Design a Boss | HIVER

I personally don't have any issues with the deadline extension. Maybe there are people out there that haven't yet been able to come up with any ideas due to lack of free time or because someone else thought of their idea and posted it here first. That is a good reason to extend the deadline by a week or two. Then again, I was pretty happy with the deadline as it is, but oh well. Fine by me.

Yeah, unfortunately it's impossible to match everybody's schedule. Those who lack free time are very few, so to extend the deadline for one or two individuals is.. eeh... idk.

As for "someone else thought of their idea and posted it here first", I think that means the boss wasn't as creative as it should've been to start with, and the whole point of the contest is to have a unique yet feasable boss, so not being able to come up with an idea shouldn't be a legitimate reason to need an extension lol.

If there is an extension, that's fine by me, but I'd definitely rather have this contest end sooner than later... waiting sux!

I have no problem with an extension so others can get their ideas in, but how long has this contest been open for?

I posted my concept sometime in October, and I would say one month is plenty o'time! The sooner the better for the deadline though. .

^The wonders of forum technology tell me that the contest began on the 26th of October in my time zone. That gives entrants more than a month.

There are only two options here: have the deadline as early as it is right now (Dec 12, I think) or have it in January.

I won't object either way, though I bet IGNIS favours the earlier deadline:
-Getting this done before Christmas would be nice, IGNIS listed this as an aim of his.
-The last contest had about 60 entries, and even with FOUR judges, it took ages to finish judging. IGNIS has said that he hopes for 30-40 entries this time around, and I think that number can easily be achieved by December 12. Possibly.
-I apologize for being such a nosy bastard, but I noticed something a while ago on IGNIS' wall when I went to VM him about something:

Originally Posted by One of the judges

As long as judging takes place in December, I'm all aboard!

It would appear that Vynrah also prefers a December deadline.


And yes, I'm TOTALLY sucking up to IGNIS for extra points for my entry . Not that it'll work, lol

I'm fine either way.
My entry is done sans a few pictures and whatever edits I feel it may need. I'd love the contest to be finished as soon as possible, but I wouldn't object to an extension of a couple weeks if people need it.

The reason it took so long last time was definitely entry length, as opposed to the amount of entries. Having skimmed through the entries thread, they don't look half as bad this time, probably because of the word limit.

Originally Posted by AdspA

-I apologize for being such a nosy bastard, but I noticed something a while ago on IGNIS' wall when I went to VM him about something:

It would appear that Vynrah also prefers a December deadline.

I was about to reiterate my opinion, but it appears you've already done so.
...Thanks...?

But yeah, although I would love to give people all the time in the world, it would be far more accommodating of my schedule if we closed entries at the date already established.

Theoretically, we could start another contest in Spring or Summer if they were running on shorter time frames, meaning people who miss out on this one for some reason have a chance to be a part of another one sooner.

Or something.

One of the first things I should've done was get a hold of Vynrah who is so far the only judge alongside me. Since judging for the DaB is no easy task and Vynrah was kind enough to volunteer for judging this round, I will mostly need to go with what she finds best. If things get hard for judges, results may end up skewed, and none of us want that.
For Crab and everyone else who feels Dec. 12 feels like a tight deadline, it's still 24 days till then. Anyone who really wants to enter can dedicate a very short while every other day to assemble an entry and then submit nicely before then.
I don't want to close doors to people who want to submit something really nice, but considering the contest started last month and is at the moment closing on the 12th of next month, it's a pretty generous deadline.

I propose that anyone who wants to post a boss idea here but doesn't have the time to should start now instead of viewing this thread every five minutes checking if IGNIS has approved of the deadline extension.

100% agree with IGNIS.

Spoiler:  

Link:
- Age: young adult (maybe 20?)
- Hearts: minimum 9
- Old items: sword, shield, bomb, bow and arrow, fire arrows, beetle, whip.
- New items: combat gauntlets, boomerang.



BACKGROUND

Link now resides in Hyrule on a quest to save his friend. Link’s quest has led him to Arct Desert, a mostly dry and cold region of Hyrule where a village known as Chaoku Temple, inhabited by a tribe of monks known as Chaoku, resides.

Ordinary people cannot make a living in this village, but the Chaokus have since youth trained in martial arts, endurance, and survival, and have managed to make a comfortable way of life despite the dry, cold, and harsh nature of the region.

Upon arrival, Link begins to seek the treasure he needs for his quest, whatever it may be in Skyward Sword, which has been guarded by the monks for centuries. Before the Chaokus hand over such valuable treasure, Link must first prove himself a worthy Chaoku. It is Chaoku tradition to send teenage monks to the Frozen Cavern of Trials as an initiation to determine their worth as warrior monks. Link must do the same. In this Cavern, monks are pushed to their limit to test their martial arts, endurance, and intelligence. Those who exit the other side of the Cavern successfully complete this trial, becoming true adults and Chaokus, while those who don’t make it die in the cavern. Also, Chaokus have encountered a big problem; the Eldest Monk (most powerful and leader monk) has gone missing. He went to the Frozen Cavern of Trials to eradicate a demon that recently awakened but never came back. Although the Cavern is naturally inhabited by monsters and creatures, this new demon was of another nature; much more powerful and sinister, and made it impossible for any teenage monk to complete this trial without sure death. With the Eldest Monk missing and the Frozen Cavern of Trials cursed, the Chaoku tribe has come to a standstill. The Chaokus have tried sending various warriors to rescue the Eldest, but none have come back. Link is tasked with not only completing the Frozen Cavern of Trials, but also to rescue the Eldest Monk and eradicate the demon to earn this treasure.

Then, out of nowhere, the Chaoku Temple Town is attacked by none other than the Eldest Monk himself. When Link appears, the Eldest Monk seems to take an interest in Link. Link is soon attacked and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he realizes that his sword is missing, and he is soon told that after he was attacked, the Eldest Monk simply took Link’s sword and retreated to the Cavern. The Chaokus fear he may have fallen under the hands of the demon. Link, now swordless, must learn a new method of fighting. The monks agree to teach Link the ways of martial arts. He is gifted the Combat Gauntlets and Link begins intense training. During this sequence players go through a tutorial regarding the use of the Combat Gauntlets, which essentially replaces the sword.

Combat Gauntlets:
- Swing Wiimote: attacks direction of swing (with various types of punches and kicks)
- Stab Wiimote: Link stomps with right foot, than thrusts right arm and fist forward with power.
- Swing Wiimote and Nunchuck Horizontal: jump spin kick (horizontal spin attack).
- Swing Wiimote and Nunchuck Vertical: front flip axekick (vertical spin attack).
- Hold Wiimote Up: Chi charge (like charging up sword). Allows much more powerful attacks and attacks send out energy (like how skyward sword sends out beam).
- Shake Nunchuck: Instead of shield, Link holds up his left arm in a defensive position (blocks attacks, including swords and sharp materials thanks to his gauntlet’s hard material). Shake again for an arm bash, which allows for counterattacks.

It essentially controls the same as having a sword and shield. Wherever the player swings, Link performs an attack that matches that direction. The difference is that these attacks don’t cut, they’re stronger and more impactful, but have shorter range. After the tutorial, players should have a good feel for the new swordless mechanics. Now Link must travel across the cold desert and enter the Cavern.

FROZEN CAVERN OF TRIALS

This ice dungeon has a theme of ice and darkness. Link not only encounters the usual animals and creatures of the winter, but also stalfos monks and demonic creatures brought forth by the demon the Eldest Monk attempted to eradicate. The one important thing to note is that in this dungeon Link finds the Boomerang.

