CD-i games from The Legend of Zelda series

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Link: The Faces Of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and Zelda's Adventure



Developer(s) Animation Magic (Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon)
Viridis (Zelda's Adventure)
Publisher(s) Philips Media
Platform(s) CD-i
Release date Link: The Faces of Evil[1]
NA October 10, 1993
EU 1993
Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon[1]
NA October 10, 1993
EU 1993
Zelda's Adventure[2]
NA June 5, 1994
EU 1994
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player
Media 1 CD-ROM

Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and Zelda’s Adventure are three action-adventure games produced by Philips for the CD-i as part of The Legend of Zelda video game series. The Faces of Evil and The Wand of Gamelon were developed by Animation Magic and released on October 10, 1993 and Zelda's Adventure was developed by Viridis and released on June 5, 1994.

After Nintendo decided not to have Philips create a CD add-on to the Super Nintendo, Nintendo gave Philips permission to use five Nintendo characters in their games after the CD add-on was released on its own as the CD-i. The games were given little funding or time for completion, and Nintendo provided only cursory input.

The games are considered some of the worst games ever made, due to their barely functional controls and especially known for their badly acted cut scenes that used full motion video. The Philips CD-i did not sell well and the games became very valuable. Nintendo rarely acknowledges the trilogy's existence, and the games are a source of ridicule by many reviewers.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon are played using the side-scrolling view introduced in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, while Adventure has a top-down view reminiscent of the original The Legend of Zelda.[1][3] All the CD-i Zelda games begin with an animated FMVs to illustrate the capabilities of the CD-ROM format; Zelda’s Adventure begins with live action video.[3]

[edit] Link: The Faces of Evil

A screenshot of Link: The Faces of Evil
A screenshot of Link: The Faces of Evil

The player controls Link, who must find and defeat Ganon, rescue Princess Zelda, and become the hero of Koridai.[4] When the player begins this quest, three areas are initially available, accessible through Gwonam's map.[4] The player can access the areas on the map by moving the on-screen cursor over one of the areas and pressing a certain button.[4]

Gwonam, who aids the player in the quest, did not allow time to pack.[5] As such, the player is only equipped with a sword and shield at the beginning of the game.[4] The sword is used to attack enemies, fire deadly Power Blasts, and communicate with friendly villagers.[4] Meanwhile, the shield can deflect attacks thrown at the player.[4] The shield is automatically lifted when the player is standing still or crouching.[4] Other helpful tools, such as lamp oil (for lighting a lamp), rope (for climbing), and bombs (which can destroy some obstacles) are available for a price at Morshu's shop in Goronu.[4][6] The rubies that Morshu takes as currency can be obtained by defeating enemies.[4] Red rubies have a value of one, while green rubies are worth five, and blue rubies are worth ten.[4] To pick up these gems, the player must strike them with the sword before they disappear.[4] The color of the rubies (rupees in the "Zelda World") is also different from the ones in the other Zelda games, since, normally, green rupees are worth one, blue rupees are worth 5 and red rupees are worth 20[7]. In Link: The Faces of Evil, red rupees are worth 1, green are worth 5 and blue are worth 10[8].

Link's health is measured in "Life Hearts".[4] The number of Life Hearts the player currently has is shown on the upper-left corner of the screen when Link is walking around the island.[4] Although the player begins the game with only three hearts, there are ways to earn more.[4] Each time Link is injured, he will lose at least one-half of a heart.[4] The first two times Link runs our of Life Hearts, the player will be given the option of continuing from near the point where Link's last heart was lost.[4] When Link loses his hearts for a third time, he will be returned to the map, and the player will have to start the level from the beginning.[4] Returning to the map replenishes Link's Life Hearts and lives, and he will retain any items and rubies he picked up.[4]

[edit] Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

A screenshot from Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
A screenshot from Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

The player controls Princess Zelda, who must find and defeat Ganon, rescue King Harkinian and Link, and become the heroine of Gamelon.[9] When the player begins this quest, three areas are initially available, accessible through Impa's map.[9] The player can access the areas on the map by moving the on-screen cursor over one of the areas and pressing a certain button.[9]

