Grazza

Do you know what I hope this doesn't have? Synthesising. I just can't explain how irritating I find it in the DS game. There they are, my group of monsters, but I can't resist merging one with the other, and subsequently can't remember which skills which has got, and it all goes round in circles and circles. It's taken me years to play the DS game, and I still haven't completed it. There's just something about Synthesising that doesn't sit right with me.

See, for all I've said, some of this game really is brilliant. I did the 6th dungeon last night and wasn't very impressed with the boss. On the other hand, I've just done the section afterwards and it was goosebumps time again. The storytelling and excitement is series-best material. I think I have to rate this above Twilight Princess, really, apart from on a few points.

Done it, Retro. The age bit was sobering.

Different people. It's as simple as that. You will never find me saying Twilight Princess stuck too closely to the formula. The Zelda formula is loved for what it is, not what it isn't! I do accept a lot of people criticised it though. That's part of the problem, in my opinion. People want "fresh" Zeldas too much without realising (don't want to sound arrogant here) that what makes a great Zelda is evolution allowed by much-improved hardware combined with an artistic vision, eg. LttP, OOT, WW. And so you get those ridiculous 10/10 scores for Phantom Hourglass, just because it was fresh. It's a shame, but it's still a taboo to admit the Wii is not advanced enough over the GameCube. GameCube Turbo? The way Skyward Sword struggles to run, it's easy to doubt the "Turbo" bit. No, TPs problem was not the formula. If anything, it just didn't feel advanced enough after Wind Waker, and I maintain that it would have been better if not for the Wii version. The good news is Skyward Sword greatly improves over Twilight Princess in many areas: story, tone, NPCs, side quests, enemy design, bosses and dungeons (arguably), as well as items. When I think back to TP's items, Skyward Sword's really are a lot more fun. So, it's not like I'm saying Skyward Sword is a terrible game, just that it doesn't come together as a whole as well as TP. Never gets into that Zelda rhythm. No, it wouldn't, and it's a good question. It would just feel more like Metroid Prime, whereas at the moment it's a bit like Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. The issue is that the overworld/s just doesn't feel like a real place. It doesn't feel like it accomodate the things that Zelda games typically have in them. Anyway, let me make it clear: I am NOT disappointed with Skyward Sword - I think it's a great experiment, exactly what Zelda on the Wii should have been like. Nor do I see it as particularly negative that I think it's probably the least of the five 3D Zeldas.

I agree, Hero of Time. Of all the things I mentioned, the bosses are the only one that I can't think of any better versions in past games. Yeah, I love OOT, MM and WW, but I don't want to be too nostalgic about the bosses themselves. Skyward Sword's are fantastic! The items are pretty fun too.

Contact lenses are pretty amazing, Goafer. I don't think you've got anything to worry about. They fit perfectly and you'll be walking about feeling like your eyes have suddenly become perfect. I don't wear them though because I couldn't get fast enough at taking them in and out. Other than that, I have no reservations about them. They're certainly worth a try!

It's not as good as any of the other 3D Zeldas, really, because it just doesn't stick to the formula closely enough. They are all clearer, more coherent visions than Skyward Sword, and all have better overworlds. Skyward Sword is certainly below OOT, MM and WW. It's more of an equal to Twilight Princess, but even then, for all it improves on, it falters in other ways. There's nowhere as atmospheric as TP's Lake Hylia or Hyrule Field in SS and, forgetting about the Twilight Realm bits, TP falls into more of a rhythm than this latest game. On the other hand, there are some imaginative, smooth-flowing dungeons, some excellent bosses, and the tone is a very well-judged one of humour and romance. The NPCs are really colourful - you'll love them, Fused King. Imagine a jumble of a game with some very good bits scattered around here and there, and that's Skyward Sword.

I've never understood why Namco games (and some Capcom ones) have such a small print run, when there is always more demand for them, without fail. All that happens is that people who want it have to pay full price for a 2nd-hand one, whereas if they printed more, Namco would get all the money.

