Gwonam

GWONAM

In 1993, Nintendo loaned out the rights to The Legend of Zelda for three games to be made on the Phillips CDi system. Anyone who knows anything about gaming knows full well how that panned out, with all three games being some of the most laughably bad games ever made, to the point that I hesitate to include characters from them in the actual “game” rosters.

One such character appearing in them was the wizard Gwonam, who acted as a sort of guide for Link on his quest.

As a fighter, he will act as an echo to King Harkinian, both acting as gimmick representatives for the three games. He will have higher power on his magical attacks than the king, but will likely be slower in speed.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen.

Character Sheet: Gwonam

GWONAM

And here's all the characters that I gave a definitive YES to during my second chance round. They are:

1.       Fierce Deity Link

2.       Kalin

3.       Darbus

4.       Ralis

5.       Gulley

6.       Osfala

7.       Irene

8.       Rosso

9.       Queen Oren

10.   Paya

11.   Rune

12.   Kanan

13.   Talon

14.   Ingo

15.   Gwonam

16.   Tetra’s Crew

17.   Kokiri

18.   Goron

19.   Zora

20.   Rito

21.   Korok

22.   Gerudo

23.   Stalchildren

24.   Ganon Blight

Now, we have Gwonam, a wizard and ally to Link and Zelda in the infamous CDi games. He is here, simply because King Harkinian had an echo slot open, which could have been filled by any one of the random characters introduced in those. While Morshu was a popular choice, due to his meme status, I chose Gwonam in the end because he is at least a main supporting character, while Morshu is just one of many merchants throughout the game.

Here is his moveset:

Standard B: Snowball

We could change it to a fireball spell for this one, but the general idea remains the same.

Side B: Shroud

Same, except maybe its more of a wizard's cloak this time.

Up B: Winged Helmet

I think he had a magic carpet we could trade out if we wanted to.

Down B: Flute

Same effect as before.

Final Smash: Book of Koridai and Wand of Gamelon

I'm still down with this combo.

Entrance: He will fly in on his own magic carpet.

Taunts: Up, he will works some flashy magic in the air above him. Side, he will hold out his arms and show some magic potions. Down, he will perform a death animation from the game.

Kirby Hat: His turban.

Kart: His magic carpet.

Special Move: He can play his flute and freeze opponents in place for a few seconds.

Spirit Battle: On Koridai, with Link and Zelda. The Morshu assist trophy will appear regularly.

Victory Screen: The victory screen from the game will play out.

Losing Screen: A janky death animation like the bosses would suffer will play out.

Color Swaps: His base look, and then costumes based on various NPCs from the CDi game.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Tetra's Crew set sail!

Legend of Zelda Second Chance Round (Part VI)

LEGEND OF ZELDA

SECOND CHANCE ROUND

Next, we have Birina, who shows up a bit into the Zelda II adaptation by Ran Maru, a girl from a local village who seems set up as the female version of Biri, Link and Zelda's long-running companion. She doesn't have too much of a role beyond that, not even engaging in the various battles Biri's a part of, so in the end, I think I'm going to say:

NO

Next up, we have Link's father Rune from the Mishouzaki manga (the weird one where Link and Zelda are brother and sister and don't know it), as well as Rune's sister Kanan, each of which could be an echo of Manga Link, but also technically, they could just inherit the specific moveset of this Link specifically, and be echoes of each other, so I say:

YES

Then we have Morshu and Gwonam, both of whom I entertained, partially because it was requested, but also because King Harkinian, who represents these games, does at least have room for an echo. Now, we all love Morshu for the memes, but the thing putting it in Gwonam's favor is that Gwonam is an actual main supporting character of the games, while Morshu is just one of over a dozen shopkeepers in the game you can interact with, and is literally just the one the internet gravitated toward. So, sorry, Morshu, but Gwonam takes it.

NO, then

YES

Tomorrow, we have a couple of commented requests, and then we'll be done and we can do some character sheets!

Zelda Multimedia Stage Roster

ZELDA MULTIMEDIA STAGE ROSTER

And here's the stages from the show, comics, and the CDi games. Which one would you pick to play on first?

