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[sphinx]

There isn't a thing I'd cut from Skyward Sword. There are a few elements I'd change like slow text, item pickup notifications, and cinematics during the imprisoned battle, but no gameplay sequences. Everything worked great for me. Which is very rare in a game, so I'd be quite sad if any of you guys worked at Nintendo and cut any of the game.

there is definitely something wrong from the time you begin the quest

Spoiler

to find the Pirate Ship to where you actually enter it (aka, 5th temple, right?)

I mean, the stupid electro-pirate guy takes me to two places from which I'll come out with empty hands, that's a pretty poor sequence, specilly considering this is nintendo, EAD and Zelda. piss poor.

the actual stuff you do is fun but how it was shoehorned into the plot and the overall sequence is the worst I've seen in any nintendo game.

 

[Davey Cakes]

Despite the sequence's shortcomings, I actually think that's one of the best parts in the game. Not for the way it unfolds, but for the mini-dungeons themselves along the way. Not to mention the concept of the Sand Sea is just really cool even if it isn't used to its full potential.

Yes, the actual quest objectives (which boil down to you just looking around for stuff) aren't great, but the designs of the individual elements are lovely.

 

[Anony]

so i just finished the part where

Spoiler

reunite with zelda in the gate of time

just wooooowwwwww
everything was so good, i dont really know how to express myself, havent felt this way about a game since i dont even know

i'm guessing the next part is where that glitch occurs, what do i need to know about it?

 

[_Isaac]

Does it seem like the dungeons have very few puzzles in them? I feel like the final dungeon was the only one that required puzzle solving. All the others were just keep going forward forward forward and everything just falls into place. No thinking really.

 

[spekkeh]

I don't think it's very different from other major Zelda titles. There's much less backtracking and there are no light and mirrors puzzles. Both of which I consider plusses.

 

[Xun]

so i just finished the part where

Spoiler

reunite with zelda in the gate of time

just wooooowwwwww
everything was so good, i dont really know how to express myself, havent felt this way about a game since i dont even know

i'm guessing the next part is where that glitch occurs, what do i need to know about it?

Just don't go to Lanayru first.

 

[Chuckpebble]

Just don't go to Lanayru first.

Yeah, I just got through it all. The advice I followed was to go to the three areas in the order that you originally discovered them. Had the added bonus of starting off on a sour note (huh huh) but ending up with a fun quest.

Also, look how I dowse.
http://youtu.be/IWvKI3Xv7BA

 

[Xun]

Yeah, I just got through it all. The advice I followed was to go to the three areas in the order that you originally discovered them. Had the added bonus of starting off on a sour note (huh huh) but ending up with a fun quest.

Also, look how I dowse.
http://youtu.be/IWvKI3Xv7BA

I was going to do that but by accident I did Eldin first.

But anyway just as long as Lanayru is last you'll be fine.

 

[VistraNorrez]

there is definitely something wrong from the time you begin the quest

Spoiler

to find the Pirate Ship to where you actually enter it (aka, 5th temple, right?)

I mean, the stupid electro-pirate guy takes me to two places from which I'll come out with empty hands, that's a pretty poor sequence, specilly considering this is nintendo, EAD and Zelda. piss poor.

the actual stuff you do is fun but how it was shoehorned into the plot and the overall sequence is the worst I've seen in any nintendo game.

I agree with Rash, some of the best parts of the game are there. And you even said that it's fun to do. Why get rid of fun? The way to fix that is just put items at the end of each sequence not just cut them out. Even a piece of heart or something. But really it doesn't matter, they were really fun. I loved the mine cart ride. I got nothing in the game but was given a great fun experience. That's far more rewarding than the story in the game tying together better.

 

[Metroid Killer]

Does it seem like the dungeons have very few puzzles in them? I feel like the final dungeon was the only one that required puzzle solving. All the others were just keep going forward forward forward and everything just falls into place. No thinking really.

Just finished the game yesterday and this is how I felt about dungeons as well.

I think dungeon 3 was the best in the game, with 4 and 5 deserving praise of their styles (but otherwise plain dungeon design).

I guess that you should consider the pre-dungeon areas into the equation of how good dungeon elements is in the game considered how much dungeon-like those areas are. Still dungeon themselves were defintely a step back from TP(hard to be anything else though).

 

[Amory]

I was pleasantly surprised with the Eldin Volcano and Lanayru Desert legs of the

Spoiler

Hero's Song

quest. Interesting segments that kept it moving and were a lot of fun to play. Can't say the same thing about tadtones or whatever they're called, though. Shit sucked.

 

[sphinx]

I think dungeon 3 was the best in the game, with 4 and 5 deserving praise of their styles (but otherwise plain dungeon design).

agreed on this, 3 is the best dungeon but I think 4 and 5 are a bit better than you are implying. Those three temples are worthy of a mainline Zelda, they fit properly in the context and have very nice stuff in them, not too short, not too long, not generic, not with the abused tematics (Ice world! fire world! forest world!), they use their items properly as well. Temple 5, I wished it was a tad bigger, the ship I mean, if you think about it, it was a bit bare, a bit too simple.

1 and 2 were donwright terrible, all 8 (8 right?) twilight princess temples are better than those 2, I am not sure how nintendo approved them. Awful and probably the reason why I'll think many times before begining a new playthrough in the future.

 

[Dr.Hadji]

1 and 2 were donwright terrible, all 8 (8 right?) twilight princess temples are better than those 2, I am not sure how nintendo approved them. Awful and probably the reason why I'll think many times before begining a new playthrough in the future.

What?! Skyview Temple is the best 1st dungeon in the 3d series.
1. Skyview
2. Dragon Roost
3. Deku Tree

Second to last: TP's monkey forest temple
Last: MM's Forest swamp temple

Half of what makes Skyview and the Deku Tree so great is that you're busy learning some pretty new concepts (3d space in OOT, and motion controls in SS). The actual make up isn't too fancy but the things you learn from and in them are much more meaningful than what you get from the concept remixes you get in TP and MM.

 

[_Isaac]

Man I never know what people are talking about with dungeon numbers. I can't remember the order of the dungeons.

 

[maharg]

I don't really feel like I was learning anything in the first temple. It was just frustrating for other reasons.

 

[Myriadis]

I personally liked the first temple. It wasn't a fetch quest like in TP, where you had to catch 8 monkeys and it was still bigger than the first dungeons in Majoras Mask and Ocarina of Time.

And I really felt stupid because I thought that I there were two switches in a room to raise the water level and go to the other side. Turns out, the switch was in the "main room" of the section under the door. I also liked the second dungeon, especially the last part of it. And after that, I loved them all, although the sixth dungeon is not that special.

 

[Sagitario]

Man I never know what people are talking about with dungeon numbers. I can't remember the order of the dungeons.

1. Faron Woods

Spoiler

[Deep Woods]: Skyview Temple

2. Eldin Volcano:

Spoiler

Earth Temple

3. Lanayru Desert:

Spoiler

Lanayru Mining Facility

4. Faron Woods

Spoiler

[Lake Floria]: Ancient Cistern

5. Lanayru Desert

Spoiler

[Lanayru Sand Sea]: Sandship

6. Eldin Volcano

Spoiler

[Volcano Summit]: Fire Sanctuary

7. Skyloft:

Spoiler

Sky Keep

Mini-dungeon:

Spoiler

Pirate Stronghold

 

[HylianTom]

Okay.. I just finished the boss of

Spoiler

Ancient Cistern

, and during the battle I had one of those squeal-like-a-girl-OMG-I-love-this moments. So good.. probably my favorite boss since Molgera in Wind Waker.

So far, Dungeon 3 gets my vote as favorite (it also makes me question my feelings about the future settings/styles/etc of the series). But I still have some distance to go in the game..

 

[Drakken]

Ugh, so frustrated with this game right now. I thought I was almost done after dealing with

Spoiler

Levias

in Thunderhead.

Spoiler

Figured he'd tell me about where the Triforce is, and that would be that. Silly me, I should have known from the rest of the game that it would be way more time-consuming. Now it's telling me I have to revisit all three areas AGAIN?!? That's what, 3 or 4 times now? I get to Eldin Volcano, and I randomly get all my items taken away from me a la Metroid. Now I have to sneak through the whole place like Snake and retrieve all my items without being seen, or it kicks me back to the very beginning?

SO much fetch questing, going from person to person, place to place, and other annoying time extenders in this game, it's not even funny. I've enjoyed it at times (mostly parts of the dungeons), but if this wasn't a Zelda game I probably would have stopped playing awhile ago. Besides the padding, there are lots of other issues and annoyances that I'll list later, probably once I'm done. I'm looking forward to reading other peoples' opinions and seeing what the general consensus here is.

Okay.. I just finished the boss of

Spoiler

Ancient Cistern

, and during the battle I had one of those squeal-like-a-girl-OMG-I-love-this moments. So good.. probably my favorite boss since Molgera in Wind Waker.

Yeah, really enjoyed that battle.

 

[Deputy Moonman]

SO much fetch questing, going from person to person, place to place, and other annoying time extenders in this game, it's not even funny. I've enjoyed it at times (mostly parts of the dungeons), but if this wasn't a Zelda game I probably would have stopped playing awhile ago.

You nailed it, at least for me. This game just annoyed the crap out of me. It drags on and on and on and on and on and on and -- you get the picture. So many interruptions. So many cut scenes. So much repetition. And then Fi holding your hand constantly when you don't need it and never having any useful information when you do.

Spoiler

Also, lackluster rewards for collecting all the gratitude crystals... Just ruined everything about doing the side quests. Anyway, have fun with the obnoxiously long and time consuming cut scenes at the end of the game. I almost turned the game off while waiting for them to end.

Skyward Sword just wore me out and in a bad way. Ancient Cistern was probably my favorite dungeon along with the Ship. But nothing in the game really blew me away. /rant

 

[Amory]

You nailed it, at least for me. This game just annoyed the crap out of me. It drags on and on and on and on and on and on and -- you get the picture. So many interruptions. So many cut scenes. So much repetition. And then Fi holding your hand constantly when you don't need it and never having any useful information when you do.

Spoiler

Also, lackluster rewards for collecting all the gratitude crystals... Just ruined everything about doing the side quests. Anyway, have fun with the obnoxiously long and time consuming cut scenes at the end of the game. I almost turned the game off while waiting for them to end.

Skyward Sword just wore me out and in a bad way. Ancient Cistern was probably my favorite dungeon along with the Ship. But nothing in the game really blew me away. /rant

Generally I'd agree, I've been bitching in this thread for a while now as I've gotten more and more frustrated with the artificial length of the game. However, I have to say, it really finishes strong. Two thirds of the

Spoiler

hero's song

quest are pretty great, and the triforce dungeon is my favorite in a really long time.

A complaint I have with the final boss battle though, part of it relies on the weakest motion control mechanic (stabbing forward). Stabbing works like 60% of the time, which is fine against minor enemies, but is rough during critical times, like when you're fighting bosses. It's not too bad, but a little annoying.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

It's OK guys! I just filled out the post-play survey on Club Nintendo and complained about Fi, the Silent Realm, Tadtones, slow text and the item notification glitch. I know it'll probably just be ignored by EAD Tokyo, but it feels good to know that my complaints will be on file SOMEWHERE.

 

[zigg]

Hopefully your Silent Realm complaint ends up in the round file.

(neutral on Tadtones... more a pacing issue than anything else, I think)

(also why would EAD Tokyo look at your complaints)

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Hopefully your Silent Realm complaint ends up in the round file.

(neutral on Tadtones... more a pacing issue than anything else, I think)

(also why would EAD Tokyo look at your complaints)

I never remember which team is responsible for what games. I mean that the Zelda team will probably get some kind of collated feedback report (summary of what they did good and bad as well as who enjoyed what), but that, knowing Nintendo, the bit they will pay attention to will be skewed very much toward that of their local customers.

Like I complained that Pokemon is too slow and that I hated HM slaves. Game Freak is never going to make any decisions based directly on my feedback.

 

[Shiggy]

I mean that the Zelda team will probably get some kind of collated feedback report (summary of what they did good and bad as well as who enjoyed what)

Somehow I get the feeling that they don't. It looks to me as if the Zelda team is living in a vacuum, not getting any information from outside Nintendo.

