SS & BotW sometimes opposites dont attract

[Spirit]

In my opinion Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild represent the polar opposites in what 3D Zelda can be.

Back in 2011 when SS released many people were disappointed for wholly valid reasons.

Now in 2017 and the release of BotW i've noticed many of the same people who were disappointed with SS are also disappointed with BotW, again for wholly valid reasons.

This has become an increasingly interesting wonderment of mine as to which game actually comes out on top if youre a member who disliked both.

If you were stuck with the choice of both SS and BotW which one would you rather play?

 

[Kylo Ken]

I agree that SS and BotW represent polar opposites of 3D Zelda's, and I think they both worked out fine. People who don't like both are likely looking for the magic they felt the first time playing Zelda

 

[Deleted member 14134]

SS and BOTW are on opposite ends of the spectrum for me, SS being in my bottom 3 Zeldas and BOTW being in my top 3. BOTW learned from lots of mistakes SS made. There was no forced tutorials or hand holding, no "fisplaining" every obvious minuscule detail. Instead of a mediocre story being shoved down your throat, story took a backseat to the phenomenal gameplay in BOTW. Travelling the world wasn't tedious and there was a fast travel system that actually worked. I think BOTW was a big step forward for Zelda while SS was a big step backwards.

 

[DarkestLink]

Honestly SS and tWW seem to be the only games BOTW took any inspiration from so I would hardly call them opposites. To me, BOTW is just SS but replacing the Zelda elements with Open World elements instead.

 

[Dio]

They are both mediocre games that weren't worth the wait and make mistakes with the same things in different ways. They both have annoying aspects to their gameplay. Both their stories are poor. Both their soundtracks are mostly forgettable.

If I had to replay one. It would be Skyward Sword. I at least felt like I had a focus on the story when playing it although I think it is a poor prequel for OoT.

 

[Cfrock]

If you were stuck with the choice of both SS and BotW which one would you rather play?

Honestly?

...

Skyward Sword.

BotW is good for what it is, but I don't like what it is. Open world games (at least, those with little story and huge areas of uninhabited wilderness) aren't fun for me. The gameplay of BotW is great, but the setting drains any interest or excitement the gameplay might have had. I can see why other people enjoy it, but I don't.

Compare that to SS which is an outright bad game. I don't understand why some people enjoy it. It's bad. The gameplay is bad, the setting is bad, the story is bad, the design is bad, it's bad, bad, bad, bad.

And yet...

Just the thought of BotW exhausts me. Picturing it in my mind makes everything else seem less enjoyable, like I've lost all motivation and don't see the point of doing anything. Playing the game, even just to run around and mess about, feels like a boring waste of time and sours my mood. I'm getting miserable right now just writing about it.

SS doesn't have that issue. Because it's smaller, because it has more of a story (however bad) moving it along and giving it structure, because it displays more imagination (and may the Lord in heaven forgive me for having something somewhat positive to say about this mess), and because it's far, far simpler in terms of gameplay, I don't get that instant sense of "Why bother?", just the familiar knowledge that there are better games to play.

SS is bad, but I can play it and derive something other than misery from it. Anger, resentment, the sting of wasted potential. Not good things, sure, but those emotions all have more colour than misery. So if I had to subject myself to one or the other, I'd take that Nasty Rainbow over the Disappointing Fog.

 

[Spirit]

Honestly?

...

Skyward Sword.

BotW is good for what it is, but I don't like what it is. Open world games (at least, those with little story and huge areas of uninhabited wilderness) aren't fun for me. The gameplay of BotW is great, but the setting drains any interest or excitement the gameplay might have had. I can see why other people enjoy it, but I don't.

Compare that to SS which is an outright bad game. I don't understand why some people enjoy it. It's bad. The gameplay is bad, the setting is bad, the story is bad, the design is bad, it's bad, bad, bad, bad.

And yet...

Just the thought of BotW exhausts me. Picturing it in my mind makes everything else seem less enjoyable, like I've lost all motivation and don't see the point of doing anything. Playing the game, even just to run around and mess about, feels like a boring waste of time and sours my mood. I'm getting miserable right now just writing about it.

SS doesn't have that issue. Because it's smaller, because it has more of a story (however bad) moving it along and giving it structure, because it displays more imagination (and may the Lord in heaven forgive me for having something somewhat positive to say about this mess), and because it's far, far simpler in terms of gameplay, I don't get that instant sense of "Why bother?", just the familiar knowledge that there are better games to play.

SS is bad, but I can play it and derive something other than misery from it. Anger, resentment, the sting of wasted potential. Not good things, sure, but those emotions all have more colour than misery. So if I had to subject myself to one or the other, I'd take that Nasty Rainbow over the Disappointing Fog.

In 2011 did you ever think you'd be saying this?

 

[DarkestLink]

They are both mediocre games that weren't worth the wait and make mistakes with the same things in different ways.

Honestly, it's mostly the same ways for me. Empty overworld, forced motion controls, annoying stamina meter, generic fetch quests for sidequests, durability, grinding, dowsing...it feels like every annoying thing SS had going for it made its way back into BOTW...except Fi. And is it just me or has "wilderness" become Nintendo's go-to excuse to make an empty overworld?

 

[Cfrock]

In 2011 did you ever think you'd be saying this?

I didn't think I'd be saying it right up until I read the OP. I still feel a bit sick.

 

[Link Floyd]

BotW any day. There's so much more to do, I can actually explore the land without feeling restricted, and BotW has one thing that SS lacks: replayability.

I guess I have no place to speak since I never finished SS, but I'd still prefer BotW based on the exploration aspect alone.

 

[the8thark]

If you were stuck with the choice of both SS and BotW which one would you rather play?

BotW easily.

If you had said WW or SS however I'd choose SS.