Zelda: Skyward Sword - Official Thread

Mostly agree with your points.

I too sometimes wished I could just hack my way past shitty enemies without having to stop and time everything properly. Same with the flying. I couldn't be arsed flapping up and down all the time during the tedious task of flying from one tiny island to another.

Glad I'm not the only one with the ladder problem. Controls for Link are too dated now. Go play Uncharted and then play this. Link feels so stiff and doesn't 'use his brain' to automatically grab things close by that he should.

Story did start slow, but I loved it when it picked up. Hopefully it'll be the same for you.

I just posted my thoughts in a blog: Linketh. Should really have put them here but I tried to make it relevant to the Wii U and my general issues with Nintendo this generation so I guess it has its place there too.

In summary, I think the innovations it brings are good, but it's getting increasingly difficult to over-look the clunky last generation take on so many aspects - controls (Link's movement that is), the camera, and the still stagnate formula. Skyward Sword is still a joy to play overall, but I'm giving up if the next instalment on Wii U isn't a huge huge step up.

( Edited 20.12.2011 19:23 by The Strat Man )

Gameboy Version
http://www.sansemploi.com/bonus/the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-sur-gameboy

The people that do these things are absolutely nuts. But I love them for it.

Just a quick mention: I dunno if anyone (in the UK) read the Metro today, but Skyward Sword was their game of the year. Xenoblade was 7th and Mario Kart 7 8th.

Skyrim Skyward Mod

First off, idk if I should put anything in the spoiler boxes, because I'm assuming that everyone here has beaten SS already.

Anyways, I just beat the 4th temple (pretty cool, especially all the Buddhist imagery). Here are just some other very minor gripes I have with the game.

It's extremely annoying when Link gets a bug or treasure and you see the entire action of him holding it up plus the menu addition. Why does it do this every time I play the game??? It's not like my memory is gonna fade away lol.

Swimming is atrocious. Idk why they didn't use the same controls as Mario in the galaxy games, they were perfect. Here they are incredibly slow, and getting items on the floor takes way longer than it should.

Ditto with skydiving. Whenever I want Link to go one way, he'll often go the other way. I had my brother do the clown game for me to get the heart piece. (maybe I just suck at using motionplus when I have to use it for its position purposes (flying/swimming/skydiving).

Falling off Skyloft gets really annoying. I want to get from one end of the island to the other as fast as possible, and to do this, you have to get the green stamina things. Sometimes, those things are up against rails and Link, for some reason, loves to kick up against them, even if he's far away from them. So, I'll end up falling. What really annoys me though is that they show the same animations and dialog with that stupid guy every single time.

The time shifts from morning to night are kind of time consuming too.

As is talking to the bug guy. The dialog options are horrendous. Why can't I just sell all my bugs to him at once (or why can't I sell him all of the bugs that he wants at that night, all at once)?

Hmm, that's it for right now. And, I'm still not that invested in the story right now. Though, the temples have gotten increasingly better.

Squidboy said:
Gameboy Version
http://www.sansemploi.com/bonus/the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword-sur-gameboy

edit: I know it isn't real, it's just pixel art.

Got a Skyward Sword survey today.

( Edited 28.12.2011 21:25 by Squidboy )

Kotaku...

Best Game Music of 2011

http://kotaku.com/5870848/the-best-game-music-of-2011-the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword

( Edited 28.12.2011 21:26 by Squidboy )

30 hours in (after the 6th dungeon), and finally the story gets interesting. Took long enough.

So I got the game for Christmas. Just a heads up, all I knew of this game was trailers, I came into the game knowing nothing, and haven't read anything here, so first impressions:

I've just completed the first dungeon after a slow start, like every Zelda. But I've been enjoying the level design, the characters and the general scripting so far. It's very Zelda, and that's not a bad thing.

The graphics are really good looking, but it reminds me how much I need a smaller TV to play my Wii on. I'm using a 26" HD TV, and it just looks so jagged, to the point that I can see individual pixels and it looks like its on an excel sheet at times. Especially in darker areas. I haven't quite made my mind up about the draw distance yet, whilst the blurring effect is nice and hides jaggies, it makes my eyes feel weird as I try to see into the distance. Its particularly apparent in cutscenes where, for instance, it will try to focus on the goddess stone and it will look blurry. But overall, the painterley style works.

