So, in retrospect; Skyward Sword?

[MaxiP62]

Hey guys,

Now it's been about 8 months since The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword was released, so most of the people who are going to play it, will have already played it by now. So what are your overall thoughts on the game?

- Were you surprised? Disappointed? Indifferent?
- Did you like the controls?
- Was it worth the wait? And did it redeem the purchase of a Wii for you? (If you had doubts, that is.)
- Finally, in your opinion; How did it stack up to other Zelda games? Is it now your favourite?
- Did you even buy it?

Personally, I loved the game. It's definitely one of my favourite games of all time, and possibly even my favourite Zelda game, although I'm not really sure. (My other choices being Wind Waker or Majora's Mask.) I also really did like the controls, and didn't find any faults with them at all, they were executed perfectly in my opinion. I wasn't disappointed at all, in fact it met my expectations almost perfectly. I never really doubted my purchase of the Wii, but this game reminded me how much I really do love Nintendo's games and hardware.

All in all, I love the game. What about you guys?

EDIT: Oh jesus, looks like I double... tripe... quadruple posted this somehow :S Sorry guys! Can a mod delete the other ones please?

 

[Scrustle]

I've spent loads of time hating the game actually. I'm a huge Zelda fan but Skyward Sword did not leave a good first impression at all. But I've been playing it a lot more recently and now I've come round to it. Before I just couldn't put up with all the annoying pedantic faffing about which wasn't really necessary, and how annoying Fi was, but as I've got further in to the game I've been able to enjoy it much more. Either I've gotten used to all the stupid fluff or they just pull back with it once you get further in, I get the feeling it's more the latter than the former. Fi is still annoying though. Overall the game is really good (as any Zelda is) but I don't think it's among my favourites. But then again, they always change. I can never decide which I like best. I've never really regretted getting a Wii because Zelda has always justified it, plus I get to play games like No More Heroes too.

 

[Stormz]

The disappointed me quite a bit unfortunately. All of the back tracking and endless collection quests really tired me out. I don't even want to get into the silent realms, god the silent realms! They also treated you like a baby. Yeah I know my health is low, my hearts are blinking already I don't need my sword to make noise and glow as well thank you very much, I'm not stupid. Overall it wasn't very good for me, I loved the graphics and the story, but everything else was either annoying, or just boring.

 

[AyreonMaiden]

- Were you surprised? Disappointed? Indifferent?
Surprised in the best ways. I never thought I'd care about chasing after Zelda herself this much since my childhood crush on OoT Zelda. I also never thought a Zelda game could kill me again since Majora's Mask.


- Did you like the controls?
Sometimes, when I wasn't fighting the Imprisoned. The swordplay is still Waggle City since the game thinks you're swinging the sword when you're actually just trying to change the angle of your next swing, but generally they were good. The Imprisoned battle can blow me, though.

- Was it worth the wait? And did it redeem the purchase of a Wii for you? (If you had doubts, that is.)
Absolutely. When it soared, it was the best Zelda of all time. But on the rare times when it sank, it mega-sank. Seriously, fetch and collecting quests for the last third of the game?

- Finally, in your opinion; How did it stack up to other Zelda games? Is it now your favourite?
Almost my favorite, but OoT and MM are still tops. If the motion controls were optional, and if it had a Hyrule Field to ride Epona in, it'd easily be the best since those two. Combat was tough, which made exploring for Heart Pieces and optional items worthwhile, which means that Rupees are actually worth collecting to buy said optional items. It was the first step into having all of its gameplay elements work in concert flawlessly.

Ultimately I just wish to reemphasize: When Skyward Sword soared, it seriously was the best. Namely, the newfound focus on character development for the lead characters, the challenging combat, the course-like design of the main three areas, the side-quests from Skyloft-dwellers...all of that was fucking amazing.

DO NOT UPEND THE TABLE for the next game, Nintendo. Seriously. Don't let the few faults force you into redesigning everything. You have an amazing basis in SS. Now, evolve those elements I just mentioned, bring back a cohesive, massive Twilight Princess-styled Hyrule Field filled with secret dungeons and towns, and you'll have made the best fucking Zelda game of all time. OF ALL TIME.

