• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Spoiler Was the Final Battle a Disappointment?

Joined
Dec 27, 2011
I was not disappointed by the battle, but rather the duration. Take TP for example, when it took at least 10 minutes to beat Ganon in his 4 phases of the battle, not counting when he shifts his attacking strategy as a Beast. In this game, Demise was just a 2 phase battle. I expected more as every moment in Skyward Sword led up to this fight - to saving Zelda.

I did enjoy the fight. Phase two was seriously cool, and phase one had me laughing from the height difference between Demise and Link. And I got to stare at Demise's hair and their reflection on the water floor.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
I was not disappointed by the battle, but rather the duration. Take TP for example, when it took at least 10 minutes to beat Ganon in his 4 phases of the battle, not counting when he shifts his attacking strategy as a Beast. In this game, Demise was just a 2 phase battle. I expected more as every moment in Skyward Sword led up to this fight - to saving Zelda.
Really, you kind of have to consider Demise to be only one phase of the final confrontation. The final phase. The Ghirahim battles preceeding it, as well as the Horde Battle before it, really were the first two "forms" of the final battle.
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Location
Irmo
I fully agree. It did not have enough demanding controls and I felt that he was just too powerful. Like the final phase where you have to get lightning before him, it's just kind of annoying.
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
I know, but I consider Ghirahim and the hoard battle to be another fight completely as you didn't have to directly go to the Demise battle after you kicked butt. To me, the Ghirham/monster army battle was the better of the two. Just my own thoughts.
 

Ninten*

BLOOOOOOOO
Joined
Dec 16, 2009
Location
United States
Gender
Attack helicopter
Well if you count the entire Final Showdown, then that would be a perfect final battle. The only dissapointment was the Demise fight. Although it was kind-of hard for me, I was expecting more than just
a single fatal blow
. The lightning thing was cool though. If it was a few more, then that would be great. The Bokoblin army fight was great. The final Ghirahim fight was really cool.
 

Lady_Yuna

GoodNight SunShine!
Joined
Mar 7, 2009
Location
Gran Pulse
The final battle against Demise was short, but difficult. I was so close of rage quitting this morning (at 1:00 am! :D) just because of his stupid sword attacks in the first round. The "battle of the skyward strikes" part was pretty cool, but like guide said; it only took at least 3 falls to deliver the final blow which made me felt like the fight itself was missing a few parts. Another issue that I had was waiting for the lightning to hit my sword. That took forever! If the first phase was shorter and the lightning round was longer then I think people wouldn't have a problem with it. Personally, I think Ghirahim should've been the final boss. He deserved that honor.
 
Last edited:

Hylian Pants

Nintendo Wench
Joined
Apr 11, 2010
Location
America's armpit
I don't think I would use the word 'disappointment,' but I was a bit.. surprised by the layout of the final battle. Before I was able to get my hands on SS, I read GameInformer's glowing 10/10 review for it, in which the author praised, without spoilers, "one of the most difficult final boss battles ever". That kind of heightened my expectations, understandably. The final boss "series", the army, Ghirahim, and Demise included, was satisfying, suspenseful, and epic, sure, but certainly not as crazy difficult as I thought it would be. I wasn't disappointed, but I was caught off guard when I had delivered a fatal blow and realized that it was the fatal blow of the battle. It seemed short-lived, as the Ghirahim segment was longer and was a tough act to follow.

The pause where Demise gives you a moment to think about following him kind of messed with the continuity and fluidity of the battle for me. It didn't feel urgent because you could take as long as you wanted. I know I could just as easily go straight to the portal after the first part, but I would have welcomed that opportunity sometime before the battle started, instead. It would have made more sense, and would make you have to ration whatever items and recovery that you brought along, but that's just my preference.

All in all, I'm not trying to gripe or nitpick; I really enjoyed the fight, even if it was something other than what I was expecting
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Location
Brazil
I think I felt it to be a little forced. The battle itself was amazing, I found it to be fairly difficult during my first run. However, something of it felt out of place. I don't know if was Demise's visual (that didn't look very Zelda-like) or was simply the fact that I preferred his Imprisoned form. But, as I said, awesome fight.
 

TrueChaos

Defender of Hyrule
Joined
Oct 14, 2011
Location
Weymouth
he was hard but only because the margin for error was so low, if you dodge a fraction of a second too late or even in the wrong direction, you get hit. plus with his lightning sword (which is pretty awesome) the system attacking in the way you didn't intend means you take damage. i still enjoyed it though
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
I found the whole thing (Ghirahim, the army, and Demise) to be quite easy. I didn't even need to use my three faires and upgraded heart potions. It was fun and cool, but not as difficult or as long as I had hoped.

I agree when it was said that Demise giving you the chance to walk away before the fight disrupted the flow. That is why the Final Boss seemed so short because it wasn't a continous thing.

I miss Ghirahim...
 
Joined
Sep 18, 2011
I think the main reason why Demise is disappointing for many people is that Ghirahim would have been cooler as a main-antagonist and final battle.
 

