Not an incredible amount. I just wish that the combat had been more like Red Steel 2's where the swings had to be wide and strong to do some real damage. I know Nintendo did what they did so all ages could play it, but swinging the Wiimote like I did in RS2 was ridiculously fun and satisfying. Nevertheless, the motion controls were flawless, so I have no legitimate complaints about them. I also wish the Whip had been more involved and had more freedom of use (meaning not only being able to crack it forward, but able to aim up and down without something to Z-target). The treasure and bug notification thing was a bit annoying and could have been avoided, as well, but it wasn't as annoying to me as some people make it out to be. Other than that, I have no huge problems with the game.
Now, onto what you said.
Enemy AI
All of the enemies in the game literally had a tracking device on them so that they would be forced to respond to the position to your sword. It was a huge limitation and a huge let down that I had to WAIT TO BE STRUCK BY THE ENEMY. I realize that the projected majority of SS players are newcomers however the learning curve could've been put to better use, y'know, BEFORE the actual dungeons themselves. Combat while it does pump adrenaline sometimes, wasn't as fast as I expected it to be. It didn't give me the feel that I got out of Twilight Princess combat. Better, more OFFENSIVE AI would be an additive for future Zeldas, and definitely would have worked with Skyward Sword.
I actually expected the enemies to be like this. The change of combat to 1:1 swordplay was an enormous shift and slightly difficult to get used to. If they had made enemies as aggressive as in previous titles (which wasn't too much of a difference, even in the beloved OoT), fans would be telling horror stories of how difficult it was to defeat a simple Bokoblin. I'm quite certain the lack of attacks were just for this game so we could get used to the new combat system. I wouldn't have any worries about the enemy difficulty being amplified in Zelda Wii U. (The enemies also block plenty of attacks early on in the game, so it's not like they were no challenge at all.)
Learning Curve
The learning curve of Skyward Sword, meaning the tutorials for ingame actions and so on...they were so drawn out and strewn across the game, I thought they'd never end. The game constantly has to hold our hand, even so much to the point that dungeons aren't filled with enemies like they should have been. Every new enemy encounter is a learning curve because of the ridiculous motions of each enemy. We cannot immediately strike to get the upper hand, again due to the enemy AI. We can't be STRUCK OURSELVES for a disadvantage, because the game forces us to learn each and every single new thing.
We have to get notifications in order for us to figure out for the FIFTEENTH DANG TIME that we picked up an Amber Relic. We need to have a four hour long introduction plus an accompanying tutorial dungeon for us to get the hangs of combat and moving about. We still have to let enemies sit around for fifteen seconds each time for them to strike, with a few obvious exceptions (namely, Ghirahim, who takes even longer, and a couple other special enemies like him). What's happened with you, Nintendo, that tutorials have to be entirely too long and FORCED at that?
Gee, I wonder why, maybe because it was a
completely new style of swordplay? If there hadn't been the tutorials, getting used to the controls would have been that much more of a challenge, and that would have been more annoying than what you're complaining about. The treasure explanation was a bit annoying, yes, but at least it wasn't as common and silly as finding a stinkin' blue rupee in Twilight Princess.
Also, the tutorials are
not forced. You can completely skip the tutorials the second time you play the game. If you didn't figure this out, go back and try to leave right after getting the practice sword. You'll be able to without cutting any of the logs.
Story
I don't even want to comment on the story. Nintendo, listen. We need a different story with each new release or else you'll telegraph your attacks like the novice you are aren't.
Wait, what? Are you serious? The story was the best Zelda's had yet. It was thick, rich, and extremely emotional. Everything about it flowed together seamlessly and did nothing but build the entire time. There wasn't a climax in the middle of the story this time around, unlike in WW and TP. The plot twist didn't even feel like a plot twist. The motive behind Link's actions didn't really change at the midpoint of SS. In fact, the motives didn't change until he finally caught up with Zelda and learned that she was Hylia reborn. That's a huge change to have the true plot twist about 85% in the game. The formula of SS was much different than past titles, and you're not giving it the credit it deserves for that.
Characters
I've said this before and I'll say it again. We have a bunch of characters, of which we only have four characters that mean anything on the protagonist side, and only two characters that mean anything on the antagonist's side though the second one really doesn't mean much besides a final encounter.
