[SPOILERS!!] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[yesteryeargames]

Please dont mention anything in this thread about what you saw, infact i may just stay well clear from any zelda threads,

 

I bid you farewell ....

[Dante]

So GameTrailer podcast Invisible Wall had talks about the game before the final review and picnicked the game - ie "The dowsing rod sucks. They should have had waypoints just like every other game.", "they need to bring this game up to the standards of its competitors" & "I think that people should wait until the next Zelda comes out on the Wii U, and have some innovation."

 

I didn't think Link using his sword for dowsing class as a spoiler.

[Mr-Paul]

Are we going to be use this thread to discuss events/where we are in the game?

 

I'm about an hour and a half/two hours in:

 

Really enjoying it so far. Love the vibe around Skyloft and that it is different from anything we've had in Zelda before. Also quite quick to start, it goes through all the tutorial stuff but doesn't seem to drag on as long as in Twilight Princess.

 

My favourite thing about it so far is the relationship/sexual tension between Link and Zelda. They've pulled it off so well, it doesn't feel forced or wrong in any way.

Just reached the surface, met the lady in the Temple and about to head into the Faron Woods.

 

 

The graphics, animation, music and atmosphere are just great.

[LostOverThere]

Without spoiling too much, can you discuss what the animation is like? I heard someone describe it as "Disney-good".

[yesteryeargames]

Dam the PAL version is not all shinny like the usa box/cover

[Oxigen_Waste]

Ok... I can't play it. Is anyone else having HUGE problems with the flying??? I can't get past the initial wing ceremony, where you chase the yellow bird. Is it just me? It's unresponsive, the camera perspective is constantly looking down and I can't situate myself, and you're always dropping, I can't fly up... I've literally spent an entire hour trying to do this and can't do anything at all except wander cluelessly about at the bottom... what the fuck?????

 

=/

[tapedeck]

Up to the second "dungeon" although the whole game is one big dungeon. As others have said the atmosphere is sublime.

 

The animation is also brilliant. I was watching a scene again as my nephew's started a new file and Link was stood scratching his head and putting his hands on his hips and looking about whilst listening. Just the icing on the cake. Also, they expressions of the characters is far greater than TP - more akin to Windwaker but even better. There's a bit I've seen in a "pub" like area and the reactions people have are absolutely brilliant with THE best localisation work ever. I was literally laughing my ass off at the characterization . It was up there with the "SPLIIIISH" guy from Windwaker.

 

I've come from Uncharted 3 to playing this and haven't felt like the animation is inferior. I'd love to see Link putting his hands on walls like Drake does though.

The first main area reminded me of Banjo Kazooie too which is pure winnage.

[Mike]

Ok... I can't play it. Is anyone else having HUGE problems with the flying??? I can't get past the initial wing ceremony, where you chase the yellow bird. Is it just me? It's unresponsive, the camera perspective is constantly looking down and I can't situate myself, and you're always dropping, I can't fly up... I've literally spent an entire hour trying to do this and can't do anything at all except wander cluelessly about at the bottom... what the fuck?????

 

=/

 

I had that problem the first time I tried, too. I imagine that, like me, you're not doing the flapping motion to regain height.

 

EDIT: Ah, just seen in the other thread that you've tried that. Very weird..

Edited November 17, 2011 by Mike

[Oxigen_Waste]

I had that problem the first time I tried, too. I imagine that, like me, you're not doing the flapping motion to regain height.

 

EDIT: Ah, just seen in the other thread that you've tried that. Very weird..

 

It was probably some bug... the camera was fixated from the start as if I was pressing Z... Very weird indeed. Screw it, I restarted and breezed through it... Felt very relieved!

[Ashley]

Without spoiling too much, can you discuss what the animation is like? I heard someone describe it as "Disney-good".

 

It's a marked improvement, although I'd say its more Japanese with a Disney charm (i.e. its limited but effective).

 

Anyway thought I'd pimp this out:

 

 

^_^

[Hamishmash]

In the review it says you can get bombs the first time you visit the bazaar... but it said I needed a bomb bag which I don't have yet...

