Skyward Sword review thread [Newest Reviews - Cubed3 10/10, GC: A, AusGamers: 7/10]
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Hot Coldman
Banned
EmCeeGramr said:
The fucking owl. He was annoying, but he wasn't exactly unhelpful.
Skiesofwonder
Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
But GUYS!!
Look at all this awesomeness!
My 13 year old-self ate it all up!
I don't think anybody can disagree that sailing over a flooded Hyrule is amazing and brilliantly put a dark tone over a mostly "G-rated" happy-toned game. It gives you a similar feeling to what Lion King does.
And how about that ending?!?!?!? HUH?!?!?!?
Look at all this awesomeness!
My 13 year old-self ate it all up!
I don't think anybody can disagree that sailing over a flooded Hyrule is amazing and brilliantly put a dark tone over a mostly "G-rated" happy-toned game. It gives you a similar feeling to what Lion King does.
And how about that ending?!?!?!? HUH?!?!?!?
shadyspace
Banned
Yeah. I found all the Sages in OoT pretty helpful/likable.EGG said:
TacticalFox88
Banned
Really GAF? Over 40 pages over an arbitrary number? Jesus fucking christ
See You Next Wednesday
Banned
linko9 said:
Those main islands & dungeons make up maybe 10% of the entire land mass scattered through the ocean.
EmCeeGramr
Member
Rauru: nice job saving the sacred realm, geezer. oh but you held on to your screen saver temple that's a big hexagon floating in space well great. also great for letting me sleep for 7 years and changing my clothes during that time, sickoEGG said:
Saria: OK, she's alright.
Darunia: I won't talk to anyone despite my people's starvation until you play me a sick ballad, then I'll abandon my son alone in a mountain cave while I run into a volcano by myself
Ruto: everything she does in jabu jabu's belly, the stupid engagement shit, even after awakening as a sage can't tell a crossdressing zelda isn't a dude
Impa: Alright, I guess (boring though)
Nabooru: uses a 7 year old child by sending him into a dangerous thief fortress run by a dark wizard king as part of her plot
"Wow, there really is a Hero of Time? I didn't believe it, I guess I was just yanking your chain with all that exposition. Well, L A T E R S"Green Scar said:
Yeah, that's one of the big reasons I preferred TP though. The reward was solving puzzles or succeeding through interesting fights. The extra stuff (another gold rupee holy shit!) was just fluff. It's the gameplay that matters.Magicpaint said:
I can't say Wind Waker sucks or that I hate it, just that it was and remains very disappointing. It's a satisfying game to play. Link controls well and every item has its place. But there's so little to do throughout it.
Twilight Princess Link is stiff to control and overloaded with excess inventory, but the game itself is packed full of content. Hyrule Field is too big for its own good, and the intro runs long. But it's smaller than the Great Sea, has more to do even relative to its size, and has no abysmally terrible stealth sequence.
I've also always wished I could dive underwater. I don't know how feasible that would have been, but it was a big hope of mine leading up to the game and I still wish I could do it. Besides a few dolphins and sharks, the sea is really empty.
Saint Gregory
Member
I don't really want to get wrapped up in this nostalgia trip (which we'll probably be reliving again in 5 years when suddenly SS becomes the best Zelda ever in hindsight) but for all its flaws the endgame in WW was the best of any Zelda ever. period.Skiesofwonder said:And how about that ending?!?!?!? HUH?!?!?!?
I actually kept a save from just before the spider puppet boss and I'd replay that last half hour of the game over and over. So f-ing good
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
The Gamespot guy must be feeling good right now since currently he's transformed into the center of universe.
See You Next Wednesday
Banned
TacticalFox88 said:
This was gamefaqs when the TP review happened
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Wind Waker hate should be an instructive example of how expectations warp perception. We like to think and imagine we're so clever, rational, expert, and objective, but we're not.
Example: you expect "overworld" to equate a realistic and crammed with detail map where you are surrounded by roads, fences, trees, rocks, animals, and content. You play Wind Waker. You see a big blue ocean. You go "WTF IS THIS SHIT THIS IS NO OVERWORLD BORING GAME!"
Another person, without the same expectations, looks at big blue ocean and sees "OMG IT'S JUST LIKE A PEACEFUL VISTA IN A FLAWLESS ANIMATED STYLE! IT'S SO WIDE AND OPEN I WANT TO EXPLORE IT!"
For the first person, the WW ocean is indeed "shit" because it's not the reality they wish to take part in. They require the image of a typical "overworld" to feel satisfied. WW won't do it for them.
The problem comes when people attempt to dictate objective reality and are unable to see other points of view. Stomping around declaring WW is the worst Zelda evar because it doesn't have the kind of overworld you want and refusing to see how it might be quality for other desires and by other standards.
