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Great Plateau Tower — SmashWiki, the Super Smash Bros. wiki

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“ This is the tower everyone visits first in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The top part of the tower can be destroyed after taking damage, but will come back eventually. You can spot a certain Old Man in the background, watching over the match… ”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Great Plateau Tower (始まりの塔, Tower of the Beginning) is a stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Contents

  • 1 Stage overview
    • 1.1 Ω form and Battlefield form
  • 2 Origin
  • 3 Tournament Legality
  • 4 Gallery
  • 5 Names in other languages
  • 6 Trivia

Stage overview[edit]

The stage is a completely flat surface with a medium-sized structure above the middle of the floor acting as a ceiling. When hazards are on, the ceiling is destructible through two methods, which are by either damaging it with an attack, or having an opponent collide against it when they’re being knocked back. The ceiling in the middle of the stage is relatively fragile, as it takes around 60%-65% damage to completely destroy it when normally attacking it. However, the amount of knockback needed for a character’s collision to destroy it in one hit varies due to multiple factors. When destroyed, it gets replaced with a single soft platform on the middle of the stage until it is eventually rebuilt. When stage hazards are turned off, the structure becomes indestructible. Death Mountain and Hyrule castle under Calamity Ganon’s control can be seen in the background.

Occasionally, the Old Man paraglides onto the tower, stays for some time, and then paraglides away from the tower. He can also occasionally be seen gliding in the background behind the tower. He does not affect the battle.

Ω form and Battlefield form[edit]

The Ω form and Battlefield form are set on top of the tower similarly to its regular form; however, in both forms the stage is now suspended far above the ground with the top structure absent, and the main platform’s walls resemble the bottom portion of the top structure. The stages are also resized and reshaped to match Final Destination and Battlefield, respectively. The three soft platforms of the Battlefield form are smaller versions of the soft platform in the regular form.

  • Ω form

  • Battlefield form

The Great Plateau Tower as it originally appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

This stage is based on the Great Plateau Tower from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is the first Sheikah Tower Link climbs and activates. Upon being activated, other Sheikah Towers begin to rise throughout Hyrule and Ancient Shrines activate. He also receives a detailed map of the Great Plateau region. Other Sheikah Towers also allow Link to have a map of the region in which the tower is located.

In the beginning of Breath of the Wild, the first person Link encounters after emerging from the Shrine of Resurrection is an Old Man who helps Link begin his journey by giving him items and tips about using the Sheikah Slate. After Link completes four Ancient Shrines, the Old Man reveals to him his true identity as the former king of Hyrule, King Rhoam. He tells Link the events leading up to him being in the Shrine of Resurrection, and gives him his paraglider to aid him on his journey to save Princess Zelda and Hyrule.

Tournament Legality[edit]

The stage is banned, as the ceiling that appears with stage hazards both on and off can create a cave of life effect.

Gallery[edit]

  • The soft platform that temporarily replaces the destroyed top part of the tower.

  • All Zelda universe characters on the stage.

  • The stage with the top part broken.

  • Male and Female Corrins on the stage.

  • Dark Samus charging her forward smash.

  • Falco using Fire Bird on the stage on the stage with the Old Man gliding in the background.

  • Pac-Man vs Snake vs Ivysaur vs Yoshi on the stage.

  • Sora floating down towards Hyrule.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
 Japanese 始まりの塔 Tower of Beginning
 English Great Plateau Tower —
 French (PAL) Tour de Prélude Prelude Tower
 French (NTSC) Tour de l’Éveil Tower of Awakening
 German Turm des Plateaus Plateau Tower
 Spanish Torre de la meseta Plateau Tower
 Italian Torre delle origini Tower of Origin
 Chinese 初始之塔 Tower of Beginning
 Korean 시작의 탑 Tower of Beginning
 Dutch Toren der Wederopstanding Tower of Resurrection
 Russian Башня Плато Plateau Tower
  • Several parts of the tower have Sheikah letters on them:
    • The soft platform that appears when the pillar gets destroyed spells out «Smash Bros. «, similar to the Hylian text on Temple post-Brawl. This also applies to the platforms on the stage’s Battlefield form.
    • On the stage’s Ω or Battlefield forms, there are two rings of text circling the stage. The upper ring repeatedly spells «Smash Bro» (missing the last ‘s’), while the lower ring repeatedly spells «Sheikah Tower».
  • There is a small section of solid floor on top of the pillar which can be landed on, however doing so results in an immediate KO as it extends above the upper blast line.
    • However, if the Devil moves the camera upwards (and the blast zones along with it), it is possible to stand on this floor until the upper blast zone moves back down again.

View of Hyrule Castle from the Great Plateau Tower in Breath of the Wild.

  • The view behind the tower does not match up with its appearance in Breath of the Wild. Hyrule Castle is almost directly to the left of the pedestal’s face, while the castle is more so behind it in Smash.
  • The Ω form of Great Plateau Tower is very similar to the floating platform on which Link fights Monk Maz Koshia.
  • While the near background is fully rendered in 3D, the far background is a series of 2D images stacked to resemble a 3D backdrop, which is done as a resource-saving measure. A similar technique is used for Minecraft World.
  • Even in the Ω or Battlefield forms of the stage, the shadow for the tower can be seen on the ground if the camera is angled properly.
  • This is the only new stage in Ultimate to not have any unlockable characters fought here outside DLC and World of Light.
  • Despite Breath of the Wild having a day and night cycle, it always appears to be morning in the stage as opposed to others such as Gaur Plain and Smashville which have this feature.
  • Thwomp, Arcade Bunny and the Squid Sisters cannot be summoned from an Assist Trophy on this stage. Additionally, Alolan Exeggutor cannot be summoned from a Poké Ball here.

Zelda Dungeon Wiki, a The Legend of Zelda wiki

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Moldorms are recurring enemies in The Legend of Zelda series. They are usually small land-dwelling creatures that are like long worms. In more recent games, they have taken the appearance of a more centipede-like enemy instead of worm-like. In some games, Moldorms appear as Bosses.