Koridai

KORIDAI

I don’t think you even have to be a massive Zelda fan to know the infamously bad Zelda CDi games, with their awful gameplay and wonderfully memetic animated cutscenes full of some of the worst art out there. I think it’s only fair there be at least one stage representing them, and since they do use character designs from the TV series, I’d say its fair to slot that stage in here.

The first of the CDi games, Link: The Faces of Evil, was set on an island called Koridai, with five large evil-looking faces built onto it and housing the minions of Ganon. This stage will be set on that island, with the rocky crags and outcroppings acting as platforms, mirroring the game’s tendency for it to be really hard to tell what is a platform and what isn’t. Some of the NPCs of the game will wander the background.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyL8VSuL2S0

King Harkinian

KING HARKINIAN

Together, Link and Zelda lived in and defended North Castle from invaders. The castle was full of subjects and citizens of Hyrule, but the most prominent fellow residents were Link’s companion fairy Sprite, and Zelda’s bumbling father.

This is King Harkinian, a friendly but dimwitted ruler who often ends up being tricked by Ganon. He would go on to appear in the Zelda Valiant comics, as well as the games made by Philips CDi, though his design would vary.

As a fighter, he will be slower, with not too much power. His moveset will draw primarily from both his appearance in the cartoon as well as the CDi games, representing the more janky aspects of those games.

Likelihood rating: Does this count as Non-game?

Character Sheet: King Harkinian

KING HARKINIAN

There's not much point to a big returning character review this time around, so let's cover the small handful of characters we were able to pull from the Legend of Zelda cartoon series created by DiC, and the few western comics published under the Zelda series banner. We have eleven to add, including:

1.     TV Link

2.     TV Zelda

3.     King Harkinian

4.     Queen Seline

5.     Roam

6.     Sing

7.     Doof & Automaton

8.     Sleezenose

9.     TV Ganon

10.  Goriya

11.  Water Monster

Well, Zelda's awful, Link's awful, was the king from the cartoon at least fun? Oh, he's an idiot, you say? Great. Anyway, King Harkinian is the shared name of the king from the DiC cartoon as well as the CDi games. Except with different character designs, even though Link and Zelda both seem to have the same basic designs. Colin Fox provided his voice in the show, who has had a long career in television and is still working to this day, so if he wanted to come back for it, he could.

Now, in the show, he doesn't do that much. The biggest thing going for him is, ironically, his presence in the CDi games, which, up to now, were largely underrepresented in moves. However, it is a possibility now. Across Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon, Link and Zelda could use a sword and shield, a bell, bombs, the water of life, a winged helmet, a power glove, rope, a lantern, a snowball, a flute, a shroud, and the respective legendary items, the Book of Koridai and the Wand of Gamelon, both of which could defeat Ganon instantly. I'm going to leave Zelda's Adventure out as he did not appear there.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Snowball

He will throw a snowball forward and use it to freeze his opponents. Has a stronger hit when striking fire-based enemies.

Side B: Shroud

He will pull out the shroud used by Zelda to defeat Gibdo, throwing it forward and wrapping enemies up in it.

Up B: Winged Helmet

He will put on the winged helmet and use it to float upwards in the air for a few seconds.

Down B: Flute

He will play Zelda's flute. Any fighter jumping within range will be frozen in midair for a few seconds.

Final Smash: Book of Koridai and Wand of Gamelon

He will pull out the book and wand and use them both, instantly KOing a single opponent.

Entrance: He will be dropped off by Gwonam's magic carpet.

Taunts: Up, he will recreate one of his animations from the CDi games. Side, he will do Link's memetic shrug animation from the CDi games. Down, he will sit back in his throne and chuckle.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Harkinian's old friend Queen Seline as appearing in the Valiant Comics.

Link: The Faces of Evil

LINK: THE FACES OF EVIL

In 1993, Nintendo leased some of their titles out to Imagination Magic to create games for the experimental new Phillips CDi system. The results included Hotel Mario, Link: The Faces of Evil, and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. They are all . . . really bad. I mean, really, really bad. Widely considered to be some of the worst games ever made, and certainly the worst Zelda games by a wide margin, though they have picked up some meme popularity in recent years, which is probably well-deserved.

