Dowsing: Should It Return?

[JuicieJ]

Dowsing is one of the many new features from Skyward Sword, serving as a helping hand for finding a specific item. A good question is... should it return in future titles?

Personally, I don't think its necessary for dowsing to return, but I wouldn't object to it at all. It was a nice little feature that helped me out quite a few times in Skyward Sword's sidequests. The main reason I like it is because it pointed me in the right direction, but didn't guide me by the hand to whatever I was looking for. It was also completely optional, so I was never required to use it, which is a good thing. That's something that makes it incapable of being complained about in terms of the game holding our hands since it's not forced upon us.

As I pretty much already said, it'd be really neat to see this feature return in the future, even though I don't think it's something that absolutely has to return. But what do you think? Discuss!

 

[Azure Sage]

I think it would be kinda tricky to fit it into the next game, considering it was by the Goddess's power that Link could use the Goddess Sword to dowse (if I recall correctly). However, dowsing is something I want to see return. I liked it a lot, pretty for the reasons you listed. It was very helpful, and it was an optional helping hand. I think it was a wonderful feature. I would very much like to see it again.

 

[JuicieJ]

Being able to tell where the most important items are at virtually any time ruins the fun of even having a ZeldaDungeon or a Zelda Universe or Zelda fansites at all. It makes things simply too easy.

Dowsing doesn't tell you exactly where an item is. It just tells you the direction your target is in. There's no reason to say it makes guide sites un-fun. That doesn't make any kind of sense.

I think it would be kinda tricky to fit it into the next game, considering it was by the Goddess's power that Link could use the Goddess Sword to dowse (if I recall correctly).

Nintendo could make use of an item rather than the sword.

 

[Sinharvest]

I agree sorta with what Ventus is saying. Instead of forcing the player to say, go question different NPC's in town for information, and them saying, "oh I saw a strange hooded person take Zelda west toward the mountains". It's like an easy mode, go this way. It can take some of the flavor out of the game, because when your forced to talk to NPCs for information you get some of the, what I call "flavor text" fed to you and its just random information about people places and things in the game world. It's faster and less time consuming, Its not bad to find one or two things, but if your using it over and over the whole game its kind of a cop out.

 

[PhantomTriforce]

I don't really know. Dowsing was an interesting concept, and I kind of liked it a bit more in Twilight Princess with his wolf senses, simply because it was used less and it gave Wolf Link a greater purpose. I totally agree with Van also, in Skyward Sword, dowsing removed any exploring. The dowsing led you right to the place/item. So I'd like to see it return, but used in a smarter way and more effectively.

 

[DeletedUser9]

Sure? I have no preference. I used Dowsing in Skyward Sword because I felt like it was intended, but it didn't really change a lot (the directions it pointed out for plot objectives were usually rather obvious; it was most useful for optional stuff like Goddess Cubes and Gratitude Crystals). If they were to include it again, part of me would want it to matter more, like to be really useful in particularly labyrinthine areas or areas with low visibility. That's my preference, but they could just do it the same and put it off to the side more (not have Fi tell you about it constantly), and I wouldn't mind. I'd probably use it for some of the sidequest stuff and that'd be about it.

In my opinion, the feature shouldn't return. Dowsing is one of many things in Skyward Sword that I felt were unnecessary, and not just through my eyes. Being able to tell where the most important items are at virtually any time ruins the fun of even having a ZeldaDungeon or a Zelda Universe or Zelda fansites at all. It makes things simply too easy. Sure, you could decide to go the through without using the item, but when you ask for help, people will be like 'DID YOU DOWSE HUH?!". Of course, not EVERYONE will be like that (especially not friendlies at ZD, ZU, ZE, LZ, or whatever fansite you can spot down), in fact they'll be glad to finally lend a helping hand, but a great deal of people will.

Aside from the whole too easy aspect, I felt dowsing had minimal usage anyway. It's no better than making waypoints on your minimap or something of that sort. So yeah, please don't return Dowsing; you're not needed much.

I don't see how Dowsing even correlates to the Beacons at all; they do completely different things. But more to the point, I will never consider complaints about optional mechanics making things "too easy" seriously. "Too easy" is subjective and entirely personal, and if Nintendo doesn't want to include difficulty levels in a Zelda game (which they should), then making the game hard but with functions like this is very necessary. Nintendo favors the "super guide" concept, and that's effectively what the Dowsing helps form. There is never a good reason to complain about this. You do not need to use it, so it is none of your business if someone else wants to use it to make it easier. If you're worried about it adding more time to the development for something you don't care for... okay, that's something, though I don't think you can say Dowsing would have taken any amount of time worth worrying about.

I think it would be kinda tricky to fit it into the next game, considering it was by the Goddess's power that Link could use the Goddess Sword to dowse (if I recall correctly). However, dowsing is something I want to see return. I liked it a lot, pretty for the reasons you listed. It was very helpful, and it was an optional helping hand. I think it was a wonderful feature. I would very much like to see it again.

I don't think it would be that tricky. All that was really stated about it was that Fi (not the sword) detected energy signature or whatever. A similar character or a fairy or spirit with a sensing ability could do this. It could be approximated with animal senses or instinct like in Twilight Princess, or as was said, with another device entirely. That or they could simply treat it as a feature that's forever a part of the Master Sword.

