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What Did You Think of the Shield Deteriorating in Skyward Sword?

Justac00lguy

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Well it didn't really add challenge to the game as my shield never broke as I rarely used it so to me it was pretty useless....
 

Zorth

#Scoundrel
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Apr 22, 2011
I don't see how something being optional or not makes a difference whether or not it should have a resource sink. What specific detail about game design makes that a factor?

The shield was also given a much larger role in the combat in Skyward Sword. It wasn't mandatory, but is that really a bad thing?

Well this boils down to opinion I guess, to me it just wasn't worth it while it didn't bother others.

Because not everyone is skilled enough?

Yeah, again more about personal preference I guess.

Just because there could have been more doesn't mean what's already there is bad.

Good point, I guess I should say what's currently in SS is definitely not bad, but personally I hope for it to improve in the future.

I sadly have a habit of comparing series with each other which can cloud my judgement sometimes, when compared to the other Zelda titles then SS definitely has better stuff. However in order to be on par with games from the 360/PC/PS3 it would've had to have some more stuff, but I can't really ask anymore from the Wii so I'll let its successor carry the responsibility for that.
 

bunny

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I didn't mind it. Every once in awhile it'd annoy me because I felt like even if it were a little bit broken, I'd have to go and fix it. That was rare, though. I think my shield only broke once, but that was because I was being stupid. xD The only reason I wanted the Hylian Shield was because it looks awesome. I wouldn't mind if the next Zelda game had shield deterioration.
 

SNOlink

I'm baack. Who missed me?
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I thought that this aspect of the game was pretty good. It made it so that you had to conserve the shield better than just holding it out infinitly. It helped me use the shield less than in other games and it made the combat more based on skill rather than how long your right index finger could hold out.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
I think it was unneeded, and took the entire purpose of having a shield away. It turned a defensive weapon into solely a melee weapon. TP did this too, but it still kept the fundamental basics of using a shield to BLOCK attacks. Skyward Sword made this redundant and left little room for practice.
 

JuicieJ

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I think it was unneeded, and took the entire purpose of having a shield away. It turned a defensive weapon into solely a melee weapon. TP did this too, but it still kept the fundamental basics of using a shield to BLOCK attacks. Skyward Sword made this redundant and left little room for practice.

No, it made using a shield have meaning. Take the Ganon fight in Ocarina of Time. You can block his swords with a shield with no repercussion. Try that with Demise without Shield Bashing (or failing the timing) and you get your shield broken in as little as one hit. It's all about resource management.
 

Ventus

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No, it made using a shield have meaning. Take the Ganon fight in Ocarina of Time. You can block his swords with a shield with no repercussion. Try that with Demise without Shield Bashing (or failing the timing) and you get your shield broken in as little as one hit. It's all about resource management.

I don't recall being able to block Ganon's swords...all I remember his him knocking me to the side, listening to Zelda's shriek of doom (happens everytime Link gets hit in the final battle), and then a GAME OVER screen due to hitting the flame wall. :I

Saying the shield has meaning then using Demise as an example was quite poor, IMO. Logically speaking, if you shield bash an incoming attack, it would do FAR more damage to the shield than if you were holding it defensively, letting the attack come towards the shield. For whatever reason, though, shield bashing gives you invincibility (like one frame of it lol). So, let's disregard shield bashing in its entirety and go to the shield itself. If I hold up my shield and take some hits, of course the shield will take damage. That only makes sense. But, as Demise can take out most (I think it's most) shields in one hit, your shield doesn't become a defensive item anymore. It becomes a one-shot barrier to you taking damage, which in most cases is actually a hassle; I recall Demise following up on his swings...if he manages to swing anyway.

Point is, shield in SS is less useful than you might think. ;)
 
Joined
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I think it was a very pointless gameplay mechanic. The addition of a (rudimentary) upgrade system was pretty cool, but the shield depletion was highly unnecessary. It was a rather feeble attempt at adding "realism" to the combat, and it ended up being a burden with no positive outcome - though I don't use my shield in Zelda games, so it didn't directly affect me.
 

Ventus

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It was a rather feeble attempt at adding "realism" to the combat, and it ended up being a burden with no positive outcome - though I don't use my shield in Zelda games, so it didn't directly affect me.

Not to sound rude, but when is there ever a POSITIVE outcome to losing a dear weapon item? I'm not defending SS' rendition of the Shield Meter, and in fact I agree that it was a feeble attempt at whatever it attempted to do, I'm just rather confused by your statement here.
 

JuicieJ

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I don't recall being able to block Ganon's swords...all I remember his him knocking me to the side, listening to Zelda's shriek of doom (happens everytime Link gets hit in the final battle), and then a GAME OVER screen due to hitting the flame wall. :I

You were probably standing too close, then.

Saying the shield has meaning then using Demise as an example was quite poor, IMO. Logically speaking, if you shield bash an incoming attack, it would do FAR more damage to the shield than if you were holding it defensively, letting the attack come towards the shield. For whatever reason, though, shield bashing gives you invincibility (like one frame of it lol). So, let's disregard shield bashing in its entirety and go to the shield itself. If I hold up my shield and take some hits, of course the shield will take damage. That only makes sense. But, as Demise can take out most (I think it's most) shields in one hit, your shield doesn't become a defensive item anymore. It becomes a one-shot barrier to you taking damage, which in most cases is actually a hassle; I recall Demise following up on his swings...if he manages to swing anyway.

It's called proper game design. It would be really cheap on Nintendo's part to make the shield take damage by using a skill like the Shield Bash. It's a useful move for players struggling with the game, and it comes in handy on the fly quite often.

