[Spoiler-Free] Zelda: Skyward Sword

[Cube]

I really don't find the "fetch" quests bad at all. They're barely even "fetch"...I think you're just overstating it

 

That's kind of what I was going to say. I was expecting a short fetch quest, but it turned into so much more.

[MindFreak]

I downright enjoyed most of it and wouldn't call anything but the last part padding.

 

Precisely, I enjoyed that too. I just didn't get the overall negative opinion of this part of the game. It wasn't like you were told to fetch things in areas you already had explored 100 % anyway.

[Tales]

So far, Skyward Sword gives Wind Waker a good spanking in my book, if only for being nearly perfectly paced and not dragging me through the great boredom (read: ocean) that was Wind Wakers overworld.

 

And flying is? WW overworld>SS overworld. I really felt like an explorer in WW sailing to uncharted islands. SS doesn't give the same feeling.

 

Finished the third dungeon yesterday.(managed to spank a glass full with water halfway across the room >_>) Great but short boss fight.

[Burny]

And flying is?

 

Fun, fast, uncomplicated and not in the way of the actual fun stuff.

 

As I mentioned, Skyward Sword doesn't compare to how I invested I felt in OoT. But those were the feelings of a twelve year old, who was scared of the zombies and dropping hands, and no game has actually replicated this since. And I can't actually fault the games for being able to see "the strings", as I grow older. In everything but that fuzzy memory, Skyward Sword stacks up well to my memory of OoT and certainly to Wind Waker. Wind Waker disappointed me in too many aspects and certainly made sure that I never enjoyed the sailing, by making it clumsy and long-winded.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Burny

[Tales]

Then we got two wildly opposite opinion :p Whenever I fly I'm disappointed there is no fast travel option or more interesting islands. The whole world feels pointless and barren.

[Hero-of-Time]

Stop freaking changing the title of this thread. It ain't even funny.

[Ronnie]

Amazed some people consider the flying as superior to the sailing.

 

Without asking for spoilers, at this point I'm going to assume the surface areas are totally disconnected on land and you're incapable of going from one to the other without flying and dropping. In other words, the sky is a glorified level select. NOT what Zelda is about. But I shall carry on with an open mind and hope this mechanic changes my mind.

[Cube]

Amazed some people consider the flying as superior to the sailing.

 

While all the islands and stuff in Wind Waker is far superior, the actual flying is much better than the sailing in Wind Waker.

[Burny]

Then we got two wildly opposite opinion :p Whenever I fly I'm disappointed there is no fast travel option or more interesting islands. The whole world feels pointless and barren.

 

Just like Wind Waker's then. And they both share what I liked most about Wind Waker's world: a town with interesting people and side quests.

 

Unlike in Wind Waker though, it takes about 30 seconds to travel from Skyloft to practically any point of interest in the land below, where the actual game plays out. Speaking in Wind Waker terms, those 30 seconds would be used to assign the sail and conductor's baton to buttons again, play the melody to warp somewhere and play another melody to change the wind direction. That's before the sailing has even started.

 

I agree with the sentiment that there are too few interesting islands in the clouds and that they could've made it far more interesting than it is. It actually disappointed me at first. On the other hand, here I don't have to search for interesting islands, which I never found in Wind Waker either. They've build a great game in the areas below the clouds, and it takes mere seconds to get there. Seriously, compared to practically all "fast-travel" options in previous Zelda games, Skyward Sword's flying and skydiving to the respective bird statue is lightning fast.

 

In other words, the sky is a glorified level select. NOT what Zelda is about. But I shall carry on with an open mind and hope this mechanic changes my mind.

What is Zelda about? Having a barren Hyrule field that creates the illusion of a connected world and is in reality little more than a tedious level selection in itself? I'll take what they did in Skyward Sword (up to the fifth dungeon that is): excellent puzzle-mechanics and great pacing and challenges, even if they don't hide the strings well.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Burny

[FalcoLombardi]

Just made it down to the surface for the first time. This game is gorgeous.

[Grazza]

What is Zelda about? Having a barren Hyrule field that creates the illusion of a connected world and is in reality little more than a tedious level selection in itself? I'll take what they did in Skyward Sword (up to the fifth dungeon that is): excellent puzzle-mechanics and great pacing and challenges, even if they don't hide the strings well.

 

It's funny how the celebrated Zelda formula of overworld, dungeons and villages, all connected and all to the same scale, has suddenly become "tedious" now Skyward Sword's taken another route.

[Goron_3]

It's funny how the celebrated Zelda formula of overworld, dungeons and villages, all connected and all to the same scale, has suddenly become "tedious" now Skyward Sword's taken another route.

 

Well its the same route really, just the areas before the dungeons are like mini-dungeons. Twilight Princess got criticism for following the same route but having next to nothing in terms of city's and town's. This game gets rid of that aspect completely by focusing on a much more linear, unconnected world, but it still follows the same structure developed since OoT.