[tetra1982]

I got the game today and due to work i only played an hour so i am writing the following based mostly on videos, reviews and extremely little game time.

 

SS seems great. A lot of new stuff without ruin what made Zelda what we all love. But my question is. Next year Nintendo is entering to a new stage. Will have a (at least what rumours say) a powerfull HD console. I myself think its time for a new direction in Zelda games.

 

What do you think? Maybe voice acting (kinda like Half Life. Everybody but Link)? Totally different dungeons or maybe no dungeons at all and a new open world... I dont know...

What you guys think?

[EEVILMURRAY]

My favourite thing about it so far is the relationship/sexual tension between Link and Zelda. They've pulled it off so well, it doesn't feel forced or wrong in any way.

Really? I was thinking "Awkward." every time they mentioned it.

[Mokong]

Had a quick go on this earlier got up to getting the bird back. (I'm gonna miss Epona Riding on birds is so Avatar )

 

I did not know the girl I caught a glimps of at E3 before I turned away would be Zelda, didn't expect that Link would know her right from the start. Was expecting it to be someone else Link grew up with like Saria in OOT, his sister in WW or Illia in TP and that you would meet Zelda later in the game.

 

Also her dad....

 

 

wonder will he become the owl from OOT?

 

And I guess with this taking place before OOT it gives better reasoning for the bird symbol on the Hyrule family chest... which I always assumed was a Phoenix but I guess it is now meant to represent the bird thingys in this (forgot the name already... Loftsomething?)

 

Wonder if the Groose guy might also turn into a relation of Ganondorf?

 

 

Oh also love the new Dash move and great animation too all round so far.

 

Though hate the HUD, can't believe that ugly wiimote thing made it to the final game.... is there anyway to get rid of it?

[Mike]

You can get rid of almost everything in the HUD in your gear menu.

[Hamishmash]

I love how in this game, Zelda is...

not exactly kidnapped but going on her own adventure. She totally made it through the Skyview Temple all by herself... I like that.

 

 

Also... I can't find Beedle's ship anywhere? People keep telling me he's flying around Skyloft but can't see him anywhere. :/

[ViPeR]

Played this for a good few hours. I'm liking it so far, it's definitely different. The highlights so far for me have been the story and the cinematics. Controls have been a little fiddly and took a while to get used to. Music has been pretty good but not stand out so far. Some of it has really worked and some still hasn't moved on from the 'plinkety plonk' style of TP (like as if it's all done on xylophone).

[EEVILMURRAY]

At this moment in time it's all feeling a little "meh", I've just entered the fire zone and there's just something about the game which is uninspiring me. I think the flying is majorly shite*, with things that are supposed to speed you up (dive bombing, the A-prompt) seeming to do fuck all in terms of getting you somewhere quicker. Plus I have found myself mislead over Fi, I kept reading her dry humour and charm was funny. She seems like such a robot with percentage this/factor that. I like it, don't get me wrong, but it's like having a member of the Borg with you.

 

 

 

*Although the ability to sit down on the toilet and have it flush as you stand up is a master stroke.

[Burny]

I think the flying is majorly shite*, with things that are supposed to speed you up (dive bombing, the A-prompt) seeming to do fuck all in terms of getting you somewhere quicker.

 

It does speed you up. While you're nowhere near an island though, you have little reference, so it's hard to tell. Traveling in general seems extremely fast though. It takes no time to get anywhere with the bird and if you want to dive beneath the clouds, you can practically warp anywhere, because there are so many bird statues.

 

 

Low point for me was the whole intro section. It's cool that they're trying to ease newcomers into the game and make you care for Links relationship with Zelda, but it takes decidedly too long until anything interesting happens. Although It took still considerably less time to get geared up and make the way to the first dungeon than what I remember from Twilight Princess.