Boomerang:
- Choosing the boomerang from the item pocket shifts the camera into an over the shoulder view (like the slingshot). In this view, the player must lock on an object and hold down the A-button. Then throwing the boomerang works much like the Wii Sports Resort Frisbee (releasing A throws the boomerang). The boomerang always hits the target, but the player can decide from which direction and how hard to throw it. If thrown to the left of the target, it curves back right, if thrown right, it curves back left, if thrown straight forward, it comes straight back. In essence, whatever direction the boomerang is thrown, it finds its way to hit the target and back to Link. If thrown correctly, the boomerang can even hit multiple targets while flying to its main target.

ENTER THE ARENA…

Entering the arena, Link finds himself in a cold and spacious circular room in the cavern lit by 5 torches evenly distributed across the circular wall. On the high ceiling are fully developed icicles. The floor is flat and smooth, with few traces of snow and ice other than the huge pillar-like ice mass in the center of the room. On top of it sits the Eldest Monk, facing away from Link sitting in a meditating position.

The camera is zoomed on the Eldest Monk as he slowly stands up, turns around, and positions himself in a martial arts stance. The camera zooms back behind Link and the battle begins.

Spoiler:  

PHASE 1

Eldest Monk Attacks:
- Martial Arts: Standard attacks involving punches, kicks, and blocks. (1 Heart)
- Chi Charge: He stands still in horse stance for about 4 seconds, letting out a scream, and charges up. Monk glows when charged.
- Power Fist: After Chi Charge, stomps with right leg and thrusts right arm and fist forward (see image above) (similar to charged Wiimote stab motion) (2 Hearts).
- Double Fist: Same as power fist, but with both fists. It unleashes a big and cold wind in the shape of a fist that launches towards the target. Freezes on contact. (2 Hearts)
- Flash Step: Movement of incredible speed used to dodge attacks or to get behind opponents. Requires Chi Charge.
- Icicles: These fall from the ceiling throughout this battle and very quickly reform (1 Heart).

With a back flip, the monk lands on the floor behind the ice mass and Power Fists it, causing the ice mass to slide towards Link at high velocity. Link must dodge the ice mass (2 Hearts), and it will slide and bounce a few times on the wall like a colossal hockey puck, eventually losing momentum. Throughout the battle, every time the ice mass bounces off the wall, the room shakes and some icicles fall from the ceiling at random locations, which Link must dodge.

Seeing what the Monk did, the player should realize to use Link's version of Power Fist (Chi Charge than stab with Wiimote) on the ice mass, aiming towards the Eldest Monk with Z-targeting. While the player attempts this, the monk will also be on the offensive. When the ice mass is near the Monk, he Power Fists the ice mass towards Link. Otherwise, he either uses Double Fist as a long ranged attack to freeze Link or uses Flash Step to get close, either one allowing attacks with Martial Arts. Finally, if the Eldest Monk is Chi Charged when the ice mass is launched towards him, he Power Fists it to send it back (therefore, it’s best to attack when monk isn’t Chi Charged/glowing). Link can again redirect the ice mass if his Power Fist is timed well, or dodge it altogether. A successful hit sends the ice mass and the Eldest Monk sliding at high velocity to the wall. Then the ice mass crushes the Eldest Monk against the wall and bounces off, while the monk leans on the wall stunned, allowing Link to approach him to inflict damage through conventional attacks.

Although stunned, the Monk will have his guard up. He shifts direction of block constantly so players must attack the right direction to make every second he is stunned count. He eventually recovers, and Link has to back up when that happens. Link can never damage the Eldest Monk without stunning him because of Link’s inferior martial arts.

After doing this twice or thrice (assuming Link's dealt a good amount of damage while the monk was stunned), a cutscene; the monk slowly lift both hands and two new ice masses slowly rise from the ground. The monk will be much more aggressive with three ice masses while performing his usual attacks and defense. Players have to be more careful about the extra ice masses, the increased quantity of falling icicles, and be more accurate with their attacks. The ideal way to hit the Eldest Monk with an ice mass to stun him in this phase is, again, when he is not Chi Charged (which means he can’t do a Flash Step to dodge or a Power Fist to punch the ice mass back). But ice masses might still get in the way as they slide around, so players must be careful, patient, and accurate. Do this once or twice and congratulations, you have defeated the Eldest Monk.

AFTERMATH

After Link strikes him for the last time, the Eldest Monk leans on the arena’s wall, momentarily gasping for air. Then he lets out a huge battlecry and his body emits a giant cold-freezing wind, fainting afterwards. This extinguishes the fire on the five torches, darkening the room (not pitch black but relatively dark), and freezes the entire floor, making it very slippery and extremely reflective. Entrances and exits are frozen shut. At the same time, the three ice masses shatter to pieces, and from inside one of them the Skyward Sword appears and drops to the ground. It is silent and only the echoes of Link’s steps and voice can be heard. Link must walk to the Skyward Sword and pick it up.

Eventually approaching the Eldest Monk, Link notices something strange on the Monk’s ice reflection; chains hanging from the ceiling are cuffed to the Monk’s wrists and ankles, barely visible in the darkness. Strangely, chains can only be seen in the ice reflection. Link has to break each chain by looking at the reflection, positioning his reflection next to them, and cutting them with the sword.

Suddenly, a cold voice, “Heheh… what a useless old junk this puppet was. But no matter; at last… I've lured neither a child nor an elder…. but a young, strong, and fresh body to make my own… you’re mine!” Link hears a noise and turns around and sees nothing. Then he looks down and in the ice reflection’s ceiling; a shining eyeball opens and provides some light on the reflection’s ceiling (physical ceiling is pitch dark), enough light to allow Link to see something like this.

Spoiler:  

The chains cuffed to its wrists and ankles can be seen attached to the icicles. The camera then turns upside down and towards the ice so that this specter is seen properly in the reflection, and the boss’s name is finally revealed and the battle begins.

PHASE 2
Humanoid Wraith: Sombora

NOTE: It is important to know that Sombora can only be seen on the ice reflection throughout the entire battle. Also, the fact that the chains on Sombora’s ankles are twice as long as the ones on the wrists will play a key role.

Spoiler:  

IMAGE ABOVE DOES NOT DISPLAY REAL ARENA. RATHER, IT IS USED TO CLARIFY NOTE ABOVE.

To move around the ceiling, Sombora detaches the chains attached to icicles of either his wrists or his ankles to swing and reattach them to different ones. This movement somewhat resembles a circus trapeze swinging around the ceiling (only faster and in much creepier fashion).

Sombora Attacks:
- Chain Slash: When swinging with legs, the chains on the ankles, being twice as long, are long enough to reach the ground, and if Link is in the way, he gets hit (1 Heart).
- Death Sentence: When swinging with arms, because the chains on the ankles are longer, Sombora is low enough for the arms to reach Link's reflection. If Link is in the way, Sombora, hanging upside down, will wrap both arms around Link's reflection's neck and lift him off his feet, hanging him (remember, Sombora can only be seen in the ice reflection, so physical Link will appear as though he is floating gasping for air, while in the ice reflection Sombora can be seen hanging Link) (1 Heart per second, shake controllers to release).
- Eye of Kinesis: Allows Sombora to control objects without touching them, only connection to physical world. Sombora must stay still for constant control.
- Demonic Energy: Sombora will charge up and shoot a beam (see image above) from its eye that will freeze Link’s reflection (the ice freezing Link is only be visible on Link’s reflection, while in the physical world Link appears paralyzed) (2 Hearts, 1 Heart per second, shake controllers to release).

Sombora relentlessly swings towards Link to land a Chain Whip or a Death Sentence (he alternates whether he swings his arms or legs to move). The player must look at the reflection in order to see from which direction Sombora is swinging and attacking from and move Link away.

The Skyward Sword eventually gives a clue, “You may only be able to see this fiend through the reflection, but the same applies to how it can see you! How can we get out of the reflection?” Link must take out a bomb and drop it on the ice floor, which blows up and melts away that section of the ice. When Link stands on this reflection-less section, Sombora stops swinging, and its eye begins looking around for Link. This is the chance to use fire arrows to light up the five torches that were previously extinguished. However, the reflection-less section slowly refreezes from the outside in, giving only enough time to light 2, if quick 3 out of the 5 torches. Once the section is refrozen enough for Link’s reflection to be visible, Sombora’s eye focuses on Link and begins to swing again. Repeat until the 5 torches are lit, making the icicles on the ceilings fully visible and the room well lit.

