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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword |OT| Home of Punkin' Chunkin' Champion 2011
- Thread starter Amir0x
- Start date
Barrow Roll
Member
You bet. After you "finish" that area just don't talk to this guy on your way out. He should still be near whatever statue you descended to when you first arrived to do this quest.
...blue lights? Do you mean map markers?
I used it quite successfully to wrap up the remainder of my Goddess Cube hunting, and it stopped going off entirely when I finished getting all the Cubes in each of the three large areas.
Nope! I double-checked with my wife in case my memory was faulty and when you zap a Goddess Cube there is nothing left, no light, nothing. The only blue lights I can think of are map markers.
OK GAF, I just started the game today. What is up with this humongous wiimote in the HUD? Good lord, it takes up almost a third of the screen! Is there any way to get rid of it? Does it go away after the tutorial section? I almost quit playing after I saw that thing. So unnecessary and distracting.
For some reason you can't during the first hour or so, but then you'll get a prompt when you can turn it off.
Deputy Moonman
Member
You can change the HUD settings to Pro and get rid of the wiimote on the screen while playing.
DAMN! I also realized that the Lizalfos mid boss theme is just a remix of the standard battle music.
I googled
and accidently spoiled the biggest twist of the game for myself. /wrist
If my mind blows one more time...
Impa
If my mind blows one more time...
Akibastman
Member
I'm at the final boss battle and what is the general opinion about his look ?
Looks like a shitty Tekken boss character to me.
Just beat
Stopped at the
This game is such a mixed bag for me. The game can be so great in some places and so bad in others. The dungeons, combat, and bosses are great. The lead-in to dungeons often feel like dungeons themselves, which is awesome. They implement a lot of neat mechanics and tricks that mix up traditional Zelda dungeon crawling. I don't think I can go back to normal button-based combat from older Zelda games. It's that good.
The problem is that the game is badly weighed down by its horrendous padding. This could have been the best Zelda game BY FAR if not for the stupid little things you have to do along the way just to get to your objectives. It's an emotional roller coaster between "Oh hell yeah" and "Not this shit again" when it absolutely does not need to be. Why
Why does the
I'm at around 34 hours now, which is the point where I finished Twilight Princess. I think I'm close to the end now, but SS could have easily been a much better game if it was about 25 hours long instead of 35-40, which is what I am expecting.
The Imprisoned for the third time.
fucking Water Dragon fetch quest.
This game is such a mixed bag for me. The game can be so great in some places and so bad in others. The dungeons, combat, and bosses are great. The lead-in to dungeons often feel like dungeons themselves, which is awesome. They implement a lot of neat mechanics and tricks that mix up traditional Zelda dungeon crawling. I don't think I can go back to normal button-based combat from older Zelda games. It's that good.
The problem is that the game is badly weighed down by its horrendous padding. This could have been the best Zelda game BY FAR if not for the stupid little things you have to do along the way just to get to your objectives. It's an emotional roller coaster between "Oh hell yeah" and "Not this shit again" when it absolutely does not need to be. Why
the stupid water bowl escort mission when YOU COULD BOTH FLY TO THE FUCKING BIRD STATUE AT THE SUMMIT?
Water Dragon need to throw all the song pieces around the lake? I did the whole dungeon thing for her and I have gone through all the danger and trials needed to obtain the True Master Sword. You see this sword on my back. I earned it. You think I can't dive for things in your fucking lake? I was fine with the flame trial you gave me. Giving me a fetch quest when I've come so far is just being an asshole.
I'm at around 34 hours now, which is the point where I finished Twilight Princess. I think I'm close to the end now, but SS could have easily been a much better game if it was about 25 hours long instead of 35-40, which is what I am expecting.
Shit, I have at least one fairy I've kept in the same bottle for like four dungeons now because I never needed it. I feel bad now.
Chuckpebble
Member
My goodness, are monster claws really hard to come by for anyone else? I just got my first one after beating the 3rd dungeon and decided to grind keese around Skyloft at night, which is kind of annoying because its easy to send them flying off of the island.
Is it possible that something I have equipped is hurting my chances?
Is it possible that something I have equipped is hurting my chances?
