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==Story==
==Story==
[[File:Gwonam and Link.png|thumb|left|200px|An in-game cutscene]]
[[File:Gwonam and Link.png|thumb|left|200px|An in-game cutscene]]
Peace has since been restored to the land of [[Hyrule]], yet [[Link]] is feeling increasingly useless and bored with no adventures to go on. Suddenly a wizard named [[Gwonam]] arrives on his flying carpet, informing [[King Harkinian]] that [[Ganon]]'s army have taken over the island of [[Koridai]]. Ganon and his minions have begun enslaving the islanders and transforming them into monsters.<ref>{{Cite manual|quote=Koridai has fallen to Ganon and his evil friends! The gentle islanders are being transformed into blood-thirty warriors.|game=TFoE|page=2}}</ref> Although the King readily volunteers their aid, Gwonam explains that according to a written prophecy, Link is the only one who can defeat Ganon. As Link and Gwonam fly back to Koridai, the wizard tells him about the island's "Faces of Evil"; giant mountains and stone structures that are in the shape of Ganon's minions and are being controlled by them. Gwonam beseeches that Link must conquer each Face of Evil before facing Ganon himself, who has his own Face of Evil.
The land of [[Hyrule]] is experiencing a period of peace,<ref>{{Cite|My boy, this peace is what all true warriors strive for!|King Harkinian|TFoE}}</ref> yet [[Link]] is feeling increasingly useless and bored with no adventures to go on. Suddenly a wizard named [[Gwonam]] arrives on his flying carpet, informing [[King Harkinian]] that [[Ganon]]'s army have taken over the island of [[Koridai]]. Ganon and his minions have begun enslaving the islanders and transforming them into monsters.<ref>{{Cite manual|quote=Koridai has fallen to Ganon and his evil friends! The gentle islanders are being transformed into blood-thirty warriors.|game=TFoE|page=2}}</ref> Although the King readily volunteers their aid, Gwonam explains that according to a written prophecy, Link is the only one who can defeat Ganon.<ref>{{Cite|It is written: only Link can defeat Ganon.|Gwonam|TFoE}}</ref> As Link and Gwonam fly back to Koridai, the wizard tells him about the island's "Faces of Evil"; giant mountains and stone structures that are in the shape of Ganon's minions and are being controlled by them. Gwonam beseeches that Link must conquer each Face of Evil before facing Ganon himself, who has his own Face of Evil.


Link adventures through Koridai and along the way meets several islanders who have evaded capture. At [[Firestone Lake]], Link and Gwonam realize that [[Princess Zelda]] was captured by Ganon and put under a sleeping spell since Link left the castle.<ref>{{Cite manual|quote=NEWS FLASH! Zelda Is Missing! Rumors are circulating that while you have been traveling to Koridai, Zelda has disappeared from the Palace! Could it be that Ganon has used his magical powers to kidnap her? You'd better get to work. Find Ganon, rescue Zelda and become the hero of Koridai!|game=TFoE |page=9}}</ref> As Link journeys to rescue Zelda and the islanders of Koridai, he confronts and defeats the masters of the Faces of Evil: [[Goronu (Boss)|Goronu]], [[Harlequin]], [[Militron (Boss)|Militron]], [[Glutko (Boss)|Glutko]], and [[Lupay (Boss)|Lupay]]. He also retrieves the [[Book of Koridai]] after defeating Glutko which he brings to the reader [[Aypo]] in [[Nortinka]]. Aypo translates its verses and reveals that Ganon can only be defeated with the Book. Link also later finds Gwonam's residence at the [[Hermit Flat]] and is given the [[Lantern of Vision]] to help him see the [[Sancromy|Sancromies]] that swarm [[Ganon's Lair]].
Link adventures through Koridai and along the way meets several islanders who have evaded capture. At [[Firestone Lake]], Link and Gwonam realize that [[Princess Zelda]] was captured by Ganon and put under a sleeping spell since Link left the castle.<ref>{{Cite manual|quote=NEWS FLASH! Zelda Is Missing! Rumors are circulating that while you have been traveling to Koridai, Zelda has disappeared from the Palace! Could it be that Ganon has used his magical powers to kidnap her? You'd better get to work. Find Ganon, rescue Zelda and become the hero of Koridai!|game=TFoE |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite|In the darkest nightmare hour, when not moon nor sun has risen, I take Zelda in my power! I shall keep her in my prison!|Ganon|TFoE}}</ref> As Link journeys to rescue Zelda and the islanders of Koridai, he confronts and defeats the masters of the Faces of Evil: [[Goronu (Boss)|Goronu]], [[Harlequin]], [[Militron (Boss)|Militron]], [[Glutko (Boss)|Glutko]], and [[Lupay (Boss)|Lupay]]. He also retrieves the [[Book of Koridai]] after defeating Glutko which he brings to the reader [[Aypo]] in [[Nortinka]]. Aypo translates its verses and reveals that Ganon can only be defeated with the Book. Link also later finds Gwonam's residence at the [[Hermit Flat]] and is given the [[Lantern of Vision]] to help him see the [[Sancromy|Sancromies]] that swarm [[Ganon's Lair]].


