General Modern Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess

[chickenphat]

Which is Better Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess?Tell me which you like better.

 

[Zelda_Ali_Baba]

Y U MAKE ME CHOOSE?!

Haha
Storyline: I can't choose. They were both really good!! So I'll just compare a few elements of the games to each other.
Controls: I like Skyward Swords better. For me they were easier to use.
Difficulty: Skyward Sword was a TON easier for me then Twilight Princess.
Sidekicks(Lol): I do like Midna a LITTLE more then Fi. (Midna had more personality, Fi...was more informative XD) So Twilight Princess.

For me, they were both great games and I absolutely loved them!

 

[Spirit]

I can't say which is better, thats a merry-go-round without end, because as a friend of mine would say; 'it's all very subjective'.

however i can tell you which i prefer and that'd be Twilight Princess.

TP was more appealing to me, i liked the characters better, i liked the controls, items, tone, overworld, length, dungeons, and story better too. for me SS comes nowhere near TP or any of the other 3D games in terms of enjoyable content. Though this is just opinion. If WW was a choice then that would be getting my vote.

 

[KawiNinjaZX]

Skyward Sword hands down. Twilight Princess really lacks the soul of a great Zelda game. The game feels empty and dull. I have been playing it for a few months now, I am at the Snowpeak Ruins. I played the other day but haven't play in a month. SS on the other hand, I couldn't stop playing until I 100% the game and I could go for another round. TP - 8/10 SS- 10/10

 

[Mangachick14]

I liked the story and controls from SS, though i will admit I liked Midna better than Fi. Contrary to popular opinion, I found actually TP easier than SS (I think my brains wired differently than most peoples, still trying to figure out whether that's s good thing or a bad thing...) though neither was one was all that difficult.

I gotta say I liked SS better, but that's just me.

 

[Terminus]

I prefer TP's story, mainly because SS didn't fulfill it's role as as orgin story IMO. SS's controlls were da bomb, but Fi was/is inferior to Midna. I also have issues with the "partioning" in SS, but I'll cut it before I bore everyone slash make JuicieJ mad .

 

[nareky]

I enjoy them both equally (not for all the same reasons) so cant really say which i think is better

 

[JuicieJ]

Skyward Sword easily. Allow me to explain why.

Gameplay

Skyward Sword's gameplay is some of the best in the franchise, whereas Twilight Princess's is some of the weakest. First off, the combat. Skyward Sword has some of the most in-depth and thought-provoking combat in gaming. It legit requires you to use your brain. You can't just go into a fight, waggle the Wii Remote and expect to get positive results. Yeah, you may win the fight, but 9 times out of 10 you will take damage. One whole heart of damage. Per hit. Twilight Princess? You can run up to nearly any enemy and spam your attacks to come out victorious without a scratch on you. Even if you do miraculously take damage, it'll most likely wind up being 1/4 of a heart. That's ridiculous. Just plain ridiculous. The shield also made Link completely invincible in TP. SS used the shield wisely and efficiently. Not even a contest there.

The item use is also insanely in favor of Skyward Sword. Twilight Princess has the largest amount of items with wasted potential out of all 16 Zelda games. The Slingshot, the Gale Boomerang, the Iron Boots, the Bow -- how the hell do you screw up the Bow? -- the Spinner, the Dominion Rod... all virtually worthless after being obtained. SS, on the other hand, only under-uses the Whip. Despite the Bow being the last item obtained, it has the most effective use out of every title in existence. Talk about showing TP up.

The overall gameplay in Skyward Sword easily outdoes that of Twilight Princess.

Dungeons

The dungeons of Twilight Princess, while solid for the most part, are pretty weak in terms of Zelda standards. Many are bland and boring, and all of them have insanely easy difficulty. There are rarely puzzles that are difficult to figure out, and the only enemy that poses a challenge is the Darknut. The bosses are also a complete joke and are the worst in the franchise, as I covered in the most recent thread of mine. It's the complete opposite with Skyward Sword. The only dungeon that isn't fantastic in SS is the Ancient Cistern. Every other dungeon is stellar in design and pose some of the most challenging puzzles the series has ever seen. The bosses are also without a doubt the best, and are some of the best in gaming in general. Where Twilight Princess posed no challenge, Skyward Sword challenged in every way. TP is one of the easiest Zeldas, but SS is one of the toughest.

