Skyward Sword: The Worst 3D Zelda Title

[MW7]

The only two innovative and clever dungeons that stick out as the cream of the crop from Skyward Sword were without a doubt Ancient Cistern and Sand Ship; however I don't think they compare well to previous dungeons in the series. My favorite dungeons being Stone Tower Temple, Great Bay Temple, Spirit Temple, Shadow Temple, Arbiter's Grounds, and City in the Sky - those dungeons were either challenging, fun, or both, and I feel that Ancient Cistern and Sand Ship were on a lower level than many of those.

You have some great taste in dungeons, by which I mean practically the same as mine haha. As for Skyward Sword's dungeons:
Skyview Temple- not bad for a first dungeon
Earth Temple- nothing special... but totally redeemed by the Indiana Jones boulder moment
Lanayru Mining Facility- had one of the best dungeon concepts ever but seemed to rely on it a little much
Ancient Cistern- seemed alright until the midway point, once you get to the undead part this dungeon really shines
Sandship- the high point of the entire game for me easily. Loved the theme, and the puzzles were creative
Fire Sanctuary- a little bit of a letdown after the magnificance of the Sandship but not a bad dungeon by any means
Sky Keep- I really liked that this was nonlinear, and just the general concept was very creative. Noticeably short for a final dungeon with 8 somewhat small segments. For fun guess how many rooms Ganon's Tower had in ALTTP

Spoiler

61

. Yeah that's a real number, I just counted out of a guide. It's like final dungeon quantity has been shrinking.

IMO I'd put at least the Sandship on the same level as any of Ocarina's or Twilight Princess's dungeons. Also Ancient Cistern and Sky Keep contributed quality ideas that I hope the series continues to expand upon- dual themed dungeons and nonlinear dungeons.

 

[Ventus]

I have never seen anywhere near as much character development in a Zelda title as I have in Skyward Sword.

You need to play through and read all of the dialogue of Majora's Mask, don't let the graphics get in the way. MM I think objectively has the best and most character development out of all Zeldas to date. Sure, SS has Groose, Zelda and Link...but MM has almost the entire cast of Termina Hylians.

 

[4815162342]

You have some great taste in dungeons, by which I mean practically the same as mine haha. As for Skyward Sword's dungeons:
Skyview Temple- not bad for a first dungeon
Earth Temple- nothing special... but totally redeemed by the Indiana Jones boulder moment
Lanayru Mining Facility- had one of the best dungeon concepts ever but seemed to rely on it a little much
Ancient Cistern- seemed alright until the midway point, once you get to the undead part this dungeon really shines
Sandship- the high point of the entire game for me easily. Loved the theme, and the puzzles were creative
Fire Sanctuary- a little bit of a letdown after the magnificance of the Sandship but not a bad dungeon by any means
Sky Keep- I really liked that this was nonlinear, and just the general concept was very creative. Noticeably short for a final dungeon with 8 somewhat small segments. For fun guess how many rooms Ganon's Tower had in ALTTP

Spoiler

61

. Yeah that's a real number, I just counted out of a guide. It's like final dungeon quantity has been shrinking.

IMO I'd put at least the Sandship on the same level as any of Ocarina's or Twilight Princess's dungeons. Also Ancient Cistern and Sky Keep contributed quality ideas that I hope the series continues to expand upon- dual themed dungeons and nonlinear dungeons.

You too have excellent dungeon taste, thank you very much. And I do agree that the final dungeon has become less and less epic since A Link to the Past - but you are entirely right on the ideas put forth in Ancie t Cistern and Sky Keep - if Nintendo takes anything from this game and puts it in the next installment I hope it's a dual themed dungeon or time shift stones.

 

[Batman]

This brings me to my next point – I just can’t see how people are calling this the best Zelda game when it is nowhere near as good as any other 3D Zelda title? Am I the only one who thinks that Skyward Sword was a disappointment? Or is everyone else jumping on the perfect score bandwagon?

