The Boomerang of Doom...er...Aang

So I couldn't come up with a wittier title. Sheesh.

Anyways, this topic is to discuss a useful revival of what has been claimed to be in years past a rather useless weapon that is easily replaced by the bow and arrows...huh? How did you know it was a boomerang?

Personally, I think WW and TP made some important steps in its functionality- but its integration with the environment has always been sub-par. How could we change this?

Discuss till thy heart is content.

I think that it should change type on what you hit it against, i.e., turn into a boomerang that ensnares enemies in vines if it hits plant-life or blows enemies up if you hit a flammable object and fire or something like that.

I enjoy the cleverness of the title. <3

Well, let's see... I liked the Gale Boomerang from TP, it was nice. Too bad it kinda lost its usage after awhile. Something like that, but possibly better, could help the boomerang. Making some puzzles solvable only with the boomerang would be nice too. Some switches that are unreachable with it, some places that are unreachable without it, things like that.

Or they could use it in some extremely clever way that no one can think of at the moment. This is Nintendo we're talking about, my fellow ZUers. They're extremely creative.

Oh! Maybe we can have the boomerang pick up a few key items at a time, have them brought back to you, and you need to hit something with those items (using the boomerang) spot on to continue forward.

Boomerang is a very odd word.

not sure... but I have gotten annoyed at least once or twice how useless the boomerang is in certain games when in Link's Awakening it was crazy powerful and I used it more than the sword!

I think the boomerang should be the only way to make some enemies vunerable to attack, to force players to pull it out every once and a while.

Actually, if they could somehow build on the boomerang in Spirit Tracks, where it can carry fire and icey...fire, that would be kinda cool. Except you wouldn't be able to draw the path on screen...

They could use the boomerang targeting system from Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, combined with the properties of carrying fire and ice from Spirit Tracks. Then drawing on the screen wouldn't be necessary, though some of the puzzles like freezing water with ice would require you to be able to target something on the other side of the water.

Puzzle-wise, boomerangs have never seemed too lacking. I just want them to be useful in combat again. Twilight Princess's awesome Gale Boomerang was such a waste simply because Nintendo didn't flesh out the boomerang+tornado concept in battles.

I notice that in every other Zelda game I love the boomerang...and then in the others I hate it. OoT...hated it. TWW loved it. TP hated it. PH loved it. ST hated it again! Ahh, I don't know how they do that but they're always screwing something up with the boomerang. Sometimes it just feels awkward or useless. It's like they make it waaay overpowered so they nerf it...and then they overpower it again. And when I don't like the boomerang I usually end up falling in love with the hookshot/bow and arrow.

If the pattern keeps going...ZWii will have an awesome boomerang though. xP

The most interesting aspect I have ever seen for the boomerang was cutting ropes. Why? It is such a simple technique that yields itself to a plethora of situations. However, the bulk of such a trait was used in clipping plants and the destruction of giant, boar-faced marionettes.

I had an idea for a system where you had to cut down ropes in order to make large platforms of varying sizes fall and reach a new destination. They would all be hanging from the ceiling- big, cubic structures. Some would be tall, others would have gaps in them, etc. But the goal of the puzzle would be to drop these platforms in the correct place in order to make a path to a new area. You have to be on top of them to cut them, but be mindful of exactly what you are cutting, because a platform in the wrong position could mess up the entire layout.

And then I thought- what if some of them are moving around on the ceiling? Then you have to time when to cut them, or else they would be in the wrong place. As an extension to this- what if you could move them around before you cut them? Perhaps equipping the iron boots and pulling them in a direction with the hookshot?

And then- what if there were thin ones too- like rope bridges, but simple flat squares and rectangles? Not ones that you could access, but something else could- like a heavy spherical weight, or a bomb. The challenge would be to cut the ropes on certain platforms to guide the ball/bomb into a button/destructible object that you couldn't reach any other way- by transforming static boards into a series of ramps.

I just made a post about this in the New Weapons thread...

I think they should make a boomerang that is the only item that can be used to kill certain enemies. Like a razorsharp one as most said, or armor piercing. That would give the Boomerang an edge over the Bow once you get it and that way the Bow won't necessarily replace the Boomerang.

The Boomerang need a comeback

Aang wut?



And I personally loathe TP's boomerang system. It was far too passive and impractical for combat, unless you were using the overpowered Z-target of doom, which is just cheap.

I prefer WW's boomerang system by a longshot (pun intended). It's far more useful in a pinch, when you need to quickly target enemies, and the Wiimote pointer only helps. I sincerely hope they bring it back. Please Nintendo, you struck boomerang gold in WW.

As for functionality, I think the DS game(s?) did something pretty cool with the 'rang. Boomerang + torch = epic flaming winzOrz. Maybe they could elaborate on that in ZWii.

Originally Posted by Double A

Aang wut?


As for functionality, I think the DS game(s?) did something pretty cool with the 'rang. Boomerang + torch = epic flaming winzOrz. Maybe they could elaborate on that in ZWii.

lol I was waiting for someone to put a pic of him up.

But I agree, I don't know why so many people didn't like the boomerang in PH/ST. It was utilized in boss fights, and in many cases it was the only optional item to use for puzzles. Its everything a boomerang fan wants...pretty much.

TWW's boomerang is too unrealistically good, but then I loved the unnatural control of it in OoS. LA's boomerang is also good and comes with some wtf moments, but then it's from the dream of the Wind Fish deity so it's excusable.

I think the gale boomerang made the most sense, it at least explained that it had a wind spirit in it that helped it through the air. And generally do things that would be impossible for a boomerang in the first place.

Anyways, this topic is to discuss a useful revival of what has been claimed to be in years past a rather useless weapon that is easily replaced by the bow and arrows...huh? How did you know it was a boomerang?

For a useless item, it has always been incredibly useful for stunning enemies (while doing no real damage) which makes them easier to kill. Especially enemies that shock you or jump around while you try attacking them. I think this aspect of it has been mostly dropped in favor of doing some more complex gimmicks with it like playing puzzles, cutting ropes, etc. I want the simple quick stun secondary item back from the previous games. Just toss the boomerang into them and then attack with the sword.

Originally Posted by Onimech

For a useless item, it has always been incredibly useful for stunning enemies (while doing no real damage) which makes them easier to kill.

This is true. The boomerang is invaluable when it comes to three heart runs because of this stunning property.

Another, less normal, use I found for the boomerang when doing a minimal sword use run of Wind Waker was throwing a bomb at an enemy, then detonating it with the boomerang. (I only really used this before getting the bow though.)

@ Onimech: It's been useful in that respect, but generally, you don't really have to use it again once you get the arrows. That's what I'm getting at- how to make the boomerang a constant necessity throughout the game (in things other than 3-heart runs), and the idea of dungeons furthering how you must use it as you proceed through each of them. To that end, I want that level of evolution for each weapon.