yeah, you don't see, and that's why nobody cares about what you think about this zelda game

because your opinions are malformed and childish

Have you actually played it with the normal control scheme? It's not really like past wii games.

It flows together pretty naturally, yeah you need to get a bit of finesse down for it but that's the same for any game whether you're using a classic style control or not.

I don't really see what your problem with the stamina bar though, but I always thought it was pretty neat in Shadow of the Colossus, so I'm probably just biased, and I liked having to stop and think about how I did things that lowered stamina before doing them.

I think the one thing that disappointed me the most in Skyward Sword was the fact that they didn't seem to do much with the whip, which to me would have been the most fun to use in the game. Granted I don't know what sort of mechanic they could have added other than what they did(stealing horns from bokoblins, grabbing jutting poles and swinging with 'em, flipping switches), but I feel like I didn't use it as much as I'd have liked.

The thing that bothered me the most about Skyward Sword was how abrupt the ending was. I mean, sure it took me 45 hours, more than double the time it took me to 100% Twilight Princess, but the entire game things are always escalating, and then all of a sudden, what seems like more plot progression becomes the final boss. It just didn't seem like that big a deal that Zelda was having her soul sucked out and Ghirahim had captured her, stuff like this happened all the time.

I think a lot of it had to do with the Song of the Hero sidequest, because right after Zelda crystallized herself I was pumped and ready to kill someone. But then that buzz kind of died and by the time I was picking up the pieces of the Triforce I just didn't really care anymore. I was more ready for a couple more dungeons than end game stuff.

So yeah, I'm kind of left feeling empty. I've been playing this game for almost a month, I was kind of expecting more closure. Maybe a kiss between Link and Zelda? I dunno.Something connecting Gaepora to Kaepora Gaebora? I was expecting that the whole game, and it ended up just being a cute easter egg.

oh damn the fledge minigame is quite hard

so satisfying when you get a good score though

I had never really thought about it that way, mostly because by the end, I was too busy trying to not die at the last Ghirahim fight (I SUCK at stabbing). But now that you say it, you're totally right. Demise stealing Zelda's soul did not even compare to the Zelda self-sealing scene, in terms of emotional impact. Which is ridiculous because objectively, the former is much more dire a situation than the latter.

I too wanted to do a couple more dungeons towards the end, and the way you've put it kind of explains it. The actual length of the game seems fine, but the pacing/ flow of the plot makes it all weird towards the end...

Jill and I have put about 22 hours into the game and we're both loving it. We've just received the first sword upgrade and there are a lot of impressive things about it. Beautiful art, story, great gameplay and level design. I'm genuinely curious as to what happens next and so far haven't gotten super-frustrated (though those electric goblins were pretty annoying).

Our primary complaints, though they're definitely not dealbreakers:

1. Random pointless hand-holding at times, but never for anything important, just like "go through that door!" as opposed to "here's how to solve this puzzle". Why even bother? You can call Fi anytime to get a general objective/hint about where you're supposed to go, so why have her pop up by default for stuff that is glaringly obvious, while some puzzles clearly require you to think much harder?

2. Excessive dialog boxes for certain things (eg. doing poorly at the bamboo chop minigame), being told what an Amber Relic is after I already have 20. Somewhat alleviated by having longer playsessions.

3. Controls not quite 100% there. Item management is sort of weird and confusing at times what with two separate menus and the B/A functions switching around. Probably the biggest issue here is that the sword movements are not perfectly precise, which is a GIGANTIC problem on the legions of enemies (like those stupid goblins) that require you to quickly change sword direction. It just doesn't detect fast enough for me the majority of the time and I end up spending too much time trying to a thrust or right to left slash to finish a quick encounter.

None of these things detract from the game's overall enjoyment factor, which is still very high, but I do hope they're improved upon in the next iteration.

Edit: Regarding graphics, I did see that mentioned earlier in the thread. I was initially planning on running this via Dolphin but didn't have a good way of connecting my gaming PC to the TV 20 feet away. And now that we're so far in the game, even if I did find a way it would be a pain starting over.

I got around that by leaving the Wii on the whole time and just clicking the Home button to pause the game so it wouldn't screw up my playtime. This obviously might not be a good idea for people who can't just storm through the whole game within a few days, though.

