| Pols Voice (huh?) |
Perhaps the strangest and most inexplicable of all the strange, inexplicable
monsters from Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda", Pols Voice was a
surprisingly powerful dungeon denizen combining the esthetics of a kangaroo
and a jellyfish. Its name alone is weird enough for a rat-faced pudding pie,
but the manual goes on to describe it as a "ghost".
monsters from Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda", Pols Voice was a
surprisingly powerful dungeon denizen combining the esthetics of a kangaroo
and a jellyfish. Its name alone is weird enough for a rat-faced pudding pie,
but the manual goes on to describe it as a "ghost".
...Or it's just really, really easy to design an 8-bit blob with ears and call it a
monster.
monster.
A ghost? A ghost of what? Someone named Pol? How can all of them be the
ghost of Pol? Is it one ghost with hundreds of bodies? Raising even more
questions was their supposed vulnerability to sound, which actually only worked
in Japan where the Famicom (their Nintendo) came equipped with a microphone.
ghost of Pol? Is it one ghost with hundreds of bodies? Raising even more
questions was their supposed vulnerability to sound, which actually only worked
in Japan where the Famicom (their Nintendo) came equipped with a microphone.
Perhaps this Pol fellow was a legendary deaf-mute adventurer, and his desire to
live in a world of sound manifested in death as an entire race of bouncing
ear-monsters, ironically so sensitive to noise that they were forced to hide
themselves in underground ruins, setting upon loud intruders with murderous
abandon!
live in a world of sound manifested in death as an entire race of bouncing
ear-monsters, ironically so sensitive to noise that they were forced to hide
themselves in underground ruins, setting upon loud intruders with murderous
abandon!
Either way, it's one of my favorite freaky video-game critters - even cooler and
creepier than usual in the above tile from the little-known board game. Look at
how ugly he is!
Sadly, the Pols Voice is one of the least-reused of the original Zelda monsters,
though it finally appeared in 3-d on one of the Nintendo DS titles. This appearance
revealed that the monster's underside is one massive, lamprey-like mouth!
creepier than usual in the above tile from the little-known board game. Look at
how ugly he is!
Sadly, the Pols Voice is one of the least-reused of the original Zelda monsters,
though it finally appeared in 3-d on one of the Nintendo DS titles. This appearance
revealed that the monster's underside is one massive, lamprey-like mouth!