Contents

  • 1 The Legend of Zelda
  • 2 A Link to the Past
  • 3 Link’s Awakening
  • 4 The Minish Cap
  • 5 Twilight Princess
  • 6 Phantom Hourglass
  • 7 Skyward Sword
  • 8 A Link Between Worlds
  • 9 Tri Force Heroes
  • 10 Gallery

The Legend of Zelda

In The Legend of Zelda, Moldorms appear in Level 2 and in Level 7 in the First Quest, or Level 1 and Level 8 in the Second Quest. They can be defeated by slashing one part of their body at a time, until they have finally been reduced to one piece, at which time a final slash will do them in. In the last dungeon of the game, Moldorms are replaced by a tougher enemy known as a Lanmola.

A Link to the Past

Main article: Moldorm (A Link to the Past)

Moldorm is the boss of the Tower of Hera. Moldorm later appears as a mini-boss in Ganon’s Tower.

Link’s Awakening

Main article: Moldorm (Link’s Awakening)

Moldorm is the Nightmare found within Tail Cave.

The Minish Cap

Moldorm move in random directions. Their only attack is running into Link. Simple sword strikes can eliminate them.

Twilight Princess

In Twilight Princess, a Moldorm is a worm-like enemy that buries itself beneath the desert sand. Its only attack is to leap up and hit Link. To attack, he can use the Clawshot to pull it to the surface and vanquish it with one strike of his sword, or wait for it to jump and use the Mortal Draw Hidden Skill.

Phantom Hourglass

Moldorms appear in the Temple of Courage. They move around randomly, occasionally going directly for Link. Three hits to their backside defeats them.

Skyward Sword

Moldorms in Skyward Sword can be found in the Fire Sanctuary, Sky Keep, and an island in the Thunderhead. After digging underground with his Mogma Mitts, Link can find them crawling around in a continuous circle. If they spot Link, they’ll charge at him immediately, causing a small amount of damage. Their backside is their sole weak point.

A Link Between Worlds

Main article: Moldorm (A Link Between Worlds)

Four Moldorms appear in A Link Between Worlds. It is first fought as the boss of the Tower of Hera and later appears as a mini-boss of Lorule Castle. Moldorms also appear in the Treacherous Tower, where one Moldorm can be fought on the fifth floor of Beginner Mode and another one encountered on the 50th floor of Advanced Mode.

Tri Force Heroes

Main article: Moldorm (Tri Force Heroes)

Gallery

  • Moldorm Artwork from Million Publications Strategy Guide for The Legend of Zelda

  • Moldorm Artwork from Kadokawa Shoten Strategy Guide for The Legend of Zelda

  • Moldorm Sprite from The Legend of Zelda

  • Moldorm Sprite from A Link to the Past

  • Moldorm sprite from The Minish Cap

  • Moldorm from Twilight Princess

  • Moldorm from Phantom Hourglass

  • Link fighting a Moldorm in Skyward Sword

  • Link fighting a Moldorm in the Tower of Hera in A Link Between Worlds

The Legend of Zelda Enemies[edit][hide][show]

Overworld
  • Armos
  • Boulder
  • Ghini
  • Leever
  • Lynel
  • Moblin
  • Octorok
  • Peahat
  • River Zora
  • Tektite
Dungeons
  • Blade Trap
  • Bubble
  • Darknut
  • Gel
  • Gibdo
  • Goriya
  • Keese
  • Lanmola
  • Like Like
  • Moldorm
  • Patra
  • Pols Voice
  • Rope
  • Stalfos
  • Stone Statue
  • Vire
  • Wallmaster
  • Wizzrobe
  • Zol
  • [[The Legend of Zelda]]
  • [[The Legend of Zelda Enemies]]
  • [[Enemies]]

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Jim Henson’s dark tale — Movies and series on DTF

The story of the iconic franchise and what to expect from the prequel being produced by Netflix.

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The 80s is the golden age of expensive family fantasy. I immediately remember «The Neverending Story», «Willow», «Legend», «Labyrinth» and «Mio, My Mio». However, the first and most unusual film in this series remains The Dark Crystal from American puppeteers Jim Henson and Frank Oz. This is a unique and dark tale where the use of costumed actors is kept to a minimum and all characters move thanks to top-notch animatronics and a talented team of puppeteers. nine0003

Almost 40 years later, the painting is not forgotten, it has a cult status and a small community of admirers. In the digital age, puppet films are already irrevocably a thing of the past, but in May 2017, Netflix and Jim Henson Company began filming a 10-episode puppet prequel to the film. Its premiere is scheduled for August 30 this year.

In Russia, the «Dark Crystal» is almost unknown and was poorly distributed in the era of pirated video cassettes. It has not received an official dubbing or voice-over (there is amateur voice acting by Alexander Gavrilov and Tycoon Studios), it has never been shown on TV. nine0003

By the release of the prequel, we are talking about the world of The Dark Crystal, and at the same time we are analyzing in detail the entire franchise, its branches and influence on modern pop culture.

History of creation

Jim Henson was obsessed with puppets and children’s morning shows from a young age. He never missed an episode of broadcasts from Burr Tilstrom and Bill Baird. Later, he was also influenced by the theatrical productions of the Soviet puppeteer Sergei Obraztsov, whom Henson later referred to as one of his teachers. At the age of 15, Jim could draw well, learned to make puppets and soon became a member of the puppet club. nine0003

At the age of 18, he was noticed and offered a job in television, where he began making dolls and voiced them himself for three children’s shows, including his debut show called Sam and Friends. For him, he created and voiced almost all the characters, including the prototype of the famous Kermit the Frog.