With Skyward Sword, Jarosh's breakdown of why he thinks the combat is bad is very interesting. The thing is, there have been well written impressions of why the motion combat is good too. So who's right? Nobody? Everybody?
My own instinct is that Jarosh is looking at the glass as half empty. He feels that the motion combat is the first step to a hypothetical "reinvented Zelda" that doesn't exist yet, and so SS is "bad" because it's missing something it's supposed to have. I suspect other reviewers are looking at the glass half full; that there's nothing particularly bad about an older paradigm for Zelda enemies and battle scenarios, but the motion combat spices it up and makes it more interesting than it would be without it - so they say they wouldn't want to go back again.
The problem is, we want a single truth; we want to think this game we should adore is awesome and perfect beyond words. Or we want to know we should not like it; that's the problem with something like an outlier game impression. Causes cognitive dissonance. "Tell us we can be reassured that it's perfect!" "Tell us we can give in to the inevitable and hate it! End the suffering now!" So we angst, we agonize.
Personally, I would submit that Zelda is a series mired in, and wrapped up in, too much history and loaded expectations. It's a series that has had some problems for a while now - no less than two mainline entries in it, each years apart, were seriously flawed and not as well balanced as the prior two main entries. (Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time respectively.) By comparison, a series like Mario has had a better run. Only one game (Sunshine) was a little less than optimal, and the series quickly snapped back after that with no less than three superb console entries after dip in quality.
Skyward Sword is burdened by fan expectations. It's the Zelda that's supposed to save the series from a sense of encroaching mediocrity. I think people are using that as a springboard to form a mental checklist of every little thing they can possibly think of as "wrong" with all Zelda and angst over whether SS will address them all. So.
Based on what I've seen, read, and been told, I have a strong feeling SS will be to the last two Zeldas as Mario Galaxy was to Mario Sunshine. I think it will be the return to unqualified "great" status. But I'm careful not to expect the wrong things. I'm not expecting the game to suddenly be the best RPG EVR and best every adventure game ever. And I also don't want every fucking game to be fucking Fallout 3, because I've got motherfucking western RPGs coming from all sides already, holy shit. *cough* Sorry.
A further irony of this is that we all tend to have a tunnel blindness when talking about storied franchises like Zelda. We forget, in our "disappointment" with a only slightly subpar entry in a quadruple-A Ultra Franchise. The worst Zelda game is still ten times the game of the average non-Zelda adventure game. Phantom Hourglass on the DS has fifty times the ideas and spirit of most other games in the same genre that don't have a giant Z in the title graphic. As how Mario Sunshine kicks the holy living crap out of 95% of non-Mario platformers.
So, real talk. I would say everybody relax. Skyward Sword is a "post Galaxy" EAD game. Everything about it cues that it benefits from all the lessons EAD learned post-Gamecube. It's going to be amazing. That it can't make you feel like a 14 year old again playing Ocarina of Time when you had no cares in the world and no stress in your life, is not EAD's fault. Stop caring whether it's the best game of the year and shows all those mean people your Nintendo games are not stoopid. It's guaranteed to be a quality Nintendo title.
Why does anything else actually matter?
p.s. this post is so long I didn't even read it myself.
Example: you expect "overworld" to equate a realistic and crammed with detail map where you are surrounded by roads, fences, trees, rocks, animals, and content. You play Wind Waker. You see a big blue ocean. You go "WTF IS THIS SHIT THIS IS NO OVERWORLD BORING GAME!"
Another person, without the same expectations, looks at big blue ocean and sees "OMG IT'S JUST LIKE A PEACEFUL VISTA IN A FLAWLESS ANIMATED STYLE! IT'S SO WIDE AND OPEN I WANT TO EXPLORE IT!"
For the first person, the WW ocean is indeed "shit" because it's not the reality they wish to take part in. They require the image of a typical "overworld" to feel satisfied. WW won't do it for them.
The problem comes when people attempt to dictate objective reality and are unable to see other points of view. Stomping around declaring WW is the worst Zelda evar because it doesn't have the kind of overworld you want and refusing to see how it might be quality for other desires and by other standards.
With Skyward Sword, Jarosh's breakdown of why he thinks the combat is bad is very interesting. The thing is, there have been well written impressions of why the motion combat is good too. So who's right? Nobody? Everybody?
My own instinct is that Jarosh is looking at the glass as half empty. He feels that the motion combat is the first step to a hypothetical "reinvented Zelda" that doesn't exist yet, and so SS is "bad" because it's missing something it's supposed to have. I suspect other reviewers are looking at the glass half full; that there's nothing particularly bad about an older paradigm for Zelda enemies and battle scenarios, but the motion combat spices it up and makes it more interesting than it would be without it - so they say they wouldn't want to go back again.