The game stars Link as the main playable character. Here he wields a sword and shield, as well as such items as a bell, bombs, the water of life, a winged helmet acting similarly to the Pegasus shoes, a Power Glove, a rope, a lantern, and a snowball. He also has the Book of Koridai, which can defeat Ganon in one hit. Not too much new. I think I'll hold off any decision there until I see the TV show version, there's a lot of design similarities.

The game is chock-full of supporting characters, mostly appearing in some of the worst animated cutscenes you will ever find. Among these are Zelda, King Harkinian (though with a completely different design from the show, strangely), a wizard named Gwonam with a magic carpet, and several other shopkeepers and people you can visit for important quest details, the most memed one being a merchant named Morshu.

Ganon is the main villain and he mostly attacks you with flaming skulls. He also has five main bosses working for him, namely the wizard Goronu, the clownish pig Harlequin, a knight named Militron, a fat, blobby thing called Glutko, and a wolfman named Lupay. Most of their fights are pretty basic. A lot of standard enemies appear, albeit barely recognizable. These include: Moblins, Goriyas, Stalfos, Achemen, Armos, Dairas, Darknuts, Dodongos, Ghinis, Gleeoks, Gohmas, Keese, Octoroks, Wallmasters, Zols, and Zoras.

Most of the game takes place on a giant island called Koridai with several literal evil faces sticking up from it. Most of these faces are literally named after the boss that resides there, being Goronu, the Harlequin Bazaar, Militron, Glutko, and Lupay. Other locations include the snowy Nortinka, Crater Cove, Toyku Lighthouse, Firestone Lake, Spearfish Falls, Serigon Caves, the Fortress Centrum, Hermit Flat, Shipwreck Cliff, and Ganon's Lair.

Really, that's all we've got. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Link: sword, shield, bell, bombs, water of life, winged helmet, Power Glove, rope, lantern, snowball, Book of Koridai

Zelda

King Harkinian

Tingle: fight cloud, money management, fireworks, make maps, fly with balloons, drop bombs, cook, shovel, bat, stretch and leap, rupee blast, baseball, slingshot, rope, train car, scary face

Pinkle: potential echo fighter or gimmick rep

Tingle's companions (Kakashi, Buriki, and Lion): crawl, pick things up, get thrown, carried by crows, scan, connect to electricity, trip, lift bell, knock tree over, pick vegetables, slingshot, scary face, seeds, train car?

Gwonam: Maybe there's a gimmick rep here? We'll hold off until the others.

Ganon: flaming skulls

Sensei, Azusa, Iona, Liar, and Princess

Aba: potential gimmick rep

Teddy Todo/other bodyguards

Yamori: ninja blade, hide, disguise, leap, kite, smoke bombs

Uncle Rupee: sofa, lightning, table shields, cats, grand form, green cloud, giant head, bodyguards with rupee guns

Segare: sword, horse, leap, giant mech, rocket launchers, ramp, sabotage, vandalism, spiked wall

Majiyo: shapeshift, teleport, become gigantic, float, bee, worm, snake, final form

Oinker: bombs, swords, shields, lances, spells, rolling around on balls, sword spin, rage circle, more Oinkers, meteors, float, slash, waves of magic

Captain Stalfos: fireball, swords

Bosses:

Death Bug

Bana Bana

Dora Dora

Baron

Goronu

Harlequin

Militron

Glutko

Lupay

Stages:

Tingle's Room

Port Town

Western Pool

Hero's Shrine

Pirate Hideaway

Deku Temple

Insect Cavern

Desma's Labyrinth

Captain Stalfos's Ship

Cape Treasure

Deku Forest

Gooey Swamp

Mount Desma

Fairy Garden

Auros Ruins

Balloon Fight

Book

Emerald City

Koridai

Goronu

Harlequin Bazaar

Militron

Glutko

Lupay

Nortinka

Crater Cove

Toyku Lighthouse

Firestone Lake

Spearfish Falls

Serigon Caves

Fortress Centrum

Hermit Flat

Shipwreck Cliff

Ganon's Lair

Thanks for reading! Next up, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon.