The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[Speederino]

Got Skyward Sword at Christmas, reached the Earth Temple then for some reason I just put the game down... for some reason it just didn't captivate me.

Same, though I made it to the Ancient Cistern before putting it down. I've started playing it again and have nearly caught up to where I was. I wasn't sure why I lost interest at first. I mean this is a Zelda game, I always get hooked on new entries from start to finish. But here? I'm STILL not really feeling this game. It certainly isn't bad, but I definitely rank it as my least favorite console Zelda. The main problem I have is with the linearity. And no, I'm not trying to turn this into a LINEAR GAMES SUCK rant, because they don't. Hear me out on this.

The main reason I love this series is not for the dungeons or the puzzles, but for the exploration. I love just exploring the overworld; finding treasure, uncovering secrets, meeting characters, finding sidequests, playing mini-games. The world of a Zelda game always feels so alive and full of activity. The problem is that I just don't find the world of Skyward Sword to be all that appealing. The sky world isn't that large, and the only thing to really explore in it are a bunch of small islands that are only big enough to house a single chest. This isn't like Wind Waker where each new island potentially held a large treasure stash inside a mini-dungeon. It's just a bunch of boring, floating rocks that serve no purpose other than to make the sky feel a little bigger.

And the actual land down below is hardly what I would call a proper overworld. Each area is essentially an outside mini-dungeon you have to complete before tackling the main dungeon. THIS is what I mean when I say the game feels too linear. I don't feel like I can properly explore new areas. Any branching paths are blocked off at first and you're just forced to take a particular path. This is a rugged, new land that hasn't been touched by mankind for centuries. Let me look around and interact with it! I don't want the game to hold my hand and guide me through the area, I want to be an explorer! It's hardly any different from being forced through a long, continuous hallway when the areas are designed like this.

On top of that, there are a bunch of minor annoyances that really stack up. The game wants me to be way too precise with the motion controls. After resetting the game it forces me to sit through a dialouge box every time I catch a particular bug for the first time in the session. It makes me go back to dungeons I've already completed (Seriously Nintendo, did you NOT listen to the feedback from Phantom Hourglass!?) The Motion Plus controls keep getting off-center forcing me to recalibrate them every few minutes. The crafting system is obnoxious because I have to keep hauling my ass back to the bazaar to see what I need. Fi is an annoying dipshit who only points out the super obvious, like that I have to go into the dungeon that the dowsing rod is clearly directing me to. Not even Navi reached this level of super-obviousness, all she really did was remind the player what area you needed to go to to advance the story.

I still fully intend to finish this game, but I don't see myself coming back to replay it that often unless this game turns super-awesome in the near future. When judging it just as a game, Skyward Sword is far from being bad. But by Zelda standards this is one of the weaker games, surpassing only Phantom Hourglass in my book.

EDIT: Looking at Yahtzee's review of the game, I am extremely surprised by how much I agree with him. This might actually be a first, as my critique and his hardly differ save for a few minor things.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Speederino

[speedfreak]

Zelda is my favorite series, and while I did still like the game, yeah I think it's my least favorite 3D Zelda.

[Soniman]

Im a bit saddened that so many people seem to dislike this game. I guess for the first time, I can call a 3D Zelda game underrated.

Damn shame, because I really think its a great game.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Soniman

[Speederino]

Yeah, im a bit saddened that so many people seem to dislike this game. I guess for the first time, I can call a 3D Zelda game underrated.

Damb shame, because I really think its a great game.

I'm sorry but I'm just not feeling this one. Believe me, I want to love it. Me and 3D Zelda games go way back and I've loved every one of them, but this just feels mediocre by the standards set by previous titles. But like I said, it's not a bad game when judged on its own merits.

[Old dead account]

Im a bit saddened that so many people seem to dislike this game. I guess for the first time, I can call a 3D Zelda game underrated.

Damn shame, because I really think its a great game.

Give it time, as soon as the next big Zelda game is announced everybody will start saying it will suck and start praising this one. Just like they did with Twilight Princess. And Wind Waker.

[Speederino]

Never really got the hate for Twilight Princess, that was exactly what I wanted from a Wii Zelda title. It would definitely go in my top 5 LoZ's.

[Soniman]

I personally wanted something more from a Wii Zelda than OoT coatail riding, awful tacked on motion control, bland (even downright ugly at times) art design, a large overworld with nothing to do in it, lttle to no sidequests, tedious wolf gameplay, pathetically easy bosses, and a plot that has little to do with Link or Zelda.

