The Legend Of Zelda

[PowerMiner]

For 3D games, I'm tied between Skyward Sword, Wind Waker, and Ocarina of Time.For top down (Or adventure of Link) I'd say A Link to the past is the best, Second... Either the first one or Link's Awakening.I actually just bought ALttp a few days ago... And why does the sound when I get a rupee sound SO FAMILIAR? WHY? Is this game A Link to MY Past? ~PowerMiner~

[-Whiplash-]

can someone explain exactly what makes skyward sword your favorite?Cause I just do not see it. At all.

[Freddy Mallins]

I don't work in favorites - I work in the other direction, having least favorites, because almost all of the games are appealing to me.That being said, my least favorite definitely have to be Zelda II: Adventure of Link, Zelda, and Majora's Mask.Unfortunately, I have yet to play a good majority of the portable games, such as the Oracles, the Four Swords, and Link's Awakening, but I'm sure they're alright.

[PowerMiner]

Whiplash, I liked it a lot because of the suspenseful story, interesting enviroments, fun gameplay, cool puzzles, and the enemies and bosses.Okay guys, two more mysterious Zelda questions which hopefully can be explained:

In "The Wind Waker", who is this person who did a magical dance to change day and night so the Dancing guy at Windfall island trys to figure it out? I used to think that it was Ocarina of Time Link who did that dance when I hadn't played the games much.. XDIn "A Link to the Past", why are the Hylian race refferred to as the Hylia? For this I'm assuming it was lost over Ganondorf's reign of terror, before he was sealed up in "The Sacred realm", or should I say, "The Dark World"

[Tilius]

can someone explain exactly what makes skyward sword your favorite?Cause I just do not see it. At all.

Gotta agree with this. It's really nothing special, and is really just more of the same. It doesn't keep up with the big games on other consoles in terms of doing something new, and is all very small scale with loads of backtracking and artificial lengthening (a good example being guiding the robot up to the top of Eldin Volcano). The only big area is the sky, which is just a bland copy of the Wind Waker's sailing sections only with terrible controls. And most of the sword controls worked on a 'omg it's doing what im doing' level, but ended up frustrating (for example, you more your hand to the left in preparation for a right slash, and it registers as a left slash.). And the shield controls should've stayed button-based, jabbing the nunchuck forwards usually doesn't register, or gets 'overridden' by whatever you're doing with the sword.That said, it's got a few redeeming features. Ghirihim is cool, as was the timeshift stone mechanic, and the final dungeon. The story was alright, too. I'm probably being too harsh. SS is a good game - not a great one, and not one that replaces OoT as the widely regarded best Zelda game. It's nowhere near as revolutionary as that was, and is far more likely to be forgotten in gaming history in a few years. But it was fun, with nice moments and nice areas and it looked alright and the story was okay. But certainly not the best Zelda game ever (or, as some claim, BEST GAME EVER), in my opinion (obviously).Seriously, the next game needs to shake off OoT and not try to just replicate that yet again. Overhaul the whole thing.

suspenseful story, interesting enviroments, fun gameplay, cool puzzles, and the enemies and bosses.

Environments become less interesting when they're revisted so many times, and especially when they're basically a linear path with no room for exploration. Gameplay was usually frustrating, at least for me, particularly when flying (because you're tilting the remote to steer but then also shaking it to flap, which doesn't really work too well). Puzzles were generally alright, usual Zelda basics mostly, though the last dungeon is good and so is the timestone dungeon I mentioned. Enemies were mreh, not too memorable, and a bit unnatural, just holding up their swords so you have to swing at the opposite side. Bosses again were generally standard, and still have the LOOK AT THE OBVIOUS WEAK POINTS AND HIT IT formula going.- Tilius Edited December 31, 2011 by Tilius

[BBBBalta]

Well now...First off, there's the story, which is a lot deeper and more complex than any other Zelda story. It's more interesting overall.Second, the gameplay, for me anyway, perfects everything you loved about the gameplay from previous Zelda titles, while taking away everything that annoyed you. The motion controls are intuitive and easy to use, as well. Not to mention the massive amount of content in the game, as well as the fact that your items are put to use throughout the game as opposed to only being used for their specific dungeons.And overall, most of the stuff in the game just leaves me amazed, thinking, That was so flipping awesome! Especially stuff involving Silent Realms and Timeshift Crystals. And Koloktos.

