Skyward Sword review thread [Newest Reviews - Cubed3 10/10, GC: A, AusGamers: 7/10]

Platy said:
Probably this sounds more interesting to you because he basicaly described a Playstation3 port because ...
In case it wasn't clear, I was being sarcastic.
 
Big One said:
Everything else however is fine but some of the controls are genuinely frustrating like the rope walking, which is only fun when an enemy walks on it so you can make him drop off.

I didn't think tightropes were frustrating, they were actually sort of relaxing, and jostling (love that word!) the other enemy made it even better.

But I agree that the "true" waggle should be gotten rid of.
 
jman2050 said:
I'm not sure how, motion control gaming is already pretty firmly entrenched as it is a mere 5 years later.

So far they have not really exploited all the possibilities of motion gaming IMO. Some sports games (Tiger Woods games, Grand Slam Tennis, PES series) have really used the controls to their advantage, providing great experiences. Light Shooters and FPS work great with Wiimote/nunchuck combo (control wise, don't flame my comment based on graphics). Skyward Sword seems like the first truly good motion based action/adventure game for not only the Wii but motion gaming and hopefully it is successful enough to start a trend.

I do understand some people asking for traditional controls for some games (looking at you Donkey Kong and New Super Mario) but if motion controls add to the experience and uniqueness of the game, then really there is no reason to change it.
 
21 hours into the game and level 10 :lol

I love this game so much. Doing all the Companion quests right now.

What did piss me off is that my damn horse thought it was a brilliant idea to fight a damn dragon :/

As soon as I defeated it, I was greeted with a shout and a corpse of my horse ;_;
 
Tenck said:
21 hours into the game and level 10 :lol

I love this game so much. Doing all the Companion quests right now.

What did piss me off is that my damn horse thought it was a brilliant idea to fight a damn dragon :/

As soon as I defeated it, I was greeted with a shout and a corpse of my horse ;_;

...I, what?
 
Tenck said:
21 hours into the game and level 10 :lol

I love this game so much. Doing all the Companion quests right now.

What did piss me off is that my damn horse thought it was a brilliant idea to fight a damn dragon :/

As soon as I defeated it, I was greeted with a shout and a corpse of my horse ;_;

lol
 
Tenck said:
21 hours into the game and level 10 :lol

I love this game so much. Doing all the Companion quests right now.

What did piss me off is that my damn horse thought it was a brilliant idea to fight a damn dragon :/

As soon as I defeated it, I was greeted with a shout and a corpse of my horse ;_;

Post + avatar = post of the year
 
AstroLad said:
Couple points here:
-Graphics make up ~25% of any review score. And yes, SD vs. HD definitely factors into the graphics equation.

It's understandable why reviewers talk about "graphics" and it is important. Many just don't seem to understand what art direction means though. Unless it is a very very strong direction, like that of Wind Waker or Muramasa.

Regardless, if you are going to criticize the graphics of Skyward Sword, you should also do the same for all games. Skyrim, which is being praised right now, I'm sorry, looks like shit.
 
Tenck said:
21 hours into the game and level 10 :lol

I love this game so much. Doing all the Companion quests right now.

What did piss me off is that my damn horse thought it was a brilliant idea to fight a damn dragon :/

As soon as I defeated it, I was greeted with a shout and a corpse of my horse ;_;

1310245665-0cafd8f926b864b3df36917f1f8b49f4.gif
 
Feep said:

The most confusing thing about your review among all the other reviews for this game is that there definitely seems to be two decisive camps: new timeless classic or great game with rough edges.

They're just disparate enough to mean I'll have to *gasp!* play the game for myself to decide what I think.

It seemed like with uncharted 3, almost all reviews were at or greater than 9, so the 8/10 from eurogamer felt like an outlier to a lot of people. But SS has been getting quite a few sub 9 scores. And now it seems a lot more people are speaking up about UC3's faults (not to say it's not a great game). I wonder if reviewers were just more comfortable with criticizing Zelda, one of the oldest franchises still kicking and no longer the crown jewel of adventure games, than they were with a bigger media darling like UC3.
 
So I gave skyrim a rest to try and get into skyward sword last night and played it for about 3 hours. I'm not feeling it yet, the graphics don't do much for me, not having camera control still bothers me liek it did in TP but the sword one to one movement is great, it really does feel amazing. The intro to the game is just so long and boring, all the same things, really I have to get a shield, ok.
 
It's funny, I hated Twilight Princess because of the motion controls, (and to this day it remains the only main line Zelda game I have not finished,) but Skyward Sword has totally made me a believer.
 
The 'They should have made another version that uses standard controls to give people choice' reminds of the 'Apple should also make an iPhone with a physical keyboard to give people choice' arguments back in the day- both of which are equally idiotic. Noone is 'forcing' you to do anything. It's how the game was designed. 'Choice' isn't always good, regardless of what people 'demand'. Most people aren't educated enough to make the better choice, and offering one usually dilutes the experience and fragments it. The mechanics of this game was designed with M+ at its core, the time and energy to make another control method work just as well (probably months of work) would not be worth while.
 