Jirohnagi

Braava Braava
Joined
Feb 18, 2010
Location
Soul Sanctum
Gender
Geosexual
I think the Horde Girahim round 3 and Demise was the best ever but i was saddened it took me 20 minutes to kill girahim (didn't know i had to stab him) and the horde took 10, but demise took 2 minutes in this fight.... mind you it was the hardest i've had only girahim round two can equal my pain. I loved the appearance and the battle too, it isn't often i get to fling lightning at a foe, i would get a lightning strike and so would demis and when he attacked i did so and it was AWESOME let the sparks fly as they say. I don't get why people say Demise is a disapointment i had problems with him (and always will) but it wasn't easy to win at all and it was too much of a awesome fight to moan about. My only regret is it didn't last longer.
 
B

Belvin

Guest
Imagine that the final Gharihim battle IMMEDIATELY transitioned into the Demise confrontation. Demise is summoned and snatches you away into his realm to do battle. There you are, probably minus a potion or two from the previous battle. Adrenaline is still kicking from the horde and the escalating (or really, descending) fight with Gharihim. Then Demise arrives, ready to pummel you with his massive battle axe. What would that be like?

But it's not. Instead, Demise monologues. He grunts. He looks nasty, sounds nasty, and sucks Zelda's soul up whole -- but then says, "Take your time." So I did. I went all the way back up to the Sealed Temple. Took a seat. Regenerated my hearts. Had a beer. I didn't try to go back to the future and re-arm at the Market, but it probably would have let me go back. Hell, I could have probably gone back and gathered Gratitude Crystals, while Zelda's spirit was stuck in purgatory.

Perhaps the nagging feeling some of us have, the reason why this thread/question exists, is because the momentum of the final encounter was crushed when Nintendo decided to nerf its line-up of villains by giving us time to breath. Sure, it would send beginners packing. It would undoubtedly frustrate some veterans who got "that close", but got hacked to pieces by Demise in phase 2. So what? I have spent hours getting my stats just right for a Final Fantasy final boss. And then invested more hours fighting it, only to get crushed at the bitter end. Why not push us?

I think that's the end-all issue with SS. It pushed Zelda's envelope, so-to-speak, with innovative puzzles and world design. It pushed Zelda's envelope with 1:1 motion-controlled battle. But I don't think they quite got the enemies right - but that's a different story. And the Horde-Gharihim-Demise combination may have wowed players a bit more, if it was continuous. Instead, it was segmented, and so was the tension, the stakes, and momentum, and the challenge.
 

Hylian Pants

Nintendo Wench
Joined
Apr 11, 2010
Location
America's armpit
^ This

A much more accurate description of what I mentioned before.
Just for the record, I checked, you can go back through the Gate of Time to the present and go back to Skyloft. You can re-equip, do sidequests, and even take a nap, all while Demise "gives you a moment to think" about pursuing him and saving the world. The fact that you're even allowed to leave the ultimate suspense of the final battle and go frolicking around wherever you want and for however long you want is just silly.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Imagine that the final Gharihim battle IMMEDIATELY transitioned into the Demise confrontation. Demise is summoned and snatches you away into his realm to do battle. There you are, probably minus a potion or two from the previous battle. Adrenaline is still kicking from the horde and the escalating (or really, descending) fight with Gharihim. Then Demise arrives, ready to pummel you with his massive battle axe. What would that be like?

But it's not. Instead, Demise monologues. He grunts. He looks nasty, sounds nasty, and sucks Zelda's soul up whole -- but then says, "Take your time." So I did. I went all the way back up to the Sealed Temple. Took a seat. Regenerated my hearts. Had a beer. I didn't try to go back to the future and re-arm at the Market, but it probably would have let me go back. Hell, I could have probably gone back and gathered Gratitude Crystals, while Zelda's spirit was stuck in purgatory.

Perhaps the nagging feeling some of us have, the reason why this thread/question exists, is because the momentum of the final encounter was crushed when Nintendo decided to nerf its line-up of villains by giving us time to breath. Sure, it would send beginners packing. It would undoubtedly frustrate some veterans who got "that close", but got hacked to pieces by Demise in phase 2. So what? I have spent hours getting my stats just right for a Final Fantasy final boss. And then invested more hours fighting it, only to get crushed at the bitter end. Why not push us?
Except you're free to go and straight up fight Demise. It's an issue of player choice, and you took the option that made it less challenging. It's like how in Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks you can save just before the final, final battle, which is a one-round fight just like Demise; you're supposed to do it straight but you're given the option as an aspect of choice. Complaining about that is like complaining about an easy mode. You don't have to use it.

I can totally get what you're saying if it was compulsory, but I played through it straight. Immediately upon being given the option to run or fight, I went and saved just in case, but then I fought him without going back to replenish anything. Nothing about the flow was disrupted. So your first paragraph... that's exactly what it was like for me.

Bottom line is... you're sorta complaining that a feature put in for newbies made things too easy, and broke up the tension of the scene, but you never had to do that in the first place. You took the easier option, but you were never forced to use it.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom