NGamer Magazine: Skyward Sword Blowout
Posted on September 29 2011 by Mases Hagopian
Skyward Sword has been featured on Game Informer magazine and the latest Nintendo Power magazine, but it’s also hitting some of the lesser known publications as well. As was promoted earlier, Skyward Sword is featured in the upcoming issue of NGamer magazine and there are plenty of Zelda goodies for us all. I’m subscribed to the magazine but I personally have not gotten my issue in the mail yet. Fortunately, the folks over at Nintendo Everything have posted some of the Skyward Sword material and you can see it below.
– NGamer says it’s the toughest Zelda yet
– Mogmas patrol the volcanic area
– Mogmas are the ones who split and bury the key
– Phi has an icy demeanour
– There seems to be some puzzle in which you’ll have to roll a bomb down a sandbank
– Grabbing light balls in the Silent Realm stun the guardians
– NGamer says that the sky realm is the true overworld while Hyrule is made up of self-contained hubs
– One dungeon has a mine cart
– Mine cart tracks powered up by rainbow energy
– Hit mystical stones and color will light up the area so the cart can continue on
– “What starts as airy school drama – the other boys can’t stand out elfin hero – evolves into a daring chase movie, with Link skydiving through the clouds to do repeat battle with a scenery-chewing demon lord”
There are lots of goodies here, but there are a few of them that really stand out to me that I wanted to highlight.
I personally have a hard time believing this statement. Video games in general these days are not nearly as difficult as they once were and this is especially true for Zelda games. My personal opinion is that Twilight Princess was the easiest Zelda title to date as during my first ever playthrough I didn’t die a single time. Similarly, many fans feel Phantom Hourglass was a bit disappointing because of its rather easy difficulty. Some feel that problem was fixed with Spirit Tracks as that game was significantly harder than its two predecessors.
Even so a game like Spirit Tracks is very easy in comparison to the original Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Games just aren’t nearly as hard these days and Zelda is a prime series that showcases this. Skyward Sword might very well be a tough game, but I doubt it’s anywhere near the difficulty level of some of the earlier Zelda titles.
This is very unfortunate to me as I think it might suffer the fate of The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks. All three of these games had set islands or stations with a set means of traveling between them. That was a boat, train, and this time around it looks like it’s going to be a bird. While I’m excited about the Sky overworld, I personally see resemblances to that of the Great Sea of the Wind Waker. There’s going to be plenty of small islands above and below the clouds, along with a number of minor side quests, but I do think it’s going to get a bit bland and repetitive. Perhaps it’s too early to pass judgement but I’m disappointed in the lack of a ground overworld.
Granted, I wasn’t a big fan of the overworld of Twilight Princess and in fact, I don’t think any of the 3D Zelda titles have done a great job with the overworlds. However, I think some of the 2D Zelda games and in particular A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages have all done fabulous jobs with the overworlds. There is something going on at almost every single segment of the map, with very little dead areas. We first started seeing very empty areas with Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time, but that became significantly more apparent with more recent Zelda titles. Again, perhaps it’s just too early for me to make a judgement on it.
Either way, my issue of NGamer Magazine should be coming in the mail within the next few days and I’ll share with you any additional thoughts or images once I get my hands on it. Until then, feel free to post your thoughts below of the material in the magazine or of my commentary.
Source: Nintendo Everything via GoNintendo
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