Johnstantine
Skibbidy Boo Bop
frankencowx said:
I can't stand that guy. He was funny the first time, but then his schtick got old quick.
frankencowx said:
Walter said:Many valid points, but as always, he overexaggerates the game's flaws to the point of absurdity.
Johnstantine said:I can't stand that guy. He was funny the first time, but then his schtick got old quick.
Walter said:Yeah, this iteration of Zelda is pretty cute.
Johnstantine said:I can't stand that guy. He was funny the first time he made fun of a game I didn't care about, but then his schtick got old quick when it was one I liked.
Aazealh said:I've been too lazy to write a review of the game so far but it can be summed up by saying I have mixed feelings.
Regarding swordplay, there are opportunities for nuanced movements and creative thinking, but they are few and far between. For example, the yellow/golden man-eating plants. They change their weakness based on which direction your sword arm is oriented. If you hold it horizontally, it'll orient its mouth vertically, and vice versa. So to score a hit you have to sort of hold your arm diagonally, between the planes, so you can quickly switch to either stance he's weak to. (Of course, you could just simply use a properly timed shield bash making everything I just said obsolete... but whatever, I'm making a point!)Griffith said:As for the real gameplay, it's impressive, especially for someone that doesn't have a lot of experience with the Wii. It's interesting how they've changed the battle mechanics to fit this mold, sacrificing mobility for better swordplay. In some ways it's more complex, but in others still pretty simplistic. Mostly because I find that most things don't work unless you do it the right way, which means keeping it simple. So, rather than a lot of nuanced sword fighting there's more of a SWING LIKE THIS philosophy (so far). Even that can be inconsistent with certain enemies as sometimes it feels it's very particular and other times like you can just do whatever. It adds some challenge, though I can't tell if it's because the fights are actually better or I'm just worse, but as far as that goes it's been a long time since the bosses/enemies in a Zelda game and the word "challenge" could even be used in the same sentence. All in all it's very cool.
Mostly agree with you about the controls, but they only really got in my way when the game forced you to repeatedly to a stabbing motion. The detection for that movement is horrible, and ruins those scenes, one of which is A KEY moment in the game. The basic problem is the system normally fails to recognize you shifting your arm slightly in preparation for a stabbing motion for a swing. It also fails if your stab isn't a direct motion forward. Your hand can't be down and to the left when you begin the stab, or that'll be a swing as well, and you'll miss your timing. Basically, I think that part of the game is utterly broken.Gaahl said:That said, I simply love the bow in this game. The way you aim, the way you shoot, it's just perfect.
Walter said:Agree on all points. The highs for me actually weren't as high as they were for you though. Sounds like you enjoyed the game more, so that ending act must have hurt. That water dragon fetch quest is where the game fell apart, to me. What a fatal blow... Right when the game should be spent building momentum for the final act, it instead resorts to mindless, utterly unnecessary trials. After you'd already DONE all the trials.
Aphasia said:The Music was pretty amazing at times.
Aphasia said:Art style. LOVED the art style. And the watercolor effect on distant objects was beautiful.
Aphasia said:Groose was one of my favorites. He made me laugh, and he had good development from a total douche to a good friend and reliable good guy with sweet hair.
Aphasia said:Granny, Ghirahim, Awesome.
Aphasia said:The overall story: I liked it.
Aphasia said:FUNKING dialogue made my eye twitch from impatience. Streamline the shit.
Aphasia said:Overall: Some very touching moments. Some awesome battles. Enjoyed it very much, It's not my favorite Zelda...but it's top 5. Hell of a lot more fun than TP, I thought.
Aphasia said:And Link should've kissed Zelda.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9308-Skyward-Sword said:But what infuriates me about these bumblefucks dismissing my Skyward Sword video with the argument that I'm just biased against Zelda is that in the very same video I reiterated that I really liked Zelda Wind Waker on the Gamecube. This does admittedly put me in a minority, apparently, since most of what it did right has been stubbornly ignored by every console Zelda since. Alright, locking a capable-seeming Princess Zelda in a basement for the last half of the game wasn't doing much for gender relations but the fighting engine worked well, there was an epic free-roaming world to explore and the cartoony visuals will ensure that it never ages poorly. Link was actually able to express emotion and have a visual personality. The first time I saw Link in Skyward Sword I had to stifle a horrified laugh because his exposed nostrils and swollen lips look like he let a swarm of bees practise amateur plastic surgery.
I even liked Twilight Princess quite a lot, although bear in mind I again played the Gamecube, non-motion-controlly version. It had a slow start and was structurally rather similar to Ocarina of Time, but again the game world felt expansive and detailed with lots of lovely varied locations and dungeons. Even if it wasn't a revolutionary take on the concept it was at least an elevation, which is apparently the most anyone expects of Zelda games. The support character, Midna, actually had an interesting arc. I could only think of her with soppy nostalgia as I barely tolerated the monotone creepy-eyed dullard that follows you around in Skyward Sword, endlessly popping out to remind me that my health was critically low while I was busy trying to circle strafe something nasty. And that excruciating is-this-the-emotion-you-call-happiness dialogue in the ending scene made me want to projectile vomit all my innards like a giant party streamer. I mean, at least Navi was enthusiastic, y'know?