Of the four protagonists, namely Link Zelda Groose Impa (LIZG), truthfully speaking only Link, Zelda and Groose mean anything OUT OF THE ENTIRE CAST OF CHARACTERS EXCLUDING THE TWO VILLAINS. Link and Groose are our two protagonists with Link on the Hero side and Groose on the comical side, while Zelda is our damsel in distress [yes, it doesn't seem so, but we still have to save her and get her back to Skyloft all the same]. Impa is just a side character who is the Link for Zelda in the meantime. That obviously needs to change. Pipit, Gaepora and maybe even Batreaux could've been part of the protagonist's crewboat. All of the Knight Academy, actually, should've been down at the Surface. Zelda, get that stupid look off of your face and ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING. No more singing, no more dancing, no more 'magic'. GET PHYSICAL.
Impa, WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE BEFORE I STICK THIS BLADE OF EVIL'S BANE INTO YOUR CHEST.
What in the world are you talking about? You're treating this like it was a fairy tale. That couldn't be any further from the truth. If the smirk you're talking about is Impa when Link couldn't follow Zelda, that was hardly a smirk. The whole point of that scene was to build the drive to keep searching for Zelda, and it worked perfectly. I felt some real anger when Impa bluntly told Link that he was late and that Hylia might have been "mistaken in her choice of agents". That's really saying something. No Zelda game had made me feel real anger like that. Impa's also not a side character. She's in the game as much as Zelda is and is very important to the story. Without her, Demise would have returned early in the story. She's
very important. How can you not see that? And what stupid look on Zelda's face? She was telling Link about everything that was going on and that she was Hylia in her past life. That was an emotional moment. Seriously, how could that not spark a moment of "NO, DON'T GO!" in you? I respect opinion, but what you're saying is way off. I can't get any nicer than that.
Nintendo could've introduced more than two villains. Yes, Ghirahim was cool, but he was useless in the end. Demise was a joke. We saw his ugly beast form three times, and his cool demonic form...well, that didn't last more than an epilogue.
False. Ghirahim was the key to Demise's revival. Without Ghirahim, Demise would have never returned. Ghirahim wasn't another Zant. He maintained a presence throughout the entire game that only kept getting better. Demise not appearing in true form until the end also isn't a problem. The whole point was to keep him from coming back. And Link succeeded...until Ghirahim took Zelda to the World of the Past. Demise had a presence throughout the whole game, just like Ghirahim did, only it was highly mysterious. That's a huge improvement from Ganondorf suddenly appearing in the middle of TP and disappearing until the very end of the game.
FINAL FREAKIN BOSS
Demise. You're an absolute joke. You take no skill to beat. People can speedrun you in little less than 28 seconds. What in the heck is wrong with you? Where is your insane ability to warp dimensions? Where are the giant flying swords and lightning rods? Come on, up your game broski. For a final boss, you're as pathetic as Ganon of OoT.
Really? Hm. This explains why so many people said they had a hard time with him and died multiple times.
Come on, Demise is not a joke. He's easy only if you know what you're doing. He was a strategic boss rather than being an all-out attack boss, and there's nothing wrong with that. It displayed true sword combat in needing to open a weak point and dodging attacks. You're just too used to final bosses not having any true strategy and attacking mercilessly. That isn't what makes a boss great. What makes a boss great is if it takes advantage of what the controls offer, and Demise pulled that off perfectly.
The Sky
Nintendo, you've made the gameplay really great swordplay (just need offensive enemies), now where is the flight? After all, Sky is in the title too, so it should be emphasized just like the Sword was. We got a barren sky, just like Hyrule Field in TP except...a distinct lack of enemies. I know you can do better.
I don't think this is worth complaining about. I mean, it's
the sky. If there had been islands everywhere, it'd have been too cluttered, causing the free-range feel to be absent. The whole point of it being open was, one, to have a sense of freedom and, two, to keep the surface the real threat. I mean, really, would you expect the monsters to litter the sky when their presence is supposed to be on the ground? The only reason monsters were in Skyloft at night was because of Batreaux. When he's no longer a demon, the monsters are gone. That's because they weren't ever supposed to be there. Simple as that. The sky was set to be completely distinct from the surface by being open and not filled with puzzles and what not. That's not a problem. That's called balance, and it worked very well. I agree there could have been a few more islands, namely ones that were a bit larger, but it stilled worked out just fine.