Henson and Kermit

The real fame came to Henson after working on the dolls for the children’s show «Sesame Street» and the launch of his magnificent «Muppet Show». Throughout the 70s, he worked on these series and made two feature films based on the Muppets franchise. But by the end of the decade, Henson realized that he needed to move on. You can’t spend your whole life working only on comedy shows about puppets. nine0003

At the time, he was in close contact with director George Lucas, witnessed his success and even helped him by producing a special episode of The Muppets with the Star Wars cast. Subsequently, Lucas suggested that Henson create, voice and «play» Yoda, but he refused, suggesting that the director hire Frank Oz, his close friend, a talented puppeteer and actor.

Jim Henson and George Lucas

Henson was strongly motivated by the popularity of Star Wars and the popularization of fantasy in the late 70s: the Dungeon & Dragons RPG craze, the second wave of popularity of Conan the Barbarian and Tolkien’s works. It was at this time that Henson thought about creating a massive saga — a fantasy puppet franchise with a big budget, a well-developed universe and real scenery. nine0003

The future Dark Crystal had many sources of inspiration. In 1975, Henson saw an illustration in Lewis Carroll’s collection of poetry. It depicted aristocratic crocodiles who lived in the secular way of the Victorian era. They lived in the palace, ate delicacies, wore expensive clothes and jewelry.

Henson really liked this look, but didn’t know how to use it in his Muppets. However, he did not abandon it and made it the core of the Dark Crystal. Aristocratic crocodiles are a distant prototype of the cruel Skeksi race. nine0003

Concept art by Brian Froud

Part of the inspiration came from the unsuccessful ‘Bitterland’ puppet show that Oz and Henson worked on in 1975. All the heroes of the «Land of Gorch» are bizarre monsters living on a remote swamp planet. The show was designed for an adult audience, the plot often slipped allusions to sex and alcohol. The project was closed already in the first season due to negative reviews from critics (they called the Land of Bitterness an unfunny and hopeless show) and endless disputes between the creators and scriptwriters of the sketches. nine0003

Henson transferred all the grown-up and sometimes violent motifs of the Land of Bitterness to The Dark Crystal. It is curious that the future project was conceived as a fairy tale saga for children. However, a fairy tale does not have to be kind, instructive and have a happy ending. Henson believed that the plot of his film should resemble the horror stories of the Brothers Grimm, because it is useful for children to be afraid and read stories that do not have a happy ending.

Henson was greatly influenced by spiritualism and the esoteric writings of the writer Jane Roberts called The Materials of Set. From them, the director borrowed the idea of ​​a single race, which in the distant past was divided into light and dark sides. All this is closely intertwined with pantheistic motifs, where divine providence is identified with nature and the immense power of the universe. As planned by Henson, the heroes must restore harmony to the world and restore some powerful artifact. nine0003

In the late 70’s, the future Dark Crystal still looked like a collection of incoherent ideas. The project took shape only after Frank Oz, Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz, illustrator Brian Froud, and screenwriter David Odell joined it.

Henson and Oz almost immediately agreed to direct the film together, Kurtz controlled their impulses, Froud had to draw the design of all the characters, and Odell put together Henson’s ideas and created a script based on them.

Henson and Odell

Hiring Froud as chief designer was Henson’s most successful decision. The director first saw the illustrator’s work in the artbooks The Land of Froud and Once Upon a Time. These books were filled with drawings of good-natured forest creatures, ogres, trolls, goblins, elves, fairies and other fantasy creatures.

Henson only needed a couple of illustrations to contact the artist and offer him a job. Froud’s style is unique — in his works he creates new creatures, focusing on ancient legends and the motives of nature. Without him, Henson would have made another Muppet-style puppet movie. nine0003

By the beginning of the 80s, the Dark Crystal universe had already been thought out and a plot outline was created under the draft name «Crystal». Henson’s original concept immersed the reader in the world of Mithra, a forest land with talking mountains, walking cobblestones, and creatures that are a hybrid of plants and animals. The story told about the confrontation between two races — the evil reptiles of the Reptus and the good-natured wizards of Bud. In the center of the story, young Malkom is the last representative of the Enase race, which was exterminated by the evil Reptuses. nine0003

In the final version, the core of the original plot remained intact, only the names and details changed. The events of the picture unfold in the dying world of Thra. A long time ago, the powerful artifact the Dark Crystal split and two races appeared — skeksi and urru (in the film they are called «mystics»).

disgusting skeksi

Skeksis have a black soul and look like a hybrid of a bird of prey, a dragon and a reptile. Urru are good-natured and wise elders who spend their whole lives studying the nature of Tra, ancient texts and studying the starry sky. Their appearance is difficult to describe, but the features of large mammals and turtles are guessed in their appearance. nine0003

mystics urru

Both races are on the verge of extinction. By the beginning of the events of the film, there are no more than ten of them left from each kind. Unfortunately, the Skeksis will live longer as they feed on the power of the Dark Crystal. Over the centuries, they have either exterminated most of the races, or taken them into slavery, having previously sucked out their life force with the help of a crystal. The essence of vitality has extended the life of the Skeksi for many years.

The protagonist of the film is a teenager Jen, one of the last representatives of the humanoid Gelfling race, which the Skeksis almost completely exterminated decades ago. Urra sheltered Jen, taught him the language and writing. For years, he was taken care of, but for good reason, because Jen is marked by a great prophecy: he must go on a journey, find a shard of a crystal, deliver a skeksi to the castle and cleanse it of filth. If Jen dies, then the Skeksis will receive eternal life during the «Great Conjunction» — a parade of three suns that occurs once every thousand years. nine0003

During her travels, Jen meets the wisest Ogre and a tribe of little Podlings, and learns that he is not the only Gelfling surviving. He will meet Kira — perhaps the last surviving girl of his race. Female geflings have wings and can hover.

By 1980, the plot was completely written, and preparations for filming dragged on for almost three more years. Henson was pleased with Froud’s design and that they were able to come up with such an unusual universe.