 

[sphinx]

It's OK guys! I just filled out the post-play survey on Club Nintendo and complained about Fi, the Silent Realm, Tadtones, slow text and the item notification glitch. I know it'll probably just be ignored by EAD Tokyo, but it feels good to know that my complaints will be on file SOMEWHERE.

you complained about the silent realms as a whole??

why would you do that? Is like asking nintendo to never ever do anything new or different again.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Silent Realms are awesome, VKS I will never forgive you for this atrocity.

 

[Dr.Hadji]

Somehow I get the feeling that they don't. It looks to me as if the Zelda team is living in a vacuum, not getting any information from outside Nintendo.

They directly respond to problems all the time. Eiji spoke about TP being too big for its own good on multiple occasions.

 

[Anth0ny]

Somehow I get the feeling that they don't. It looks to me as if the Zelda team is living in a vacuum, not getting any information from outside Nintendo.

This.


So much of the garbage everyone complained about in Twilight Princess is still made its way into Skyward Sword, somehow.

 

[Myriadis]

So much of the garbage everyone complained about in Twilight Princess is still made its way into Skyward Sword, somehow.

That's why every boss in Skyward Sword goes down in three hits, enemies just take quarters of hearts away, we have a huge,"empty" hyrule field, the music isn't orchestrated, the "classic" caves are still there, there are almost no sidequests, a town where you can't enter most doors, you visit many areas just once, Ganondorf exist in this game and tear collecting is still an hour-long quest. Yes. Except no.

 

[Drakken]

Or maybe not that so much as the game wanting to tell me how to do everything. I remember there being one puzzle in this dungeon where a little sign told me exactly what to do. I was like... Thanks. I guess. Jerk.

Haha, yeah, just encountered that one yesterday. That was the Fire Sanctuary I believe.

Spoiler

There were five statues, all of which had a different # of wings. Whereas in past Zeldas you would have had to survey the room and figure out what to do on your own, here there was a sign right there that basically said, "light up the statues in order from least wings to most wings."

Really? What's the point of a puzzle that you're told how to solve?

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Really? What's the point of a puzzle that you're told how to solve?

As you just told everyone here about the puzzle, and how to solve it without using spoiler tags in case someone hasnt came to that point yet....irony?

 

[Drakken]

As you just told everyone here about the puzzle, and how to solve it without using spoiler tags in case someone hasnt came to that point yet....irony?

Sorry, but the sign itself tells you how to solve it. And not in a super cryptic way or something. Spoiler tagged now, cause I hate seeing spoilers almost more than anyone, but the game itself spoils the puzzle for you. So, no, not really ironic.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

I think the point of that puzzle was

Spoiler

that you had to utilize the "view aboveground" mechanic while burrowing. While easy, at least it made acquiring the boss key a little more challenging.

No fall damage. Yay/nay? While it makes swinging and other skydiving moments less aggravating, it also seems to remove the punishment associated with platforming (i.e. you die).

 

[spekkeh]

Yay in this case because I fell to my death so many times because I was incorrectly aligned by two degrees, or wanted to run back towards the cam and it suddenly swiveled at an awkward moment throwing me into the pit, it's not funny.
Also there are moments where when you jump down it goes into the skydive mode, and other moments you just die.

I think nay would be better, but then they should have gone to great lengths to not let the above happen. Well, they should've of course.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Silent Realms are awesome, VKS I will never forgive you for this atrocity.

I mentioned that I didn't like the one hit kill aspect of it. Though I should have mentioned the water that comes up out of nowhere when you're already in a rush.

I was careful not to directly give them solutions to problems though. I kind of left it hanging that I didn't like this aspect or that aspect but in such a way that the way to fix it was obvious.

 

[spekkeh]

Yeah I died lots of time in the last Silent Realm because of things like that. I was on my way to collect the last tear when suddenly out of nowhere the water came pouring out of the ground and I was caught. Previously I died because I walked up a flight of stairs and there was a seeker right at the end of the stairs whom the camera only revealed when I stepped into the light. I have so many similar quibbles with this game and it's all the more annoying because Nintendo games are usually known for not having this stuff. I'm not sure whether that's Zelda staff becoming lax, the waning influence of Miyamoto, western games finally becoming better at this, or me just not being so forgiving anymore for Zelda games. But anyway it feels like a far cry from Mario Galaxy which completely nailed the, by lack of a better term, industrial design of games.

