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[Mr. Robot]

Finally got this game, and this is the first time that i have died in a Zelda game, and i got killed by a Skulltula, A GODDAMN SKULLTULA! then i figured out that if you do the spin attack they start to spin too leaving their weakspot in the open,

Spoiler

also it took me a while to figure the first Ghirahim battle

 

[butter_stick]

A voice acted Ghirahim? do you even realize how fucking horrible that would be? I mean think about it.

There is no argument you can make to me that a lack of voice acting benefits Zelda. The potential for it to be bad isnt a good enough reason not to attempt it.

 

[Thrillhouse]

Production values aren't everything.

You could argue that Pixar has more impressive production on a technical level than Ghibli but if someone said to me that Ghibli should be more like Pixar I would probably gouge out their eyes.

I was just going to use this example and say that: This is why gaming "journalism" is a joke. Could you ever imagine a movie critic saying "get with the times, we have had cgi for some 20 years now!" to Ghibli?

 

[zoukka]

There is no argument you can make to me that a lack of voice acting benefits Zelda. The potential for it to be bad isnt a good enough reason not to attempt it.

God I wish Final Fantasy would learn from Zelda.

 

[Speevy]

I don't think there's a voice actor out there capable enough to not do something that would be a total embarrassment.

Andy Serkis?

 

[brandonh83]

There is no argument you can make to me that a lack of voice acting benefits Zelda.

Fair enough. With the type of characters Nintendo chooses to put in Zelda games, I personally would never want voice acting. Now if they did a Zelda game with fantastic dialogue and without over the top, zany characters, I might see it as a prospect. But that hasn't happened yet.

Andy Serkis?

*waves surrender flag*

 

[Sinthetic]

Mmmm Ghibli, my JP Blu Rays are shipping out tonight in time for the 16th.

 

[Big One]

Zelda has tons of cutscenes. By all accounts SS has more than ever.

No SS doesn't have a ton of cutscenes, all 3D Zelda have more cutscenes than Skyward Sword.

I'm kind of confused wtf kind of point you're trying to make. How does Mass Effect have more production values than Zelda? Cause it factually does not, not even close. Mass Effect has a solid voice acting cast, but voice acting isn't the entire span of what production values define. Skyward Sword has considerably better animation and life to the characters than most games this gen, including Mass Effect, when it comes to cutscenes and even the dialogue sessions between characters.

 

[thefro]

Considering even NOE was able to get good VA for Xenoblade, I think there's no excuse not to have it in the next Zelda game.

Link doesn't have to talk but everyone else should.

 

[Big One]

Somehow or another, when voice acting is involved, any other factor of production values gets ruled out...yeah no sorry, that's not how it works.

 

[butter_stick]

No SS doesn't have a ton of cutscenes, all 3D Zelda have more cutscenes than Skyward Sword.

I'm kind of confused wtf kind of point you're trying to make. How does Mass Effect have more production values than Zelda? Cause it factually does not, not even close. Mass Effect has a solid voice acting cast, but voice acting isn't the entire span of what production values define. Skyward Sword has considerably better animation and life to the characters than most games this gen, including Mass Effect, when it comes to cutscenes and even the dialogue sessions between characters.

I'm not going to try and change your mind. If you don't see any areas Zelda is lacking, great. I'm happy for you. I do, and while they're not close to potentially ruining my enjoyment of the game, I can't help but wish Nintendo would get with the times a bit.

 

[GremlinFool]

An almost precise parallel for Skyward Swords in comparing production values is either Kingdom Hearts 1 or 2. They're fundamentally structured in the same manner. Both forgo an overarching overworld or hub-world in favor, instead, of what is fundamentally a level select system. Additionally, both are adventure games predicated on sword battles and some light puzzle-solving. Finally, both vacillate between and weave serious and light-hearted, oddball story elements and characters virtually seamlessly.

Kingdom Hearts had orchestrally composed music and full-fledged cinematic cutscenes, replete with wondrous voice-acting, in 2002 on inferior hardware. The voice acting can only be seen as a boon to the experience.

 

[oatmeal]

A voice acted Ghirahim? do you even realize how fucking horrible that would be? I mean think about it. I don't think there's a voice actor out there capable enough to not do something that would be a total embarrassment.

Tim Curry

 

[zoukka]

An almost precise parallel for Skyward Swords in comparing production values is either Kingdom Hearts 1 or 2. They're fundamentally structured in the same manner. Both forgo an overarching overworld or hub-world in favor, instead, of what is fundamentally a level select system. Additionally, both are adventure games predicated on sword battles and some light puzzle-solving. Finally, both vacillate between and weave serious and light-hearted, oddball story elements and characters virtually seamlessly.