 

[Weaver]

More like Skyward Bored.

Essentially, I disliked Fi, I disliked the severe dungeon backtracking and I disliked how empty the skyworld was. However, I liked the art style, I liked how there was actually some chemistry between Link and Zelda and the sword combat was pretty good.

I don't have a lot of time right now (at work, leaving soon). I'll come back and post more detailed thoughts when I return.

 

[Scarim Coral]

First thing first, I take back all the nice things I said during the first few hours of gameplay back in this other thread ages ago.

- Were you surprised? Disappointed? Indifferent?
I was mostly disapointed. Yes there were some good parts but there are so many reasons why I hated it (too few of dungeon, stupid ways to prolong the game, the sky is lifeless and splitting the three areas into segment so no running between the three areas by running or horse travel).

- Did you like the controls?
While I do praise the more realistic control but I don't want them to use it all the time. My wrist was aching too much from it.

- Was it worth the wait? And did it redeem the purchase of a Wii for you? (If you had doubts, that is.)
Not really and no it didn't redeem it for buying a Wii but luckily there are other good games to fit that bill (No More Heroes, Xenoblade Chronicle and Monster Hunter Tri etc).

- Finally, in your opinion; How did it stack up to other Zelda games? Is it now your favourite?
It's my overall least favourite LoZ game HOWEVER it does had the best incarnation (or should I say the first) of Zelda ever as she has more personality compared to the pastZelda's.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

- Were you surprised? Disappointed? Indifferent?
Disappointed to be honest. I've been a Zelda fan since the days of the NES and this seems to be the shortest and least inspired one yet. They repeat multiple bosses, realms and dungeon themes (why two Fire Temples?), and the final boss and dungeon are both letdowns.

- Did you like the controls?
Solid. I like the fact that Link could run up walls and hope they keep the Stamina system or something like it in future games.

- Was it worth the wait? And did it redeem the purchase of a Wii for you? (If you had doubts, that is.)
No, but there's plenty of other Wii games I enjoyed more just on the VC that justified the purchase.

- Finally, in your opinion; How did it stack up to other Zelda games? Is it now your favourite?
Sadly, it is least favourite of all the Zeldas. I'm glad they've at least tried reversing the series' backslide into easiness with tougher combat, but yeah, Fi may just be more obnoxious than Navi. At least Navi you can ignore all the time. The Silent Realms, an unholy fusion of the Phantoms from Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks and the Vessel of Light collection parts of Twilight Princess, were almost enough to make me quit the game out of sheer disgust. That's never happened to me in a Zelda game before! With both of these, it feels like the developers didn't learn that these are the most annoying aspects of a Zelda game and should be minimized or eliminated.

Towards the end I was expecting some big twist like Fi gets trapped in the past and turns into Ghiranim or vice versa (they have similar hair and are both sentient weapons), but nothing out of the ordinary. When you complete a 'tier' of 3 dungeons you might expect some huge plot-related event to happen, but you barely get anything. Even when you finally access the time gate, you're limited to a single area in the past instead of a 'two worlds' concept like in LttP. As shown by Lanaryu's timeshift stones, Hyrule's Past was awesome and I would've liked to visit it more.

- Did you even buy it?
Obviously yes. I got the pre-order music disc, which was nice.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

- Were you surprised? Disappointed? Indifferent?
Indifferent

- Did you like the controls?
Yeah they work

- Was it worth the wait? And did it redeem the purchase of a Wii for you? (If you had doubts, that is.)
Yes it gave my Wii a meaning to exist again.

- Finally, in your opinion; How did it stack up to other Zelda games? Is it now your favorite?
I guess this is where I actually start typing... I didn't feel it stacked up and sadly I was a little disappointed. I chose indifferent above because in the end, it's still and Zelda game and it still provided a wonderful experience, however in comparison to the other games, Skyward Sword just feels... scaled down. The sky is not as expansive as the Ocean in Windwaker, which it is clearly based off of. You have the option to fly anywhere you want but really... what's the point besides a few mini games?