At the beginning of the game, the player is only equipped with a sword and shield.[9] The sword is used to attack enemies, fire deadly Power Blasts, and communicate with friendly villagers.[9] Meanwhile, the shield can deflect attacks thrown at the player.[9] The shield is automatically lifted when the player is standing still or crouching.[9] Other helpful tools, such as lamp oil (for lighting a lamp), rope (for climbing), and bombs (which can destroy some obstacles) are available for a price at the General Shop in Sakado.[9][10] The rubies that the Merchant takes as currency can be obtained by defeating enemies.[9] Red rubies have a value of one, while green rubies are worth five, and blue rubies are worth ten.[9] To pick up these gems, the player must strike them with the sword before they disappear.[9]

Zelda's health is measured in "Life Hearts".[9] The number of Life Hearts the player currently has is shown on the upper-left corner of the screen when Zelda is walking around the island.[9] Although the player begins the game with only three hearts, there are ways to earn more.[9] Each time Zelda is injured, she will lose at least one-half of a heart.[9] The first two times Zelda runs out of Life Hearts, the player will be given the option of continuing from near the point where Zelda's last heart was lost.[9] When Zelda loses her hearts for a third time, she will be returned to the map, and the player will have to start the level from the beginning.[9] Returning to the map replenishes Zelda's Life Hearts and lives, and she will retain any items and rubies she picked up.[9]

[edit] Zelda's Adventure

A screenshot from Zelda's Adventure
A screenshot from Zelda's Adventure

Unlike the previous two CD-i Zelda games, which take the side-scrolling view from Zelda II, Zelda's Adventure is played with the same top-down view found in The Legend of Zelda.[11] Playing as Princess Zelda, the aim is to fight through the Seven Shrines of the Underworld to collect the celestial signs, and bring the land of Tolemac to an Age of Lightness.[11][12]

Unlike the other two games, Zelda's Adventure was created by Viridus, an entirely different company, with a change in style and gameplay.[11][12] Gameplay is very much like the original The Legend of Zelda and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, with an overworld that allows access to individual dungeons.[12][13] The FMV sequences which explain the plot are live action instead of animated.[13]

[edit] Plot

[edit] Link: The Faces of Evil

Link, protagonist of the series, complains to the king of Hyrule that he is bored now that the kingdom is safe.[14][15] A wizard named Gwonam visits the King and Link on a magic carpet and tells them that Ganon has taken over the far-off island of Koridai,[16] further explaining that only Link can stop him.[17] Link is transported to Koridai and shown by the wizard an island with giant stone statues known as the Faces of Evil, which he must explore to find the lost pieces of the Triforce.[3][18][19] During Link's time in Koridai, Princess Zelda is kidnapped by Ganon and is kept in his lair.[15][20] Later in his journey, Link is sent to Fortress Centrum to retrieve the Treasure of Death for an Ice Queen.[21] At the fortress, Link finds what appears to be a sleeping Zelda. Upon awakening her, however, Zelda transforms into Goronu, a shapeshifting necromancer who works for Ganon. After defeating Gorono, Link retrieves the Crystal of Reflection, which allows his shield to reflect curses.[22] Link then proceeds to defeat Ganon's minions, which include the rejuvenated Goronu, the anthropomorphic pig Harlequin, the armored pyrokinetic Militron, the three-eyed wolfman Lupay, and the gluttonous cyclops Glutko, from which the Book of Koridai is retrieved. A translator, who can read the Book of Koridai, reveals that the Book itself is enough to defeat Ganon.[23] After trekking through Ganon's Lair, Link finally reaches Ganon, who attempts to recruit Link with the promise of great power and the threat of murder,[24] but Link turns down his offer by imprisoning him in the Book of Koridai.[25] Link awakens Zelda and tells her that he had just defeated Ganon, to which she is skeptical.[26] Gwonam appears and congratulates Link on imprisoning Ganon. He shows Link a recovering Koridai and declares him the island's hero.[27]

