Majora's Cat
How about that
Since JuicieJ has already gotten to work on a review for Skyward Sword, I’ve decided to take the liberty of creating an official review thread for the newly released game. Being that this will not be an official review, I’m going to talk in first person and toss in my own flavor. I’ve wanted to do this since I got my hands on the game, so here goes nothing:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword sets a new high bar for Zelda games. That’s quite the statement, given that the franchise has such titles as Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past in its repertoire. The game fixes most of the flaws that plagued its Wii predecessor, Twilight Princess. The action is never halted - throughout the entire experience the player is kept busy with not-at-all tedious tasks. Additionally, none of these errands and quests that Link must complete makes the player lose interest. Sections of the game outside of dungeons are just as excellent as the dungeons themselves. In the pirate ship part of the game, I literally had no idea that I had even entered a dungeon until noticing the boss door located on the bottom floor.
Whatever qualms I have had before with the spaciousness of Zelda games have been eliminated. Skyward Sword manages to cram tons of content and puzzle-solving action into a single floor of a dungeon that the amount of time spent in said dungeons equal that of previous Zelda installments. Some say that it’s sorcery. I say that it’s great level design. These more compact areas result in less time searching for some unnoticeable clue and instead focusing on the meat of the game.
Enemies
Skyward Sword leaps and bounds forward with its enemy design. Not only do the motion controls force the player to use their brains (which means no more mindless hack-and-slashing), but also signals a new era of combat for the series. This actually makes certain enemies more difficult to kill... but that’s a good thing. I found myself on the brink of death quite a number of times near the exposition of the game. Even the standard six hearts aren’t enough to keep Link safe from dying at the hands of simple enemies. The sense of urgency is certainly elevated, as players no longer have the freedom to pause the game while selecting items. I rather like this urgency, since it helps the gameplay flow more naturally. 10/10
Bosses
The biggest step up for the franchise lies within the boss battles. The previous four 3D Zeldas have all had laughably easy boss battles. Neither Ganon nor Majora are a match for Link. All it really took a dash of strategy and a lot of mashing the B button on your GameCube controller or wiggling the Wii Remote around feverishly. Skyward Sword addresses these distressing errors with more powerful, unpredictable and strategic bosses. I found myself dying once before bosses such as Ghirahim before completely figuring out the bosses’ attack patterns. Sometimes the controls don’t cooperate with the player, but that’s the player’s fault for not correctly swinging the Wii Remote. The motion controls can be picky, but that’s ultimately what makes them so precise.
Although Zelda bosses are still not quite as epic as those from God of War, they are immensely more enjoyable than in prevous Zelda games. Once again, Nintendo has tackled one of the franchise’s biggest issues and emerges with shining colors. 9.5/10
Controls
While some may question my integrity for saying this, I think Skyward Sword’s controls are as good as it gets. Perfect, basically. One may feel frustrated at some point, but this is not the fault of the controls. Wielding the Master Sword (AKA the Hero Sword) is as close to actual swordplay as you’ll ever get in the world of gaming. Much like fencing, the player will have his/her own problems with dealing with the motion controls, but they are still the most technically advanced this generation. Step aside, Kinect and Move - Skyward Sword is in a league of its own.
The new item wheels are very easy to manage. I did find fault in them during action sequences. When hordes of enemies come rushing after the player, it’s pretty unnerving, and more than likely the player will have some trouble with selecting the right item. I have struggled with this, and I found that it’s just easier to run to a safe spot to give me more time to select the correct item. At times I would confuse the “-“ button and the B button, due to a lack of experience with the new controls at the start of the game. However, I ditched my old Zelda habits and quickly grew attached to the new and improved controls. They feel new, innovative, and give the player the impression that Skyward Sword is a nonstop thrill ride. 10/10
Graphics
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is hands-down the most gorgeous Zelda game to date. Twilight Princess had its technical flaws, and the Wind Waker’s style didn’t suit everyone’s tastes. SS takes the best of both worlds and masterfully blends the colorful visuals of the Wind Waker with Twilight Princess’ realistic style. Not to mention that the graphics are crisp and clean. Having played Skyward Sword on a large HD television, I can safely say that the game still looks great close-up. Although SS doesn’t feature the most detailed visuals, the overall style is largely appealing and almost ideal for a Zelda game. 9/10
Music
The orchestrated score is simply unbelievable. I still believe that Wind Waker was the high point of Zelda music (even though it was MIDI). Skyward Sword does impress with the final boss' theme as well as the overworld and Silent Realm background music. 10/10
Overall
The new Zelda game learns from the best, and it truly shows in the way the game works. It’s much more straightforward, and areas are compact. Skyward Sword takes a page out of Metroid’s book here, and it really does enhance the experience. The underwater sequences are very much like those in the Super Mario Galaxy games. Air bubbles give Link relief from drowning, and his spiral move is quite similar to Mario’s. It seems like Nintendo is taking winning elements from its other two most beloved franchises and weaseling them into the Zelda formula - not that that’s a problem.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is everything I look for in a game. While it may not be particularly lengthy, I must say that I enjoyed it more as a whole than Ocarina of Time and the other 3D Zelda games. Nintendo has shown that they pay attention to the little details, and they have addressed all of the little issues that have emerged in previous titles. A job well done, Nintendo. Well done indeed. 9.75/10
Hope to see more reviews here. ^.^
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword sets a new high bar for Zelda games. That’s quite the statement, given that the franchise has such titles as Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past in its repertoire. The game fixes most of the flaws that plagued its Wii predecessor, Twilight Princess. The action is never halted - throughout the entire experience the player is kept busy with not-at-all tedious tasks. Additionally, none of these errands and quests that Link must complete makes the player lose interest. Sections of the game outside of dungeons are just as excellent as the dungeons themselves. In the pirate ship part of the game, I literally had no idea that I had even entered a dungeon until noticing the boss door located on the bottom floor.