@Burny You're right, obviously. I'm just saying it's a bit of a shame people don't value consoles as much as, say, smartphones, which I think cost a fortune.

Yeah, I shouldn't have confused "run" and "dash". It's just coincidence that I wanted to do that earlier.

Awesome how you got the powerslide so realistic, RedShell!

Am I the only one who would rather pay a high price for it if it meant the hardware was going to be better? Consoles are pretty cheap anyway compared to other consumer technology. Skimping doesn't get you anywhere other than regretting it's not more powerful years down the line (or sooner).

I would read up as much about the glitch as possible. It hardly spoils anything. Besides, that'll be nothing compared to the anger you'd feel if you don't have enough information and it ruined your game. Another idea is to Copy your file every time the game suggests you save, eg. after every proper dungeon. Save & Quit, press the + button to copy, then you can get back to your game in an instant. Just done the 5th dungeon and thought it was very unique, with a very original and exciting boss.

Is it? I thought people would like it, in the same way they liked TP's Ice Mansion. By the way, you haven't accidentally entered the wrong thread, have you?

I agree, but I thought Aonuma implied they were sticking with motion controls. Just saying there's no reason to stick to the exact Wii remote + nunchuk, even if they do keep motion controls, that's all.

Yeah, that's going to be a real issue. Do they forget that the concept of the Wii U is a traditional controller with a screen? If so, would that be just for Zelda? And yes, I wouldn't mind all types of movement (flying, swimming etc) mapped to the analogue stick. Even if they do stick to motion controls, I think they should create a new controller, for three reasons: 1) Nunchuk needs a gyroscope for shield control. 2) AA batteries should be replaced with a rechargeable battery. 3) It would be an opportunity to make MotionPlus better, eg. even more accurate and with less need for re-centering. Not too important, but it would be welcome nontheless. Basically, as much as I'm enjoying this, I'd rather not have to use the actual Wii controller for the Wii U.

They're the best (only) places I've been able to get regular StreetPasses, building the demo unit Miis up to Level 7.

You need a regular anyway, darksnowman. A once-only Mii is no better than a Lvl 1 hired warrior, and can even be worse because you occasionally get a Lvl 2 warrior. No GAMEs or HMVs near you?

Just done the 4th dungeon, which was really good in its own right: quite complicated, but smooth-flowing enough if you follow the Zelda methodology. But then the boss... Oh man, the boss was sheer, utter genius. I don't say this lightly, but that's the best boss in any Zelda game, ever. Can't believe I'm saying this, but it just wouldn't have been as much fun with traditional controls. If Skyward Sword continues like this, I can see where all those 10/10 scores came from.

That's what I was thinking earlier. If it doesn't come back to you of its own accord, it's not a proper pet. It's just keeping an animal. I don't want to go too far, because obviously keeping a rabbit or budgie is completely different from the thread subject matter, but I do agree with the sentiment.

It would be justice though, not actual pleasure. Anger is a natural trait, cruelty is not.

They're not native animals (most of them), it's not fair to keep them in cages, they get fed a lot of live animals (like this). I'm not saying people who keep reptiles are assholes, it's just that, on balance, I don't agree with keeping them as pets. And if you beat him, doesn't that mean you are getting pleasure from hurting another person? You'd be just as bad as him then. No, that would be out of anger, not cruelty. People like this need to be punished much more than they are.

Well, I've been playing this for a week (20+) hours and have only done the first three dungeons. It feels strange to be going this slowly in a Zelda game, although I think Twilight Princess was the same.

Cruelty is the worst human trait of all. I can accept bad things happen, but being cruel for pleasure is totally disgusting. I actually find it hard to accept I'm the same species as the type of scumbag who'd do this. And no, I don't agree with feeding snakes live rodents either (reptiles should be banned as pets, frankly, for all sorts of reasons), but it is worse that it's a cat. Cats and dogs wouldn't even exist in their current form unless humans had domesticated them. We've brought them into our lives, and a few scumbags like this betray their trust. Let's just hope one day the snake turns on him and kills him. Then ask him if he still likes suffering so much.