I really enjoyed 3DDGH.
Really fun game, captured Zelda perfectly. No bullshit, just go go go.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword |OT| Home of Punkin' Chunkin' Champion 2011
- Thread starter Amir0x
- Start date
I really enjoyed 3DDGH.
Really fun game, captured Zelda perfectly. No bullshit, just go go go.
Ok so I'm about halfway through the third dungeon and I've turned it off for the night. I have to say, the concept of this whole area was awesome, though I did find the build-up area dragged a little bit. I haven't really given any impressions yet so I'll just make some now. I should probably clarify that I am enjoying it, because otherwise this is going to sound really negative.
The biggest bummer for me in this game is the overworld, or rather the lack of. Simply, it feels like Skyloft is just kinda there, and then I'm exploring 3 separate levels down below. Good levels, but it doesn't feel like a world, an actual location, like Hyrule or Termina or The Great Sea. I miss that more than I thought I would. It wouldn't be so bad if the sky was any good, but it isn't. It's Wind Waker with the great atmosphere and sense of discovery stripped out, while Skyloft itself is mundane. There's the occasional sidequest in Skyloft, which seems to be progression triggered, but otherwise there's very little to do there. Worse, at night Skyloft is inhabited by low-level monsters like bats, which means everyone is in their house. This really sucks because I love exploring Zelda towns at night; they usually have a very different atmosphere, with different people out and about doing different things, but you don't get that here, just a load of crappy monsters. You can still go and talk to people in their house but it's not the same as exploring Windfall/Clock Town/Kakariko Village at night. As the only town in the game, Skyloft has seriously disappointed me. Even Twilight Princess was better in this regard.
The dungeons so far have been enjoyable. I understand the third dungeon is where the game really starts to take off so I'll refrain from commenting too much on them. So far they've been easy but solid. The pre-dungeon areas are interesting but not quite as evolutionary as I expected. I got the impression the dungeons and the overworld were going to be more fluidly intertwined but they aren't really. The dungeon is still a very obviously separate entity. It's just that now you have a long, linear path up to the dungeon which has some puzzles in it, though these puzzles don't seem as good as the one's in the dungeon. It's not really what I was anticipating, as I expected something more along the lines of the ice mansion from TP, or just, say, the woods themselves being the dungeon, rather than a prelude. For all the talk of making it hard to tell whether you're in a dungeon or not, the game does actually feel very rigidly segmented to me - you have the sky, the pre-dungeon path, and then the dungeon.
I'm generally happy with the controls. I occasionally have to recalibrate but it's nothing major, it usually works well for me. The graphics in dungeon 2 were lovely, the painting effect really came alive there. Other than that the game has looked ok. The painting effect doesn't work as well in other locations. The music is quite lush but not catchy. Nothing has stood out to me as thematic, but then I've considered the music in Zelda to be on a downward spiral since OOT and MM. It is better than TP's music though so far.
So far Fi is not only bland, but highly intrusive. No, I do not need to be told that my health is low, I'm already getting that beeping noise, and can see that the bar is low. Please stop patronising me and constantly reiterating what other NPC's have just this minute told me. Ugh. They really need to start asking whether you've ever played a Zelda game before so you can play without this bullshit.
Overall, as I said before, I am enjoying it, but the lack of any good towns and the disjointed feel of the world has put me on a bit of a downer. This feels like it's going to be incredibly dungeon and puzzle orientated, which I'm sure many will love, but I'm one of those people who tends to look back more fondly on the characters, the towns, the locations. The last 6 hours before the moon falls in MM, pulling up to a random island in the middle of the night in WW, infiltrating Hyrule Castle in OOT, just running around Clock Town or Kakariko Village at night, the graveyard in OOT in the rain. These kind of moments have been almost entirely absent so far, it really feels like 'do pre-dungeon area, do dungeon, return to Skyloft to upgrade/buy stuff, go to pre-dungeon area, do dungeon, return to Skyloft to buy stuff, go to pre-dungeon area etc...' I really miss the kind of things you would do inbetween dungeons in TP or WW as part of the story. The story post Zelda being kidnapped has been non-existent to be honest.
Some of my complaints may no doubt become void as I get further into the game, some I think will not be rectified. As it stands right now, this is shaping up to be my least favourite 3D Zelda. But that's still an enjoyable game. It's all relative.
The biggest bummer for me in this game is the overworld, or rather the lack of. Simply, it feels like Skyloft is just kinda there, and then I'm exploring 3 separate levels down below. Good levels, but it doesn't feel like a world, an actual location, like Hyrule or Termina or The Great Sea. I miss that more than I thought I would. It wouldn't be so bad if the sky was any good, but it isn't. It's Wind Waker with the great atmosphere and sense of discovery stripped out, while Skyloft itself is mundane. There's the occasional sidequest in Skyloft, which seems to be progression triggered, but otherwise there's very little to do there. Worse, at night Skyloft is inhabited by low-level monsters like bats, which means everyone is in their house. This really sucks because I love exploring Zelda towns at night; they usually have a very different atmosphere, with different people out and about doing different things, but you don't get that here, just a load of crappy monsters. You can still go and talk to people in their house but it's not the same as exploring Windfall/Clock Town/Kakariko Village at night. As the only town in the game, Skyloft has seriously disappointed me. Even Twilight Princess was better in this regard.