Buuuuut, thats just how I feel.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Soniman

[Old dead account]

The complaints I saw about TP were mindless waggle, wolf gameplay and being called an OoT rehash. Personally, it's the weakest 3D Zelda though still fantastic, I didn't like how generally most of the items you get were only used in that particular dungeon and then never again. The world also felt pointlessly huge, waggle got tiring after a while and the wolf sections were pretty boring, artstyle looked a bit too gritty too.. No problems with the story though, and I love the design of the dungeons and the occasional throwbacks. My personal reason for not being able to replay TP is because the damn skulltulas freak me out so much I can barely get through the forest temple... Yeah, pathetic reason I know. At least they look cartoony in SS.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

The complaints I saw about TP were mindless waggle, wolf gameplay and being called an OoT rehash. Personally, it's the weakest 3D Zelda though still fantastic, I didn't like how generally most of the items you get were only used in that particular dungeon and then never again. The world also felt pointlessly huge, waggle got tiring after a while and the wolf sections were pretty boring, artstyle looked a bit too gritty too.. No problems with the story though, and I love the design of the dungeons and the occasional throwbacks. My personal reason for not being able to replay TP is because the damn skulltulas freak me out so much I can barely get through the forest temple... Yeah, pathetic reason I know. At least they look cartoony in SS.

Strangely enough, I was more freaked out by the Redead of Wind Waker than I was by the Redead of Arbiter's Grounds.

[Speederino]

Strangely enough, I was more freaked out by the Redead of Wind Waker than I was by the Redead of Arbiter's Grounds.

I seriously find the Wind Waker Redeads to be the creepiest of them all. Yes, even more than OoT's and MM's. While creepy, those ones just look like some kind of mud mannequins. WW's look like actual decomposing corpses, and their scream...oh god their scream. And the way they shamble and their jaws open and those beady little eyes of death and WHY THE HELL AM I TALKING ABOUT REDEADS AT 2 AM!?

[Old dead account]

Strangely enough, I was more freaked out by the Redead of Wind Waker than I was by the Redead of Arbiter's Grounds.

The Redeads in TP are pathetic, big skeleton guys with swords. Yay. In WW it's like they strived to make them like something from your nightmares. Imagine seeing them for the first time, it looks like a corpse, just decor. You approach it and it sort of just slowly tilts its head toward you without moving anything else. That decaying body without a trace of life, those massive teeth that look like they can chomp entire limbs off and worst of all, those empty eye sockets, Completely black and staring right into your soul despite the fact that they don't have the eyes to see you with. Then you move a bit closer and the first thing you notice is the screeching GYAAAAAAH!!!! The corpse emits. Its sound that was meant to petrify your character also manages to petrify you! This along with fact that the redead is now walking towards you with menacing red eyes and teeth at the ready. It's truly a sight to be feared!

[JezMM]

You know what else also creeped me the hell out with the OoT and WW redeads? The way their corpse just... stays there for ages before disappearing.

They never do but back when I wasn't sure it was really unnerving to think there was a chance they might get back up again.

I really really want scary Redeads in the next Zelda. Though I will say the tear-collecting bits in SS were the first time since Redeads that I found something scary in Zelda. Was just a bit disappointed that they were second nature by the fourth time. I thought the whole point was to be a test of courage by throwing you into this terrifying timed stealth game, then... the tests of wisdom and power are the exact same tests but in a different place. Wat.

Edited August 12, 2012 by JezMM

[Candescence]

The Silent Realm challenges weren't that hard, but when the guardians were after you, the game definitely nailed the intensity that would normally be suitable for running the fuck away from an enemy in a horror game. I've even heard that it's been compared to Silent Hill in a good way. Sure, you had to do them a few times, but they were fun.

[Thrippa]

... The problem is that I just don't find the world of Skyward Sword to be all that appealing. The sky world isn't that large, and the only thing to really explore in it are a bunch of small islands that are only big enough to house a single chest. This isn't like Wind Waker where each new island potentially held a large treasure stash inside a mini-dungeon. It's just a bunch of boring, floating rocks that serve no purpose other than to make the sky feel a little bigger.

And the actual land down below is hardly what I would call a proper overworld. Each area is essentially an outside mini-dungeon you have to complete before tackling the main dungeon. THIS is what I mean when I say the game feels too linear. I don't feel like I can properly explore new areas. Any branching paths are blocked off at first and you're just forced to take a particular path. This is a rugged, new land that hasn't been touched by mankind for centuries. Let me look around and interact with it! I don't want the game to hold my hand and guide me through the area, I want to be an explorer! It's hardly any different from being forced through a long, continuous hallway when the areas are designed like this.

