P.E.D. DirectCast/The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Guardians

This page archives the P.E.D. DirectCast for The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Guardians; outdated information is highlighted by italics.
=Original=
Ah, Zelda. One of the all-time classics in Nintendo's history, and still going strong to this day, if Breath of the Wild is any indication; but for my projects, Legend of Zelda didn't have much of a presence, especially after I cancelled my old Zelda project Darkness Within (that hadn't gone anywhere since I last edited it) and development froze on Hyrule Warriors: Trinity. But lately with all the Zelda talk courtesy of Breath of the Wild, a few projects by other users (Pyro's The Legend of Zelda: Soul Compass, to name one), and me managing to get Dark Horse's Zelda Artwork collection, I felt obligated to do a Zelda project so as to get with the times. While Pokemon Uprise & Downfall and Injustice 3: Infinite Crisis took most of my time, in the time I didn't spend on them, I managed to crank out a new Zelda title: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Guardians. While the premise for this title remains somewhat the same as Darkness Within, there are plenty of changes as well, some of which directly inspired by Breath of the Wild.
==The Story==
While I haven't worked out the story much in terms of plot structure, I do have the premise and theme down. Spirit Guardians takes place after the events of Majora's Mask (in a splinter timeline) with Link returning to Hyrule without the companion he searched for (some say it's Skull Kid, but I believe it was Navi), but with Hyrule being in a different state since he sealed away Ganondorf and travelled back in time by Zelda's wish: the races in Hyrule are dead-set against each other after what happened with Ganondorf, and the King is desparately trying to keep the races from going after each other.
*The Hylians were blamed for not keeping the other races safe.
*The Gerudos have earned the hatred from all Hyrulian natives because of Ganondorf (leave it to one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch).
And countless other issues have been brought to the table in this politically unresting land; it doesn't help that Zelda (who changed quite a bit since Link left to search for Navi) has grown the rebellious streak and inspired by Link, became a hero in her own right, keeping Hyrule safe from the monster population since Link left. With the monsters at war with Hyrulians and each other (thanks to the two new contenders for evildoer number 1, Veran the Shadow Queen and Onox the Darknut General), Hyrule has been needing a hero again. Luckily Link's return is a little ray of sunshine in this stormy Hyrule, and couldn't have come at a better time. Especially considering Link's got the Fierce Deity Mask in his inventory.
==The Gameplay==
Though Spirit Guardians does take a key from later Zelda games, it does have a gameplay similar to its prequels, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. However, the control scheme also takes some cues from Skyward Sword, as the equippable inventory can accomodate up to 5 items at once, with a couple other buttons used for other specific items (not naming names yet, gotta keep some secrets); the Gilded Sword also returns from the last game as well, as its Link's primary weapon before he regains the Master Sword.
The primary mechanic in this Zelda game however is the item I mentioned above: the Fierce Deity Mask. Yes, that. Since the Fierce Deity Mask was nothing more than an endgame reward for collecting every last regular mask, we never got a true origin story like the other transformation masks (Deku was the Deku Butler's son, Goron was the warrior hero Darmani, Zora was the Indigo-go's guitarist Mikau); all the Fierce Deity Mask could do was (if used in a boss room) shoot beams from his two-handed sword to chop a boss down to size. But in Spirit Guardians it gets a significant buff: while it consumes magic when it's worn, Fierce Deity Link can run at blinding speeds (faster than both Epona at max speed and Goron Link's max rolling speed), jump three times as far as Link, and has the sword that can cleave holes in any foe, regardless of being in a boss room or not.
The Fierce Deity Mask can also be "upgraded" in a sense, through Spirit Guardians's new Silent Realm trials: set forth by the Goddess Hylia in her days before incarnation, she chose these trials to strengthen the hero she chose to save Zelda, but they now serve a different purpose. Instead of strengthening Link's spirit, they strengthen the warrior spirit within the Fierce Deity Mask, in a sense; the Silent Realm trials can reduce the magic consumption of the mask, increase the damage output of the sword, reduce damage taken in the form, even unleash the true power within the mask (though that power isn't unlocked until after the final trial, which isn't available until Link completes all of the trials and has to get ready for the final battle). While these trials aren't necessary for completing the game, beating them still enables Link to be nigh-unstoppable in his Fierce Deity form.
==The Cast==
Like any Zelda game, there is a consistent main cast, however, unlike some games, Ganondorf doesn't join the cast until the very end.
* - The Hero of Time himself returns in this game (as always), but without Navi by his side; he's actually very melancholy because of this, so he seems sadder in a lot of instances. But when the time comes for him to be the hero Hyrule needs, he's still the pure essence of Courage that the land needs him to be.
* - This incarnation of Zelda is something I'm kinda proud of; taking cues from the BOTW Zelda, Sheik and Princess Ruto (yes, her), this Zelda isn't the regal princess the OoT or TP Zelda portray; she's still as smart as before, but she's a lot more proactive at protecting her land, as her rebellious streak shaped her into an active adventurer, much like Link himself. I'm even planning to make an instance where Zelda and Link team up to handle something (like Sakon's hideout in the Anju & Kafei quest). It's definitely going to be main story-related, though, I will say that.
* - The guide for this game, the spirit within the Fierce Deity Mask is slowly starting to manifest as Link's second voice in his head: one of a tried-and-true divine warrior, though no-one else can see him but Link. Though battle-hardened and hot-headed, the Deity's Spirit is dead-set on training Link to be the hero Hyrule needs; and he seems to have some sort of connection to the goddess Hylia as well. What is that? I'll tell that in due time.
Well, those are the heroes of the story, but what about the villains? Since Ganondorf got sealed away, there isn't much options to be had. That didn't stop me from choosing two one-time villains from the Oracle games, though.
* - Born of the Gerudo, Veran was made an outcast due to secretly studying the same dark magic that Ganondorf researched before he conquered Hyrule (the Gerudo didn't want a repeat of what happened); Veran has harnessed the dark arts enough to know how to possess another person's body, which is a skill that comes in handy when she wants to manipulate people. She's managed to sway almost all the undead monsters of Hyrule into joining her crusade to overthrow the Royal Family and rule Hyrule with her dark charms. Stalchildren, Redeads and Poes all follow her in this regard.
* - This slightly-intelligent Iron Knuckle general is widely considered to be the most malevolent warrior in Hyrule, due to his cheating tendencies and ruthless demeanor; he's swayed the Darknuts, Lizalfos and several other monster species into joining his cause to subjugate every soul in Hyrule, but unlike Veran who leads by charm, Onox leads by inspiring fear through brutality, normally through cutting down every foe that comes his way.
These two villains may have the same goal (on a level), but they're not friends in the slightest, as they both want the title of evildoer number 1 in Hyrule; little do they realize that their feuding will pave the way for Ganondorf's return (how he comes back is still in the works), but they're not really much on the board of thinking ahead when it comes to things like that.
And there's plenty of other stories in the works as well, whether it's via sidequest or ingame lore reveals, each character has some story driving them forward, so you'll be seeing a bunch of stuff to do in the game. But for now, this will be all the info you'll be getting in this DirectCast.
I'm Darth Phazon and I'll be seeing you next DirectCast; have a fun day and remember: if it's not Fantendo, it just ain't fun.
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