Ancient Stone Tablets (AST) was released for a system entitled The Satellaview. The Satellaview is an attachment that attached to the bottom of the Super Famicon (Super Nintendo in Japan). This system allowed Nintendo to launch games through a satellite launch. The only way to play this game was to wait for Nintendo (once a week) to launch the game and then you had a time limit in which you needed to finish the "episode." When the "episode" was done, you no longer could play through the section of the game. Hence the time limit in some of the screen shots. Also, during the time when the "episode" was live, you also had a live broadcaster that was constantly giving out clues as you played. This was actually voiced by a real person while the game was live. AST had a total of four episodes in which you could play as a girl or boy, unnamed, and thrown into the world of A Link to the Past.
It looks like in one of the screens that Lake Hylia seems to be covered by more land and Death Mountain is not entirely complete in this game as clouds seem to have overcome the area. Also the shot with the inventory is a complete shot of the entire inventory except for the Mirror Shield. The other empty spaces are supposed to be for the Magic Cape and Book of Mudora but they didn't make it into the game before its release.
Literally thrown into the world. As the game opens, you are told that you are a person from another world and that the people of Hyrule are not sure how you got there. This games takes place 6 years after the events of A Link to the Past. This makes me wonder if this is actually canon to the series as the game was developed by Nintendo. My goal is to find out more info on the game and perhaps an actual solid story. All I know from it is that you need to collect 8 ancient stone tablets that will allow you to be transported back to your world. I did happen to catch a screenshot of the King (finally). Yeah, you heard me, the King of Hyrule is actually in this game.
A cool part of the game is that there are weather effects. When it is raining you cannot use bombs outside. I have experience fog in the game and as of right now all it does is hinder your visual in the game, no other huge side effects yet.
Here are some items and Piece of Heart Locations in the game. Keep in mind that this game shares the same world map as A Link to the Past and that there are four episodes.
Items You Start With in each episode: Ocarina, Lantern, Bottle, Net. You also start with four hearts.
Note: The # in the parenthesis indicates the dungeon that it is located in. 1 meaning the 1st dungeon and so on.
Episode 1
White Sword: East Palace (1)
Small Shield: East Palace (1)
Bow: East Palace (1)
Bombs: Introduced in East Palace (1)
Pegasus Shoes: East Palace (1)
Boomerang: Water Palace (2)
Shovel: Rent it from the shop that is one screen right of the magic potion shop.
Flippers: Buy them at the Zora Waterfall for 300 rupees.
Arrow Upgrade: East Palace (1)
Bomb Upgrade: Water Palace (2)
Pieces of Hearts:
1) Bomb the north wall in Aginah’s House in episode 1.
2) Run into the stairs at the bottom right corner of the beginning area around the East Palace. By doing so, it will knock you back over the holes and into the heart piece. Proceed by falling down the stairs and leave the cave.
3) From the beginning area go one screen down and then left and run into the rocks. A heart piece is your reward once you progress down the stairs.
4) From the screen that you are at from #3, go one screen up and bomb the cracked wall to obtain the prize.
5) After renting the shovel, proceed to the X on your map and dig up the piece by the potion shop.
6) Just sitting outside of the Water Palace’s Entrance.
7) There is a waterfall one screen left of the potion shop. Walk into it and bomb the north wall.
8) After you have obtained the Boomerang, there is a section of a wall that can be bombed north of the shop that rents you the shovel. Walk in and hit the switch with the item and walk to the next room to obtain #8.
Episode 2
Level 2 Blade: After you defeat the 3rd dungeon you can save the blacksmith guy from the Lost Woods, they will temper the blade for you.
Mushroom: Enter the Lost Woods from the most western entrance from Kakariko Village and obtain the prize.
Magic Powder: Bring the mushroom to the Potion Shop lady and she gives this to you.
Megaton Hammer: Underground Dungeon (3)
Bomb Upgrade: Underground Dungeon (3)
Hookshot: Lost Woods Dungeon (4)
Bottle: Buy from the guy sitting on the carpet in Kakariko Village for 100 rupees.
Pieces of Hearts
1) In Kakariko Village, head left once you leave the house and fall down the cliff, leave the room and open the chest.
2) In Kakariko Village, take the bar entrance in the back of the shop and open the chest.
3) In the library one screen south from Kakariko Village.
4) Borrow a shovel again from the shop 1 screen south of Kakariko and go to the Lost Woods and dig it up.
5) In the Lost Woods. There is a group of 9 bushes. Slash at the center one and then enter the hold that is there. Travel down to the next area and touch the heart piece.
6) Go one screen south and then west from Kakariko Village. Bomb the cracked wall at the end and proceed through the cave.
Episode 3
Level 3 Blade: Plain’s Dungeon (5)
Worn Out Gloves: Link’s House
Bomb Upgrade: Plain’s Dungeon (5)
Power Glove: Plain’s Dungeon (5)
Arrow Upgrade: Desert Palace (6)
Red Clothes: Desert Palace (6)
Fire Rod: Desert Palace (6)
Bottle: Under the bridge one screen right of Link’s house.
Pieces of Hearts
1) After defeating the Plain’s Dungeon you can travel to the desert. On the way there is a group of rocks that you can bash to reveal stairs. Go down them and bomb the north wall.
2) After that head northwest and go into the cave and bomb this north wall. Use the boomerang to enter and then hit the switch a second time. Dash into the now raised tiles and obtain the piece.
3) Once in the desert travel north to a cave and bomb the north wall. Light the torches in the next room for a chest to appear. Guess what!? Heart Piece.
4) After obtaining the Fire Rod, go one screen left from Link’s House and dash into the rocks. Use the Fire Rod on the torches. Proceed and you will get it.
5) Shovel game again. Enter the house one screen west from Link’s. Obtain the shovel and have at it.
6) Head south of the Sacred Grove and enter the stairs. Use the hookshot and claim your prize in the chest.
7) Head one screen south of Link’s house and bomb the north wall at the east of where you emerge on the screen. Collect all the chests and one of them is the piece.
8) From Link’s house travel one screen right and then south. Follow the land until you cannot and use the hookshot to get across the area.
Episode 4
Bottle: One screen left of the sanctuary is a graveyard, the upper most left gravestone can be moved and inside is a chest that houses the glassware.
Powerful Gloves: Graveyard Dungeon (7)
Cane of Somaria: Graveyard Dungeon (7)
Mirror Shield: Cave Dungeon (8)
Ice Rod: Cave Dungeon (8)
Master Sword: Lost Woods
Silver Arrows: From the stone tablet on Death Mountain.
Pieces of Hearts
1) On the same screen as the sanctuary at the left and up on the cliff there is a group of rocks you can dash into. Breaking these will reveal a staricase. Use the Cane of Somaria and throw the brick so that it lands in the clearing for you to use the cane again. When it splits apart it strikes the switch allowing you to proceed to the chest.
2) On Death Mountain there is a cave you can enter to obtain some fairies and a piece of heart.
3) One screen north of Kakariko Village if you take the north-eastern most exit from the village; there is a pile of rocks that is seriously bothering your sword. Smash them and receive the prize.
4) In the screen east of the Lost Woods most eastern exit, there is a house to borrow a shovel. Repeat again.
5) On the same screen as #4, there is a cave on the northern wall. Enter the cave and proceed to the prize.
6) One screen left from the sanctuary, head to the most left part on the screen to find a piece of heart partly hidden by a tree. It is your’s for the taking.
7) Once you use the transporter and enter the Dark World, there is a bunch of rocks to be smashed. Do so and follow the path to your right once you enter the cave.
Fun Fact:
Aginah: Brother to Sahasrahla
