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   Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Feb-2023 15:35:03 JST Adam Conover

   About to embark on a project I’ve been wanting to do for a long time: I’m playing through The Legend of Zelda, on an NES hooked up to a CRT, with only the manual and original map to guide me, just as though I were a kid in 1987. Wish me luck!

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     Chris Brailsford (cbrails@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Feb-2023 21:44:19 JST Chris Brailsford

     in reply to

     @adamconover I only wish I had either the manual OR map when I was a kid…

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     mrblank (mrblank@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Feb-2023 02:20:55 JST mrblank

     in reply to

     @adamconover You can borrow my notes! I mapped out the entire first quest when I was a kid and had all the free time in the world.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Feb-2023 08:05:26 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     • Rachel Simone Weil

     @HXLNT this is a Sony PVM I bought from a post production supplier - asked if they had any of these lying around and they shipped it to me in a 30 year old pelican case! Extremely proud of that transaction.

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     Rachel Simone Weil (hxlnt@merveilles.town)'s status on Thursday, 02-Feb-2023 08:05:27 JST Rachel Simone Weil

     in reply to

     @adamconover We need the CRT deets! Trinitron? 1702?

     Wishing you the best of luck!

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:20:20 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Going to turn this into a thread as I play through. This cartridge I picked up from a local shop already had a save file for “BUTT”. Looks like the person died 17 times and made no progress. No way I’m deleting that - I’ll save my file in slot 2.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:23:56 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     I completely forgot about these screens where the camera suddenly shifts to being from the side rather than top down. Thought they only did this in Link’s Awakening! Also wild that you get BOTH the bow and the boomerang in the first dungeon, but if you actually want to USE the bow, you have leave the dungeon entirely, grind for money, and buy an arrow for 80 rupees! Wild game.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:24:25 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     I completely forgot about these screens where the camera suddenly shifts to being from the side rather than top down. Thought they only did this in Link’s Awakening! Also wild that you get BOTH the bow and the boomerang in the first dungeon, but if you actually want to USE the bow, you have leave the dungeon entirely, grind for money, and buy an arrow for 80 rupees! Wild game.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:26:55 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Finding the first dungeon was easy - it’s right on the map that comes with the game! One of the reasons I never made progress on this when I was a kid (in addition to being too young) is that I didn’t have the original manual or map. They give you SO many hints on where to go and what to try, it makes the game far less intimidating than I thought it was, and much more exciting to explore.

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     Rod Hilton (rodhilton@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:29:17 JST Rod Hilton

     in reply to

     @adamconover Are you using an original NES or an FPGA unit like the AVS or Nt Mini? I notice you've got the 8BitDo wireless controller, was curious if you're using original hardware.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:30:42 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     • Rod Hilton

     @rodhilton original hardware. I have a Mini NT but I’m too lazy to figure out how to hook it up to the PVM! This is my childhood NES and I’m lucky that it still runs great. (And works with the wireless controller!)

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:31:42 JST Adam Conover

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     • mrblank

     @mrblank these are GORGEOUS

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     Rod Hilton (rodhilton@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:32:51 JST Rod Hilton

     in reply to

     @adamconover That's awesome. Enjoy!

     Only a map and manual is a tall order, that game was largely designed to drive calls to the Nintendo Game Play Counselors Hotline. I believe Dungeon 9 is genuinely unfindable without a hint - good luck!

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     Rocketsoup (rocketsoup@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 02:50:29 JST Rocketsoup

     in reply to

     @adamconover Some of my most cherished games are ones I got second hand with no map or manual. It was frustrating but having the infinite free time of youth I got really intro drawing my own maps on graph paper and deciphering clues. Not something I could do today, but many fond memories of fumbling through!

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 03:11:19 JST Adam Conover

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     • Dylan

     @wavebeam original, bought it on eBay!

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     Dylan (wavebeam@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 03:11:20 JST Dylan

     in reply to

     @adamconover This is incredible. Is this an original map you got on ebay or something? Or a repro? There’s honestly so much we miss out on these days with emulation (or similar things like FPGA) because a large portion of the experience was delivered through the printed materials like the box and manuals.

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     jtrofe (jtrofe@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 03:12:54 JST jtrofe

     in reply to

     @adamconover watch out for those nasty characters

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     Lewis Weil (lewisweil@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 04:37:46 JST Lewis Weil

     in reply to

     @adamconover Its amazing that it feels so epic, yet the map is actually so small. I love that.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 09:26:10 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Wild if true !!

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 09:26:41 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Wild if true !!

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 09:29:47 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Outside the boss room of with one heart. The fact that you can hear the boss roaring from a screen away is still terrifying

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     greg ✓✅⍻✔☑√ (impiri@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 10:00:03 JST greg ✓✅⍻✔☑√

     in reply to

     @adamconover dodongo doesn't want that smoke

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     Patrick (papabravo@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Feb-2023 12:07:16 JST Patrick

     in reply to

     @adamconover I love how the pictures of the "nasty characters" are screen grabs of a CRT television, scanlines and all. Nintendo of the 1980s was so scrappy. But we didn't know or care. The games were art back then if not more so now.

     Here's a pdf for those who want a closer look: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAANE.pdf

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     Unanimous D (unanimousd@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 04-Feb-2023 07:58:43 JST Unanimous D

     in reply to

     @adamconover https://youtu.be/aYTRBt0aNbM

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 07-Feb-2023 15:24:58 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Update: I’m on Dungeon 5. I was getting my ass kicked by Darknuts (all time great video game enemy name), then realized that I needed to explore the overworld more. So glad I did. Secrets everywhere. Did you guys know that you have to bomb EVERYWHERE in this game?