Whatever qualms I have had before with the spaciousness of Zelda games have been eliminated. Skyward Sword manages to cram tons of content and puzzle-solving action into a single floor of a dungeon that the amount of time spent in said dungeons equal that of previous Zelda installments. Some say that it’s sorcery. I say that it’s great level design. These more compact areas result in less time searching for some unnoticeable clue and instead focusing on the meat of the game.
Enemies
Skyward Sword leaps and bounds forward with its enemy design. Not only do the motion controls force the player to use their brains (which means no more mindless hack-and-slashing), but also signals a new era of combat for the series. This actually makes certain enemies more difficult to kill... but that’s a good thing. I found myself on the brink of death quite a number of times near the exposition of the game. Even the standard six hearts aren’t enough to keep Link safe from dying at the hands of simple enemies. The sense of urgency is certainly elevated, as players no longer have the freedom to pause the game while selecting items. I rather like this urgency, since it helps the gameplay flow more naturally. 10/10
Bosses
The biggest step up for the franchise lies within the boss battles. The previous four 3D Zeldas have all had laughably easy boss battles. Neither Ganon nor Majora are a match for Link. All it really took a dash of strategy and a lot of mashing the B button on your GameCube controller or wiggling the Wii Remote around feverishly. Skyward Sword addresses these distressing errors with more powerful, unpredictable and strategic bosses. I found myself dying once before bosses such as Ghirahim before completely figuring out the bosses’ attack patterns. Sometimes the controls don’t cooperate with the player, but that’s the player’s fault for not correctly swinging the Wii Remote. The motion controls can be picky, but that’s ultimately what makes them so precise.
Although Zelda bosses are still not quite as epic as those from God of War, they are immensely more enjoyable than in prevous Zelda games. Once again, Nintendo has tackled one of the franchise’s biggest issues and emerges with shining colors. 9.5/10
Controls
While some may question my integrity for saying this, I think Skyward Sword’s controls are as good as it gets. Perfect, basically. One may feel frustrated at some point, but this is not the fault of the controls. Wielding the Master Sword (AKA the Hero Sword) is as close to actual swordplay as you’ll ever get in the world of gaming. Much like fencing, the player will have his/her own problems with dealing with the motion controls, but they are still the most technically advanced this generation. Step aside, Kinect and Move - Skyward Sword is in a league of its own.
The new item wheels are very easy to manage. I did find fault in them during action sequences. When hordes of enemies come rushing after the player, it’s pretty unnerving, and more than likely the player will have some trouble with selecting the right item. I have struggled with this, and I found that it’s just easier to run to a safe spot to give me more time to select the correct item. At times I would confuse the “-“ button and the B button, due to a lack of experience with the new controls at the start of the game. However, I ditched my old Zelda habits and quickly grew attached to the new and improved controls. They feel new, innovative, and give the player the impression that Skyward Sword is a nonstop thrill ride. 10/10
Graphics
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is hands-down the most gorgeous Zelda game to date. Twilight Princess had its technical flaws, and the Wind Waker’s style didn’t suit everyone’s tastes. SS takes the best of both worlds and masterfully blends the colorful visuals of the Wind Waker with Twilight Princess’ realistic style. Not to mention that the graphics are crisp and clean. Having played Skyward Sword on a large HD television, I can safely say that the game still looks great close-up. Although SS doesn’t feature the most detailed visuals, the overall style is largely appealing and almost ideal for a Zelda game. 9/10
Music
The orchestrated score is simply unbelievable. I still believe that Wind Waker was the high point of Zelda music (even though it was MIDI). Skyward Sword does impress with the final boss' theme as well as the overworld and Silent Realm background music. 10/10
Overall
The new Zelda game learns from the best, and it truly shows in the way the game works. It’s much more straightforward, and areas are compact. Skyward Sword takes a page out of Metroid’s book here, and it really does enhance the experience. The underwater sequences are very much like those in the Super Mario Galaxy games. Air bubbles give Link relief from drowning, and his spiral move is quite similar to Mario’s. It seems like Nintendo is taking winning elements from its other two most beloved franchises and weaseling them into the Zelda formula - not that that’s a problem.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is everything I look for in a game. While it may not be particularly lengthy, I must say that I enjoyed it more as a whole than Ocarina of Time and the other 3D Zelda games. Nintendo has shown that they pay attention to the little details, and they have addressed all of the little issues that have emerged in previous titles. A job well done, Nintendo. Well done indeed. 9.75/10
Hope to see more reviews here. ^.^
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