Blocking really helps a lot with the techno goblins I've found. It'll stun them and disengage their shock brand, normally you'll have time to kill them before they can turn it back on. With multiples I'd normally just run away to get them to spread out, or shoot at them with the slingshot. As for the normal goblins, they don't often deal with upward strikes (like used to flip the spiders) or jumping downward strikes very well. Large numbers can normally be dealt with to some extent initially by using the spin attack and then picking them off from there. But this is just the ones that don't have shock brands.

Towards the end it'll probably get a easier though, I didn't really find the right mix of speed and deliberate movement till the last quarter of the game or so.

spoiler in link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zIZcFQZZU4

Does that seem dire to you?

Jill and I just beat the game. We probably had 80-85%ish completion. Didn't have every upgrade/item or heart piece, and there were sidequests undone. But we completed it. Overall I would give the game an 8/10 on a TRUE 1-10 scale (5 being an average fun game with flaws, 10 being perfect, 1 being garbage, and I would only give a couple of games a 10.)

Here are my thoughts (spoilers, obviously, so highlight!)

There was a whole lot to like with this game. The strongest element was the story, surprisingly. Lots of emotional parts and it was a bit different than "Zelda gets kidnapped, beat Ganon!" The puzzles were all excellent and well-thought out. Combat was also a big step up from some previous Zelda games. The music was fantastic, though the inclusion of some cheesy MIDI stuff in key scenes was a bit confusing. Graphics were pretty good too despite the non-HD aspect, with some really beautiful environments.

Controls were unfortunately not quite perfect. I definitely had a lot of trouble in certain spots, even on mundane monsters, due to not being able to execute a thrust or a precise slash. For some reason it wasn't as much of an issue on bosses, but primarily Mokoblins. Also, having to recenter the Wiimote constantly with Down was really annoying in a couple of spots. Not a dealbreaker but these things did annoy me several times as Jill can attest.

We didn't really have a problem with the pacing of the game, aside from the aforementioned obvious dialogue/hints from Fi about where to go and what to do. Things got a lot better in the last quarter of the game or so, in that respect. Also, I really didn't have any problem with the linearity of the game. It always seemed like there was stuff to do in Skyloft, or with backtracking. But that does bring me to my biggest complaint, and the main reason why I wouldn't rate the game higher:

There is way too much reuse of the same content. You're essentially going back to three core areas of the game THREE TIMES, four times if you count the final dungeon! I'm not really talking about this from a gameplay perspective, since obviously the puzzles were fresh each time, there are new challenges, etc. But it just struck me as less than interesting to backtrack to Faron Woods for the 3rd time. I was hoping for new environments and enemies, especially since stuff like Mokoblins and Keese got reused so many times even in the first three.

Basically, once we were in the midst of a new dungeon, solving puzzles and fighting enemies, things were great. There was just a sense of "Oh, I have to go there AGAIN?" later on as you honed in on your new objective. I have to wonder whether this was really an intentional choice, or a cost-saving measure because they didn't want to create entirely new sets of enemies and environments. Of course it was really clever how they reused the same settings the 3rd time around, but even so, it felt overused.

There were a few other minor annoyances sprinkled throughout, such as having to sit through tons of dialog/cutscenes to redo minigames, for example, or the stupid shock enemies. Also, the upgrade system was a neat idea, but the distribution of items was ultra-lopsided. I couldn't upgrade most of my stuff for most of the game because I was missing supposedly common items like Tumbleweed, Monster Claws and Ornamental Skulls and didn't want to farm for them (who does?) On the other hand, I had tons of specific bugs/items and even supposedly rare stuff like Goddess Plumes and Dusk Relics. I think the rates could have been a bit better thought out.

I've never actually beaten a Zelda game before - never played WW, 5 minutes of TP, Water Temple in OoT and maybe halfway through LttP. So, it felt really good to complete this game and see the resolution of the story. I felt like a badass beating the last boss, who was appropriately hard (killed me once) until I figured out the proper rhythm to blocking. Most of the puzzles were genuinely challenging and whether it was Jill or I that solved them, we both felt really smart and accomplished afterwards.