Overworld

Twilight Princess's overworld, for the most part, is bland and void of any interesting content. Skyward Sword's surface offers a dungeon-like world with depth and immersion, rarely being nothing but filler. It's also more open than TP's overworld if you ask me. Nothing like, say, LoZ and ALttP's overworlds, but it took a slight step in the right direction back towards adventurous (talking about the Sky included). It was also plain dangerous and unforgiving, whereas TP's overworld poses no threat whatsoever. That's something the series has lacked for years, and it was a very welcome return to the series in my book. I'm not saying Skyward Sword has the best overworld in the series. It doesn't. I'm just saying it's vastly superior to Twilight Princess's.

Story

Twilight Princess offers an intriguing storyline for the entire first half of the game. It has nice pacing and epic moments overall. Then the second half happens and completely destroys all of that. Characters that were seemingly important are dropped, the Zant/Ganondorf thing has absolutely no mention until the very end, and Ganondorf winds up feeling tacked on as a result. There's no buildup to the second climax of the game, which is a shame, because TP's ending is actually remarkably stellar. But without a buildup, it feels like a brick wall that smacks you in the face out of nowhere. Skyward Sword's story? Nothing like that. From the very beginning, the game connects you with the characters. Zelda and Groose are portrayed insanely well from the get-go. So well that it was actually a big deal that Zelda went missing. It was personal for the first time. Searching for her is also a much better plot device than hunting down three artifacts that have nothing worth caring about.

The main characters are also very intriguing and develop very well. Again, Zelda and Groose are great characters. But then there's Ghirahim. Unlike with Zant, Ghirahim makes it very clear that he has a master. While arrogant, he also knows his place, whereas Zant was greedy and power-hungry. So much that he was blinded to the fact that he was nothing more than a puppet. Each time Ghirahim appears, more about his character is revealed. He goes from toying with Link to developing intense hatred for him. He wants nothing more than Link's death by the end of the game and has no fear in letting Link know that. Zant completely disappeared after Stallord until his (lame) boss battle. Ghirahim appears quite often, however, and each one of his boss fights is intense and challenging. He has progression. Zant doesn't.

What's more, Link himself has character development in this game. He goes from being a lazy teenage boy to a full-blown hero that will stop at nothing to fulfill his destiny. He steps up and willingly takes on the roll that was literally forced upon him. That's awesome. Zelda also does this, and even Groose, once a coward, takes his part in saving the world. Never before has a better story in Zelda been constructed, and while it's still very simple in terms of literature, its presentation is amazing with some of the most beautiful cutscenes in gaming. TP's story comes nowhere close to SS's. No contest.

Music

Let's get this straight. Twilight Princess does not have bad music. However, it's really some of the least impressive the series has to offer. It's often, much like everything in the game, dull and bland. They suit the environments rather well, but they don't do much to provoke the right emotions out of the respective areas. It's always somber and melancholy. That's not good for creating a balance. Skyward Sword, on the other hand, has an intense and dynamic soundtrack with nearly every song fitting the surrounding environments. I stopped Link in his tracks just to listen to the music on multiple occasions in Skyward Sword. I'd rarely done that in any other Zelda game. No lie. As I said in this post, SS knew what kind of music to use and when. Whenever it needed to be intense, it was intense. Whenever it needed to sink into the background and become felt, it did so. Perfect example of that would be Lanayru Desert. I got chills from hearing that music. It depicted the sense of desolation the area portrayed, but it also provided the feel that there was clearly life in the past.

Skyward Sword also had many variations on different tracks in the game, quite often in dungeons. There were moments where the music would have more or less going on depending on the area, and it always blended with the environment perfectly. Basically what I'm saying is SS not only has the best soundtrack in the series, it, like many other aspects, has one of the best in gaming. It's right up there with Kingdom Hearts, Mega Man Zero, and Metroid Prime. Absolutely phenomenal.

Overall

Skyward Sword trumps Twilight Princess in literally every way. There is absolutely nothing that TP does better. Not even a minute detail. TP is one of the series' weakest titles, whereas SS is one of the strongest. In fact, SS is one of the series' elites. TP is not. There's no comparison between the quality of these two games. SS is the best Zelda in years, but TP is one of the worst. It's that plain and simple. SS wins hands-down.

EDIT: Let me make it clear that I do not consider TP to be a bad game. It is a great game that everyone should play. It's just one of Zelda's weakest titles.​

 

[PhantomTriforce]

I liked Twilight Princess more that Skyward Sword. I liked the overall plot and dungeons more in Twilight Princess, and I generally had more fun while playing Twilight Princess.

