Is Skyward Sword a Good Game or a Bad Game?

[AndrewLink]

In my own opinion I think is a great game, since Nintendo added the Wii motion plus control. It's fantastic when you swing the Wii controller just like you are swinging Link's Sword.
I want to know what you guys think.

 

[JuicieJ]

SS is neither a good nor bad game. It's an amazing game that is going to be insanely hard to top, just like OoT was for 13 years.

 

[Vanessa28]

Mwah it was not as good as OoT in my opinion. It didn't give me that feeling I got when I played OoT for the first time. It was not bad either. But absolutely not the top one

 

[Gannon]

Definitely not as good as Ocarina of Time, but it was still one of the best.

 

[JuicieJ]

Mwah it was not as good as OoT in my opinion. It didn't give me that feeling I got when I played OoT for the first time. It was not bad either. But absolutely not the top one

Question. Was OoT your first Zelda?

 

[Kybyrian]

Skyward Sword was a decent game, but definitely not my favorite game in the series. It would be going a bit far to say it was terrible, but it could be frustratingly unpleasant to play at times. This is mostly from the controls aspect of things, which seemed to work well for the most part, but sometimes it just didn't feel fluid. That's understandable, as it's the flaw of technology, but it still had its own weight on the game. The biggest thing was just a sense of emptiness, like I was expecting something more but didn't get it. This is mostly my fault and is no real way to judge if the game was good or bad, but it didn't exactly live up to expectations.

Overall, I don't think there's any reason to bash Skyward Sword relentlessly, but I just get a feeling that they focused on new design and gameplay so much it almost forgot something. It wasn't near the best Zelda game ever, but it was enjoyable in its own way because of the completely new way things turned. It's one of those hit-or-miss things, I guess, and you have to get lucky to make one of the best games ever. Sure, it takes knowledge to do that, but you aren't going to do it every time regardless. I can't blame the developers because the game was fun, it just wasn't the best.

 

[JuicieJ]

That's understandable, as it's the flaw of technology...

Seriously, why do so many people say the controls of SS are flawed? They aren't. They're the definition of perfect. I've gone over this many times before already. If SS's controls were flawed, everyone would report problems. It would be completely impossible to play the game with no problems. But it's not. That's a clear sign that the problem lies not with the controls, but with the players.

 

[Kybyrian]

Seriously, why do so many people say the controls of SS are flawed? They aren't. They're the definition of perfect. I've gone over this many times before already. If SS's controls were flawed, everyone would report problems. It would be completely impossible to play the game with no problems. But it's not. That's a clear sign that the problem lies not with the controls, but with the players.

It's not the controls that make me say the game isn't the best, though. The controls were flawed, and you do see a ton of people reporting problems. You just said it yourself in the first sentence. And it's not completely impossible to play the game because they aren't always over-responsive or under-responsive, whatever problem you have. It's harder to maneuver correctly because it could be very over-responsive. You have to be able to gauge the speed at which your movements will trigger a slash in the game or what won't. This is especially true of the first battle with Ghirahim and some of the various enemies throughout the game. It can end up just being a really frustrating experience because it's not completely true motion control. The actual combat actions are based on the speed with which you move the controller, not how you're moving it. And when you go slightly out of a programmed range everything can screw up. This is most often seen when you're circling the sword or trying to change direction of your slash. It just doesn't work that well.

 

[JuicieJ]

It's not the controls that make me say the game isn't the best, though. The controls were flawed, and you do see a ton of people reporting problems. You just said it yourself in the first sentence. And it's not completely impossible to play the game because they aren't always over-responsive or under-responsive, whatever problem you have. It's harder to maneuver correctly because it could be very over-responsive. You have to be able to gauge the speed at which your movements will trigger a slash in the game or what won't. This is especially true of the first battle with Ghirahim and some of the various enemies throughout the game. It can end up just being a really frustrating experience because it's not completely true motion control. The actual combat actions are based on the speed with which you move the controller, not how you're moving it.

Exactly. You have to personally do things. It's human error that causes the controls to "mess up". These are motion controls we're talking about. Controls that have to be calibrated. That means they can be calibrated improperly. Human error. Some people aren't that well-coordinated. Human error. The controls aren't over or under-responsive. They're at the perfect level, and, again, the fact that people can play with zero problems shows this.

 

[Vanessa28]

Question. Was OoT your first Zelda?

Nope, PH was my first Zelda game and after that TP and OoT

 

[JuicieJ]

Nope, PH was my first Zelda game and after that TP and OoT

OK, then. Your statement isn't due to nostalgia. That's comforting to know.

 

[SuperMetroid]

I'm kind of in the middle. It was enough to satiate my Zelda needs, but I wasn't really impressed by it. For a game that was hyped up on its story, I feel like it fell short in more than one area. There was a whole lot of potential in many aspects, but too much of it wasn't utilised nearly as much as it could have been. Things like the split worlds (sky and surface), the Bazaar and the Thunderhead. Major things that draw the line between a game worth playing, and a game that sets the standards.