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 07-Feb-2023 15:33:08 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     I feel like I unlearned 30 years of game design today, and it was exhilarating. I've been trained to believe that every secret in a game is CLUED somehow. Instead, it never stops being shocking how many UN-clued secrets there are in LoZ. You just have to look for walls that COULD have an opening in them, and bomb them. I always thought this would be frustrating, but it's actually enormously freeing - secrets could be and ARE everywhere, right under your feet!

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     Trevor H (fansy@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 07-Feb-2023 15:47:55 JST Trevor H

     in reply to

     @adamconover after awhile you can kinda predict where the designers put a secret

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     nohhue@mastodon.social's status on Tuesday, 07-Feb-2023 16:23:44 JST nohhue

     in reply to

     @adamconover Yeah, it's kind of why Zelda has the reputation of whacking/destroying everything you possibly can. :) If you haven't tried it, 3D Dot Game Heroes from From Software (yes, that From Software) is a homage to Zelda and pretty good for a AA game.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 03:02:48 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Progress update: I’m on Dungeon 6. Despite buying a blue ring (armor!) and getting most of the heart containers, the Wizzrobes in this dungeon are still kicking my ass! I need to find the Magic Sword, but have no idea where it is.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 03:03:12 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     • Fabio Bracht

     @bracht I loved Tunic, and it’s what inspired me to play LoZ this way!

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     Fabio Bracht (bracht@cupoftea.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 03:03:14 JST Fabio Bracht

     in reply to

     @adamconover Dude, you *gotta* play TUNIC after that. It’s the most first-Zelda-like modern game there is! And it gives out this exact feeling.

     One of its main hooks is actually the fact that it has a charmingly old-school instruction booklet in-game, which gives out the clues for the game, in the exact way the first Zelda does. You collect its pages in-game.

     It’s gorgeous, it has been mentioned in several Best of 2022 lists, and there’s apparently no way you’re NOT going to love it.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 03:04:14 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Also: I realized that the sword BUTT is holding means that this is a Second Quest save file. The previous owner of this cartridge beat the game! Great work, BUTT

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     Børge (forteller@tutoteket.no)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 03:09:31 JST Børge

     in reply to

     @adamconover It's the Gilette business modell!

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     mrblank (mrblank@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 03:17:34 JST mrblank

     in reply to

     @adamconover Hint: ?

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 09:06:17 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     • mrblank

     @mrblank this is a great hint, though I have explored the graveyard throughly and found nothing so far! I’ll keep looking…

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 14:05:10 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Found the Magic Sword, finally! And it only took pressing on 100 graves and summoning 100 ghosts

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 14:05:38 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     I have never been more excited for an item pickup in my LIFE

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     グレェ「grey」 (byterhymer@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 14:08:33 JST グレェ「grey」

     in reply to

     @adamconover meanwhile many years ago I started seeing how much I could play of LotZ without killing anything as a gedankenexperiment to explore non violent methodologies in video games.

     Turns out it is possible to get the Magic Sword!

     But a rewinding emulator and some trickery with the LET'S MAKE MONEY MAKING GAME seemed awfully useful to make that happen. ;)

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     Viss (viss@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 14:12:09 JST Viss

     in reply to

     @adamconover soon you'll be like one of us - citing things like the 'zelda i just found a secret' noise in casual conversation

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     Schattenjager (schattenjager@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 14:12:48 JST Schattenjager

     in reply to

     @adamconover
     I remember this moment from my childhood!

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     C Sawula (cpgsaw@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 09-Feb-2023 14:43:06 JST C Sawula

     in reply to

     @adamconover you playing this on a CRT? The screen curve is bringing back memories

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     Sean Morton (seanmorton@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 13-Feb-2023 14:53:16 JST Sean Morton

     in reply to

     @adamconover That's great that the game still had the map with it! This thread makes me want to find time to play through that game again.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Feb-2023 03:03:12 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Update: after realizing I had somehow missed picking up the Triforce in L4 (despite completing the entire map!) and the Magic Rod in L6, I am now ready for Death Mountain!

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     Brett Johnson (brettj@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Feb-2023 03:31:29 JST Brett Johnson

     in reply to

     @adamconover I did the same with Magic Rod. There is something both refreshing and infuriating about having the freedom to miss essential things.

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     Nick (onestar@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 14-Feb-2023 15:13:09 JST Nick

     in reply to

     @adamconover Good luck, even after all these years Death Mountain is hell without a map.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Feb-2023 15:07:20 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Got my Ganon kit together. On my way to the final battle

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Feb-2023 15:11:07 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     Like-Likes make my blood run cold. 25 years before Dark Souls’ basilisks, and just as terrifying. All because of what a pain in the ass it is to get a new shield! Incredible design.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Feb-2023 15:14:17 JST Adam Conover

     in reply to

     I still have no idea what the “right” way to kill Blue Wizzrobes is. I just spam my sword at them and take a lot of damage until they’re dead.

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     Adam Conover (adamconover@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Feb-2023 15:18:48 JST Adam Conover

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     Standing on the threshold, realizing that I have no idea what Ganon even LOOKS like in this game. Can’t even picture the sprite. No idea how this game ends whatsoever. Going in blind. Chills!

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     Abandoned America (abandonedamerica@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 18-Feb-2023 01:35:23 JST Abandoned America

     in reply to

     @adamconover boy does this make me want to play Zelda again. Fun thread!