[Tilius]

Well now...First off, there's the story, which is a lot deeper and more complex than any other Zelda story. It's more interesting overall.Second, the gameplay, for me anyway, perfects everything you loved about the gameplay from previous Zelda titles, while taking away everything that annoyed you. The motion controls are intuitive and easy to use, as well.Not to mention the massive amount of content in the game, as well as the fact that your items are put to use throughout the game as opposed to only being used for their specific dungeons.And overall, most of the stuff in the game just leaves me amazed, thinking, That was so flipping awesome! Especially stuff involving Silent Realms and Timeshift Crystals. And Koloktos.

The story doesn't really beat OoT's story, and didn't really seem too complicated or deep. Pretty basic, actually. Also I'm not sure how 'go collect this, and this, and this, now prove yourself to me, me and me etc' is good storytelling. 'Cause story goes beyond just what the cutscenes tell you, and the story between the cutscenes sucked. Not sure how the controls are an improvement, but mreh. And I forgot to mention, when trying to select items during a battle it's ruddy frustrating, as it is when you want to press B for a bomb, but it opens up the item select screen and you end up with a bow and arrow. Also, it's more natural to press B again to fire stuff than having to press A - A should send you back through the menus. It's just so clunky and awkward and annoying. And there's really very little content in the game - a few fetch quests, and the same three areas revisted over and over. WW had far more content. There were also far fewer WOW moments for me, too. It was mainly 'ah, quite cool' moments. And I'm not sure why Silent Realms jump out as awesome moments, because to me they were just collect-em-ups to artificially lengthen the game. Looked nice, and were a nice change I suppose, but mreh. Also already been done in previous Zelda games, too. The whole game was just so formulaic, doing the same thing three times in each of the different worlds.Just to ask, do you often play games on other consoles as well? 360, PS3 etc? I just ask because I probably would've thought SS was amazing, but in the last couple of years I've played things like Mass Effect 1 and 2, Assassin's Creed, Fallout 3, Skyrim, Portal 2, Arkham City etc. That'd probably be why you think the amount of content in SS is 'huge', when there are games like Skyrim, Fallout and Mass Effect 2 that have about a hundred times the content of SS. And I'm not even really exaggurating with that. And it's not like SS will ever get DLC because Nintendo are so, so behind in that respect. In the context of the overall games market SS isn't great. In the context of the Wii, though, it's the best game of the last year. So I just wonder. - Tilius Edited December 31, 2011 by Tilius

[-Whiplash-]

Well now...First off, there's the story, which is a lot deeper and more complex than any other Zelda story. It's more interesting overall.

IDK.... A lot of it felt like WW. But yeah okay.

Second, the gameplay, for me anyway, perfects everything you loved about the gameplay from previous Zelda titles, while taking away everything that annoyed you. The motion controls are intuitive and easy to use, as well.

I hated the motion controls with a passion it made stuff, (like SWIMMING) and flying far more difficult then they had to. Also: What the heck annoyed you about the other zelda's gameplay?

Not to mention the massive amount of content in the game, as well as the fact that your items are put to use throughout the game as opposed to only being used for their specific dungeons.

The are no optional items (and by that, I mean like the medallions in ALTTP, fierce deity's mask in MM, the shield in WW) Medallians don't count cause you can't use them. I'm pretty sure this game has less heart peices then TP, OOT, WW, MM and had as many as ALTTP, (which also had more dungeons.) and the overworld feels extremely small, considering there are NO hidden places at all. And the whip and claws were both only used in one or two dungeons. Okay TBH those two previously mentioned things killed this game for me. That and pretty much every enemy in the game was lame.EDIT: I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING TILUS SAID. Edited December 31, 2011 by -Whiplash-

[Freddy Mallins]

Guys, let's just remember that it's just personal opinion whether or not SS was a good or bad game...if you feel that it was good, then great, that's your opinion; if you disagree, that's great too, that's still your opinion.Just wanted to throw that out there before a flame war starts or something.

[Tilius]

Guys, let's just remember that it's just personal opinion whether or not SS was a good or bad game...if you feel that it was good, then great, that's your opinion; if you disagree, that's great too, that's still your opinion.Just wanted to throw that out there before a flame war starts or something.

