Link: The Faces of Evil: Difference between revisions
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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[[Image:FacesGanon.JPG|right|thumb|Ganon's infamous and bizarre "Or else you will die!" face.]] |
[[Image:FacesGanon.JPG|right|thumb|Ganon's infamous and bizarre "Or else you will die!" face.]] |
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''The Faces Of Evil'' is considered to be an inferior use of the ''Legend of Zelda'' title by most fans who know of the game's existence, a relatively small number, since the game did not sell well in the first place; even fewer have actually played it. The game is considered non-canon by ''Zelda'' fans, but videos of it have actually become quite a popular internet [[meme]] because of its poor gameplay and notoriously bad cutscenes. |
''The Faces Of Evil'' is considered to be an inferior use of the ''Legend of Zelda'' title by most fans who know of the game's existence, a relatively small number, since the game did not sell well in the first place; even fewer have actually played it. The game is considered non-canon by ''Zelda'' fans, but videos of it have actually become quite a popular internet [[meme]] because of its poor gameplay and notoriously bad cutscenes (particularly the king's "I wonder what's for dinner?" and Ganon's "Die!"). |
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For a variety of reasons, it is generally accepted that this game does not play as tightly as ''Zelda II'', which it was based on. These range from the quality of the CD-i controller, to the speed of the gameplay and the jerkiness of the character animations. The button mappings have been criticised as being illogical, for example having to crouch to open the inventory screen. Another problem fans saw was the ease a player has in killing Ganon, the final boss, with only one hit with the Book of Koridai, making him the weakest incarnation of Ganon in any ''Zelda'' game. |
For a variety of reasons, it is generally accepted that this game does not play as tightly as ''Zelda II'', which it was based on. These range from the quality of the CD-i controller, to the speed of the gameplay and the jerkiness of the character animations. The button mappings have been criticised as being illogical, for example having to crouch to open the inventory screen. Another problem fans saw was the ease a player has in killing Ganon, the final boss, with only one hit with the Book of Koridai, making him the weakest incarnation of Ganon in any ''Zelda'' game. |
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Much of the game's criticism is targeted at its imprecise controls and awkward use of the joystick. The animations have been derided for their frequent use of zoom-ins, poor drawing, and exaggerated, jerky body movements, and the script and dialogue were heavily criticized as well. |
Much of the game's criticism is targeted at its imprecise controls and awkward use of the joystick. The animations have been derided for their frequent use of zoom-ins, poor drawing, and exaggerated, jerky body movements, and the script and dialogue were heavily criticized as well. |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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Revision as of 04:36, 22 February 2008
 |
 | This article possibly contains original research. (September 2007) |
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into CD-i games based on The Legend of Zelda series and Talk:CD-i games based on The Legend of Zelda series#Merge proposal. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2007. |
| Link: The Faces Of Evil | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Animation Magic |
| Publisher(s) | Philips Media |
| Platform(s) | Philips CD-i |
| Release | October 10, 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Action Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Link: The Faces Of Evil is a video game developed by Animation Magic and released for the Philips CD-i in 1993, on the same day as Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. A follow-up to both games, Zelda's Adventure, arrived in 1994. All three CD-i Zelda games were the product of a compromise between Philips and Nintendo after the two companies failed to release a CD-based add-on for the SNES. Because this game has next to no connection with Nintendo or the Zelda series, few "Zelda" fans consider this a true Zelda game, and Nintendo does not officially recognize the game as part of the Zelda series.
Plot
Link, feeling increasingly useless in the now-safe land of Hyrule, has no idea that the far away island of Koridai has been taken over by his old nemesis, Ganon. Gwonam the Wizard visits Link on a flying carpet to inform the hero of the dire situation. Only Link, with the aid of the Book of Koridai, can defeat Ganon. After being refused a kiss from Princess Zelda, Link then flies away with Gwonam on his carpet and moves towards a populated island of stone statues in the shape of diabolical faces known as the "Faces Of Evil".
