Quarantine Control #89: Dream of the Shore Bordering a Solarstone

DC Staff | December 16, 2021 | Features, Videogames | No Comments

Data going around suggests that the Omicron COVID-19 variant cases aren’t as severe, and that vaccines are largely effective at keeping sicknesses mild. But it’s evident that smaller governments, organizations, and certain people have become adjusted to being careful about avoiding the virus and being responsible for infecting people, because many are reacting by once again increasing social distancing. The level of sheer dread isn’t as high because, as tired as it is, this trend feels too normal now. That’s depressing in itself, but there’s not much else anyone can do, assuming we’re talking about people who care about the virus at all.

Geoffrey Barnes

It’s game time again.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Remake)
Source: Nintendo Switch
Episodes: 1 (it’s a video game)

I’ve read a lot about how good of a remake the Switch version of Link’s Awakening was since it released in November 2019, but a part of me was still nervous as to what my reaction would be upon actually playing it. I’ve played through Link’s Awakening three times (on Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and the DX version on the 3DS eShop), and was concerned to an illogical degree about how well this version would nail the sense of nostalgia and quality the original provided. The former expectation was unreachable thanks to this, well, not being the original game. But it nails the latter to a point that it nevertheless rekindles the same feelings I had upon playing and replaying it before — one that was notably (here’s a fun fact) my first Legend of Zelda game.

The story for Link’s Awakening is well known by this point, along with its once-a-surprise twist, but I won’t get into heavy spoilers here. I’ll merely mention that I still enjoy how offbeat this game’s story is compared to other Zelda games. It’s still called a Legend of Zelda game because its name was deeply ingrained in gaming culture at the time, though Zelda herself doesn’t appear and neither do other characters and enemies from the series. Nor does the game take place in Hyrule. The developers were able to make an offbeat tale partly because of its nature of a portable game, one notably inspired by David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, joining the Super Mario Land games. But it was and remains good whenever Nintendo does this. The story will never stop being an entertaining ride, even for anyone well aware of the twists.

Link’s Awakening is a nearly beat-for-beat remake of the original game, retaining the isometric perspective and location and enemy placements. But I appreciated the quality-of-life improvements made to the experience. At the risk of sounding like a Filthy Casual, but I’ve had a little trouble reapproaching the older Zelda games thanks to being too adjusted to newer 2D experiences like The Minish Cap and especially A Link Between Worlds. It helps that this remake feels more like the latter with the additions of diagonal walking and attacking, but it feels so good to control that it’s tough to go back. Sorry.

The Link’s Awakening remake includes changes so veteran players don’t know everything to expect. There are more Heart Pieces and Seashells to collect this time around, most of which can be found without an extra guide thanks to a feature that allows players to attach notes to the map and other items. There’s also a feature where players can create dungeons, in what feels like a prototype for a kind of Legend of Zelda Maker. It’s not possible to make dungeons quite as clever and robust as those already in the game, and the challenges made for them aren’t on par with solving puzzles in those, but it’s fun enough that it doesn’t feel like a hindrance to partake in.

Link’s Awakening was always one of the easier installments among the old school Zelda games, and that hasn’t changed with the remake. Some enemies are even easier to get around and hit, and while some bosses are more difficult than they were in the original versions, they’re still far from tough per se. The trickiest parts come in the form of key puzzles in later dungeons and the collection of Heart Pieces and especially the Seashells. But don’t take this as me complaining, because I was in the mood for a mellower game at the moment just after finishing Shin Megami Tensei V. The Camera Shop and the game associated with it are missing from this version, but the dungeon-making feature is a good replacement.

Link’s Awakening will always be a superlative game regardless of the form it comes in, with the remake only reemphasizing this. For reasons I’ve previously stated, this will be the version I’ll revisit over the years. It’s the hallmark of an enjoyable video game story when its twists still come off as entertaining and a bit heartbreaking even when you know what’s going to happen, but I’m especially envious of anyone who went (or, hey, has yet to go) into this version without knowing them.

Playing this has given me hope that Nintendo will make another brand-new 2D Zelda game in the near future. Their main development team is all in on the sequel to Breath of the Wild (one to a game I’ve yet to play, by the way), but it would be nice if a smaller team pursued a similarly smaller title shortly afterward. Grezzo could handle it, depending on what their current schedule is.

Joseph Daniels

As a Final Fantasy XIV player who has played the game at least as much as the journalist who penned this article, I feel like I need to correct a few things suggested by it.

