I've unsubscribed to some YouTube channels for the week and hide anything that comes out on my YouTube feed with the "hide" button, spits been way easier than I thought. In about a week it'll be normal again.

What I'm really worried about are the inevitable avatars and signatures that are probably going to have some images I don't want to see, but I knew going in that some spoilers would be unavoidable if I want to enjoy the Internet still. So far, the only thing that's been spoiled for me is the title art, which is so light it's not even worth crying (too much) over.

As for the Let's play, awesome! I'm going to try and finish Zelda 1 Second Quest tomorrow, so I'll just host that thread here to keep it bumped.

Good to hear, and thank you!

I'm excited too. Do what works for you!

Okay, I'm finally free! So what I plan on doing is I'm going to try and finish the game from where I left off, bringing up topics of dicsussion along the way.

I only have two triforce pieces to go, which means three dungeons. I wonder if I can finish it in two days...

I've been playing second quest using the map below, but that's it. The original Zelda was initially meant to be played with a map anyway, so I don't really feel bad about this. I'm going to need to refill my bombs before entering the 7th dungeon. I also need to refill my rupees.

You should at least watch the trailer and a few mins of gameplay. Nintendo only showed 1% of the game in 7 hours yesterday. It won't hurt to take a look.

While I think that Zelda 1 is, for the most part, an excellent and timeless game, one thing that is seriously flawed is it's economy. While finding rupees throughout the world was enjoyable in the beginning of the game, once you find all of the hidden rupee spots, you must rely on the game's random "money making game" to earn a significant amount of rupees in an amount of time that isn't patronizing. This is an issue because rupees are extremely valuable in this game. They buy you bombs, serve as ammo for arrows for your bow, and allow you to buy potions, which are essential for not driving yourself mad in these dungeons.

Since I don't have to patience to rely on luck for such a necessary asset, I've come up with a cheap solution. I'm not ashamed.

Profit.

I literally have no reason to spoil that 1% of the game when I already know less than that as is.

Crazy, I've been playing Zelda 1 for my whole life, and never noticed that Moblins dropped bombs more frequently! Good tips all around!

I've just entered Level-7, and made a b-line for the red candle. Everything is going suprisingly well, though I've already used my first potion, so the clock is ticking here. I'm not really sure is I'm just better, or if time away has cleared my mind, but I was intimidated to come back because Level-6 was a particularly frustrating dungeon for me a few months ago. In contrast, Level-7 has been a breeze so far. Hope I don't jynx myself!

I've stumbled upon a room with a familiar enemy set up, so it might be good to talk about.

I don't remember how it is in first quest, but in second quest, you'll regularly find rooms like this. It'll have some sort of arrangement of darknuts in a room with limited maneuverability, and then it will throw in both blue and red Bubbles. This is a really great example of how Zelda 1 manages to have very difficult combat while remaining completely fair. The rules before you are very simple. Red bubbles disable your sword while blue bubbles enable them. Both cause hit stun, but both are otherwise harmless. The "puzzle" comes in navigating around the red bubbles while trying to land precise hits on the already difficult to hit Darknut enemies. The layout of the room makes landing more precise hits all the more frustrating. The player must accustom themselves to the fact that the red bubbles are the most terrifying aspect of these rooms, and getting hit by one always results in a frustrating panic to chase the blue bubble while defenslessly avoiding the darknuts while maneuvering yourself through such a restrictive room layout while also avoiding knockback from bubbles that may knock you into a darknut by mistake.

The rules are clear, but the punishment is swift. Totally fair, but totally frustrating. I love it, even if the gimmick is getting old as the puzzle gets repeated and Link grows in power and defense.

EDIT: With how powerful Link is by this point, I was able to clear the room in a matter of seconds, but when Link was less powerful, this set up was absolutely the most difficult room type in the game, taking me multiple tries.

Level-7 down.

Level-8. Finally got this baby.

I'm doing pretty well here. I don't remember what item I got between Level-6 and Level-7, but these last few two dungeons have been cake. I haven't even used a potion in this one yet.