 

I liked the whole area before the first dungeon. It was essentially a "fetch quest", but the resulting light exploration is fun and results in an item. There are actually creatures out there, who interact with Link in different ways than attacking him on sight. That goes a long way for me. Found out that it's actually possible to kill insects with the sword. And crows like to take a dump on links head. :p

 

 

Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that will seriously test some people's patience. I never knew Navi bothered some people this much, before I found out about all the hate she gets on the internet for example. I'm sure those people will want to murder Fi.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Burny

[Ganepark32]

Just completed the first dungeon and I have one issue that's really bugging me: the lack of IR for pointing/aiming. It's sorely missed and I think the game suffers because of it. The motion works well when it works, even if it is a little on the slow side, but the number of times I had to re-calibrate (read: re-centering did not work) through that first dungeon was unbelievable.

 

I'm wondering if it's an issue that's stemming from using a MotionPlus attachment rather than the Wii-mote Plus (I didn't bother with the Limited Edition as it seemed like the stores around me only bought in enough for the staff and they were only taking pre-orders for the bundle) as there were definitely some similar re-calibration issues with Wii Sports Resort and Red Steel 2. Being an attachment, rather than a core feature in the controller, I'm guessing it's easy to throw it off 'centre', if you will, than the Wii-mote Plus. Regardless, using the IR would have resolved the issues for pointing at least. For swordplay, it seems to detect my swings fine but doesn't always replicate the movement in the same direction

 

Oh, and the lack of proper Z-targetting for use on projectile weapons is stupid.

 

------------------

 

Besides those control issues (which I guess I'll get used to), I'm enjoying it. Love the look and sound of the game and some of the little characters I've met so far are ace. And I love the flying. Simplistic, yes, and not as visceral as sailing in Wind Waker but I just love it. And the Birds are awesome too.

[Mr-Paul]

I don't know why reviews are saying this game is really easy - killed twice by skulltulas and twice by the boss in the first dungeon! I guess I'm still getting to grips with the little details in control/sword fighting, but I don't remember any other Zelda posing me such a challenge so early!

[Burny]

I'm wondering if it's an issue that's stemming from using a MotionPlus attachment rather than the Wii-mote Plus

 

It's stemming from your lack of understanding how it works. Or your WM+ is broken, but if you didn't have problems in WSR, it's probably not. It doesn't sound like you're talking about the drift from which Motion+ suffers occasionally either.

 

The moment you activate the map/weapon/whatever with aiming functionality, the game assumes the Wiiremote's current orientation as center. If you point the remote at the wall opposite to your TV at the time, it's naturally the center for your aiming. All you have to do, is point at a comfortable center position before you activate the item.

 

I have to say, aiming works brilliantly here for me. It's of course not shooter levels of speed, but the accuracy is nothing to scoff at. The one thing I would've preferred, is a combination of the IR-pointer and the Motion+ aiming. Pointer for faster aiming and automatic recentering of the cursor and Motion+ for whenever the remote can't recognize the sensor bar anymore. Lack of "proper Z-targeting" means no more auto-killing bats across half a room.

[EEVILMURRAY]

It does speed you up. While you're nowhere near an island though, you have little reference, so it's hard to tell. Traveling in general seems extremely fast though. It takes no time to get anywhere with the bird and if you want to dive beneath the clouds, you can practically warp anywhere, because there are so many bird statues.

Even using points of reference I still find it time consuming and boring. Kinda like Wind Waker, except you didn't have to hold the remote straight. I first found myself jumping off my Loftwing way too soon to the portals since I thought I was close (before learning it's considerate enough to let you know)

[Burny]

Even using points of reference I still find it time consuming and boring. Kinda like Wind Waker, except you didn't have to hold the remote straight. I first found myself jumping off my Loftwing way too soon to the portals since I thought I was close (before learning it's considerate enough to let you know)

 

Frankly, this doesn't even come close to the drag, that was Wind Waker's traveling for me. If you want to go somewhere in WW, by the time you have placed the instrument and the sail on the item buttons, played the melody to warp as close as possible and played the next melody to change the wind direction, you've practically arrived where you want to go in SS. And that's before you would've even started sailing in WW. By flying through the holes in some of the rocks, you can speed up the whole process even more.