RetroGamer42 said:
It's funny, I hated Twilight Princess because of the motion controls, (and to this day it remains the only main line Zelda game I have not finished,) but Skyward Sword has totally made me a believer.
Twilight Princess had motion controls only in the very loosest sense.

There is a big difference (a vast, incomparable difference) between waggle and true motion control.
 
fbi said:
The intro to the game is just so long and boring, all the same things, really I have to get a shield, ok.
Eh, I thought it was nice that it was pretty much given to Link as soon as he stepped outside at that part, so he didn't have to go looking for one. Nevermind how quickly he got his first weapon, got in a mini noob dungeon, etc. And how some tutorial quests are optional rather than mandatory. Very quick intro from what I've seen (oh God, am so spoiled, what am I doing?! Not watching anything else from now on). Yet also seemingly allowing the player to spend more time doing things there if he wants to.
 
Caelus said:
You just played Skyrim, no wonder you're underwhelmed. Especially if you're playing on a crappy TV (for the Wii).
not really, I have a led LCD, I have the wii with component cables and I messed around with the tv mode settings looking for the best image type. It just looks washed out. I know thats the style. TP and WW look amazing, so does, mario galaxy so it's not a SD vs HD problem. Anyway I reserve my judgement until I can get through a few dungeons. I haven't played enough to be this critical.
 
Caelus said:
You just played Skyrim, no wonder you're underwhelmed. Especially if you're playing on a crappy TV (for the Wii).

Believe me, Skyrim's graphics, even maxed out, are nothing to write home about. If you've got Dolphin, Skyward Sword is a much better looking game, and I've only played the demo.
 
Ysiadmihi said:
Believe me, Skyrim's graphics, even maxed out, are nothing to write home about. If you've got Dolphin, Skyward Sword is a much better looking game, and I've only played the demo.

Believe me, I prefer SS's art style over Skyrim's, but the aliasing and dithering make it slightly worse than it should be. The bolded part makes a world of difference.
 
fbi said:
not really, I have a led LCD, I have the wii with component cables and I messed around with the tv mode settings looking for the best image type. It just looks washed out.

Really? It has great contrast and looks gorgeous on mine... care to tell me your TV type?
 
Feep said:
That was a pretty dumb video and doesn't address any of the problems with modern game journalism. Yes, it's funny in that it addresses fan reaction to reviews, but as a whole, it doesn't address the actual reviewers. I don't mean to be negative, it was a good video, but it shouldn't be praised as a good critique of modern game reviews, in my opinion.
 
Gummb said:
That was a pretty dumb video and doesn't address any of the problems with modern game journalism. Yes, it's funny in that it addresses fan reaction to reviews, but as a whole, it doesn't address the actual reviewers. I don't mean to be negative, it was a good video, but it shouldn't be praised as a good critique of modern game reviews, in my opinion.
It isn't trying to critique reviews.
 
guek said:
The most confusing thing about your review among all the other reviews for this game is that there definitely seems to be two decisive camps: new timeless classic or great game with rough edges.

They're just disparate enough to mean I'll have to *gasp!* play the game for myself to decide what I think.

It seemed like with uncharted 3, almost all reviews were at or greater than 9, so the 8/10 from eurogamer felt like an outlier to a lot of people. But SS has been getting quite a few sub 9 scores. And now it seems a lot more people are speaking up about UC3's faults (not to say it's not a great game). I wonder if reviewers were just more comfortable with criticizing Zelda, one of the oldest franchises still kicking and no longer the crown jewel of adventure games, than they were with a bigger media darling like UC3.
This, my friends, is a critique, not that video.

It would be cool if we could do research into this subject, because I think there is a lot of stigma behind certain types of titles that release today that are easier to critique for various reasons that other types of titles seem to be immune to.
 
butter_stick said:
It isn't trying to critique reviews.
I'm taking it into the context in which Feep (a reviewer who gave SS a 4/5 -- an "against the grain" review) posted it. It's as if he posted it as a justification for the reaction to his review, and as if he were "telling the truth" while other reviews might not have been because they praised SS (at least, that is how the video taints the perfect score). In truth, it's much more complex.

This is not meant to be an attack on Feep. As a person who hasn't played SS, I will reserve judgement until after I play the game. In the mean time, the video is funny.

[EDIT] sorry for the double post!

[Edit 2] Additionally, the video also negates all negative fan response to a negative review, as if no counter points can be made. This is why I question why Feep would feel so deeply connected to the video.
 
I haven't paid full price for a new game in over half a decade, but I've got my pre-order down for this one. It's strange being interested in playing a game for the first time in what feels like forever.
 
I wish G4 would assign me to a review of a big game that wasn't actually very good. So far, I've done inFAMOUS 2, Arkham City, and Skyward Sword.

I would have unabashedly destroyed Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I would have given Final Fantasy XIII a 2/5. That would have been fun.
 
Feep said:
I wish G4 would assign me to a review of a big game that wasn't actually very good. So far, I've done inFAMOUS 2, Arkham City, and Skyward Sword.