Discussion does not equal a flame war.I swear, everytime anyone starts to actually discuss something on here, someone comes along saying CALM DOWN FLAME WAR even when it clearly isn't, and is clearly just discussion.- Tilius

[BBBBalta]

Well, let me be clear that I certainly don't disagree with anything either of you said; you make some pretty compelling points. (In particular, I, too, thought that the overworld was rather poorly done). Overall, really, it just comes down to how the individual weighs the good and bad points in terms of the game as a whole. As Tom Mc. Israel said, it's just a matter of opinion. You asked why I liked SS better than other Zeldas, I told you, you told me why you don't like it better than other Zeldas, so now my part in this conversation is done. Probably. :PAlso, Tilius, to answer your question, I don't own any non-Nintendo systems, mainly for two reasons: 1) Purchasing one would put a considerable dent in my savings, and 2) Most of the best games for those systems, like the ones you mentioned, are rated M, so my parents wouldn't let me play them. Someday...

Edited December 31, 2011 by Toa Balta #3

[Tilius]

Well, let me be clear that I certainly don't disagree with anything either of you said; you make some pretty compelling points. (In particular, I, too, thought that the overworld was rather poorly done). Overall, really, it just comes down to how the individual weighs the good and bad points in terms of the game as a whole. As Tom Mc. Israel said, it's just a matter of opinion. You asked why I liked SS better than other Zeldas, I told you, you told me why you don't like it better than other Zeldas, so now my part in this conversation is done. Probably.

That approach doesn't really encourage discussion....

Also, Tilius, to answer your question, I don't own any non-Nintendo systems, mainly for two reasons: 1) Purchasing one would put a considerable dent in my savings, and 2) Most of the best games for those systems, like the ones you mentioned, are rated M, so my parents wouldn't let me play them. Someday...

Okay. Well. Saying things like 'it has a huge amount of content' is probably a bad idea, 'cause that's a statement that is (or should be) in relation to other games. And in relation to other games, SS has a shockingly tiny amount of content.This is part of the reason why I want Nintendo to catch up with the BIG DAWGS. So then their games will properly BLOW YOUR MIND, rather than only blowing your mind in the context of the Wii, one of the worst consoles of all time. - Tilius Edited December 31, 2011 by Tilius

[-Whiplash-]

Okay. Well. Saying things like 'it has a huge amount of content' is probably a bad idea, 'cause that's a statement that is (or should be) in relation to other games. And in relation to other games, SS has a shockingly tiny amount of content.- Tilius

Heck, I'd say in relation to TP SS has less content. I really want a next gen zelda game with a grphical style like TP. that'd be awsome.Though what I really want is a ALTTP 3d remake.

This is part of the reason why I want Nintendo to catch up with the BIG DAWGS. So then their games will properly BLOW YOUR MIND, rather than only blowing your mind in the context of the Wii, one of the worst consoles of all time

Though you know, the wii has sold more then both the PS3 and 360..... so it wasa good idea, from a business standpoint.

[Tilius]

Though you know, the wii has sold more then both the PS3 and 360..... so it wasa good idea, from a business standpoint.

Well yeah, of course I mean it's the worst in terms of what makes a console good, rather than being the worst in terms of MONEY MONEY MONEY.- Tilius

[WriterofReapers]

I never had any problems with the controls, and since I don't hate motion controls with a passion, I was able to enjoy the use of them in the game. Although, I will say that everybody talking about "lag" amuses me somehow. Every time I hear that argument, I think, "Well, yeah. You are swinging around a little remote, Link is swinging a sword almost as long as he is (by the end of the game, of course. )."As for the story, I felt a lot more involved in it than with the majority of TP. The only time in that game I actually cared for the characters in it was when Midna was dying. Similar to WW, I actually wanted to save Zelda (although in WW's case it was Aryll who needed to be saved). That isn't to say it has a better story than some of the past games, but I was able to get involved in it. At the end of the day, isn't that the point of a story? Each one of us probably has different preferences when it comes to stories, and no story will be able to appeal to all of us. Certain parts might, but never the entire thing. That's my personaly opinion, of course. :DGuys, this is the Legend of Zelda topic. Discuss the games, but let's please not get into a console debate.