This visibility allows Link to accurately use the Boomerang and target the icicles. Also, Sombora stops swinging and hangs on its last location before the room was fully lit to use Eye of Kinesis, Sombora's main offense throughout the entire time the room is lit. A large ice sword rises (visible both in physical world and reflection) from the frozen ground, telekinetically controlled by Sombora, and relentlessly attacks Link (1 Heart), as if an invisible man were holding it. While the sword attacks Link, Sombora shoots Demonic Energy from time to time.

At this point, the player must look at the reflection and compare it to the physical world to see what two icicles have the wrist chains attached to them, and these icicles must be broken (this is now possible because the room is now well-lit and Sombora is no longer swinging and moving about). Once players know which icicles to break in the physical world, a bomb must be dropped on the ice again to create a reflection-less section in the arena to hide from Sombora (and now the ice sword). Standing on this section, the player must use the boomerang while the ice refreezes and lock on an icicle. Using the Wiimote+, the boomerang must be thrown in a way so that it hits and breaks the two icicles with wrist chains attached. This entire process serves to make Sombora fall and hang from the ceiling upside down, allowing Link to stab the eye. Note that if ankle chains’ icicles are broken, Sombora will hang on wrist chains right side up, which are twice as short as the ankles’, making Sombora hang too high for Link’s sword to reach Sombora's eye.

Once successful, Sombora should be hanging upside down, and the player must align Link’s reflection with Sombora’s to stab the eye with the Skyward Sword. This can be a little difficult because of the slippery floor and because Sombora, being visible only in the ice reflection, cannot be Z-targeted. After one attack, Sombora quickly swings back up and lets out a scream, emitting cold wind that extinguishes the fire on the five torches once again. With the room in darkness, Sombora begins to swing again. Repeat twice.

Once the final blow is delivered, all of Sombora’s chains loosen from the icicles and falls to the ground, cracking the ice. The crack rapidly spreads across the entire ice floor, which shatters to pieces.

CONCLUSION

The monk gains consciousness, thanks Link for his help, and both exit out the other side of the cavern, heading back to the village. The town will inaugurate Link as a true Chaoku and a hero of Chaoku Temple and give Link the treasure he rightfully deserves.

Word count: 2945

Looking through this thread, there are so many awesome boss design. Good luck to you all! Any criticisms are appreciated. But don't be too harsh please.

Spoiler:  

Chromos
Mechanical Golem

Dungeon

Chromos can be found in the Rhythm Temple, at the heart of a bleak tundra, continually battered by a blizzard. From above, the Temple resembles a giant cogwheel, with an ice covered clock face, that is buried in a gigantic mound of snow. It is on this clock face that Link encounters Chromos. Inside the Temple there are many clockwork items, such as gears, levers, etc; both large and small.
Link obtains the Clockwork Hammer in this temple; it is a hammer with a telescopic handle that can extend from being as long as Link’s torso to being about four Links long, and has a slowly rotating gear on each side of the head. The head can be slammed into appropriately gear shaped slots in the temple, in order to activate switches or other mechanisms, or it can be slammed into holes in the floors and walls, allowing link to swing to new areas, by holding onto the handle for dear life. The telescopic action allows Link to extend himself over gaps that he would not be able to jump over. Many of the parts of the temple are seized up with ice, until Link gains the clockwork hammer and sets the temple into motion, smashing the ice and introducing rhythm into the Temple.

Boss Encounter

Once Link gains access to the top of the temple, he sees a thick layer of ice covering a motionless clock face. The camera focuses on a statue in the center of the boss arena. It is frozen in a jagged block of ice, distorting Link’s view of the statue. Link runs around to the back of the mysterious eyesore and notices a slot for the clockwork hammer. He slams the hammer into the mysterious statue and steps back. Nothing appears to happen so Link turns to leave the arena via a gateway at the back of the temple. As he is just about to exit, Link stops and slowly turns to face the statue. The gate out of and door into the Boss Arena both slam shut, and an ominous clanking noise emanates from the statue. It grows louder and Link draws his sword warily, looking around for the first sign of danger. As Link approaches the center of the arena a red light starts to glow from the statue, cracks spread through the ice covering it and the clanking noise stops. The ice flies apart in shards as Chromos frees himself

Boss

Left by the Gods to regulate the passing of the seasons, Chromos performed his duty for many years, ensuring that new life sprung forth every year in Hyrule and, although Chromos was bound to stay in the Temple, there was a village surrounding it and he was visited every day. He grew to love the village people with all his heart and for a time, the valley in which the village lay flourished. But the village’s fortune could not last, they were visited by an extremely harsh winter and were forced to leave the valley. Although they promised to return after the winter, Chromos could not understand why they had left causing him to become bitter and sad. His sadness spread through the valley, summoning an eternal blizzard, choking the very life out of the land. The villagers tried to return to the temple, time and time again, but almost no one could reach the temple and those that could were unable to traverse the temple, choked by an icy veil. The villagers descendants became the Sheikah, and charged themselves with warning any who wished to visit the temple.
Chromos is twice the size of Link, in both height and width. He is humanoid and is made of clockwork. On the front of its torso is a clock; on its back is the hammer slot Link activated Chromos with. He possesses a glowing blue ‘eye’ in the center of his head.

Battle

During the first half of the battle, Chromos’s legs are encased in the layer of ice that coats the temple’s clock face roof and causes Link to slide somewhat. His torso can rotate 360 allowing him to attack Link no matter where he moves.

Club: The most basic attack; Chromos swings his arm through the air. If it hits Link, it does 2 hearts damage and knocks him off of his feet.
Tundra beam: Chromos fires a glowing blue beam from his eye. Upon touching this beam, Link is frozen instantly and takes 4 hearts damage.
Blizzard spin: Chromos whirls around with his arms stretched out, creating an icy tornado that sucks Link towards him. If Link gets too close to Chromos, he gets hit by his arms, taking 6 hearts damage and being thrown far backwards. After a blizzard spin, Chromos will slump down, immobile.

At first, Chromos will just turn to face Link, wherever he moves; he will occasionally try to freeze Link with a tundra beam, but will swing at Link if he gets too close. After a short while, he will unleash a blizzard spin; if Link avoids a beating, he has the chance to run round to Chromos’s back and slam the hammer into the slot. If successful, the clock hands on his chest will spin round madly before the clock face hinges outwards, revealing a heart container frozen in ice, this is Links target, Chromos’s vulnerable spot. Obviously Link jumps at the chance and slashes maniacally at this most tender spot.
After Link slashes at his weak spot for the first time, a cut scene is triggered in which Chromos bellows with rage, a grinding screeching noise, and smashes his way out of the ice. Good going Link! Now he can walk around! Although the method of reaching Chromos’s weak spot remains the same, he can now walk around to attack Link; he also adds a new attack to his arsenal:

Glacial wave: Chromos slams the ground with both fists, sending out a freezing wave of energy that spreads out in all directions. Link takes 6 hearts damage, if he does not shield himself. Link is also frozen solid, giving Chromos a chance to attack Link at a closer range.
Chromos’s heart must be struck twice more to vanquish him for the good of the land.

As Link strikes the final blow, the clanking noise, heard throughout the entire battle and incorporated into the boss theme; grinds to a halt, as does Chromos. The final drawn out clank concludes the battle, leading into the post-boss cutscene.

The story continues...

