Iridescence
Emancipated Wind Fish
- Joined
- May 11, 2014
- Location
- United States
Basically, once per day I will start a topic on a dungeon to which
we can discuss at length. Every dungeon will get its own time to
shine and they will be picked randomly.
Today is Ancient Cistern, the 4th dungeon from Skyward Sword.
It is a calm peaceful Buddhist themed dungeon with some water-based based puzzles,
but a dark hellish underworld lies beneath. The item is the Whip, the mid-boss is a
six-armed Stalfos and the final boss is Koloktos.
Youtube Playthrough Links: 1 / 2
---
Ratings:
1 = Bad
2 = Mediocre
3 = Good
4 = Very Good
5 = Great
Theme: 5/5
Retells the story of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Onion, which was adapted into a Buddhist
story. It is an overall coherent setting that conveys the duality of Zen and hell quite
effectively. It told a story through the gameplay, which included memorable moments
like climbing up the rope and stealing the prisoner's keys.
Atmosphere: 5/5
Absolutely gorgeous use of colors. Water glistens and has good physics without suffering
from uncanny valley. Duality between heaven and hell is quite well established with the
stark contrast in color scheme. Portrait-like rather than cartoony, which serves the
theme well.
Sound: 3/5
Its a calm peaceful ambiance that goes along with the setting. Its nothing big or
memorable, but its a nice little tune that is fine to listen to in extended periods of time.
Level Design: 3/5
Middle of the road but overall good. Its convenient, easy to traverse through. There's
minimal backtracking and its hard to get lost. However, it does nothing really unique or
special with the level design either.
Puzzles: 3/5
There were some clever uses for the whip for sure, such as flipping objects upside down
and stealing a key from a guard. But overall, no particular puzzle amazed me, though
rising the structure was also interesting. Hint-based puzzles also hampered things a bit.
Item: 1/5
The Whip is pretty much what PC gamers call W+M1. You basically use it on a suitable
target and thats it. It's not very versatile or useful outside of the dungeon. And it
doesn't make for interesting puzzles either. It feels good to use with the motion
controls, but there's really no depth behind it either.
Enemies: 2/5
There isn't too many enemies aside from generic bokoblins and some birds. Mid-boss is
fun, but isn't exactly unique either.
Boss: 5/5
Koloktos is one of the reasons why I play Zelda. A dramatic heart-pounding fight with
cathartic use of motion controls.
(note: Level Design and Puzzles are weighed extra)
Average :
33/50
It rests a bit on being eye candy, but I still enjoy it a lot.
I'd also be interested in reading your thoughts as well.
- Iridescence
we can discuss at length. Every dungeon will get its own time to
shine and they will be picked randomly.
Today is Ancient Cistern, the 4th dungeon from Skyward Sword.
It is a calm peaceful Buddhist themed dungeon with some water-based based puzzles,
but a dark hellish underworld lies beneath. The item is the Whip, the mid-boss is a
six-armed Stalfos and the final boss is Koloktos.
Youtube Playthrough Links: 1 / 2
---
Ratings:
1 = Bad
2 = Mediocre
3 = Good
4 = Very Good
5 = Great
Theme: 5/5
Retells the story of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Onion, which was adapted into a Buddhist
story. It is an overall coherent setting that conveys the duality of Zen and hell quite
effectively. It told a story through the gameplay, which included memorable moments
like climbing up the rope and stealing the prisoner's keys.
Atmosphere: 5/5
Absolutely gorgeous use of colors. Water glistens and has good physics without suffering
from uncanny valley. Duality between heaven and hell is quite well established with the
stark contrast in color scheme. Portrait-like rather than cartoony, which serves the
theme well.
Sound: 3/5
Its a calm peaceful ambiance that goes along with the setting. Its nothing big or
memorable, but its a nice little tune that is fine to listen to in extended periods of time.
Level Design: 3/5
Middle of the road but overall good. Its convenient, easy to traverse through. There's
minimal backtracking and its hard to get lost. However, it does nothing really unique or
special with the level design either.
Puzzles: 3/5
There were some clever uses for the whip for sure, such as flipping objects upside down
and stealing a key from a guard. But overall, no particular puzzle amazed me, though
rising the structure was also interesting. Hint-based puzzles also hampered things a bit.
Item: 1/5
The Whip is pretty much what PC gamers call W+M1. You basically use it on a suitable
target and thats it. It's not very versatile or useful outside of the dungeon. And it
doesn't make for interesting puzzles either. It feels good to use with the motion
controls, but there's really no depth behind it either.
Enemies: 2/5
There isn't too many enemies aside from generic bokoblins and some birds. Mid-boss is
fun, but isn't exactly unique either.
Boss: 5/5
Koloktos is one of the reasons why I play Zelda. A dramatic heart-pounding fight with
cathartic use of motion controls.
(note: Level Design and Puzzles are weighed extra)
Average :
33/50
It rests a bit on being eye candy, but I still enjoy it a lot.
I'd also be interested in reading your thoughts as well.
- Iridescence
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