General Modern Which Did You Dislike More: the Twilight Realm or the Silent Realm?

[JuicieJ]

The Twilight Realm is tedious and has no redeeming qualities.

What exactly was tedious about it? I've never understood that complaint. I would agree if you said they're monotonous, but tedious? They're really no more tedious than the Silent Realms.

Not to mention that you're forced to play as a wolf, one of the worst elements of an already disappointing game.

>Implying that the Wolf gameplay is bad.

The Wolf gameplay was half-baked, but I wouldn't call it bad. It functioned well and was used a decent amount.

 

[Azure Sage]

What exactly was tedious about it? I've never understood that complaint. I would agree if you said they're monotonous, but tedious? They're really no more tedious than the Silent Realms.

The Twilight Realms are extremely tedious. Hunting for bugs was always a huge pain, and it got worse each time, because each time the bugs became more and more spread out. Heck, in Lanaryu Province, even getting to the Spirit Spring was tedious and drawn out. You can't say they aren't more tedious than the Silent Realms, because they're not.

>Implying that the Wolf gameplay is bad.

The Wolf gameplay was half-baked, but I wouldn't call it bad. It functioned well and was used a decent amount.

The Wolf gameplay was bad. It was very limited compared to Link himself. Wolf Link had dashing, sensing, and digging. That's it. Link, on the other hand, has so much more variety when it comes to actions, specifically concerning combat.

 

[JuicieJ]

The Twilight Realms are extremely tedious. Hunting for bugs was always a huge pain, and it got worse each time, because each time the bugs became more and more spread out. Heck, in Lanaryu Province, even getting to the Spirit Spring was tedious and drawn out. You can't say they aren't more tedious than the Silent Realms, because they're not.

That doesn't explain anything. All that basically said was "They're tedious because they're tedious lolz". What about the game design was it that made the bug-hunting tedious?

The Wolf gameplay was bad. It was very limited compared to Link himself. Wolf Link had dashing, sensing, and digging. That's it. Link, on the other hand, has so much more variety when it comes to actions, specifically concerning combat.

Like I said, half-baked.

 

[Azure Sage]

That doesn't explain anything. All that basically said was "They're tedious because they're tedious lolz". What about the game design was it that made the bug-hunting tedious?

The bugs being spread too far out and getting to the Spirit Spring being drawn out IS game design. In Lanayru specifically, the bugs are placed in groups of one or two that are spread far apart across the biggest of the three provinces. Placing them poorly like that creates tedium, and that is part of game design.

 

[JuicieJ]

The bugs being spread too far out and getting to the Spirit Spring being drawn out IS game design. In Lanayru specifically, the bugs are placed in groups of one or two that are spread far apart across the biggest of the three provinces. Placing them poorly like that creates tedium, and that is part of game design.

Fair enough. I guess that's why they limited the Silent Realm portions to one part of the province.

 

[Katelynn]

The Twilight Realms are extremely tedious. Hunting for bugs was always a huge pain, and it got worse each time, because each time the bugs became more and more spread out. Heck, in Lanaryu Province, even getting to the Spirit Spring was tedious and drawn out. You can't say they aren't more tedious than the Silent Realms, because they're not.

I think that this was a really bad move on Nintendo's part, but I think they tried to lengthen the game in the worst way possible. It would have been better if you just had to collect them in a small area instead of having to explore an entire realm to even kill one bug. The main problem with the Twilight Realm is that there was too much to do in my opinion.

 

[izi]

The main problem with the Twilight Realm is that there was too much to do in my opinion.

Wow, you would hate Skyrim!

But in all seriousness, I agree. I wish the Twilight Realms were just shorter, or in a smaller area. That would have made it much less frustrating.
This just popped into my head as I was about to submit the reply, but what if the Twilight Realm had dungeon-style gameplay and puzzles, still with the primary goal of filling the vessel, but maybe having mini-bosses and bosses. In the sand area/dungeon (can't remember the name - Arbital Grounds?), it was proven that Wolf Link could pull off mini bosses, and that means boss fights could definitely be possible. I think if they made the Twilight Realms dungeon-style, they would be a lot more fun. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

 

[New Link]

Well, easy. THE TWILIGHT REAMLS STUNK!
They were boring, lifeles, dull, and annoying.
The silent realms were, Challenging, fun, and didn't seem like a dumb fetch quest

 

[Katelynn]

Well, easy. THE TWILIGHT REAMLS STUNK!
They were boring, lifeles, dull, and annoying.
The silent realms were, Challenging, fun, and didn't seem like a dumb fetch quest

That was kind of the point lol. Their only purpose(other than to add a little sliver of fear in the game) was for you to restore Light to each of the Realms. The Silent realm while not exactly evil were kind of creepy from the blank BG Music to the lifeless Gaurdians. While both required you to collect tears of light finish the area the Twilight Realm was more frustrating. Having to search out and kill bugs to even get near a tear of light is completely ridiculous and perhaps a redundant part of gameplay Nintendo likes to re-use some way or another. Like I said before this was basically an un-needed part of the Game and made it one of the least enjoyed games in the Series.

 

[A Link In Time]

When you consider the Silent Realms as the epitome of stealth gameplay in Zelda, comparing them to the Twilight Realm is like comparing a fire to a candlestick. Stealth is an aspect stemming from the very first 3D installment's Gerudo Fortress. Only recently, however, have there been several lengthy portions requiring great camouflage and swiftness of movement.