The mechanical golem falls to pieces, first the armour covering his torso falls to the ground, exposing his inner workings, followed by his arms falling off, and finally, he explodes into a cloud of gears and dust. When the dust clears, sitting in the centre of a pile scraps of metal and quickly thawing water, is the former threat’s head From which a rapid ‘tick tock’ can be heard. Link bends down next to the head which pops into life; arms, legs and a miniature new head extending from it. Its body (formerly Chromos's head) has a glowing blue circle on the front, with lines extending to all of its limbs. It is holding a miniature staff with a gear on the end. The little living figurine then addresses Link first introducing himself as Gearmos, before explaining that he is the remaining shard of Chromos that hadn’t been consumed by sadness, then pledging his power/wisdom/allegiance to Link, pointing him in the right direction and providing a warp to transport Link back to the entrance of the temple. Upon arrival, Link looks around, stunned at the beautiful meadows where, such a short time ago, there was a sub-zero wasteland.

Okay, posting now. Hopefully will draw something for it and add it later; if not, you can consider this my finished entry. Dangerously approaching the word limit. It depends on whether or not you count titles, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't go over 3000.

Anyway, I honestly don't know what the judges will think of this entry, so I'm just going to leave it to their mercy. I had fun writing it, either way; it's been awhile since I've applied myself to a writing task; outside of school, it's been almost forever.

My, doesn't English become less fun when they cut creative writing out of the course somewhere in primary school?

Looking forward to several entries yet to come, and there have been some really quality ones posted, but I'll hold back making comments until it's all over.

Spoiler:  

What is winter? It’s a drop in temperature, yes, the onset of ice and the promise of snow. It is a cruel season for the farmer, and for the animal it is a season of hibernation, and hence rest and rationing. It is a time of retreat but also snugness in your environment, safe from the harsh world outside, and a time of bravery to push yourself outside of that comfort zone.

Winter is also a time of hiding; hiding from the cold, and that which the snow hides; the summer, places, even people. As it was so with our villain.



I came to the village in the depths of winter, but it felt like the height of summer. The heat of a fever wrapped my skin like a blanket. A sick man’s blanket, I wondered?

My estimate did not fall far from the truth. From a vantage point on someones roof (the people here, so friendly; they don’t even ask you to knock!), I could see the valley that this village was built outside of. Steep mountains stretched out into infinity on either side, and between them, in the valley, the heart of the sickness: a blizzard, more befitting of the season, raged uncontrollably, with an energy foreign to me. So thick was the storm that I knew my destination beyond the mountains would be inaccessible to me.

With my feet back on the ground, I asked a loitering villager what one could do to pass through the valley. He directed me to the village hall where the elder lived and, returning to his non-business, a subdued melancholy invaded the features of his face. I asked what ailed him, and from beneath a thick, ginger beard he confided that his daughter had spend the day outside and had not yet returned.

He and I were not the only two with ailments, it seemed. Much of the village was in an uproar (at least, as much of an uproar that their lazy inclinations would allow for), on the subject of missing belongings; a coat, a pair of boots, a bag of gold, disappearing in the night, as was only natural. I hoped that, in the day, their thief did not double as a kidnapper, else the ginger bearded man’s daughter was not like to return soon.

“A.. that is, um, a... summer orb: that’s what you need” the elder half-heatedly explained, once I had put my problem to him. “Our village has two- it’s what keeps us warm.” Fever orbs, then, I thought. “But we only need one... certainly it is vital you get past the mountain range, I see. But can we really give up our orb to an unproven hero?” he mused, and continued “If only there was a way to test him...”

“Sir, perhaps the puzzle lock would be a sufficient-”

“I know that!” the elder retorted, coupled with a clip to the ear of the interrupting aide “The pause was for dramatic effect!”

The test that locked the orbs safely away in a room was a head scratcher, certainly, but once the crates had been pushed onto the correct switches the large door ahead of me creaked slowly open without further encouragement.

I heard an ominous voice speak; “Why thank you”, and I was filled with dread, for rarely does an ominous voice offer gratitude sincerely.

Rushing into the room that held the summer orbs, I saw two pedestals, one decorated with a yellow glowing orb, the other empty, and, behind me, a figure fled silently through the open door, a large red glowing shape under their arm.

Stirred to action by the weight of his loss, the elder reiterates the situation: I could only penetrate the mountain range by way of the valley, and could only pass through the valley with a summer-orb. The village could not survive without one, but the world would be doomed unless I could pass through the mountains, and so the elder urged me to take the yellow orb, and to follow the thief through the valley immediately to retrieve the orb before it, along with the village’s way of life, was lost for good.

By the time I left the village hall, with the orb removed from it’s pedestal of power and getting comfortable in my bag, the icy winds had already extended their influence from the valley to the streets. Cobblestone laminated with ice, roofs painted white. The villagers left outside traipse, alarmed, betraying to me their inability to cope with the cold.

As if my contribution to this thing was not burden enough, my spirits dropped like a stone when I saw the same bearded man, stooping, arms huddled around his middle, walking slowly, calling out to his daughter, now terrified she will be lost to the storm...

The storm swept valley, once inaccessible due to the raging storm that will drain your body of heat in a matter of second, can now be entered with the use of the summer-orb, which surrounds you with a glowing shield, sheltering your form from the blizzard. The shield is spherical in shape and not much bigger the the hero himself; outside of its small protective radius the full strength of the storm can still be seen, battering against the walls of the shield viciously. It renders every part of the environment invisible behind it; the only thing the player will see on screen is the storm, and himself inside a glowing yellow sphere. It glows brighter in the storm then it does in the village, suggesting a greater use of it's power. The orb can be left on the ground where it will leave a stationary shield. If you venture into the storm without it, Link will only be visible by a silhouette in the storm, and the cold will drain his stamina meter in a matter of seconds, after which he will start to lose hearts (/s), of which, at this stage in the game, he does not have many to lose: perhaps only seven or eight.

The wintry valley, and it’s connecting tunnels, caves and mountainsides make up a veritable dungeon of ice, but let us skip ahead; it should be noted, though, that the summer-orb is considered this dungeon’s key item, and puzzles revolve around placement and movement of the orbs heat, light and shielding for various effects in the dungeon.

Towards the center of the valley, I finally found shelter in the form of a large, circular hall with a glass dome for a roof. I could see the thief ahead, hood-covered face raised inquisitively, studying a large door identical to the one I had just fought the blizzard to get through.

“Ah, you. You know, I think we’ve stumbled upon the old town hall. This is where the village once lay, before the storm became too strong for the summer orbs to hold it off in the valley. “ He looked back at the door, musingly “Our ancestors liked their tricks. Look at this, just like in the town hall back home. I bet you can solve anything, though, right, cleverclogs? Why don’t you give this a look?”

I strode towards him, and, once he realised I had no intention of assisting his escape, he shrugs, nonchalant, and launches a projectile towards the glass roof. One window after another shatters as the storm breaks into the room. Suddenly, the blizzard is as impenetrable inside as it was out, and again I am forced into my blizzard shield, the world outside of my protective aura invisible... except, one thing; a red, circular glow in the white haze, and I knew that this was the glow of my orbs twin, and I knew where the thief was hiding.

The thief moves faster then you, and so chasing him is futile. He will chase you, though, as seen by his red glow approaching your yellow one. When he gets close, he will leap towards you, your yellow shield and his red overlapping, and attack you with a lunge. Whether he hits you () or you block the attack, he will leap back out of your shield and into the blizzard, ready to attack again.

“You stick out like a sore thumb with this summer orb around you. If only there was a way to hide...” your partner informs you....

Dropping the orb to the ground, I slipped into the storm, it’s cold engulfing me completely. I knew I could only handle a few seconds like this, but it would be enough. From here, I could see inside the shield, but knew from the inside I would be invisible. I saw his glow approach me like the eye of a murderous dragon, and I saw him attack into my shield with the same reckless abandon I has seem in him do before. His shock at the nobody and nothing that greeted his sword was perfect, and as he recovered, I sprung my trap.