Anyway, all in all, we really enjoyed the game and will have many memories of playing it together. All the niggles and complaints I've listed don't detract from the sum of experiences we had playing it. I hope some of you had as much fun as we did.

you poor unfortunate soul

Wind Waker was one of my favorites. Now I'm going to leave this thread because I am not finished Skyward Sword yet. I'm only in the Earth Temple (yeah I'm disgustingly far behind) and I'm pretty sure I'm about to find out the princess is in another castle...

After going through the game for a second time, I can pretty much reaffirm most of what I felt after completing it the first time. Game is wonderful, however there are inconsistencies when you place it alongside the other games in the series.

For starters, the game was billed as one that would explain the origins of the Master Sword, which outside of a lazy explanation, didn't really do much of that except assemble it like Lego blocks. I was expecting us to be able to see it being forged right then and there not unlike the Vampire Killer in Castlevania Lament of Innocence. I also feel that with all the different characters they introduced such as Hylia and Demise, that the game is like its own spin-off. Is there just one goddess? What about Farore, Din, and Nayru?Where DID Ganondorf and the Gerudo come from? I was expecting the game to set a lot of pieces up, but no dice. I half expected Demise(or who I thought would be Ganon) to possess Groose halfway into the game, or that the "past" would have a more modern setting given the technology present in Lanaryu. Of course I should have known that Nintendo would paint the plot by numbers.

Oh well, still a fun game by any measure.

I love everything about the game except... the controls seem so awkward and ineffective to me that I'm having a lot of trouble getting into the gameplay.

Funny story: one of my girls at the gym is a huge Zelda fan, and ever since she found out I play Zelda, every day the first thing she does when she gets in the door is tell me about her latest progress in Skyward Sword.

Skyward Sword did nearly the exact same thing WindWaker did: it teased at an awesome, alternate world not wholly unlike the Dark World of Link's Awakening, but then only lets the player experience the tiniest smidgeon of said world. The amount of "Hyrule" that you experienced in WW was laughable and didn't feel anywhere close to being as fleshed out as the other environments in the game. Similarly, in Skyword Sword, we only get a very very tiny chunk of the past to explore(not counting the temporal distortions caused by the Timeshift Stones, which I suppose I should be grateful for). Also, the game needed a big reveal on Fi; I think we all suspected her of being a computer, no?
Whining aside, I can't help but feel that Skyword Sword serves to set up new plotlines for the next Zelda games. Will a certain malevolent spirit be freed from the confines of the Master Sword? Will Ganon find an ancient sword that enshrines a flamboyant personality? Will we see Ghirahim in the next Smash Bros?
... God, on second thought, I really hope not on that last one.

You do get used to the controls. I assume you're having trouble with the sword stuff? The key is to not make huge exaggerated motions which can mess up the sensor, and also to not move super fast. You need to be quick, but also deliberate and not jerky. Once you get used to it there's a certain elegance to the swordplay.

yeah the trick to the swordfighting is to only move the sword to the left when you want to swing left, instead of winding up to the right and then swinging left

Hey zircon something in me assumes you'd really enjoy Majora's Mask

that's because everyone with a brain knows majora's mask is the secret best zelda

Skyward Sword was... overhyped. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it a lot, but definitely nowhere near as much as MM or WW.

Heck, I even enjoyed TP more than SS, I think stripping away that 'Metroidvania' exploration kind of killed it for me.

Too linear, too much hand holding.

What do you mean 'secret'? Move the fuck over OOT.

Hahahaha, I was laughing so hard during that scene...

I like how he's humming his own theme music

this x 10000000000
ww coming in at a very close second

Link's Awakening miiiiight be able to wedge itself in between the two.

link's awakening is one of the secret worst zeldas

I mean zeldas are like a fucking cake no matter what but link's awakening is a cake that's like sort of crusty and a little bit too sweet

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought MM was the best one. Still haven't played Skyward Sword. Now that we're talkin about Zelda, I don't think I ever finished Twilight Princess @_@.

Hey now, Link's Awakening is still my favorite Zelda. MM and WW were cool and all that, but LA still has them beat in terms of dungeon design, story, atmosphere, humor and items.