 

[SolarKnight]

I mentioned that I didn't like the one hit kill aspect of it. Though I should have mentioned the water that comes up out of nowhere when you're already in a rush.

By "comes up out of nowhere" you mean the one that disappears and then appears again, or places like the slide in the third one where it's harder to react to it because you're going fast?

Personally, I found the Silent Realms both fun and easy (all of them). None of the complains that people have seem to apply to me. Fi? Yeah, she's kinda useless, but I like her and don't get the "OH GOD SHUT THE HELL UP" feeling. Motion controls? No problem with any of them, I even like both flying and swimming. "Padding"? Just more fun stuff for me to do. The pre-dungeon 6 stuff?...Ok, that actually was annoying, but I have no hate for it.

I still have yet to do the post-dungeon 6 stuff though.

 

[spekkeh]

Okay I just finished the game and have to say the endgame was great and sort of vindicates the game for me. Much like LA Noire strangely, where there were so many quibbles and dull bits but at the end I still remember it fondly for how it was all wrapped up. I'm not much of a fan of the whole Zelda timeline thing, I prefer to look at them as retellings of a fairytale, but I really liked how the ending tied in to all the Zelda games and OoT especially.

It's the best Zelda in a while objectively, but as the fourth or fifth 3D Zelda following more or less the same Zelda template I still consider this the first non-essential Zelda game. That is, the first time my wife saw me playing Skyward Sword (she was a long time Zelda fan, but playing Skyrim at the time) she said 'well this looks a bit shit, doesn't it?'. And I had to agree with her. You get used to the looks after a while, but Zelda games for me always were the perennial and best games of a console cycle, but in this case... it's still one of the better games, don't get me wrong, but it feels sort of non-essential. I play games in short bursts, and there were too many times where I finished a short burst of Zelda and was left pretty indifferent; if it wasn't Zelda and say Fable I would have stopped playing halfway in (I did with Fables 1 and 2). If my wife would ask whether she would need to play this game, I'm not so sure what I'd say. For the last ten hours, yes definitely, but they're preceded by 28 hours of simply 'okay'. Zelda games were always the most polished games around to me, but now it seemed to lack a whole lot of polish. As I said previously, I'm not sure whether this is other devs catching up or me becoming less patient because it's the fourth or fifth Zelda in roughly the same mold, but it did start to nag. To compound the lack of polish, the credits stuttered like a motherfucker (PAL version). Once the credits stopped rolling the last bit of cutscene was silky smooth again, so it just had to do with the credit image being too large or the rolling not aligned with 50Hz. Either way it should've been really easy to fix. How this got past QA in a Nintendo game (and they had like 40 european names in the QA dept) once again baffles me completely.

Now I have to say, once you start doing the last dungeon and all the way up to the end (tadtones notwithstanding) the game to me was truly awesome. Although I wasn't too fond of revisiting the same areas, at least it added meaning to it (because there was more backstory), and you met some interesting and important characters (the dragons). I really wish the next Zelda has more of a meaningful story or I'm not going to buy it.
(who am I kidding, the next Zelda will be HD and I'll buy it just to see how it looks)

 

[VistraNorrez]

Somehow I get the feeling that they don't. It looks to me as if the Zelda team is living in a vacuum, not getting any information from outside Nintendo.

That's a good thing. They probably get all kinds I feedback for and against things. How are they supposed to know what to take seriously? I'm sure they are very aware that silent realms didn't work for everyone. But it seems they were made as a response to the Twilight Realms, and a vast improvement to me. They are better off experimenting on their own and discovering what works for them and what doesn't. No matter what they do at this point there will be people out their who won't like the next Zelda and those that find it to be the best yet.

 

[spekkeh]

I just really hope Retro Studios will get the next one (and also get carte blanche, so no more instrument necessarily etc.).

