Well, I’ve decided that I’ll track development of my awesome new game with a blog. So… here it is.
I guess, this being the first post and all, that I’ll post some important info about Z2DX.
Zelda II: Deluxe (Z2DX, since it’s easier to type) is a re-make of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which was on the NES. It was created almost 20 years ago (I think it was published in 1987, but it may be 1988), and while being innovative for it’s time, it lacks the same… feel… that the original Legend of Zelda had. Not to mention that it looks like crap (but still good for the NES) by today’s standards.
Zelda II is a platformer, the only such game in the extensive Zelda series. It also includes some RPG elements such as experience points and leveling up. It was the first Zelda game to have Magic. It, however, lacked weapons, leaving Link to deal with everything by means of sword (and magic). It also lacked all forms of puzzle, instad focussing on extensive dungeons which in and of themselves are puzzling.
So, Z2DX is an attempt to bring this oft shunned game into the 21st century. My inspiration for this originally came when I was looking at some custom sprites that someone made of Link. They were based off of Zero from the Megaman Zero series, and looked pretty nifty. I thought “Hey, a Zelda platformer would be cool. Too bad the original one sucked.” Then, I thought “Hey, why don’t I make one?”
Z2DX remained an idea for quite a while. My skills at using Game Maker were limited, so I could not hope to create something so nifty as the game I had in mind. But, I played, made simple test/practice games, etc, etc, blah blah blah… Then one day, I just sat down, and started making the game.
In my gaming experience, I’ve played some pretty awesome platformers. These range from the Mario series, to Megaman (Megaman Zero in particular), to Metroid (gotta love it!) to even Doukutsu Monogatari (Cave Story)! I plan to integrate the best ideas from these games. I don’t mean that I’m stealing ideas. I mean, what made these games great? What sucked about them, and what would I improve were I the lead producer? That type of thing.
The plot in Zelda II is kinda lacking. “One day, soon after his 16th birthday, he happens across Impa, Zelda’s nursemaid. She notices a triangle on his hand, and she realizes that a prophecy is being fulfilled right before her eyes. She takes him to a room in Hyrule Castle with all kinds of ancient writing and what-not on it, and she places his hand on it. The wall slides over, and we see Zelda lying there, sleeping. Blah blah blah evil wizard (never see him) blah blah sleeping spell blah blah blah Triforce of Courage to wake her up.”
Coincidentally, it’s located in a far-away dungeon, with 6 barriers around it, each of which is generated by a statue in 6 other dungeons slightly less far-away. To deactivate the barriers, Link must place these crystals in said statues. Oh, and the dungeons are filled to the brim with monsters who still follow Gannon (despite his defeat at the hands of Link in the previous game (yes, Zelda II directly follows LoZ, even in the manual)), and want to revive him by sprinkling the “blood of the hero” on Gannon’s ashes. Despite this, Gannon never shows up in game, except on the game-over screen.
Ok, so that’s plot mixed in with game play. But, still… I want to revamp it, and have already put a lot of thought into a new story which, while following the motions of the original, is both entertaining and creative. The evil wizard will show up, as will Gannon (sort of), and all sorts of hijinks are sure to ensue. Zelda will play a more active role, and Link will have a “rival” of sorts (think Ralph from Zelda: Oracle of Ages). I won’t go into any more detail, since I don’t want to spoil anything (not to mention that I don’t have anything solid down yet!)
I’m not working solo on this game, as I suck at everything that doesn’t involve programming and ideas. Specifically, I’ve enlisted the help of Talon to do sprites for me, my sister (mad-hatter) to do tiles, and I’m looking for someone to do music (contact me if you’re interested!)
I’ve uploaded the current demo (see the link on the side bar!). Starting with the next version, I’ll also post screenshots of new features.
Note: The demos I post, until I actually work on the game part, are just engine demos, more or less. I.e., you can play around with the new features (such as weapons) in a way that’s difficult in a real game. Like, say I add a new weapon. If it were a game game, you’d have to progress through the whole game until you acquire that weapon to try it out, and that’s how it should be. But, as I haven’t started the game part, there’s no point in keeping things hidden.
Note 2: READ THE README.TXT FILE! I’ll post the latest changes in the blog, yes, but if you’re downloading it for the first time, you won’t know anything but the latest changes. The readme is an amalgamation of all knowledge about how to use the game. Use it.
Without futher ado, download it, and test out the new stuff!