The problem is, we want a single truth; we want to think this game we should adore is awesome and perfect beyond words. Or we want to know we should not like it; that's the problem with something like an outlier game impression. Causes cognitive dissonance. "Tell us we can be reassured that it's perfect!" "Tell us we can give in to the inevitable and hate it! End the suffering now!" So we angst, we agonize.
Personally, I would submit that Zelda is a series mired in, and wrapped up in, too much history and loaded expectations. It's a series that has had some problems for a while now - no less than two mainline entries in it, each years apart, were seriously flawed and not as well balanced as the prior two main entries. (Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time respectively.) By comparison, a series like Mario has had a better run. Only one game (Sunshine) was a little less than optimal, and the series quickly snapped back after that with no less than three superb console entries after dip in quality.
Skyward Sword is burdened by fan expectations. It's the Zelda that's supposed to save the series from a sense of encroaching mediocrity. I think people are using that as a springboard to form a mental checklist of every little thing they can possibly think of as "wrong" with all Zelda and angst over whether SS will address them all. So.
Based on what I've seen, read, and been told, I have a strong feeling SS will be to the last two Zeldas as Mario Galaxy was to Mario Sunshine. I think it will be the return to unqualified "great" status. But I'm careful not to expect the wrong things. I'm not expecting the game to suddenly be the best RPG EVR and best every adventure game ever. And I also don't want every fucking game to be fucking Fallout 3, because I've got motherfucking western RPGs coming from all sides already, holy shit. *cough* Sorry.
A further irony of this is that we all tend to have a tunnel blindness when talking about storied franchises like Zelda. We forget, in our "disappointment" with a only slightly subpar entry in a quadruple-A Ultra Franchise. The worst Zelda game is still ten times the game of the average non-Zelda adventure game. Phantom Hourglass on the DS has fifty times the ideas and spirit of most other games in the same genre that don't have a giant Z in the title graphic. As how Mario Sunshine kicks the holy living crap out of 95% of non-Mario platformers.
So, real talk. I would say everybody relax. Skyward Sword is a "post Galaxy" EAD game. Everything about it cues that it benefits from all the lessons EAD learned post-Gamecube. It's going to be amazing. That it can't make you feel like a 14 year old again playing Ocarina of Time when you had no cares in the world and no stress in your life, is not EAD's fault. Stop caring whether it's the best game of the year and shows all those mean people your Nintendo games are not stoopid. It's guaranteed to be a quality Nintendo title.
Why does anything else actually matter?
p.s. this post is so long I didn't even read it myself.
I don't think anything will ever top 8.8. That was a turning point.
Kaijima, my problem at least with the overworld is not that it "doesn't fit my expectations," but that its method of traversal is simply goddamn boring. Even the Skyward Sword flying demo beats it out for me, because there is a reason to continue my input. There's a reason to play it, instead of setting a course in a straight line and going to make tea.
Kaijima, my problem at least with the overworld is not that it "doesn't fit my expectations," but that its method of traversal is simply goddamn boring. Even the Skyward Sword flying demo beats it out for me, because there is a reason to continue my input. There's a reason to play it, instead of setting a course in a straight line and going to make tea.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
BurntPork said:
I LOVED sailing. I almost ever used warp.
shadyspace
Banned
Darunia was a giant rock man who ate rocks.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Phantom Hourglass is even worse then Wind Waker, don't defend that shit, Kajima. It's not just a bad Zelda game, its a bad video game, PERIOD.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Crunched said:
That's a complaint with the actual implementation of the play mechanic. There's plenty of people who dislike WW purely in concept, because they can't see the point of a big ocean, and/or can't see why it's visually interesting from other perspectives. Just as we have folks who look at WW's art direction and see "flat shaded poly WTF get this PS1 shit out of here!". Others look and see "holy shit it actually looks animated, best cel shading ever."
radioheadrule83
Banned
If its a "bad" videogame maybe you're a "bad" poster. Your playful hate-on-things baiting shtick is boring. Your username belies your true nature, as it seems to imply you might like good, different games. And Jesus.ViewtifulJC said:
MisterHero
Super Member
It was a good post.Kaijima said:
I would be happy to ignore all the review business but it's just another reason for one part of the fanbase or one group of gamers to canabalize another part of the fanbase. It is in this sense that the Zelda fans (both in and outside the fanbase) have the most trouble. It will never go away, unfortunately.
EmCeeGramr
Member
lol first she screws up and tells Link to retrieve the spiritual stones to "protect" them or some shit which leads to Ganondorf taking over because he knew that Link would go right to the Temple of Time and open up the sacred realm, then she unveils herself right next to Ganon's Tower and loses all her ninja powers, then she sends Link back in time with a meek apology for ruining his childhood, leading to him not being around when the 'Dorf breaks out and Hyrule has to be floodedEGG said:
triforce of wisdom my ass
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
TacticalFox88 said:
Really TacticalFox88? Commenting without reading the thread? Jesus fucking Christ!