 

Changes definitely work for the better though, just wish the overworld actually had a purpose. It's so damn empty and just acts as a level select stage. Reminds me of Peach's Castle from Mario 64 in that regard.

[Burny]

It's funny how the celebrated Zelda formula of overworld, dungeons and villages, all connected and all to the same scale, has suddenly become "tedious" now Skyward Sword's taken another route.

 

Repaper Hyrule field with a cloud texture, make it only traversable with a super fast flying mount for a change, put those few chests, that were worth seeking out, onto flying islands and replace its exits with holes in the clouds, change nothing about the scale whatsoever and you have a Zelda that's no longer about, what Zelda apparently has to be about.

 

Oh, what a little lick of paint can do to the "celebrated" Zelda formula.

 

As for "suddenly" becoming tedious, I don't know. Both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess did their best to make the player traverse as much space as possible, and neither can be "celebrated" for filling that space with a lot of substance.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Burny

[Dog-amoto]

Is it just me or did the developers decide that things weren't quite awkward enough in the Zelda series, and decided to make simple actions far more fiddly?

 

Such as

 

Filling your bomb bag. During the second boss it was really tedious having to fill it one at a time

 

 

Got to be honest, 12 hours in, I was actually enjoying Twilight Princess more. This game has provided so much unnecessary frustration so far. As I've mentioned before, most of the controls, apart from sword swinging could have been handled much better by an analogue stick or a button press.

 

And to be honest, I haven't really noticed a difference in the structure of the game compared to the others. You still seem to go from

 

Skyloft, then to the area near the dungeon, meet a few local creatures, figure out how to open the temple, then beat it, acquiring a new item on the way. And the first two temples have been really bland, especially the fire one. There's only been one floor, and no real puzzles to speak of. And there's still the same old formula - get the slingshot in the forest dungeon and bomb bags in the second

 

 

Eiji Aonuma told us to "expect surprises" for this new Zelda when it was first announced. However, the only surprise I have come across so far is that this game is so...ordinary. It's not bad at all, but I honestly expected a lot more, especially after the reviews it was getting.

[Burny]

Is it just me or did the developers decide that things weren't quite awkward enough in the Zelda series, and decided to make simple actions far more fiddly?

 

Such as

 

Filling your bomb bag. During the second boss it was really tedious having to fill it one at a time

As they made that simple action far more easy and convenient by allowing you to replenish stock literally everywhere and anytime that way, it's probably just you.

 

Edit:

Skyloft, then to the area near the dungeon, meet a few local creatures, figure out how to open the temple, then beat it, acquiring a new item on the way. And the first two temples have been really bland, especially the fire one. There's only been one floor, and no real puzzles to speak of. And there's still the same old formula - get the slingshot in the forest dungeon and bomb bags in the second

You did not get it in the forest dungeon. You also got a rather useful item before the second dungeon.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Burny

[Goron_3]

Is it just me or did the developers decide that things weren't quite awkward enough in the Zelda series, and decided to make simple actions far more fiddly?

 

Such as

 

Filling your bomb bag. During the second boss it was really tedious having to fill it one at a time

 

 

Got to be honest, 12 hours in, I was actually enjoying Twilight Princess more. This game has provided so much unnecessary frustration so far. As I've mentioned before, most of the controls, apart from sword swinging could have been handled much better by an analogue stick or a button press.

 

And to be honest, I haven't really noticed a difference in the structure of the game compared to the others. You still seem to go from

 

Skyloft, then to the area near the dungeon, meet a few local creatures, figure out how to open the temple, then beat it, acquiring a new item on the way. And the first two temples have been really bland, especially the fire one. There's only been one floor, and no real puzzles to speak of. And there's still the same old formula - get the slingshot in the forest dungeon and bomb bags in the second

 

 

Eiji Aonuma told us to "expect surprises" for this new Zelda when it was first announced. However, the only surprise I have come across so far is that this game is so...ordinary. It's not bad at all, but I honestly expected a lot more, especially after the reviews it was getting.

 

It's defo the same as the other Zelda's in terms of doing a first fetch quest (usually involving going to 3 dungeons, apart from in WW) and then something important happening (going 7 years into the future, Tower of the Gods, that AWESOME cut scene with Ganondorf in TP), and then being sent on a second fetch quest (powering up the master sword, collecting mirror shards, getting 6 medallions). But don't worry, the dungeons are simply incredible. I know it might seem a bit weird that they only have 1 floor for now but the design, especially the next couple you'll enter, is just brilliant.

 

It's strange they haven't included more characters and towns/cities to explore to break the game up into chapters and for the player to engage in more things outside of the dungeon mechanic. That said, this is definitely the best application of the OoT Zelda formula by a long way. While I prefer WW in some regards, their are aspects of this game that just blow it out of the water.