Its that medal that I found in a chest, it says it increases your chances of getting treasure. I was assuming that treasure meant monster parts and not rupees.
phisheep
NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
Seen a lot of complaints like this. It is, I think, a balancing thing. Doesn't make a huge difference to a rampant completionist like me, as I get to all the game content eventually, but what I see in Skyward Sword is a lot less of the optional/frivolous/find-by-accident stuff that we had in Ocarina/MM/TP (hell, even the horse was optional) and a lot more of the same sort of thing shoehorned into the plot.
Trouble is, I suspect, that if too much of the game's content is left optional you then get a load of complaints about the game being too short. Marvellous example of this being Endless Ocean, a very content-rich game but woefully undersung owing, I suspect, to a lack of what's become traditional game mechanics to drive it forward. The sequel did the job better with not a great deal more content, but with it better integrated into the plot.
Now that's a horses-for-courses thing and for myself I'd rather prefer to do some things at my own pace rather than at the dictates of the plot, but I can see why they did it that way - that they'll get more players experiencing more of the game's content.
On the whole I'm very happy with SS. Love the way the overworld and dungeon stuff melds into each other, though I do feel a little uncomfortable being told what to do all the time. On the other hand, without that, I might have given up on some sections (like the marvellous Eldin section of Song of Heroes).
Bring back the optional stuff though. Where's the fishing, huh?
Ah. Spot the difference. Took me about 120 hours to polish off Twilight Princess. Can see why you think SS is padded now.
Togglesworlh
Banned
It's probably what you said - they shoehorned too many sidequest-like tasks into the main quest when they could have been inserted as sidequests. I never went for everything in any Zelda game I played. I never got all the heart pieces, never caught all the bugs, etc. What I prefer to do is play through the main quest and then do the extra stuff if I feel like going back to it (which I usually don't). I don't mind the presence of some fetch-questing in Zelda, but it feels like there is far too much of it in SS.
"Before you enter this dungeon, get the 8 pieces of the dungeon's key."
"This thing is missing from this contraption. Go find it."
"Before I give you this, you need to go get the 8 pieces of this other thing for me."
"Go do the
Silent Realm
"Wow, you really are the hero! Now, before I give you this, I feel like I should give you another test..."
I can handle these things if they happen occasionally, but it just occurs so often that it really drags down the rest of the game. Outside of the running and fetching, this game is sogood.gif.
If you are having issues with losing the Keese off Skyloft, you can farm them inside the Waterfall cave. Or you can try different kinds of swings. What swing are you usually doing when knocking the Keese off the island? I know I default to horizontal swings more often, so if you are doing the same, maybe that's why you are knocking them off. Try a vertical swing instead (and not face towards a cliff).
Finally beat this game. As someone who has played every major Zelda game, thought I'd chime in with my overall thoughts.
Overall pretty disappointed. I was never looking forward to it that much, but for some reason my hype skyrocketed near release.
7.5/10 seems in line with how I feel. I never could have imagined I'd feel as lukewarm on this title as I did for Twilight Princess, but now I'm questioning how much I like 3D Zelda at all. Seems like they've just convoluted the beautiful formula they had with OOT and MM.
I'm actually shocked any reviewer could give this a 10 or a GOTY award.
NEGATIVES
-Music. 90% forgettable. I was tricked into thinking this was an orchestrated soundtrack. I could be wrong but most seemed midi to me.
-Story. Or, what story? Same old convoluted Zelda mess, this time without the epic feel of OOT, the scary feel of MM, or the endearing feel of TWW. Link has never been so boring.
-The overworld isn't necessarily bad, it's just the one of the biggest missed opportunities in gaming history. Feels great to fly and sky dive, but barringly empty. Flying to the three light pillars felt extremely dull by the end. No fighting on the bird was criminal. I shouldn't complain about what was not there, but I frequently asked myself what the point of this 'overworld' even was.
-Fi. Dumb voice. Gives you god awful advice. When you ask for advice, she does not help. Completely and utterly boring and unnecessary and un-endearing character. Annoying that she tells you when your hearts are low or your shield is low, not to mention she gives you a percentage that means absolutely nothing.
-Incredibly padded game design. Only about 25% of the game was even fun. The rest was collecting crap and travelling around. I'd rather this game have been a linear 15 hour game that just took me through the dungeons.