But even that wasn’t enough. The director wanted absolutely all the characters to speak a fictitious language, and the dialogues were accompanied by subtitles — no English in the voice acting. According to Henson, a foreign language would give the film more weight, make the world of the picture more unique and deep.

A language based on various dialects of the Indo-European group was invented for the Skeksi. A race of small podlings communicate in a mixture of Serbian, Croatian, Polish and Russian.

According to producer Gary Kurtz, Eastern Europeans will be able to understand individual words from their speech, but not whole sentences. The Russian-speaking viewer will definitely hear “cheese”, “where from”, “have fun”, “help”, “enemy”, “run”, “far away” and other words. nine0003

Podling village and their language

The idea of ​​having multiple languages ​​ended up going sideways for the authors. At test screenings, viewers criticized the presentation of the story through subtitles, a drawn-out prologue, and incomprehensible Skeksi language. He greatly distracted from the plot, the audience complained that they were losing the thread of the story. The movie was just uncomfortable to watch.

As a result, all the Skeksi dialogues were dubbed into English, and the prologue was shortened and a voice-over was added to it, which briefly told about the world order of the planet Thra. After this decision, all test screenings generated a positive response. In the final version of the film, only Podlings speak the fictional language. nine0003

Kira and Land Striders

The Dark Crystal was filmed in Scotland and Britain, but most of the work took place in studios. A significant part of the budget was spent on dolls and incredibly complex animatronics. Cables were connected to the head of many characters, which were responsible for the movement of the eyes, mouth, stretching or compressing the artificial skin.

Skeksi had the hardest time, because each creature was simultaneously controlled by up to five puppeteers. Someone was responsible for the hands, someone for the blinking of the eyes or the movement of the tongue. It was possible to get by with actors in costumes, but Henson insisted on realistic animatronics. nine0003

Puppeteers at work

Many of the backgrounds and scenery were shot using matte painting technology, a combination of shooting in which a shot from nature is combined with a pattern drawn on glass. Using this technology, you can achieve a photorealistic picture, but only on condition that the object remains static.

This was not successful everywhere, in some scenes of the film you can notice defects when a frame with a character accidentally falls on a frame with a picture. Alas, at 1982 there was no CGI and no technology to fix that. It also appears in the classic Star Wars (original versions) and Alien.

Mat painting example

Perception of the picture and its influence

Henson’s ambitious project was positively received by the audience and paid off at the box office. Abroad, the film was a huge success, especially in France and Japan. Critics praised the design of the magical world, the puppets, and the direction. nine0003

Before Henson, no one filmed something like that, and after, in general, too. Of course, if you do not consider his next work — the musical puppet film «Labyrinth», in which the main role was played by David Bowie himself, and Brian Froud again worked on the design. Produced and edited by George Lucas himself.

David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly and Froud’s Monsters

«The Dark Crystal» received a lot of positive criticism, but not without negative reviews. Columnist Vincent Canby of the New York Times called it «a desiccated Tolkien» with nothing of interest other than the puppets themselves. The «dry Tolkien» characterization stuck with the film’s reputation for a long time, although in reality The Dark Crystal had little in common with the Professor’s works. nine0003

Other reviews criticized the film for its lifeless world, crumpled plot, indecisive protagonist, and many scenes that don’t move the story at all and were created only to showcase the animal world of the planet Thra.

Several reviewers even suggested that most of the budget was spent on sets, skeksi dolls and urra. The Gelfling dolls were leftovers, so they look less convincing on screen than the rest of the characters. They are sorely lacking in emotion and expression. nine0003

It’s hard not to agree. Today, gelflings are associated with the characters of the children’s show

If we talk about the reaction of children, then Henson’s plan worked perfectly. The Dark Crystal turned out to be a very dark, and somewhat scary film. It was given a PG-13 rating due to several creepy scenes (may be watched by children only if accompanied by their parents), and the media buzz created a reputation as «Muppet horror».

If you study both old and modern reviews of American viewers, you can see such phrases as: “the scariest movie of my childhood”, “I’m 35 years old, and I’m still afraid to watch it” or “this movie traumatized me at the age of six «. Someone was simply afraid of realistic dolls, considered them creepy and repulsive. nine0003

The Dark Crystal has enough dark scenes, but most often the audience remembers the scene of the death of the skeksi emperor, the moment of draining the life energy from the unfortunate podling, and the entire last act of the film.

Podling is being sucked out of life force

Over the years, the picture has not only become a cult classic, but has also influenced some well-known franchises. For example, without The Dark Crystal, we probably wouldn’t have seen the Final Fantasy series. Since the first game, the developers have borrowed the concept of powerful and ancient crystals from the movie. nine0003

In many parts of the series (including Final Fantasy XV), crystals are powerful artifacts that determine the fate of the world. They are responsible for various elements and serve as carriers of power that affects all living things and the main characters. In some parts of the series, the crystals have been corrupted or destroyed, so the player needs to restore their former power and restore harmony.

Crystal in Final Fantasy XV

In a documentary on the making of Final Fantasy IX, the developers revealed that the bizarre fantasy world of The Dark Crystal had some influence on the game’s visual design and individual characters. For example, the appearance of Zidane Tribal (the main character of the game) was inspired by Jen, and the Genome race was inspired by the Gaefling race. The theme of death and genocide of individual peoples also migrated to the game. nine0003

The film influenced Michael Kirkbride, head writer and concept artist of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. The artist imagined his early vision of the world of Morrowind as a hybrid of the ideas of «Dune» by Frank Herbert, «Star Wars» and «Dark Crystal». From the latter, the design of some buildings and mountable creatures «land striders» migrated to Morrowind — the spiritual ancestor of the silt striders from the Henson film.