As far as Demise goes, it's a case of causing you to use your shield with caution. It's the final battle. It's likely you've mastered the use of the shield. So it puts what you've learned to the test by having your shield(s) break ridiculously easy. You're more likely to not be reckless with a foe that can decimate your line of defense.

Point is, shield in SS is less useful than you might think. ;)

I know exactly how useful it is. Do know that I'm not saying it's the most useful thing ever. That doesn't mean it's a worthless pile of crap like you make it out to be, though.

Not to sound rude, but when is there ever a POSITIVE outcome to losing a dear weapon item?

Learning not to be reckless with said item?
 

Ventus

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It's called proper game design. It would be really cheap on Nintendo's part to make the shield take damage by using a skill like the Shield Bash. It's a useful move for players struggling with the game, and it comes in handy on the fly quite often.

Proper game design, a move that grants invincibility and can be spammed out the wazoo? Why not just give us God-Mode, eh? Point is, Shield Bash is quite OP and it totally negates the shield meter, at no harm to the player using it. Yeah, there's an added layer of strategy required (you actually have to time when to bash), but all enemies in the game telegraph their attacks to the point that anyone who is good at noticing when enemies start up their attacks can shield bash with relative ease (read: I'm not saying "anyone can do it"; I totally recognize that there are those who don't have the best reflexes, as I am one of them, and there is also a whole slew of disabilities that keep people from being proficient). This makes the shield bash an overpowered addition, and thereby making the shield meter entirely useless. ;)
 

JuicieJ

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Proper game design, a move that grants invincibility and can be spammed out the wazoo? Why not just give us God-Mode, eh? Point is, Shield Bash is quite OP and it totally negates the shield meter, at no harm to the player using it. Yeah, there's an added layer of strategy required (you actually have to time when to bash), but all enemies in the game telegraph their attacks to the point that anyone who is good at noticing when enemies start up their attacks can shield bash with relative ease (read: I'm not saying "anyone can do it"; I totally recognize that there are those who don't have the best reflexes, as I am one of them, and there is also a whole slew of disabilities that keep people from being proficient). This makes the shield bash an overpowered addition, and thereby making the shield meter entirely useless. ;)

Then why do you praise the Hidden Skills in Twilight Princess?
 

Ventus

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Then why do you praise the Hidden Skills in Twilight Princess?

The Hidden Skills are optional mate. That shield meter is constantly there should you have a shield, though. inb4 take the shield off. Why do I inb4 that? Because the shield is a very necessary defensive mechanism for first time players, and people who come back that are really rusty at the game. ;)
 

Random Person

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I Personally enjoyed the shield meter, however when the game got to the divine shield (or whatever it's called) the shields kind of lost their purpose. For one, if you're an avid Zelda player and/or decent gamer, keeping your shield in check is not going to be too difficult. Add that to a shield that replenishes itself and repels every kind of attack makes it really difficult to play bad while playing with a shield. I enjoyed the shield meter because it added an extra tactic to the game, but once you got to the divine shield (or whatever it's called) most of that strategy is taken away. If the whole purpose of a new concept is taken away, then that concept becomes pointless and you leave the audience thinking "why do this in the first place if you were just gonna go back to the old ways?" And then we have the Hylian Shield which is so OP it makes the Master Keyblade look like a child's toy. Now if Zelda were a new series, it'd be a whole different story with the shield meter. Earning your way to getting the better shield is not a bad idea. It's just that this was a new idea in a game that had an old idea that was working and the purprose for this new idea gets lost about midway (or earlier) through the game. I honestly wanted the Hylian Shield for looks, not because it was the strongest shield. I could do fine with the others because shield strategy isn't that hard.

Basically what I'm saying is that I liked the shield meter, but I don't like that its purpose was left so early in the game. I'm not too eager to see this make a return, but if it does, I hope it does a better job of keeping its purpose.
 

JuicieJ

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That only makes sense. But, as Demise can take out most (I think it's most) shields in one hit, your shield doesn't become a defensive item anymore.

I thought about mentioning this earlier, but decided not to. I'm going to now.

Let's say Ganon's attack in OoT WEREN'T blocked by the shield. I'm willing to bet money you would say this was genius design due to it preventing you from being able to block his mighty attacks. Yet, with Demise, it's a bad thing to be able to not have your shield take damage?

I Personally enjoyed the shield meter, however when the game got to the divine shield (or whatever it's called) the shields kind of lost their purpose. For one, if you're an avid Zelda player and/or decent gamer, keeping your shield in check is not going to be too difficult. Add that to a shield that replenishes itself and repels every kind of attack makes it really difficult to play bad while playing with a shield. I enjoyed the shield meter because it added an extra tactic to the game, but once you got to the divine shield (or whatever it's called) most of that strategy is taken away. If the whole purpose of a new concept is taken away, then that concept becomes pointless and you leave the audience thinking "why do this in the first place if you were just gonna go back to the old ways?" And then we have the Hylian Shield which is so OP it makes the Master Keyblade look like a child's toy. Now if Zelda were a new series, it'd be a whole different story with the shield meter. Earning your way to getting the better shield is not a bad idea. It's just that this was a new idea in a game that had an old idea that was working and the purprose for this new idea gets lost about midway (or earlier) through the game. I honestly wanted the Hylian Shield for looks, not because it was the strongest shield. I could do fine with the others because shield strategy isn't that hard.

Basically what I'm saying is that I liked the shield meter, but I don't like that its purpose was left so early in the game. I'm not too eager to see this make a return, but if it does, I hope it does a better job of keeping its purpose.

Well, first off, the Sacred Shield was 500 rupees. That's a pretty steep price, don't you think? Second, it was -- here we go again -- an optional acquirement. It was there for those who were struggling to keep their shields from breaking. You didn't have to get it if you didn't want to.
 

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