The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[DistantJ]

December 25, 2011 is going to be amazing!

What happens then?

[speedfreak]

What happens then?

o_0............Christmas maybe.

[Conando]

Just thought I should mention, DistantJ. Those are not Dodongos, they're new enemies called Pyrups. Also, I that octoroks look doofy but, they looked just as stupid in the old days too. The new design is actually closer to the classic design than the Octoroks in the N64 and GCN days.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Hero Of Fate

[Old dead account]

Taking my time on this game. I just got to the forest temple entrance but can't figure out how to open it. I'll finish it tomorrow though since I'm pretty tired now. I don't see where all these calibration issues are coming from, I've had no such issues yet.

[Sami]

Taking my time on this game. I just got to the forest temple entrance but can't figure out how to open it. I'll finish it tomorrow though since I'm pretty tired now. I don't see where all these calibration issues are coming from, I've had no such issues yet.

This post makes me incredibly happy. The solution to that puzzle made me feel incredibly dumb after using the Shiekah Stone, and my friends made fun of me because it took me thirty minutes to figure it out. xD

If you want a hint:

Don't go away from the little plain the temple is on. The solution is very close to you.

[Saint Nathan]

Got this Sunday. Just beat Eldin.

I'll have to agree with some people, the controls are... weird. I dunno none of this seems like it couldn't be done with a regular controller. Even FIGHTING has boiled down to "hack and slash until they block a different way" because actually thinking through your strikes will get you killed in most situations.

It's a great game, my god is it a great game, but there are like natural problems with 1:1 motion shit, and it dosen't seem worth the bit of "oh hey link is holding the sword like me cool"

Although the flying bits are awesome. Took me forever to figure out that i had to shake the remote to go up, but once I did it was like holy fuck this is better than boats or horses or anything man fuck being on the ground.

[DistantJ]

o_0............Christmas maybe.

Edited November 22, 2011 by DistantJ

[Saint Nathan]

Exactly. How is regressing back to an older, stupider design a good thing, when they were getting so cool?

[Sami]

It seems the controls boil down to one of two reactions:

- I love them!

- I don't like motion controls. :/

It isn't that the motion control in this game is bad, it's that some people just don't like motion control in general. Very understandable, of course. But to say that the controls don't work is inaccurate.

[Marcello]

Beat the game today. It was great. I'm so glad I decided to not spoil anything that last 6 months. I loved Groose.

When Zelda was sealing herself I felt sad

Nintendo did a great job there, you could really feel how she was carrying so much on her shoulders..

I also loved Groose's development. Him slowly becoming more of a hero during the game felt natural. And him landing on Earth with Link and saying "You know, this place isn't that bad" was nice. I liked how much he started liking the place and him deciding to stay there was a great moment.

The ending scene made me chuckle a bit. Zelda asks Link if he wants to stay on Earth with her and before he can answers (besides smiling their bird just fly away xD

The old lady being Impa really surprised me. Although I was amazed that Impa was Impa xD I thought it was just some Sheikah at first. It was also nice to see the woman who's supposed to be a great warrior actually be a great warrior and fight pretty good againts Girahim. I never felt she was all that strong in OOT.

Girahim was a great villain. He was so delightfully evil. Demise's final design was cool, but I liked Girahim a lot more.

Also, not sure how I feel about the implication that Ganondorf is Demise reborn so to say..

[Noir]

Well I left off yesterday right after the bit with the windmills and the tower, so I guess I might as well talk about what I think of it.

Pretty much my only complaints are either things that have already plagued the series (like the beginning being boring as fuck as always) or things that don't live up to previous Zeldas (like the sky being much less interesting to explore than the ocean). The controls also take quite some time to get used to. I despised them completely until the end of Skyview Temple and wasn't totally comfortable with them until the third dungeon.

Despite being very tough to get used to, once the controls and I started to agree I fell in love with them, and I'd never want to play a future Zelda without them. They make fighting enemies feel not like a boring obstacle, but like an actual fight. I get a sense of accomplishment with every enemy I defeat, and the feeling is even better for bosses. Not to mention the controls make flying the most fun method of transportation yet. They're really great for other weapons and puzzles too.