There is still no evidence online, but it’s common to see on Fallout fan resources that the design of the Swamp Mutants from Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 is inspired by the Garthim from The Dark Crystal. It seems, but there is no denying that this could be a coincidence. nine0003

Garthim and the swamp from Fallout 4

A similar situation with the Dark Souls series, in which fans also saw borrowings from the Dark Crystal. Allegedly, the Pilgrims from Dark Souls 3 resemble Urra, and the Nameless King is a representative of the Urskek race. Again, there is no official confirmation of this yet.

Disadvantages of the world Tra

Perhaps the main problem of The Dark Crystal is a rich, but completely unexplored world. Brian Froud recalled that the universe of the film was well thought out, but due to the short running time (the picture is only an hour and a half), only grains of the general plan got into The Dark Crystal. nine0003

The lack of depth and attention to detail is strongly felt already in the middle of the picture, where the characters travel through bizarre locations without any background. The rest is up to the viewer.

In fact, Henson, Odell and Froud have thought of everything down to the smallest detail. They created a map of the world of Thra, registered the complex ecosystem of the planet, a chronicle of events from ancient times, as well as hundreds of different creatures and plants. In a sense, Henson created his Pandora long before James Cameron’s Avatar. In the universe of the world of Tra, it is quite possible to make three films. nine0003

World Map Tra

Something remained on paper or art, something was done for the film, but they did not find a use for it. For example, this happened to the tribe of giant underground beetles Makrak, who worked all their lives in deep mines, but because of the tyranny of the Skeksi, they had to go outside.

In the story, Jen and Kira meet the Makraks and they help them get to the skeksi castle. Makrakov was cut from the script shortly before filming began. Henson managed to make only one test doll. nine0003

The director is testing the Makrak

doll

The universe was planned to develop in several sequels. Henson and Odell discussed ideas for a future sequel for eight years, but all plans collapsed after the director’s sudden death in 1990. During the 1990s, the Jim Henson Company, Odell, and screenwriter Annette Duffy (Odell’s wife) were looking for funding for a potential sequel. The script was even drafted and the name was coined — The Power of the Dark Crystal («The Power of the Dark Crystal»). nine0003

But the project never came out of the freeze. At first they planned to make an animated film out of it, then a full-length film with support for stereoscopic 3D (in the wake of the success of Avatar). The creators constantly faced a lack of funding and sponsors. The script for the sequel remained on the shelf.

Many gaps in history were closed only at the end of the 2000s, 20 years after the death of Jim Henson. Based on drafts and abandoned ideas, the «Expanded Universe» of the world of «The Dark Crystal» was born, on which numerous comics artists and writers are now working. Several prequels have already been created, two sequels, and a Netflix series is about to be released. nine0003

Prequels and sequels

Most importantly, the «expanded universe» is canonical. So much so that the events of many works are inscribed in the official chronology of the franchise, which all writers should refer to in the future.

Some of the books and comics were produced by Brian Froud and David Odell and are quality controlled by the Jim Henson Company. After the death of its founder, the company did not close, now it is run by the five children of the puppeteer.

Comics, novels and board game

Legend of the Dark Crystal is an American manga by Barbara Kesel and Heidi Arnold. A full-fledged prequel and the first spin-off of the franchise. Events unfold two hundred years before the film. The main characters of the manga are two young Gaeflings named Lar and Neffi who are embroiled in a war with the Skeksis.

The manga was originally going to be released in three volumes, but was let down by poor sales and mixed reactions from fans. The third volume was canceled, and its plot was badly crumpled and fit into the second. Fans criticized the poor art and weak story, which largely followed the original film. On the plus side: in the manga, they showed how the garthim appeared — insect-like servants of the skeksi. nine0003

Legend of the Dark Crystal

The most important work of the «expanded universe» is the comic book series The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths («Dark Crystal: Creation Legends») . Brian Froud worked on it. He created the story outline, drew all the covers, came up with the character designs, and served as creative consultant. The project was led by Lisa Henson, daughter of the famous puppeteer.

Creation Myths takes place millennia before the events of the original film. The reader will learn about where the sorceress Ogre came from, why the Great Conjunction occurs, and how the Gelfling race developed. But the most important is the detailed history of the Urskek race. nine0003

UrSkeki

These god-like and wise beings appeared at the end of the movie. The viewer was hinted that the Skeksis and the Urru were once a single Urskek race. They arrived from outer space, helped the Gaefling civilization, told about the world order of the universe and built the Crystal Castle. And in Creation Myths they showed the entire chronology of events — from the advent of the UrSkeks to Thra to the desecration of the crystal and the birth of two new races.

Creation Myths has received rave reviews from critics and fans alike, with all of its events appearing in the official franchise timeline. It is possible that the series from Netflix will partially refer the viewer to the events of these comics. In general, even in the trailer itself there is a hint that the plot of the series takes place in the place where the comic ended. nine0003

The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths

In 2017, fans received another gift — comics based on the canceled script Power of the Dark Crystal («The Power of the Dark Crystal») . From a commercial point of view, the comic turned out to be so successful that in 2018 it was released a sequel called Beneath of the Dark Crystal («Under the Dark Crystal») .

The story takes place centuries after the events of the film. The Gaefling race has recovered, but has become a bureaucratic utopia. The strong peace was finally broken after the girl Turma from the fireling race decided to steal a fragment of the Dark Crystal. Firelings are a race of anthropomorphic creatures that live near the core of Thra. Their home is dying, but they believe that the power of the crystal can save them. nine0003

The opinions of the fans are divided. Some consider Power and Beneath to be worthy sequels to the franchise, while others scold and call them fanfiction. According to fans, the continuation has lost the spirit of a dark fairy tale and turned into a sterile fantasy. Even in the comics, for some reason, they repeated the events of the film, including the return of skeksi and urra. It was redundant.

The criticism of Beneath and Power is similar to the criticism of The Force Awakens, which is accused of lack of originality and repetition of the plot tropes of A New Hope. The Dark Crystal sequels have a similar problem. nine0003

Writer Joseph Lee has been developing a series of teen novels based on the Henson universe since 2016. All books have predominantly positive reviews, and their events unfold before the plot of the film.