The juxtaposition of the sky and the surface didn't really do much to me. The surface was supposed to be a place that Hylians had never seen before. So why did I feel like I'd been there before? It was not nearly as otherworldly as it could have been - or should have been. If there's meant to be a link between Link and me, I should feel as out of place as he does. That said, Link looked right at home in a place his people hadn't seen for ages. In fact, I barely felt any connection to the sky at all, other than that it was the only way I was going to get from place to place. It was way too empty.

The Bazaar is also something I had issues with. I mean, it was supposed to be a hub of all the shops where you could find all the tools you need. It would help if I needed anything more than a shield repair or an item upgrade every now and then. The Bazaar could basically be condensed down to the Scrap Shop. Sure it felt communal, but all of that is pretty superficial if you don't use it. Really, who used potions in any of the other games? Who bought arrows from shops when jars and enemies dropped them by the bucketload? Yet we have a Bazaar that is touted as the hub of our travels and Nintendo makes no concerted effort to improve the need for a longer time underwater, or a different source of bombs when needed. I was particularly annoyed when I bought a bomb bag (for the sake of utilising the pouch/Bazaar) only to find one as a result of a Goddess Cube less than an hour later.

One of the things that annoyed me about Skyward Sword was at how little I cared about Skyloft. In Majora's Mask, I cared about Clock Town, simply because it was obviously in danger. I could see the moon falling. If I didn't see that, the townspeople were telling me the moon was falling. In SS, I didn't really feel like Skyloft was in danger. It was just chilling there, and everyone seemed so happy. Why weren't they so scared about the Thunderhead? That'd sure as hell make me care about Skyloft. A great big storm cloud drifting over to Skyloft, just like a moon about to hit the land I was trying to save. Yet no-one so much as mentioned it, save a handful. And these people didn't seem worried in the slightest about it.

There are many issues I have about Skyward Sword. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every second of my playthrough. It was fun. But I don't think it deserved the praise it got. It wasn't groundbreaking in any way other than motion controls.

 

[MW7]

It's a great game, and a pretty good Zelda game IMO. I'd say it's about the fifth best game in the series.

 

[dot dynamite]

One of the things that annoyed me about Skyward Sword was at how little I cared about Skyloft. In Majora's Mask, I cared about Clock Town, simply because it was obviously in danger. I could see the moon falling. If I didn't see that, the townspeople were telling me the moon was falling. In SS, I didn't really feel like Skyloft was in danger. It was just chilling there, and everyone seemed so happy. Why weren't they so scared about the Thunderhead? That'd sure as hell make me care about Skyloft. A great big storm cloud drifting over to Skyloft, just like a moon about to hit the land I was trying to save. Yet no-one so much as mentioned it, save a handful. And these people didn't seem worried in the slightest about it.

Wow, I hadn't thought about that. But I guess a reason could be that Skyloft ISN'T what you're trying to save. Nintendo put all these cutscenes at the beginning to show you the bond Zelda and Link had, and when she gets kidnapped, it is obvious that the only thing that should be in your mind for the rest of the game is save Zelda and, eventually, defeat Demise. Skyloft was sent above the clouds to protect it from the Surface so there was really no more reasons to worry about it.

 

[Ronin]

Good and bad are vague descriptive components to place next to Skyward Sword. I absolutely loved the game; it's unbelievable how much passion went into creating it, especially in the cutscenes. The developers took out all stops with those and made me tear up at about three times. But, like Kybyrian said, they seemed to be focusing too much on the new design and gameplay--and even the story for me--that Skyward Sword seemed to be lacking in something. I'd surmise it to be the old formula of having a sweeping field as the overworld.

Even so, SS is Nintendo's first real stab at their promised change. It's a flow I had to adjust with, but it didn't make the game bad in any sense other than unpleasant in some areas. Some of the puzzles flustered me, and the controls did give me troubles sporadically (simply needing to recalibrate, JJ). All in all, though, I found Skyward Sword to be a masterpiece; as such it rests in a tie for first alongside TP and MM. I'm truly excited to see what Nintendo will present to us in the next title, because I expect this to only get better and better.

Seriously, why do so many people say the controls of SS are flawed? They aren't. They're the definition of perfect. I've gone over this many times before already. If SS's controls were flawed, everyone would report problems. It would be completely impossible to play the game with no problems. But it's not. That's a clear sign that the problem lies not with the controls, but with the players.

What if people besides you had Wiimotes that weren't working properly and it kept giving them trouble? They might've worked "perfectly" for you, but there could always be technological issues with others. I think it's best we leave it at that because, let's face it, not everyone would want to tell of the true status of their Wiimotes, for a variety of reasons.