Harp-Worst Instrument Ever?

[misskitten]

The harp was okay, but it was hard to see whether or not I was following the rhythm, cause I would follow the pulse exactly and nothing would happen, then I would speed it up a bit and suddenly it worked... weird...

 

[DeletedUser9]

though If the harp was the main tool ... like LEGEND OF ZELDA SKYWARD HARP! then I'd be pissed that the music wasn't focused on more. But No, it's about the Sword. So it was an afterthought.

That's a good point. The way the Harp was presented in the game makes even more sense when you bring that up, because it really wasn't meant to be important to the game like it was in almost all the other instrument games. That said, I still think they could have improved it a bit, even in that context.

I got stuck a lot of times trying to play the musics to enter the silent realm because of the broken control of the harp.I miss you Ocarina

I'm not trying to pick a fight, but the Harp controls really were not really broken. While I struggled a little with a few later parts in the game, I managed to play it fine right off, and I rarely had excessive trouble with it. It's more skill-based than some of the previous instruments, though, so it can be tricky.

All in all it makes me sad how simplified everything is in the "modern" Zelda games.

I don't think that's really the case with all the elements, though, especially in Skyward Sword where they gave the combat, the collectibles, and your standard gear much more depth. Yeah, the Harp was simplified, but I think a bigger thing that people need to keep in mind about instruments is they were kinda always a side element. In the original Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past and The Minish Cap, you play the Flute by using it like an item and then you warp. In Adventure of Link it was a quest item, and in the GameBoy games, you have about three songs, but you still use them like items.

Ocarina of Time was the first game to do the whole musical thing, and The Wind Waker was mostly copying it (as was Majora's Mask, since it was an expansion off the same gameplay and themes). Bottom line is the instruments as we've known them since OoT really don't correlate with the core themes of the franchise, so I think toning them down or omitting them entirely for some games is perfectly acceptable, maybe even welcome, so they can focus their attention on new ideas sometimes.

 

[everettkagan]

I hated the harp. I tried to do the lumpy pumpkin thing too, but i just couldn't do it and the annoying customers didn't help either. I just hate how hard it is and all i want is to have a ocarina that has the same power as the harp: it opens silent realm challenges, pulls up goddess walls and gossip stones, all that stuff the harp does. this was just the one mistake nintendo made and it is definetly the worst insrument i have ever tried.

 

[ZeldasLullaby]

The harp worked perfectly for me, but i prefer a note based instrument more than the rhythm based harp, plus it WAS under-used

 

[Kirbstering]

It was an interesting idea, and it certainly wasn't my favourite, but it wasn't the worst. It just sucks that you don't use it as much in the game. I will agree that something similar to the ocarina would have a better choice.

 

[Pinkfish11]

Personally, I prefer an instrument that you can play individual notes on it. In that way, you could spend hours (if you wanted to) picking out tunes. For example, when I played Spirit Tracks, I net a long time trying to pick out the title screen song on the Spirit Flute. The harp was kind of a disappointment to me in that way, because you couldn't compose songs on it.

 

[Kikirini]

The harp worked fine for me, but yeah, I was severely disappointed. One of the things I have always enjoyed about the musical instruments in Zelda is that you could actually play them - even if it just meant screwing around and seeing all the different sounds you could make. I also believe that needing to play certain songs to achieve certain things (or just playing the songs because you felt like it) helped make the playable Zelda melodies as memorable as they are. Needing to only play the melodies once in Skyward Sword kind of made them forgettable, at least for me. Here's hoping in the future, Nintendo goes back to playable melodies.

 

[Albo]

as Aonuma and Kondo said in an interview, the great thing about the harp which distinguishes it from previous zelda instruemtns is that you can play it in real time, wherever and whenever you are. since skyward sword had the implementation of adaptable music depending on where you were, experimenting with the harp and playing along with different music was so sattisfying for me. it really does feel good playing it even if it is just required the press of the A button and a simple horizontal motion. i wouldn't mind if it was input based or skill based somehow though such as the ocarina in OOT and MM but sometimes simple is just better, especially since we were using a wiimote. the harp (or lyre ^_^) has to be the most attractive zelda instrument i've seen too.

 

[gAmer_Matt]

Ya I agree, I had trouble during that one sidequest too. The thing that was better with other instruments was that you not only had songs to play that can do many things in the world, but that you actually had songs to play, with notes, rather than just strum up and down on the harp. Hopefully in the next game whenever they add an instrument (or singing like TP or whatever) they'll follow the same suit that made the other instruments work better.

 

[oscarillin]

Well i hate how u just swing the wii mote. i miss actually having to play notes.

 

[Maffiline]

I liked playing the harp. Even if it is barely used, and you only use it to play with the rhythms. A way to help with getting rhythms right, is to sway your Wiimote from your left side up diagonally to your right side/shoulder. Why? Because if you do it just straight across, THAT messes up the Wii Sensor sensing your Wiimote. Another tip to help with the Harp motions is to sway your arm as if you're actually playing it. Having a loose wrist helps too. I didn't have trouble with the rhythms you're given in the game, but I can't play for crap on the mini-game at the Lumpy Pumpkin.

 

[LavaAnon]

I personally loved it. It may have not worked for other people but most of the time for me, it was very responsive. I loved the fact that it actually sounded like a Harp. Yes, I know it was under-used in some ways, but when it was used, I tried to make the most out of it.

 

[sailorgirl221]

I loved the harp! i like so much i'm actually thinking about takeing up playing it for real. I've been loveing the sound of a harp for a while now (since i was a little girl) and now this just sends it over the edge! lol
the only thing i don't care for to much is the fact that you can't play what you already learned and also you couldn't freestyel any spesific songs. like happy birthday ect. that's all, but I loved it so much that these kind of things didn't matter to me. Lol I like struming it while running everywhere becasue I couldn't do that in the zelda tittles i played before.

 

[nin10undo]

i didnt mind the harp i think it is not as bad as every1 says however i do see where people hate it.

 

[NekoTamer]

The harp is only important in cutscenes. Outside of cutscenes, you only use it to activate gossip stones and goddess walls. You can't play your own songs either. What a let down! At least the harp of ages allows you to travel through time whenever you want.