Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[Ginkasa]

Originally Posted by Angrist

A question: is there a shooting range for the bow??? I haven't found it yet, but I want to! Should be great.

Check the building where you first received your sword. Fledge should be around there. You get to puncture some pumpkins.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Ginkasa

Personally, I don't understand the grievances behind revisiting areas. When you do revisit you go to new areas within those areas and/or the areas you've already visited are altered or changed in a drastic way. And its not like you've never had to revisit areas in any other past Zelda games.

I think the issue with this and also with the various "there is no overworld" complaints has to do with Nintendo's presentation of the world. Because the different areas so clearly separated and distinct from each other and because they're more dense and have monsters and puzzles and corridors it creates an atmosphere less of "this is a place in the world" and more of a feeling like a dungeon. So having to traverse through it again, for whatever reason, feels more like having to go back through the Temple of the Ocean King to advance in PH than having to go back through the Kokiri Forest and Lost Woods to get to the Forest Temple in OoT.

Anyway, I also don't like the Silent Realms, but I've seen plenty of people talk about how much they love them, so its not an objective flaw with the game. Personal preference. Same with the controls. The only issue I encountered with them was trying to stab. I could never get that to work consistently. There's also enough people who have had no issue with the controls that I don't think its an inherent flaw in the game.

That said, I don't personally think its a 10/10 game either. Although I don't mind "revisiting" the main areas, I do mind fighting two bosses three separate times each and having to go back through one of the dungeons for a meaningless fetch quest. I also didn't like the Silent Realms, as I stated above. Overall, I think its the best Zelda game since TWW, but that still places it down around the halfway mark in the series as a whole.

Aside from the Silent Realms.
Seems like we are in agreement. Though didn't mind fighting one boss 3 times as much as the other one. Since the other type of fight didn't change much.

I also had issue with two of the revisits but won't spoil it for anyone.

Originally Posted by Angrist

My complaints:
- Why do they give that stupid message every time I pick up a bug after I've loaded the game??!?! It's come to the point where I deliberately don't pick up items because it will annoy me.
- Uhm I had something else but I forgot.

Anyway, do I think it's a 10/10? Depends on if decimals are allowed. If not: yeah it's more a 10 than a 9. If they are: I'd give it a 9.8.



A question: is there a shooting range for the bow??? I haven't found it yet, but I want to! Should be great.

-Yeah that was annoying. Especially when you are in the middle of a battle.

Yeah the pumpkin shooting as Ginkasa mentioned.

[DarkMaster]

Ok I beat it. So I just want to say, that the only reason I'm bothering with all these detailed impressions is because I'm super passionate about the Zelda games. OoT and Wind Waker are in my top games of all time, and we only get one of these like every 5 years, so to me this release is like an event, and I'm sure it is to many other people as well.

This game is such a mixed bag for me. I understand the general consensus is that people are either completely in love with it, or are hating on it. Whatever, popular games always receive this kind of feedback, it's to be expected. It does suck that any Zelda game ever released will always be compared to OoT and will have to live up to an impossibly high standard. It's the Zelda curse, I guess. Anyways, I don't care about comparing the games or ranking them. I just want to express these few points on the game.

Let me get the negative out of the way first. This is going to include some SPOILERS, but it seems like most people in here have beaten it anyway. Just a warning regardless.




-Fetch quests and general filler. Going back to the mountain for a pinwheel. Going through the first dungeon again for some water. Escorting that stupid robot up the mountain ARE YOU KIDDING ME. There was so much pointless running around that added nothing to the game, except time on the clock. I have no doubt in my mind that the developers were pressured to make the game as long as they could, but who can say that Skyward Sword wouldn't have been 10 times better if it was 25 hours long instead of 35, and with all the bullcrap collecting and running around removed? I think time will show that with repeated playthroughs. I know for me, when I replay Wind Waker, every single time I quit when I get to the triforce hunting.

-Exploration. 3 areas is not enough. If the forest and mountain were as diversified as the desert, I think I would've been fine with it. But the mountain was terrible, I honestly hated the first time going through it. And guess what? I hated it sooo much more the fourth time I visited it. The forest was really nice but I wanted more of it. After you went through that area the first time, you really pretty much seen it all. The water part of it added absolutely nothing, and I was very dissappointed it wasn't fleshed out more.

-Silent Realms. Fuck them. They sucked in Twilight Princess when you had to collect the stupid light drops or whatever it was, and while they suck less in this game, they still suck. Maybe some people don't hate them, and I can appreciate that, but let me ask you this: wouldn't you have preferred a sort of mini-dungeon to get those gifts of the goddess (like the Well in OoT to find the Lens of Truth, or the ice cavern where you get the blue fire)?

-General disappointments. I was really upset that the sky area was basically empty, and you do almost nothing significant there. When Wind Waker came out, I thought of a Zelda game where you would have an airship and explore a Sky world, like WW's ocean overworld. I was so excited for this game to fulfill that dream, and damn it for letting me down. Maybe it's my own fault for having expectations, but I don't give a shit. There was so much potential here to develop a rich and deep sky world, with tons of cool places to explore and discover. There wasn't even really a proper sky dungeon. BAH FUCKING HUMBUG

-A few control issues. Stabbing with the sword was ridiculous and never seemed to work properly. Rolling bombs sucked. The harp was utterly pointless. And I hated swimming, HATED IT.

-The issue with the collectable items coming up every time you load up the game, good god that annoyed me. Like Angrist was saying, I would intentionally avoid items just because I didn't want to be bothered with a stupid game interruption.