The dungeons so far have been enjoyable. I understand the third dungeon is where the game really starts to take off so I'll refrain from commenting too much on them. So far they've been easy but solid. The pre-dungeon areas are interesting but not quite as evolutionary as I expected. I got the impression the dungeons and the overworld were going to be more fluidly intertwined but they aren't really. The dungeon is still a very obviously separate entity. It's just that now you have a long, linear path up to the dungeon which has some puzzles in it, though these puzzles don't seem as good as the one's in the dungeon. It's not really what I was anticipating, as I expected something more along the lines of the ice mansion from TP, or just, say, the woods themselves being the dungeon, rather than a prelude. For all the talk of making it hard to tell whether you're in a dungeon or not, the game does actually feel very rigidly segmented to me - you have the sky, the pre-dungeon path, and then the dungeon.
I'm generally happy with the controls. I occasionally have to recalibrate but it's nothing major, it usually works well for me. The graphics in dungeon 2 were lovely, the painting effect really came alive there. Other than that the game has looked ok. The painting effect doesn't work as well in other locations. The music is quite lush but not catchy. Nothing has stood out to me as thematic, but then I've considered the music in Zelda to be on a downward spiral since OOT and MM. It is better than TP's music though so far.
So far Fi is not only bland, but highly intrusive. No, I do not need to be told that my health is low, I'm already getting that beeping noise, and can see that the bar is low. Please stop patronising me and constantly reiterating what other NPC's have just this minute told me. Ugh. They really need to start asking whether you've ever played a Zelda game before so you can play without this bullshit.
Overall, as I said before, I am enjoying it, but the lack of any good towns and the disjointed feel of the world has put me on a bit of a downer. This feels like it's going to be incredibly dungeon and puzzle orientated, which I'm sure many will love, but I'm one of those people who tends to look back more fondly on the characters, the towns, the locations. The last 6 hours before the moon falls in MM, pulling up to a random island in the middle of the night in WW, infiltrating Hyrule Castle in OOT, just running around Clock Town or Kakariko Village at night, the graveyard in OOT in the rain. These kind of moments have been almost entirely absent so far, it really feels like 'do pre-dungeon area, do dungeon, return to Skyloft to upgrade/buy stuff, go to pre-dungeon area, do dungeon, return to Skyloft to buy stuff, go to pre-dungeon area etc...' I really miss the kind of things you would do inbetween dungeons in TP or WW as part of the story. The story post Zelda being kidnapped has been non-existent to be honest.
Some of my complaints may no doubt become void as I get further into the game, some I think will not be rectified. As it stands right now, this is shaping up to be my least favourite 3D Zelda. But that's still an enjoyable game. It's all relative.
The game, on average, will take about 30 hours to beat (not 100% though, still don't know until I do it myself). For me, I'm 34 hours in and I still have quite a bit to do (so yeah I'm reeeally taking my time with this one).
Hot Coldman
Banned
I hope I get that kind of time out of it- the fact that I try to sniff out as much stuff as possible, and the fact that I suck balls (died twice already, ugh), should help.
Outtrigger888
Member
Anyone else wonder if skyward sword was the reason Nintendo released Wii motion plus? It wouldn't be the first time Nintendo released an add-on for a zelda game.
I just realised that the load screen has a "You are just about to go and <do this>" text. Holy crap, the amount of time they've spent making mechanics to hold your hand in this game. It's outright ridiculous. I just arrived at the second piece of land, and when I got there, Fi was like "HEY, DO YOU REMEMBER HOW TO DOWSE?!", and they did the fuckin' OOT owl trick of making you not meaning to push yes, but you do. Do you seriously believe I have alzheimers, or that it's been half a year since I last played? Even if it was, do you seriously NEED to show me that "this Beetle goes on THIS screen. Get it? It's the place with all the other beetles. It doesn't really matter that it's here, or even which one it is, because it's just there. But here it is. Let me show you that again."
There's no sense of accomplishment here. Don't get me wrong, the game can be a straight line, and I wouldn't mind. It could also be as open as GTAIV, but I'd still be pissed if that game was to hold my hands like this.