After all other obstacles have been cleared, Link arrives at Ganon's Lair, where he confronts the villain and defeats him by throwing the Book of Koridai at him and magically imprisoning him inside. Ganon drops the key to Zelda's prison chamber, where Link finds her asleep. He rings a giant gong and wakes her up, exclaiming that he just saved her, though she teasingly does not believe him. Gwonam then appears and takes them back to Hyrule on his flying carpet, and proclaims Link as the Hero of Koridai.
After all other obstacles have been cleared, Link finally journeys to Ganon's Lair where he confronts the villain deep within his Face of Evil. Link defeats Ganon by throwing the Book of Koridai at him, which magically imprisons him inside its pages. Ganon drops the key to Zelda's prison chamber, where Link finds and wakes her up by ringing a gong. Gwonam then teleports inside to take the pair back to Hyrule. He announces that peace is restored to Koridai and proclaims Link as their hero.<ref>{{Cite|Look, already Koridai is returning to harmony! The birds are singing! Isn't it beautiful?|Gwonam|TFoE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite|As it is written, you Link, are the hero of Koridai!|Gwonam|TFoE}}</ref>


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==

Revision as of 19:39, 23 September 2019

Template:Game Link: The Faces of Evil is a video game developed by Animation Magic and released for the Philips CD-i in 1993.[1][2] It was developed in tandem with and released on the same day as The Wand of Gamelon.[3] Both titles were followed up a year later by Zelda's Adventure, which was developed separately by Viridis Corporation.

The Faces of Evil, along with the other two titles, was the product of a compromise between Nintendo and Philips following their failure to release a CD-ROM based add-on to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[4] They are the only licensed The Legend of Zelda games developed for and released on a non-Nintendo system. The games have been subject to much criticism,[5] and Nintendo does not recognize them as canon to The Legend of Zelda series.[6]

Story

File:Gwonam and Link.png
An in-game cutscene

The land of Hyrule is experiencing a period of peace,[7] yet Link is feeling increasingly useless and bored with no adventures to go on. Suddenly a wizard named Gwonam arrives on his flying carpet, informing King Harkinian that Ganon's army have taken over the island of Koridai. Ganon and his minions have begun enslaving the islanders and transforming them into monsters.[8] Although the King readily volunteers their aid, Gwonam explains that according to a written prophecy, Link is the only one who can defeat Ganon.[9] As Link and Gwonam fly back to Koridai, the wizard tells him about the island's "Faces of Evil"; giant mountains and stone structures that are in the shape of Ganon's minions and are being controlled by them. Gwonam beseeches that Link must conquer each Face of Evil before facing Ganon himself, who has his own Face of Evil.

Link adventures through Koridai and along the way meets several islanders who have evaded capture. At Firestone Lake, Link and Gwonam realize that Princess Zelda was captured by Ganon and put under a sleeping spell since Link left the castle.[10][11] As Link journeys to rescue Zelda and the islanders of Koridai, he confronts and defeats the masters of the Faces of Evil: Goronu, Harlequin, Militron, Glutko, and Lupay. He also retrieves the Book of Koridai after defeating Glutko which he brings to the reader Aypo in Nortinka. Aypo translates its verses and reveals that Ganon can only be defeated with the Book. Link also later finds Gwonam's residence at the Hermit Flat and is given the Lantern of Vision to help him see the Sancromies that swarm Ganon's Lair.

After all other obstacles have been cleared, Link finally journeys to Ganon's Lair where he confronts the villain deep within his Face of Evil. Link defeats Ganon by throwing the Book of Koridai at him, which magically imprisons him inside its pages. Ganon drops the key to Zelda's prison chamber, where Link finds and wakes her up by ringing a gong. Gwonam then teleports inside to take the pair back to Hyrule. He announces that peace is restored to Koridai and proclaims Link as their hero.[12][13]

Gameplay

File:Link FoE image.png
An in-game screenshot

The Faces of Evil is different from most conventional Zelda games in that it is played using a side-scrolling view, similar to that in The Adventure of Link. Stages are accessed from a world map which are selected with a cursor, with more areas becoming available as Link progresses through the game. Stages consist of several sectioned areas within them, usually with multiple enemies in each section. If Link loses all of his Life Hearts and perishes, a Continue screen with a counter will be displayed, allowing Link to restart at the entrance of the area he was last in. If Link however dies three times, he will be sent back to the world map and be forced to start over. Each stage has two Triforce Maps that serve as exits; one at the beginning and one at the end. In addition to simply reaching the second Triforce Map in each stage, some stages also have special items and power-ups in them that are necessary to progress through later areas. Link encounters several NPC characters in certain stages who provide Link with essential equipment and information, often requiring a specific item in return found somewhere else in the game.