-Side quests and collecting was dumb. Shield rebuilding was a decent little chore, but everything else is a waste. Upgrading items is basically pointless. The overall mash of RPG elements feels off here and very pointless.
POSITIVES
-Controls. Using the items felt great. Sword felt great. Battling was the best part of this game.
-Dungeon Design was genius as ever. Relies heavily on similar ideas, but I liked the timeshift stones and using the blower / whip. The 25% of goodness that I mentioned was actually great. At times, dungeons were a bliss.
I'm actually shocked any reviewer could give this a 10 or a GOTY award.
NEGATIVES
-Music. 90% forgettable. I was tricked into thinking this was an orchestrated soundtrack. I could be wrong but most seemed midi to me.
-Story. Or, what story? Same old convoluted Zelda mess, this time without the epic feel of OOT, the scary feel of MM, or the endearing feel of TWW. Link has never been so boring.
-The overworld isn't necessarily bad, it's just the one of the biggest missed opportunities in gaming history. Feels great to fly and sky dive, but barringly empty. Flying to the three light pillars felt extremely dull by the end. No fighting on the bird was criminal. I shouldn't complain about what was not there, but I frequently asked myself what the point of this 'overworld' even was.
-Fi. Dumb voice. Gives you god awful advice. When you ask for advice, she does not help. Completely and utterly boring and unnecessary and un-endearing character. Annoying that she tells you when your hearts are low or your shield is low, not to mention she gives you a percentage that means absolutely nothing.
-Incredibly padded game design. Only about 25% of the game was even fun. The rest was collecting crap and travelling around. I'd rather this game have been a linear 15 hour game that just took me through the dungeons.
-Side quests and collecting was dumb. Shield rebuilding was a decent little chore, but everything else is a waste. Upgrading items is basically pointless. The overall mash of RPG elements feels off here and very pointless.
POSITIVES
-Controls. Using the items felt great. Sword felt great. Battling was the best part of this game.
-Dungeon Design was genius as ever. Relies heavily on similar ideas, but I liked the timeshift stones and using the blower / whip. The 25% of goodness that I mentioned was actually great. At times, dungeons were a bliss.
Overall pretty disappointed. I was never looking forward to it that much, but for some reason my hype skyrocketed near release.
I feel like writing a post mortem on the game now some month after I beat it. I'll preface by saying that I've tried to keep the negativity down quite a bit in my previous posts since it's easy to just nit pick away on stuff forever, I liked the game quite a bit so I didn't want to really focus on the bad stuff. I haven't played it at all since, though I borrowed my Wii to my sister and watched her play for a bit this christmas. For convenience I'll spoiler everything here if anyone's still playing.
Overall, I still feel like my previous ranking of MM > OOT ~ SS > TP > WW for 3D Zeldas seems right, but a lot of what I didn't have that much fun with in the game has grown on my mind this month and I don't want to seem to "flip flop" in threads for the next game. I think they could do a lot more with this style of Zelda games if they fix the glaring flaws. Oh, and ffs let us change text speed in options in future games Nintendo, this shit shouldn't be anywhere near games.
Overall I still think that the direction the new team took this game was good (or even great), but they didn't take it quite far enough and as a result it feels a bit unfocused. Like you visit the same three provinces three times each (to be fair they change them up quite a bit the third time, plus Lanayru always felt fresh - that team absolutely nailed all of their stuff), that's not a lot of unique adventuring. And to me it seems like adventure was what they were going for with smaller, focused areas that are full of life and feel very good, I mentioned this stuff in my early impressions as well. But it just isn't consistent.
Also at odds with this adventuring is dowsing, which makes exploring the areas feel more like checking off stuff on a list rather than finding shit, it's an incredibly lazy design decision which definitely slowed down the first half of the game, until they wisely cut down on it a lot.
Then there's Skyloft and the whole world above the clouds, they're so disconnected from the parts on the ground that they're almost as from another game. I can dig having a home base which you can return to for restocking supplies, upgrading stuff and some light side questing (Skyloft works great like this) but then they add a huge, almost empty sky which has one other area of interest (the Pumpkin place). It's not fun to explore, there's nothing interesting to do or even any good encounters in the sky, so why is it here? It's boring and again inconsistent with what goes on below the clouds. This all adds up to the unfocused feel the game has at times.
