Skyward Sword Vs. Ocarina of Time

[theoathtoorder]

I love Skyward Sword's soundtrack. It is one of the most beautiful imo.

 

[MW7]

Forgive me if there is a thread like this already in the Skyward Sword or World of Zelda forums, however, I browsed through both and found none on the first page of either.

I found four polls on this topic but none since January so I think it's fair to ask the question again. The interesting thing looking back is that the poll done a week after Skyward Sword's release was a landslide victory for Skyward Sword (32 votes to 13 for OOT), the polls done in January were much closer with Skyward Sword winning one by a decent margin and the other two were about even, and now looking through the first responses of this thread it looks like OOT is ahead slightly. So people always bring up nostalgia, but I think the newness of Skyward Sword is finally starting to wear off on people.

I'm going with Ocarina of Time because I felt like it didn't have as many minor issues as Skyward Sword. IMO neither game has any major issues and both have excellent content so minor problems are the deciding factor for me. Skyward Sword does plenty of things well, but I found much more to complain about within Skyward Sword than within Ocarina of Time.

 

[Biaku]

OoT wins. skyward sword felt to much like a scripted tale, oot made me feel like I was the hero, I decided and made choices myself. ss is a good game, though not mind blowing compared to the games around it during it's release, oot was top notch unbelievable when it was released. I didn't feel a connection with ss, oot I felt had more emotion, even with more lacking dialogue. ss had a cool bird...who has no name and I can't even pretend to pet or connect to to it for the only time you see it is when your using it, my connection to the bird is similar to what I'd have with my bike. oot had an amazing horse that you could ride, stare at, become attached to, and had a name.
Don't get me wrong, Skyward sword is amazing, but ocarina of time is Supreme, especially when you look at what was in the gaming industry during the time the games came out.

 

[MW7]

OoT wins. skyward sword felt to much like a scripted tale, oot made me feel like I was the hero, I decided and made choices myself.

I agree completely. For me Skyward Sword was almost like watching a movie rather than playing a game because it was so linear and structured. At least they tried to let you choose the order of the Song of the Hero (too bad they screwed it up with a glitch), but still Ocarina of Time offered significantly more freedom to the player than Skyward Sword did.

 

[Koosholts]

I agree completely. For me Skyward Sword was almost like watching a movie rather than playing a game because it was so linear and structured. At least they tried to let you choose the order of the Song of the Hero (too bad they screwed it up with a glitch), but still Ocarina of Time offered significantly more freedom to the player than Skyward Sword did.

In some ways, the strait forward structure of Skyward Sword is not necesarily a bad thing. I feel that when a game becomes too non-linear it distracts people away from the story being told in the game. For example, Ocarina of Time was a beautifully executed, non-linear Zelda game. Arguably the best example for non-linearness in the series. However, IMO Ocarina of TIme also has one of the weakest stories in the series. However, once a game focuses the player on one set objective it can than unravel the story in a much neater, organized, and better fashion, i.e. Skyward Sword.

I honestly feel you can't have one with the other as well. It's hard to find that balance. I know you value the gameplay of Zelda more so than the story, so I can completley see where your coming from. However, with all games, I tend to place the storytelling/content of the story to a higher esteem than the gameplay itself.

 

[Batman]

Which masterpiece do you deem superior? Let the games begin!

I really love both games, and consider them both masterpieces; but Skyward Sword is overall a better game, imo. Not by much, but it's better.

 

[Pie Master]

I've never actually played either game to the end, so I can't really give a full fledged opinion, but I'd say Skyward Sword, really, OoT is nice, I understand the breakthrough it was, and it's remake in enhanced 3D is beautiful, but I felt that Skyward Sword had the fun aspect I want in a video game, playing it felt natural, and itself is a breakthrough
That's why I pick SS, but really, you should stop comparing new games to OoT, it's past, trying to compare and redo it will get you OoT 2.0 (or 3.0 depending on your point of view), when you really should be wanting a new Zelda game

 

[Lucas]

Personally I find it way too difficult to know which is better. There are far to many pros and cons to find and to weigh them out is to difficult of a task if you ask me. With that said I enjoyed Skyward Sword more. The immersive combat, beautiful graphics and music, engaging yet emotional story, and gameplay that flowed great just suited me more.

 

[FosterTheNation]

They are both equally good and bad for different reasons.

 

[Tearbender]

To me it's SS. Ocarina felt way to tedious at so many points. Beginning, walking thorough Hyrule Field, Jabu Jabu's Belly, Forest and Water temple. It had too many things that I didn't like about the game. To me, it was only revolutionary because of the graphics and control. It is a good Zelda game, but I just think that the other ones were better.

 

[KawiNinjaZX]

OoT is better. It doesn't matter how new or old a game is, I can take a snapshot in my mind of how amazing and innovative a game was at the time. I love SS, but OoT is my favorite game ever.

 

[Ratchet233]

they are about equal in my opinion

 

[A Link In Time]

In Oot the world is all connected, giving it a better sense of realism and adventure, and it sure feels a lot bigger, the night to day systems is smoothly done. The music is just classical, every track that you listen stirs an emotion and it sticks with you for a lifetime. The game also has a slighter darker tone that gives it a lot more style.