"This is a car. It has four wheels and a combustion engine. This is a pedes".. ok, let's not go down that road. (which you would do by tilting the left analogue stick forward)
I hate taking courses with books that overexplain everything, and by god, I've figured that games are no different. What a horrible design choice. It's like its supposed to be accessible by everyone, but they don't realize that I was able to play A Link To The Past at an age of four, only knowing the three English words "open door" and "whiskey", without finding that Zelda game to be any hard, and actually being able to beat the whole thing without understanding anything except "there's a dark and a light world, that evil wizard is bad, and Ganon's got the Triforce!"
I actually think my parents translated the intro, but then I was left on my own for the entirety of the game. I didn't get what Sahasahala was saying (ok, that's how I used to pronounce it), but I understood how to use the hook-shot without a five minute tutorial. Have some faith, game.
There's no sense of accomplishment here. Don't get me wrong, the game can be a straight line, and I wouldn't mind. It could also be as open as GTAIV, but I'd still be pissed if that game was to hold my hands like this.
"This is a car. It has four wheels and a combustion engine. This is a pedes".. ok, let's not go down that road. (which you would do by tilting the left analogue stick forward)
I hate taking courses with books that overexplain everything, and by god, I've figured that games are no different. What a horrible design choice. It's like its supposed to be accessible by everyone, but they don't realize that I was able to play A Link To The Past at an age of four, only knowing the three English words "open door" and "whiskey", without finding that Zelda game to be any hard, and actually being able to beat the whole thing without understanding anything except "there's a dark and a light world, that evil wizard is bad, and Ganon's got the Triforce!"
I actually think my parents translated the intro, but then I was left on my own for the entirety of the game. I didn't get what Sahasahala was saying (ok, that's how I used to pronounce it), but I understood how to use the hook-shot without a five minute tutorial. Have some faith, game.
Considering how this game almost didn't use it, I'd take a guess and say no.
How can you use it any more than this game does?
Hot Coldman
Banned
They could have had Link on the Spinner the entire game, which you control with a second M+ remote.
evilromero
Member
Can't wait to get this. Just finishing plowing through Mario 3D and most of the special worlds. Now bring on the new Zelda. Although I'm a little concerned about the small overworld but honestly I'm sure that will be less a concern once I'm playing.
I wish the spinner became a regular in the series. Sure, fans will bitch but I don't care. That thing was innovative and downright awesome.
The overworld is anything but small.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
Use youtube. There's walkthroughs on there.
Watching a live stream can spoil you.
--
Going to wal-mart now
lazybones18
Banned
Hope everyone enjoys playing SS tomorrow. The wait for Tuesday should hopefully go by quickly
Not as bad as the Australian wait. I hope the date gets broken early this week.
If you're playing the game in one sitting, it's perfectly fine.
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I literally never turned off my Wii. Just hit the Home button and called it a day.
I just grabbed a motion plus from Target. I dont know if these things are phasing out because of the new Wiimote Plus, though.
MetalGuardian
Banned
Wooo!
I have no classes or work all week
I have a stockpile of frozen pizza and Mtn Dew. This will be the best thanksgiving break ever
TWO MORE HOURS UNTIL MIDNIGHT YESSS
I have no classes or work all week
I have a stockpile of frozen pizza and Mtn Dew. This will be the best thanksgiving break everTWO MORE HOURS UNTIL MIDNIGHT YESSS
I just caved in and bought a Wii Motion Plus from Amazon for $15 including shipping. This way, I can still keep an eye out for potential sales for Skyward Sword or trade-in bonuses at GameStop.
WrenchNinja
Member
Hell yeah, just came back from the Toronto early launch.
Not the best picture since my hands were shaky
Not the best picture since my hands were shaky
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Haha, this says it all.
butter_stick
Banned
That NA Bundle Box look super cool.
Yeah, I saw the Euro one isn't shiny. Neither is the boxart.
WE GET ALL THE SHINY STUFF, MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
brandonh83
Banned
oh my shit fucking god how am I supposed to sleep tonight.
butter_stick
Banned
We get a sleeve for the CD. We kinda win.
evilromero
Member
Hype is getting to me. Can't wait.
Jzero
Member
I kinda liked the music cd being together with the game.
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
Fuck weekends, I wont get it until Tuesday
You delivered Deus ex and crysis 2 day one, why you do this to me Amazon!
You delivered Deus ex and crysis 2 day one, why you do this to me Amazon!
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
Not always if we have bilingual packaging, but at least Nintendo is good about tha--...
Wii games are naturally bi/trilingual in North America, right? Because I really dislike seeing this obtrusive label that Nintendo of Canada likes to put on DS games. Drives me insane.
IIRC, Europe got the shiny OoT 3D cover.
WrenchNinja
Member
Oh my god, the box is shiny.
The case is shiny.
The soundtrack is shiny.
The wiimote is shiny.
I'm being blinded. Haven't even put the disc in. Kind of wish it was all shiny too.
The case is shiny.
The soundtrack is shiny.
The wiimote is shiny.
I'm being blinded. Haven't even put the disc in. Kind of wish it was all shiny too.