Kingdom Hearts had orchestrally composed music and full-fledged cinematic cutscenes, replete with wondrous voice-acting, in 2002 on inferior hardware. The voice acting can only be seen as a boon to the experience.

I think you just convinced everyone to be against voice acting in Zelda.

 

[Big One]

I'm not going to try and change your mind. If you don't see any areas Zelda is lacking, great. I'm happy for you. I do, and while they're not close to potentially ruining my enjoyment of the game, I can't help but wish Nintendo would get with the times a bit.

Yeah but other games are lacking too such as, well, Mass Effect. There is no such thing as a game with streamlined and perfect production values except some like Modern Warfare, Uncharted, and a few others.

However this aspect has nothing to do with Skyward Sword being stuck on last gen level, Skyward Sword despite not having voice acting (which I agree it needs because of how the story is presented) an HD resolution, it still introduces brand new gameplay mechanics to both the genre it's in and gaming itself. To me revolutionary design becomes before voice acting

An almost precise parallel for Skyward Swords in comparing production values is either Kingdom Hearts 1 or 2. They're fundamentally structured in the same manner. Both forgo an overarching overworld or hub-world in favor, instead, of what is fundamentally a level select system. Additionally, both are adventure games predicated on sword battles and some light puzzle-solving. Finally, both vacillate between and weave serious and light-hearted, oddball story elements and characters virtually seamlessly.

Kingdom Hearts had orchestrally composed music and full-fledged cinematic cutscenes, replete with wondrous voice-acting, in 2002 on inferior hardware. The voice acting can only be seen as a boon to the experience.

One example and you picked absolutely one of the worst voice acting experiences in any game in the history of gaming. Good job

Though yes Skyward Sword would've benefited from voice acting. The reason I say this is because the game feels like you're watching a cartoon rather than a video game cutscene. It's very aesthetically pleasing and fantastical and you get emotionally attached to all the major characters even more-so than usual in Zelda, which can only be enhanced by great voice acting.

 

[krYlon]

I was just going to use this example and say that: This is why gaming "journalism" is a joke. Could you ever imagine a movie critic saying "get with the times, we have had cgi for some 20 years now!" to Ghibli?

I think the gaming community in general is fixated with technological advancement.

Don't get me wrong I like tech as much as the next guy, but we also need devs to show us how skillful and creative they can be even with limitations.

Regarding the voice acting argument, one of my favourite animations of recent years is The Illusionist. There is hardly any voice acting in the film, and when there is, it is mostly incomprehensible.
But the way they tell the story without words is beautiful and highly creative, in many ways it shows off their skills as animators more because of it.

Do I want all films to be like this? Of course not. I want variety.

I want variety in gaming as well, that's why I don't want Zelda to lose its identity and become another big budget, big production cinematic experience.
I want to see some game devs that can show their skill and creativity in level design and gameplay as well.

 

[butter_stick]

For the record I don't even like Mass Effect. Please don't stain me with that dirt for all time.

 

[brandonh83]

Kingdom Hearts had orchestrally composed music and full-fledged cinematic cutscenes, replete with wondrous voice-acting, in 2002 on inferior hardware. The voice acting can only be seen as a boon to the experience.

I'd rather look at a pop-up ad than watch a Kingdom Hearts cutscene.

 

[krYlon]

For the record I don't even like Mass Effect. Please don't stain me with that dirt for all time.

Whenever I see your face, I will always think of Mass Effect. Its too late.

 

[brandonh83]

Anyway you guys keep bringing up these games with a lot more attention to their cutscenes, but they're also terrible. I'd rather Zelda have ho-hum cutscenes that are just kind of there, instead of the offensively awful tripe found in Kingdom Hearts.

 

[Haunted]

The presentation of Zelda is still firmly rooted in the 32/64bit era. Graphics have improved and the cutscenes are more ambitious, but it's still presented in the same way it's always been. That's the area they need to bring up to date. Personally it's not a big deal, but I can see where people are coming from.

What does that mean?

edit: oh, the no voice acting thing? Yeah, maybe. Dunno if Nintendo has the capacity to do those well (hello Other M), but I know what you mean.

 

[butter_stick]

Anyway you guys keep bringing up these games with a lot more attention to their cutscenes, but they're also terrible. I'd rather Zelda have ho-hum cutscenes that are just kind of there, instead of the offensively awful tripe found in Kingdom Hearts.

