Skyward Sword SS. Why So Much Hate?

[MW7]

As someone who prefers the older games, I have to admit that I complained about the way SS handled cutscene skipping way more than the fact that OOT 3d had no such feature at all. At least you only have to watch Skyward Sword's cutscenes once if you are careful to keep a fresh hero mode file. OOT 3d had scenes that everyone had seen multiple times before and you have to watch them again everytime. The cutscene issue along with being unable to turn off the treasure and bug notifications as well as the fact that the game was more linear/constricted than necessary were the things that bothered me about Skyward Sword.

However, what I think is the reason for your perceiving lots of hate towards Skyward Sword is the fact that it is the most recent Zelda game. Every game has been divisive, and the people that don't like things about the game naturally want other people to think the same way they do so they keep talking about the negatives of the game. After the next game comes out, that game will be the main focus of this site. Skyward Sword bashing will sharply diminish as soon as we get a new game to experience and talk about. Also to put this in perspective Skyward Sword's divisiveness is nowhere near what Wind Waker's was. People outright refused to play the game simply because of the graphics. I have a friend who didn't play the game until two years ago solely for that reason.

I actually realized I was incorrect on the amount after posting, but didn't care to correct it. Nintendo said SS has around 100 minutes of cutscenes prior to release, and when recalling that, "one hour" just came to my head for some reason. ¯\(°_o)/¯

...I highly doubt TWW and TP have the same amount, though.

From what I've seen on youtube it looks like both TWW and TP have about an hour each. I also looked up OOT and found a 2 hour and 10 minute video of cutscenes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5D0rSoquTU. I skimmed it, and it might actually be accurate. It does include all required dialogue along with cutscenes. If that's right I want to throw up now because across 50 playthroughs I've wasted over 4 days of my life watching those things.

 

[Salem]

Oops sorry, I missed this. And yes, I checked Youtube playlists.

reminds me, I better play Zelda games again, I'm replaying TP, WW AND OoT currently.......

Linearity and puzzle enemies have been around since LA and OoT.

Stahp

I'm not sure what you meant by "the complete dropping of the Intro".

I was wondering what that means as well.

 

[Sydney]

I think a lot of people point out minor mistakes and made them look as if they were major. Skyward Sword undeniably had a lot of problems with it, both big and small, but that still doesn't make it a bad game.

Fi is ignorable.

How is she ignorable if you have to talk to her? It's really hard to ignore Fi, especially when the beeping starts. Her character as a whole was great, it's just that there was a lot of hand-holding on her part.

* Chasing Zelda around in the first part of the game - I thought this was pretty stupid, wasn't impa enough? I still had to save her? Whatever...lol

Link wasn't chasing her, he was trying to find her. Once he did, he was still confused, and he was hoping Zelda would give him more answers. Not to mention I'm sure part of him just wanted to make sure she was ok.

1-The point is OoT had less cutscenes.

How is having a plethora of cutscenes bad on SS's part? From my stand point, I felt Skyward Sword had the perfect amount of cutscenes. All of them carried out the story very nicely.

3-Treasure notification, whenever we shut of the game and want to play again, they come back.

4-Buying and selling is annoying, we can't just but the quantity we want we have to buy a specific amount, also when we want to sell it's the same, the game doesn't even tell how much we have of that item to sell.

Really? You think those are bigger problems than linearity? Wow, way to majorly nitpick at this game. Yes, some of those were both hindrances and annoyances, but they're not problem problems. This ^ is a perfect example where players take minor flaws and make them major flaws. It's completely ridiculous and unnecessary.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

i don't think skyward sword having too much cutscenes was a problem....i think it didn't have enough
also one thing that annoyed me was how it felt a little dragged on,the water dragons tadtone mission is a perfect example of something that was COMPLETELY unnecessary,and that to me made me feel that this link was more of a butler than a hero

basically pointless & dumb fetchquests WITHIN the main story

 

[Salem]

How is having a plethora of cutscenes bad on SS's part? From my stand point, I felt Skyward Sword had the perfect amount of cutscenes. All of them carried out the story very nicely.

Having more cutscenes than needed is a problem. it can mean they can't tell their story properly without cutscenes.

Really? You think those are bigger problems than linearity? Wow, way to majorly nitpick at this game. Yes, some of those were both hindrances and annoyances, but they're not problem problems. This ^ is a perfect example where players take minor flaws and make them major flaws. It's completely ridiculous and unnecessary.

I honestly thought they were more annoying to be than the fact that the game is very linear, I tend to focus on sidequests a lot in Zelda games, so I have to deal with this nonsense a lot.

Also, just because they are minor flaws does that really mean they shouldn't be brought up at all? Since they're minor flaws, they are also very specific things, they're easier problems for Nintendo to fix for their next instalment of Zelda than, say asking them to make a better story or something.

 

[DarkestLink]

...I highly doubt TWW and TP have the same amount, though.

No, tWW is 10 minutes shy of the full 2 hours, but is close.

However, what I think is the reason for your perceiving lots of hate towards Skyward Sword is the fact that it is the most recent Zelda game.

That is why we see so much hate on the forums yes...the fandom is unpleasable and divided...but it's more than that. MM, tWW, and TP got hate when they came out in the forums but none of them were universally doing bad. MM didn't measure up to OoT with critics, but it had its following and it didn't really break a standard. tWW probably got the most hate, but it did well among critics and fan scores weren't too bad either. It was at least on par with MM. TP did well with sales, critics, and fan scoring.

