Skyward Sword review (spoileriffic)
So, I was up all night beating Skyward Sword, so now I can comment on it.
At first glance, I wasn't sure where this game was heading. It had a teenage Link, but had cel-shaed graphics like Wind Waker. The combination of these two things equals a lot of "ERROR. DOES NOT COMPUTE"
Though once you play the game, its clear that the graphics aren't at all like Wind Waker's. In WW, the cel graphics went for an obviously cartoony feel, whereas in Skyward Sword, Miyamato has said that it was made to look like an impressionist painting--and if you look from a distance into any of the areas in the game, you can see it. Miayamato also said they went for it because it made seeing enemy swords easier and--when playing a game where WHERE you land a strike is everything, that is crucial. I warmed up to the graphics in the end, at least.
And now, for the controls. I was skeptical about a Wii Zelda game (Even my Twilight Princess is a Gamecube copy) because HOW DO YOU PLAY AN RPG WITH A FUCKING WIIMOTE?) Well, SS showed us. You use the Wiimote a lot, but not as much as it says you need to (in places where they say "use the Wiimote to select an option!" you can actually use the control stick instead. Plus, because of the gyro controls on the Wii Motion Plus, you don't even need to bother pointing it at the screen most of the time. I was able to aim and shoot things while keeping the Wiimote in my lap like an actual controller, just by moving it slightly.
But the highlight of the controls is obviously the swordplay. Unlike most Zelda games, where fighting a creature is just figuring out what to use to kill it (usually you can use bombs, bow, hookshot/clawshot, slingshot, whip, other equipment, etc) and the equipment does harm them, in SS, they only things you can use to kill other things are your 1. sword, 2. bombs, 3. bow.
That's it. :| And you don't get the bow until NEAR THE END OF THE GAME, so you're stuck hacking things to death. This makes the game a bit harder in that you don't just slash and it dies--you have to THINK about how you slash. Moblin blocking horozontally? Don't hit it vertically. and vice versa. They can deflect your attacks depending on which ANGLE you hit it--which makes for many bosses (including the final boss) not just a "wail on it until it dies" but a puzzle in it self until you get the pattern of hits right. I, like many people, failed tremendously at this in the first get go, so used to just hitting things that I wasn't thinking about HOW to hit them. Near the end of the game, its a piece of cake, though.
So, in this game truely, you get to grow WITH Link in learning how to use a sword. By the time you get to the end of the game, to that segment where you fight HUNDREDS of moblins, they didn't tone down the number of hits it takes to kill them--no, at this point, because of how you learned to take them out, you can 1-shot kill all of them with ease.
And then there are the bosses. The game subverts the usual "use the thing you got in the dungeon to kill the boss" a couple of times (because honestly, a lot of the equipment you get in the game is FREAKING USELESS for killing things) in favor of "lets have a dramatic swordfight!" in which learning which way to slash is key. So yes, the whole gameplay element was dramatically different from all Zelda titles, but I have to say, after beating down a villian with nothing but sword skills and slashes that you, the player, did, IT FEELS AWESOME.
One thing I also love about the game is the ability to have dialogue options for Link -- You can make him polite, but respectful, have a one track mind for Zelda (what I usually did) or--humorously--have him be a deadpan snarker. You can't make him be a bastard with dialogue options though--when Zelda asks Link to wake her up from magical sleep, you can't say "No", you just get 3 variations of yes.
And now, for the storyline. Again, when I first heard it was a prequel, I was all "BUT OCARINA IS THE FIRST GAME--WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY" But this game explains a lot of things that Ocarina failed to explain. The origin of the Master Sword is the most obvious. And where the Temple of Time came from. Or who the Sheikah are. Or why Link and Zelda keep running into Ganondorf...etc.
But the storyline had me from the get-go because LINK AND ZELDA IS FREAKING CANON. <3 <3 <3. Or mostly canon, since nothing is ever explicitly stated, but its THERE. Even from the beginning, its obvious that Link and Zelda have the respective hots for each other. "her shawl smells nice" indeed, Link. Then there's the time when Zelda wakes up from her magical coma and Link catches her--and we are treated to a frame where he's clearly hugging her dearly. And then they hold hands. And then there's the ending where Link agrees to stay with Zelda on the surface together and--UGH. MIYAMATO, I WOULD GIVE YOU MY SOUL IF I HADN'T ALREADY SOLD IT TO SQUARE ENIX.