I'm working under the assumption Nintendo could do it well. Misguided as that almost certainly is, a well done VA'd Zelda would be magical.

 

[UncleSporky]

There is no argument you can make to me that a lack of voice acting benefits Zelda. The potential for it to be bad isnt a good enough reason not to attempt it.

On the contrary, the potential for it to be good isn't a good enough reason to attempt it.

 

[Platy]

That is what I thought. There really aren't any good wireless sensor bars out there. The NYKO seemed to be OK, but all I can really find are the crappy Power A or RocketFish brands. I guess I could settle for Power A.

You can just turn your wii on these times and use your wired sensor bar, since it looks like the full calibrations are far between each other

 

[Hiltz]

Heh, a lot o the things you guys are mentioning about the lack of voice acting, sharp writing, and light story elements are all mentioned in GT's review.

 

[Big One]

Heh, a lot o the things you guys are mentioning about the lack of voice acting, sharp writing, and light story elements are all mentioned in GT's review.

Wat no the writing in Skyward Sword is actually really good.

Like the actual dialogue is pretty well written and the best in any Zelda yet.

If people thought Ganondorf's dialogue bits in Wind Waker were good, wait till you get a load of Skyward Sword's bits.

But yes it is very story light, not gonna lie. However you aren't really craving a story as the game is completely gameplay focused and is mainly about playing the actual game and having fun rather than following a big epic storyline.

 

[Hiltz]

Wat no the writing in Skyward Sword is actually really good.

Like the actual dialogue is pretty well written and the best in any Zelda yet.

If people thought Ganondorf's dialogue bits in Wind Waker were good, wait till you get a load of Skyward Sword's bits.

But yes it is very story light, not gonna lie. However you aren't really craving a story as the game is completely gameplay focused and is mainly about playing the actual game and having fun rather than following a big epic storyline.

My mistake. I meant to say that GT mentions that the dialogue is sharply written, not that it is lacking it. Anyway, that's great to hear that Skyward Sword contains dialogue as memorable as in some of Wind Waker's cut scenes.

 

[butter_stick]

What does that mean?

edit: oh, the no voice acting thing? Yeah, maybe. Dunno if Nintendo has the capacity to do those well (hello Other M), but I know what you mean.

It's not just the voice acting. It's more that the game still looks like it did on N64 in a lot of ways. I'm not talking about graphics, it's more the way the camera works and things are presented. The view when you're reading dialogue is the same as it was in Ocarina. The chest opening scene, the boss intros, the way cutscenes pause while you read text and continue when you press A. It's a very abstract thing and a little hard to explain. All these things sound incredibly insignificant when you list them, and I'm not saying any of them are bad as such, but it's like legacy design that still lingers.

I guess the point is its still very Zelda. Which I'm not trying to say is a bad thing, more that it's the reason why I imagine a lot of people still feel like its the same old game they played 2 gens ago, even though a lot of how you interact with the world has changed.

 

[King_Moc]

Pretty much every review is making a point of the face that this is very similar to previous Zelda's. I'm not noticing anyone point out that Skyrim is very similar to Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, or that all those games are within the last few years. Hmm...

 

[Big One]

Pretty much every review is making a point of the face that this is very similar to previous Zelda's. I'm not noticing anyone point out that Skyrim is very similar to Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, or that all those games are within the last few years. Hmm...

No I think that's only the GT review that's saying that. Whether you like the game or not, the game is very different from Ocarina of Time type games. It's like the contrast of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64 in terms of actual level design, except Skyward Sword still retains the content from the usual Zelda game + more. Skyward Sword is both the refinement of 3D Zelda but also it's own original take, mixed in with innovative and brand new gameplay.

 

[Bluemercury]

Pretty much every review is making a point of the face that this is very similar to previous Zelda's. I'm not noticing anyone point out that Skyrim is very similar to Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, or that all those games are within the last few years. Hmm...

Not the Euro one's, EDGE, Eurogamer....

 

[King_Moc]

Not the Euro one's, EDGE, Eurogamer....

Ok, ok i exaggerated. But still, the Gametrailers one was just annoying. Yes, it does things that it's done before. But it's still doing it better than it's imitators, so what's the issue? It's not like they're releasing a game every year or two with identical mechanics. There's been 3 in a decade.

 

[Big One]

Ok, ok i exaggerated. But still, the Gametrailers one was just annoying. Yes, it does things that it's done before. But it's still doing it better than it's imitators, so what's the issue? It's not like they're releasing a game every year or two with identical mechanics. There's been 3 in a decade.