In the same respect, the ground world doesn't feel as expansive either, just a bunch of main areas connected together, and they don't even flow nicely into each other, so the areas feel segmented. The dungeons also felt scaled down, although I'm not complaining as much about those since I wasn't a fan of the ginormous dungeons anyway.

It's as fun as typical Zelda games, but it just doesn't feel as epic and I sorely miss that.

- Did you even buy it?
Yes, of course.

 

[Vkmies]

Suprised?
I knew it was gonna be good. Nintendos Zelda games always are.

Controls?
They were alright. Fun to use, worked like they were designed to. I prefer a normal controller, still, the best motion controls ever, if you only look at games that implimented them so heavily.

Favorite?
Nah, but I liked the artstyle, the story, the world. It's all basic, quality Zelda material. Didn't disappoint, I had an awesome 40 hours. I can't compare it to the others, I don't really do that, since in essence, Zeldas are always so similiar. But it was a great game. Probably in my top 10 for last year.

Bought?
Hell yes I did, the Limited Edition. That thing went up in price pretty fast too, so even my collector-side is happy.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I thought Skyward Sword was okay. Although, I'm going to be disappointed if it's going to set the new standard for Zelda games. I really prefer buttons over swinging a Wiimote. I just generally don't like motion controls. I liked the art style, but I honestly prefer Wind Waker's art style over Skyward Sword's. Overall, it's not a bad game by any means. But it really isn't my favorite. I prefer Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Oracle of Ages/Seasons much more.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I was rather dissapointed. Now, the controls were amazing, i loved them. The artdesign was also pretty good looking. But i hated the games structure.Rather than having a big open world it had three rather linear world and one overworld and i thought that was terrible. A verry big part of Zeldas appeal was always the exploration of a huge, open world full of secrets. Skyward Sword just didn't have a lot of that. Even the levels that weren't dungeons felt rather like dungeons if you know what i mean. So... yeah, i wasn't that happy with it. It's still by no means a bad game.

 

[Dryk]

It was a bit fetch questy at times, and the hand-holding is now legendarily bad. But I didn't really think about those things while I was playing it. Dungeons were interesting, I liked how they mixed up the overworld (but they shouldn't make a habit of mixing it up to this overworld. As empty as it is at least it's empty and small, as opposed to empty and friggin' enormous like Twilight Princess. I think I still like Wind Waker more though.

As for the controls:

-Adored the sword
-Throwing was fine
-The bowling was sort of crap but that was mostly my insistence to do it with an arm hanging over the couch
- Flying was a bit eh for me at times, especially near the limits of tight turns
- Using the Wii Motion Plus to move the cursor was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen

 

[scorptatious]

I was somewhat surprised with Skyward Sword. While I can't say it's my favorite Zelda game, it was still quite good.

The controls in my opinion were solid. This was the game that made me realize that motion controls might actually have a place in the future of gaming.

To be honest, I wasn't really paying attention to the game very much until right before it came out. At that point I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a shot.

Again, the game isn't my favorite in the series, but I still feel it's a really good game and is definitely worth a look if you like Zelda.

Oh, and yes I did buy it.

 

[Amgeo]

I only played the demo in a Best Buy, and I kind of hated it. The flying controls especially frustrated me.

 

[Jazoni89]

I personally think the combat, and controls are a step forward for the series, but nearly everything else is a bit of a step back. Especially since there is a lot of handholding, and useless gameplay mechanics (Tight Roping, Boss Key puzzles, and Dousing anyone?).

I do however like the fact that you can run, and your shield has a strength meter. Which I think are nice touches to the core Zelda Gameplay.

