Sorry, I had to make a small detour to feed Link's... errr... Lunk's... Incessant gambling addiction.
Blue Candle get. Only one flame per screen though, which is pretty lame. Definitely a ripoff for the 60 rupees, IMO. Why didn't I just go find two sticks for free.
I can only imagine what kind of precedent this idea of burning down bushes and blowing open doors, only to have the people hiding inside give you money, sets when seen by children.
Won't somebody please think of the children?
A great place to buy a big shield. A terrible place to buy monster bait. Talk about predatory pricing! I wonder who the shopkeepers of Hyrule use as their wholesaler or distributor...
I mean, are regular people needing to buy this stuff frequently? Is there a black market for "fell off the back of the truck" Hylian shields? Is this actually the black market!?
[Editor's note: "You should say to yourself it's just a game, and you should really just relax... For Mystery Science Theater 3000!"]
And there we go... 3 out of 5 Overworld heart containers attained.
It's kind of neat that you can actually get all 3 of them without even visiting a dungeon at all, you just need a candle and some bombs. The other two, not so much. But hey, the white sword before Level 1 is always a plus.
Another 30 free rupees for me!
Once you figure out that there is pretty much one secret per screen (and no more, but sometimes less), it makes hunting for these entrances much easier. And plus the candle and bomb upgrades later on in the game make it even easier.
Since I seem to be carrying around fat stacks of cash, I may as well pick up the monster bait for when we need it later on (in Level 7).
...Not sure if cryptic, or just overly disturbing?
Yeah, I ought to just go ahead and pick up the arrows before Level 6, anyway...
It must suck to have to sit on top of a secret staircase all day... Or, for that matter, in the room at the bottom of it...
But, that aside, the Blue Ring! Do want!
[Editor's Note: At this point I held a vote on whether we should buy the blue ring, go get the letter for the old woman, go to level 2, or go to level 3.]
Controlled by the whims of some unseen force that feels like eyes from behind glass, he feels compelled to head to the northeast suddenly to this cave, where he finds the letter to give to the old woman.
The best secret of the first quest is this epic wallhax.
And to think I figured out how to get here from the old man telling me "eastmost peninsula has the secret".
Wait, what?
[Editor's Note: I honestly cannot remember how I figured all of this stuff out as a kid... It must have seemed 100% intuitive at the time. But it sure as hell wasn't the old man's cryptic clues; that's for sure!]
Well, I guess we should see what our handy dandle candle can turn up for us so we can afford this blue ring.
Hell yeah, watch the money pile up!
What's this... Free health care!? Fill me up, fairy!
On a side note... Why is it that fairies look like floating slices of pizza?
Great success! Now with my blue ring, I have become... Grayish looking Lunk!
Also, I never could figure out just how that shopkeeper text was supposed to go. Like, the monster bait and key are a good deal... So is it sarcasm? Was 6 year old me supposed to figure this out?
Great, some homeopathic elixir store, eh? I bet it's just a front. I wonder what they're selling out of the back...
I can see it now: "How we made our millions while some idiot tried to rescue the princess." - by Old Lady, Old Man, and Shopkeeper. The book would be an instant bestseller.
And that's 3 for 3 on the 100 rupee secrets...
[Editor's Note: The four voting options at this time were the power bracelet, level 2, level 3, or the magic book from level 8.]
Ugh, I used to be so much more competent at this game...
The fate of Hyrule hangs in the balance, but nevertheless we have to feed Lunk's incessant gambling addiction yet again.
On the upside, I have been getting crazy lucky. Thank you #based RNG!
Ah yes, the Lost Woods... The infamous W, N, W, S, W pattern thingy...
Kind of interesting to see what this little maze evolved into in Ocarina of Time, isn't it?
Oh good lord these red bastards hit for 2 heart containers worth of damage per shot... And I've got a the freaking Blue Ring! D:
Hmmm... A graveyard. Perhaps we shall return here later to meet that Old Man.
But right now we've got more pressing matters to attend to.
Yay, the power bracelet! Now we can move those pesky stones that allow us to open up the warp paths around Hyrule. This will make travel much easier from here on out.
Except for all the time spent going down the wrong staircase and having to go in to the warp stairs again, but I digress...
[Editor's Note: The three voting options at this time were level 2, level 3, or the magic book from level 8.]
Okay, so using the power of bush burning (and in spite of our crappy blue flamed candle)... We uncover the entrance to Level 8!
I just love the dungeon music in this game. Even today, it still sounds fantastic and haunting.
Great, Manhandla. The main boss of Level 3 is now a mini-boss in Level 8. Except we don't know that yet, because we haven't been to Level 3 yet!
Oh well, drop a bomb on his chest and tell this plant thing to get bent.
Ugh, what a terrible beatdown. The jury is still out on whether or not armos are better or worse to face than wizzrobes, but throwing in bubbles (those guys that stun you and won't let you use your sword for awhile) makes it downright cruel.
Alright, we've got the book! And it would cause the magic rod to set fire to the end of it's beam... If only we had that item already...
I used to be down on the magic rod, but after realizing in the second quest how amazing it is when you get nailed by a red bubble, my only comment is that it is almost handier without the book since you decrease your odds of nailing yourself with fire.
Shit, I really need the ladder. And some other triforce pieces. And some more hearts.
Wait... What the fuck *AM* I doing in Level 8 right now, anyway!?
[Editor's Note: The two voting options at this time were to go to either level 2 or level 3.]
Continue to Part 3: My Hearts Will Go On To Levels 2, 3, and 4