MisterHero
Super Member
that's okay the sacred realm was just a manifestation of ganondorf's desire to rule hyruleEmCeeGramr said:
aka it's a dream sequence
over half of ocarina of time doesn't exist
Didn't she also facilitate the Twilight invasion in TP, and later let herself get possessed and try to kill LinkEmCeeGramr said:
Also in Zelda II she literally just sleeps through all your hard work
Through SS media, I know she at least tries to kill Link once by pushing him off a cliff
EmCeeGramr
Member
that's also the game where the wise ancient sages apparently don't notice that their prisoner has the triforce, and in response to one of them being killed after giving the criminal a deadly weapon (a fucking ghost died by being punched, what a lame ghost), they decided to illegally dump him into Shadow Third World Country for those dark foreigners to deal with. then they sit around twiddling their thumbs until someone competent shows up and say, "Yep, sorry about that. Also, we just kinda watched as the mirror got broken by that Zant dude."Crunched said:
Actually speaking of Zelda II, what happened to the original Zelda from Zelda 1 during that game? The whole thing is about her ancestor yet she apparently never bothers to help or cares that her new boyfriend is macking up on her sleeping great-great-great-to-the-tenth-power-aunt. Damn, what a terrible family.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
radioheadrule83 said:
Did you buy Rayman Origins, a 2d 1080p HD platformer the likes rarely seen in video game history, filled with charming creatives takes on genre tropes, and more joy infused with every wonderfully animated leap and flourish then most games have in their entirety?
Because I did. Because I like good, different games.
Wind Waker and Spirit Tracks? Not good games. Sorry if that opinion offends or "bores" you, but you're a big boy, and I think one day, you'll learn to understand how opinions work.
Maybe.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
BY2K said:
Phantom Hourglass was fantastic as a game. Easily one of the DS games I owned. And I had a very robust library.
Mxrz said:
1 page of people complaining about the review. After that people started telling other people how shitty Windwaker is.
EmCeeGramr
Member
Let's not go crazy here.Flying_Phoenix said:
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
EmCeeGramr said:
Not crazy at all. The game was plenty of fun. It would easily rank in my top 25 for the system.
MisterHero
Super Member
The only reasons for me to not like PH was that it was short and the Temple of the Ocean King (even that won't haunt me forever).
It made use of the few items it had and had many interesting NPCs for a Zelda title. In fact it had many ideas I wish Wind Waker had.
I would love if you could draw on your map in Zelda Wii U.
It made use of the few items it had and had many interesting NPCs for a Zelda title. In fact it had many ideas I wish Wind Waker had.
I would love if you could draw on your map in Zelda Wii U.
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
Maybe it because I skipped all the text, but I kind of liked the Ocean King temple. It might have been because the controls were so novel, because -- man -- I really, really don't like Spirit Tracks. Like URGH you guys. The Zelda phantom thing was so bad.
T
thepotatoman
Unconfirmed Member
So after all this I'm still confused if i should buy this game.
I think that WW had some great stuff going for it but some critical flaws like the triforce quest, no good later game fast travel, and a horrible way to control your boat by having to play a song every time you want to change directions ruined the entire game. I also think that TP was an incredibly boring empty linear game that reused far to many ideas from previous zelda games while not bringing anything interesting to the table. I did, however love every previous console Zelda game, including Zelda 1, 2, LttP, and Majora's Mask all played for the first time off the Wii's virtual console.
Knowing all that, Should I buy this game?
I think that WW had some great stuff going for it but some critical flaws like the triforce quest, no good later game fast travel, and a horrible way to control your boat by having to play a song every time you want to change directions ruined the entire game. I also think that TP was an incredibly boring empty linear game that reused far to many ideas from previous zelda games while not bringing anything interesting to the table. I did, however love every previous console Zelda game, including Zelda 1, 2, LttP, and Majora's Mask all played for the first time off the Wii's virtual console.
Knowing all that, Should I buy this game?
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
One thing I hate equally to fanboys is people specifically coming to a thread to show how much "better" they are compared to the rest of "them." You know, the ones that specifically come just to mock others, assuming they are the 'adults' and 'sane' while others are merely 'crybabies', 'fanboys', or whatever derogatory term they can come up with to make themselves feel better :\
EmCeeGramr
Member
*likes a terrible timed stealth dungeon where you had to repeat really bad puzzles*Rez said:
*dislikes a neat, novel, and genuinely fun puzzle mechanic that lasted for a few minutes*
shameful
shadyspace
Banned
I find it more detestable than general fanboy behavior. Its certainly more condescending.Laughing Banana said: