Spoiler Were the Silent Realms Actually Challenging?

[The Wanderer]

The Silent Realms are a good example of stealth sections in Zelda done right. Stealth has a bit of a bad rep in Zelda because of its general slowness and tediousness. Getting caught in most of them resulted in simply being ejected to an earlier point and forcing players to catch up again. Sneaking also tended to be a bit gimmicky; I've been in caught in Ocarina of Time by guards who could apparently see through walls (Hyrule's forces have X-ray vision! Don't break the law!). The Silent Realms, on the other hand, give you a genuine want to stay hidden rather than just a need. Your adventure doesn't instantly come screeching to a halt when you're caught, but it does become a heck of a lot harder and isn't something you want. Guardians do kill you in one hit, but you're given an adrenaline-inducing break for redemption before that can happen.

This is how stealth should be handled in Zelda in the future, and Twilight Princess actually showed some if it in its Bulblin camp in the Gerudo Desert. When you're caught, the game simply gets harder, usually because of new enemy presence (similar to Metal Gear Solid, actually). This gives it a more realistic edge, and it still baffles me in Ocarina of Time when Link, the hero who can fall down mile-long pits and survive, slaying monsters left and right, filling every spare space he has with weapons, surrenders instantly to one or two women with spears. Link is a connection to the player, so the shot at redemption adds necessary realism. And to put it simply, it's annoying to let one small detail end your streak instantly.

As for whether I found the Silent Realms hard, I'd say I found them moderate. I never lost to any of them during my first playthrough, although I have bitten the dust from time to time since then. Rather than my death feeling like a cheap gimmick, I know full well it was my fault and I earned that giant club to the face, an effect all games should strive for with their difficulty. While I don't know about seeing the Silent Realms exactly as they are in another Zelda game, I'd love the general concept to return, as it was one of Skyward Sword's most brilliantly-executed ideas.

 

[penguinboy82]

I enjoyed it a lot, even the anxiety it gave me. Although the one in Eldin's Volcano took me forever and it was a bit difficult, it was still a lot of fun.

 

[Donutwizard]

None of the silent realms were too hard, but if the guardians awoke I would be screaming. I beat the last 2 on my fist try. But I love the silent realms soo much! They were a big part of the reason why I enjoyed Skyward Sword more than Ocarina of Time.

 

[Guest_1]

The Silent Realms are a good example of stealth sections in Zelda done right. Stealth has a bit of a bad rep in Zelda because of its general slowness and tediousness. Getting caught in most of them resulted in simply being ejected to an earlier point and forcing players to catch up again. Sneaking also tended to be a bit gimmicky; I've been in caught in Ocarina of Time by guards who could apparently see through walls (Hyrule's forces have X-ray vision! Don't break the law!). The Silent Realms, on the other hand, give you a genuine want to stay hidden rather than just a need. Your adventure doesn't instantly come screeching to a halt when you're caught, but it does become a heck of a lot harder and isn't something you want. Guardians do kill you in one hit, but you're given an adrenaline-inducing break for redemption before that can happen.

This is how stealth should be handled in Zelda in the future, and Twilight Princess actually showed some if it in its Bulblin camp in the Gerudo Desert. When you're caught, the game simply gets harder, usually because of new enemy presence (similar to Metal Gear Solid, actually). This gives it a more realistic edge, and it still baffles me in Ocarina of Time when Link, the hero who can fall down mile-long pits and survive, slaying monsters left and right, filling every spare space he has with weapons, surrenders instantly to one or two women with spears. Link is a connection to the player, so the shot at redemption adds necessary realism. And to put it simply, it's annoying to let one small detail end your streak instantly.

As for whether I found the Silent Realms hard, I'd say I found them moderate. I never lost to any of them during my first playthrough, although I have bitten the dust from time to time since then. Rather than my death feeling like a cheap gimmick, I know full well it was my fault and I earned that giant club to the face, an effect all games should strive for with their difficulty. While I don't know about seeing the Silent Realms exactly as they are in another Zelda game, I'd love the general concept to return, as it was one of Skyward Sword's most brilliantly-executed ideas.

I wholeheartedly agree. That was very well-put, Wanderer. The Silent Realms were quite a step up from the other stealth sections we've seen in the previous games. I hope that if they include sections like this in the future, that they build on the concept they presented here.

 

[GirlWithAFairy]

I found Eldins Volcano the most difficult because of how the layout was. I always got anxious when the guardians woke up tho, OMG OMG hurry, wheres the tear!!!!

 

[Ventus]

I found Eldin Volcano's silent realm to be the hardest simply due to the amount of space you have to cover, but aside from that the whole concept of "grab the items before being hit" wasn't particularly grueling on my part.

 

[Wasteland Dream]

They are the first time around. Just take it slow and don't attack the guardians like I did.

 

[DarkestLink]

Define "challenging". The term "challenging" is different from the term "challenging by Zelda standards"

 

[ZeldaTeacher]

I find the Silent Realms hard. I am still relatively new to the series, only been playing for a year and a half. I rely on the excellent walk-thrus provided by ZD. So I find the Silent Realms hard. I beat the Faron Woods realm after a few tries, and definitely got the adrenaline rush from almost getting caught. I have not picked up the game since I failed to beat the Lanyru Desert one in August. (I had to stop the game because of needing to go somewhere.) I find them frustrating. But reading through the forums and this thread is helping me get the courage to give it another few tries! I want to progress in the story line and find out all the things people are talking about with the story line!

 

[Igos du Ikana]

I didn't find them to be boring or overly challenging and scary the first time I played the game. The second time I played was a bit more tedious, but that goes with almost every game. I actually enjoyed the Silent Realms almost as much as the main quest, but I did find them to be a bit useless and thrown in just to add more time to the game. This is my opinion so don't flame me for it.

 

[RegalBryant]

They were scary, but they weren't actually hard.

 

[Igos du Ikana]

They were hard in the sense of urgency and you need to hurry up or you lose. I will agree that's partly due to the scary atmosphere.

 

[feraldonkey]

I didn't find them tedious at all, just boring and sometimes repetitive. I literally groaned when I found out I had to do another.

 

[Hachi]

I don't cope well with things that chase me in games... at all. ;o;''

It's even worse when they put time limits and terrifyingly intense music to boot. (See also: Ocarina of time ending when you run out of the castle, the entirety of Majora's Mask, That scary shark that chases you in Banjo-Kazooie...)

;_; So I thought it was challenging, but it felt so amazing when I finished them. Though, I think I would have been fine with them really if they had just left the last one out. x_x; I swear I almost had a heart attack.

 

[Batman]

I thought the silent realms were neither too hard nor too easy. I thought they were all challenging but not so difficult to cause frustration. I really liked the concept as a whole and I’d like to see similar ideas fleshed out in future Zelda games.