Skyward Sword- Why Do People Hate It So?

[ocarinaofnaptime]

Have you ever been the new guy in school? Do you know the feeling? That feeling of being ostracized because "YOU'RE NEW," of course. Remember those times when those people in you class did those things SO MANY YEARS AGO? Nope. Were you there when Mike choked on his milk and it came out of his nose? Nope. Because, you're new. There's this sort of stigma with being "New And A Little Different". Maybe inside (however deeply buried) you have some fascinating qualities that make you an interesting and unique person. But NO. You're new, and you have no place in the lore, treasures, or memories of the school. I'm thinking this is how most people felt upon Skyward Sword's release. Granted, Skyward Sword isn't new anymore (how the years have flown by...), but it still sort of has this aura of "unwelcomeness" emanating from it. A fair amount of people looked at it and their internal conversation went a little like this: "No Hyrule Field? No Epona? BIRDS?! Wait, Zelda ISN'T a princess? Link looks like an Arizona grandma (these were IGN's exact words)! WHAT IS THIS SORCERY? WHERE IS THE LORE?" First off, I understand all of these points. I mean, over the years, so many things have come into the Zelda series and have made it what it is today. You could almost predict how the chain of events in every new area would unfold- meander around the place for 15 minutes or so, find the dungeon entrance, fight a miniboss, get an item that will help you complete the rest of the dungeon, and then use that same item to stun the boss so you can slash it with your sword. While Skyward Sword played into some of these themes, the overworld areas were no longer "places in which the dungeon entrance lies", they were rich, perilous expanses of terrain that often included puzzles just as hard as those in the dungeons themselves. These overworld areas were arguably the most exciting parts of the game! Really, though. Skyward Sword took so many things that detracted from other games, fixed them, and threw them into a melting pot of greatness. Twilight Princess's attempt at a massive world was commendable, but it was almost TOO massive. The areas felt so bland and desolate that I almost wished they were smaller. Skyward Sword remedied this by deleting the Hyrule Field idea altogether and, instead, gave us three dense areas with loads of charm and personality. Sure, I missed riding Epona across the grassy plains, but I think it was a fair trade off. Because of this, the developers could pack so much into an area without a boring "connector place" between them. I know I'm going on and on, and I could go on much longer, but I really do think that Skyward Sword deserves more love. It's chock full of quirky characters, interesting sidequests, fun minigames, challenging bosses, colorful overworld areas, creative dungeons, useful weapons and tools, and so much more. Sure, it's newer and a little different, but at heart, it's got the same Zelda spirit we've come to love so much.
Well there's my opinion, but the one I'd really like to hear is yours! Do you feel that Skyward Sword was a "weak link" in the series? ...excuse the pun... Or does it fill up your heart containers like it does mine?
You're welcome to debate below!

 

[Mamono101]

Skyward Sword being released as part of the 25th year celebration was marketed by Nintendo as being the game that would be a prequel to the games that had already come before it. The first game in the timeline that would answer core questions about the franchise's lore. An origin story. I think that there was so much saturation of information mixed with fan speculation that expectations of what fans wanted the game to be became impossible to satiate. So when the game was eventually released, for some the game delivered. For others, like myself, it did not.

Personally, I find playing Skyward Sword a very tedious experience. The game fails to engage me as much as other titles do in all aspects from the story and its sidequests to the main tasks the game sets you to do. As I've said before on this forum, it feels like nothing more than a glorified fetch quest. Having Skyloft act as a hub into the overworld is not something I enjoyed and as someone who hated the boat mechanic in TWW, I discovered that the loftwing mechanic was something I hated even more. I also feel the game itself holds very little challenge in terms of puzzle complexity (though there are a few exceptions), regular enemy AI, and Fi's hand holding when it comes to not only puzzle solving but repeating already learned exposition ad nauseam at the player further disengages me from the game.