After a missed attack, the thief will enter a recovery phase of about two seconds, during which time you can follow his example and leap into the sphere to attack him with your sword. Alternatively, you can use your arrows whilst outside of the sphere.

Probably the most effective method that may take the player a few attempts to figure out, but will really hit his health, is to drop a bomb inside the sphere before you exit it; as he leaps into attack, he will set off the bomb, doing the same amount of damage as two sword strikes.

Either way, once you damage him he will retreat into the storm (or, with a bomb, be blown into it!). If you don’t deal damage but are inside the sphere, he is free to attack-retreat once his recovery phase is over, and if you stay outside of the sphere he will grab the sphere from the ground and run away with it, putting you in danger of freezing; the extra weight, however, slows him down considerably, and retrieving the orb is a simple matter of chasing close enough to him to scare him into dropping it.

After taking the equivalent damage of six sword strikes, the boss fight enters its second stage.

His glow had stopped moving. I wondered if I had finally hurt him enough to bring him to a stop. I approached the glow. By the time I could see inside his shield, and knew I had fallen to the same trick I had just utilised, I already felt the tug on the summer orb at my side, and by the time I had turned to meet my thief, he was gone, and I was left defenceless in the cold.

The game will let you think you are finished for a few seconds as your stamina drains. Then, something even the thief did not expect occurs. The powers of the two orbs merge, and you can see, in the blizzard, the yellow and red shield grow, together, into a larger orange one...

...at the center of which was... I wasn’t quite sure. I knew I wouldn’t last long out here, and dived into the heat of the orange shield where I witnessed a bizarre sight.

On the floor was the thief, clutching at his middle as if something was due to burst from it. He looked up at me, and his hood fell from his face, and I looked into the eyes of...

A young girl, freckled on a face that flashed from scared, to defiant, and back again. I knew then where the bearded man’s daughter had spend her day. My epiphany was cut short, as a burst of light enveloped my opponent, and she emerged, floating, armor-less, glowing with intense orange light that matched her natural flaming red hair, styled in long ponytails; a deity of the sun, and one not all to happy with the puny mortal being that had stumbled into her presence.

“Do you know how stifling it is to be trapped in that village, cleverclogs?” I was confused, and she knew it, and it did nothing to improve her opinion of me “Every morning, lazy, summer mornings, every evening, lazy, summer evenings, everyone eating and sweating away their lives waiting for the day their over-contentedness will kill them. It’s all too.. too...” She paused as she struggled with the power blossoming inside her.

Easy, I finished for her in my head. It’s all too easy.

“Beyond the mountains is a world that will challenge me. I don’t intend to frolic forever, cleverclogs. I was born a child of summer, but I will become a woman of winter”

That look of scorn... could a child really hold such reserves of hatred within them? The power within her was doing strange things to her; I did not intend to let it have control.

The new shield centers on the sun goddess. It is large enough to give you room to move in, room enough to stay out of the goddess’ reach, but it is not big enough to fill the room, and outside of its influence the storm rages on as it did before.

Staying within the shield is key in this fight, but as long as you are she will make every effort to put you out of your misery. Her minor attacks include close range swipes with her magic imbued hands (), long range lasers that will follow you (), and a rush attack () that will move you from out of range to into range.

Each of her major attacks involve her drawing in the orbs energy, causing the shield to shrink, and then unleashing the energy at you; this will occur periodically. The first of these attacks have her blasting the energy at you in the form of a giant heat beam. Around this beam is a glow, similar to the glow of the shield; stay too far away from the heat of the laser, and you will enter the cold zone; get to close, and the laser will char you ( ).

Her second major is a hail of heat sparks unleashed in a horizontal pattern around her. Again stay close to the spark, but don’t get hit (), and before the spark hits the wall of the room and vanishes, run to the next one.

Each time she uses a major attack, when her shield regrows it will be smaller then it was before until. After two majors, it hugs her closely, and she is too weak to attack you with projectiles, and she has the orbs rotate in a vertical circle in front of her for protection. This is your chance. The small shield is the only place left to go, organically drawing the player in for a melee assault. Timing is key, here. She has one attack that she will use in two directions; a burst of light from the ground that will start beneath you are travel to your right, therefore roll to your left, and vice versa when the light travels to your left; stay still or move wrong, and you’ll get hit () You can tell which she will use by which arm she raises to cast the conjuration: the left arm raised means a leftward traveling spell.

When you’re not rolling to avoid, you must make your move to attack. The circling orbs will protect her in the direction they are in a line of; when at the North and and South of their circle, you should attack between them, horizontally, through East and West. The WiiMotion+ is used to achieve this; swing it vertically or horizontally or anything in between to attack between those orbs.

When hit, she will enter a recovery phase. You must repeat the above, as only a chain of five quick, consecutive hits will damage her. If you are too slow in aiming your sword, her recovery phase will end after 3 seconds, and you must try again from the first slash.

Completion of this process will yield one point of damage, and at its conclusion the process will start again from the beginning of the second form. After 3 points of damage have been scored, the destructive deity is defeated, the light leaves the poor girls body, and she drops to the floor, exhausted.

Her slight form curled in the snow, so out of place in this harsh environment, but safe in the orbs protective glow, made me smile. I considered the irony that she had tried to escape the village by taking a part of it with her. She could only survive in her winter with a shard of the summer she so hated; I wondered if she realised this. At the same time, I respected her; unlike her village, she sought to challenge herself rather then let herself stagnate in the heat, and in my heart I hoped that when she awoke her goals, if not her methods, remained intact. I half wished I could fulfil her wish and take her with me.

Instead, I lifted her in my arms and carried her back the way I had come.

Halfway back to the village a search party led by a ginger beard fought slowly through the storm towards me. One summer-orb, and one winter-child, changed hands, and I couldn’t bring myself to say a word during the exchange.

As I turned my back on them, it seemed to me the blizzard was dissipating. Or rather, it was departing, to find a new home behind the mountain range, in the land of the north where an evil king was rising. I realised then that the blizzard had been far from natural. I had averted one disaster, but I knew that in the land ahead another one was brewing.

Were this game to continue, I would hope for Amy to return later in the game, perhaps to give link a helping hand in some two man puzzles. Maybe she even accidentally retains some of her solar powers...

(PS: Abuse of papyrus font is because I have no idea what font they use in Twilight Princess and this seemed the closest I had on my computer, so, if there are any graphic designers in the judges, don't hold it against me ;P )

Thank you, Clockwork Wolf and Sam for submitting an entry. Your bosses have been added to the List of Entries.
A new track was a added to the playlist.

Still working on my own boss, BTW. Wish I had it ready sooner-- not sure many people are anxious for a more suitable example on the OP. Will be mostly posted for lols.

EDIT: Teh Double A submits.

WHOO!!! School officially over, it's HIVER's turn! Let's burn (or should I say freeze) this mutha***ka!!!

Spoiler:  

Wandering through an icy wilderness on an unknown mission, Link stumbles across a strange little shack. Using his Silver Gauntlets, Link gets rid of the large ice boulder blocking the door. Inside, Link sees a small table. Upon the table lies an open book. Link reads it:

The oldest legends tell of a mysterious tower deep within the frozen wastelands of northwest Hyrule. They say this tower faded in and out of existence, only appearing before the most adventurous explorers. And even then, only the most curious of them would enter it.

The owner of this tower was a strange entity known only as the Sorceress, who would watch as the helpless explorers exhausted their energy hopelessly navigating the frigid, labyrinthine pathways of the tower. Soon, the explorers would give up all hope, and the Sorceress would consume their life energy.

