@Lusipurr – A more balanced and articulate Ethos is how I would put it! The remake retains the same mechanics and structure, so unless you come at it with a new perspective, you might still be unable to appreciate the game. The new notebook does make it easier to find direction and play the game in its most rewarding manner (that is to say, slowly, deliberately, and thoroughly), but I’m not sure that a smoother interface and more accessible notebook will be enough to convince the game’s more vocal detractors such as yourself and others whom I respect including the programmer I work with. The crux might be whether a player finds its most central thematic gameplay elements to be frustrating or enlightening, and to be clear, I do not believe nor plan to argue that either way is the more “correct” reaction.

Let’s see what the remake has done to amend things!

I’m interested to see how the bosses have changed, and am slightly less interested in going through that damn water temple. People thought OoT’s water temple was bad? Please.

I’ve finished this game a few times, but only with every mask and fairy upgrade twice since finishing the side quests and collecting the stray fairies are not simple tasks. This is the one game I chose not to use a guide for when I was in my phase where I used guides all the time, and boy did I pick a doozy to go in blind on.

I think the best parts of the game’s story are the bits you find out about after you’ve finished it. It’s a profoundly sad game just under the Nintendo sugar coating, full of loss, tragic denial, and revenge for being abandoned. I’ve no doubt people have flocked to the game long after release because it’s the “dark” Nintendo game, and isn’t that so cool that I enjoyed dark things as a kid, but it actually is pretty bleak. The scene with the Gibbdo dad and the whole concept of the Elegy of Emptiness are pretty heavy things, and I still can’t hear the Song of Healing without getting a little wistful.

Looking forward to full review.