After Link defeats all of Ganon's minions, Gwonam informs him that Ganon has kidnapped Zelda. Link then travels to Ganon's lair. Ganon gives Link a proposition to join him, proclaiming that he will "make his face the greatest in koridai" and if he refuses, he will die. Link throws the book of Koridai at Ganon, defeating him. Link then awakens Princess Zelda, who denies that he rescued her. Before they kiss, Gwonam congratulates Link for saving Koridai, to which he is once again denied a kiss responds "I won!"
Characters
- Link - The main protagonist. He was proclaiming how boring it is because of Hyrule now at peace. He is then told by Gwonam that only he can defeat Ganon, who has now taken over the island nation of Koridai.
- Zelda - First seen denying Link a kiss. She is kidnapped by Ganon and held prisoner.
- Gwonam the Wizard - A mysterious wizard who is usually on a magic carpet. He introduces Link to Ganon's minions and how dangerous they are. Link later finds his house as part of some trial that would allow him to see "Sand Croomeys" that guard the way to Ganon's lair. Carries Link and Zelda around Koridai in the end showing them how peaceful Koridai had become. Through parody videos posted on the internet he has become famous for his line "Squadala, we're off!" [1] In some of these parody videos, he is sometimes referred to as "Squadala", since the game never mentions his real name.
- Ganon - The main villain. He conquers Koridai and kidnaps Zelda. He is defeated by the Book of Koridai. He offers to make Link's face the greatest in all of Koridai prior to his defeat if Link allies himself with Ganon (he says if Link declined "he will die"), though the player is never given an option other than fighting.
Gameplay
The Faces Of Evil is played using the side-scrolling view introduced in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Development
As a result of the early negotiations between Philips and Nintendo to develop a joint CD-system, Philips ended up with the rights to develop games around five Nintendo characters. Among those selected by Philips were Link and Zelda from the popular Legend of Zelda series. Wand of Gamelon and Link: The Faces Of Evil were given the relatively low budgets of $600,000 each and it was decided by the Cambridge-based development team, led by Dale DeSharon, to develop the two games in tandem in order to more efficiently use the budget. On this low budget, each aspect of the two games was handled by the same small group of people.
Reception
The Faces Of Evil is considered to be an inferior use of the Legend of Zelda title by most fans who know of the game's existence, a relatively small number, since the game did not sell well in the first place; even fewer have actually played it. The game is considered non-canon by Zelda fans, but videos of it have actually become quite a popular internet meme because of its poor gameplay and notoriously bad cutscenes (particularly the king's "I wonder what's for dinner?" and Ganon's "Die!").
For a variety of reasons, it is generally accepted that this game does not play as tightly as Zelda II, which it was based on. These range from the quality of the CD-i controller, to the speed of the gameplay and the jerkiness of the character animations. The button mappings have been criticised as being illogical, for example having to crouch to open the inventory screen. Another problem fans saw was the ease a player has in killing Ganon, the final boss, with only one hit with the Book of Koridai, making him the weakest incarnation of Ganon in any Zelda game.
Along with the other two CD-i Zeldas, the game was constantly teased by Nintendo Power Magazine, mostly in the Player's Pulse section.
The two most maligned mistakes, the full motion video (FMV) animation and voice acting were also the result of cost-cutting and industry inexperience: The FMV sequences demanded by Philips were outsourced to the newly-opened Russian market, and the results were disastrous; the voice actors, selected from local AFTRA actors were completely misdirected and amateurish.[1] As these two areas were considered key benefits to the CD-based technology, their flaws were all the more magnified.
Much of the game's criticism is targeted at its imprecise controls and awkward use of the joystick. The animations have been derided for their frequent use of zoom-ins, poor drawing, and exaggerated, jerky body movements, and the script and dialogue were heavily criticized as well.
Notes
- ^ John Szczepaniak, "Zelda: 'Wand of Gamelon' & 'Link: Faces of Evil'", Retro Gamer, Issue 27, pp. 52-57
External links
- Quebec Gamers - Over 500 images and 9 videos from the game (including the ending)
- Past to Present Online Feature
- Link: The Faces of Evil at MobyGames
- Detailed article on the two games, along with quotes from the developer
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