I do enjoy the 1:1 motions controls (which I've never had any trouble with), I love Ghirahim's personality and characterisation, and I commend the dungeon designers as there were several dungeons throughout the game that were beautifully put together (looking at you Ancient Cistern and Lanayru Mining Facility), but for me those aren't enough of a redeeming factor to make this entry into the franchise one of my favourites. However, over the years, like with TWW, rather than looking at it as a single game, I have slowly come to appreciate what it has brought to the overall lore of the LoZ franchise as part of the whole experience that is Zelda.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Because they can't handle the Groose, that's why.

My experience with Skyward Sword is a little weird. First playthrough, I didn't really like it. It was just so, uninteresting. I kinda zombied through it, tbh. Once I beat the game, it told me there was Hero mode, so I completed it for the sake of 100% completion. That's when I fell in love with the game.

It wasn't love at first sight like Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, it had to grow on me. For some reason, my second playthrough felt like my first one. I actually cared about the characters, I did the side quests, I collected the collectibles, I explored more, and even had some fun with the 1:1 controls pretending I was stabbing people in the face. SS grew on me so much in such a small period of time, it went from being in my bottom 5, to my top 5. I even liked Fi, which many people disliked. The dungeons were a little weak, save for the sand ship and ancient cistern, but the bosses are better than most in the series. I like the loftwing a lot, and I think it's better than the Ship or the Train from the other games. Overall, the only gripe people usually have with the game is its linearity and it's "hand-holding." I just ignored the ****, I didn't douse unless I absolutely had to, which gave me a greater sense of exploration, with the knowledge of a net to fall on. The only real times Fi annoyed me was when I had to change batteries in my remote, which I thought was cool a character in the game was letting you know about it, anyway.

Overall, I think the game is one of the best in the series. It has great gameplay and great story. I didn't feel like my hand was being held in the slightest. Some people bonk on it just because it's the cool thing to do, just like it was with Wind Waker. But that's just how Zelda games are. High anticipation, the fans get pissed at launched, saying, "This isn't a Zelda game, yadayada", then years later, they grow to appreciate what the game was.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I don't *hate* skyward sword. The angst around all of the arguing about it is a different story.

it was too short, too linear, and the control scheme never worked for me. Whether the last thing was the game's fault is immaterial. It's hard to enjoy when you can't get the sword to swing right. I'd put it near the bottom of my Zelda hierarchy but at least it wasn't that turd phantom hourglass.

 

[Kyru]

I do agree that there seems to be a bit of hatred for SS. However, I never had to big of an issue with the motion controls as many others did (only failed when I would swing like an idiot mad man so that's my own fault). But I found it to be a little easy and hand holding but like many games with a main quest and side quest it doesn't have to be if you just ignored one or the other.

I really enjoyed SS, early on in the game I was tempted to take long periods away from it but as the game progressed I seemed to find myself completely and utterly immersed and not wanting to put it down. For one I actually really enjoyed the the motion controls having to move the sword in the right direction in order to defeat certain enemies but similarly I wish it wasn't SO obvious as to which way to swing the sword. This is a good example of the "it was good but wished it wasn't so easy" issue.

Overall, I really enjoyed SS and put it near the top myself. Never did I doubt the Zelda spirit.

 

[Vanessa28]

The whole flying thing and going up in the sky, get into another beam to reach another part of the overworld is what ticked me off. Plus I never got into it as I did with the previous games. I can't get myself through it for a second playthrough. The story is pretty decent but there it ends for me. Oh and Fi.....that counts too.

 

[AncientPoe]

Twilight Princess's attempt at a massive world was commendable, but it was almost TOO massive. The areas felt so bland and desolate that I almost wished they were smaller. Skyward Sword remedied this by deleting the Hyrule Field idea altogether and, instead, gave us three dense areas with loads of charm and personality. Sure, I missed riding Epona across the grassy plains, but I think it was a fair trade off.

