Let's Play: Willow! part three
When we last left our hero, he had just arrived at the house of an old man who asked him to find his pet, Po. Also, an old man wants some dragon's scales to make stuff with. Oh yeah, and I have to do the whole "Find Fin Raziel, change her back, stop Bavmorda" thing eventually.
This is where we finished last time, and where we're starting from now.
After a little walk, I came upon yet another cave!
But this one's blue! And there's a strange side-chamber we can't reach
from here. Oh well.
This cave is definitely more complicated than Borgada's; I was mapping my
whole way, and actually got a bit lost until I realized that I'd
forgotten a tunnel and thus had a huge chunk shifted one screen to the
left. Anyway, treasure time!
"You have obtained the Gold Shield."
"The name of a swordsman is written on the inside, but it is too old to
read."
A new (old) shield! Also a Light of Life.
I guess gold is pinkish in this world...
BTW, remember those zombie wizards from before? Well, there's another
annoying thing they do which I forgot to mention last time:
Once you're turned into a pig, he casts Magic Missile at you D:
And here's a new monster:
I don't have any idea what to call these things, but they can't be hit by
anything I have, and after a few seconds,
They split into two... and if you give them enough time, they split into
four! I just run away from them for now.
Another new treasure!
"You have the Flame Sword."
"What a sword, the whole sword is red with flames."
I guess by now, Willow's not excited by much of anything. But anyway, new
sword! :D
And it's FABULOOOOOOUS! With new sword in hand, we go on to find... more
treasure!
"You have the Dragon Scale."
"It is a beautiful green scale."
And here it is! Now I can go see if that old man was just blowing smoke
or not. But let's go see what else is left to find in the cave.
And soon enough, we meet...
None other than the big dragon himself, Matanda!
You're back again! You thief. Cough, cough.........
I will never give you the Crystal Ball of Life. Cough, cough...
Although I can't fight, in fact
I can't even fly, I'll give you a bracelet that a thief left here.
If you let me be. Cough, cough...
"You have obtained the Thieves' Bracelet."
Are you going to leave me alone? What a kind hearted young man.
Well, I guess the Crystal Ball is a bust. But we did get this swell
bracelet, though I haven't a clue what it's for.
Venturing further still, we run into someone else we were looking for:
Po! I'm not sure how he's meant to be cute, but I guess crazy old men
living in the middle of nowhere have different standards.
Oh, thank you!
Yes, my name is Po.
That forest of death gives me the creeps.
Sometimes I just have to get out of there.
Anyway, the senile old dragon back there, Matanda, got really huffy,
waving his big tail around just because I played with the crystal ball a
little bit. He damaged my prize feathers. But thanks to you, I have been
saved.
Hey, I know! I'll give you this ocarina which I picked up in the forest.
"You have the Magic Ocarina!"
If you ever need me, just call me
With this ocarina.
Well, that looks like two quests advanced in one cave! Not bad. Sadly,
Matanda doesn't have anything else to say to me, so I'll just head back
out.
But on the way, let me share with you a little strategy tip I worked out
for fighting skeletons:
If you meet some in a place with a curved wall like this, you can stand
against the edge of the curve and repeatedly stab them without fear of
getting hit. It'll take some time, since most of the time they'll have
their shield in front, but if you just hold down the turbo B button on
your NES Max, you'll make it easy.
I head back to the entrance and am about to leave, when there's a sort of
crashing sound, and...
Yay, the tunnel opened! Following the path lead me to another exit.
Yay, a seaside view! And the grass is dancing and fancy music is playing
and I can't move! After a little while listening to the fanfare, the
scene switches to...
Cherlindrea, enjoying her new beachfront property no doubt.
Welcome to beautiful Lake Cheef. I am the protector of this lake, the
fairy Cherlindrea.
Take this cane
With you. It's a legendary magic cane.
Only those who are pure in heart may use it.
During the coming adventure you must put your all into using this cane to
its utmost.
When this cane reaches its true potential, it will be the beginning of
the end for all wicked beings.
"You have the Magic Cane."
Now Willow, go north.
Fin Raziel, the messenger of earth, is waiting for you.
Willow, you are the only one who can save her.
She was turned into an opossum by the evil magic of Queen Bavmorda.
Now go! Go north.
First off, I'm glad the game knows how to use "its" properly, despite
numerous other failures of grammar.
Secondly, why is it called a cane when it's clearly a wand? >:|
Anyway, here you can see the "cane" above the ocarina, which I haven't
used yet. I figure I'll try it out later.
So, heading north per her instructions, I meet someone else from the movie...
Madmartigan!
Hooray! Now things will really cook with a talented sword arm like his at
my side!
My name is Madmartigan.
I am a warrior of the Daikini clan. Please release me. There is a key to
the handcuffs hidden in the forest.