The general gameplay of the game feels off though for me. Nintendo seem to have stepped backwards on a lot of things. There seems to be a contradiction in terms between Link and the combat. Here we have a much more agile and fluid Link, he can sprint, run up walls, and generally move quicker. The combat however, feels cumbersome and slow, something that I was looking forward to, has to be the part I dislike the most. Fights take longer than they need to, I shouldn't have to be so calculating for low level creatures and for them to suddenly block moves on the follow up strike. Camera angles and Z targeting being weak don't help in this regard. Something feels a bit off about the whole system.

For the most part, I'm used to the controls, but they just don't seem as responsive as they should. I've had left-right slashes recognise the other direction, or not at all. I was trying to swing earlier and it wouldn't recognise the movement properly at all.
It takes too much effort over long periods of play. Call me a cynic, but I preferred how it was in TP. It recognized horizontal, vertical and stabs better than it has done on this game with WM+, and so far, I've noticed nothing that could be done with a standard wiimote, other than link holding his sword retardedly in front of him while he runs. I just want to sit down, relax and play. Skyward Strike also needs to recognise wider angles of upright too.

I'm really enjoying the game, but the controls, which should feel entirely natural, keep snapping me back and removing me from the fantasy which is not enjoyable. Not everything has to be done through motion, it just slows it down far too much. The pacing is off.

And degradable shields. Who the FUCK thought that would be a good idea.


( Edited 27.12.2011 03:20 by Echoes221 )

And degradable shields. Who the FUCK thought that would be a good idea.

Nintendo Skyward Sword Survey

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/club_nintendo/postplay_survey.do?S=NDVDRDk1M0IwRDIwNDkyQzk5OTk5RUNBRkZDRkYwNEY=&U=MDUzMTVCRDc0NDk4QzlGQTJGMTFGREVDNDJDNDg3QjE=&F=MAIL

Pacing in the game rapidly switches at various points in the game. I bring this up because I've just reached one of the really slow parts and wish I could bypass it entirely. I'm talking about the bit where

It just feels like the right time to go finish the game and it's frustrating that it isn't.

They were my exact thoughts too about that part. Felt like pointless padding to me and wasn't needed at all.

( Edited 28.12.2011 18:49 by Marzy )

Did any one else have trouble with the flying boss when you're getting the final part of the song?

Zelda is dead in Japan...

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/39354/Skyward_Sword_Sells_Less_Than_320K_In_Its_Japanese_Holiday_Debut.php

I'm at the 7th dungeon now. I actually really liked the three things you had to do before. It was a nice change of pace.

Been playing since Christmas, just doing some sidequests.

The parents updated their TV so I inherited a 26" Sony Bravia HDTV. I was worried Skyward Sword would look awful with it, but thanks to some tampering with settings I've managed to get it looking pretty decent. I think the water-colour style helps with that though, as all I've really done is removed sharpness and so on.

I've come to realise that although I do like the constant on room-to-room (location to location) puzzle style - it does completely marginalise one of the original pleasures of Zelda, I kind of miss carelessly exploring a big expansive Hyrulian field.

The Strat Man said:

I've come to realise that although I do like the constant on room-to-room (location to location) puzzle style - it does completely marginalise one of the original pleasures of Zelda, I kind of miss carelessly exploring a big expansive Hyrulian field.

I completely agree. I like how the whole game is a seamless puzzle, but I wish that there was more room for exploration and discovery.

Just finished it, but took long enough though!

My general thoughts are that it is a good Zelda game overall, with some great plot points but suffers with some rotten pacing issues. Nearing the end of the game, you're constantly side-tracked to do "just one more thing" and some of this late content feels like boring filler.

Time will tell if it stands up years down the line like OoT, MM and WW did or if it just comes across as just another Zelda, ala TP.

Finished it. Didn't like the ending at all. Overall, I thought it was better than TP, but worse than the other 3D ones.

Getting into it a bit more, 8 hours or so done, just about to start on the temple of time. I'm enjoying it more, but the controls still really irk me. Not picking up directions accurately enough.

When you guys use the sword, do you do full arm movements, or wrist movements? I've tried both, and it always recognises a right to left slash the other way round.