The story is pretty interesting, though so far it doesn't compare to Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess (at least before Ganon showed up). I do love some continuity nods though, and especially, especially love Zelda. By far she's the best one. The cinematic feel is awesome too, and I love how the background gets more filtered when Z-targeting; it makes even just a normal fight have that cinematic feeling. As for music, most is absolutely incredible, though for some reason I just don't find it as memorable as a lot of older songs. The ocean's theme, Zelda's Lullaby, Clock Town, it was all ingrained in my mind from the first time hearing it. Can't say the same for anything this time around.

Anyway, I'm loving it regardless. That said, I'm going to get back to playing it.

[Marcello]

The story is pretty interesting, though so far it doesn't compare to Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess (at least before Ganon showed up). I do love some continuity nods though,

Which reminds me...

Anyone catch the Kikwi hermit saying "It's a secret to everybody"?

That was great xD

[PSI Wind]

Anyone who pre-ordered the Limited Edition bundle (Not sure about the Standard Edition) on Amazon should now have a $10 Promotional Discount for any purchase until 11/30/2012.

[RidersDX]

Um quick question guys. How do you reequip your shield after getting it repaired? =S

[Marcello]

Like you do when you first equip it. Hold minus and drag the pointer on it.

[Ebby]

I gotta say this: I died during the first boss. The first boss actually killed me. Skyward Sword is going to bring me a load of hurt.

...Well, I did want it to be harder than Twilight Princess.... guess I can't complain!

[Marcello]

You mean Girahim when you say the first boss, right? The other bosses are a lot easier.

[Conando]

The first boss, Ghirahim, was like a crash course in swordplay. The second boss is a hell of a lot easier, though still fun as hell.

[DistantJ]

It seems the controls boil down to one of two reactions:

- I love them!

- I don't like motion controls. :/

It isn't that the motion control in this game is bad, it's that some people just don't like motion control in general. Very understandable, of course. But to say that the controls don't work is inaccurate.

I love motion controls. I just find this game to kind of spam them a little. It's like EVERYTHING is motion controlled, and very little makes use of the Wii's other advantages, like infrared, analog stick etc. sure MotionPlus is responsive, but the nunchuk still isn't, and a lot of important moves are done with both, like finisher moves and spin attacks. I enjoy the sword a lot, though some enemies I get pissed off with, like the Lizalfos.

I've noticed it's just this one thing which gets me: Let's say for example you need to attack from the right because the enemy is blocking the left, but your sword is pointing left - you have to move your arm to the right then slash back left again. However if you do the first part of the manoeuvre quickly, it registers that as a slash and you're sent reeling by the enemy's block, and the enemy often will counter-attack then. Even moving the sword up and around the enemy will read it as an upwards slash if you do it too quick, and some enemies don't give you much time to do it slow enough for the game not to register it as an attack. The yellow Deku Babas for example, by the time I've guided the sword into place properly slowly enough for the game not to think of it as an attack, they've often prepared their attack. I didn't have this problem in Wii Sports Resort so something must be done differently here. Resort didn't seem to have any defined 'slashes' but rather just followed where the sword went and judged collisions from that, whilst Zelda sees certain gestures as 'slashes'. Zelda's sword is less like Resort and more like Red Steel 2 in that way.

If you'd like to think of something really quick.

These Octoroks are on land. Every other 3D Octorok has been aquatic. They've been octopi like as a result. These are land based, so naturally they'd look differently. Not to mention, if you really LOOK, then land Octorok have always been based off the original enemy. In fact, these new ones incorporate the design of the aquatic ones (eyes and basic head shape and such), and the regular land Octoroks (feet, more squat design, ect).

So essentially your argument with this point is that they're an entirely new form of the enemy to the 3D games, they serve different purposes and are even on soil as compared to being in water, and you're under the impression they should look like octopi on land.

For being thoughtful about the evolution of enemies, you really aren't thinking of that bit. How is an octopus going to really get around on land? Seems better to have, you know, feet for that. Instead of hiding in water where they are naturally camouflaged by their color, these guys have to disguise as bushes and even look earthy toned when they pop up.