 

Now, about the charme of the clouds or how much there is to explore, that's something where WW's ocean really offers more. Personally, I take "not getting in the way" and fun flying over what WW did anytime though. The only thing I'm not 100% comfortable with is the wing flap. The motion has to be too elaborate for my liking (or I haven't found the appropriate "lazy" motion yet :p).

 

And next time you jump off your Loftwing, you won't just think you're close, but instead press "Z" before you jump.

[Mokong]

Well I got to the point where I could turn the ugly horrible HUD off not long into my 2nd session last night. God that is a relief, was getting worried I;d be stuck with that thing Pro mode FTW

 

I'm not finding the flying too hard, no issues with getting up high and speeding up. Only issue I have is with flying dead straight Makes it hard sometimes lining up to get into those speed boost rocks. Not minding the distances either. So far I found Fun Island but nothing was there yet and then the Pub (and made the owner mad at me ) before venturing to the ground. Thought the pub was awesome, wasn't expecting anything like it in the game haha.

 

Also little things like the bathroom and toilet in the academy, my god never thought I'd see link sitting on the jacks, haha, did Suda51 have any part in the development of SS?

 

Also being able to sleep in any bed is kinda weird. First time I wanted to change to night I used Links bed.... but then to change back to morning I used Krane's(sp?) bed.... that felt dirty, haha, like I was cheating on Zelda

 

Is that the only way to change time? I didn't have time to wait round and see if time changed naturally as it did in previous games?

 

Anyway ventured down to the ground and did a fair bit down there. Love killing the Baba's now, slicing their heads in half feels so violent yet satisfying, haha. Got a little annoyed with the goblins though as they kept blocking my sword, had to get up and get full into the sword fighting at points but I LOVED it. (though keep forgetting the shield... too used to it being auto held up with Z)

 

The dowsing thing I liked... think I spied in this or the other thread some review didn't like that and said waypoints should be used (I assume that's like in an FPS the dot with the distance guiding you... or the arrow in Xenoblade). I prefer the dowsing, the maps don't seem as open and large as Xenoblade's were (unfortunatley) so it not as easy to get totally lost so a big arrow pointing you where to go is not needed. And the FPS style dot would seem so out of place. The dowsing also allows you more chance to explore and be more mindful of your surroundings which I think is great.

 

Not sure about the save system yet though, there seems to be enough statues scattered around but if you are moving forward and don't know when the next one will be I keep thinking "should I go back and save first just in case... man I wish I could save at will"

 

Oh and the story and charaterisation seems to be the best so far in a Zelda game. The whole begining on Skyloft and the interaction between Link and other characters espeically Zelda.... damn I so thought she was gonna kiss him to end the ceremony on the statue... should have figured she'd push me off

 

I do find myself wishing though it did have voice overs though, a cast like the one Xenoblade had could work well and just leave Link mute

 

Anyway made it to the first dungeon temple thing got as far as getting the Beetle before I was forced to call it a night (won't be able to play again till tomorrow evening ) Seems both different yet familiar in terms of Zelda dungeons so far, enjoying it.

 

One thing that is annoying me though is trying to kill the giant Skultullas that hang and swing from the ceiling. I can turn them around but finding it hard to hit the weak spot with a stab. Also came across two that were stationary on a web, was able to get behind them and slingshot then final blow... but missed the final blow on the second and it started running after me.... how the hell do you flip it over when it is on the ground?

 

But yeah I am loving it just wish I had more free time, haha.

Now that I got rid of the HUD the only thing that is niggling at me is I guess there is no Hyrule Field type area on the ground from how the map seems to be filling in which is a bit of a shame.... guess this also might come from my saddness at the loss of a horse... EPONA

 

On and yeah Fi is starting to become a bit annoying... the robot style personality is getting to me a bit and just seems so out of place in a Zelda game.... a "wise sage" type personality with maybe some flowery olde timey words would have been better, maybe.

 

EDIT:

 

Oh and did anyone else find it weird starting with more than 3 hearts?

Edited November 19, 2011 by Mokong