Please go find it.
Don't ask me why he's simply handcuffed in the middle of the forest
rather than locked in a hanging cage as in the film.
Traveling further, I come across a rather large building, made of actual
bits of nailed-together wood for a change!
Welcome. This is an oasis for all brave adventurers.
This is the tavern of the traveler. Please relax and take it easy.
Yay, another rest stop!
I'm guessing that this is meant to be that rather rough place where
Willow re-meets Madmartigan before they embark on my favorite scene of
the movie: the wagon chase! Of course, you don't get to do anything that
exciting in this game, though the arcade game translates it into the most
annoying portion of the game, one which I don't think anyone has ever
beaten without continuing.
Just beyond the tavern, we see an old man. Or maybe it's an old woman.
Who knows.
I guess it's night already!
There are two red towers standing side by side on the other side of
the lake.
Bavmorda has closed the road that leads
To the towers so no one can go near them!
There must be some kind of secret there.
I'm sure Bavmorda is afraid of it!
Oh boy, towers! Always fun to climb! (/sarcasm)
Let's see about that lake then, shall we? But first, let's meet our
newest annoying enemy!
Shells! Which you can't hurt, but turn into crabs which you can hurt and
spit bubbles at you. I didn't think to screencap them as actual crabs,
but I'll get one of them next time.
Here we are, the lake! Whereas in the film, Willow found a boat to row
his way across...
Here, he has to leg it across the bottom of the lake. I guess Nelwyns
can't swim or something.
Oops! They can't hold their breath, either! Let's get outta here, Scoob!
Exploring other paths on this island, I met this strange monster, which
bears some mild resemblance to those mummy heads from Kirby's Dreamland:
They attack by hovering close and then casting Flowing Fire around you.
The flames can be destroyed by slashing them, fortunately.
While pondering ways to hurt these guys (they're immune to Flowing Fire
and swords), I equipped the "cane" and decided to see what it would do.
Whee, Magic Missile! It hurts them, but I'm not sure how many hits it'd
take to destroy one, and each shot uses a lot of MP, so I just leave them
be for now.
Soon enough, the answer to one of my subquests was found:
"You have the key."
"It is old and quite rusty."
Gee, I hope it doesn't break in the lock! Of course, being the kind of
game this is, there's only one lock I've encountered so far, so let's go
back and open it!
But first, another new enemy!
Flying wizzrobes! Oh no! Fortunately, you can beat these teleporting
jerks with Flowing Fire. But they have a trick up their sleeve:
Oh crap, lightning! Meh, whatever, they're weak, just try not to let them
teleport into you.
Oh, fantastic! I'm
In your debt. Here, take my necklace. Just my way of saying thanks.
"You have the Necklace."
"It's made of poor quality glass."
The name's Madmartigan.
Remember it. So long.
And thus, he leaves, probably to go back to the tavern and enjoy his
favorite hobby, cross-dressing.
Oh well, at least we got a worthless trinket in return for helping him.
Cheap bastard.
Let's see what else we can find on this island.
That's all it says. Oh, and a Light of Life.
Now, the Devil Eye is a sword, and a very unusual one.
Statwise, it's a hell of an upgrade from the Flame Sword, but it doesn't
actually hurt any enemy that can be damaged by other swords.
However, it DOES hurt magical enemies, and how! No more blowing MP
fighting Zombie Wizards or Magical Masks or Wizzrobes! Whoo!
New enemy alert!
A six-armed, two-headed purple giant that spits flames! It's a bit
tougher than the lamias we met before, but not quite as much. I think
it's a little slower, too.
Now that we've been all over the island, I reckon I'll go back to Dew and
see if that old man was just making up stories about being a blacksmith.
I whip out the ol' Ocarina and play Saria's song, and... Wait, wrong
Ocarina. We'll play Po's song, instead.
And down he comes!
Oh, Willow!
I'll take you anywhere you need to go.
Nelwyn Dew
Po's House Bar
Oh, so the Tavern's a Bar now? Make up your mind, game!
I chose Dew, of course.
Alright
Then, hang on tight!
And off we go.
Believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air! I never thought I could feel a
giant bird thing's talons digging into my shoulders...
And within moments, we arrive back in the land of violets, where it's
summer again!
There's no time to dawdle, so straight to the old man, we go!
Please rest and take it easy.
Oh, this is really a dragon scale!
I will make you a magnificent sword and shield.
"You have the Dragon Sword."
"You have the Dragon Shield."
Well, it's not as good strengthwise as the Devil Eye, but it'll do for
mundane creatures. Plus it looks pretty awesome. :D
The shield looks badass, too! I feel like some kind of warrior involved
with dragons, now. Maybe I should try to find a cape and a helmet with
horns, too!