It makes way more sense for them to look like the regular Octoroks, instead of the aquatic ones.

Yeah, I know that, but I wasn't disputing what makes sense, I was disputing that they made a cool enemy kinda stupid.

[Saint Nathan]

Yeah, I know that, but I wasn't disputing what makes sense, I was disputing that they made a cool enemy kinda stupid.

Then why are you arguing anything at all. It's not the same enemy. They didn't change designs radically. Your entire argument falls apart at the seams.

[DistantJ]

It's not an argument!! I'm just saying, I think the Octoroks (like most of the enemies in SS) look stupid now.

[Marcello]

Just to say, Ocotorocks were always octopuses, even the land dwelling ones.

[-Mark-]

Right, just got to the fifth dungeon, here.

Before I give a more general opinion of the game, let me just say that oh my god the fourth dungeon was lovely. Brilliant design, not too hard, not too easy, and the boss was deliciously satisfying and epic.

Now for the inevitable gripes. D:

Whilst I'm definitely enjoying it a fair bit more than Twilight Princess, it still really doesn't feel on par with Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask or Wind Waker to me, personally. Yes, it's got a lot more charm and the characters are much more memorable than those in Twilight Princess, but something still just feels a bit missing and empty, to me.

For a start, the plot certainly seems to be a little... Mario-thin. What it's largely amounted to so far is 'Hey Link, your Zelda is in another dungeon'. Your general motive is basically 'follow after Zelda' and little else. Everything you do inbetween is just a means of going after her. The thing I really liked about OoT, MM and WW is that, yes, whilst your reasoning for going into dungeons is generally for the sake of collecting some kind of item, it was a lot better-written and felt like it had a lot more context. Here, it feels like your basic goal is 'get Zelda', and everything else feels more like the game throwing obstacles in your path as an excuse to slow your progress rather than feeling like a properly-integrated part of the plot. It feels more like the game is giving you 'excuses' to go to dungeons, rather than 'reasons'.

That extends to the gameplay too, somewhat. It does feel overly convoluted, almost like the game has some twisted obsession with making everything as laborious and arduous as possible; you can never just go anywhere- something will always have gone wrong in order to sidetrack you into a half-hour (or full hour) quest that ultimately feels like a cheap excuse to bolt on an extra hour of play time. I've usually found myself enjoying myself on the way to a dungeon, only for the game to overstep the fine line of difficulty/ length and patience by suddenly saying "Hey, you got to the dungeon but you can't get in. The key's been broken into five pieces". Nothing just works in this game. Everything's either broken, missing or both, and whilst this is a fairly common practice for RPGs and adventure games in general as a means of extending the game, I don't think the Zelda series has ever before done it in a way that feels so forced and blatant.

Not to say I think the game is bad, by any means. But when your peers are some of the greatest games ever made, you're always going to have a touch act to follow. In any case, the game has been picking up for me lately (as I said, I loved every second of the fourth dungeon), so fingers crossed it'll keep on getting better. Not that that does much to fix the plot, mind, but oh well. D:

[Marcello]

Skward Sword is getting a manga

The two manga creators who go by the name Akira Himekawa revealed on Monday that they will be drawing a new Legend of Zelda manga thatShogakukan will publish. The Chara Kami column in the January issue ofTokuma Shoten's Nintendo Dream magazine published an interview and rough sketches from Himekawa on Monday. The magazine added that the manga will be a story based on Skyward Sword, the latest Zelda game from Nintendo.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword shipped for the Nintendo Wii console in multiples countries between last week and this week.

Viz published 10 volumes of Himekawa's previous Zelda manga in North America, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Four Swords, The Minish Cap, A Link to the Past, and Phantom Hourglass. Viz just re-packaged all 10 volumes in a box set last month.

[Conando]

Here's my beef with your complaints -Mark-. Since when did OoT have writing beyond: "Ganondorf is bad, go get those rocks. Oh no, those rocks helped Ganondorf. Go get these medals to beat Ganondorf", and other than that there was nothing. I find following after your friend desperately trying to reunite with her better writing than that.