Game Informer Impressions

[Mubble]

They just posted their impressions video online.

 

[Mastik]

Were they positive? From the written article it sounds like they are rlly existed abut the game

 

[megadrive08]

That was absolutely worthless.

 

[Dukusword]

November has to come sooner lol.

 

[athenian200]

I'm actually impressed by Skyward Sword for once. Everything else I've heard has made me anxious. But this was interesting. The "puzzles" I have to solve to beat enemies seem fairly simple and reminiscent of other games I've played. The idea of being able to use items to upgrade my shield and repair it seem interesting. When I heard that our shields would take damage, I thought I would just have to buy a new one everytime. I never really imagined the options to upgrade or repair my shield existing in a Zelda game.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want Zelda to become a full-blown Western RPG-style game, but this particular element doesn't seem like it will break anything. It's no worse than having a Like-Like eat your shield.

The game seems a lot more balanced and fun than what the hardcore gamers were calling for. It seems that it's going to rely more on length and simpler tricks to extend the gameplay, rather than making it frustrating/impossible like they did in some games. That's the right way to improve a game... I hope that Nintendo has done as good a job as these guys think.

 

[Yonatesf]

The Lizalfos look really cool!

 

[JuicieJ]

Link and Mario? :xd:

 

[vcdomith]

Link and Mario? :xd:

WOW!!! Beware these Eagle Eyes!!!

 

[steve12345]

I'm actually impressed by Skyward Sword for once. Everything else I've heard has made me anxious. But this was interesting. The "puzzles" I have to solve to beat enemies seem fairly simple and reminiscent of other games I've played. The idea of being able to use items to upgrade my shield and repair it seem interesting. When I heard that our shields would take damage, I thought I would just have to buy a new one everytime. I never really imagined the options to upgrade or repair my shield existing in a Zelda game.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want Zelda to become a full-blown Western RPG-style game, but this particular element doesn't seem like it will break anything. It's no worse than having a Like-Like eat your shield.

The game seems a lot more balanced and fun than what the hardcore gamers were calling for. It seems that it's going to rely more on length and simpler tricks to extend the gameplay, rather than making it frustrating/impossible like they did in some games. That's the right way to improve a game... I hope that Nintendo has done as good a job as these guys think.

I think Nintendo exactly determined what these guys were and weren't allowed to say, since they didn't speak a word about anything that wasn't showed. Also, they didn't say one negative word.

While I am looking forward to November 20, I am getting a bit worried about the game too. I was hoping for an epic action-adventure game, but each time new information is released, I fear the game will be more like a playful and 'fun' action-puzzle game. The rolling ball, the jolly music, the playful and bright area's, all of them indicate that the game will be more like a Super Zelda Galaxy game than an actual sollid action-adventure title.

 

[Hippppo]

That was absolutely worthless.

I agree with this quote. There was nothing new

 

[Caelus]

The rolling ball, the jolly music, the playful and bright area's, all of them indicate that the game will be more like a Super Zelda Galaxy game than an actual sollid action-adventure title.

Really poor argument you're making there.

 

[person]

Despite the majority of what we know about the game is mostly related to gameplay mechanics, this is the first time we get a better (slight) feel of how the game appeals to the player.

Still, what I am curious about is yet to be answered. At the time, I am analyzing why Ocarina of Time's has such lasting appeal, and I have examined several components of the game and why and how they create appeal. What I am curious about is how these components are utilized in Skyward Sword.

The following section will describe how I see the different components:

• Graphics detail doesn't make a game. Graphics is a means to express athmosphere and visual appeal, thus good graphics is art. Despite this, art alone still doesn't make a game, and here is why: Allthough art expresses, it has no purpose unless there is elements in other components of the game that reflects these expressions.
• Music and Audio is, much like graphics, a means to express athmosphere and feelings. However, unlike graphics, music is more direct and appeals (at least to me) much more than the graphics. Still, the same poinst that goes for graphics also applies to music; it should reflect the state of the game (atmosphere-wise).
• Technically speaking; Gameplay mechanics and controll is a major part of the game. Practically speaking; It doesn't do much to the appeal itself, unless the controlls are flawed, and/or the gameplay mechanics usage is flawed. If flawed, it will affect the appeal in a negative way, and often badly. Otherwise it will not do anything to the appeal at all.
• What I've been talking about so far is mostly the technical parts of the game, which can be seen as the game's input, output and spesifications. What this all boils down to is level-design. This is the most major factor of a game's appeal. It combines all the elements from the other components, and creates the meat of the game: It takes it's own elements (the theme and athmosphere of an area, which may be influenced by the plot), and uses the gameplay mechanics to create the fundamentals of gameplay. It then fully expresses the athmosphere using music and graphics. Level design defines the feeling of gameplay, and bad level-design can really be haunting to a game's reputation.
• The plot doesn't have to be complicated, as you read in the recent newspost. It doesn't appeal as much as the rest, but it is mainly a means to keep things in the game interesting and dynamic. The rate of progression is defined by the plot; as when level-design is the meat of the game, the plot is the outline of the game. With fast progression - the game can feel too intense and speedy, but with a slow rate of progression - the game can become tedious and/or booring. A plot is usually centered around a story, but the story is usually just a means for the plot to progress, thus why it doesn't have to be complicated.

I find the level-design in Ocarina of Time extraordinary good, especially when it comes to the puzzle elements. The pluzzles and overall level design of Ocarina of Time is so diverse that no later Zelda game has managed to acheive the same. This diversity is what I want from Skyward Sword, but we have seen by far enough to know if we will get it.

 

[steve12345]

Really poor argument you're making there.