Link also collects "Rubies" dropped by defeated enemies, which are used to buy extra equipment from Morshu's shop in the Goronu area. Some items in the game also require Rubies to use, and will use up a certain amount each time they are used.

Character interactions are achieved through the use of full motion video cutscenes, which are activated when Link approaches a character and touches them with his sword. The game explains this by referring to Link's sword as the "Smart Sword"; a sword Link uses that cannot hurt friendly characters and instead encourages them to talk.[14] The cutscenes use voice acting to provide Link with instructions and story. Very little in-game text is encountered otherwise.

Development

Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and later Zelda's Adventure, were the result of a compromise between Nintendo and Philips. After an attempt to produce to CD-ROM based add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System with Philips failed, Nintendo reached a compromise and gave Philips the license to five of their franchises' characters for use in the Philips CD-i.[3][15] Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon were developed by Animation Magic, then known as Dale Disharoon, Inc. early in development. The developers settled on making two separate games featuring Link and Zelda. Due to the small development budget and time restraints, the developers resolved to combine the funding to produce a single game engine that would be used by both games.[3] The development team consisted of four programmers, one audio engineer and composer, four artists, a producer, and a freelance writer who would help to design both games. As Philips were expecting full-motion video animation in the games, the games' cutscenes were outsourced to a new animation company in St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by games' creator Dale DeSharone and Igor Razboff. Animators were flown over to work on the game cutscenes.[3] The two companies would eventually combine and become known as Animation Magic.[1]

Very little input was given by Nintendo during the development of the games, who were mostly concerned with the designs and sketches of Link and Zelda.[3] Philips also gave very little input, but Dale DeSharone expressed in an interview that he believed Philips would not have approved of a top-down view for the games, as it would have "looked old, and (would not) make use of the CD-i capabilities."[3] The lack of input from both companies allowed the developers room for creative development.

Listings

Characters

Bosses

Enemies

Stages

Items

Translations

Credits

Reception

The three Zelda CD-i games, particularly The Faces of Evil and The Wand of Gamelon, were subject to much criticism from reviewers and series fans alike.[16] The game sold poorly and suffered from critical reception,[17][5] with key complaints regarding the confusing and unresponsive controls, dull and repetitive gameplay, and poor animation and voice acting used in the game's cutscenes.[16]

This game, along with The Wand of Gamelon, were frequently used to create "YouTube Poop" remix videos, which added to their reputation among series fans.[18] Characters such as King Harkinian, Gwonam and Morshu were particularly popular.

Gallery

Box Art

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Template:Cite web
  2. Template:Cite web
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 An interview with the creator of the CD-i Zelda games | Zelda Universe
  4. Nintendo-Philips Deal Is a Slap at Sony - NYTimes.com
  5. 5.0 5.1 Template:Cite web
  6. Eiji Aonuma Addresses Those Horrible 'Zelda' CD-i Games | MTV Multiplayer
  7. "My boy, this peace is what all true warriors strive for!" — King Harkinian (The Faces of Evil)
  8. "Koridai has fallen to Ganon and his evil friends! The gentle islanders are being transformed into blood-thirty warriors." (The Faces of Evil manual, pg. 2)
  9. "It is written: only Link can defeat Ganon." — Gwonam (The Faces of Evil)
  10. "NEWS FLASH! Zelda Is Missing! Rumors are circulating that while you have been traveling to Koridai, Zelda has disappeared from the Palace! Could it be that Ganon has used his magical powers to kidnap her? You'd better get to work. Find Ganon, rescue Zelda and become the hero of Koridai!" (The Faces of Evil manual, pg. 9)
  11. "In the darkest nightmare hour, when not moon nor sun has risen, I take Zelda in my power! I shall keep her in my prison!" — Ganon (The Faces of Evil)
  12. "Look, already Koridai is returning to harmony! The birds are singing! Isn't it beautiful?" — Gwonam (The Faces of Evil)
  13. "As it is written, you Link, are the hero of Koridai!" — Gwonam (The Faces of Evil)
  14. "Luckily, I brought my Smart Sword. It won't hurt anyone friendly. In fact, it makes them talk!" — Link (The Faces of Evil)
  15. Template:Cite web
  16. 16.0 16.1 Template:Cite web
  17. Template:Cite web
  18. Zelda CD-i | Know Your Meme