But this all aside, when the game works I think it works superbly. I had a lot of fun with most dungeons (can't see why some consider them bad, they look good, are very varied and even have some fun environmental puzzles), the combat is actually fun again and there's a lot of good ideas. I especially liked how the game kept accelerating: From the fourth dungeon on it just got better and better until climaxing with the stellar final dungeon (which you didn't even need to go through completely, how's that for being able to actually explore on your own terms?) and bosses.
Also at odds with this adventuring is dowsing, which makes exploring the areas feel more like checking off stuff on a list rather than finding shit, it's an incredibly lazy design decision which definitely slowed down the first half of the game, until they wisely cut down on it a lot.
Then there's Skyloft and the whole world above the clouds, they're so disconnected from the parts on the ground that they're almost as from another game. I can dig having a home base which you can return to for restocking supplies, upgrading stuff and some light side questing (Skyloft works great like this) but then they add a huge, almost empty sky which has one other area of interest (the Pumpkin place). It's not fun to explore, there's nothing interesting to do or even any good encounters in the sky, so why is it here? It's boring and again inconsistent with what goes on below the clouds. This all adds up to the unfocused feel the game has at times.
But this all aside, when the game works I think it works superbly. I had a lot of fun with most dungeons (can't see why some consider them bad, they look good, are very varied and even have some fun environmental puzzles), the combat is actually fun again and there's a lot of good ideas. I especially liked how the game kept accelerating: From the fourth dungeon on it just got better and better until climaxing with the stellar final dungeon (which you didn't even need to go through completely, how's that for being able to actually explore on your own terms?) and bosses.
Overall, I still feel like my previous ranking of MM > OOT ~ SS > TP > WW for 3D Zeldas seems right, but a lot of what I didn't have that much fun with in the game has grown on my mind this month and I don't want to seem to "flip flop" in threads for the next game. I think they could do a lot more with this style of Zelda games if they fix the glaring flaws. Oh, and ffs let us change text speed in options in future games Nintendo, this shit shouldn't be anywhere near games.
TheNatural
My Member!
Trying to avoid any spoilers coming in here this late, but does using those gossip stones throughout the game knock or mark your game in any way?
I remember reading in Ocarina of Time 3DS if you used them they would mark you as using shortcuts in your save file. I've avoided them since I don't want the cheaters way out if it's going to do that. I've gone guideless since the start and want to finish that way (outside of looking up what I need to do to avoid the glitch later.)
I remember reading in Ocarina of Time 3DS if you used them they would mark you as using shortcuts in your save file. I've avoided them since I don't want the cheaters way out if it's going to do that. I've gone guideless since the start and want to finish that way (outside of looking up what I need to do to avoid the glitch later.)
I didn't notice anything like that, not even from using the super guide stone (only once!).
TheNatural
My Member!
Oh OK. So what's the super guide stone? Is it the same one as the one next to the sword practice place? I thought those were gossip stones.
That's the one. Any that you find in the provinces just give you some actual gossip, the one in Skyloft shows videos of how to beat puzzles.
TheNatural
My Member!
Oh ok, thanks.
In Europe it definitely is, I downloaded it around Christmas.
It's a spoiler stone. XD
I admit I used it a few times. Some quests are a pain in the ass and sometimes I just don't feel like working for it.
How is that any different than
"I won't let you pass to the Deku tree before you get your sword and shield"
"I won't help you out go find me a song to lift my spirits"
"I won't let you pass to Lord Jabu Jabu until you go find my missing daughter"
"You can't get into the forest temple, go search Kakariko village for clues...."
You're still looking a fetching things except in those OOT examples you are looking for things in towns and villages mostly and you don't use most of your gameplay systems in villages. Your main action is talking to people and maybe some other village specific action (diving, pulling bombs, pushing graves, ect.)
Yeah, it's out here in the US, too.
Togglesworlh
Banned
Because most of those things you mentioned are much shorter, unless you get completely lost (which definitely happened to me as a kid, but didn't happen at all to me when I replayed it recently, even though I had literally completely forgot Dampe had the hookshot).
The things he listed in Skyward Sword take a significant amount of time, even if you know exactly where everything is. You can still do most of them somewhat quickly, but not as quickly as OoT. They're also much more blatantly repetitive in SS. In OoT, you're performing a bunch of different tasks that are much better disguised as something unique, even if when you boil it down to just the basic mechanics, they're all mostly the same
(I think SS is better than OoT in a lot of ways, including the fetch quests.)
