The Thread of Zelda

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Wow, it's coming out already? Well I sure hope it's good... Hurts me to say so but I'll wait for reviews before I buy it.

EDIT: Fuck that, I preordered it. :ganishka:
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Aazealh said:
Wow, it's coming out already? Well I sure hope it's good... Hurts me to say so but I'll wait for reviews before I buy it.

EDIT: Fuck that, I preordered it. :ganishka:

My man.

I preordered it through Amazon. Game Stop is having a special where you get a free copy of Oracle of Seasons if you preorder it through them.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Finally started playing Skyward Sword again. I had a hard time getting into it before because of the very slow start and the fact that I got Dark Souls at the same time. I beat the first dungeon and really enjoyed the fight with Ghirahim. That being said, I still don't really like the motion controls that much, it's fun as a gimmick but not really as a main gameplay point. Controlling the flying beetle and bird is beyond annoying for me. I guess I'm supposed to hold the wiimote like a paper airplane? I wish I could use the gamecube controller and have full camera control like in WW and the Gamecube Twilight Princess, but it is nice aiming the bow/slingshot with a pointer.

Either way, I hope I can get over my controller gripes and find the game enjoyable in the end.


The reason I got back into SS is because of these nice 30-40 minute reviews by Matthewmatosis on youtube, he does each of the 3D Zelda games and I mostly agree with what he has to say about them. I haven't watched his SS review yet since I haven't beat the game, so I wonder if he'll point out stuff I like or dislike about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o908SWJ8ulc

He also did some good MGS1-4 reviews that I watched.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Dar Klink said:
Finally started playing Skyward Sword again. I had a hard time getting into it before because of the very slow start and the fact that I got Dark Souls at the same time. I beat the first dungeon and really enjoyed the fight with Ghirahim. That being said, I still don't really like the motion controls that much, it's fun as a gimmick but not really as a main gameplay point. Controlling the flying beetle and bird is beyond annoying for me. I guess I'm supposed to hold the wiimote like a paper airplane? I wish I could use the gamecube controller and have full camera control like in WW and the Gamecube Twilight Princess, but it is nice aiming the bow/slingshot with a pointer.

Either way, I hope I can get over my controller gripes and find the game enjoyable in the end.


The reason I got back into SS is because of these nice 30-40 minute reviews by Matthewmatosis on youtube, he does each of the 3D Zelda games and I mostly agree with what he has to say about them. I haven't watched his SS review yet since I haven't beat the game, so I wonder if he'll point out stuff I like or dislike about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o908SWJ8ulc

He also did some good MGS1-4 reviews that I watched.

I thought Skyward Sword was the weakest of the 3D Zelda games. It took me months to beat because it just didn't do a whole lot for me. The final boss fight is pretty fun, but overall the game is beyond tedious and lacks the charm of the open world (well, ZELDA style open world) the other games had.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I'm pre-ordering THIS:

http://store.nintendo.co.uk/3ds-hardware/nintendo-3ds-xl-the-legend-of-zelda-a-link-between-worlds-limited-edition/10848361.html

10848361-1381753985-150669.jpg


Now I'm glad I held off on the black XL. Apparently, it's coming to the USA. I sure hope so, because I'm mighty tempted to order this anyway. =)
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, I saw that the other day, and felt SLIGHTLY bad for having already got a 3DS XL. But only slightly :guts:

Glad to hear you're on the bandwagon for the new game. Thing's right around the corner. :daiba:

Dar Klink said:
That being said, I still don't really like the motion controls that much, it's fun as a gimmick but not really as a main gameplay point. Controlling the flying beetle and bird is beyond annoying for me. I guess I'm supposed to hold the wiimote like a paper airplane? I wish I could use the gamecube controller and have full camera control like in WW and the Gamecube Twilight Princess, but it is nice aiming the bow/slingshot with a pointer.
Overall I agree that the control mechanics are a bit unnecessary, but there are a few circumstances where I thought it was pretty incredible. Dueling, once you get a hang for it, is pretty awesome. And my favorite moment in that game was bug catching. Doing it successfully required you to really subtly move your wrist, it was unlike anything I've done in a game before.