[PowerMiner]

Whiplash, I liked it a lot because of the suspenseful story, interesting enviroments, fun gameplay, cool puzzles, and the enemies and bosses.Okay guys, two more mysterious Zelda questions which hopefully can be explained:

In "The Wind Waker", who is this person who did a magical dance to change day and night so the Dancing guy at Windfall island trys to figure it out? I used to think that it was Ocarina of Time Link who did that dance when I hadn't played the games much.. XDIn "A Link to the Past", why are the Hylian race refferred to as the Hylia? For this I'm assuming it was lost over Ganondorf's reign of terror, before he was sealed up in "The Sacred realm", or should I say, "The Dark World"

 

Anyone gonna answer this? Wind Waker was probably one of my favorites since it was my second LoZ game ever. First being Spirit Tracks.. Then Phantom Hourglass.. Four Swords Adventures.. Until I got into the EPIC stuff like Twilight Princess, and such.Can we all agree that the worst aspect of Zelda is fishing? Twilight Princess fishing is IMPOSSIBLE. It held me up for like two hours trying to get that red fish at Zora's River..~PowerMiner~

[BenLuke]

I like Skyward Sword because combat is actually challenging for once. And the fact that the overworld is more interesting then, say, Twilight Princesses or Wind Waker.

Can we all agree that the worst aspect of Zelda is fishing? Twilight Princess fishing is IMPOSSIBLE. It held me up for like two hours trying to get that red fish at Zora's River..

Don't remember it being that much trouble for me. I agree, though, video game fishing is almost always annoying,

[Tilius]

And the fact that the overworld is more interesting then, say, Twilight Princesses or Wind Waker.

Er, how? It's just three completely seperated areas which all pretty much have a linear path, plus a sky with about three islands on it, which is like a sky version of the WW overworld but with fewer islands, so how is it more interesting?- Tilius

[BenLuke]

Er, how? It's just three completely seperated areas which all pretty much have a linear path, plus a sky with about three islands on it, which is like a sky version of the WW overworld but with fewer islands, so how is it more interesting?- Tilius

The SS overworld is smaller so you don't need teleportation to get places quickly like in TW and WW. The linear areas at least have a variety of enemies types and terrain.

[BBBBalta]

While there are some cool diversions from the basic theme of each area, Lanayru Sand Sea being my personal favorite, these sub-areas have so much unused potential...and there aren't many of them either - Lake Floria and maybe Lanayru Gorge are the only others I can think of.Also, just beat Dungeon 7 (Sky Keep). The cutscene that followed really drove home my belief that Zelda should have voice acting, to a certain extent anyway.

Well, now I know how to kill an annoying demon that's been sealed in a pit for thousands of years: drop a floating island on its head! Why didn't I think of that sooner?

[Tilius]

Er, how? It's just three completely seperated areas which all pretty much have a linear path, plus a sky with about three islands on it, which is like a sky version of the WW overworld but with fewer islands, so how is it more interesting?- Tilius

The SS overworld is smaller so you don't need teleportation to get places quickly like in TW and WW. The linear areas at least have a variety of enemies types and terrain.

Not sure how smaller makes it more interesting, and there are only a handful of different enemies in SS. But alright.- Tilius

[PowerMiner]

Okay... so the old man in Alttp in the desert calls them Hylian now.. This is getting more and more confusing.. ~PowerMiner~

[Blessed Blade]

Power Miner: Wind Waker Weird Guy: It might just be something lost in time that has no importance at all. =P ... That, or, like the Triforce, it all got mangled in translation and between them moving, and it's actually a song(Especially given that you have to play a song, not dance. =P).LttP Hylians: It might just be the weird translation style of the time. =P Playing through again, I'm noticing a slight bit of engrish(Not Prince Darkness 'Gannon' style, but still a bit. =P), but for the most part it looks good enough. 'The Hylia' might just be either another way to refer to the Hylians, or they changed their mind about the translation method for 'Hylians' mid-way through translating the game. =P Or, it could refer to the Hylians' ancient ancestors... Which makes even more sense now that we have Skyward Sword, for obvious reasons.Tilius/whole 'overworld' debate: Let's settle this finally. Sky: OVERWORLD. Three Divided Areas: 'Sub/Pre-Dungeons', in a way. Not the overworld, but not the 'underworld'/dungeons. Each Temple: Dungeons, plain and simple.Will they probably blur the lines even more for the next game? More than likely. Was this really what they meant? Maybe not in the dramatic fashion they were saying, but yes.There's an interview with Aonuma in the latest Nintendo Power(Well, err, the December issue). He confirms things like what I said at first about the overworld and such. The sky's the overworld, like it or not. Could it have had more? Sure it could have. Was there room? I'm honestly not sure. Might've been.

[Tilius]

Tilius/whole 'overworld' debate: Let's settle this finally. Sky: OVERWORLD. Three Divided Areas: 'Sub/Pre-Dungeons', in a way. Not the overworld, but not the 'underworld'/dungeons. Each Temple: Dungeons, plain and simple.