On top of that, there are a bunch of minor annoyances that really stack up. The game wants me to be way too precise with the motion controls. After resetting the game it forces me to sit through a dialouge box every time I catch a particular bug for the first time in the session. It makes me go back to dungeons I've already completed (Seriously Nintendo, did you NOT listen to the feedback from Phantom Hourglass!?) The Motion Plus controls keep getting off-center forcing me to recalibrate them every few minutes. The crafting system is obnoxious because I have to keep hauling my ass back to the bazaar to see what I need. Fi is an annoying dipshit who only points out the super obvious, like that I have to go into the dungeon that the dowsing rod is clearly directing me to. Not even Navi reached this level of super-obviousness, all she really did was remind the player what area you needed to go to to advance the story.

I can agree with a lot of this, especially the overworld (high and low) comments. I'm really not sure what people are doing to their Wiimotes, though (or perhaps what I'm not doing?) - I've had to recalibrate exactly once when playing Skyward Sword, and that was after the dog knocked it off the end table while I was on the phone. I really wish they'd link the info messages to the game though, rather than the play session. By the time I'm taking on the final boss, I really DO KNOW that a blue rupee is worth 'a whole FIVE rupees!'; I don't need to be told that AGAIN with the first blue rupee I find that session.

[Gregzilla]

I finished Skyward Sword a few weeks ago (after putting it down for several months). I made a big post about it, but I lost it when my internet went down, so I'll recap.

SS has fun boss fights, good temples, some likable characters, and near the end when the story started tying itself back together with the rest of the Zelda mythos, it was incredibly satisfying.

However, I find it easier to name the things it did wrong. The controls were annoying (seeming like a step down from Wii Sports Resort, which I thought had great controls), the world wasn't fun to explore (on the surface or in the skies), content is rehashed throughout the experience, most of the music wasn't that memorabl, and it's just too damn tedious and dragged out. It's like the entire game was just a giant fetchquest broken up into several smaller fetchquests, and then THOSE fetchquests were broken up into even smaller fetchquests. It's just an unnecessarily long series of challenges to "prove your worth," as Yahtzee put it. I didn't really feel a sense of accomplishment, I just felt like I was going grocery shopping for people I just met.

Overall, it's still a good game on its own, but as a Zelda game, I found it very mediocre. I'm not sure if it's my least favorite Zelda, but it's definitely my least favorite 3D one.

My thoughts can kinda be summed up in this comic I whipped up, which I'm surprised to see many people agree with.

Note: Fi is the worst sidekick in any game ever, period.

[Speederino]

I finished Skyward Sword a few weeks ago (after putting it down for several months). I made a big post about it, but I lost it when my internet went down, so I'll recap.

SS has fun boss fights, good temples, some likable characters, and near the end when the story started tying itself back together with the rest of the Zelda mythos, it was incredibly satisfying.

However, I find it easier to name the things it did wrong. The controls were annoying (seeming like a step down from Wii Sports Resort, which I thought had great controls), the world wasn't fun to explore (on the surface or in the skies), content is rehashed throughout the experience, most of the music wasn't that memorabl, and it's just too damn tedious and dragged out. It's like the entire game was just a giant fetchquest broken up into several smaller fetchquests, and then THOSE fetchquests were broken up into even smaller fetchquests. It's just an unnecessarily long series of challenges to "prove your worth," as Yahtzee put it. I didn't really feel a sense of accomplishment, I just felt like I was going grocery shopping for people I just met.

Overall, it's still a good game on its own, but as a Zelda game, I found it very mediocre. I'm not sure if it's my least favorite Zelda, but it's definitely my least favorite 3D one.

My thoughts can kinda be summed up in this comic I whipped up, which I'm surprised to see many people agree with.

Words can not describe how much I agree with this, particularly the comic. Really good job on that, by the way.

[Komodin]

Im a bit saddened that so many people seem to dislike this game. I guess for the first time, I can call a 3D Zelda game underrated.

Damn shame, because I really think its a great game.

Well, mon, if it means anything, I still love this game a whole lot, too.

[Speederino]

I feel I should clarify: I do NOT hate this game. That would be a very strong word for what I feel. It's still a Zelda game, so even at its absolute worst it's still a good experience. I just don't think this has anything on OoT, MM, WW, or TP.

Though as I've said, I'm nowhere near finishing the game. I'll post some more complete thoughts when I finish do.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Speederino

[Sami]

It's the best Zelda game, if you ask me. I particularly like how small and compact everything is. No fucking ocean to sail across for a few accumulated hours, no giant field to run across a dozen times, no massive, barren wastelands between each dungeon, etc. Everything's simple and compact, and I love it for that.

