Movable Gonzalez

11 June

A primer on #Zeldablade (my ideas on how #Xenoblade could be a prequel to #Zelda) (thread)

Movable Gonzalez@movablegonzalez.bsky.social

In a plot sense, Hyrule would be the world created after the end of xenoblade 3 (or if we take what's said in Echoes of Wisdom seriously, a place to hold ghosts/gnosis while the worlds merge back)

A #Zeldablade thought I've been having for a few days: if mounts are going to be a mechanic in #XenobladeGenesis... what would be some Zelda themed mounts to have in it? For my purposes, only characters from TP, Alttp/Oracles/LA and the pre-WW period of the Adult timeline can count.

Epona (likely the one from TP) is a clear one, and the three animal compainons from the Oracle games (Ricky, Moosh and Dimitri) would fit very well with my ideas for which Links to bring in. It's a shame there may be no Loftwings, as the timeline doesn't fit.

These examples make me think the mounts are not only a traversal option, but that they may also affect combat (justifying the existence of unique mounts)

Just watched @luxin-xeno.bsky.social's last video, and I think his ideas for the plot of #XenobladeGenesis work as the plot of the first half, where Eleanor's view of his brother's legacy will parallel the later half's focus on the legacy of Link, the hero of time, and of Hyrule itself. #Zeldablade

15 Sept

#Xenoblade 1 thought: What if the reason for High Entia not being able to revert from becoming Telethia is that the Telethia form is the actual base form, and the High Entia is the transformed state? In particular, it seems like Anima/Ether related powers can undo changes done by Animus (see Nia)

15 Sept

Also, seeing this specific case makes me wonder whether Anima is a "purer version" of ether (like I was thinking) or just an alternate name for it used on Anshar

14 Sept

Oh, so "nostalgia" was meant to have a more specific meaning than what was translated as, then? (seriously, every day a new potential inspiration appears. It would be nice if Nintendo mentioned artistic inspirations at least one during their existance)

Nintendo Patents Watch@ninpatentswatch.bsky.social

Scratching my head over influencers calling OOT Link “AI” and Epona “yassified”. It seems stemming from a lack of art critique vocabulary or limited frame of reference outside of pop culture. Apart from OOT being a pun on ceramic ocarina, Aonuma said that the visual is to evoke nostalgia (懐かしさ). 1/

13 Sept

I keep wondering if "Monado: Beginning of the World" was meant to mean "Master Sword: Creation of Hyrule" (which fits with both the game and the trilogy after it was changed) and was changed to #Xenoblade after Aonuma (not Iwata) decided the ending (connection to Zelda) was too complex #Zeldablade

13 Sept

Also, maybe #XenobladeGenesis 's codename "Legacy" may be a remnant of an internal name: "The Legacy of Link", which would both parallel TLoZ's name and fit with what I think the themes of Genesis will be.

Movable Gonzalez reposted

TBSkyen Shorts

@shorts.tbskyen.com

11 Sept

... oh, they're LITERALLY supposed to be puppets! | #legendofzelda #tbshorts

Today's #NintendoDirect went way better, but I have to wonder why didn't they move the announcement of the AoC port to the Zelda direct

Highlights for me were Mythrakid and new Metroid

I think this is a neat take on why the remake looks like that. I still feel the mixture of inspirations for the artstyle of different characters lends to the character design feeling aimless and inconsistent, and the lack of deep changes to the story/gameplay makes the game feel pointless.

TBSkyen Shorts@shorts.tbskyen.com

Why does the Zelda remake look like that? | #legendofzelda #tbshorts

When you blur/dim the game it actually looks quite good (which means Link is likely to be the main problem; or that I'm warming to the artstyle, probably both) (also, there's a bit too much hitstun in fights)

I guess I just dislike how self-important it tries to be. This extends ot the direct (10 minutes of stuff, 25 mins of OoT), which should have been about more stuff. Well, I hope today's direct has something for everyone.

Zelda aniversary #NintendoDirect thoughts: First, I thought they would say more about the movie and have a third "big thing" (new game, MTG set, #Zeldablade confirmation...) instead of what we've got, which is a OoT direct with some fluff at the beginning (the fluff isn't the issue, though)

I would have prefered a reimagining of the mechanics and the story instead of just using the original's, but they decided to add a bunch of extra features (...mostly using the mobile app, because of course). Not the game for me, but I can see why they decided to do it like this.

Oh, about the graphics: I would have prefered for them to make the game have a striking artstyle, not just a higher fidelity version of the old (this is what I meant by too unreal engine-y). Every 3d Zelda game since has either been a sequel or had a new art style, so why not this one?

Onto the OoT remake: I think Link's face looks a bit weird, and (this is my main aesthetic complaint) his clothes are too greebled, specially in comparison with the rest of the characters. Additionally, the graphics (specially Kokiri Forest) look a bit too Unreal Engine-y.

The gameplay is fine (it's a very straight remake), but I don't know why they insist on only having one inventory slot, or why they made jumping manual (although this one is likely to be very exploitable). Also, the sprinting speed seems to be the old backwards walking speed.

Quick pre- #NintendoDirect #Zeldablade thought: if the creature shown in this frame of the #XenobladeGenesis trailer is likely to be some kind of "Animus Beast/Demon", wouldn't a hypothetical "Animus Imp" look just like Midna?

4 Sept

My (probably far out) prediction for the Zelda Nintendo Direct is that the "one more thing" will be an anouncement of a Zelda JRPG... called #XenobladeGenesis (yes, I'll be on that train until there's definite proof otherwise)

#Zeldablade: Setting and cast for a (totally hypothetical) crossover RPG: My prefered idea for a Zelda Xenoblade game is that of a game that takes place in the "era of the Flood", that is, the time inmediately before "the goddesses" flood Hyrule in the WW backstory.