Josev Lee Books

In general, if we consider the contribution of the «expanded universe» and recommend something for reading, then we can completely limit ourselves to Creation Myths. These comics fill in the gaps in the film’s story, with helpful commentary and lengthy stories from the people involved in the making of the film. All other activities are optional. The original film and Creation Myths are the bare minimum you should be familiar with before jumping into the series. nine0003

What you need to know about the Netflix series

The 10-episode prequel Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is being directed by French director Louis Leterrier, best known for his films The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans. Leterrier’s goal was to make the series as close as possible to the original film by Jim Henson and Frank Oz.

The director wanted to ditch CGI entirely and do everything the old fashioned way — just puppets, real props, and hand-drawn backgrounds. The best puppeteers from the Jim Henson Company are involved in the work on the film. According to the director, his team managed to achieve the maximum possible authenticity, in relation to the original source. nine0003

CGI is used only to remove puppeteers from the frame and in some scenes that cannot be filmed without the use of computer graphics. In the latest trailer, CGI is visible in the chase scene and during the forest show. Everything else is real dolls and decorations. Separately, I would like to praise the work on the gefling dolls, which look prettier and more natural than in the original source.

The prequel takes place immediately after the events of the Creation Myths comic. That is, about a millennium before the events of the film, when the war between the Skeksi and the Geflings had not yet begun, but the first sprouts of a future conflict had already appeared. nine0003

The plot of Age of Resistance tells about the life of three Gelflings — Ryan, Brea and Dit. Once they entered the Skeksi fortress and learned about their terrible plan, which threatens all living things. There is only one step left before a large-scale war.

Wise Ogre, podling race, all old skeksis and urru will appear in the series. The characters are voiced by famous actors, although it is still unknown which heroes many of them gave their voices to. The voice actors are: Taron Egerton (it is known that he voices Ryan), Helena Bonham Carter, Alicia Vikander, Mark Hamill, Harvey Firestein, Jason Isaacs, Toby Jones, Simon Pegg. nine0003

Netflix has at least several seasons in the pipeline, so it’s unlikely that the events of the first one will be directly related to the beginning of the original movie. But on the other hand, it is obvious that the fate of the Gaefling race is already a foregone conclusion, so the viewer is in for a depressing and gloomy story. According to Leterrier, his team was inspired by Game of Thrones and the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Finally, it is worth noting that at E3 2019 they announced a turn-based tactical RPG based on the upcoming series. Its events take place parallel to the plot of Age of Resistance. nine0003

The game features five Gelfling clans, 15 professions and 80 turn-based battles that take place in various parts of the world of Thra. The release of the project is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2019 on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC (including MacOS).

Trailer The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics

There is no doubt about one thing: after the release of the prequel, the franchise will have more fans, including in Russia. If you love dark fantasy, spooky tales, puppet movies and ElfQuest comics, then The Dark Crystal will definitely appeal to you. The original film is now available to Netflix subscribers (not yet in the Russian region), and Age of Resistance will premiere on August 30th. nine0003

In addition to the material, we recommend watching the old documentary The World of Dark Crystal, which goes into great detail about the difficult filming of the film and Henson’s ideas.

Review: Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX

Thirty years later, we return to Miracle World to accompany the brave Alex Kidd on his adventures in this review of Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX.

Shellcore Training

Alex Kidd in Miracle World is perhaps one of the most famous games played by players who grew up in the 80s and 90’s. The reason for this is simple and can be summed up in two words: Tec Toy! The company aggressively sold Sega during the existence of the Master System and Mega Drive here in Brazil, with animated TV commercials, programming on SBT, and reprogramming games to include well-known national pop culture characters such as Turma of Monica, Chapolin, and the telecolossus.

Tec Toy has even made games exclusively for Brazilian audiences that are not conversions from other games, such as Pica Pau, Street Fighter II for the Master System, and the Game Gear-only conversion of Sonic Chaos for the 8-bit console Sega. These are games that have not been released in any other country and have an absurd value on Ebay among collectors since they were not available worldwide. nine0003

No doubt the company’s actions caused the Master System to explode in popularity here, leaving it one of the most popular consoles in Brazil until it was overtaken by the PlayStation 2 and the console’s easy access to pirated games. But before you could buy a bunch of game DVDs that might or might not work (depending on luck), gamers had to either rent video game cassettes from video stores or settle for games from the console’s memory. And that’s where the Master System shined. nine0003

This was the main advertisement for the console. While the first version of the Master System came with games like Safari Hunt and Hang On and Light Phaser Pistol, the second model opted to put Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Sega’s first mascot game released in 1986, into the console’s memory. The game was a response to Nintendo’s mascot Super Mario and was an action platform game with new elements such as a Sukokako motorcycle, a Peticopter and a boss battle based on the popular Stone, Paper or Scissors (or Jankenpô) game. nine0003 Source: blogtectoy.com.br

Originally conceived as an adaptation of the Dragonball anime, Alex Kidd in Wonderland is what many Brazilian gamers had to play for a week before they could go to the video store and choose another game to play on the weekend. Of course, this was not a problem, it took several hours of gameplay to unlock all the secrets of the game until you reach the end. You had platform sections that required precise jumps, surprises hidden in boxes, and even an item that was a much more difficult puzzle than intended. nine0003

Of course, today, as an adult, everything that the game offers seems simple compared to modern games, but in the new version of the game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX tries to salvage this feeling of nostalgia by playing the game from 8-bit era. of my childhood and offer new gamers a good platformer with 2D graphics. So, let’s see what we managed to deliver Merge Studios.

