Post by Masahiro Sakurai on Feb 10, 2022 18:08:18 GMT 10
Inspiring a stage in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, The Spirit Train is Link's primary mode of transport in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. It allows him to travel between the realms of Hyrule along the titular Spirit Tracks. The Spirit Tracks also serve the purpose of keeping the imprisoned Demon King Malladus at bay, and sure enough, a plot to free him leads to much of the track network's disappearance. As in the original game, your job is to solve a puzzle to restore part of the tracks.
At the start of the duel, you will receive three puzzle images, each containing a square grid. Some of the cells in each grid will contain part of the Spirit Tracks, while others will not. Each row and column will contain a number, which indicates how many squares in that row and column contain Spirit Tracks. Some cells will also contain some confirmed track segments, including two leading off the grid, which are the start and end of the track. Using this information, you will use logic and an image editing tool such as Paint to confirm or rule out cells on the grid, drawing a continuous path from the start of the track to the end. The correct trail will only have one beginning and end, and will not cross itself or feature any forks or dead ends. The puzzle will have a unique solution, that can be found using logic alone, without guessing.
An example puzzle is shown below. Note that three actual puzzles will all be larger and more difficult than this.
Solution:
Cells on the path are highlighted; this is not required and is there to illustrate which cells are on the path for the row and column counts only.
You are not required to solve all three puzzles. Instead, each puzzle will vary in size and difficulty; the puzzle you choose to solve will come with a multiplier for your final time, depending on the ease of navigating its terrain. These three puzzles are:
- Snow Realm, 6-by-6 tundra, x4 multiplier
- Fire Realm, 8-by-8 mountains, x2 multiplier
- Forest Realm, 10-by-10 fields, x1 multiplier
Your time will stop when you upload a correctly solved puzzle, and will be multiplied by the multiplier for that puzzle. You are not required to commit to solving a particular puzzle at any point until you successfully solve one. You may start solving a harder puzzle and switch to an easier one if you get stuck. To avoid any ambiguity or difficult judgement calls from the hosts, please take care in drawing your completed path to remain within the lines of the grid at all times. We will only accept solutions as correct if it is 100% clear what the path is, so work neatly.
The fastest time(s) after multipliers will survive The Ring and, if applicable, select a team to return to. The loser will be eliminated from the game. Note that you will be responsible for verifying the correctness of your solution. For the sake of fairness, the hosts will not be able to do this for you, so be sure to triple check that you have completed the challenge once you've finished.