Welcome to a new edition of Sacred Reviews and we have another Oracle quest called Second Chance. The best thing about ZC is how many styles this niche fandom brings when making a quest. You can't go wrong with these styles whether they come from the official titles to fan made textures and sprites. That brings us to Second Chance which is a recently released adventure designed by a user named Joelmacool. If you are unfamiliar with him, he developed Dawn of a New Day and Chocolate Shadow Temple. The theme of Second Chance has nothing to do with the Zelda lore and takes place in an entirely different universe. A male god has performed horrible deeds on to the Mortal Realm so much that his sisters must do something about it. They immediately banished him, stripped his deity status and placed his mind in a mortal's body. Seeking revenge against his sisters, the male god sets out on to the Mortal Realm to retrieve four relics to enter the Deity Kingdom. Second Chance is a traditional style Oracle/Link's Awakening quest with all the standard mechanics. Unlike most ZC quests, the game is actually nonlinear where the player can tackle any dungeon in whatever order that suits them. There are a total of four dungeons that each has different themes from the other. In fact, these themes played very well to the challenge from avoiding flowing sand to getting passed spikes that rose up from the ground. The level design uses the gold standard for puzzle solving and its challenge in more ways than one. The map system came off great as it told me where to go next by providing colored indicators of locked areas. It's a lot better than hitting Space/Select or using the old map HUD to tell me where the locks were inside. The bosses had about the same type of challenge you would expect from any official Zelda entry. I did notice these monsters had fast movements when they maneuver around the player, but their challenges are not the same. However, only one or two of them had a beam attack while the rest shot projectiles and came out you. Then again there are only six bosses and each one still provided enough challenge to keep me engaged. The tools are all needed in this mini adventure at most times especially on the overworld. The unique thing about the tools comes from the nonlinear function of the dungeons. Let's say you went to the Kirin level and got the hammer then the wooden post become opened to the player. Meaning if there is a heart piece unreachable at that point then later it becomes available depending on which dungeon you tackle first. In my Twilight Princess review I couldn't stress enough how important the tools should've been used throughout the game. It's good to see non-professional designers are taking this concept seriously instead of making a tool for a one time use. There is also a trading quest which leads to getting a bigger wallet. The dream dungeon gives the player a defense upgrade with their tunic by reducing 50% of damage. The second level sword is obtainable after receiving five hearts. Originally, you needed only three hearts to get the sword in Goron City. Fortunately, Joel fixed it because this made the game too easy to get such a powerful weapon early. The Magic Shield is actually found once you retrieve the lantern in the Swamp dungeon. The Oracle graphic style is the one I enjoy the most from ZC since it's practically a quality example from the official 2D games. Of course, The Minish Cap tile set does get used now and then but it's always this style that stands out. Joel made good use of the tile set and put together graphics as if it was a high quality Game Boy Color title. The swamp palace felt like the overgrowth took over it since no one alive tends to the place anymore. The plaques that reveal what happened prior to your visit told a good side plot about the queen slowly going insane. It's the best theme out of the four levels because the ruined palace reflected a fall of a kingdom. The optional dream dungeon had it reflect the mixed emotions the male god might have felt during his journey. You also run into the two sisters as astral projections telling him to stay way and don't come home. Even the rain effects truly added to the environment and showed a feeling of isolation. The Aria statues gave small details for the four overworlds with its problems. Sometimes all you need are these mini indications of a world to tell what is really going on. The music choices from Lost Odyssey, Golden Sun and Zelda: Breath of the Wild really captured the mood of each place. I couldn't be happier with the choices here considering how underrated Lost Odyssey's soundtrack is for many. Its main theme plays on the grassland overworld hinted the long journey ahead. The snow area used the song from BOTW's snowy Providences which makes sense since this is Zelda Classic. The theme brought another isolating feeling when there were fewer NPCs in these parts. I personally loved the music from the Crogboure Castle, the land of Crogboure and the Dry Desire dungeon. It gave me a dreaded feeling that something terrible existed there about these locations. A haunting sense no one shouldn't dare come there was a thing that came to my mind as I went through these places. The only song that was out of place is the sad track from Golden Sun on the Kiln level. Usually, I expect a fire stage to sound aggressive in tone and for that strong emotion to get shown through the environment. Shouldn't the music from Magma Rock be used instead? I also love the throw back to Golden Sun inside the caves especially when it involved a puzzle. A rush of nostalgia came over me upon hearing this in the caves—That will always be a reminder to how many hours was spent on GS: The Lost Age by me. I found some issues with the world's backstory and Joel needed to go into the themes a little more. The story elements needed a further explanation because in a few parts something could've given answers. The statues of Aria indicated the problems with the areas such as planting crops or a dam being built. He did put effort into the levels as seen from Crogboure Castle where slowly the ruler lost her mind as you progressed. The two endings needed some freshen up as it seemed like they got rushed as seen from choosing Life. The problem isn't the male god didn't win after all but you don't explain in a short scene of one screen what happened later. I'm asking for more elaborate endings that give more than a few screens about why he got defeated after seeking his revenge. The gameplay as mentioned earlier did use the gold standard, however; I did find an issue with the Trading sequence. It should've been longer and perhaps Joel could use the Link's Awakening trading sequence to improve this side quest. I would recommend this mini quest if you are looking for an adventure that provides a short game with content.
Rating: 8.8/10
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Retro Gamer is an avid Zelda fan that has followed the series for nearly 30 years ever since she touched the NES for the first time. Whether its Nintendo official titles or those made by fans, Retro would be the first to spend countless hours with each game.
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