[edit] Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

The King of Hyrule announces his plan to aid Duke Onkled of Gamelon when the latter falls under attack by Ganon,[28][29] and orders Zelda to send Link if he doesn't return in a month.[30] A month passes without a word from the King,[31] so Zelda sends Link to find him.[28][32] When he too goes missing,[28] Zelda ventures off to Gamelon (accompanied by an elderly Impa) to find both Link and the King.[28][33] During Zelda's time in Gamelon, Impa discovers that King Harkinian has been captured, and that Link has engaged in a battle, of which the outcome is unclear.[34] Later on, it is revealed that Duke Onkled betrayed the King.[35] Duke Onkled is then blackmailed into revealing the entrance to Reesong Palace, where Ganon has taken residence.[36] Before travelling there, Zelda goes to the Shrine of Gamelon to obtain the Wand needed to defeat Ganon. At Reesong Palace, Zelda incapacitates Ganon with the Wand, and rescues her father. Back at Hyrule, the King shows no mercy to the begging Duke Onkled and sentences him to community service.[37] It is not until Zelda smashes Lady Alma's mirror against the wall that Link arrives to join in the celebrations. The game ends with everyone laughing at Link's general obliviousness.

[edit] Zelda's Adventure

Ganon has kidnapped Link, and stolen the seven celestial signs, creating an "Age of Darkness" in the kingdom of Tolemac.[38] Princess Zelda learns from the court astrologer Gaspra (played by actor Mark Andrade) that she must collect the signs to defeat Ganon and save Link.[3][13]

[edit] Development

An FMV cinematic from Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
An FMV cinematic from Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

In 1989, Nintendo signed a deal with Sony to begin development of a CD-ROM-based system known as the "Nintendo Playstation" to be an add-on to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that would allow for FMV and larger games.[19][39] However, Nintendo broke the agreement and instead signed with Philips to make the add-on, which caused Sony to spin off their add on into its own console called the PlayStation.[3][19][40] Witnessing the poor reception of the Sega Mega-CD, Nintendo scrapped the idea of making an add-on entirely.[19][39] As part of dissolving the agreement with Phillips, Nintendo gave them the license to use five of their characters, including Link, Princess Zelda, and Ganon, for games on Philips add-on which was made into an individual console called the CD-i after the partnerships dissolution.[2][39] Contracting out to independent studios, Philips subsequently used the characters to create three games for the "CD-i", with Nintendo taking no part in their development except to give input on the look of the characters.[15][39] Philips insisted that all aspects of the CD-i's capabilities, including FMV, should be used.[28] As the system had not been designed as a dedicated video game console, there were several technical limitations, such as an infrared controller that lagged behind the on-screen action.[28] The team that created the first two games consisted of four artists, three programmers and one musician and were given a little over a year to create both games.[28]

Wand of Gamelon and Faces of Evil were the first Nintendo-licensed games released on the Philips CD-i.[1] The two games were given the relatively low budgets of approximately $600,000 each and it was decided by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based development team Animation Magic, led by Dale DeSharon, to develop the two games in tandem and have them share the same graphics engine to more efficiently use the budget.[41] The animated cutscenes were created by a team of six animators from Russia who were flown to the United States for the project.[28] Link's catch phrase "Excuuuuuse Me, Princess!" from the Legend of Zelda television show, currently a commonly used in-joke among video game players, was included in the CD-i games.[42] Zelda's Adventures backgrounds were created out videos of scenery near Santa Monica Boulevard in West L.A., footage of Hawaii taken from a helicopter, and developers' vacation photos.[43] This decision took up much of the games RAM usage, causing backgrounds to scroll slowly, and developers were extremely frustrated. Space was so limited that one or two kilobytes of free space was the cause of much argument as to how to utilize it.[43] The composer for Zelda's Adventure also played the part of Gaspra in the games cut scenes.[43] The houses and interiors built for the cut scenes were build as scale models.[43] Developers have stated they were not influenced by the first two CD-i Zelda games.[43] Zelda's Adventure spent two years being tested, longer than it took to develop the game.[43] Much more music was composed for the game than was used.[43] Developers had difficulty making sure all the areas of the game had proper background masking.[43]