Takes about the same about of time for me. 10 mins to finish a trail, 10 mins to collect 8 pieces of the key, 10 min to go back to The Lost Woods, find Saria, and return with her melody. First time through though, that OOT stuff took much longer. Mostly because OOT's quests have a people/story locks to them that are mostly discovered by talking to every character (which takes some time) or performing some action that isn't directly related to the quest (which can be misleading). If I'm looking for a missing Princess Ruto, the first thing that comes to mind isn't to play a diving mini-game. I think SS is a nice change, they ask you to do things that further highlight mechanics and structures you've being using that whole time.
VistraNorrez
Member
Finished my second Silent Realm. It was more frustrating and subsequently more satisfying to beat. Still really liking the game so far. Can't find too much to complain about. The underwater controls took more getting used to than any motion-based stuff yet, but now I got them down.
Togglesworlh
Banned
I dunno what to tell you, then. You're a fucking speed demon. Congratulations.
Regardless of the time spent, what you're doing in those "filler" is at least as interesting as what your normally doing between dungeons with the major difference being context (and some repetition on SS's part).
TheCongressman1
Member
How's that for real exploration? One segment in an adventure game? Not good enough, there isn't any excuse not to have it throughout the game.
I didn't really care for
revisiting segments of old dungeons in the final dungeon
Sorry, yes, that was my point. The game could have done with much more of it.
Those things are usually shorter to do, are led into with better planning (iirc I think the game suggests that you should go back and talk to Saria in the Lost Woods before you even go to the goron, which means all you need to do once you meet the goron is pull out the ocarina and play the song) and they feel less contrived than the padded things in SS. You *need* the sword and shield. It's more plausible to ask Link to look for someone's daughter.
SS has tasks of around the same level of importance, too. I do not consider them padding. I'm fine with things like
turning on the reactors to open the third dungeon entrance
Sandship
My issue is with the tasks that feel really contrived, which usually comes in the form of "Before you do <next task here>, I want you to <fetch x number of items in this place that you've already been to> because <some excuse why something that makes much more sense doesn't happen>."
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I think the varied opinions and reactions to Skyward Sword have helped me reconsider just what "repetition" and "padding" actually are, or can mean. Because in the world of subjective play experiences, there's a hazy line between opinion and fact - between merely disliking something or being bored with it, and that thing being objectively flawed.
I think with a lot of game design and how people react to it, it basically comes down to: if it happens multiple times and you like it, it's content, if it happens multiple times and you don't like it, it's padding and repetition.
For instance, the Zelda fan hatred of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks is dizzying, but it's a harsh divide. People either seem to love or hate those games, and the concepts contained within them. Some people cannot stand the concept of the mega-dungeon for instance, where each return trip involves delving deeper. Others love it and consider it refreshing.
I think, if the concepts were actually flawed, the only reaction you'd see would be boredom. But actual venomous hatred warring with real enjoyment, probably means some design ideas actually have meat to them.
In the case of SS, I liked the DS games, I liked the general idea of the guardians, so I liked the silent realm. Because I really liked it, I didn't mind it showing up multiple times. For me, that's getting a lot out of a good idea. I can understand how somehow who wants Zelda to be a completely different thing would hate having to play those sections and consider it a flaw.
But, at this point, it seems like EVERY Zelda game has become this divisive because a lot of fans have the image of one, true, perfect Zelda formula in their heads. It seems to usually hang upon one particular game in the series. Seems the problem for Nintendo with this, is that in most cases, they don't like to repeat themselves. Outside of Pokemon, or a special case like Mario Galaxy 2, they try to mix up sequels so that they're not just more of the same, even if more of the same but better. (Telling point: even Galaxy 2 greatly changes the presentation, navigation, and game progression so it's not just a repeated package.)
Which means that it's not likely anybody's ever going to get their "sweetheart" Zelda reborn with a new coat of paint. If that does happen, it might actually be a bad sign; that the series popularity is shrinking to the point Nintendo feels the need to pander exclusively to one subset of hardcore fans.
I think with a lot of game design and how people react to it, it basically comes down to: if it happens multiple times and you like it, it's content, if it happens multiple times and you don't like it, it's padding and repetition.