Well, that wraps it up for this session. Now I need to figure out how the
hell to get across that lake to Fin Raziel, and beyond that, to the twin
towers, whatever's hiding there. But that'll wait for tomorrow. See ya!
This is where we finished last time, and where we're starting from now.
After a little walk, I came upon yet another cave!
But this one's blue! And there's a strange side-chamber we can't reach
from here. Oh well.
This cave is definitely more complicated than Borgada's; I was mapping my
whole way, and actually got a bit lost until I realized that I'd
forgotten a tunnel and thus had a huge chunk shifted one screen to the
left. Anyway, treasure time!
"You have obtained the Gold Shield."
"The name of a swordsman is written on the inside, but it is too old to
read."
A new (old) shield! Also a Light of Life.
I guess gold is pinkish in this world...
BTW, remember those zombie wizards from before? Well, there's another
annoying thing they do which I forgot to mention last time:
Once you're turned into a pig, he casts Magic Missile at you D:
And here's a new monster:
I don't have any idea what to call these things, but they can't be hit by
anything I have, and after a few seconds,
They split into two... and if you give them enough time, they split into
four! I just run away from them for now.
Another new treasure!
"You have the Flame Sword."
"What a sword, the whole sword is red with flames."
I guess by now, Willow's not excited by much of anything. But anyway, new
sword! :D
And it's FABULOOOOOOUS! With new sword in hand, we go on to find... more
treasure!
"You have the Dragon Scale."
"It is a beautiful green scale."
And here it is! Now I can go see if that old man was just blowing smoke
or not. But let's go see what else is left to find in the cave.
And soon enough, we meet...
None other than the big dragon himself, Matanda!
You're back again! You thief. Cough, cough.........
I will never give you the Crystal Ball of Life. Cough, cough...
Although I can't fight, in fact
I can't even fly, I'll give you a bracelet that a thief left here.
If you let me be. Cough, cough...
"You have obtained the Thieves' Bracelet."
Are you going to leave me alone? What a kind hearted young man.
Well, I guess the Crystal Ball is a bust. But we did get this swell
bracelet, though I haven't a clue what it's for.
Venturing further still, we run into someone else we were looking for:
Po! I'm not sure how he's meant to be cute, but I guess crazy old men
living in the middle of nowhere have different standards.
Oh, thank you!
Yes, my name is Po.
That forest of death gives me the creeps.
Sometimes I just have to get out of there.
Anyway, the senile old dragon back there, Matanda, got really huffy,
waving his big tail around just because I played with the crystal ball a
little bit. He damaged my prize feathers. But thanks to you, I have been
saved.
Hey, I know! I'll give you this ocarina which I picked up in the forest.
"You have the Magic Ocarina!"
If you ever need me, just call me
With this ocarina.
Well, that looks like two quests advanced in one cave! Not bad. Sadly,
Matanda doesn't have anything else to say to me, so I'll just head back
out.
But on the way, let me share with you a little strategy tip I worked out
for fighting skeletons:
If you meet some in a place with a curved wall like this, you can stand
against the edge of the curve and repeatedly stab them without fear of
getting hit. It'll take some time, since most of the time they'll have
their shield in front, but if you just hold down the turbo B button on
your NES Max, you'll make it easy.
I head back to the entrance and am about to leave, when there's a sort of
crashing sound, and...
Yay, the tunnel opened! Following the path lead me to another exit.
Yay, a seaside view! And the grass is dancing and fancy music is playing
and I can't move! After a little while listening to the fanfare, the
scene switches to...
Cherlindrea, enjoying her new beachfront property no doubt.
Welcome to beautiful Lake Cheef. I am the protector of this lake, the
fairy Cherlindrea.
Take this cane
With you. It's a legendary magic cane.
Only those who are pure in heart may use it.
During the coming adventure you must put your all into using this cane to
its utmost.
When this cane reaches its true potential, it will be the beginning of
the end for all wicked beings.
"You have the Magic Cane."
Now Willow, go north.
Fin Raziel, the messenger of earth, is waiting for you.
Willow, you are the only one who can save her.
She was turned into an opossum by the evil magic of Queen Bavmorda.
Now go! Go north.
First off, I'm glad the game knows how to use "its" properly, despite
numerous other failures of grammar.
Secondly, why is it called a cane when it's clearly a wand? >:|
Anyway, here you can see the "cane" above the ocarina, which I haven't
used yet. I figure I'll try it out later.
So, heading north per her instructions, I meet someone else from the movie...
Madmartigan!
Hooray! Now things will really cook with a talented sword arm like his at
my side!
My name is Madmartigan.
I am a warrior of the Daikini clan. Please release me. There is a key to
the handcuffs hidden in the forest.
Please go find it.
Don't ask me why he's simply handcuffed in the middle of the forest
rather than locked in a hanging cage as in the film.
