link and Knil become close partners and friends.)
Yes: Link nods his head. Link, using the powers of Syarmor, uses magic to completely heal Nyx. As she heals, the Synife floats out of Nyx’s chest into Link’s hands, and then disappears for Link to summon when later needed. “Link… you shouldn’t have done this, I don’t deserve to live! I…” Link hugs Nyx. Emotional happy music. The camera pans out for a nice view, the frame freezes, and the game ends. It is up to the player’s imagination to interpret what happens next.
No: Link shakes his head. “I don’t blame you; I would have said the same thing. But I just want you to know that I’m sorry… and thank you for having been such a good friend.” Link glances at her one more time and begins to walk away and behind him Nyx disintegrates into blue particles. The camera pans out for a cool view of Link walking away all sexy and behind him blue particles. The frame freezes and the game ends. It is up to the player’s imagination to interpret what happens next.
Credits roll, and as usual with 3D Zelda games, various scenes are showcased. Depending on the player's choice of Yes or No, there are two different versions of credits each with different scenes that reflect the made decision. After the credits, the game saves.
The player can resume the game to explore Hyrule after the events of the credits. Resuming the game unlocks a fifth region, a peaceful Xen, which the player can access through a conduit in the center of Hyrule Field. Also, depending on the choice of Yes or No, there are differences in each resumed game. One of many differences is that if the player chooses Yes, Nyx lives and Link is granted access to the Citadel of the Overlord in Xen. However, Hyrule Castle and Zelda will not be accessible because Zelda will dislike Link for saving one who brought harm to Hyrule. If the player chooses No, Nyx dies and the Citadel of the Overlord will not be accessible because the Overlord and Queen will dislike Link for being merciless. However, Zelda will be very grateful to Link and allows him access to Hyrule Castle. Both princesses serve the same purpose however; to allow the player to replay a boss battle. When the player talks to Zelda or Nyx, the player can choose the conversation option of replaying a boss. Zelda uses Song of Time and Nyx uses Conduits to send Link directly to the boss. Once the boss is defeated, time freezes, and there is a portal that sends Link back to his original time.
As a reward for beating the game, the player obtains Syarmor along with its corresponding equipments, weapons, and attacks. The player can resume the save file and this item is equipped. Link becomes a mini Sylink, having access to smaller versions of ALL of Sylink's attacks. .
Author Notes: If you still haven't noticed, I chose a race of creatures whose story has not been established yet, the Majora’s Mask aliens. I’m seeing a lot of recycling of Gerudo this, and Oocca that, Goron this, and Zora that, angels this, and demons that. I went for something that was never used before to allow more freedom and uniqueness. I also hope judges aren't turned off by the length. There is vast amount of depth in how the story and gameplay throughout the entire quest affects the experience of the final boss, both emotionally and gameplay wise.
Work Cited
http://justiceace.files.wordpress.co...night-fire.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkcjFC0zc-Q