-Fi, was a lousy ass character (if you can even call an emotionless robot a character), and was so damn annoying pestering me with "advice" all the time, or repeating an objective for me as if I'm not smart enough to figure it out. We've come a long way since the annoying days of Navi, so why is this bullcrap still plaguing these games? At least give us the option to turn her advice off so we don't have to be bothered.


I know this is a hell of a lot of complaints on my part. The point I'm trying to make is that there were many, many times throughout the game were I was incredibly frustrated, and there was even one point in particular (tadtunes...) where I almost just quit the game for good. A Zelda game is always such a magical experience for me, but this one had by far the most aggravating moments throughout, and like I said earlier, I don't even know if I could ever make it through a replay.

Now that I've got that aggression out, I want to say that the good parts of the game, were fucking GREAT. Like some of the best shit the Zelda series has ever known. All the dungeons were awesome, unique, varied, and had different layers to them. They were smart, well designed with great shortcuts, and had you using all your tools instead of just the one you would get in the dungeon itself.

I loved upgrading items, but I think it could've been pushed even further, like upgrading armor. It's a good start anyway, and something I hope they keep and expand upon in future titles.

The art style was great, if not hindered by the Wii's capabilities. I think they've nailed the visual style for the series, so I'd love to see a new Zelda for Wii U that utilizes this style with high-res textures, more dense foliage, and bigger, more populated areas.

So in the end, it was a good journey with a lot of missteps that totally screwed with the pacing. Subtract all the filler and I would replay this game in a heartbeat. I am dissppointed with the sky world and a lot of other things, but overall I was happy to be playing a new Zelda game. When the credits were rolling and the original Zelda theme came on, I was definitely feeling happy.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Just after finishing this game and stewing on it for a couple of days, I would honestly give it a 7 out of 10.

I can honestly say now that this game just got added to the list of zelda games I would never replay.

Right there with WW and TP. Also Minish cap, phantom hourglass and spirit tracks.

I think basically I've figured out what has happened. The more they try to lengthen a zelda, the less I enjoy it.

[Angrist]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

I need help with playing the song at the Pumpkin Pie. Before I snap the game in two and smash the controller into the wall and enjoy how it shatters in a thousand pieces.

THIS. IS. THE. WORST. MINIGAME. IN. A. ZELDA. EVER.
I'm doing it perfectly. PERFECTLY. I've been trying for over 45 minutes and it's driving me CRAZY.

So what the heck am I doing wrong? What I do is strum from left to right and back, following the hands of the spectators. MOst of the time slow, sometimes fast and sometimes a pause. And does the freestyle part matter?
I discovered I shouldn't follow the hands 100%: they do this stupid bouncing movement at the extreme left and right. I once tried to imitate that, but I got cut off halfway the song, so I figured that was wrong.

So now I've tried it for about 25 times. I get the timing exactly right, following the rythm for 99%. Sometimes the calibration messes up and I make a mistake because of that (I HATE THAT!).

So I think there ar 3 options:
- The game is clearly broken. You cannot beat it.
- You have to do it 100% correctly, which is pretty much impossible.
- I'm doing something wrong.

Please help me. Please please please please please please please please...... this minigame is making me hate the game SO much right now.


Oh and if this doesn't unlock the mentioned 'pumpkin shooting range', I'm going to scream. What torture is this anyway, giving you the best bow controls ever, but not showing you a shooting range.

[BreakABone]

1) It doesn't unlock the Pumpkin Shooting Range, that's actually on Skyloft. I know weird.
2)I got it the first time I tried it.

I just remember following the skinnier audience member because he was moving slower, and never doing full motions.

[Angrist]

Ok, you're the 5th guy who says he got it the first time. I hate it so much.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Angrist

Ok, you're the 5th guy who says he got it the first time. I hate it so much.

Wait, have you gotten any prize for it yet?

[Angrist]

Nope, nothing. I get to the end of the song, but they keep telling me it wasn't good enough. I almost know their lines by heart now.

I know the quest started with me breaking their chandelier for a piece of heart, but this torture isn't worth it.

[DarkMaster]

tried it myself, seemed to do it perfectly, and failed a number of times. I haven't attempted it since. good luck.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Hmm... I got it the first time too.

[Jason1]

Angrist, you are not alone. I'll bet it took my 15 to 20 times to finally get it, and even then they said basically something like "meh, that was good enough I guess". So I am assuming that you can do it better and possiblly get a better reward.

But yea, I have no idea what I did that was better the time I actually passed it. Seems like if you are doing it right the music starts to kick up, and adds layers or something, so you can sorta tell if your doing in properly, it gets a little louder. Hope this helps.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Jason1

Angrist, you are not alone. I'll bet it took my 15 to 20 times to finally get it, and even then they said basically something like "meh, that was good enough I guess". So I am assuming that you can do it better and possiblly get a better reward.

But yea, I have no idea what I did that was better the time I actually passed it. Seems like if you are doing it right the music starts to kick up, and adds layers or something, so you can sorta tell if your doing in properly, it gets a little louder. Hope this helps.

I believe, you only get the one prize for it, or so I've read.

Since I got it first time, never bothered to try it again

[Ginkasa]

They pay you to do it again after that. I think the amount they pay you depends on how well you do it.

Anyway, I got it the first time also...

[Angrist]

I've been thinking. How is it even possible to get it the first time? You don't know the rythm (the faster parts and those where you pause), but apparently you passed the test.

So how did you do that? Did you maybe have a delay in your motions, is that the trick? I figure you saw what they did and tried to copy it, causing a delay. And you passed.

I'll try that.