I agree. The overworld was a huge bust in Skyward Sword whereas Ocarina of Time created a near flawless and flowing experience with brief transitions between Hyrule Field and other parts of the overworld. Warping songs also certainly helped. What I found myself nodding most at, however, is your description of Ocarina's tone. While not nearly as dark or sophisticated as its N64 successor, Ocarina of Time certainly wasn't childish and featured more mature moments for example when Zelda escaped from Hyrule Castle as well as the entirety of the Ganon battle among the bleak ruins of the castle.

One thing I will give Skyward Sword is that the land above the clouds is beautiful, the characters have a lot more personality, if anything I think that's where the heart of the game lies - that and the battle system which was done brilliantly - other than that Nintendo needs to get their stuff together and try again next time, that's all I will say.

Skyloft truly was a beauty to traverse with all its vibrant citizens. The sky aesthetic was also nice although many of the islands were barren with little to do. It's a shame the overworld felt short of accomplishing Nintendo's aims. You've got to admit that the three land masses were more like dungeons with the numerous enemies and puzzles around every corner. Nintendo hit the nail on that aspect.

I found four polls on this topic but none since January so I think it's fair to ask the question again. The interesting thing looking back is that the poll done a week after Skyward Sword's release was a landslide victory for Skyward Sword (32 votes to 13 for OOT), the polls done in January were much closer with Skyward Sword winning one by a decent margin and the other two were about even, and now looking through the first responses of this thread it looks like OOT is ahead slightly. So people always bring up nostalgia, but I think the newness of Skyward Sword is finally starting to wear off on people.

That certainly is an interesting analysis, MW7. This is similar to the many fans who flocked to Twilight Princess in 2006 and cited it as far superior to Ocarina of Time. It's clear that enthusiasm waned over time. The same appears to be happening with Skyward Sword. Interest surrounding the title was at its peak late last year when the game was released especially when large portions of the fanbase were alienated by the motion controls and others realized their desires were let unfulfilled.

I'm going with Ocarina of Time because I felt like it didn't have as many minor issues as Skyward Sword. IMO neither game has any major issues and both have excellent content so minor problems are the deciding factor for me. Skyward Sword does plenty of things well, but I found much more to complain about within Skyward Sword than within Ocarina of Time.

Were you not one of the people who previously praised Skyward Sword as being better than Ocarina of Time? Forgive me if I am wrong but my memory seems to recall so. I agree that both games are fundamentally great and would even go so far as to say that they are benchmarks in the industry, however, Ocarina of time has a slight edge over Skyward Sword-not only for its own time but also today.

 

[MW7]

In some ways, the strait forward structure of Skyward Sword is not necesarily a bad thing. I feel that when a game becomes too non-linear it distracts people away from the story being told in the game. For example, Ocarina of Time was a beautifully executed, non-linear Zelda game. Arguably the best example for non-linearness in the series. However, IMO Ocarina of TIme also has one of the weakest stories in the series. However, once a game focuses the player on one set objective it can than unravel the story in a much neater, organized, and better fashion, i.e. Skyward Sword.

I honestly feel you can't have one with the other as well. It's hard to find that balance. I know you value the gameplay of Zelda more so than the story, so I can completley see where your coming from. However, with all games, I tend to place the storytelling/content of the story to a higher esteem than the gameplay itself.

Well said, but I think in the future Nintendo should try a branching story so that the story isn't exactly the same every time you play the game. The problem I had with Skyward Sword's dungeon progession was in the second half of the game. The first three dungeons have to be done in a specific order because that's how the story plays out and it wouldn't make any sense to do them in any other order. Like you said you're focusing on one objective and it supports the story. However once you start looking for the flames you don't have one objective- you have three. The game forces you to proceed in a specific order even though for the sake of the story it doesn't really matter. That's what I see as a flaw in the design of the game. I can't find fault if there's a reason to do things in a specific order like the single objective of rescuing Zelda, but once you are confronted with an open-ended problem like collecting three flames I expect to have at least some freedom.

Were you not one of the people who previously praised Skyward Sword as being better than Ocarina of Time? Forgive me if I am wrong but my memory seems to recall so. I agree that both games are fundamentally great and would even go so far as to say that they are benchmarks in the industry, however, Ocarina of time has a slight edge over Skyward Sword-not only for its own time but also today.

Actually no my first reaction upon the completion of the game that it was probably my third favorite Zelda game behind Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. I immediately thought the game wasn't as good as it should have been. Now I'd actually say I like Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, and Wind Waker more as well. I would say Skyward Sword is a great game but not quite as good as several of the games in the series (including Ocarina of Time and IMO A Link to the Past and Legend of Zelda are the two best games in the series).

 

[TimeRider]

I love both games. I grew up playing OoT and had a great time playing it. I have re-played the game more times than I can remember and I find at least one new secret every time I go through it. Although I've only had SS for a couple months I have also found new secrets through the entire game (going on twice) and still find new ways to beat certain bosses and dungeons.

So I can't decide which game, I have a bond through OoT but SS just amazed me from when I first started playing.