[edit] Reception

The magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly considers all three games as some of the worst video games ever made.[44] IGN referred to the games cutscenes as “infamous” and “cheesy”; other reviewers called them "bizarre" and “an absolute joke”.[1][39][42] The graphics of Zelda's Adventure were called "blurry and digitized".[1] The game controls were called by Wired magazine one of the worst ever encountered, and that the animation on the first two Zelda games was extremely simple and stilted.[3] Zelda's Adventure was called "unplayable" due to its jerky frame rate, unresponsive controls and long load times.[1] Another flaw was that the game could not produce both sound effects and music at the same time.[1] The voice acting, done by local AFTRA actors, was criticized as misdirected, amateurish, and jarring; Zelda's Adventure's acting was also criticized as unprofessional.[1][15][45] The first two games did receive praise for detailed and well-drawn in-game backgrounds and "pretty decent" gameplay, making it them some of the best games on the CD-i, despite weird controls.[1][41][28] The audio was thought to be "average", and not up to the usual Zelda quality.[28]

1UP.com called the box art of Zelda's Adventure one of the 15 worst ever made.[46] Nintendo rarely acknowledges the CD-i games, and claimed in 2006 that if a player owned a Game Boy and the GameCube compilation of Zelda known as The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition - which does not include the CD-i games - every Zelda game made could be played.[47] Zelda's Adventure was released as the Philip's CD-i was ceasing production and is very rare, and is regularly sold for over $100.[1] The video and music elements of the CD-I games have been remixed many times for humorous purposes.[48][49]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cowan, Danny (2006-04-25). CDi: The Ugly Duckling. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  2. ^ a b Wilson, Mark (2007-06-05). This Day in Gaming, June 5th. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kohler, Chris (2008-03-24). Game. Wired (magazine). Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Animation Magic (1993). Link: The Faces of Evil Instruction Booklet (in English). Philips Media. 
  5. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Link: Great! I'll grab my stuff! / Gwonam: There is no time. Your sword is enough.”
  6. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Goronu Shop (in English). (1993) “Morshu the Shopkeeper: Lamp oil, rope, bombs. You want it? It's yours, my friend. As long as you have enough rubies.”
  7. ^ Zelda Universe. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  8. ^ Chiucchi, Vincent (2007-09-19). 411mania.com: Games - The Hall of Shame 09.19.07: The Nintendo Phillips CD-I Games:. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Animation Magic (1993). Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon Instruction Booklet (in English). Philips Media. 
  10. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Sakado General Shop (in English). (1993) “General Shop Merchant: Course I'm on your side, but I still have to sell the stuff. Just pick what you want. I'll handle the rubies.”
  11. ^ a b c IGN: Zelda's Adventure. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
  12. ^ a b c Zelda's Adventure for CD-i. MobyGames. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
  13. ^ a b c Zelda Elements Staff (2008-01-01). Overview: Zelda's Adventure. Zelda Elements. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  14. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Link: Gee! It sure is boring around here. / King Harkinian: My boy, this peace is what all true warriors strive for. / Link: I just wonder what Ganon's up to.”
  15. ^ a b c d Zelda Elements Staff (2008-01-01). Overview: Link: The Faces of Evil. Zelda Elements. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  16. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Gwonam: Your Majesty, Ganon and his minions have seized the island of Koridai.”
  17. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Gwonam: It is written: only Link can defeat Ganon.”
  18. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Link: Wow! What're all those heads?! / Gwonam: These are the Faces of Evil. You must conquer each.”
  19. ^ a b c d Zelda Elements Staff (2008-01-01). Overview: CDi Series. Zelda Elements. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  20. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Firestone Lake (in English). (1993) “Ganon: In the darkest nightmare hour, when not moon nor sun has risen, I take Zelda through my power. I shall keep her in my prison.”
  21. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Serigon Caves (in English). (1993) “Ice Queen: Before you face the foul fiend Ganon, you must conquer Fortress Centrum, where the Treasure of Death is hidden. Bring it to me. Begone.”
  22. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Serigon Caves (in English). (1993) “Ice Queen: This shield both sword and spear reflects, but cannot stop the vilest curse. This crystal makes the shield reflect, cursing the curser with twice the curse.”