Respectfully, I couldn't disagree with you more. Skyward Sword is easily one of the best 3D Zelda titles, and in my opinion best. I went into the game with high expectations and it delivered on everything. The story, the characters, the gameplay, the dungeons, the world design scheme, the music, etc was everything I wanted and expected from the game. MotionPlus worked very well with the game, and the story is by far the best of all the Zelda games. Skyward Sword is easily my favorite video game. It is a masterpiece of industry in my opinion.

 

[4815162342]

Respectfully, I couldn't disagree with you more. Skyward Sword is easily one of the best 3D Zelda titles, and in my opinion best. I went into the game with high expectations and it delivered on everything. The story, the characters, the gameplay, the dungeons, the world design scheme, the music, etc was everything I wanted and expected from the game. MotionPlus worked very well with the game, and the story is by far the best of all the Zelda games. Skyward Sword is easily my favorite video game. It is a masterpiece of industry in my opinion.

And also respectfully, I couldn't disagree with you more. The story was solid but not groundbreaking, the gameplay I will admit was some of the best in the series, the world design I found haphazard and abysmal, and I don't find myself humming a single Skyward Sword musical track in the shower - something that I did do for Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. It is a solid game that is a good addition to the Zelda franchise, but it is nowhere near the top.

 

[MW7]

Respectfully, I couldn't disagree with you more. Skyward Sword is easily one of the best 3D Zelda titles, and in my opinion best. I went into the game with high expectations and it delivered on everything. The story, the characters, the gameplay, the dungeons, the world design scheme, the music, etc was everything I wanted and expected from the game. MotionPlus worked very well with the game, and the story is by far the best of all the Zelda games. Skyward Sword is easily my favorite video game. It is a masterpiece of industry in my opinion.

Part of the problem is that there are only 5 3d Zelda titles. So for him to say it's the worst Zelda really doesn't mean a whole lot. He admitted that he likes the game but for him it's below the other four. IMO all the games are at least a 9/10. With only 5 games in this category worst and best are practically meaningless. For instance I'd say it's the third best 3d Zelda game. So technically I could say it's one of the best or one of the worst 3d Zelda games since both "SS is my third favorite 3d Zelda game" and "SS is my third least favorite 3d Zelda game" are both true statements. At this point it's almost like glass half-full or half-empty.

 

[SecretNerd-sshh]

Every single Zelda has been the exact same thing just a different gimmick since alttp. (exception MM, no not OoT its basically the same game in 3d, which was its gimmick.)

I bought SS knowing full well its going to be the same ol' game ive been playing for decades, just another silly gimmick for nintendo to "revolutionize" its own hardware features to give the series a shallow progression.

I might be coming off as bitter but im not. I love Zelda. I just cant see how anyone can expect anything more when we have been getting the same game since like 1993. The formula is so out dated that im surprised it even got 9s across the board by professional critics. To me every zelda is a 10 though, because my expectations never change, because the series never changes.

 

[Batman]

And also respectfully, I couldn't disagree with you more. The story was solid but not groundbreaking, the gameplay I will admit was some of the best in the series, the world design I found haphazard and abysmal, and I don't find myself humming a single Skyward Sword musical track in the shower - something that I did do for Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. It is a solid game that is a good addition to the Zelda franchise, but it is nowhere near the top.

I feel it's more than solid. The music is right up there with Wind Waker in my opinion. I've been humming Skyward Sword music since I got the game. The world design was anything but haphazard; I thought it was very well designed and worked well with the game, and it certainly wasn't abysmal, rather the opposite. Oh well, the game has obviously left a different impression on us.

 

[Ventus]

Every single Zelda has been the exact same thing just a different gimmick since alttp.

You couldn't have said anything further from the truth.