If you're talking about item creativity, you gotta bring up Oracle of Seasons, Capcom or no.

Skyward Sword's got to be high school cafeteria cake with acrid frosting, in that case. Cafeteria cake with an albeit solid story.

A little surprised you weren't too fond of Awakening, Bleck. To me, it had a similar feel to MM, a little ethereal and trippy. Actually, I'd say LA involved some of the most exploration of any Zelda game, unlike SS.

LA was the first Zelda game I played...it creeped me out in the end. o_o


With WW being the only other game I have actually completed besides SS I can't really comment much on the console games I guess. I didn't like what I got to play of TP, and OoT didn't really strike me as all that great (which may be why I didn't appreciate TP very much). I can't decide which I like best between WW and SS, they're both Zelda games, and I enjoyed them thoroughly but the experience between the two was different enough in my mind that it almost seems like comparing apples and oranges...or maybe I'm just being indecisive don't really know.

LA was the first game I ever bought with my own money, way back when i was just a lad, so it deserves a special place in my heart just for that, but it also had devious puzzles, challenging bosses, a really creepy and ominous feel to it, a mature plot and a rather emotional ending. It made me tear up when I first saw it. Course, I was just a kid but still :P

Spoiler, I guess? The game is 15 years old.
That moment in the Face Shrine when you first read the tablet and you find out the island is all just a dream...That will always live on as one of the greatest moments in gaming.

I've played OoS, and it was pretty good, but not as good as LA. I'm still looking for a copy of OoA...Hopefully they bring it to the 3DS Virtual Console. I have that code ready and waiting!

yeah, same

For what it's worth, I had LA and OoA and was not able to beat either. This was when I was much younger of course (particularly with LA) but I remember getting frustrated. Where do I go? What do I do? I think there's a middle ground between that and Skyward Sword.

Oracle of Ages was the first Zelda game I played, and I loved the hell out of it. (I had no idea at the time how much of its roots came from previous titles.) I also enjoyed Seasons, but I think Ages wound up being the stronger title. You really do have to play them together to get the full experience, though.

I was starting to think I was the only one. That moment definitely had a chilling effect, and having played the game at a pretty young age, I'd say that was pretty much the first plot twist I ever encountered in a videogame. With both Majora and Awakening, I always felt a little uneasy, but in a good way. The atmospheres they established were haunting in a way, and I think I found that compelling.
I do, however, have to give SS credit for making what might have been a Windfish reference.

Best couple in SS:
Scrapper and Fi.

Second best couple in SS:
Pipit and Karane.

Scapper/Fi/MASTER SHORTPANTS was the best masochism triangle of all gaming.

LA had a great plot and excellent dungeons but the bosses were mostly frustrating - and not in a difficulty sense, more like a 'okay now you have to bomb this face on the floor even though you have no more fucking bombs' sense - and it was very uhhhh meandering

whereas Majora's Mask had this bizarre and interesting world with a multitude of layered and, most importantly, real-time characters, Link's Awakening's world was basically a series of trading sequences and the characters were not so much characters (save Maron, I guess) as they were these sort of gameplay effigies where you exchange items for other items needed to progress

I mean I'm probably expecting a little bit much from a Gameboy game here, but I pretty much everything LA does well, another Zelda does much better

So I beat Skyward Sword yesterday. Pretty good, though not without its problems. But first, I absolutely LOVED the art style. Really fantastic character designs. I hope they stick with this style for future Zelda games. On the other hand, I couldn't stand the dungeons - they didn't feel inventive/creative enough to me, which is unfortunate, since Link's inventory this time around is superb (especially the whip, OH I LOVE THE WHIP). On top of that, they were realllyyyyy frustrating - not in the sense that they were difficult, but they felt tedious to me. I enjoyed Twilight Princess' dungeons a LOT more.

However, the boss battles are fucking amazing. Every single boss battle was a blast, and made good use of the motion plus swordplay. I haven't been this impressed with Zelda's boss battles since Ocarina of Time. That, coupled with the orchestrated boss tracks, made for good times.




On another note, apparently Groose is turning into a youtube fad/meme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4KcS...eature=related