I think they saw that people only liked Spirit Tracks because of the Zelink implications, so the gods at Nintendo decided to make the fans cry tears of joy in the next game.
In short: ZELDA/LINK IS CANON (well, in this game anyway) AND I LOVE NINTENDO FOR IT.
Other plot-y stuff I loved was seeing Link turn from this sort of lazy kid who was picked on in school and harbored a huge crush on Zelda to a MOTHERFUCKING BADASS. Double points since usually every Link takes a level in badass when they get the Master Sword, but this Link MADE THE MASTER SWORD. (and you get a ncie power boost every time you upgrade the sword until its the full-fledged Master Sword, so that is cool). It explains why every Link must get the Master Sword--because the sword recognizes him as its master, so its kind of a destiny/you are now a true hero thing.
Also, we are used to every Link either being born having the Triforce of Courage or gaining it in some way. And by that I mean its kind of inside Link, so you never really set it unless its Wind Waker where you have to pay like 5000 rupees so you can travel over the ridiculously large world map and dig it up.
BUT IN THIS GAME YOU DON'T JUST GET THE TRIFORCE OF COURAGE. YOU GET THE ENTIRE TRIFORCE. ALL THREE PIECES. YOU COLLECT THEM LIKE ANYTHING ELSE.
AND THEN YOU PUT IT TOGETHER AND USE THAT THING.
I had to pick my jaw off the floor after that. THE TRIFORCE. IN MY HANDS. AND I GET TO USE IT. FUCK YEAH.
One thing that bothered me though, is right after you use the Triforce, it just kind of floats there for the rest of the game. SERIOUSLY? I was so nervous about that--I kept expecting Ganondorf (I don't care if he doesn't exist yet) to swoop down from nowhere and nab that thing.
But nothing really worrying happens to it and it still floats there even as the final boss fight is about to happen. Its still there in the epilogue, making me wonder how exactly Zelda and Link went about putting it in the Sacred Realm, since its there in Ocarina.
Magic Harp + Goddess Powers and a bit of A Wizard Did It, I guess.
I was kind of disappointed by the final boss fight, though. After using ALL MY POTIONS and being left with only 3 hearts after the final Ghiriham fight, I was expecting more. I only used 3 (or two in a half, since all my bottles were filled with 2 servings of full-heart potion) potions and the fight only had two modes. :| The end of the fight was cool because LIGHTNING SWORD HELL YEAH but still...
I was expecting Ganondorf to pop out of nowhere up until the end though, because THIS IS A ZELDA GAME. But he doesn't quite do that, expect Demise's final form kind of looks like Ganondorf. And then Demise curses Link and Zelda to be haunted by "a reincarnation of his hatred for all eternity" and then I understand. I still was hoping for Ganondorf to pop out from behind a column or something, JUST BECAUSE.
This game still doesn't explain the Hylian monarchy though. I was hoping this Zelda would become an actual princess by the end, but I guess not.
I'm also a bit confused about this whole Goddess Hylia business. I mean, we know about Din, Nayru and Faore, but Hylia is never mentioned in any of the games. I guess its possible that after it was clear that Hylia was reincarnated and had fulfilled her duty, that worship of her died out, but its still weird when no one in Skyloft ever mentions the OTHER goddesses of Hyrule or the fact that, despite the Triforce behing hidden in Skyloft, no one seems to have heard of it.
I guess it might have to do with Hylia MAKING Skyloft as opposed to the goddesses, but idk.
I do like that once you beat the game, you unlock hero mode, which doubles all enemies attacks and health, since I didn't die nearly as much as I should have once I got the hang of the sword controls. I suppose it'll be fun on future playthroughs.
For now though, I have to say that I LOVED IT (mostly because of Link/Zelda, but the AWESOMENESS of some of the boss fights and the plot plays a part in that) and recommend it to anyone with a Wii to get. (Make sure you have a Wii Motion Plus before you get it though).