Yeah sure, they got rid of the grassy field, but they didn't replace it with three areas loaded with charm and personality. They replaced it with a big empty sky. A sky that was even more barren than any of the Hyrule Fields that came before it. And worse, they didn't even put anything interesting on the islands. It's just a bunch of treasure chests. And worse still, it's not even a puzzle to figure out how to get to those treasure chests. They're just sitting there. Oh but worse still, you still can't get to them because you have to find a bunch of stupid blocks on the surface to open them. But wait, there's more! Those blocks aren't even a puzzle to get to! Most of them sit out in the open, and most of them have a big "MUST HAVE X ITEM TO ACCESS" signs on them, making the rest of the game more painfully predictable by comparison. At least with the Great Sea you could set the controller down and get something to eat or rest your wrists for a bit.

 

[Dio]

Have you ever been the new guy in school? Do you know the feeling? That feeling of being ostracized because "YOU'RE NEW," of course. Remember those times when those people in you class did those things SO MANY YEARS AGO? Nope. Were you there when Mike choked on his milk and it came out of his nose? Nope. Because, you're new. There's this sort of stigma with being "New And A Little Different". Maybe inside (however deeply buried) you have some fascinating qualities that make you an interesting and unique person. But NO. You're new, and you have no place in the lore, treasures, or memories of the school. I'm thinking this is how most people felt upon Skyward Sword's release. Granted, Skyward Sword isn't new anymore (how the years have flown by...), but it still sort of has this aura of "unwelcomeness" emanating from it. A fair amount of people looked at it and their internal conversation went a little like this: "No Hyrule Field? No Epona? BIRDS?! Wait, Zelda ISN'T a princess? Link looks like an Arizona grandma (these were IGN's exact words)! WHAT IS THIS SORCERY? WHERE IS THE LORE?" First off, I understand all of these points. I mean, over the years, so many things have come into the Zelda series and have made it what it is today. You could almost predict how the chain of events in every new area would unfold- meander around the place for 15 minutes or so, find the dungeon entrance, fight a miniboss, get an item that will help you complete the rest of the dungeon, and then use that same item to stun the boss so you can slash it with your sword. While Skyward Sword played into some of these themes, the overworld areas were no longer "places in which the dungeon entrance lies", they were rich, perilous expanses of terrain that often included puzzles just as hard as those in the dungeons themselves. These overworld areas were arguably the most exciting parts of the game! Really, though. Skyward Sword took so many things that detracted from other games, fixed them, and threw them into a melting pot of greatness. Twilight Princess's attempt at a massive world was commendable, but it was almost TOO massive. The areas felt so bland and desolate that I almost wished they were smaller. Skyward Sword remedied this by deleting the Hyrule Field idea altogether and, instead, gave us three dense areas with loads of charm and personality. Sure, I missed riding Epona across the grassy plains, but I think it was a fair trade off. Because of this, the developers could pack so much into an area without a boring "connector place" between them. I know I'm going on and on, and I could go on much longer, but I really do think that Skyward Sword deserves more love. It's chock full of quirky characters, interesting sidequests, fun minigames, challenging bosses, colorful overworld areas, creative dungeons, useful weapons and tools, and so much more. Sure, it's newer and a little different, but at heart, it's got the same Zelda spirit we've come to love so much.
Well there's my opinion, but the one I'd really like to hear is yours! Do you feel that Skyward Sword was a "weak link" in the series? ...excuse the pun... Or does it fill up your heart containers like it does mine?
You're welcome to debate below!

Skyward Sword took too long in the development room to justify being as mediocre as it was. Making us wait so long for such a letdown was never a good idea.

First off the game was made out to be this great prequel to OOT. Yet it's lore was wishy washy, it explained almost nothing and left pretty much all the questions we had unanswered. The few that were answered were answered in a dissapointing way and I'm sure many would have prefered for them not be be answered at all because their own imaginations were better that the tosh that Nintendo came out with.