I also like how the side-quests in between each dungeon were straightforward and still involved solving puzzles just as you would in a dungeon, for the most part. I remember Twilight Princess being absolutely infuriating to play at times because in between each dungeon was an absolutely enraging objective to finish that required at least fifteen minutes of exploring the overworld. None of that in Skyward Sword. Wind Waker astoundingly managed to negate all of the awesome things it did right in the beginning of the game with a double whammy between the Wind Temple and Triforce Hunt. None of that in Skyward Sword.

I like linear games. Whenever given the choice between stopping and wasting my time helping random people do stupid stuff with little reward on my end, or moving on with the story, I usually go for the latter. Hell, I barely touched Skyward Sword's optional side-quests. It's just how I play video games. Skyward Sword is basically a Zelda game tailored specifically for me as a result.

Though I still think those crappy "Press A to advance the text" cutscenes need to go, and voice acting is long overdue.

[speedfreak]

Give it time, as soon as the next big Zelda game is announced everybody will start saying it will suck and start praising this one. Just like they did with Twilight Princess. And Wind Waker.

This is false. I loved every 3D Zelda as soon as I played them. SS is the only one I've felt was kinda meh.

[Speederino]

This is false. I loved every 3D Zelda as soon as I played them. SS is the only one I've felt was kinda meh.

Same, but generally speaking that does seem to be what happens with the Zelda fanbase.

[VO.SUPER]

I haven't beaten SS on account of my Wii failing to work with discs anymore, so now I have to deal with a virtually useless Wii. But I managed to watch a lot of footage.

But I think Skyward Sword is a product of Nintendo favoring one audience over another. In this case, their Japanese audience. Now, Zelda isn't exactly their hottest item in Japan compared to Mario, at least until Wind Waker came out, and the Zelda shaded, chibi style proved popular with their Japanese fanbase. When they tried to appease American fans with Twilight Princess, many Japanese fans weren't amused with it. So with Skyward Sword, I see Nintendo really trying to get both of the Japanese and Americans in a sort of unison, but they're leaning very heavily to the Japanese side of things.

I believe Hideo Kojima once said something about how Japanese players, really enjoy linearity and having their hand held. They want to get the full experience handed to them, and they hold on to the ride. At least, that's how I read it.

That's how I see Skyward Sword. It's a game that puts you on a really straight and narrow path, with little mystery waiting for you outside of the story mode. The Sky-world is practically bereft of life and excitement, and the overworld is really just a mini-dungeon with little to explore.

This to me, has it's positives and negatives. This method allowed for Skyward sword to make it's campaign dynamic and entertaining (if not a little marred by the textboxes). It works for improving the story as well.

However, that's not for me. I don't want my hand held, through the entire game, or some side character explaining every bit of detail to me, without giving me a chance to process it for myself. Almost every Zelda game gave me the option to process information without needing the story to explain it twice (except for OOT with bloody Navi). A Link to the past gave you a map with where you needed to go, and from there on out, the world was your oyster to explore.

Majora's Mask only made the dungeons the linear part of the experience, but aside from that, everything was free for you to explore at a whim at any time, without having to wait until the game was ready to let you do something else. Heck, I don't think you even needed to beat the dungeons to move on to the next area.

Even Windwaker gave you a good deal of freedom. I mean, yes the beginning was pretty restrictive, but after the third dungeon. You were encouraged by the game to explore, and each island was unique with it's results.

If Nintendo wants to appeal to the Japanese and American branches of their fanbases, I feel they should try the Wind Waker approach again. That was one of my favorite games, and one of the best that I feel got the linear/freedom approach down well.

Tl;dr

I think the game was too linear, needs more freedom.

[Dr. Good Girl]

UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.............

You know what I didn't like about the ending of Skyward Sword??? Zelda never told Link what she was trying to tell him before she got sucked up by that cock-block tornado! </3

[Gregzilla]

UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.............

You know what I didn't like about the ending of Skyward Sword??? Zelda never told Link what she was trying to tell him before she got sucked up by that cock-block tornado! </3

That reminds me!

WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T LINK AND ZELDA KISS. I hear it's because they don't want to impose a love interest just in case the player "doesn't like her," but why the hell would you play up the romance if it doesn't amount to a satisfying smooch?

[VO.SUPER]

That reminds me!

WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T LINK AND ZELDA KISS. I hear it's because they don't want to impose a love interest just in case the player "doesn't like her," but why the hell would you play up the romance if it doesn't amount to a satisfying smooch?

Probably because of the second love interest. Even if she is a sidequest. It's the same reason no couple goes anywhere in OOT, since Link has a million girlfriends. Same with TP.

Unless there is only one girl, I doubt a relationship would move anywhere in that territory for any Zelda game. (The cell shaded games are an anomaly.)