 

[MonkeyFightSquad]

this is all just a matter of opinion

 

[JuicieJ]

It isn't nostalgia, it's just the fact that things are missing. If we can achieve the "best game ever" with Ocarina of Time doing what it did, why would we ever do less than that? OoT abused the N64 to the max (besides the Expansion pack) to give us what it did: absolutely amazing-ness. Skyward Sword was amazing, but not absolute. I know for a fact that the characters could've been much better and much more involved than they were; SS is a Wii game not an N64 game.

Yes, Skyward Sword is not absolute, but it's about as close as it can get. With all the new controls and such, I'd say Nintendo did pretty much the best they could do with this prototypical Zelda style. The same was with Ocarina. It was amazing, but the controls weren't nearly as smooth as its follower, Majora's Mask. Yes, that was because they used the same style of controls, but that's not my point. Where I'm going with this is Zelda WiiU will continue on what Skyward Sword started with controls and expand on them, maybe even perfect them like MM did OoT's. Control-wise, MM was the one that perfected the 3D Zelda controls. The same will be with Zelda WiiU.

 

[SecretNerd-sshh]

You couldn't have said anything further from the truth.

Okay, explain to us how this series has not been following alttp's standard formula, just using new hardware gimmicks to maintain a fresh appearance. Id love to hear your opinion on the matter.

 

[Ventus]

I don't know how to explain that, because I neither hold that opinion nor know how to support it. However, in the opinion that I do hold:

If you look at every single Zelda game (barring MM, PH and ST), it follows the same exact plot: peaceful beginnings, small plot twist to drive the plot, three dungeons, plot twist, more dungeons then final boss and happy (bittersweet) ending.
---
Every single Zelda game features the same exact characters: there is the Gary Stu [or Mario] (Link – he's perfect), the Peach (Zelda – she's always captured), and the Bad Guy [or Bowser](Ganondorf, Demise...you name it). I'll put it in simplest terms.

Good ol' Mario has a peaceful beginning, then something happens to Peach so as to make Mario go off and have to save her. What happens is Peach is either kidnapped by or vehemently pursued by Bowser. Eventually, Mario builds up enough power and an arsenal of weaponry and defeats Bowser, winning back his Peach and saving the Mushroom Kingdom.

Essentially what every single Zelda game is. Just translate Mario to Link, Peach to Zelda and Bowser to the villain of the game. Mushroom Kingdom is also the land (Hyrule, Holodrum, etc). There are no real plot twists in the Zelda series (except MM where it's chock full of them). The suspense dies down because we already know that Link IS GOING to win. Doesn't matter how much character development there is, because it's the same story. It has small little details that make people "theorize", but the story isn't even the focal point of Zelda! If you don't believe that, then explain to me why Zelda can never do anything on her own, why the bad guy NEVER wins, and why Link never once has died in combat? Just explain it to me.

Of course, the typical fan reaction to Link dying, the bad guy winning, or Zelda becoming a more physical person would be: "thankfully only a small percentage of the Zelda fanbase wants the kind of game you want". But I dare ask, why do you say thankfully when it is has never happened? I'm sure real plot twists like those would be more welcome than the typical hero story we get with every Zelda release. The gimmick we speak of in each new Zelda is just the new graphics, the different gameplay, different items and different scenery. Still just padding to divert the attention that the story is the exact same in every release.

 

[Forlong]

Skyward Sword: The Worst 3D Zelda

I accept your challenge.

Prior to Skyward Sword’s release, I had also read glowing review after glowing review (with the exception of Tom McShea’s 7.5). As a result, my expectations were high – maybe too high.

You are completely correct here. Don't let yourself get hyped and you won't get disappointed as often.

Skyward Sword lacked a majestic over world full of things to do – sure, the sky was majestic enough, but it was entirely void of gameplay. Spotted islands – one of my issues with The Wind Waker - are nowhere near interesting enough to compete with the vast over worlds of Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, and Majora’s Mask. I was hoping for something of that style to emerge beneath the clouds – some sort of Hyrule or Termina Field, but unfortunately nothing of the sort emerged. I believe that this element is essential for Zelda games to succeed.

