[5th Quest Entry] CJC

[Coyotek4]

The more I play through this quest, the more I lean towards rescinding my earlier comments regarding '5th quest' qualification.

The facts remain: the overworld is the same (save for the locations of 'lost' areas), the enemies in the overworld are the same (but watch your wallet vs blue Moblins!), the dungeons have the same color scheme, and the scripts are mostly the same.

At the same time, CJC has clearly taken the notion of 'classic quest' to the next level. Multiple dungeon entrances. Meaningful 'Take Any One You Want' choices (which will likely force me to play through this quest twice). New Items. New secrets. New enemies, beyond the 'color-swap' type.

This, to me, is an evolution of the 'classic quest' genre. If it doesn't actually win, I could see it being the 'jumping off point' for future challenges. Absolutely superb!


One complaint: FAR TOO MANY BOMBS available!

One 'typo' to report: the screen one down and one to the right of the NW corner has two staircases, only one of which can be accessed immediately.

[CJC]

One 'typo' to report: the screen one down and one to the right of the NW corner has two staircases, only one of which can be accessed immediately.

Ah, I see the typo now... it's specifically a typo related to that item in Level 5. I forgot to remove the 'stairs' flag. Sorry about that! As any classic quest, both stairs would lead to the same place anyway; the one is just completely unaccessable.



EDIT: I've planned some moderate fixes that I need to test before I can roll them out. It is important to note that these fixes are a response to skips in the gameplay and not to actual bugs (which seem to all be handled). Since the changes are dramatic and would require players in progress to restart the game, I'm going to inform in spoiler what they will be so that players in progress can decide whether or not they want to switch to the new version.

Items

Spoiler: show

The first item in dungeon 7 will be changed from the Amulet (A whisp ring) to the Floor Tile (A level 2 ladder). As such, several rooms are having their floorplans changed and the number of red and yellow perma-bubbles has been reduced to compensate for the lack of protection. This affects the last three dungeons and the last HC Guantlet.
The Amulet has been moved to a hidden location on the overworld, where it can be purchased for 255 rupees (technically it can be purchased again and again like the Blue Ring; this is a shortcoming of the engine and cannot be avoided.

The Amulet feels like a 'reward' item for one of the money-or-life choices. Since I did not want to eliminate one of the other rewards, I decided to pair the Amulet with the HC on the overworld beach (it was stolen by a moblin). This makes it the only reward item the player can acquire without sacrificing a HC.


Also, the Fire Boomerang will be removed from the game and replaced with the Power Wand. The loss of stunning capability will be replaced with a massive boost of ranged firepower (4 damage before level 6) and the ability to harm Wizzrobes with this wand. In order to make the mechanic function, the Magic Book's damage boost will have to be reduced from 2 to 1 (is it really that noticeable?). With magic book, the wand will be more powerful than the Magic Sword for combat against enemies that do not block magic.


Finally, The Master Sword will be able to 'purify' negative bubbles, turning them into blue bubbles.

Overworld

Spoiler: show

Three bomb upgrade spots will be removed from the overworld, as I did not realize how copiously I had sprinkled them across the map. In their place you will find a potion shop (Near to start on the way to Death Mountain), a cryptic hint, and a Goriya Restaurant that sells potions without the letter (albeit at incredibly high prices) and bait (at a moderate price).

Level 9

Spoiler: show

The Ganon fight script will be updated to be more efficient, and the fight itself may or may not gain another phase.

Also, depending on how well I'm able to get it to work, the puzzle rooms will no longer be quickly solved with the lens and will... well, I'll keep that a surprise. for now

As I said, I need to implement and test these changes before an update. The changes described are intended to smooth some of the end-game flow and make the closing of the quest more enjoyable. As such there is nothing game-breaking that would require you to wait for an update. If you are currently playing the quest, I recommend continuing as you were and then downloading the update for your (hopefully) second playthrough (because of my greedy tricky mechanic).


As always, a big thanks to everyone who has been playing and supplying feedback.


EDIT EDIT: The quest file has been updated. You may use the same save file if you have not started Level 7.