As time passed and adventurers became wiser, fewer fell into the Sorceress’ snare. Like the chameleons of the Lost Woods, it is said that the Sorceress adopted more subtle tactics to lure wanderers into her trap…

The rest of the pages are blank. Link stands up and walks back to the door of the shack. He opens it…

Gone is the icy wilderness. In its place, the foreboding interior of a massive stone structure. Link shivers…


Dungeon: Labyrinthine Tower

Looking through a window, Link notices that he is not on the ground floor of the tower, but the top. He turns to enter the small shack again, but the door to the shack has disappeared. The later-acquired Dungeon Map tells Link that the exit to the Tower is on the bottom floor.

Throughout Link’s exploration of the Tower, he is being chased by a strange violet flame as tall as Link. The flame slowly pursues Link. It passes through solid objects and takes a straight path directly towards Link, who takes damage if the flame touches him. None of Link’s current weapons (i.e. the Whip, the Skyward Sword and other irrelevant items) affect it at all.

Eventually, Link comes across an old bedroom. Near the edge of the room lies a chest. Link rushes to open it…

… and is thoroughly disappointed with the chest’s contents: a bunch of old playthings. However, Link somehow becomes entranced by the toy at the top of the pile, a glowing blue pinwheel, cold to the touch.

Item: FROSTWHEEL
-As previously stated, this item is a glowing blue pinwheel toy. However, instead of being spun by gusts of wind, this pinwheel spins on its own, creating its own gust of wind. This gust has a strange property: it covers whatever it touches in a thin sheet of ice, freezing it.
-In practical terms, think of it as a flamethrower that freezes things instead of burning them, like a Freezard’s ice-breath.
-The cold gusts created by the Frostwheel have a range 4 times as long as Link’s sword.
-Aim with the Wii Remote Pointer, aided by Motionplus to facilitate turning.
-Due to the strong forward gusts created by the Frostwheel and the backward thrust this creates on Link, Link is required to be in a sturdy, focussed stance while the item is actually in use, meaning that he can’t move at all when he is using the Frostwheel’s ability. Due to this, damage inflicted from behind Link is doubled.
-On slippery surfaces, such as ice, Link is pushed backward slightly while using this item. Every time this item is used, 1/4 of the stamina gauge used in resisting this backward push.

After Link pockets his new tool, the mysterious violet flame that was stalking him floats silently into the room.

Miniboss: Will-o’-Wisp
Prior to the fight, the Wisp duplicates itself many times, so there are about thirty violet flames, all floating slowly toward Link, who still takes damage upon contact with any of them. Your job is to use the Frostwheel to extinguish all of the Wisps, which each disappear on contact with the Frostwheel’s icy gust. But it isn’t that easy, since every two seconds, two randomly-chosen Wisps will each duplicate into two meaning that Link must stay on his toes if he hopes to survive. If he is too slow, the flames will overwhelm him with their sheer numbers. Link should try to extinguish multiple Wisps at once. Upon defeating Will-o’-Wisp, Link is given the key to the bottom floor of the Tower.

Link enters the final, massive room of the Tower, and the first thing he notices is that the floor is composed of one complete sheet of ice, thick enough to walk on. Beneath the ice lies a large pool of water that has a slight reddish hue.

Standing between him and the locked door to freedom is a black-haired girl in a white robe, who doesn’t appear much older than Link.

???: “I have lured a thousand adventurers to their deaths into the waters below your feet. A thousand more will follow you into their depths.”

The unknown figure raises her hands, and a great whirlwind of ice bursts in through the small windows. The ice materializes into a great white bird three times as tall as Link. The white-robed girl leaps onto the beast, and it takes flight.

~Frigid Sorceress~
O N E I R A

Phase 1: Avian

Attacks

-Blizzard:

Oneira’s airborne steed flies low, and she unleashes a large stream of frost from her hands that freezes Link if he touches it, leaving him vulnerable to further damage for about 5 seconds. 1 Heart Damage. It goes without saying that Link is vulnerable when frozen.

-Frostbite:

Oneira unleashes 10 blue energy spheres, two at a time, toward Link. The spheres that make contact with Link explode for 2 Hearts Damage. The ones that land on the ground will instead turn into Mini Freezards which sap 1 Heart every time they touch Link, as well as freezing him for 2 seconds. The Mini Freezards, which slide toward Link, can be killed with one sword slash.

-Ice Guillotine:

The large white bird flies across the battlefield at a low altitude towards Link, in an attempt to either slice him with its wings or impale him on its beak. 3 Hearts Damage if hit by the wings, 2 Hearts if hit by the beak. Ironically, Link must roll under the wings to avoid the attack.

-Hailstone:

The bird descends upon the arena, talons-first, with enough impact to create a hole in the ice floor of the battlefield. If caught by the bird’s talons, Link takes 3 Hearts of damage. Furthermore, if Link falls through the newly-created hole, he will fall into the dubiously reddish water underneath, taking one heart of damage every second until he climbs out. Repeated use of this attack, as well as the slippery icy floor, will make it hard to avoid falling into the toxic water.

The first thing to note is that any holes in the icy floor created by the “Hailstone” attack can be “plugged up” by using your Frostwheel to freeze the surface of the water underneath. But in doing so, not only are you spending Stamina, you are also diverting your attention from whatever attacks Oneira and her pet are performing. As stated before, any damage taken from behind Link’s back is doubled while using the Frostwheel.

The second thing to keep in mind is that Oneira and her flying steed will remain out of sword range for most of the battle. And when the bird IS in sword range, it is attacking you. Furthermore, none of your long-ranged/projectile items have any direct effect on the bird’s tough skin. It’s clear that you need a more substantial projectile to attack the bird.

When performing the “Hailstone” attack, the white bird’s downward momentum causes it to become partially submerged in the water after breaking through the ice, taking a few seconds to decelerate, stop and take flight again. You can take advantage of this by dodging the attack at the last second and using the Frostwheel on the water while the bird is half-submerged in it, thereby trapping it in the ice. At this point, you might be tempted to run in close and get in a few sword slashes at the bird’s exposed head (weak spot) for a bit of damage.

However, such a large bird clearly requires large amounts of strength to stay in the air, and as such it will break out of your makeshift icy prison in seconds, sending a shower of about 20 broken ice shards in every direction like shrapnel, and Link takes damage if one shard hits him. The closer you are to it (e.g. to slash at its head), the harder it is to dodge. Each shard of ice, though shaped uniquely, falls under one of two size classes: the smaller, more common shards are about half as high as Link, whereas the larger ones are slightly taller than him. Ladies and gentlemen, your “projectile”.

As said in the beginning, Link is able to pick up one of these ice shards and throw them. Additionally, three out of four of the duo’s attacks involve the bird flying low enough for you to lob one of the ice shards at it. The smaller shards have far longer range when thrown, though they inflict only twice as much damage as your sword, which doesn’t amount to much considering how much HP the bird has. In contrast, the larger shards with their limited throw distance not only inflict far greater damage (four times as much as the smaller shards), but they also knock the bird out of the air allowing you to get even more hits on the bird’s head with your sword for another ten or so seconds until the bird resumes flight. However, just holding one of these larger chunks of ice limits your movement/turning to one step per second, and there’s a second of delay before Link is actually able to throw the thing due to its sheer weight.

The great white bird itself is also capable of carrying up to two of the ice shards in its talons and dropping them on you for 2 hearts damage.

After 20-30 seconds, the smaller shards of ice will melt completely, while the larger shards will melt into smaller ones that last for about another half-minute. This forces you to keep “harvesting” ice shards by taking advantage of the “Hailstone” attack as mentioned above. But this creates many holes in an already difficult-to-navigate slippery floor, making it easier to fall into the toxic water underneath. You can fix these holes with your Frostwheel as mentioned above, but there are costs and risks, as mentioned above.

The white bird falls after numerous impacts with the thrown ice and/or Link’s sword.

*
Link throws the final shard of ice at the flying monster, knocking it out cold mid-flight. It crashes into the wall with a mighty impact, rocking the entire Tower. Oneira is thrown from the bird and rendered unconscious.

As rocks fall from the ceiling, Link realizes that the Tower is collapsing. Link dashes toward the exit.

… which is still locked. Link looks at the crumbling ceiling and the huge rocks falling for it, and prepares for the worst. Everything fades to white…

Oneira: “The most potent illusions are born within the world of dreams.”

Link awakens in the middle of an icy wilderness, under a thin blanket of snow left by the raging blizzard. Strangely, Oneira herself stands before him completely unharmed, hands behind her back. Stranger still is the complete lack of the Tower or its ruins. Link notices a familiar little shack behind him…

Oneira: “In this place, many adventurers have succumbed to the cold of the snowstorm. Exhausted of energy, they all fell into a deep slumber. I created the Tower in their dreams, out of the fear born from the sinister tales they had heard of the Tower. As such, the Tower became as cruel a place as they had always imagined. As their minds explored the imaginary terrors of the Tower, their bodies lay here in the frost, dying slowly.”

Oneira advances, grinning evilly.

Oneira: “… and I would feast on their souls.”

She reveals her left hand. In it, a long, snake-like object… Link’s Whip.

Oneira: “But you have escaped the Tower. It appears I must intervene in your survival."

Oneira raises her hand. The blizzard intensifies.

*
Phase 2: Serpentine

Attacks

-Frost Serpent:

Oneira swings her whip in large downward-vertical or downward-diagonal arcs. This is her most common attack. It only does a half-heart of damage, but it may occur multiple times in a few seconds and is hard to dodge as a result. The angle of the whip’s trajectory through the air dictates how you dodge it. If Oneira swings her whip in a vertical/almost-vertical direction, which is more common, then sidestep to dodge it. Roll under the whip’s lash if it’s closer to horizontal. There is a 1/5 chance that Link will be frozen for 2 seconds on contact with the whip.

-Hypothermia:

Oneira unleashes up to 10 blue energy spheres, all at once. The spheres that make contact with Link explode for 2 Hearts Damage. The ones that land on the ground will instead turn into Ice Keese that sap 1 heart of damage every time they touch Link, as well as freezing him for 5 seconds. They can be killed with one sword slash.

-Tundra:

A blue ball of light forms in Oneira’s right hand, from which a large beam is unleashed toward Link, who takes 1 heart of damage and is frozen for eight seconds if the fast-moving beam hits him. This attack is common if Link is out of Oneira’s whip range, yet is very rarely done otherwise.

The snowy battlefield is practically infinite in all directions, for all purposes of this battle. Oneira will loosely pursue you wherever you run, but she will try to stay far enough to hit Link with the far end of the whip. There is a strong blizzard affecting visibility. Slash the rare little skulls in the ice for hearts.

Interestingly, Oneira’s attacks are less damaging this time round, but they are faster and more frequent. The aim of the game in Phase 2 is to slash Oneira with your sword repeatedly until she falls. But of course, it isn’t that straightforward.

What will be realized by the player soon after the battle begins is that Oneira can use her “Frost Serpent” attack to steal Link’s sword with her whip, if the whip hits your sword. Now, not only will Link be stripped of his only effective weapon, but the sword will be attached to the end of the whip via a small knot, like whenever Link grabs something with his whip. Due to the extra weight provided by Link’s sword, Oneira’s “Frost Serpent” attack, now slightly slower, will now inflict 2 hearts of damage per strike. Also, Oneira will adapt her fighting style slightly to compensate for the heavy weight at the end of her whip, almost appearing like one of those people who fight with the “rope dart” martial arts weapon whenever she uses "Frost Serpent".

To take back your weapon, you must sidestep every attack and get close enough to Oneira to use your Frostwheel to freeze her. She won’t take damage from this, but it will give you just enough time to untie your sword from her whip (just move over your sword to retrieve it), i.e. about 3 seconds, before she breaks out of the ice. She is invulnerable while frozen.

So now you have your sword back. How do you stop Oneira from taking it again with her whip? With Motionplus, of course! It has already been established that, while Link is running with his sword out, his sword is pointed in the direction your Wii Remote is pointed. Using this nifty little trick, try to predict the trajectory of Oneira’s whip lash by interpreting her arm movements, and use Motionplus in conjunction with Link's sidestep/roll to keep your sword, as well as Link, away from that whip. At maximum speed, Oneira can strike Link with the whip thrice in two seconds, so you’ll constantly be forced to point your Wiimote in a different direction every time Oneira swings her whip so as to keep the Skyward Sword in Link’s hands long enough to slash her with it. But it could take a while before Link does end up close enough to her to slash her, on account of the stupidly long range of her whip (and all of her other attacks).

Sheathing the sword is not recommended. Oneira’s “Frost Serpent” is aimed at Link himself, and sheathing the sword places it and the whip’s target in the same place, allowing Oneira to snag your sword’s hilt if her whip hits you, whereas unsheathing your sword allows you to keep the sword away from Link and retain the sword even when she strikes Link. Also, while pointing your sword up to charge a sword beam (which Oneira may dodge) allows you to use a sword beam to strike from farther away, the raised sword provides an even easier target for Oneira, since her "Frost Serpent" whiplash attack travels downward.

It should also be mentioned that Oneira, in this Phase, is incredibly agile and will sidestep out of your sword range within a second of Link getting close enough to slash her. You’ll need to be quick, as you’ll only get one shot before she retreats. She will fall after about 30 slashes.

********************

Oneira falls, prompting Link to deal the final blow. Link raises his sword…

… and wakes up behind his house in Skyloft. All appears normal, except for the fact that Link is holding his sword.

Not too far from him on the ground lies a familiar white robe… and his Whip.

And hidden in the folds of the robe, a Heart container…

Word count (everything inside the espoiler) as of now: 2992 ( The three lines of asterisks I used to divide some things don't count btw).

Will be making numerous edits.

I iz welcoming all comments/criticisms via VM/PM.



~Notes of Interest: what the heck was going through my head?~
(the following is not part of the entry)

-My original idea involved an assassinated warlord (war-lady?) revived by dark magic (coughGanondorfcough) who caused massive havoc by using the pure note of a massive tuning-fork-sword to create earthquakes. Since sound was involved, there ws even a plan to involve WiiSpeak too. I wasn't sure how to translate this admittedly epic concept into a battle, though, so I ditched it.

-Then, Minecraft. More specifically, the (now-nonexistent) "Herobrine" page on the Minecraft Wiki. Even more specifically, the following description of a hidden message in a website related to this "Herobrine":

It has been reported that some victims of torture, during the act, would retreat into a fantasy world from which they could not WAKE UP. In this catatonic state, the victim lived in a world just like their normal one, except they weren't being tortured. The only way that they realized they needed to WAKE UP was a note they found in their fantasy world. It would tell them about their condition, and tell them to WAKE UP. Even then, it would often take months until they were ready to discard their fantasy world and PLEASE WAKE UP.

-The above quote really got to me. It freaked me out, even though I was merely reading a Minecraft Wiki page that happened to be describing the quote. Due to the effect this paragraph had on me, I immediately ditched my previous concept and made a new one that was heavily linked to the concept of "dreams". Originally, I had intended to include a similar "PLEASE WAKE UP" spook-device in my backstory in an attempt to freak the reader out a bit. But I kept running into "how would this work" problems, so I modified it a bit, as you can see.

-The name "Oneira" means "dreams" in Greek. I decided to use a foreign word to name my boss, but I thought that using a Latin word would have been a bit cliche (sorry IGNIS ). So I looked up Greek words relating to "sleep, dreams, nightmares, etc." and I came across "Oneira". The word was quite elegant-and-mysterious to me, so I chose it.

-Originally, the boss' title was "Somnial Sorceress Oneira" (Somnial - pertaining to sleep), since dreams played a big part and all, but then I realized that labelling her "Somnial" at the beginning of the battle would completely ruin the epic plot twist ( To quote Nelly: "it was only just a dream" ), and "Frigid" more fit the theme (ice) while better conveying her heartlessness (lol a pun). Also, I originally had a "dream world", in which the dungeon would be a mansion (instead of the Tower), but I changed it for the same reason.