Traveling further, I come across a rather large building, made of actual
bits of nailed-together wood for a change!
Welcome. This is an oasis for all brave adventurers.
This is the tavern of the traveler. Please relax and take it easy.
Yay, another rest stop!
I'm guessing that this is meant to be that rather rough place where
Willow re-meets Madmartigan before they embark on my favorite scene of
the movie: the wagon chase! Of course, you don't get to do anything that
exciting in this game, though the arcade game translates it into the most
annoying portion of the game, one which I don't think anyone has ever
beaten without continuing.
Just beyond the tavern, we see an old man. Or maybe it's an old woman.
Who knows.
I guess it's night already!
There are two red towers standing side by side on the other side of
the lake.
Bavmorda has closed the road that leads
To the towers so no one can go near them!
There must be some kind of secret there.
I'm sure Bavmorda is afraid of it!
Oh boy, towers! Always fun to climb! (/sarcasm)
Let's see about that lake then, shall we? But first, let's meet our
newest annoying enemy!
Shells! Which you can't hurt, but turn into crabs which you can hurt and
spit bubbles at you. I didn't think to screencap them as actual crabs,
but I'll get one of them next time.
Here we are, the lake! Whereas in the film, Willow found a boat to row
his way across...
Here, he has to leg it across the bottom of the lake. I guess Nelwyns
can't swim or something.
Oops! They can't hold their breath, either! Let's get outta here, Scoob!
Exploring other paths on this island, I met this strange monster, which
bears some mild resemblance to those mummy heads from Kirby's Dreamland:
They attack by hovering close and then casting Flowing Fire around you.
The flames can be destroyed by slashing them, fortunately.
While pondering ways to hurt these guys (they're immune to Flowing Fire
and swords), I equipped the "cane" and decided to see what it would do.
Whee, Magic Missile! It hurts them, but I'm not sure how many hits it'd
take to destroy one, and each shot uses a lot of MP, so I just leave them
be for now.
Soon enough, the answer to one of my subquests was found:
"You have the key."
"It is old and quite rusty."
Gee, I hope it doesn't break in the lock! Of course, being the kind of
game this is, there's only one lock I've encountered so far, so let's go
back and open it!
But first, another new enemy!
Flying wizzrobes! Oh no! Fortunately, you can beat these teleporting
jerks with Flowing Fire. But they have a trick up their sleeve:
Oh crap, lightning! Meh, whatever, they're weak, just try not to let them
teleport into you.
Oh, fantastic! I'm
In your debt. Here, take my necklace. Just my way of saying thanks.
"You have the Necklace."
"It's made of poor quality glass."
The name's Madmartigan.
Remember it. So long.
And thus, he leaves, probably to go back to the tavern and enjoy his
favorite hobby, cross-dressing.
Oh well, at least we got a worthless trinket in return for helping him.
Cheap bastard.
Let's see what else we can find on this island.
That's all it says. Oh, and a Light of Life.
Now, the Devil Eye is a sword, and a very unusual one.
Statwise, it's a hell of an upgrade from the Flame Sword, but it doesn't
actually hurt any enemy that can be damaged by other swords.
However, it DOES hurt magical enemies, and how! No more blowing MP
fighting Zombie Wizards or Magical Masks or Wizzrobes! Whoo!
New enemy alert!
A six-armed, two-headed purple giant that spits flames! It's a bit
tougher than the lamias we met before, but not quite as much. I think
it's a little slower, too.
Now that we've been all over the island, I reckon I'll go back to Dew and
see if that old man was just making up stories about being a blacksmith.
I whip out the ol' Ocarina and play Saria's song, and... Wait, wrong
Ocarina. We'll play Po's song, instead.
And down he comes!
Oh, Willow!
I'll take you anywhere you need to go.
Nelwyn Dew
Po's House Bar
Oh, so the Tavern's a Bar now? Make up your mind, game!
I chose Dew, of course.
Alright
Then, hang on tight!
And off we go.
Believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air! I never thought I could feel a
giant bird thing's talons digging into my shoulders...
And within moments, we arrive back in the land of violets, where it's
summer again!
There's no time to dawdle, so straight to the old man, we go!
Please rest and take it easy.
Oh, this is really a dragon scale!
I will make you a magnificent sword and shield.
"You have the Dragon Sword."
"You have the Dragon Shield."
Well, it's not as good strengthwise as the Devil Eye, but it'll do for
mundane creatures. Plus it looks pretty awesome. :D
The shield looks badass, too! I feel like some kind of warrior involved
with dragons, now. Maybe I should try to find a cape and a helmet with
horns, too!
Well, that wraps it up for this session. Now I need to figure out how the
hell to get across that lake to Fin Raziel, and beyond that, to the twin
towers, whatever's hiding there. But that'll wait for tomorrow. See ya!