 

[Xun]

Speaking of the next game I really hope Nintendo keeps the agility aspect of Link, and goes further with it.

It was nice having the ability to run.

 

[Dr.Hadji]

I just really hope Retro Studios will get the next one (and also get carte blanche, so no more instrument necessarily etc.).

I hope they get it so people will then realize that Retro isn't the savior and that Zelda will come with its own set of problems and accomplishments for people to nitpick and cry over. Seeing what Retro did with MP3 I'm expecting Elder Scrolls levels of cardboard NPCs.

 

[BorkBork]

I gotta say, console Zelda games never disappoint in their ending fights. Always appropriately epic.

Ocarina: (GANON)
Majora: (The tree)
Wind Waker: (Stabby mcstabby)
Twilight Princess: (Multi-phase Ganon)
Skyward:

Spoiler

(One on one duels with Gha and Demise)

I love the dialogue for the end boss as well. Well-written stuff on par with the best of the series.

 

[Xun]

I gotta say, console Zelda games never disappoint in their ending fights. Always appropriately epic.

Ocarina: (GANON)
Majora: (The tree)
Wind Waker: (Stabby mcstabby)
Twilight Princess: (Multi-phase Ganon)
Skyward:

Spoiler

(One on one duels with Gha and Demise)

I love the dialogue for the end boss as well. Well-written stuff on par with the best of the series.

I still think Twilight Princess had the weakest end battles.

It went on for far too long I thought, but perhaps I'll give it another play through soon.

 

[big_z]

Silent Realms are awesome, VKS I will never forgive you for this atrocity.

these challenges and the fights with the imprisoned are the worst parts of the game imo. doing the same thing twice is fine providing things get spiced up but once you go past that it gets tedious. the silent realms would have been a lot better if the challenges were different for each one.


personally i think the game was pretty damn good. it took time for the controls to sink in but by the end i loved them. hell of a lot better game than the abortion that was TP. probably the third best 3D console zelda game. (majora and oot being the best)

 

[spekkeh]

I hope they get it so people will then realize that Retro isn't the savior and that Zelda will come with its own set of problems and accomplishments for people to nitpick and cry over. Seeing what Retro did with MP3 I'm expecting Elder Scrolls levels of cardboard NPCs.

As opposed to the non-stereotypical and round characters we have now you mean? Although admittedly the characters are kind of throwaway, Skyrim is one of my favorite games of the past decade, so I'd be fine anyway.

 

[Chuckpebble]

That last silent realm would've given me a perfect record if it wasn't for how finicky Link's acceleration is when you first get him going. Its something that has always bothered me with the series. In past games it manifested in me running around chests like a nimrod trying to line myself up with the front of them. In this game it led to continuous falling until I was dropped back on that bridge, face down with a lantern shining on my back. Ugh.

Although, really loving the dungeon I got access to. Aside from it resetting when I left it for a different load out.

 

[Dr.Hadji]

As opposed to the non-stereotypical and round characters we have now you mean? Although admittedly the characters are kind of throwaway, Skyrim is one of my favorite games of the past decade, so I'd be fine anyway.

Ya but I'd hate it. And you'll have a new set of Zelda trolls to stink up every thread about Retro Zelda complaining about such things. Western Zelda doesn't have that charm you know. Charming blah blah blah. You know its going to happen.

 

[maharg]

That's a good thing. They probably get all kinds I feedback for and against things. How are they supposed to know what to take seriously? I'm sure they are very aware that silent realms didn't work for everyone. But it seems they were made as a response to the Twilight Realms, and a vast improvement to me. They are better off experimenting on their own and discovering what works for them and what doesn't. No matter what they do at this point there will be people out their who won't like the next Zelda and those that find it to be the best yet.

When it comes to gameplay/level design elements I agree with you. Not ever dungeon/sidequest/etc is going to be amazing in every game.

But I really wish they'd listen more re. UI design stuff. To me that's where Zelda has just gotten worse and worse. And I really really wish they'd stop trying to stretch the games out to longer and longer times with roughly the same (or less) actual content. I start to lose interest in pretty much any game after about 40 hours or so, and I think Zelda makes a very bad 'long rpg' kind of game anyways.