Back to the World of Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a remake of the original Alex Kidd in Miracle World released in June 2021 for PC com Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/ S, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The game was produced by Merge Games and Jankenteam under license from Sega. nine0003

👊💥 «Alex Kidd in MW Remake» 🍔🍙
All the information and screenshots that @Narehop y @josyanf1 is posting the Alex Kidd remake follow us and check it out —> https://t.co/1cON4H7xys pic .twitter.com/s50tMihhOJ

— αäenøρ | Hector Toro (@NareHop) June 17, 2018

Alex Kidd DX began developing a non-commercial fan-made remake in 2018 when indie developers José Sanz («Josyanf1») and Hector Toro («Narehop») showed off the first footage of their work. They eventually formed Jankenteam and got the green light from Sega to turn the remake into an official commercial product by announcing the game with a trailer in June 2020 during the IGN Summer of Gaming event. nine0003

The game’s story is the same as the classic game, but this time there are a few new elements to help tell the story. Between levels, you will find petrified NPCs that you can talk to and they will give you clues about the plot.

On Planet Aries, a young man with big ears trains to master a martial art called Shellcore, which allows its practitioners to increase the mass of their fists to perform incredible stunts, such as breaking huge rocks. However, something is wrong in Radaxian’s realm. The army of Janken the Great invaded the city and turned its inhabitants to stone, invaded the castle and imprisoned Prince Egul and Princess Laura. The king is missing, and now only one person can solve this problem. nine0003

As you progress through the levels, you’ll find a petrified NPC who will give you a few lines of dialogue about what’s going on, trying to add an element of mystery to what happened at that location. You’ll have some dialogues with characters you’ve met before, like Master Nurari or Egul, as well as some new ones with bosses Parplim, Gousek, and Chokkin, who have gotten a little more personality.

This was normal, at the time of the original release, the story was mostly presented in the game’s instructions, so it was normal not to really understand who is who and what is going on in the game. For example, Laura, the princess you save at the end of the game, is neither Alex’s mother nor girlfriend, but rather the fiancée of his brother Egul, who starred in the arcade game Pit Pot released in 1985 year. A better understanding of the story that isn’t as elaborate as the current game, but still serves as a backdrop for the adventure.

Minimum and recommended requirements

As a 2D platformer, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is absurdly lightweight and runs on almost any computer, providing a smooth gameplay experience with no dropped frames. The game does not even have the recommended requirements. Despite this, the game is very beautiful and colorful, so if you are looking for a good game that is light and fun, this is a great alternative:

About 20 levels, very short and with beautiful colorful layouts, simple and smooth scrolling, with major obstacles, underwater adventures, dungeons with single-screen puzzles and even a small dose of target shooting. Side scroll. If you know the old game, you will see levels you already know with a beautiful cover with updated graphics and neat pixel art.

The new stages fit well with the levels and give the story a sense of continuity and more fluidity. For example, you no longer exit the forest and fall straight into a volcanic cave. Now there is a level between them that makes everything more organic as you move from one setting to another. nine0003

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX crosses the line between modern and old, simply tweaking the art and music without leaving aside the essence of what made the game a classic. At the touch of a button, the game takes on an original look, with faithfully recreated pixel art, while maintaining a beautifully redesigned and improved art style. Some details of the characters that were not visible before are now visible and easily recognizable.

(When I was a kid playing Alex Kidd in Wonderland, the «little ghost» coming out of boxes with a «?» sign looked more like a seal than a hooded ghost holding a cane)

These are seals!

Several levels have been added to enrich Alex Kidd’s story, but they are extremely true to the limitations and design of the classic Master System. The new art is arguably the most valuable addition to this remake, with charm, polish and care put into every asset. The new Alex Kidd is a pleasure to look at, especially compared to the raw 8-bit version. If you’re a more purist fan of the franchise, you might be under the impression that it’s become very «Americanized», similar to cartoons like Ben 10 or Steven Universe. It’s not a problem, but you might miss the oriental feel of the original game. nine0003

The bosses are a little more personalized and the fights have also been changed to add some variety. So it’s entirely possible that the bosses will take you by surprise if you keep expecting them to attack you like in the Master System game. Despite complaints from foreign reviews that the battles in Jakenpo are random and unpredictable, the truth is that nothing has changed here from the original version:

Goose — Stone, scissors;
Chokkaina — Paper scissors;
parplim — Stone, scissors . ;
Gooseka 2nd meeting — Paper, Paper;
Chokkin 2nd meeting — Stone, Stone;
Parplim 2nd meeting — Stone, scissors;
Janken — Paper, Paper;

Even the Telepathic Stone you find on Mount Kave is easier to get in this version than the old Alex Kidd in Miracle World. You can easily predict what your opponents are thinking as they choose what they are sure to show just before the music changes key (you know which part plays «ta-nan-ta ta-ram-ta» before the screen switches to the words «Yang Ken Po»?), giving you enough time to choose what you will show if you have a telepath stone in your inventory. nine0003

Another complaint about gringo reviews is the supposed randomness of the question boxes, and again, they still follow the same order as they did in the Master System era, i.e. Bracelet do Poder, Phantom and Vida Extra, always in that order. the same order. If you break a box and a Phantom pops out, the next one will most likely be 100% Extra Life. Thus, one can use this to their advantage and control the chances of successfully reaching the goal.

In addition to the items you can get from crates, you can still collect money and buy other items that have helped you on your journey, such as a shield, invincibility, a floating staff, and an item that creates many «mini Alexov » who attack enemies. nine0003 Radaxian’s map got a nice makeover

Alex Kidd in Miracle World songs has been fantastically remastered with the same recognizability and attention as the graphics update. When switching between the two styles, I could hear how the classic chiptunes become full and reliable arrangements, but with the same identity as the songs that were not lost (it’s interesting to even see how classical music took on a sad and gloomy look in one of the stages of the game ). There were some truly fantastic tracks on the soundtrack by Alex Kidd of Miracle World, and that goes to the DX remake with the utmost respect. nine0003

Some of the later levels — such as the Janken Castle — have themes that go toe to toe with big names like Mario, Zelda, Mega Man and Castlevania. Merge Games and Jankenteam understand what made Alex Kidd special in the Master System and it shows the attention paid to the presentation of this remake. Despite this attention, the songs were changed for unknown reasons, such as the song Radaxian Castle. Maybe it’s because it was used twice and they created a new song to avoid repeating it in two scenarios. nine0003

In addition to the revamped game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX includes some new features such as the classic mode which attempts to faithfully recreate the Master System game, but even in this mode we noticed some changes, both in physics and in a little more like a remake than the original. The Merge and Jankenteam teams essentially had to rebuild the game through replication and emulation, with no access to the original game design documents or source code.