 

[The Wanderer]

I'd like to see it return, but more as an optional item than a big part of the story. For example, deeper puzzles may be created when you talk to NPCs (as Sinharvest mentioned) or observe the environment carefully rather than simply being pointed in the right direction. I still find the Kikwi-locating part of Skyward Sword to be pretty fun, but riddles, hints, or scanning the environment for things like broken limbs and footprints could probably have provided a deeper experience. When used over and over again, it often feels redundant, like "Why was this put in the game again?" Not that it's bad, but it loses some of its flavor.

On the other hand, dowsing for things like Goddess Cubes was one of my favorite pastimes in Skyward Sword; it's entirely non-linear and nonessential, but it feels like going on a mini-adventure with a map to find the buried treasure. I think it would really be ideal for things like the treasure chests beneath the waves in The Wind Waker. Biggies like Goddess Cubes or other significant bonus objects could use riddles to locate while somewhat smaller items like buried treasure could be scattered all over the place and found via dowsing.

I'd like to see it return, but fine-tuned and completely optional so it's used widely outside the story but not much or at all inside the story. It feels better-suited to locating several dozen artifacts scattered across the world rather than contributing to every major puzzle outside dungeons.

 

[JuicieJ]

I wasn't talking about beacons; I didn't even know such a thing existed (half forgot, more like it), but I see your point anyway. Aside from that, though, whether I want something to return or not is entirely up to me; my opinion doesn't include how others might feel because I am only accounting what I want. It's very selfish, I know, but I'm telling it as I see it. I don't care for dowsing, it feels like a feature that is just "there". There isn't anything wrong with the feature, I'm sure it could help millions of people out at some point, but I don't care for it. As such, I don't really want to see it.

If there's nothing wrong with the feature, why care if it comes back? You're not forced to use it, after all.

 

[DeletedUser9]

I wasn't talking about beacons; I didn't even know such a thing existed (half forgot, more like it), but I see your point anyway. Aside from that, though, whether I want something to return or not is entirely up to me; my opinion doesn't include how others might feel because I am only accounting what I want. It's very selfish, I know, but I'm telling it as I see it. I don't care for dowsing, it feels like a feature that is just "there". There isn't anything wrong with the feature, I'm sure it could help millions of people out at some point, but I don't care for it. As such, I don't really want to see it.

Oh, so you mean traditional waypoints? I think those would take the player out of the immersion more than Dowsing would, but meh. I see your point.

Regarding your personal desires versus other peoples', that makes sense, but it still raises the question of why you would actually compose an argument against the system existing at all, rather than why you wouldn't enjoy it. Maybe that's not what you intended with your post, but with words like "and not just through my eyes", it definitely comes across as that. There are many features I don't personally enjoy in video games, but as long as I'm not forced to use them in a game I enjoy, I don't see any reason to argue against their existence as long as they don't take away from anything else for me, which Dowsing doesn't.

 

[Sinharvest]

It's an optional feature. As with the Shiekah Stone, it can't be logically complained about.

Okay, easy mode is an option I guess your right, but I personally am not for dumbing things down.

 

[Heros Temporis]

It's an interesting (albeit not entirely original) idea, and while it's well implemented, I feel that it dumbs down or completely removes the challenge of searching.
That said, I'm glad that they implemented it into the game in many occasions, as otherwise there are some fetchquests that would take forever because of want for dowsing.
I'm kind of neutral on it returning, if it's done as well as it was in Skyward Sword, then sure.

 

[SavageWizzrobe]

I'm totally neutral about the return of dowsing; in SS, it was helpful to use as it pointed you in the right direction and thus sped up fetchquests but didn't spell out exactly what you needed to do and it was never required to progress. In fact, I remember that the first time I played SS, there were some points where I didn't use dowsing at all, such as the point in Lanayru desert where you activate three generators. As a result I don't mind either way if dowsing returns in a future Zelda game with the same implementation as in SS or if dowsing gets scrapped entirely.

 

[Sinharvest]

I can see why they do it, Nintendo is trying to appeal to a younger and younger audience(for sales?), so they have to put in something like this for those who get easily lost. I really can't complain to much about it I guess, I just don't want Nintendo to take it a step further every new game, and make it easier and easier. Like, the next game you would just get straight up teleporters to take you to the next part of the game. I am just scared Nintendo is trying to turn into Disney. I mean I thought Skyward sword was a great game, not perfect, but great non the less.

 

[bspurka]

Idk but this is my opinion. Zelda tends to be more fun for me when I have no idea where to go. When the game tell you what to do, but you have to find it. The SS dowsing ability made the game feel too easy because it directly gave you waypoints to the next part of the game. Again this like said in previous comments if probably due to nintendo attracting younger audiences. But imo they should do away with dowsing unless it is for finding ruppees.

 

[JuicieJ]

Idk but this is my opinion. Zelda tends to be more fun for me when I have no idea where to go. When the game tell you what to do, but you have to find it. The SS dowsing ability made the game feel too easy because it directly gave you waypoints to the next part of the game. Again this like said in previous comments if probably due to nintendo attracting younger audiences. But imo they should do away with dowsing unless it is for finding ruppees.

Not to be rude, but if you found the game too easy because you used the dowsing, that's your fault. You were in no way forced to use it.