Secondly, the overworld. Whilst TP's was big and had little to do in it, it still felt like a real and believable world. You could see a place in the distance and want to go there and you pretty much could at some stage. SS's sky was equally as empty, twice as bland and the disconnected overworld was unbelievable and filled with puzzles. This reminded the player constantly that the world of SS was not a real place and that they were playing a game. Many enjoy Zelda for the escapism and world yet SS's let fans down in a major way.

It's main Villain Demise was crap. Demise had 5 minutes screen time and spent the majority of the game as an unthreatning looking walking pinecone. Whilst Ghirahim was good, TP had Zant who was also a cool villain and of course Ganondorf was present in that one. Any fan of the series knows that the Dorf is a character that signifies **** going down.

The art style of SS is another criticism. Whilst Nintendo caused an uproar with Wind Waker's toon style, when the fans saw TP they were overjoyed and after that game released Nintendo actually said they would reuse the art style. Instead we got the painterly look of SS which regardless of my opinion that it was ugly, it pleased neither the lovers of WW's toon style nor those of the majority who prefered TP's more gritty look. Is it any wonder SS did not even sell half of what TP has?

There is also Fi who is an annoying side character. When fans have come off the high that was travelling with Midna, Fi was just awful in comparison. There was no emotional connection or development until the very end.

You must also remember that TP was a game of the 00's yet SS was a game released in 2011. Industry standards improved since TP and when SS released it seemed like a game that would have been more acceptable in the 00's yet as a modern game it did not meet the standards of the times, and was therefore judged more harshly than its predecessor.

And as for your analogy of SS is like the new kid. No SS is like the kid who has to repeat a year because of his stupidity and because he spent the previous year messing around instead of achieving his potential.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Skyward Sword - why do people hate it so?

Because the game wasn't that great and people don't want to play it no mo?

 

[TheHerbivoreWaffle]

Can't we all just like Zelda? Even the Wind Waker, my least favorite 3D Zelda game has plenty of redeeming factors. Even though I do really like Skyward Sword, I fail to see how anyone can utterly hate any game in a franchise as great as Zelda.

 

[Salem]

Can't we all just like Zelda? Even the Wind Waker, my least favorite 3D Zelda game has plenty of redeeming factors. Even though I do really like Skyward Sword, I fail to see how anyone can utterly hate any game in a franchise as great as Zelda.

You can't force every Zelda fan to like every single Zelda game.

 

[Soul]

I thought it was pretty good, though many of the common criticisms are certainly well reasoned. The handholding was the biggest gripe for me, as for many others. But it's not that it's there - it's how it's implemented.

I'm currently playing Majora's Mask 3D and just noticed how whenever you soar, it tells you which buttons to press in order to reach whichever destination you want to go to. Skyward Sword does the same, yet the former isn't annoying at all while in Skyward's case it is very much so. The difference here is that Fi tells you how to choose your desired landing point every ****ing time, and you have to skip that text every ****ing time too. Majora displays it on the bottom screen of the 3Ds, but you don't need to press any buttons at all. The info is there if you need it, but can be easily ignored if you don't.

Skyward Sword does this stuff very often, and while I can see why it does - the motion controls took me quite a while to get used to, and I was glad for the instructions on my first play through - it gets annoying very quickly on subsequent playthroughs. It's not that Fi is there to help, it's that Fi is there to help wether you want her help or not. I don't know why they forced all those cutscenes of her explaining stuff, when they could just have her explain whatever the player wants to know WHEN he wants to know by having them call her and ask.

As for the other complaints in this thread, those really depend on the player I think. I personally didn't mind the linearity for example, since that was there for a reason - to make the story work. ALBW is very non linear, and while that's a strength of that game in my opinion, the storyline (and dungeon difficulty) does suffer for it. Skyward Sword took a different approach, being very heavy on story, which I personally enjoyed quite a bit.

