Hookshot and Sinker

I've been sporadically replaying The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the past few weeks, a) because I've been convinced that it is the best Zelda game and b) because I cannot keep current due to 1) lack of funds and 2) lack of hardware and III) . . . wait, I've lost track of my lists . . . shit.

Anyway, as I've begun to near the end of the game, after much dillydallying (what else is the world of Hyrule for?), it occurs to me that this iteration gets yet another thing right where other games have failed: when you get the hookshot.  More after the break.



For those unaware or inexperienced, the hookshot is a frequently used device in the Zelda games.  It propels a hook attached to a chain, which then latches onto a specific target and either pulls the player toward the target or the target to the player.  It is essential for getting around in certain points of the game, and some puzzles are impossible without it.  Of course, you can say that about a lot of the items, but I find that more often than not, when I can't solve a puzzle in the games, I think "Oh, I must need the hookshot - I'll come back to it later."

In Wind Waker, you get the hookshot in the second to last dungeon, and this is a smart time to get it, and I'll explain why.  The hookshot is among the worst things to happen to the Zelda franchise.

Oh sure, it's extremely liberating to get the item: you can reach places you could never reach before, go back and get all those hidden heart pieces, reel yourself across great chasms and gulfs.  So many parts of dungeons and sections of Hyrule open up to you, the player, upon receipt of the hookshot.  In fact, in a game where you can only have two-to-three items equipped at a time, the hookshot is, more often than not, a permanent fixture in my equipment.  It is always on call, always ready to be used - I never rotate it out unless absolutely necessary, and that's a rare instance when it is absolutely necessary.

The problem is that once you have the hookshot, everything in the game begins to look like targets.  You know - like that hammer thing.  Curiously, once you have the hammer in the games, everything . . . looks about the same, because you use it, like, once and forget about it.

That may have been exaggerating.


A Link to the Past / Link's Awakening
Let's be thorough here.  The hookshot first appeared in A Link to the Past, where you retrieved it in the Swamp Palace, roughly halfway through the game.  And it's useful, but limited.  It only travels in a straight line from the player (so, in one of four directions), has a limited range (which is true of all of the iterations, so I won't mention it again), can latch onto chests, pots, trees, blocks.  You would often see what you needed the device to latch onto, but would need to figure out how to get into position to reach the target.  Sometimes, you'd foolishly destroy a pot on one side of a ledge, and realize that you needed said pot as a target later.

In short, there were limitations (beyond range) to the hookshot, and it was akin to a key, usable in only certain locks.  I mean . . . not like a key in the games, because those work in almost any locks, I mean just any key in the real world.  The hookshot was necessary for certain puzzles, but, by my estimate, no more or less than is comparable to any of the other items in the inventory.

The worst you could say about it is that it makes the boomerang irrelevant.  Both travel in one direction, both retrieve items, both stun/harm enemies.  The hookshot can also move Link across chasms - the boomerang can't.  If you use the boomerang after getting the hookshot, you're doing it . . . well, inefficiently.

As far as Link's Awakening goes . . . I never played it . . . all the way through.  I missed out on the handheld thing - from what I've played, it's pretty similar to A Link to the Past, so I'm going to assume my analysis is transferable . . . correct me if I'm wrong . . .

Ocarina of Time / Majora's Mask
So, you get the hookshot in the Kakariko Graveyard, not in a dungeon, as it is necessary to enter the Forest Temple.  And then you get the longshot (the hookshot with a longer chain) as the item in the Water Temple.  Which frankly always felt like a copout.  The game acts like it's a new item ("Oh, no, it's not the hookshot . . . it's the long . . . shot . . . yeah!  Longshot!"), but it's really just an extension, an add-on, an upgrade.  Which is nice and all, but not as nice as getting a new item.

Now as the game is in 3-D, the hook(long)shot can go in any direction, in any angle - still only in that one direction, but absolutely necessary to get from place to place.  It gets to the point that Link needs the hookshot everywhere he goes.  The game becomes a very unimaginative version of "Going On A Lion Hunt" - can't go under it!  Can't find a switch to extend a bridge over it!  Can't use a combination of items and puzzles to circumnavigate it!  Guess we're going to have to hookshot over it!

Like I said, it's very liberating, as so many places are reachable once you have the hookshot, but it's also very limiting, as so many puzzles are easier, simpler because you can just use the hookshot.

Sure, it gets a bit of redesign in Majora's Mask, but it's pretty much the same.  My point is, you get this device and its upgrade roughly halfway through the game, maybe a little more than halfway.  That's half the game where you can just hookshot over everything.  The novelty wears off.  Quickly.

The Wind Waker
As I said, you get the hookshot in the second-to-last-dungeon.  It works roughly the same way as it does in Ocarina - latching onto targets, mostly - though this time, it at least needs to occasionally be combined with the iron boots, weighing down the player and pulling otherwise too-heavy objects down, rather than taking Link to them.  It's still just as liberating/limiting as it is in Ocarina, but you have less time to get bored with it.  And this is smart.  I'm not sure I'd quite suggest losing the hookshot altogether (although, as part of an inventory overhaul for the series, that's not such a bad idea), but at least reel it in a little.  Like Wind Waker does.

Plus, it saves me from having to jump out of the boat and swim so damn much.  I know it's silly for me to complain about swimming in a game where the entire world is covered in water, but come on - water levels are just the worst.

Twilight Princess
My research tells me there is no hookshot in this game, which is funny, because I remember using one - oh wait, they just called it the clawshot.  Because if it works like a hookshot, and sounds like a hookshot and keeps you attached to the target like . . . wait, that's new.

Yes, the clawshot at least does a bit of an upgrade and keeps Link hanging from his target.  The previous iterations of the hookshot simply dropped him.  Link gets this item in the third dungeon of the game - pretty early on.  And so we have the same problems.  The same hammer/all-you-see-is-nails problem.

I guess you could say that the game at least gets a little feisty by giving Link a second clawshot toward the end of the adventure, allowing him to shoot back and forth from target to target, and that certainly is a novel way of maneuvering that is quite fun, sort  of like having a hammerhead on both sides of the shaft, so you can hammer two nails at once and . . . hold on, got to go apply for a patent.

Back . . . yes, Twilight Princess puts a nice spin on an old idea, but this doesn't remove the problem, it just puts a little more weight on the liberation side of the seesaw.  The limitation side is still rather weighted down.

And yes, these items are quite useful in certain boss fights where Link needs to reel in the boss, or latch onto the boss, and those fights can be quite exciting, and are a prime example of how the hookshot/clawshot should be used.

But for just getting around . . . it's like how I felt when I finally had access to/the ability to drive a car.  It was very liberating; I no longer needed to ask for rides, didn't hoard singles and quarters for bus fare, could reach destinations in a timely fashion.  But figuring out how to get around without a car is, sometimes, quite the adventure.  Hell, figuring out the Pittsburgh bus schedule and route combinations is quite the puzzle.  And the exercise from walking everywhere, or just from bus stop to bus stop.  Yes, getting around is less of a hassle now that I drive everywhere . . . but it's also just a little less fun.  And I guess that's just how I see the matter.  That's all.

What's that?  Skyward Sword?  Why yes I . . . haven't played it.  At all.  Every time I go to buy it, I remember I need that attachment for the controller, and the added price is enough to discourage me.

Can I do a Kickstarter to get me Skyward Sword and a WiiMotion Plus?  Is that allowed?