And perhaps the 13 year old kid from Termina could support this statement with arguments of his own?

[*]The plot doesn't have to be complicated, as you read in the recent newspost. It doesn't appeal as much as the rest, but it is mainly a means to keep things in the game interesting and dynamic. The rate of progression is defined by the plot; as when level-design is the meat of the game, the plot is the outline of the game. With fast progression - the game can feel too intense and speedy, but with a slow rate of progression - the game can become tedious and/or booring. A plot is usually centered around a story, but the story is usually just a means for the plot to progress, thus why it doesn't have to be complicated.

I disagree. An interesting plot is a necassary element for an action-adventure game. Games that don't need a plot are games from a whole different genre than Zelda. Also, a focus on gameplay doesn't make the plot irrelevant, just as a focus on plot doesn't make the gameplay irrelevant. In the action-adventure genre both plot and gameplay are important for the game as a whole. Think about other action-adventure games like other Zelda games and non-Zelda games like Okami.
A Zelda game of in this time needs to have great gameplay, great music, great atmosphere and, yes, a great plot, with unexpected twist, interesting relations between people and emotional moments like the ones in Okami.
How else could SS surpass the legacy of OOT an be the best (Zelda) game ever? It's 2011, the bar is set higher than ever.

I find the level-design in Ocarina of Time extraordinary good, especially when it comes to the puzzle elements. The pluzzles and overall level design of Ocarina of Time is so diverse that no later Zelda game has manage to acheive the same. This diversity is what I want from Skyward Sword, but we have seen by far enough to know if we will get it.

Totally agree. I also find the dungeon design in OOT way more intelligent than the dungeon design in later games, especially WW and TP in which the dungeons where way too much 'accesible for all ages', in my opinion. MM was fine.
I hope SS will bring back this OOT cleverness, but I'm afraid Nintendo has chosen the 'child-friendly' route again...

 

[EternalNocturne]

While I am looking forward to November 20, I am getting a bit worried about the game too. I was hoping for an epic action-adventure game, but each time new information is released, I fear the game will be more like a playful and 'fun' action-puzzle game. The rolling ball, the jolly music, the playful and bright area's, all of them indicate that the game will be more like a Super Zelda Galaxy game than an actual sollid action-adventure title.

Using that logic, I could also say that the dark atmosphere at certain parts of the game, Ghirahim, and some of the bosses indicate that Skyward Sword will turn out like another dark game like Majora's Mask.

Spoiler

Although some sections of Skyward Sword might bear similarities to Super Mario Galaxy, I don't think it's reasonable to say that the game as a whole might end up like it just because of a few parts we've seen. The rolling ball looks like it's strictly exclusive to the fire dungeon, so unless Link will be rolling on giant balls like that throughout the game (over water, sand, and who knows what else), it shouldn't exactly make you say that it will be a Super Zelda Galaxy.

Jolly music? So far the most prominent piece of jolly music I've heard is from the bird-flying minigame, and we should know by now that minigame music is generally happy and jolly. Besides that, the Bazaar comes to mind, but probably only because it would be a populated area or something. All the other music sounds like typical Zelda music to me.

Like I mentioned earlier, a few bright and playful areas doesn't mean that it be that way throughout the entire game. I guess this has to do with the art style chosen -- it's vibrant and colorful, which might unconsciously lead some people to believe that it's a childish game.

All that said, just think about The Wind Waker. It had jolly, Irish-styled music along with bright and colorful cel-shaded graphics. It still delivered as a solid action-adventure title, right? So you should have nothing to worry about.

(Not trying to totally rip you apart or anything -- you said you were worried about it being Super Zelda Galaxy, so maybe this should make your worries go away! )

 

[Caelus]

And perhaps the 13 year old kid from Termina could support this statement with arguments of his own?

Are we going into personal attacks here?

Your argument is indeed poor, you're specifically plucking out "jolly" or "child-friendly" elements from the game and using these and only these parts to judge whether or not the game is "kiddy" or "a joke."

The rolling ball exists in one dungeon, one dungeon only, and it's specifically related to the boss of the dungeon, Scaldera, which in itself is a large boulder. Large boulders are usually a trope of adventure, and I don't see a problem reusing this concept again.

The jolly music only exists in parts of the game where it's appropriate, such as populated areas, fun minigames or background music to wacky characters. I only notice about two or three "jolly" pieces of music- such as the graduation ceremony, the fact that you don't provide any examples doesn't help. Tunes like the Sky Temple and Fire Temple sound melancholic and provide an adventurous atmosphere, while the Goddess's Song gives a true aura of adventure.

The playful and bright areas in the game... which areas are playful and bright exactly? The forest? Isn't that what a forest looks like? The bazaar, where strange civlians use tactics to sell you random stuff? The sky? You need to actually point these places out, because I'm sure color can exist in a game without having it be "playful".

What is perhaps most ridiculous is that you say "all of them indicate...", as the person above said, I could pluck the dark elements from the game specifically and say the game is of the horror genre. There's really nothing to indicate from a couple of random elements- a game could be fun and colorful and dark and gloomy at the same time. But the atmosphere I think I will find in Skyward Sword will be overall adventurous.

So, I don't see where we're getting Super Zelda Galaxy, or that Nintendo has suddenly gone down the child-friendly route, since Nintendo has always been child-friendly- one of the reasons their games are so appealing.

There's nothing wrong with being worried about a game's content, but what you attempt to use to validate your argument is fairly weak and not understandable. If I were to construct a negative argument about the atmosphere of the game I would refer to the strange enemy design or the amount of random blocky objects, which even aren't enough.