The rest of the game wasn't very memorable, unfortunately. I loved the setting, but indeed it's too linear and handholdy.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Walter said:
Mine is late... I should have just downloaded it, it came out at midnight. :judo:

That's awful.

Did you order it from Amazon?

Edit: Been playing it for a few hours now. I think this game is the shot in the arm that the series needed. Haven't had this much fun with a Zelda game since Majora's Mask (or Wind Waker). The story starts off almost immediately (just like LttP), which is more than can be said for the past four or five titles.

So far I'm very impressed with how fun it is.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Johnstantine said:
Edit: Been playing it for a few hours now. I think this game is the shot in the arm that the series needed. Haven't had this much fun with a Zelda game since Majora's Mask (or Wind Waker). The story starts off almost immediately (just like LttP), which is more than can be said for the past four or five titles.

So far I'm very impressed with how fun it is.

I've played for several hours myself and while it is indeed fun, so far it's a little too close to being a straight remake of Zelda 3 for my taste. I hope that changes after the first part is done with.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
The wall walking is certainly a game changer with a ton of potential; video doesn't do the experience justice! Other than that I don't really see it being that much different than the typical Zelda fare so far (same fun, same warts for better or worse). The whole Zelda 3 thing is nostalgic but also a bit frustrating by comparison (it is but it isn't, ya know what I mean?)
It's not even the same Link, boo! If you're going to make a sequel to Zelda 3, don't retread all the "Link, you're just a kid!" or "Could you be the hero of prophecy!?" tropes from literally every other Zelda game. Give us the rarer established veteran Link everyone legitimately respects and continue his story. Big misstep there in my book.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm about 6 hours into Zelda. Enjoying it, but it's not blowing my skirt up. The problem is I've played Zelda 3 probably 5 times, and this game's environment and even the puzzles play so similarly to it that it's all a little predictable. The game definitely got more interesting to me once I get the Master Sword and the world opens up a bit more (same as before).

There are a lot of small things that bug me about the design and presentation, along with many things that are pretty cute--the save game sound for example, always makes me smile. I also really love how snappy Link moves and attacks. It's the speed with I've always wanted in a game like this.

It's certainly a great game. But it suffers from being trapped within a comparison to one of the greatest games of all time.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Walter said:
I'm about 6 hours into Zelda. Enjoying it, but it's not blowing my skirt up. The problem is I've played Zelda 3 probably 5 times, and this game's environment and even the puzzles play so similarly to it that it's all a little predictable. The game definitely got more interesting to me once I get the Master Sword and the world opens up a bit more (same as before).

There are a lot of small things that bug me about the design and presentation, along with many things that are pretty cute--the save game sound for example, always makes me smile. I also really love how snappy Link moves and attacks. It's the speed with I've always wanted in a game like this.

It's certainly a great game. But it suffers from being trapped within a comparison to one of the greatest games of all time.

I agree 100%. When I said it was the shot in the arm the title needed, I was comparing it to the droll boringness of Skyward Sword.

One thing about LBW is that, man, it's so ridiculously easy.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Johnstantine said:
One thing about LBW is that, man, it's so ridiculously easy.
The Dark World bosses so far have been much more challenging and fun. The first segment of the game is indeed absurdly easy.

Maybe it'll keep to the Mario 3D Land difficulty curve, where the first half of the game is a breeze and the last half is designed for people who have actually played games before :ganishka:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Walter said:
The Dark World bosses so far have been much more challenging and fun. The first segment of the game is indeed absurdly easy.

Maybe it'll keep to the Mario 3D Land difficulty curve, where the first half of the game is a breeze and the last half is designed for people who have actually played games before :ganishka:

I finished the game about 30 minutes ago (15 hours total play time, missing some hearts and other side stuff), and I have to disagree when it comes to Dark World bosses being harder. There's maybe a couple that were somewhat challenging, but I got them all of my first try (never got to see the game over screen actually), and quite a few were insultingly easy. Never bothered with potions either, just used fairies (I always loved the fairies...).
The kicker is that I got the blue tunic last, it was the last dungeon I did... I got it and then got the red tunic like 45 mn later. The last boss was tough enough compared to the others, but again I got him on my first try.