Lastly, the "power-aligned" hero. Eleanor is the main character for the first half of the game, in which she saves her home world of Anshar (the underground). During the latter half, she is impeded from saving the surface due to being seen as a "demon" from the underground (likely a "bokoblin").

Surprise! it was a plot prediction for #XenobladeGenesis all along!

First is the "wisdom-aligned" one. Link Vandham is the Link from Alttp, hailing from a bloodline of knights; who wished on the Triforce to become a hero once again, thus transporting him to the adult timeline, in which he faces three other adventures (Oracles and Link's Awakening).

Second is the "courage-aligned" one. Link "the wolf" is the Link from TP, who travelled to another world in search of a way to see Midna once again, even if she's not the Midna he remembers. He personally knows the Hero of Time is dead, after investigating about the "Hero's Shade" and his past.

There should be three "Links", one from each timeline and each of them representing one of the virtues (despite all of them being heroes and thus corageous), and all of them not being considered heroes by the King, who is looking for the timetravelling hero of old, not a succesor.

Well, my last thread was cooking for a looong time. I hope @luxin-xeno.bsky.social takes a look at it.

#Xenoblade: On Anima and Animus In the first trailer for #XenobladeGenesis the term Anima was used to refer to what I suspect is a "higher tier" version of Ether. In this (long) thread I intend to examine the uses of Anima and (the clearly suspected) Animus in Xenoblade

As an aside, I suspect the Spirhalite Islands to be centered on the ruins of the Aeacus space elevator, explaining ancient Salmonid society being technologically advanced.

More relevant, the two end bosses of Splatoon Raiders are the last Anima/Animus pair to analyze: the Salmonarch and has a clear 7 elements + 3 virtues theming, alonside a white appearance and light alignment; making it a clear user of Anima, while Lord Saltimatum, the black undead salmon uses Animus

As #Splatoon seems connected to the past of Xenoblade 2, it too has representations of these powers. In particular, inkfish are users of Animus, with their power to shift their forms and to revive after death (over and over), while Salmonids present more subtle tells of alignment with Anima.

Not only does the idea of "get eaten to fulfil the cycle of life and death" fit Anima (and was my main reason to include it as a property of Anima instead of just a Zanza thing), but the Mythic Salmonids present in Splatoon Raiders clearly have elemental abilities.

Another likely Anima/Animus split is Hylia (who I believe to be a false goddess, she just doesn't fit cleanly in the pantheon, she should be "above" the three, not bellow them) and Demise (an "endbringer" with multiple forms that is associated with darkness and comes back from the death).

Also of relevance is Twilight Princess, which is a game mostly about Animus, though Midna once mentions that Zant's perma-wolf curse on Link is different from Twili magic, which (along with the existance of the Sols) implies the latter is Dark Anima-based magic.

from a #Zeldablade point of view, it's interesting to see how Animus-related abilities are almost always used by the villains (Ganondorf needs to tranform into Ganon, after all) and Anima is only really seen artifacts such as rods and the Triforce. This will likely be explored in #XenobladeGenesis.

In particular, the only true mages in the franchise (Twinroba) clearly display use of Anima (their elemental spells) and Animus (them clearly interlinking for their second phase). This implies that, outside of specialized magic items, most magic in Hyrule consists of manifestations of these forces.

Xenoblade 3 is an interesting case, as both Ouroboros (can copy the powers of others and transform) and Mobius (have their individual abilities and can transform) seem to use both Anima and Animus, though the former had to obtain the power of Animus through Malos's presence in the Sword of the End.

Additionally, it's interesting to see that both queens are Anima-aligned. It's likely that this unbalance either caused or is symbolic of the fears of the people becoming Mobius; specially as Ouroboros's goal of the destruction of the world likely makes them more Animus-aligned.

In contrast, Jin's version of Animus manifests as the ability to counter all movement by freezing the surrounding area to "absolute zero" (more like "just" very cold); which has the side effect of making him move at arbitrary speeds by freezing himself relative to a moving frame of reference.

Lastly (in Xenoblade 2) is Amalthus, who seems to be using both powers, as he consumed other blades to transform himself (Animus) into a form that can change his element freely (Anima). I suspect Nia could have been able to undo his transformation, were she aware of the possibility.

Lastly, the main Flesh Eaters display forms of Anima and Animus focused on countering what the opposing power normally provides, which would make it hard to determine which is which if not for Nia's weapon being labeled as an "Anima Sword" in Xenoblade 3

Nia's version of Anima manifests as ultimate healing, which allows her to both counter Malos's destruction-based attacks and (hypothetically) to undo any unwanted tranformations (yes, this means she could have been able to heal Gort and other Torna-era Blade eaters if she was sent back in time).

In Xenoblade 2, there are multiple sets of entities representing/using anima and animus. On a large scale, Blades are elemental entities tied to a cycle (Anima) that transform into titans, who live the longest of all races (Animus).

The Aegises also use these opposing forces: Pneuma uses Anima, with her control over all elements that the tutorials refer to as "power to make whatever she imagines real"; while Malos's power of pure destruction is an remnant of Animus, which he never mastered, as he can't transform into anything.

I believe Anima is "do what you want", control over the "function" of things, centered on elements, the cycle of life and death and the color white; and Animus is "be what you want", control of the form of entities, centered on surpassing death, causing "the end" and the color black.

In Xenoblade 1, Anima is represented by Bionis, the white titan full of elemental ether that requires its inhabitants to be "returned to it" after death; while Animus is represented by Mechonis, the black titan associated with Faced Mechon, who are Homs brought back from death in new bodies.