To call the worlds of OoT and MM "vast" is an insult to the word. They may be great games, but they aren't vast by any stretch of the imagination. On the maps of WW and SS, Link barely registers as a speck. Now, that's vast. In this case, it's really different strokes for different folks. I loved the sea in WW and the fields of TP. My love of the sky in SS ends with the fight controls, however.

Also, I'd like to point out that there was never any more to do in Hyrule Field than in the sky. The size of the sky just makes that more noticeable. Hyrule Field isn't better than the sky, its just different. I never liked Hyrule Field that much because you could never get across it fast enough (except maybe in TP). I don't say OoT is less of a game because of it, just that I don't enjoy it as much as others do.

The next issue I had with Skyward Sword was the dungeon design. Except for the Ancient Cistern and the Sandship, I felt that many of the dungeons were stereotypical Zelda dungeons that could’ve been designed by a 5th grader – they lacked many innovative elements that had been present in previous dungeons – and none of them were anywhere near as good as the Stone Tower Temple from Majora’s Mask or the Spirit Temple from Ocarina of Time – two of my favorite dungeons.

Okay, I must have been playing a different game then, because the dungeons I saw were the spark of charm and wit. In Skyview Temple, you have to cut through natural barriers (including webs that you had to shake out of), and there was a room that you had to figure out how to escape by going through a crack in the wall. The Earth Temple went all "Super Monkey Ball" on us and had real booby traps. Lanayru Mining Facility had time shift stones and sand traps. The Fire Sanctuary had indoor and outdoor "rooms" and had puzzles that required you to carry water on the tip of your sword. You could build an entire game around just one of these dungeons. Not only that, each room in each dungeon is unique. Its virtually impossible to get lost in a SS dungeon, because they are so well designed. Also, Nintendo finally gave us a reason to collect the maps. I didn't think that was possible.

The next thing I felt this game lacked was a bustling metropolis. Ocarina of Time had Castle Town, Majora’s Mask had Clocktown, Wind Waker had Windfall Island, and Twilight Princess had Castle Town. All Skyward Sword has is Skyloft – a tiny city compared to the biggest ones in other games. I was hoping for a large city beneath the clouds, but no city was there to meet my wishes.

Really, only TP had anything bigger than Skyloft. OoT and MM might have had a few more NPCs, but not much. Even so, SS is still far superior to them because the NPCs aren't just idiots who lose their chickens or guys who run the shooting gallery. The NPCs in SS fell like real people. I found myself finishing side-quests, not for the rewards (because they weren't all that great), but to see what would happen. With the golden skulltallas and admiral poes, I gave up because I stopped caring.

I admit I chose poor words when describing the story of Skyward Sword - I was unfairly harsh on an element of the game that I had no reason to be unfairly harsh on. However, it wasn't the best story. It was a solid story that tied up many loose ends in the series, but I felt that it had a high level of predictability. Three dungeons, plot twist, more dungeons, final boss - that same pattern had been used in Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess.

Only that's not how the plot of SS went down. You go through the first dungeon to find Zelda and she's not there. Don't worry, there's this other dungeon that she might be in, but she leaves and you can't follow for some reason. Okay, now let's go to the desert and hope in vain that you find her again. You do, but she has to go somewhere safe and you have other things you have to do, so you can't go. Where is this "plot twist" that you spoke of? I must not have been playing right, because I didn't get the plot twist until I was about two-third of the way into the game. Was I misbehaving and Nintendo decided to punish me?

 

[Ventus]

I must not have been playing right, because I didn't get the plot twist until I was about two-third of the way into the game. Was I misbehaving and Nintendo decided to punish me?

Three dungeons, Link has to power up his blade [plot twist], more dungeons, get dat golden power, fight final boss and happy ending. There you go, ALttP formula in a nutshell.