Back in the first DLC expansion for the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, a new challenge dungeon called the Trial of the Sword was added to the game. Including [number] of floors where players have to defeat all the enemies present to progress, the area is basically BoTW’s equivalent to the Savage Labyrinth or Cave of Ordeals from the prior games, with all the setup that implies.
Yet despite all this, one thing we never got to see here was exactly where this trial takes place. Where are the rooms located on the map? How do they connect together? What exactly is beyond those walls?
For the most part, it was impossible to tell. And despite the bomb clipping glitch giving us a very small hint about the matter, it too didn’t offer too many thorough answers here. That’s because bomb clipping drops us through the floor, and the only thing down there is an endless ocean with no practical way back to the surface.
But thanks to a new glitch, that’s all solved. Yep, a new way has to be found that lets you clip out of bounds in the Trial of the Sword, and this one keeps you on ground level. How does it work?
Well, you know those small boxes you can move with Magnesis?
Yeah, if one is launched at you quickly enough, then it’ll often knock you straight through thin walls and objects. This means that by building up energy with Stasis and then standing in front of the box as it blasts forward, Link can get sent hurtling through the Trial’s walls and out of bounds.
Here’s a short video showing the glitch in action:
As well as another showing how it can be used to skip to the end of the first part of the trial:
Which obviously breaks the speedrunning scene for this ‘bonus area’ wide open. What previously took hours now takes mere minutes, with most of the rooms being completely pointless as a result.
Yet as neat as all that is, it’s not what we’re talking about today. Oh no, we’re interested in what else is outside those walls. What kind of ‘world’ the trial actually takes place in.
And as it turns out, the answer is ‘a damn huge field you can explore at your own leisure’. Seriously, this place is enormous, and with the exception of the trial rooms in huge cubes, virtually empty and lifeless to boot. Indeed, it may well be about as big as the normal world map for the game, just far flatter and lacking in buildings or varied terrain.
The open world of the Trial of the Sword
That said, there’s still stuff to find here. Like the fact the main area is actually set on a giant cliff overlooking an equally large lower continent:
The continent the trial rooms are located on, viewed from the world below
Or how the area with the Monks at the end is actually located at one of the edges of said cliff, and fades in as you enter:
The Monks room is just off the edge of the map
If you do go to the lower level however, you’ll find some oddities there too. Like the water which quite literally comes above ground level at the edge of the world…
As you likely know, Splatoon has quickly become a huge success for Nintendo. With millions of fans playing the game online and a large eSports community dedicated to the title, it’s clear the franchise has become one of Nintendo’s biggest successes, and a multiplayer game almost on par with Mario Kart and Smash Bros in terms of widespread appeal.
But did you know that Splatoon wasn’t the first such game of its kind? That Nintendo was at one point actually working on something similar much earlier in the Wii U?
Probably not, but it’s true none the less. Because as it turns out, Nintendo was actually working on a very similar game in tandem with High Voltage Software right back in the early days of the Wii U.
And this game actually shared a fair few similarities with Splatoon too. For one thing, it was a non-traditional shooter with non-lethal bullets and cartoony characters, just like Splatoon would be years later.
Yet at the same time, it also had its differences. For example, whereas Splatoon revolves around squids and ink, this unnamed game was going to be based on the idea of robots fighting with water-based weapons instead. In other words, it was kinda like if Mario Sunshine’s FLUDD had become the basis for a FPS game, albeit in a setting somewhat similar to Mega Man.
It was an interesting project really, and makes you think about how different things could have been had it come to fruition. Hell, we could have had a major new Nintendo IP right there in the dark ages of the Wii’s downfall!
Alas, that wouldn’t be the case. Why?
Well to put it simply, leaks happened. Basically, someone at High Voltage leaked the existence of the project online, and that scared Nintendo enough to drop the project. It’s a pretty disappointing outcome for a game like this, and worse still, one that actually harmed the relationship between High Voltage Software and Nintendo as a whole.
So, if you’re interested in hearing more about it, check out the video here:
And tell us what you think about the game and its potential too. Would you have wanted to see a Splatoon type game with water-based weapons? Would High Voltage Software have made a game on par with it?
Tell us what you think in the comments below or on the Gaming Latest forums today!
Source:
How Splatoon’s Predecessor Was Ended by Leaks – Game History Secrets (Nintendo Wii U)
As you know, there haven’t exactly been a shortage of cameos in Nintendo titles. Whether it’s Mario enemies in the Zelda series, Link and Samus in Mario RPG or more obscure stuff like Dr Arewo Stein from For the Frog the Bell Tolls in Wario Land 3 and 4, the company has never been shy of including references to their other games in the various titles.