Story

Twilight Princess offers an intriguing storyline for the entire first half of the game. It has nice pacing and epic moments overall. Then the second half happens and completely destroys all of that. Characters that were seemingly important are dropped, the Zant/Ganondorf thing has absolutely no mention until the very end, and Ganondorf winds up feeling tacked on as a result. There's no buildup to the second climax of the game, which is a shame, because TP's ending is actually remarkably stellar. But without a buildup, it feels like a brick wall that smacks you in the face out of nowhere. Skyward Sword's story? Nothing like that. From the very beginning, the game connects you with the characters. Zelda and Groose are portrayed insanely well from the get-go. So well that it was actually a big deal that Zelda went missing. It was personal for the first time. Searching for her is also a much better plot device than hunting down three artifacts that have nothing worth caring about. The main characters are also very intriguing and develop very well. Again, Zelda and Groose are great characters. But then there's Ghirahim. Unlike with Zant, Ghirahim makes it very clear that he has a master. While arrogant, he also knows his place, whereas Zant was greedy and power-hungry. So much that he was blinded to the fact that he was nothing more than a puppet. Each time Ghirahim appears, more about his character is revealed. He goes from toying with Link to developing intense hatred for him. He wants nothing more than Link's death by the end of the game and has no fear in letting Link know that. Zant completely disappeared after Stallord until his (lame) boss battle. Ghirahim appears quite often, however, and each one of his boss fights is intense and challenging. He has progression. Zant doesn't.

What's more, Link himself has character development in this game. He goes from being a lazy teenage boy to a full-blown hero that will stop at nothing to fulfill his destiny. He steps up and willingly takes on the roll that was literally forced upon him. That's awesome. Zelda also does this, and even Groose, once a coward, takes his part in saving the world. Never before has a better story in Zelda been constructed, and while it's still very simple in terms of literature, its presentation is amazing with some of the most beautiful cutscenes in gaming. TP's story comes nowhere close to SS's. No contest.

I disagree with the vast majority of your post, but this is the part that I disagree with most. Not revealing that Zant had a master till the very end made Ganondorf's entrance much more epic, and Ganondorf's appearance is Twilight Princess was way more epic than Demise's appearance in Skyward Sword. Ghirahim's boss fights were not challenging, and while Zant's were easy, it definitely was not lame. Returning to the previous boss simulations made the player realize how far they've gotten since the beginning of the adventure. And Link's character development in Skyward Sword was identical to that from Twilight Princess.

 

[Link-of-Lylat]

Skyward Sword. I just like it better. It's no.2 in my LOZ list, while TP is about 6-8

 

[JuicieJ]

I disagree with the vast majority of your post, but this is the part that I disagree with most. Not revealing that Zant had a master till the very end made Ganondorf's entrance much more epic, and Ganondorf's appearance is Twilight Princess was way more epic than Demise's appearance in Skyward Sword.

Ganondorf suddenly appeared, was dropped off the radar, and came back suddenly, making his appearance have no depth. Demise had a buildup and presence the entire game with the Imprisoned, making his appearance intense. Ganondorf was handled poorly. Demise was not.

Ghirahim's boss fights were not challenging, and while Zant's were easy, it definitely was not lame. Returning to the previous boss simulations made the player realize how far they've gotten since the beginning of the adventure. And Link's character development in Skyward Sword was identical to that from Twilight Princess.

Ghirahim's fights require quick thinking and reaction. Zant's fight requires little thought and reaction. Yeah, the concept was cool, but I didn't find the execution of it to be that great. The only part that was good in my opinion was the final part in front of Hyrule Castle. Other than that, meh.

Link had no development in Twilight Princess. He had little character at the beginning and little character at the end, and it was exactly the same the whole time. Just like every Zelda prior to Skyward Sword.

 

[Ronin]

Ganondorf suddenly appeared, was dropped off the radar, and came back suddenly, making his appearance have no depth. Demise had a buildup and presence the entire game with the Imprisoned, making his appearance intense. Ganondorf was handled poorly. Demise was not.

The dichotomy between TP Ganondorf and Demise really isn't so drastic as it may appear. His abrupt appearance is actually something that happens in quite a bit of storylines; writers like to call these "plot twists". It wasn't just sudden, it was unexpected—a welcome or unwelcome surprise for the fans. But I find plot twists such as these to be intriguing and refreshing to the story, and if you want a good example that aligns itself with this particular occurrence, just look at Captain Barbossa's return in Dead Man's Chest. That was a very welcome surprise, and so was Ganon's "drop-in", to me.

To be fair, you say that The Imprisoned gave him a presence throughout the entire game, but that's not a relevant statement. Demise and The Imprisoned are two very different entities; and even if they were similar then it would mean The Imprisoned's sequences were all the more cyclical than they are. It wouldn't be helpful to Demise's case. On the other hand, Ganondorf's presence was implied several more times after her appeared. After Zelda restores Midna and the imp takes Wolf Link outside, Ganon materialized a triangular barrier around Hyrule Castle. Zant told of how he had come across a deity and was granted power so that he would be a vessel of that Power. And of course we can't forget the epic cutscene before Ganon's fights. That gives him a few more counts since the Demon King's future self is hardly applicable.

The sequence leading up to Demise unquestionably had better buildup. Ganondorf's smugness beforehand carried itself out tremendously, though. His and Demise's attitudes demonstrate exactly what makes a superior antagonist.

All in all, I'll conceded that Ghirahim was more of a prevalent force than either of them. His fabulousness was the star of the show, to put it mildly. Ghirahim could be found all over the game, setting things in motion for the preparation of his master's return. Really, he shouldn't be compared to Zant—put him against that lunatic, Ganondorf, and Demise, and I think he'd be superior to them for various reasons.

Link had no development in Twilight Princess. He had little character at the beginning and little character at the end, and it was exactly the same the whole time. Just like every Zelda prior to Skyward Sword.

I guess that's what makes all the Links up to TP Link so lovable. x3

 

[Kylo Ken]

Twilight Princess. I like the realistic art style. It's more immersive for me. The moves you can learn is cool. Dungeons are cool. Skyward Sword is also awesome, like all Zelda titles.

 

[Random Person]

Twilight Princess. (What a shocker!)

Yeah yeah, I hate Skyward Sword and I love Twilight Princess and blah blah blah. Now let me do my usual and explain my answer. Whether I think SS and TP are good games or not, I'm rating them based on their responsibilities.

Let me explain why. Twilgiht Princess, though many didn't like it, tried and did a good job of accomplishing a goal. That goal, was maturing Zelda. Trying to look like a sequel to OoT, TP matured itself in looks and feel. The game's dark colors may not have been attractive to alot of fans, but it gave the world a more realistic feel to it. The game was also trying to demonstrate an aged, decreped (can't spell) Hyrule. This is why ruins are EVERYWHERE and why structures have dull, yet beautiful, designs. This is also why the game's plot and characters mature too. We don't get as many silly characters in this game and the plot is more serious. Past games did have dark parts to them, but TP took everything about it seriously. While MM had death in it, it sort of mocked it because dead creatures were still walking about the world. TP made death seem a bit more real. The game, while lacking many secrets, still made you go and find the secrets that it did have. The realism also occurs in the gameplay. Magic plays less of a role in this game, and the magic that does exist is what I like to call "explainable magic". (Well, most of it). So all in all, TP tried to mature our beloved series, but while it did this it still stayed Zelda at its core, which is a perfectly fine thing for a sequel to do.

SS tried to create a whole new experience for us Zelda players, practically to the verge where it took us out of the Zelda series. This is why the land looks so different compared to past titles and why the story is so separated from the rest of the series. Even the gameplay is separated as motion-controls are the central focus of almost everything you do in this game. I've said before, I appreciate different as WW and ST proved that it is a good thing. However, this should NEVER be done for a prequel. The motion-controls are certainly understandable as that's just advancing in gameplay, but to the rest I say... Prequels are meant to demonstrate a historic moment in the land you've already come to know and love. SS created a new adventure in a completely new world.

Thus, TP reskinned our beloved Zelda, but kept its interior the same. Our little Zelda game grew-up, but it was still our Zelda. SS took concepts of other games and dressed them up to look like Zelda. Basically saying that any adventure game can be Zelda as long as Nintendo says it is. With any series, the prior is a risk but you simply can't do the latter. Thus I feel TP is a greater addition to the Zelda series than SS. I have other reasons, but this is what I'm going with for now.

 

[JuicieJ]

SS tried to create a whole new experience for us Zelda players, practically to the verge where it took us out of the Zelda series. This is why the land looks so different compared to past titles and why the story is so separated from the rest of the series. Even the gameplay is separated as motion-controls are the central focus of almost everything you do in this game. I've said before, I appreciate different as WW and ST proved that it is a good thing. However, this should NEVER be done for a prequel. Prequels are meant to demonstrate a historic moment, in the land you've already come to know and love.

So prequels are somehow out of the question for trying out new things? That doesn't make any sense. No game is out of bounds for trying new things. It's a video game. Prequels aren't somehow magical so that they have to be exactly like every other entry in the series. I'd like to know where you're coming from with this, because the concept is mind-boggling to me.

SS took concepts of other games and dressed them up to look like Zelda.

How? Was SS really that much different in its formula? Was it really not similar to past titles? Exactly how was it just other game series designed to look like Zelda? Explain in detail, because I fail to see how that's the case.