SS is not only getting hate from the forum community, but it's among the lowest 3D titles with critics and when it comes to fan scoring, its far behind most of the series.

 

[Ventus]

Also, just because they are minor flaws does that really mean they shouldn't be brought up at all?

Don't question Atticus. She's always right. You can't bring up things like these - they're small and just like fleas; you can smack them head on or just ignore them entirely. It won't make a difference which you choose because at the end of the day, the "problem" you're facing is so small in comparison tot he big things that it doesn't even matter anymore. :yes:

 

[Sydney]

Having more cutscenes than needed is a problem. it can mean they can't tell their story properly without cutscenes.

Okay, mind if I ask what's the ideal number of cutscenes for you?

Also, just because they are minor flaws does that really mean they shouldn't be brought up at all? since they're minor flaws, their also very specific things, they easier problems for Nintendo to fix for their next instalment of Zelda.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be brought up at all, because trust me, I thought they were annoying as hell too, but you make it sound like they're HUGE problems when they're not. Many people have already complained about it enough, so I'm sure Nintendo will be able to learn from their mistakes.

Don't question Atticus. She's always right. You can't bring up things like these - they're small and just like fleas; you can smack them head on or just ignore them entirely. It won't make a difference which you choose because at the end of the day, the "problem" you're facing is so small in comparison tot he big things that it doesn't even matter anymore.

 

[Garo]

Never hate a game. They're gifts, every single one of them. Even the bad ones, or the ones that don't do anything for you. They allow you to learn what you like in games. They allow you to see what works and what doesn't in terms of emotional impact. Every game has something you can take from it, and hating even a single one will prevent you from learning as much as you can.

That said, I have a moderate dislike of the game due to the consistent feeling of restriction and a general dislike for dominant motion controls. Minor motion-enabled controls like those found in the Super Mario Galaxy titles - shake to spin, occasional segments that require you tilt the controller to control a vehicle, etc. - are less intrusive, but a game completely structured around the controls that requires near constant use thereof is not something that I am fond of. But beyond that, the entire game feels much more restricted than the bulk of Zelda titles. Though technically free to explore as much as most other Zelda titles, there is a distinct lack of a wide open world feeling due to the world design. It's disconnected, and instead feels like a progression from Designated Questing Area #1 to Designated Questing Area #2. I never really got the feeling that I was exploring or roaming a world, which is a shame. It doesn't help that the story is far more dominant in this title than in previous Zelda titles, which would normally make me jump for joy, as good stories in games are a huge draw. But it didn't quite work here because I didn't feel any of the characters were particularly well developed and the plot itself was rather basic. Instead, the more present story just dragged me along the designated path, making me feel less permitted to explore (despite being fully permitted to do so in most cases).

Naturally there are a few other minor annoyances, but those aren't worth mentioning. These two - dominant motion controls and a restrained sense of exploration in service of an overall weak plot - are the primary reasons I have a moderate dislike of the game. I don't hate it, because one should never hate a game, but I don't love it either.

 

[Salem]

Okay, mind if I ask what's the ideal number of cutscenes for you?

It's as few as possible, I don't have a hard limit, also don't have so many cutscenes one after another.

In other words, if someone makes a game and it gets by 30 minutes of cutscenes only, then go ahead.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be brought up at all, because trust me, I thought they were annoying as hell too, but you make it sound like they're HUGE problems when they're not. Many people have already complained about it enough, so I'm sure Nintendo will be able to learn from their mistakes.

I don't remember them being mentioned the times SS was brought up, it's always the "obvious" things like linearity, I haven't been here long enough, so I don't know if they were mentioned.

Never hate a game. They're gifts, every single one of them. Even the bad ones, or the ones that don't do anything for you. They allow you to learn what you like in games. They allow you to see what works and what doesn't in terms of emotional impact. Every game has something you can take from it, and hating even a single one will prevent you from learning as much as you can.

Thank you, that was very true.

 

[Kirino]

Having more cutscenes than needed is a problem. it can mean they can't tell their story properly without cutscenes.

SS had more cutscenes than in previous Zelda games for sure, but not that many compared to most games today. I really don't see how it was "too much", especially since SS had more of a focus on story. You may not like large amounts of cutscenes, but I definitely wouldn't consider it a flaw or a problem.

 

[Ventus]

SS had more cutscenes than in previous Zelda games for sure, but not that many compared to most games today. I really don't see how it was "too much", especially since SS had more of a focus on story. You may not like large amounts of cutscenes, but I definitely wouldn't consider it a flaw or a problem.

Large amounts of cutscenes isn't the problem, and I don't think Sroa was trying to say it was though it did come out as such. I think what he meant was that the cutscenes didn't convey the story properly. And I feel the same way, really, but this can't be helped; Zelda is actually like a child: just now learning the ropes of greater gaming.

 

[Maxxy]

Can you really argue that there are too many cutscenes? There's only about an hour's worth in the game, which is about half as much as you would see in most modern video games. It was very much a gameplay-driven game.

There were 39 Minutes of cutscenes before you get the sword. There was well over 2 hours worth of cutscenes in the game.

 

[Salem]

There were 39 Minutes of cutscenes before you get the sword. There was well over 2 hours worth of cutscenes in the game.

This, the cutscenes aren't even properly spaced. they should have been more spread around rather than crammed together in one place.

 

[Sanchezmran]

I actually am not really bothered by most of the flaws in the game. Okay, just maybe the treasure notification every time you load up the game, but other than that, nothing really. SS does have its flaws, but they didn't really affect my opinion about the game.