I've heard it get's a lot better later on, when the dungeons get more complex, but I'll see. I'm not exactly itching to play it, unlike all the other Zelda games did to me in the past.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

Were you surprised? Disappointed? Indifferent?
I was, honestly, disappointed. Not that it was bad, of course. It just wasn't as good as I expected, and around the late-midgame it started feeling like a slog through the same areas for the fifth time.

Did you like the controls?
Not really. It worked at some points, like with the Gust Bellows (which I did not like as an item due to its lack of use in combat), and the Beetle is alright, despite there being a problem with my Wiimote or something which caused it to get stuck going left if I tilted it too far, but it fixes itself every time I put the Beetle away. However, the swordplay takes way too long; it's just plain not worth it to deal with smaller enemies, even if they're in the way. And the flying and swimming controls are awful.

Was it worth the wait? And did it redeem the purchase of a Wii for you? (If you had doubts, that is.)
Many parts of the game were cool, such as the art style and the best area in the game, the Lanayru Sand Sea, and, y'know, it's a Zelda game. It wasn't as worth the wait as I though it would be, but it wasn't bad either.

Finally, in your opinion; How did it stack up to other Zelda games? Is it now your favourite?
No. It is not my favourite. Not even in my top three, which are, in order, Wind Waker, Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess. No Zelda I have ever played even comes close to how fun Wind Waker's combat was. Skyward Sword's swordplay is some of the worst in the series if only because of how tedious it makes fighting small enemies. And you can't lock on and shoot your bow! Other than that, though, I thought it was pretty. Too limited in environments, but pretty. The score was pretty good, but still doesn't beat Wind Waker's. The side quests were dumb. It wasn't a great Zelda game, but it wasn't a bad game overall.

 

[Mr. Omega]

How I felt:
It had an agonizingly slow start, and the Song of the Hero quest was completely unneeded. Rest of the game was fine. Great finale, and once you actually got to the first temple, the game really picked up.

The motion controls for fighting were good, but I didn't like it for everything that wasn't fighting. There were times when the fighting was something brilliant, but those times didn't happen often enough, and you end up fighting the dull enemies for the entire game, leaving a sense of "here we go again..." when you have to fight later on.

Adding a sprint function was long overdue. The shield meter could have been a disaster, but it never was a problem for me. Dousing sucked.

Lack of fast travel REALLY hurt the game later on. I mean really fucking hurt.

I really liked the characters who actually got to be important like Zelda, Groose and Ghirahim. The rest just were... meh. Demise could have used a little more build-up, but was a fun fight.

Do I even need to say anything about Fi at this point?

The sky was just too damn empty, and the surface was too damn crowded.

Some of the bet designed dungeons in the entire series. The pirate ship and the very last dungeon were jaw-droppingly awesome.

Almost all of the bosses were great, some of the best in the series... except The Imprisoned. And it doesn't help that you fight it 3 times.

Overall:
I enjoyed it, had a lot of fun, and I liked it, but was still disappointed. It did so many things right. So many things were amazing. This could have been the best in the series. But some monumentally stupid things really hurt it and held it back. Doesn't help that the last 20% of the game (finale not included) was some of the most blatant padding in the history of gaming.

Is it my favorite? No. Not even top 3. It's better than a lot of games, but as a Zelda game, it just doesn't stack up. Sometimes little things like fast travel and enemy variety can have a big impact, as this game clearly shows.

 

[DrOswald]

I could go on for quite sometime about this, but I will bottom line it. The game is amazing in so many ways but for every amazing or interesting thing in the game there is a bad decision that pulls it back down in to mediocrity. There are great dungeons, but there is also padding that adds nothing but boring length to the game. Some characters, such as Groose, were entertaining, but then we have characters like Fi and her damned probabilities. The pirate ship Captain was great, the Imprisoned was terrible (and repeated 3 times.) The list goes on and on. Every step forward is coupled with a step or two backwards.

For me, this is the worst 3D Zelda, and is the second worst game made by Nintendo within the Zelda franchise, the only one worse was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

 

[bobbele]

Sucks. Terrible Game. Already wrote a few hundred words about it on Kotaku. Won't repeat it. Nintendo should die.