For instance, the Zelda fan hatred of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks is dizzying, but it's a harsh divide. People either seem to love or hate those games, and the concepts contained within them. Some people cannot stand the concept of the mega-dungeon for instance, where each return trip involves delving deeper. Others love it and consider it refreshing.
I think, if the concepts were actually flawed, the only reaction you'd see would be boredom. But actual venomous hatred warring with real enjoyment, probably means some design ideas actually have meat to them.
In the case of SS, I liked the DS games, I liked the general idea of the guardians, so I liked the silent realm. Because I really liked it, I didn't mind it showing up multiple times. For me, that's getting a lot out of a good idea. I can understand how somehow who wants Zelda to be a completely different thing would hate having to play those sections and consider it a flaw.
But, at this point, it seems like EVERY Zelda game has become this divisive because a lot of fans have the image of one, true, perfect Zelda formula in their heads. It seems to usually hang upon one particular game in the series. Seems the problem for Nintendo with this, is that in most cases, they don't like to repeat themselves. Outside of Pokemon, or a special case like Mario Galaxy 2, they try to mix up sequels so that they're not just more of the same, even if more of the same but better. (Telling point: even Galaxy 2 greatly changes the presentation, navigation, and game progression so it's not just a repeated package.)
Which means that it's not likely anybody's ever going to get their "sweetheart" Zelda reborn with a new coat of paint. If that does happen, it might actually be a bad sign; that the series popularity is shrinking to the point Nintendo feels the need to pander exclusively to one subset of hardcore fans.
I figured as much. And mostly I agree, a lot of the times in SS proper context can be missing but its hard for me to get to hung up on the reasons for doing something as along as the task is interesting (which I'd argue is at least as involved as what you'd do in any other Zelda).
Kaijima said:
Exactly what Nintendo4Life and I were talking about earlier in thread. Its pretty telling that there were so many Wind Waker and Twilight Princesses on people's Top 10 Nintendo Games thread with descriptions like "screw the haters I loved sailing". Heck this is problem the number one reason people believe there is a Zelda cycle.
Finished the game over the course of the winter break, it felt awesome to play a new Zelda. I can't wait to go back and play through Hero Mode.
Having never played any motion+ game on the Wii (a travesty, I know), I was pleasantly surprised with how good the overall controls were. I think with some tinkering, Nintendo could really make this work. They do, however, need to work the nunchuck motion control out. I kept finding my self readying my shield just straightening my left hand or even making a miniscule motion with it.
That aside I found the game overall to be much more challenging in the sense that combat took longer. The only downside to this was that there wasn't much variance, and I'm not just talking about the types of enemies (ala Bokoblins, Moblins or Deku Babas) but how they are fought (seeing as how most are beaten by swinging the sword in the right direction to hurt them). I felt they should have included enemies that could only be beaten by certain item combinations, etc.
The items themselves were brilliant, they were much more used outside of dungeons than the items in the last few Zelda games. I liked that they could be upgraded, that added so much more to this game than I imagined it would. They should try to add more customization options to this mechanic to really hammer it home.
I didn't have as many problems with flying or swimming controls as it seems other people have. Though I think if the spin move in water was controlled like the dash with your loftwing (as in it was possible to turn while doing it) it would be better. I found Fi to be a little excessive, such as the constant sound and glowing icons when she had to say something to you or there was a new addition to the dowsing selections. Her popping out to tell me something obvious got consistently annoying as the game went on. The item/rupee notification for some reason came back though it seemed less annoying than it was in TP. Speaking of rupees, there was a lot to spend on so great work there...
.
The dungeons were well done, they did what they said they would do by making the areas to get to the dungeon more like dungeons. I liked this change, I just wish they added more areas than the three present in the game (Lanayru really stood out from the rest, the timeshift stones, the sand/stamina, the boat with the timeshift stone turning the desert into a sea). Aside from a few missteps,
, I think they did a good job keeping the pace more or less even throughout the course of the game, which was important considering the type of story they were telling (aside from the beginning, the entire game has a sort of race against time thing going).
The story itself really resonated with me for some reason, I think it was the Zelda fan in me. I loved all the small references to the other games in the series, whether they were incorporated as carvings in a temple or small musical cues, it really made me feel giddy inside.