  23. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Nortinka (in English). (1993) “Ipo the Reader: Listen. Such is the power of the Prince of Darkness that he can kill with a single look. Attacks against Ganon will prove fruitless unless Link attacks with the sacred book.”
  24. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Ganon's Lair (in English). (1993) “Ganon: Join me, Link, and I will make your face the greatest in Koridai, or else you will die!”
  25. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Ganon's Lair (in English). (1993) “Ganon: No! Not into the pit! It burrrns!!”
  26. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Ending sequence (in English). (1993) “Princess Zelda: Why'd you do that? / Link: I just saved you from Ganon! / Princess Zelda: You did not.”
  27. ^ Animation Magic. Link: The Faces of Evil. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Ending sequence (in English). (1993) “Gwonam: Well done, Link! Ganon is once again imprisoned. Come. Look. Already Koridai is returning to harmony. The birds are singing! Isn't it beautiful? / Link: Golly! / Gwonam: As it is written, you, Link, are the hero of Koridai!”
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zelda Elements Staff (2008-01-01). Overview: Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Zelda Elements. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  29. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “King Harkinian: Zelda, Duke Onkled is under attack by the evil forces of Ganon. I'm going to Gamelon to aid him.”
  30. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “King Harkinian: If you don't hear from me in a month, send Link.”
  31. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Princess Zelda: (sighs) A whole month gone, and still no word.”
  32. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Princess Zelda: Link, go to Gamelon and find my father. / Link: Great! I can't wait to bomb some Dodongos!”
  33. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1993) “Princess Zelda: Wake up, Impa. We're going to Gamelon. / Impa: (yawning) All right, dear. I'll get the Triforce of Wisdom.”
  34. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Sakado (in English). (1993) “Impa: Oh, my. Your father has been captured! / Princess Zelda: What about Link? / Impa: He's been in a terrible fight! I can't tell what happened!”
  35. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Dodomai Palace (in English). (1993) “Spaniard: Duke Onkled betrayed the King! / Princess Zelda: I know.”
  36. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Dodomai Palace (in English). (1993) “Duke Onkled: D-Don't hurt me, Zelda! I'll tell you the secret way into Reesong Palace. / Princess Zelda: You better talk fast. / Duke Onkled: Go all the way left and move the rug. This key opens the gate.”
  37. ^ Animation Magic. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Ending sequence (in English). (1993) “Duke Onkled: Please! Your omnipotence! Have mercy! / King Harkinian: After you've scrubbed all the floors in Hyrule, then we can talk about mercy! Take him away!”
  38. ^ Viridis. Zelda's Adventure. Philips Media. Philips CD-i. Level/area: Opening sequence (in English). (1994) “Gaspra the Astronomer: And so it was that Gannon, Lord of Darkness, had taken over Tolemac. He had stolen the treasured celestial signs and captured Link!”
  39. ^ a b c d e GameTrailers Staff (2006-10-22). The Legend of Zelda Retrospective Zelda Retrospective Part 3. GameTrailers. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  40. ^ GameSpy Staff (2008-01-01). Nintendo: From Hero to Zero. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  41. ^ a b Szczepaniak, John (2008-01-01). Zelda: Wand of Gamelon / Link: Faces of Evil - Phillips CD-I (1993). GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  42. ^ a b Michael S. Drucker (2005-09-30). The Legend of Zelda: The Complete Animated Series. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  43. ^ a b c d e f g h Bas (2007-03-08). Zelda, Voyeur, and a man who worked on both CD-i projects.... Interactive Dreams. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  44. ^ Reiley, Sean (2007-01-01). #6: Zelda: Wand of Gamelon (CDI). Seanbaby.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  45. ^ Szczepaniak, John, “Zelda: 'Wand of Gamelon' & 'Link: Faces of Evil'”, Retro Gamer (no. 27): pp. 52–57 .
  46. ^ Sharkey, Scott (2007-03-30). Hey Covers...You Suck!. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  47. ^ Kidman, Alex (2004-02-08). Legend Of Zelda Collector's Edition. CNET.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  48. ^ Fletcher, JC (2007-10-05). Friday Video: You must eat swords. joystiq. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  49. ^ Orland, Kyle (2006-09-09). Awful CD-i Zelda games get remixed. joystiq. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.

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