 

[Shroom]

My major gripes are with Fi (a lot with Fi really), and just the slow pace. The game would be hours shorter if it took out all the unnecessary dialogue, which there's just a massive amount of, and focused on building some more interesting game play.

The dungeon ideas were pretty interesting. I really liked the Water temple's heaven and hell motif, and a few others.

I liked the motion controls. I had a positive experience with them and only one or two glitches which were easily fixed. I thought one on one sword fighting was super cool, and I enjoyed what you could do with the sword with the full range of motion.

Things I hated:

Almost every single time you walk into a new area, or new "room" outside, you're stopped with a bunch of dialogue that you're forced to listen to, and the majority of that comes from Fi. People will complain about Navi all the time, but Navi almost never forcibly stops you to listen. Fi comes out, stops your gameplay, and just rambles on and on with her stupid "x% chance" jokes or nonsense. This totally breaks my immersion. I don't want to have to stop and have the game tell me what to think or wonder about an area, I want to do that myself.

Think of Majora's Mask as an example of what should happen when you enter a new area: you see a quick cutscene of the area, the name of the area shows up and fades away, and it maybe focuses on one thing in the area that you need to pay attention to (mostly thinking of the Great Bay zora scene). That's it. You get a quick view of the environment, and BAM, you can explore. That's what I want at most. Not some drawn out lecture on my environment. By the time all that useless dialogue is done, I don't even want to keep playing anymore. All of my excitement and energy is spent because it happens pretty much every single time this occurs. I don't want to explore, because exploring = annoying dialogue, and I just can't get into the game anymore. I'm punished for doing what I want to do in the game.

The Fallen (? Demise? I don't remember what he's called), the boss you fight 3 times with little to no changes, shouldn't have happened. At all. It was boring each and every time, and the fact that the chose to recycle that gimmick was an incredibly poor decision. It sucked. It was nothing more than a chore the two times after the first, and they could have done so much more in the variety in how it was fought each time it came back. Different forms, different variations than a weird dinosaur that you hit the toes of, anything to make it interesting, but instead they add some of the most minor changes and force you to do it over and over.

Padding as a whole was super annoying, and the game was super fluffy. I like it's game play mechanics quite a bit, and think it had a ton of potential, but the game is incredibly fluffy and covered with padding, and I would never do another play through. It's just not worth it.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Can't we all just like Zelda? Even the Wind Waker, my least favorite 3D Zelda game has plenty of redeeming factors. Even though I do really like Skyward Sword, I fail to see how anyone can utterly hate any game in a franchise as great as Zelda.

I agree, but one thing you must understand is that we each love Zelda for different reasons. It's okay if SS has haters. I think every Zelda fan secretly hates at least one Zelda game, and that's fine. Even though I agree that ALTTP is very well designed and one of the better SNES games, I can't understand how anyone can think it cracks the top 5 Zelda games. What I DO understand; however, is that those who think so love Zelda for different reason than myself, and maybe SS doesn't fulfill those standards. That doesn't mean the standards are higher, it just means the standards are DIFFERENT.

 

[Jamie]

SS is very hit and miss. On this site when we've had polls for favourite and least favourite zelda games, SS was high up on both polls. I think lots of people don't like the linear plotline and the never ending fetch quests. Also Fi. The controls are great imo though. I didn't find Fi that annoying and I don't care if the plot is linear because I don't do much side quests and stuff anyway but I can see why there are so many gripes with it. I'm very wishy washy with it. The game play is great so when I'm in a dungeon I love it and it's one of my favourite Zelda games. In between dungeons is hell and I don't like it at all, especially flying. I call it a ****ty game quite often but part of me really likes it. When the game first came out and I beat it I had it as my 2nd favourite zelda game but on the second playthrough of it I didn't have the same enthusiasm, unlike TP and TWW and TMC and others that were just as fun when the hype and novelty died down. So overall I'd say it's slipped out of my top 5, it's a pretty average game I think.