There's a "Hero Mode" that's harder once you complete the game, but I doubt I'll give it a shot in the near future. I'll try to get everything in my current game instead.
Overall, what can I say... The game is nice, very nice even. I played it quite intensively so that's a testimony to its appeal. On the other hand, the challenge was clearly lacking. Kiddy gloves were still on. I also wish the game had been less similar to Zelda 3, at least as far as the world layout is concerned. The same caves with the same treasures in them... Even if I hadn't played the original again since I first finished it, I'd still have felt a bit cheated.

In a way, it seemed less complex than Zelda 3 to me, despite the new "painting" mechanic. In truth it's probably more that it didn't add enough new stuff for my taste...
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Aazealh said:
I have to disagree when it comes to Dark World bosses being harder. There's maybe a couple that were somewhat challenging, but I got them all of my first try (never got to see the game over screen actually), and quite a few were insultingly easy.
The first time I died in the game was when I died twice in a row on the first Lorule boss I faced (dark dungeon, rupee covered guy), because I kept trying to use
the hammer, the expected way to take down his mask. And even when I'd figured it out, he was certainly more challenging than the previous bosses. Took off 3 hearts per hit, and a small window to dodge his shards.
Definitely a notch up on the difficulty from before, but no deaths since.

Never bothered with potions either, just used fairies (I always loved the fairies...).
How do you bottle them? Normally I can just use an empty bottle as an item and scoop them that way, but it doesn't work. And if there's a net, I don't have it yet...
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Walter said:
The first time I died in the game was when I died twice in a row on the first Lorule boss I faced (dark dungeon, rupee covered guy), because I kept trying to use
the hammer, the expected way to take down his mask. And even when I'd figured it out, he was certainly more challenging than the previous bosses. Took off 3 hearts per hit, and a small window to dodge his shards.
Definitely a notch up on the difficulty from before, but no deaths since.
How do you bottle them? Normally I can just use an empty bottle as an item and scoop them that way, but it doesn't work. And if there's a net, I don't have it yet...

You get the net in Kakariko village, in the house with a giant bug on the top of it.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Walter said:
The first time I died in the game was when I died twice in a row on the first Lorule boss I faced (dark dungeon, rupee covered guy), because I kept trying to use
the hammer, the expected way to take down his mask. And even when I'd figured it out, he was certainly more challenging than the previous bosses. Took off 3 hearts per hit, and a small window to dodge his shards.
Definitely a notch up on the difficulty from before, but no deaths since.

That's the second to last boss I did. The first was
the thief boss. I didn't have too much trouble with the rupee beast, but I didn't try to use the hammer at all. Following the tried and true recipe that if an item (in this case, bombs) is what's used throughout a dungeon, the boss battle will feature it as well.

Anyways, without fairies or potions I can see how you'd have more trouble, those allow for a good margin of error. I have more to say about the game, the renting system for items and such, but I guess I'll wait until everybody's finished it.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Zelda. The music in the Desert Palace was fantastic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2mXzBJONu8&list=SPz5gUls4mkX8Z_HPYY9xFHth0f-7qIrWn&index=69
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Walter said:
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Zelda. The music in the Desert Palace was fantastic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2mXzBJONu8&list=SPz5gUls4mkX8Z_HPYY9xFHth0f-7qIrWn&index=69

I think the game's music was one of its stronger parts. Great all-around, including some that were seldom heard since the original Zelda 3 (like the sanctuary music, which I always loved).
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I split the topic so we're not competing with Final Fantasy VIII.
gutsbarf.gif



Anyway, I finished it a couple hours ago, so figured I'd get back in on the conversation.

Walter said:
Enjoying it, but it's not blowing my skirt up.

The closest it came to blowing my skirt up, other than just the pure pleasure of playing it, was that moment when you see
classic Ganon (immediately dashed and never utilized, of course)
and the ending, in which there was a slight breeze that may have blown some pixie dust in my eyes. More on that later.