[Ronnie]

It's defo the same as the other Zelda's in terms of doing a first fetch quest (usually involving going to 3 dungeons, apart from in WW) and then something important happening (going 7 years into the future, Tower of the Gods, that AWESOME cut scene with Ganondorf in TP), and then being sent on a second fetch quest (powering up the master sword, collecting mirror shards, getting 6 medallions).

 

Hang on, I've always assumed when people said "fetch quests", they meant things like 'go to this place on your map, get this item, and bring it back here so you can proceed'. Isn't that the kind of thing that people have been complaining about coming later in SS?

 

If 'fetch quests' simply mean going to a dungeon and picking up a pearl/mirror shard/energy for master sword, that's to be expected in a Zelda game surely.

[Goron_3]

Hang on, I've always assumed when people said "fetch quests", they meant things like 'go to this place on your map, get this item, and bring it back here so you can proceed'. Isn't that the kind of thing that people have been complaining about coming later in SS?

 

If 'fetch quests' simply mean going to a dungeon and picking up a pearl/mirror shard/energy for master sword, that's to be expected in a Zelda game surely.

 

I couldn't think of a better word, fetch quest wasn't a good choice. I'll edit it when I think of a more appropriate one. But yeah, the whole description of 'go to this place on your map, get this item and bring it back here' is what I think we all refer to by fetch quest. Pretty much the reason I stopped playing Assassin's Creed 2

[Ronnie]

Ah ok haha, shame I quite enjoy the 'go to a dungeon and get something at the end' type of 'fetch quest' so would have had no worries with lots of those at the end of the game!

[Goron_3]

Ah ok haha, shame I quite enjoy the 'go to a dungeon and get something at the end' type of 'fetch quest' so would have had no worries with lots of those at the end of the game!

 

As long as it's not the triforce quest again

[Cube]

Is it just me or did the developers decide that things weren't quite awkward enough in the Zelda series, and decided to make simple actions far more fiddly?

 

Such as

 

Filling your bomb bag. During the second boss it was really tedious having to fill it one at a time

 

 

I don't quite get your reasoning.

 

You can still get bombs in clusters from grass and jars (it's just not common as your bag is usually pretty full), and in older games if bombs were important to a boss and you ran out, you had to hope some would spawn from jars or only use the bomb flowers in the area.

 

[Dog-amoto]

I don't quite get your reasoning.

 

You can still get bombs in clusters from grass and jars (it's just not common as your bag is usually pretty full), and in older games if bombs were important to a boss and you ran out, you had to hope some would spawn from jars or only use the bomb flowers in the area.

 

Can you? Sorry haven't got that far yet as to find any so my apologies. My other thoughts still stand though.

[philcollins]

5th dungeon boss is another awesome one.

[Mokong]

Finished the 3rd dungeon yesterday and loved it.

One thing that was kinda niggling at me is the lack of multiple floors in dungeons like we've had in previous games as it kinda makes the dungeons seem smaller, especially the 1st and 2nd.... but the 3rd was of a nice size/length with some great puzzles. Not to mention actually getting to the dungeon was a great adventure too. Enjoyed the boss too, although it was an obvious way to incorporate motion controls into the fight it was still a pretty cool fight.

 

Also the new item is nice too and not what I thought I would get in that dungeon.

 

Oh yeah does anyone know if when Link gets a choice of "things to say" does your choice effect anything in story situations?

 

When Link jumps in and helps Impa and you get to choose between "Go", "Save Zelda" or "Am I Late"... I picked "Am I Late" just to give Link a bit of a smart ass (Spiderman like) attitude, haha. But ust wondering if there's any lasting effects of your choices.

 

 

Speaking of the new item I used it in a side quest back on Skyloft..... is it possible to make the wrong choice and miss getting something?

 

I cleaned up Pipits mothers house then at night Pipit was having an argument with his mother, when he came out and saw me I had two choices "Sorry" or "Hear What?"... I choose "Hear What" and he just ran off and nothing else happened.

 

It was ages since I had saved as I went collecting Goddess Cube chests when I got back to the sky so I just left it

 

 

Also found another side quest which I'm sure is a choice of doing one thing or another.... I saved it there then to finish up.... trying to decide which option to go with for that side... a Zelda game with choices?

 

Oh and just some speculation kinda after 3rd dungeon

Did anyone else after the cut scene look around the temple of time and go "This isn't just A Temple of Time... this is "The Temple of Time". As in anyone else get the feeling at the end of the game the desert will become a green field again, the temple rebuilt and Link seals away the Master Sword behind the door of time so that Link in OOT can find it there?

 

[flameboy]

Ok so just finished the hot dungeon (2nd/3rd I don't remember argh so braindead from ofsted madness) and last night started exploring the next area and such and just wow very clever and subtle and different "dualness" that relates back to such mechanics in previous games.