So you're basically backing up what I say, since the overworld is even smaller, blander and rubbisher than I previously thought it was. - Tilius

[Blessed Blade]

Not totally. Sure, the literal overworld is basic, and I definitely agree that it could have been done better(There should've been at least more islands that were populated. =P Maybe have more of a residential district on Skyloft, and have the bazaar and such on the other islands, or even have the Knight Academy be separate.)... However, my point was that the surface is more of an 'in between'. It's not the overworld, so it doesn't necessarily need to be huge; but it's not the dungeons.Would it have been nice to have a bigger overworld? Maybe. Should it have been Wind Waker-sized? No, that would have been too much, with no warps. Even with the charges and speed boosts. xDShould the surface have been linked? Absolutely. Does it truly matter? Not really... It all seems to flow normally for me, and the few sequences where flow is altered does seem a little forced, but that's not often enough to really be a concern, IMO.

[Tilius]

Well, for me the divisions of the 'surface not-dungeon-not-overworld' parts made the game overly linear and it just didn't feel natural. And it just didn't fit the Zelda series. It'd be like having a Zelda game with a Mario 64 set up, jumping into paintings and completing a pretty linear level multiple times. Infact, that's basically what SS was....- Tilius

[Blessed Blade]

Well, I believe it was an experimental thing. They tried to blur the lines a little, and it was very cool the way it worked out(It's been a long while since I've seen provinces swarming with enemies, and that was one thing this did so well, that the other 3D games, in fact, didn't.). Was it perfect? Maybe not. Should it have been linked, and have an actual central surface location? Sure, but, it might've lost the whole 'Hyrule is populated by monsters' feel that it had on the Surface Areas.I do understand where you're coming from with the Mario 64 reference, I see it too, now that you bring it up. xD But I do feel it did things better than the other 3D games. Maybe not perfectly, but better.My idea of a perfect game? The tons of dungeons from Link To The Past; similar exploration requirements as Minish Cap, Majora's Mask, Ocarina(To an extent, that was more of a 'find the bug' exploration), and even Link To The Past; a mix of the combat system from Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword, with the sword movement stuff handled with a Right Analog Stick; bosses that aren't pushovers, that make you think, but also don't really require tons of skills, kinda like Link To The Past...... Actually... Just give me Link To The Past in a 3D style. xDAnd before anyone says 'it can't work!', it can. Skyward Sword and Ocarina have actually shown that before. Camera pans might be hated for cutscenes; but there's no reason that the camera couldn't pan upwards for stuff like a block puzzle that would only work in a top-down perspective. If Nintendo really wanted to do it, they could certainly update Link To The Past to fit 3D... However; I would not want things changed, aside from things like between the SNES and GBA versions, say. Like, fixing up translations, and such. But not altering everything to be Ocarina V12 Dungeons.

[BBBBalta]

Finishing up as many sidequests as I can find before entering the final battle.

I've got all the goddess cubes, all the gratitude crystals, everything on the treasure/bugs screen, 19 hearts when using both heart medals, Hylian shield, all upgrades for the bow, net, beetle, and slingshot, wallet can hold 9900 Rupees (all extra wallets bought from Beedle, I think, plus any in goddess cube chests). Still need to finish up the goddess wall thing for the Goron, who wants me to draw a circle, which the wall registers as a heart rather than a bomb. I can only think of two things I'm missing, a heart container and an extra wallet.Is there a piece of heart in every dungeon? And there is another extra wallet, right? Anything else I'm missing? (Just yes or no would be fine; don't tell me what).

[Blessed Blade]

I don't think there's another wallet, but there's another heart somewhere. =P How many have you gotten? I don't know if there's a heart in every dungeon; but there's a lot of them. I think that looks good, though.

[BBBBalta]

Well, I've gotten nine extra wallets and..let's see, nineteen hearts minus two (medals) minus six (start) minus six (from bosses) equals five hearts, times four equals twenty pieces of heart total.

[PowerMiner]

I couldn't seem to find the last of the side-quests... before I deserted my old file for hero mode..

~PowerMiner~

[-Whiplash-]

I would also like 3d ALTTP. Fave Zelda game.Can beat it in like 3 hours.

[BBBBalta]

Skyward Sword officially beaten.