Walter said:
There are a lot of small things that bug me about the design and presentation, along with many things that are pretty cute--the save game sound for example, always makes me smile. I also really love how snappy Link moves and attacks. It's the speed with I've always wanted in a game like this.

Agreed, only thing that really bugged me visually were the lame shadows, never worse than when Irene picks you up on her broom. Other things that bugged me were more story/tone choices that could have been better or at least more.

Walter said:
Maybe it'll keep to the Mario 3D Land difficulty curve, where the first half of the game is a breeze and the last half is designed for people who have actually played games before :ganishka:

I think Mario 3D Land is a good comparison in that it seems to be trying to create a sort of pure gameplay experience (including, for the most part, the story, which doesn't add a lot, but also doesn't weigh things down). I didn't find the temples hard, and never got stuck in one, but they were all quite clever and fun, so I didn't mind. I'm certainly glad that they weren't a laborious grind as has become the case in some recent Zelda titles. Of course, if it wants full 3D Land credit then it needs to double in size at the end. =)

Aazealh said:
In a way, it seemed less complex than Zelda 3 to me, despite the new "painting" mechanic. In truth it's probably more that it didn't add enough new stuff for my taste...

I think Zelda 3 is definitely more complicated, for better and worse. I think there was a conscious effort to create the ultimate streamlined Zelda 3 experience or all ages (which makes sense as to why it's a quasi-remake/sequel). And yeah, the painting mechanic was never better than the first time you use it. It might has well have been the hookshot for all it's good for, ultimately (basically getting across a room/chasm).

Aazealh said:
That's the second to last boss I did. The first was
the thief boss.

Same here actually (both dungeons).
The thief hideout was quite an introduction to the Lorule dungeons. It certainly set a brisk tone that got me excited for the rest, and I wasn't disappointed.

Aazealh said:
Anyways, without fairies or potions I can see how you'd have more trouble, those allow for a good margin of error. I have more to say about the game, the renting system for items and such, but I guess I'll wait until everybody's finished it.

I liked it all I guess, I just really enjoyed the pure gameplay experience (again, like 3D Land). I suppose the renting kind of takes away from the exploration and treasure hunting (though there's still major items to be found), but I liked the freedom. In that sense it seemed like a Zelda game for veterans because it wasn't messing around having you gather all that shit again like it's the first time, "OMG YOU FOUND THE BOOMARANG!" (which I think is literally useless in the game =). Of course, this also meant that the enemies weren't going to get any harder as the game went on, and the game difficulty actually does seem to go in reverse get much easier as it progresses. At least early on I lost hearts and felt threatened/challenged, there were enemies that packed a punch and could have killed me, but by the middle I was just too powerful (this wasn't a problem in Zelda 3 =). I think I ended the game with the same potions and fairies I had at the midpoint.

As for the ending... it was a very cute and completed the circle very well, but it might have just felt that way relative to the rest as I wish they had tried a little harder with the story and dialogue throughout the game. Though, I chalk it up to a minimalist/pure gameplay approach
( the Triforce was actually used for something again though, and it was nice). I'm also glad Hilda was just using Link as I hoped from her interstitial dialogue, but was genuinely surprised when they revealed Ravio as the Lorule hero (I honestly didn't expect that much, even my guess about Hilda was framed as, "I wish they would do this instead of being so straight forward..." =). My only disappointment there was that YuGanan was the final boss instead of Ganon himself. I would have preferred that it was Ganon that emerged and defied Hilda once Link beats Yuga's first form (I mean, he is the demon king with the Triforce of Power and all, maybe HE should have been using Yuga instead, huh). Ultimately, it's a small distinction, I'll just have to settle for them being merged and imagining it's Ganon's power and influence that's really in control. Just like I'm imagining Link is the direct descendent of ALttP Link, if not his son. =)

Overall, I very much like it, and I'll enjoy gathering whatever is left (a couple hearts, and I never did upgrade my shield...) and playing Hero Mode. Like I said, it's like Zelda reduced to it's most basic gameplay essence, not as challenging as I might like, but definitely everything fun and engaging about it.
 
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