Twilight Princess isn't a bad game by any means but it certainly has many not fully realized ideas. Items such as the Dominion Rod, Spinner, and Ball & Chain come to mind. Twilight Realms are yet another element bogged down by poor implementation. It's as though in their urge to emulate and overtake Ocarina of Time, the developers randomly placed aspects that were not in the N64 classic and hoped they would work for the better. I didn't so much have a problem with the core Wolf gameplay as listlessly climbing rooftops and activating the wolf scent. Twilight Realm certainly would have been better had more distress been involved.

Skyward Sword's Silent Realms excel because they expose Link's vulnerability. Without his arsenal at disposal, Link is a weak figure among the ever watchful Guardians. The idea of traversing a transformed area emitting a mysterious aura is clearly tapped from Twilight Princess whereas the Guardians are examples of influence from Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. Nintendo even decided to bring the stress factor back from the Temple of the Ocean King with a time limit. I enjoy when developers learn from past mistakes, adapting and improving previous elements. Skyward Sword was a refinement of the Zelda experience from the stamina gauge to the realistic adventure pouch to the heart pounding Silent Realms.

 

[DarkestLink]

I really didn't see the problem with the wolf form...it might have paled in comparison to a full Hidden Skilled Link, but it still felt better than Non-Hidden Skill Link, which is what OoT, MM, and tWW had going for them...and TP Link during the beginning of the game.

Overall I enjoyed the silent realms, but I just didn't see a point to them. The Twilight Realms introduced you to new areas, got you familiar with the land scape as well as the wolf form, and offered a story. I really wish that Skyward Sword had done something like this. I knew TP's world like the back of my hand during my first playthough. Skyward Sword had a smaller world and it wasn't until my fifth play through that I was able to completely memorize it.

 

[HatredHazard]

Silent realm>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Twilight realm for the most part.
I actually loved the silent realms and thought they were a high point in the game. They made my heart pound and, as I play Zelda with my mom and sis watching (lol), it was fun screaming in terror whenever the guardians woke up.
The tear-collecting in the twilight realms of TP was easily the lowest point in TP. Sure, the environment was surreal and freakishly beautiful in a strange way, but that didn't make up for the BORING gameplay. However the Palace of Twilight was absolutely incredible IMO--a perfect blend between fantasy and sci-fi. AND, although I hated the tears-collecting in TP as much as anyone else, I feel as tho most people forget there were some cool parts in it, like flying with that weird twilight dragon creature up the river (OK, so that was the only cool part).

 

[LumiGem]

Silent Realms made me focus more, y'know with the time limit and such....so Silent Realms win this round.

 

[SinkingBadges]

I don't really consider either one to be above the other. They both have things that I liked but had to be sacrificed for their respective mechanics to work correctly, which is sort of a shame. I think of them as being sides of the same coin, both objectively and in the sense of how much I found their sections fun.

The Twilight Realms did appear tedious at first, but I warmed up to them for the same reason I liked the triforce hunt in WW; because it gave me a reason to wander around, and wandering around is fun. The Silent Realms might have been more, to put it somehow, "active", since you were put in a smaller area and had a proportionally similar number of things to do, but the restriction took off the wandering around part in exchange for more tension and less tedium (your mileage may vary on that, and I'm pretty sure mine does). I did not find wolf Link gameplay to feel different at all from normal Link gameplay beyond the obvious changes, so that part didn't bother me. The huge extensions of land might be tedious, but it made up for it on the visual sense to me. In short, I don't really find the SR's more active concept to be that much of an improvement over the TR's little-tasks-spread-over-large-extentions. I guess it's pretty much a quid pro-duo (read: give and take) situation, but since I'm slightly more fond of wandering around than I am of just coming and doing, I think I liked the TRs somewhat better. SR is still fun, though.

On a different note, I also like the TRs over the SRs from an aesthetic point of view. It goes above the JMEBD rule (also known as: Just Make Everything Brown Dammit) and goes a little bolder with its color scheme, which to me is an added bonus. The Silent Realm, on the other side, was pretty much the JMEBD except with blue, though, the effect when a guardian sees you is pretty cool and helps it a bit. I guess I'm just too fond of wandering overall.

 

[Awesome]

I mean neither one is terrible in my opinion. That being said, neither one is particularly difficult. While the Silent Realms appear dangerous, scary, and needing of strategy...They really don't.

The Guardians are pretty slow if you manage your stamina correctly and the times when you have to sneak past the light Guardians are simply a matter of waiting until they move out of the way. On Hero mode, it's exactly the same difficulty since you are one shotted no matter what. I was honestly hoping that the time the Guardians stayed asleep would decrease, because honestly 90 seconds is a bit too long. If it had been reduced to 45 seconds then it certainly would have been a challenge and most likely would have required some more strategy. However the way it is now, it's more of just keep running around till you find everything. Strategy is unnecessary.

As for the Twilight Realm, the tears are already labeled on your map so it's not like you really have to search very hard to find them. It's simply a matter of getting to the bugs as fast as possible so that you can move on with the story. These sections (to me at least) served as a way to break up the action that was going on and to let you sort of explore the new region. They weren't really meant to be difficult, but it certainly would have been nice if you had to track them or something. Even the final massive bug isn't difficult unless you are stupid like me and don't think to use Midna's B-dash-of-death-and-destruction to finish it off.

So yeah, neither was bad and they both did completely different things. Just because the world looks a bit different and you are collecting tears of light, doesn't mean they are the same thing or that they can really be compared to each other. It is most definitely like comparing apples and oranges. Sure they might both be fruit and roundish, they still differ in many many ways.

As for which one I prefer, well I just finished the Silent Realms so they are more fresh in my mind, but it's still difficult for me to decide. I really do like the feeling of being a wolf and pouncing on not so innocent insects lol. I really can't decide honestly. I really enjoyed both of them....but I do think the Silent Realms are probably better executed....I'm really reluctant to say that though lol.