Yeah the GT review was full of absolutely factually wrong statements and lies, and I'm surprised anyone here is defending it. It's just an offensive and terrible review all around.

 

[Socreges]

Though listening to what he says in it, it honestly sounds more like he wanted to give it a 7/10. But since it's a Zelda game, the fans would have murdered him.

If he's so afraid of Zelda fans that he'd change his review score from what he'd like to put, then why does he spend the entire first half of the video review ripping the game apart? And why wouldn't he have felt comfortable joining the other handful of people who have given it 8/10?

"It's foundation is so strong... proves that clever level design and tight gameplay trump all."

But still, it's shocking how negative the review is.

 

[King_Moc]

Yeah the GT review was full of absolutely factually wrong statements and lies, and I'm surprised anyone here is defending it. It's just an offensive and terrible review all around.

They moaned at a lack of sidequests, then said later on that the sidequests can increase the games length 'exponentially'.

I'm not sure what Nintendo did to anyone, but it sure seems like any compliments given to them are being done so begrudgingly.

 

[Big One]

They moaned at a lack of sidequests, then said later on that the sidequests can increase the games length 'exponentially'.

I'm not sure what Nintendo did to anyone, but it sure seems like any compliments given to them are being done so begrudgingly.

Interesting cause the game actually has far more sidequests and things to do than every Zelda game...except Majora's Mask.

 

[King_Moc]

Interesting cause the game actually has far more sidequests and things to do than every Zelda game...except Majora's Mask.

Maybe they took the IGN article about what it can learn from Skyrim to heart then?

Zelda needs 150 dungeons, all totally devoid of puzzles.

 

[marc^o^]

New review from Techdigest: 5/5

A series that has too long lurked in the impressive shadow cast by Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword sees the Zelda games once again flying high. Innovative, colourful, with an evocative story and the best example of motion controlled gaming "done right" we've seen yet, it's a fitting swansong for the ageing Wii console. Skyward Sword is not only the best Nintendo game to have hit their consoles in the past few years, it's quite possibly the best Zelda game there's ever been too.

JVN.com : 18/20

You cannot like videogames and not like this Zelda

 

[Davey Cakes]

So that makes several reviews now that have stated it as arguably the best Zelda game.

 

[GamerSoul]

I just want to play it , these perfect scores do nothing for me now lol.

 

[krYlon]

Destructoid 9.5

"The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is my new favorite 3D Zelda title, beating out Majora's Mask and Wind Waker by a substantial margin."

 

[BY2K]

Destructoid 9.5

"The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is my new favorite 3D Zelda title, beating out Majora's Mask and Wind Waker by a substantial margin."

... His only complain is that Skyward Sword doesn't have Controller Pro support?

Really!?

EDIT: Well, it sounds more like he's complaining for others, because he is fine with the motion control.

EDIT2: And the Silent Realm, if I understand this right.

 

[shadyspace]

... His only complain is that Skyward Sword doesn't have Controller Pro support?

Really!?

Don't forget the voice acting option.

 

[King_Moc]

... His only complain is that Skyward Sword doesn't have Controller Pro support?

An odd thing to complain about, when it seems to be so integral to the game design this time around. Maybe the exercise will do him good?

 

[krYlon]

An odd thing to complain about, when it seems to be so integral to the game design this time around. Maybe the exercise will do him good?

Should reviewers also complain about games without motion control support, seeing as that option is available on all consoles now?
Seems fair to me.

 

[Bluemercury]

So only GT, Giant Bomb, EGM and 1up gave lower scores...interesting....all four in the US.

 

[spekkeh]

I get annoyed by reviewers rating games on how they think other people will experience it. It sort of defeats the whole purpose of rating games, you can just slap a seven on everything because some people will like it and others hate it.

(other than that really good review)

 

[BY2K]

So only GT, Giant Bomb, EGM and 1up gave lower scores...interesting....all four in the US.

GT gave a 9.1. Not really a low score.

 

[oatmeal]

The graphics continue to grow on me.

I was very hesitant about the style going in...but, the game exudes charm the same way WW did.

I think this Link is the best looking Link we've had in 3D. And I'd be 100% okay with an HD upgrade to this style.

Just...

Give me a real overworld next time.

 

[Truth101]

Should reviewers also complain about games without motion control support, seeing as that option is available on all consoles now?
Seems fair to me.

No it is completely different.

This game was designed around M+, M+ is integral for playing the game. It is impossible to do what Nintendo did with a CCRO controller. If Nintendo did support a CCRO they would have had to redesign he whole game, and it would lose meaning as the leading M+ game.