I would have unabashedly destroyed Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I would have given Final Fantasy XIII a 2/5. That would have been fun.
It's possible they know that. ;)
 
Feep said:
I wish G4 would assign me to a review of a big game that wasn't actually very good. So far, I've done inFAMOUS 2, Arkham City, and Skyward Sword.

I would have unabashedly destroyed Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I would have given Final Fantasy XIII a 2/5. That would have been fun.
You should have destroyed inFamous 2. *troll face*
 
Feep said:
I wish G4 would assign me to a review of a big game that wasn't actually very good. So far, I've done inFAMOUS 2, Arkham City, and Skyward Sword.

I would have unabashedly destroyed Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I would have given Final Fantasy XIII a 2/5. That would have been fun.
That would have been amazing.
 
Feep said:
I wish G4 would assign me to a review of a big game that wasn't actually very good. So far, I've done inFAMOUS 2, Arkham City, and Skyward Sword.

I would have unabashedly destroyed Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I would have given Final Fantasy XIII a 2/5. That would have been fun.
See, I don't see why that would be fun. I'll probably get hate for this, but I fail to see why trashing a game would be fun. To me, it just hurts your credibility and is kind of sick.

[edit] not that you would trash the game, but that you would find trashing it fun, as if there is an additional motive. You're allowed to hate the games, lol.
 
Gummb said:
This is why I question why Feep would feel so deeply connected to the video.
Just for reference, I feel connected to it because I am currently feeling the collective rage of an entire internet for simply posting a valid opinion. The melodrama in the video is so, so accurate. = D
Gummb said:
See, I don't see why that would be fun. I'll probably get hate for this, but I fail to see why trashing a game would be fun. To me, it just hurts your credibility and is kind of sick.
I don't literally mean reviewing the game a 2/5 would be "fun", as though I were doing it just to troll. I merely mean the reaction to a 2/5 score, even though I genuinely thought that's what the game deserved, to a mainline Final Fantasy title would be unprecedented.
 
Darryl said:
gettin close 2 dat 96 meta it seems

I could see it going down to as low as 90 once all the other reviews come in. People be all like lol zelda, why you no HD? I can haz no waggle?

Then again, people might liek OMG is zeruda, PARFECT SCORE and bump it up to 96-97

Kinda see the former happening and not the latter though
 
Feep said:
Just for reference, I feel connected to it because I am currently feeling the collective rage of an entire internet for simply posting a valid opinion. The melodrama in the video is so, so accurate. = D

I don't literally mean reviewing the game a 2/5 would be "fun", as though I were doing it just to troll. I merely mean the reaction to a 2/5 score, even though I genuinely thought that's what the game deserved, to a mainline Final Fantasy title would be unprecedented.
I figured as much, just as long as we don't criticize those who choose to highly rate games that aren't "actually very good," as if they weren't telling the truth. :)

[edit] Or as long as we don't think that lower-rated reviews have and should be perceived as having more credibility than higher-rated reviews.
 
guek said:
I could see it going down to as low as 90 once all the other reviews come in. People be all like lol zelda, why you no HD? I can haz no waggle?

Then again, people might liek OMG is zeruda, PARFECT SCORE and bump it up to 96-97

Kinda see the former happening and not the latter though

I always thought the early reviews were harsher.
 
guek said:
I could see it going down to as low as 90 once all the other reviews come in. People be all like lol zelda, why you no HD? I can haz no waggle?

Then again, people might liek OMG is zeruda, PARFECT SCORE and bump it up to 96-97

Kinda see the former happening and not the latter though
Its at 30 reviews already, with Gamespot being the only publication with much weighting left, so its gonna stay where its at. If it does move it'll go to 94 or 96.
 
Why the *banned* website review of Skyward Sword isn't in Metacritic yet?
Isn't official to Metacritic or what?
Because NintendoWorldReport (a similar Nintendo webpage) has their score in it.
 
Lingitiz said:
Its at 30 reviews already, with Gamespot being the only publication with much weighting left, so its gonna stay where its at. If it does move it'll go to 94 or 96.

I think the (likely) 20~ individual reviews left to be calculated in will have a larger impact than a single high-weighted score.
 
Darryl said:
I think the (likely) 20~ individual reviews left to be calculated in will have a larger impact than a single high-weighted score.
Yeah but honestly, aside from the few opening reviews, there haven't been many reviews under 90. Even Uncharted 3 which started at around 94 at about 25-ish reviews only went down 2 points, and that's when some of the backlash started to come as a result of the Eurogamer review controversy.
 
Looks like on the averages the only things as "low" on the score are the scores that have a 5 point scale and gave it a 4 out of 5.

That's why I always think 5 point scales are stupid, its like in school if you ever had to take a 5 question quiz. you either aced it, got the lowest B (maybe even a C on some scales), or failed. No room for anything in between. Kinda what keeps the aggregate from being higher, take out the dumb 5 point scales stuff and it would be higher.
 
Feep said:
I wish G4 would assign me to a review of a big game that wasn't actually very good. So far, I've done inFAMOUS 2, Arkham City, and Skyward Sword.

I would have unabashedly destroyed Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I would have given Final Fantasy XIII a 2/5. That would have been fun.

Final Fantasy XIV. I remember that thread. Good times.
 
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