Above: This guy is actually from another Nintendo game
And with Donkey Kong Country itself featuring cameos from Mr Game & Watch, Samus’ ship and various third-party characters in the SNES titles, it’s no surprise another Metroid reference would be present in the latest title.
What is surprising though is what said cameo happens to be. Why? Because unlike before, it’s not just a piece of static imagery. No, as it turns out, it’s an actual Metroid that can be seen in the background of Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze!
Yep, as found by Shane Marchis on Twitter, a keen Tropical Freeze player can actually see one of the titular creatures appearing in the background of Amiss Abyss, though it’s not visible at first glance.
Instead, you have to go forward past a certain point in the stage, then return past a damaging underwater obstacle to get a glimpse of the creature, which then appears rather clearly in the background of the stage.
Here’s his Tweet showing it in the game:
Found the elusive Metroid cameo in Tropical Freeze! Players have been searching for four years and I got to it first! #Nintendopic.twitter.com/HKdwz9NlPo
It’s pretty out of the way, and it’s not surprising no one else found this creature in Amiss Abyss prior to this.
But hey, it’s a pretty neat easter egg none the less, and one that just makes you wonder what other stuff developers have hidden in the backgrounds of their games. Maybe Tropical Freeze has more Metroid references than this! Or maybe other Mario games have neat background details you can spot, who knows.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see!
Still, what do you think? Do you like the cameo here? What other similar easter eggs have you found in Nintendo games?
Tell us what you think in the comments below or on social media today!
As you likely know, the final mission in Super Mario Odyssey’s Snow Kingdom is known as the Bound Bowl Grand Prix. This is a racing mini game where players have to bound around an icy track in order to win a Multi-Moon, with extra prices being available for harder variants. It’s an interesting challenge, and a moderately fun mini game whose high scores can also be shared online.
However, as it turns out, that mini game isn’t all the track can used for!
Oh no, thanks to the work of a modder called WexosMK on YouTube, it can now also be used for Mario Kart races too! That’s because as the video below clearly shows, the track has now been ported over to Mario Kart 8 on Wii U, complete with everything present in the Mario Odyssey original:
And what’s more, it works really well too. Oh sure, it doesn’t have the most complex layout (that’d probably be the Iceburn Circuit) and it’s not super gimmicky (like say, Mount Wario), but it’s a nice solid track design that’s plenty wide enough for karts and works really well in Mario Kart 8’s physics engine.
Which then makes us wonder:
What else from Super Mario Odyssey could work as a Mario Kart track?
New Donk City? Tostarena Town? Steam Gardens?
Maybe even a new version of Bowser’s Castle based on the one from Odyssey?
All of those would be fantastic ideas, and all could become likely now models are being ripped from Super Mario Odyssey and imported into games like Mario Kart 8. The possibilities really are endless, and the list of cool custom tracks still to come will likely just grow and grow.
Unlike past games in the series, getting arrows in the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is not always the easiest thing in the world. Enemies don’t drop them unless they’ve got a bow, grass and bushes don’t hold them like in past games, and while shops do sell them, their supplies are usually limited, and cap off at around the 200 mark or so.
However, help is now at hand. Why? Because thanks to the Breath of the Wild speedrunning Discord, a new way to farm arrows has been found in the game. What’s more, it’s both trivially easy to pull off and entirely free too!
Here’s how you can pull it off:
Firstly, make sure you’ve got the following items nearby:
A multishot bow, like a Lynel one
At least one arrow.
A source of fire. This should ideally be either a campfire or a cooking pot
Something arrows would get stuck in, like a tree or wooden object
Once that’s set up, you then need to take out your bow, and dip the arrow in the fire. Do that, and then shoot the thing at the tree.
This will cause the arrow to get stuck in the tree. However, as it turns out…
You don’t just get one arrow back from it. Nope, because your bow shot multiple arrows, you get as many arrows back as you shot out. This is a pretty damn good exchange rate, especially if your bow can shoot 5 arrows at once like some of the special Lynel ones can!
And it all works because Breath of the Wild does one little thing for player convenience. Namely…
It only uses one arrow per shot, regardless of how many your bow supposedly fires. So, while you only use up one arrow while shooting the tree, the game gives you back up to 5 arrows when you go and pick them up afterwards. It’s basically an infinite source of ammunition.
Plus, it’s quick too. In my video of the trick (shown below), I managed to go from 36 arrows all the way to 105 arrows in merely 2 minutes. Hence if you’re got about 15 minutes to spare (as well as a few disposable bows to use), you can easily make it all the way up to the 999-arrow cap without batting an eyelid.
Try it out if you can. It’s much easier on your wallet to going to all those Hyrulian shops!
