I think I'm finally starting to get into this game. It's taken a while and I have some major gripes that hopefully won't continue to sour the experience later on, but I'm finally having some fun with the game after 9 hours.
About to enter the third dungeon, and the lead up to it has been great. Some really wonderful puzzles in the landscape and the story beats are making me want to see more.
First what I'm not enjoying so far:
Dowsing: It just slows the down the game and in most cases, when you're asked to use it, it always for just collecting some random items to continue the story. So not only do I not like the functionality of it, but it's always used in tandem with elements that I can't help but feel are just padding to stretch out the time between dungeons. In this third environment, I was really, really enjoying just navigating the area, but then once Dowsing came up and I was told, surprise, surprise, you need to go collect some stuff, I just saved and shut off the system.
The Skyloft: There's just not much to do up there...this is resolved in some part by the size of the areas below, but I really do miss a certain sense of adventure that I would get from the Wind Waker's sea or LttP's world map. I always liked the adventuring in the world more than going into a dungeon in previous Zelda games, but in this one and Twilight Princess, I've been enjoying the dungeons more and more, and enjoying the in between sections less and less. The between sections seem more guided and less open - sure they're large and full of secrets, but I can't help feel like I'm constrained to this portion of the map, instead of traversing a wide open areas, never knowing what to expect next.
The positives:
Zelda and Link: I really like the interpretation of the characters in this game. Sure they're a bit cliche, and so far don't have much depth, but Nintendo really captures youthful innocence in a way that a lot of developers don't quite grasp.
The music: Sure there's a lot of remixes so far, but the new stuff is fantastic and very melodic.
Money: I can actually spend my rupees on stuff in this game! That's great. Have only had one instance so far where I was full and couldn't hold any more. This might change towards the end of the game, but for now there's been a good balance.
The so so's:
Motion Controls: I'm not overly impressed. There's some really cool things you can do, I love how fast the inventory access is and I have no problem flying things like the Beetle. However, flying the bird is a pain in the ass and I hate having to do constantly do the flip up to raise altitude.
The sword motion controls are alright, but I feel like they're far from perfect. When switching from your tell, sometimes it will register it as a strike, when I'm just trying to change the location of the initial sword swing, and maybe it's because I don't have too much room between the couch and TV, but the bombs have trouble registering when I try to roll them. I think I am getting more and more used to it, but my initial response has been thinking it's cool at parts, utterly frustrating at others.
Fi: Love her design and how different she is, hate that she pops up every five minutes. Also her advice always sucks.
Either way, look forward to spending more time with it. Just have to get through this horrible collecting section and it's on to the third temple!