-As for the gameplay concepts attached to my boss, which I try to make as incredibly out-there and unique as possible, I just sat there/walked for hours (not all at once, obviously) until such ideas came to my head. I had already done direction-sensitive slashing in my last entry, so it was quite difficult for me to come up with yet another creative way to use WM+. Also, my original concept involved chucking giant ice boulders at the boss, and I decided to incorporate it into a completely new way of using your surroundings, "harvesting" the floor of the battlefield.

-Despite my attempts at creating the most "gimmicky" boss, I have been inspired (read: blackmailed, he took my old username hostage ) by IGNIS to try to make a boss that I'd actually like to fight. As a result, I have tried to make this battle less of a process and more of a fight (hence all the emphasis on decision making/risk vs. reward in phase 1 and reflex/co-ordination in phase 2).

-All this talk of dreams got me thinking about Nelly's song, and here's an epic cover of it I found on the Youtubes.

Spoiler:  

THE ETERNALLY UNCHANGED
Halflight

THE TOWN
The town of Gave is located on the west bank of a frozen river, where winter and sunset is perpetual and the most visible feature is the snow-covered haystacks. Long ago, the town, formerly known as Giving, was known for its wheat, which was stored in haystacks over the winter until it could be sorted come spring. A mysterious song was heard one day by the people, and the entire town became frozen over, and the farm on the east bank was transformed into a large tower made out of packed snow held together with ice. Only the muffin tops of the haystacks, covered in snow, remain visible.

THE DUNGEON
The dungeon of Towering Piles is, as mentioned above, located on the east bank of the frozen river. Link can enter by exposing an enterance using the Torch. Link gradually loses health the longer he stays inside.

He must find his way to the very top of the iced pile of snow and ice, to find the haystacks. Link must find a spool near one of the stacks by burning away a pile of snow with the Torch, which he can pick up and reel in (with the WiiMotionPlus remote) the Needle in a Haystack. His partner helpfully explains the basics of sewing (it is a threading mini-game using the WiiMotionPlus, basically) , so he can knit the Hero's Blue Clothes [HERO'S BLUE CLOTHES-They are thicker: offering better protection and warmth! You also made it yourself, which makes it seem all the warmer.], which is a thick, blue tunic that reduces damage, as well prevents the damage done to him in the Towering Piles because the Hero's Blue Clothes are warmer than the standard tunic. After this, he can journey down a spiraling staircase down below (this is extremely difficult to do unless you brought a lot of potions without the tunic), where he finds a gigantic, iced door, and smaller corridors. The door, given enough patience and a lot of magic, can be burnt down with a Torch.
If he chooses to, he can locate a series of keys so he can get to the frozen river from underneath the Towering Piles. Link has the option option to free a trapped Zora using his Hammer. The frozen Zora is in the motion of trying to grab a mysterious rod just a few inches by it. The Zora, named Koba, will finally grab the rod, the Fire Rod. She will give it to Link for saving her, and expects Link to unfreeze everything so she can rejoin with the rest of the Zoras in the river. Link must travel back to the frozen door, and burn the ice away with the Fire Rod. The door requires a key to open it, which Link could've obtained in his earlier trekking threw the corridors, or by re-exploring them with the Fire Rod (which, as it is able to burn away piles of snow faster than the Torch, is quite helpful.) If using the Fire Rod, you can clear away a particularly large pile of snow to open a big chest, where you will find the Sheet Music. This will be important later.


THE BOSS ENCOUNTER
After Link opens the door, there will be a large, empty room with a frozen ice sculpture of a young, happy boy frozen in a dash forward as well as pedestal with a violin, and a series of ledges. He acquires the Stardivarius Violin [An ancient violin, the method of making it is lost and perhaps not even possible today, but it is said to produce the most beautiful sound, and as such, is said to come from the stars.], with a little star etched into the base of it. Using the Sheet Music, you know how (WiiMotionPlus use in accordance with violin playing motions) and what to play (an orchestra remake of a song in Oracle of Seasons). Doing this will awaken the boy from his frozen state.


THE DESCRIPTION
Halflight is a faceless blond boy seemingly composed of dots of various colors. He has a white cap, white robe, pointed tips on his shoes, an ice shield with a faded red cross, and a very large sword with winged handle made out of ice. His armor is composed of transparent ice, which makes the dots more coherent, but once its all gone, the dots are very visibly dots. And the more health he loses, the more he blends into the background and the more dispersed the dots become. The metal armor gained in Phase 3 is silver with an M-shaped "face"-opening helmet. When it first appears its gleaming and very reflective, but gradually rusts in Phase 4.

THE BATTLE
Phase 1
At this phase, the boy is nearly impervious to harm due to his ice armor and shield and does massive damage to you due to his ice sword . However, you can use your Fire Rod to burn away the armor and sword, making the battle much more manageable. If you didn't get the Fire Rod, you can't just use the Torch (the armor regenerates too quickly if not completely destroyed all at once by a Fire Rod charge), so you have to deal with a very, very difficult boss.
Phase 2
After you reduce him to 3/4 health, he disperses into a bunch of hard to see dots, which makes him very hard to hit, and a large sheet of ice falls off the ceiling. Go up the series of ledges, to the now thin ceiling, before using your Fire Rod to melt the remaining ice. This will allow sunlight to flood in,
which makes him more visible as a translucent figure of what he was, with colored dots still dispersed.
Phase 3
Going down to 1/2 health causes him to gain metal armor (which either does the same thing as the ice armor did, or increases its abilities to insanely difficult levels if the ice armor was not burned away), as well as for more ice to fall out of the ceiling. You must avoid his attacks and climb back up the ledges. You then can go on the rooftop, burn a pile of snow with the Fire Rod/Torch, and gain new Sheet Music (which sounds like the Song of Time played on the violin). Playing it near the boy causes the sun to go down, and for his health to gradually decrease.
Phase 4
His armor gradually rusts, and the dots begin to disperse. Wait out the rest of the battle, and the boy just disappears. Afterwards, a small boat with a candle surrounded by square paper appears on the pedestal the violin was on, and all of the entrances seal shut with ice.


THE AFTERMATH
Lighting the candle causes it to glow a little at first, before engulfing the entire room in flames. Link must escape as the flames burn iced obstacles but also harm him, so good timing is key. After escaping that ordeal, Link will notice the sun is out, the river is flowing with water lilies under the bridge, the haystacks are free of snow and bathed in light, and all is well in the newly christened town of "Giving". Link can now buy wheat, yarn, various animal products, and can engage in side-quests with the newly freed townspeople. The Zoras are also helpful for side-items.
So, with that, Link learns that time must keep its pace, for as things may change, and they may die, there is always the next dawning of spring, the next rising of the sun, the next beginning of a new era to look forward to.

------
I hope you all like it, I tried to make it as much of a Skyward Sword boss and level as possible, and I hope I did a good job. Thanks for reading. ^.^

Are two people allowed to work on one entry together?

Originally Posted by Strong Bad

Are two people allowed to work on one entry together?

*Takes forever to respond*

If you mean you and and like a friend helping you out for one entry that you will submit, I don't see why not. It's like someone else proofreading your paper and telling you to add/omit something.

List of Entries has been updated. Remember, deadline's still December 12. You all roughly have 15 days to submit/edit (current) entries.

EDIT: Added new track to playlist.

Originally Posted by IGNIS

If you mean you and and like a friend helping you out for one entry that you will submit, I don't see why not. It's like someone else proofreading your paper and telling you to add/omit something.

So if they win, do both people get the prize?

@Adspa. That miniboss is broken. Assume you kill one flame per second. That means that after 25 seconds, you have 330 flames dancing around.