.
The music, to me, was not as memorable as it was in other games but it was still amazing and hearing it orchestrated just made it that much better. Ballad of the Goddess has grown on me so much since it was first played, in addition to that the various arrangements of Fi's theme, the overworld theme; all were really awesome.
Overall, personally I think it was a brilliant addition to the Zelda series that brought many new and amazing ideas to the table that I hope Nintendo takes into consideration when making the next 3D Zelda for Wii U. Although the artstyle is not as timeless as Wind Waker's it was still very nicely done and was amazing to look at in motion (although the jaggies were a little more than disappointing).
If you still haven't bought the game for whatever reason, I think your missing out on a really charming and unique Zelda game.
Having never played any motion+ game on the Wii (a travesty, I know), I was pleasantly surprised with how good the overall controls were. I think with some tinkering, Nintendo could really make this work. They do, however, need to work the nunchuck motion control out. I kept finding my self readying my shield just straightening my left hand or even making a miniscule motion with it.
That aside I found the game overall to be much more challenging in the sense that combat took longer. The only downside to this was that there wasn't much variance, and I'm not just talking about the types of enemies (ala Bokoblins, Moblins or Deku Babas) but how they are fought (seeing as how most are beaten by swinging the sword in the right direction to hurt them). I felt they should have included enemies that could only be beaten by certain item combinations, etc.
The items themselves were brilliant, they were much more used outside of dungeons than the items in the last few Zelda games. I liked that they could be upgraded, that added so much more to this game than I imagined it would. They should try to add more customization options to this mechanic to really hammer it home.
I didn't have as many problems with flying or swimming controls as it seems other people have. Though I think if the spin move in water was controlled like the dash with your loftwing (as in it was possible to turn while doing it) it would be better. I found Fi to be a little excessive, such as the constant sound and glowing icons when she had to say something to you or there was a new addition to the dowsing selections. Her popping out to tell me something obvious got consistently annoying as the game went on. The item/rupee notification for some reason came back though it seemed less annoying than it was in TP. Speaking of rupees, there was a lot to spend on so great work there...
that Beedle raising prices
The dungeons were well done, they did what they said they would do by making the areas to get to the dungeon more like dungeons. I liked this change, I just wish they added more areas than the three present in the game (Lanayru really stood out from the rest, the timeshift stones, the sand/stamina, the boat with the timeshift stone turning the desert into a sea). Aside from a few missteps,
why tadtones, why... or the Water tank thing with the volcano ascent; the fruit thing didn't annoy me as much though
The story itself really resonated with me for some reason, I think it was the Zelda fan in me. I loved all the small references to the other games in the series, whether they were incorporated as carvings in a temple or small musical cues, it really made me feel giddy inside.
Watching the goddess sword turn into the True Master Sword (with the master sword theme playing) felt really cool
The music, to me, was not as memorable as it was in other games but it was still amazing and hearing it orchestrated just made it that much better. Ballad of the Goddess has grown on me so much since it was first played, in addition to that the various arrangements of Fi's theme, the overworld theme; all were really awesome.
Overall, personally I think it was a brilliant addition to the Zelda series that brought many new and amazing ideas to the table that I hope Nintendo takes into consideration when making the next 3D Zelda for Wii U. Although the artstyle is not as timeless as Wind Waker's it was still very nicely done and was amazing to look at in motion (although the jaggies were a little more than disappointing).
If you still haven't bought the game for whatever reason, I think your missing out on a really charming and unique Zelda game.
VistraNorrez
Member
Skyward is turning out to be my favorite Zelda, but I can see why others would think otherwise. And that's a good thing. Nintendo should just keep making the games they want to make the way they want to make them. No matter what they do with Zelda they will turn some people off and some people on.
TheNatural
My Member!
I'm still chugging along at 22 hours plus into the game and just now got to the 4th dungeon in the game. Damn this game is beastly, the longest Zelda game I've ever played by far (never played Twilight Princess BTW), but I've went into this cold trying to beat it with no guide or FAQs, or super guide, whatsoever.
