Was Skyward Sword Actually Difficult?

[theoathtoorder]

Skyward Sword was easy, but extremely fun. They really need to make this next Zelda game on the Wii U harder. Maybe even choose the puzzle difficulty at the beginning if they want to attract younger gamers. This makes me think of the Water Temple on the 3DS. It really didn't need the glowing lights to every point you raise and lower the water levels. Make it more difficult so it is rewarding once you do figure it out.

 

[MW7]

I thought the combat had a big learning curve, but other than that it wasn't too hard. Actually this caused the game to seem to get easier as I got farther along because I eventually was able to consistently beat enemies which was the hardest part of the game for me. The puzzles didn't seem significantly easier than those in other 3d zeldas, with the exception of Majora's Mask which just seems to be the most difficult IMO. I did really like how creative and challenging Sky Keep was, and there were some other puzzles here and there that I thought were awesome and difficult. Overall I say the difficulty was similar to Ocarina of Time except Skyward Sword derived more of its difficulty from combat rather than puzzles, and Skyward Sword was harder than Wind Waker or Twilight Princess but easier than Majora's Mask.

 

[shogun_zidane]

I felt it had a very great blend of easy and difficult bits. Mostly there are the controls that are like 10% of the time screwy. But the puzzles for the most part were more intuitive than difficult. I certainly enjoyed the difficulty, hero mode on the other hand is a lot different.

 

[Not Take Mirror]

Difficulty in this game was uneven. In some ways, it was the easiest Zelda game. You had Fi, which gave you lots of hand-holding. Things like dowsing, made certain sidequests easier to complete. You also had things like the treasure medal which made treasure easier to find. On the other hand, the motion controls could make certain things rather difficult and frustrating. That may be just a personal thing though. I didn't find motion controls as intuitive as some people. For example, I trouble at first figuring out just how to keep the loftwing aloft in the sky. Then there was the Levias fight. I had trouble aiming the loftwing just right.

Puzzles were mostly straightforward and easy but there were some challenging ones like the bridge puzzle.

Some things were at just the right level of difficulty for me such as the silent realms.

You also had optional things to do if you wanted more challenge like hero mode and Thunder Dragon's lightning round.

I would say overall, its more challenging than its predecessors Twilight Princess and Wind Waker but easier than the 2D games.

 

[JackTorrance]

It wasn't hard at all, i beat 100% within 24 hours. I guess the controls were kinda hard though

 

[zeldahero3]

Nope, it was extremely easy. The first temple only had about 10 rooms, i mean really? Nintendo needs to step up the difficulty

 

[Curmudgeon]

It's been a while since I've had to make a Zelda game artificially difficult. Bring back the face-crushing difficulty!

 

[OcarinaBoy]

Yes and no. Yes in that I can be very incompetent sometimes (I died in the first temple because I couldn't figure out how to flip the skulltulas around. Go ahead and laugh now). As for actual difficulty, not really. There were times when I actually did fear for my (Link's) life, but I always came out with a good bit of my health intact. The controls were probably the hardest part. It wasn't that they were unresponsive or inaccurate (the controls followed my motions to the letter), I just have a tendancy to flail my arms about instead of actually planning how I'm going to swing (I blame Twilight Princess for this. Also, I'm kind of lazy). And the less health I have, the worse it gets, as I will wildly swing my arms in an (ultimately futile) attempt to land a hit before I die.

 

[Mudora]

I thought Skyward Sword was relatively easy. Sure there's always a few parts in a game that stump you, though on the whole, it wasn't that difficult to 100%. I hope Zelda Wii U proves to be more challenging.

 

[JuicieJ]

Nope, it was extremely easy. The first temple only had about 10 rooms, i mean really? Nintendo needs to step up the difficulty

The amount of rooms doesn't determine a dungeon's difficulty. The depth of the rooms does, and that's something Skyward Sword had a lot of. Look at the Earth Temple. It literally only has four rooms, yet each one is huge and chock-full of challenging obstacles.

 

[Ventus]

Nope, it was extremely easy. The first temple only had about 10 rooms, i mean really? Nintendo needs to step up the difficulty

Well the number of rooms isn't necessarily a direct correlation to how easy/hard the temple is. The Inside of the Deku Tree, for example, only has a few odd rooms (can't count how many), yet it's probably one of the easiest dungeons in Zelda history. It's the actual content of the rooms that makes the temple/dungeon hard. And I dare say Skyward Sword had nothing which made it particularly hard, bar Sky Keep's sliding puzzle mechanism.

 

[DarkestLink]

Well the number of rooms isn't necessarily a direct correlation to how easy/hard the temple is. The Inside of the Deku Tree, for example, only has a few odd rooms (can't count how many), yet it's probably one of the easiest dungeons in Zelda history.

Doesn't that support his argument that having less rooms makes a dungeon easier?

It's the actual content of the rooms that makes the temple/dungeon hard. And I dare say Skyward Sword had nothing which made it particularly hard, bar Sky Keep's sliding puzzle mechanism.

I actually found that this made the dungeon easier...because not only was it a measly 8 rooms, but one of them had nothing in it, and because of this mechanic, I could skip another one. This left 6 rooms.

And yes, I believe the number of rooms indirectly influences the difficulty of a dungeon. I say indirectly because the real factor that can make a dungeon harder is how long it is. For the sake of simplicity, if the Cave of Ordeals were only 10 rooms, it would be easier, would it not?

 

[Ventus]

Doesn't that support his argument that having less rooms makes a dungeon easier?

Well, yeah, I guess you're right.

And yes, I believe the number of rooms indirectly influences the difficulty of a dungeon. I say indirectly because the real factor that can make a dungeon harder is how long it is. For the sake of simplicity, if the Cave of Ordeals were only 10 rooms, it would be easier, would it not?

You said indirect, which means you could quite possibly disregard what I'm about to say. But, if the Cave of Ordeals were only 10 rooms, this could mean a myriad of things. They might've been ten rooms with five enemies each. They might've been ten rooms with spiraling level of difficulty, until you get to the tenth floor which is the center of the spiral in which you fight several boss-like foes. The possibilities are endless.

And that is why I say that the content of the dungeon/temple/whatever-you-call-it determines the difficulty. Size matters as does room count, but you could have a one room dungeon that has the hardest gauntlet of foes, or you could have a fifty room dungeon with miniscule puzzles and two enemies in each room. :I

 

[Curmudgeon]

It's both. More rooms + more to do in those rooms = tougher dungeon.

 

[Kylo Ken]

I died two times when facing Demise. Other than that, it was pretty easy.