So while never quite being what you'd traditionally call a sandbox game, Zelda at its best certainly leans in that direction. Closer to the 'open world' model one associates with Metroidvania, I suppose, exploring new areas once you've unlocked the ability to go there. And what disappointed me about Skyward Sword is that there was a fairly massive downplaying of that exploration element. The game world felt small with just the three questing locations and rather rigid separations between gameplay areas. There didn't seem to be as many opportunities as there usually are to go to places in the open world you'd seen before and can only explore now [that] you've acquired a certain tool, to find optional treasures and all that. I can't even remember any points when you use the whip item in anything except a mandatory story context.
Griffith said:Agreed, the music was at times beautiful, but also largely forgettable. It certainly wasn't as memorable as the Wind Waker soundtrack for example.
Most technically impressive for sure, but I still enjoyed Skyward more than TP in this regard. Maybe because I'm not a big fan of realism in my Zelda games. TP felt like it awkwardly tried to make these cartoony designs serious. Though I don't mean to be a hater on TP, that's just me. My biggest buff with TP was that it felt like I was replaying OOT. What I love about the Zelda series is when they do crazy shit like Windwaker and everyone loves it. So I hope next time they really deviate and do something we don't expect.Griffith said:I've actually kind of flipped on this point. Instead of being a nice balance between the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess style, it's like a half-measure because they knew they couldn't make it look any better than TP, which is actually still the most technically impressive Zelda visually (some of those forest environments and lighting are still downright gorgeous). Though, I liked Link's character model here better than his face in TP (where he looks like the feral boy from The Road Warrior), but he's never looked better than in Ocarina of Time 3D. I don't know why they couldn't get him perfect here too.
Griffith said:Yeah, it was really good development how he switched from one stupid off-the-shelf cliché to another off-screen.
Impa was as cool as she's ever been, but Ghirahim disappointed me when all was said and done, same with the rest of the villains.
It goes beyond that too, with the limited size of the story, world, and number of characters this was a great opportunity to do a full voice Zelda game and really there was no reason it shouldn't have been. Would have really gone well with the Disney style graphics/plot and gone a long way towards making it a more modern IT title without losing anything (other than a lot of waiting for text to scroll across the screen; how did they make this worse than ever before?).
Aphasia said:Definitely. It was odd in that half the music really hit home and the other half was pretty dull. Maybe because of different composers working on different areas? dunno.
Aphasia said:Most technically impressive for sure, but I still enjoyed Skyward more than TP in this regard. Maybe because I'm not a big fan of realism in my Zelda games. TP felt like it awkwardly tried to make these cartoony designs serious. Though I don't mean to be a hater on TP, that's just me. My biggest buff with TP was that it felt like I was replaying OOT. What I love about the Zelda series is when they do crazy shit like Windwaker and everyone loves it. So I hope next time they really deviate and do something we don't expect.
I haven't played OOT 3D, but the screenshots look just like the concept art...which is awesome.
Aphasia said:Though I wouldn't mind if they went back to the button nosed, red-haired link just for a change. I always thought he was a fun design.
Aphasia said:I think the series would benefit from good voice acting, quite a bit. Those characters are just dying for some decent lip-syncing and fun acting.
Aphasia said:And I'm cool with motion controls. Which is a good thing, since I heard someone say they'll be incorporated in future Zelda games.
Aphasia said:I also wanted to say I agree that it would've been nice to have a better explanation behind the ending. The whole "Evil just because we need bad guys" never sits well with me.
One of the dungeons is said to be an entire forest. “The first test dungeon they made was a giant forest running on early and buggy Wii U hardware — the dungeon was bigger than the Hyrule field in Ocarina, and the whole thing is one dungeon. You use the gamepad to navigate, avoid traps, follow clues etc. It’s dark, lush, with a ton of trees, foliage, some which you have to cut your way through. Its scope and details are unlike anything you’ve seen in a Zelda game”. He added that the Wii U Zelda game is so big, it wouldn’t be possible without the 25 GB Blu-ray based storage that the console uses.
Aazealh said:It'll take more than that to get me excited.
Same. Nothing about that stuff really excited me. A bigger dungeon? More trees to chop down? So far not blowing my skirt up, gentlemen.Aazealh said:It'll take more than that to get me excited.
The first test dungeon they made was a giant forest running on early and buggy Wii U hardware — the dungeon was bigger than the Hyrule field in Ocarina, and the whole thing is one dungeon.
If you like Zelda 3 so much, then I don't see why you'd have a problem with Windwaker's art design. Both are pretty cartoonish. Windwaker's style is transcendent to me. I remember it being not well received at the time, but it's regarded as one of the best-looking games of all time now. It has aged amazingly well, unlike Twilight Princess. You should definitely play it.Icelin said:So I haven't played the Gamecube one (Windwaker I believe)it didn't appeal to me very much very cartoonish looking, I was pretty mad they went that way with Zelda at the time. I have heard though it is a really good game and I should probably check into it.
My favorite would have to be Link to the past, SNES were the glory days of my gaming for sure.