Some of it can be frustrating going place to place for all the setup stuff before I get to the dungeon, I can see why people would say it's filler. Plus with the typical Zelda stuff, sometimes I get stuck in spots where I think there's no possible route out and then finally it comes to me. I hope that I don't get stuck in a hopeless situation where I just give up, I haven't yet, but it's usually those "oh THATS WHERE IT IS" moments that enlighten me to be more meticulous with what I'm doing because the answer is usually not at complicated as it seems at first.
I remember I had Link to the Past, bought it way past it's release when I had an N64, and ended up getting stuck at some part where the next dungeon was at a part I couldn't walk to and could not figure out how the hell to get there and even looked to guide and so on to find out how to get there and they didn't explain it. Turns out I needed to hookshot across a broken bridge to get there. I stopped playing the game and picked up where I left off like after a year and just randomly figured it out.
Some of it can be frustrating going place to place for all the setup stuff before I get to the dungeon, I can see why people would say it's filler. Plus with the typical Zelda stuff, sometimes I get stuck in spots where I think there's no possible route out and then finally it comes to me. I hope that I don't get stuck in a hopeless situation where I just give up, I haven't yet, but it's usually those "oh THATS WHERE IT IS" moments that enlighten me to be more meticulous with what I'm doing because the answer is usually not at complicated as it seems at first.
I remember I had Link to the Past, bought it way past it's release when I had an N64, and ended up getting stuck at some part where the next dungeon was at a part I couldn't walk to and could not figure out how the hell to get there and even looked to guide and so on to find out how to get there and they didn't explain it. Turns out I needed to hookshot across a broken bridge to get there. I stopped playing the game and picked up where I left off like after a year and just randomly figured it out.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I'd actually argue that this is maybe the most gameplay packed Zelda outside of Link to the Past, which had a really dense, enemy filled overworld. Consider that, you're basically never running across fields or such back and forth. Flying takes up minimal time. Most of the time you're on the ground, and it's basically non-stop interactivity and puzzles, and actual enemy combat.
That's one of the things I really like about the game. It's incredibly dense. You're always doing something, even if it's a fetch quest. And as it goes along, you have to get full use out of all of your tools to proceed - and that's before you get to the dungeons. Freaky.
TheNatural
My Member!
I'm enjoying it, I miss some of the ambiance and lulls that were in other Zelda games though. Like you going through some big temple or something and complete it, then you had the satisfaction of going back to the town or whatever else and solving a side quest for a townsperson or so on. In this game you're constantly prodded to the next goal, and there's not much downtime to relax and just explore and interact with the townspeople. There haven't been many side goals I've come across either, but I may just be missing some. I always liked the night time in Zelda games and exploring in it with the crickets and the lack of music, but that is also basically non existent in this game.
I don't get why some are complaining about motion controls though, this is literally the first Wii motion control game I've played (I played NSMB before this that came with the Wii, but there wasn't much of that in it), and everything has worked well for me. The only thing I have trouble pulling off sometimes is the straight jab forward.
I don't think there's a problem with the controls, but I do find there's a problem with using your sword to hit enemies weak spots. You have to move the controller slowly to position it to do a strike on the weak side of an enemy, but they always have adapted their defense to it by the time I get in position for that strike, so I find it easier to just spam different attacks and throw a spin attack in the middle. It's not the controller as much as it seems you don't get much of a timeframe to capitalize on their defense.
Also, I lost my shield really early on and haven't saw the need to get another, so I've just went through the game since then just without one and it hasn't caused me any damage really. Not a complaint, just an observation. Haven't upgraded anything either.
â Narayan
Member
Been playing on and off. The last couple of days have been pretty consistent. I finally got
. I suspect I'm pretty close to the end.
So far, in my opinion, this is definitely the best Zelda since Majora's Mask. I'm a little disappointed with the NPCs and side-quests, however. They're just so bland, but this has been a problem for every Zelda released after MM. Very little is offered as far as exploration is concerned.
I have about 50 hours clocked in. I'm pretty surprised at this game's length. The main game is very meaty as far as gameplay is concerned. It's nice!
the Master Sword
So far, in my opinion, this is definitely the best Zelda since Majora's Mask. I'm a little disappointed with the NPCs and side-quests, however. They're just so bland, but this has been a problem for every Zelda released after MM. Very little is offered as far as exploration is concerned.
I have about 50 hours clocked in. I'm pretty surprised at this game's length. The main game is very meaty as far as gameplay is concerned. It's nice!