There is a mechanic in the game where you have to earn the ability to fly. In every new zone, there are what are called “aether currents” and they must all be found and attuned with just like one might attune with aetheryte crystals in order to be allowed to teleport around.

The article suggests that there’s no way to know where they are except running around slowly in a zone until you find where they’re all hidden, or look up a guide after someone else has put in the work for you. That’s not true. From day one of this system’s existence, a compass has existed in the game that helps players find these currents. It existed in Heavensward, in Stormblood and in Shadowbringers, and it was in Endwalker where the game changed where in your menus it hung out, but you still have it.

It’s suggested that getting around is super slow until you unlock all the currents. Also not true, and in fact it shows an ignorance of systems that have been in place for at least two and a half years, and of other systems that have been in place for even longer. Starting in Shadowbringers and continuing in Endwalker, all you need to do is clear six FATEs (short events that spawn on a world map and usually consist of enemies that need to be culled, a mini world boss that needs to be defeated, or other objectives like escort missions or item collecting) with the highest possible rating (gold, which is usually easy to achieve) and then buy an item from the appropriate vendor in the zone, a “Gemstone Trader” who sells a zone’s “Riding Map” at a cost you’d be able to afford after winning those six FATEs. This speeds up the search for aether currents because the speed boost for your mounts is significant.

I must remind the author that mounts do exist and that Riding Maps have been a thing in the game since before Shadowbringers made them a reward for clearing just six FATEs, since the author seems to insinuate a habit of eschewing mounts in favour of going around slowly on foot, occasionally using Sprint when it’s not on cooldown. The author must be aware mounts exist, given the article’s focus on the trials and tribulations of unlocking flying, but there is somehow an unawareness that during the time when mounts can’t fly, they can still run on the ground, so why not just mount up and use the aether compass to know which direction you need to go for the next current?

If you do insist on running around directionless for hours, trying to find the aether currents in each zone, might I suggest a podcast?

Solarstone presents Solaris International (2005)
Source: Try Podbean, but it’s still available elsewhere, too.
Episodes: 466

Beginning life as the Deep Blue Radio Show, Solaris International was a music podcast that regularly showcased new and upcoming talent in the world of trance and EDM. Occasionally, Richard Mowatt, also known as Solarstone, would debut his own music on the show, and it was because of this that I was first introduced to him and his work.

I can even still remember when I first discovered the podcast. I was listening to the Sony PSP’s built in feature that tuned into Internet radio, since I was getting more into electronic music and away from listening to mainstream radio for a bit. I happened to be listening when one of those Internet radio channels was rebroadcasting an episode of the podcast and I think Solarstone was promoting his first Electronic Architecture compilation album. I then Googled the podcast and downloaded an episode, the one that ended with “Filoselle Skies” from his Rain Stars Eternal album and I was hooked ever since.

It’s been almost six and a half years since Solaris International ended, but that’s not to say Solarstone stopped putting out podcasts.

Solarstone presents Pure Trance Radio
Source: Try SoundCloud this time.
Episodes: Ongoing (currently 308)

Pure Trance Radio is basically a rebranding of Solaris International, which reset the episode count back to 1. Everything is basically still there, the Big Tune of the Week, the Retro Dance Classic, the Chillout Moment at the end, even the non-trance song included every week with the disclaimer that It’s Not The Kind Of Thing We Usually Play, But We Like It Anyway. Sadly, when the rebranding happened, the old playlists got deleted, and not all of them were saved on the Wayback Machine, so if you’re having trouble finding specific songs from the old podcast and don’t know how to spell the title or artist, you’re kind of out of luck.

SoundCloud’s uploads of Pure Trance Radio comes with the playlists, which I find really helps out. Yes, the songs are always announced and recapped in the podcast, but like I said, if you don’t know how to spell any of the names listed, it’s a little difficult finding the songs you like so you can support the artists or find what else they might’ve made.

Anyway, there’s a wealth of content here, so if you’re having a lot of trouble finding aether currents in Final Fantasy XIV so that you can unlock flying, just play any of the 774 episodes of amazing trance music I’ve recommended this week and vibe if you’re somehow already tired of the new zone music.

The Christmas holiday season will be here very soon, so perhaps you’ve already finished shopping and didn’t save it all for a last-minute panic like certain other people who will not be named to protect the innocent. It’s additionally a good time to not get too confident about dodging the deadly virus that will be here with us forever, with the current more spreadable variant going around. At the very least, it’s all better than last year, even if that wasn’t a high bar. Enjoy the time as much as you can.

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