At first glance, I wasn't sure where this game was heading. It had a teenage Link, but had cel-shaed graphics like Wind Waker. The combination of these two things equals a lot of "ERROR. DOES NOT COMPUTE"
Though once you play the game, its clear that the graphics aren't at all like Wind Waker's. In WW, the cel graphics went for an obviously cartoony feel, whereas in Skyward Sword, Miyamato has said that it was made to look like an impressionist painting--and if you look from a distance into any of the areas in the game, you can see it. Miayamato also said they went for it because it made seeing enemy swords easier and--when playing a game where WHERE you land a strike is everything, that is crucial. I warmed up to the graphics in the end, at least.
And now, for the controls. I was skeptical about a Wii Zelda game (Even my Twilight Princess is a Gamecube copy) because HOW DO YOU PLAY AN RPG WITH A FUCKING WIIMOTE?) Well, SS showed us. You use the Wiimote a lot, but not as much as it says you need to (in places where they say "use the Wiimote to select an option!" you can actually use the control stick instead. Plus, because of the gyro controls on the Wii Motion Plus, you don't even need to bother pointing it at the screen most of the time. I was able to aim and shoot things while keeping the Wiimote in my lap like an actual controller, just by moving it slightly.
But the highlight of the controls is obviously the swordplay. Unlike most Zelda games, where fighting a creature is just figuring out what to use to kill it (usually you can use bombs, bow, hookshot/clawshot, slingshot, whip, other equipment, etc) and the equipment does harm them, in SS, they only things you can use to kill other things are your 1. sword, 2. bombs, 3. bow.
That's it. :| And you don't get the bow until NEAR THE END OF THE GAME, so you're stuck hacking things to death. This makes the game a bit harder in that you don't just slash and it dies--you have to THINK about how you slash. Moblin blocking horozontally? Don't hit it vertically. and vice versa. They can deflect your attacks depending on which ANGLE you hit it--which makes for many bosses (including the final boss) not just a "wail on it until it dies" but a puzzle in it self until you get the pattern of hits right. I, like many people, failed tremendously at this in the first get go, so used to just hitting things that I wasn't thinking about HOW to hit them. Near the end of the game, its a piece of cake, though.
So, in this game truely, you get to grow WITH Link in learning how to use a sword. By the time you get to the end of the game, to that segment where you fight HUNDREDS of moblins, they didn't tone down the number of hits it takes to kill them--no, at this point, because of how you learned to take them out, you can 1-shot kill all of them with ease.
And then there are the bosses. The game subverts the usual "use the thing you got in the dungeon to kill the boss" a couple of times (because honestly, a lot of the equipment you get in the game is FREAKING USELESS for killing things) in favor of "lets have a dramatic swordfight!" in which learning which way to slash is key. So yes, the whole gameplay element was dramatically different from all Zelda titles, but I have to say, after beating down a villian with nothing but sword skills and slashes that you, the player, did, IT FEELS AWESOME.
One thing I also love about the game is the ability to have dialogue options for Link -- You can make him polite, but respectful, have a one track mind for Zelda (what I usually did) or--humorously--have him be a deadpan snarker. You can't make him be a bastard with dialogue options though--when Zelda asks Link to wake her up from magical sleep, you can't say "No", you just get 3 variations of yes.
And now, for the storyline. Again, when I first heard it was a prequel, I was all "BUT OCARINA IS THE FIRST GAME--WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY" But this game explains a lot of things that Ocarina failed to explain. The origin of the Master Sword is the most obvious. And where the Temple of Time came from. Or who the Sheikah are. Or why Link and Zelda keep running into Ganondorf...etc.
But the storyline had me from the get-go because LINK AND ZELDA IS FREAKING CANON. <3 <3 <3. Or mostly canon, since nothing is ever explicitly stated, but its THERE. Even from the beginning, its obvious that Link and Zelda have the respective hots for each other. "her shawl smells nice" indeed, Link. Then there's the time when Zelda wakes up from her magical coma and Link catches her--and we are treated to a frame where he's clearly hugging her dearly. And then they hold hands. And then there's the ending where Link agrees to stay with Zelda on the surface together and--UGH. MIYAMATO, I WOULD GIVE YOU MY SOUL IF I HADN'T ALREADY SOLD IT TO SQUARE ENIX.