However, this is a mode that adds little to the game’s replayability, because since the updated game does not contain innovations in gameplay or level design, on the contrary, it only removes a few new levels that were included, which is more interesting if you want to go back to the old game in search of an emulator and ROM that you can easily find on the Internet. nine0003

Boss mode doesn’t add much to the game either, it will be more interesting if you want to play Yankenpo disputes. Here the battles are really random, and there is no way to predict which places the opponents will take. It might add a little more excitement to so many of Alex Kidd’s Rock, Paper, Scissors games, but it really isn’t a groundbreaking game not to be missed.

Boss Rush mode inspired by Enchanted Castle

If you want a little more challenge, what will take you hours of gameplay is simply searching for the collectibles scattered throughout the stages. You’ll find items that are part of Alex Kidd’s and Sega’s history, such as the covers of the Japanese and American versions of the game, a gold ring, the Master System console, and some things that are a little more obscure from the character’s history, such as Egul’s Hammer that he used in Pit Pot . nine0003

Uncovering all of these secrets will earn you a trophy, and talking to all the playable NPCs will also give you an achievement, but it’s not that hard to get. If you’re looking for an easy platinum game to earn some trophy points on your favorite platform, this Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a good way to get some easy points.

Speaking of simplicity, the game is not that hard. It’s no more difficult than the original game. Perhaps, as I said above, there is a problem of magnetic attraction to opponents that are close to you if you try to jump towards them. For example, if you try to jump between two enemies, even if there is clearly a gap between them for you, make no mistake. You will die. If you try to jump from a higher platform to a lower one and there is an enemy at the bottom, Alex will be magnetically attracted to him and you will die. nine0003

Some jumps even seem easier when you switch to classic mode. There is no real explanation for this, but if you have played the game on the Master System, you will experience this feeling many times.

Trying to jump there means losing a life

Since it is very easy to die at such moments, the game even has an endless life mode, which makes it more similar to modern platform games. Although even in the limited lives mode, the game does not force you to restart from the first stage. And if you lose all your lives, you will restart the last phase you played, but you will lose all the accumulated money and items you took along the way, such as the Telepathic Stone. nine0003

A cosmetic but fun addition is the ability to choose what food Alex will eat at the end of each level. These include onigiri (a traditional Japanese rice ball), a hamburger (which was added to the North American version), a Spanish omelet, and a fish and chips cone. I don’t know where those last two came from, but they’re there just in case you want to give Alex something to eat.

In the end, is it good or not?

I’m suspicious of this verdict, after all Alex Kidd in Miracle World was the first game I managed to finish and as stated above it was what I had to play all week until I could rent a cartridge for the weekend. So, it’s hard to say if it’s good or not? For me, he’s great. It’s one of the games where I have a huge affective memory and it’s very hard to criticize it with this veil of nostalgia in front of my eyes. Now, if we are going to do this, then the verdict will be positive for the older players and negative for the younger players. nine0003

A huge effort is being made here to bring back the nostalgia of players from the Master System era to the DX version and, if that is the goal, then an absolute success for the Merge and Jankenteam team. However, the question remains: what will happen next? Alex Kidd’s Miracle World DX ending suggests that the next step, if it happens, would be a remastering of Alex Kidd in Enchanted Castle.

Enchanted Castle is a direct sequel to Miracle World

Which would be nice, since Mega Drive is the only game that is a direct sequel to Miracle World and uses the same mechanics. However, this is not one of the favorite games of Alex Kidd fans, mainly because of the gameplay. In it, to attack flying enemies, you jump and release the jump button at a very precise time for Alex to attack with a kick, but it was very easy to miss this kick and die. nine0003

I dare say that perhaps the fan favorite after Wonderland is Alex Kidd from Shinobi World, but he is a parody of the Shinobi game and doesn’t seem to add much to the mascot to make a remake of this parody. Alex Kidd in Lost Stars is an adaptation of the arcade game that only had the player token eating feature, so the conversion wouldn’t be worth it either. Alex Kidd from High Tech World also seems to be excluded, after all, he’s just converting the game from Anmitsu Hime: From Amakara Castle for Western audiences. nine0003

So, the easiest solution is to remake the Mega Drive game, or if it’s possible for Sega and interesting for the Jankenteam, create an entirely new Alex Kidd game that incorporates elements from those games. It will be a platform game and at one point he has ninja powers, at others he rides a BMX and at others he has to take a test. Take a little bit of everything and put it into a game that will innovate the franchise for gamers and still delight fans who played these games as kids. nine0003

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is sure to delight anyone who played the original game on the Sega Master System decades ago. The Sega mascot of the mid-80s may never have caught up with the pop culture phenomenon that Maria found herself in, but Alex Kidd made a lasting impression on everyone who came across him.

However, I don’t see how someone who hasn’t played the franchise in the past or is used to modern platform games will find something cool here. The game looks like the original game, for better or worse. If you really love Miracle World’s Alex Kidd, there’s a good chance you’ll love the Merge Games remake. nine0003

If you didn’t like it the first time, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX has nothing to change your mindset and strengthen your opinion. If you’ve never played Alex Kidd in Miracle World before, then this will be a good game for you to get familiar with the franchise and enjoy for a few hours, but there’s nothing here that’s really different from current platformers like Kaze and Wild Masks.

On By alexxlab