I think they saw that people only liked Spirit Tracks because of the Zelink implications, so the gods at Nintendo decided to make the fans cry tears of joy in the next game.
In short: ZELDA/LINK IS CANON (well, in this game anyway) AND I LOVE NINTENDO FOR IT.
Other plot-y stuff I loved was seeing Link turn from this sort of lazy kid who was picked on in school and harbored a huge crush on Zelda to a MOTHERFUCKING BADASS. Double points since usually every Link takes a level in badass when they get the Master Sword, but this Link MADE THE MASTER SWORD. (and you get a ncie power boost every time you upgrade the sword until its the full-fledged Master Sword, so that is cool). It explains why every Link must get the Master Sword--because the sword recognizes him as its master, so its kind of a destiny/you are now a true hero thing.
Also, we are used to every Link either being born having the Triforce of Courage or gaining it in some way. And by that I mean its kind of inside Link, so you never really set it unless its Wind Waker where you have to pay like 5000 rupees so you can travel over the ridiculously large world map and dig it up.
BUT IN THIS GAME YOU DON'T JUST GET THE TRIFORCE OF COURAGE. YOU GET THE ENTIRE TRIFORCE. ALL THREE PIECES. YOU COLLECT THEM LIKE ANYTHING ELSE.
AND THEN YOU PUT IT TOGETHER AND USE THAT THING.
I had to pick my jaw off the floor after that. THE TRIFORCE. IN MY HANDS. AND I GET TO USE IT. FUCK YEAH.
One thing that bothered me though, is right after you use the Triforce, it just kind of floats there for the rest of the game. SERIOUSLY? I was so nervous about that--I kept expecting Ganondorf (I don't care if he doesn't exist yet) to swoop down from nowhere and nab that thing.
But nothing really worrying happens to it and it still floats there even as the final boss fight is about to happen. Its still there in the epilogue, making me wonder how exactly Zelda and Link went about putting it in the Sacred Realm, since its there in Ocarina.
Magic Harp + Goddess Powers and a bit of A Wizard Did It, I guess.
I was kind of disappointed by the final boss fight, though. After using ALL MY POTIONS and being left with only 3 hearts after the final Ghiriham fight, I was expecting more. I only used 3 (or two in a half, since all my bottles were filled with 2 servings of full-heart potion) potions and the fight only had two modes. :| The end of the fight was cool because LIGHTNING SWORD HELL YEAH but still...
I was expecting Ganondorf to pop out of nowhere up until the end though, because THIS IS A ZELDA GAME. But he doesn't quite do that, expect Demise's final form kind of looks like Ganondorf. And then Demise curses Link and Zelda to be haunted by "a reincarnation of his hatred for all eternity" and then I understand. I still was hoping for Ganondorf to pop out from behind a column or something, JUST BECAUSE.
This game still doesn't explain the Hylian monarchy though. I was hoping this Zelda would become an actual princess by the end, but I guess not.
I'm also a bit confused about this whole Goddess Hylia business. I mean, we know about Din, Nayru and Faore, but Hylia is never mentioned in any of the games. I guess its possible that after it was clear that Hylia was reincarnated and had fulfilled her duty, that worship of her died out, but its still weird when no one in Skyloft ever mentions the OTHER goddesses of Hyrule or the fact that, despite the Triforce behing hidden in Skyloft, no one seems to have heard of it.
I guess it might have to do with Hylia MAKING Skyloft as opposed to the goddesses, but idk.
I do like that once you beat the game, you unlock hero mode, which doubles all enemies attacks and health, since I didn't die nearly as much as I should have once I got the hang of the sword controls. I suppose it'll be fun on future playthroughs.
For now though, I have to say that I LOVED IT (mostly because of Link/Zelda, but the AWESOMENESS of some of the boss fights and the plot plays a part in that) and recommend it to anyone with a Wii to get. (Make sure you have a Wii Motion Plus before you get it though).