[~kh]

Oh cool, discussion of favorite games.Yeah, I'm going to say here that I completed Skyward Sword and it honestly does stand as my favorite. I didn't have a lot of problems with the motion controls as I guess a lot of people here had (and I didn't really find the swimming or flying intrusive; once I got the hang of it, to me it felt perfectly natural), the dungeon designs I felt were very well done (especially the amount of work taken to eliminate backtracking) and the added functionality, such as the dash/stamina meter and weapon upgrades, really added an incentive to backtrack.But what really cinched it for me was the characters. I was originally going to say the story, but looking back, the story isn't too far different from the previous Legend of Zelda games. Its really the characters that made the story that much interesting.(Note: I'm going to put the rest of this in spoiler tags; I don't think a lot of it will be spoilers, save for maybe the end, but I'd hate it if something was spoiled for me by this topic, so its only common courtesy to make sure the same doesn't happen to someone else).

You have Zelda, who stands in my opinion as my favorite version of the character yet. Yes, she's a little flighty, but she does have a lot of character in this one. I actually wanted to save her this time, the first time a Zelda game has really made me want to do so. You have Impa, another character that I didn't really care for in the other games, who became significantly more, well, "awesome" (the word that accurately describes her would be censored, but you get my meaning there). Groose starts off as sort of a traditional bully character, but he also is truly and honestly heartbroken at Zelda's disappearance, and even went so far as to actually do something about it, thereby achieving his destiny (and am I the only one that sees him growing up to become that old man that tells Link that "Its a secret to everybody" in the original Legend of Zelda?). Even Fi, the traditional "guide" character, was better than any of the other guides in my opinion. Navi was an annoyance, and Midna was quite "bossy", for lack of a better word, in her commands. I never got accustomed or attached to either of them. But I really liked how Fi was portrayed. Even though she had her share of "Captain Obvious" moments, I didn't mind them as much and felt that they were fewer in between. That, and she also did offer some actual useful information several times.And Link finally got a bit more expounded on his character. Nintendo did a good job not completely ruining the "player connection" with the character, but still giving him a bit of development. I like how, at the beginning, his character is portrayed as often late and lazy. It is also heavily implied that he didn't have the courage to ask Zelda out, even though she clearly wanted it to happen. It does come into good play when Impa scolds Link for not being there on time to save Zelda. I honestly felt bad for every moment I spent goofing off in the dungeon, or not paying attention to where I was supposed to do. Coupled with the fact that this Zelda was interesting enough for me to want to save, that made the scolding all the worse. Yes, I knew at the back of my mind that this was all scripted and there was nothing I could really do not to get that message, but it was the combination of all those facts that made it actually meaningful. That, and boy was it refreshing to see that after Twilight Princess just heaped on you with all the "You're so brave!" and "I want to grow up to be just like you!".The villagers were also pretty well defined. The people at the shops in the bazaar weren't just normal NPCs, they all had backstory and purpose and personality. Pretty much all of them had some sort of sidequest connected to them, each dealing with some aspect of their character (the Item Clerk Girl's love life, the Potion Shop man's child not sleeping, the Weapon/Item Upgrading man's ancestral robot, and even though its not technically a sidequest, the Item Shop man's differencing personality when he wasn't in the shop anymore). Same with the Knight Academy. The others were also pretty good as well; in the very least, they were memorable. I could easily tell all of them apart save for the two teachers at the Knight Academy who I swear are just pallet swaps with one another.And, of course, the villain. Ghirahm (spl?) is just...I can't really describe him. He's the most interesting villain I have ever seen to date, honestly. He's one of those characters you really need to see to believe, and any text I have here really can't do him justice. That, and Demise, who had a really awesome boss design, not going to lie. I disliked his "Imprisoned" moniker, as it looked like a B-Grade monster from a 1950' sci-fi film to me, but he really did look imposing and just "awesome" (again, not the most accurate word, but its the best I can do).Again, on the dungeons. I liked the design of each dungeon, and the fact that the overworld was in and of itself a dungeon, which in turn bled into the actual ones themselves. I liked the layout and the creativity, especially the puzzles involving the timeshift stones. The items were all well-used, and the last dungeon really stood out to me in terms of creativity.To expound on the controls, I honestly thought that they added so much more to the gameplay. The trick of it is positioning your sword before you strike; once I got that down, the swordfighting felt spot on. The motion controls weren't "tacked on" like in Twilight Princess, either. Pretty much everything you do involves it in some way, and I thought it all felt natural (again, flying and swimming didn't cause a lot of problems for me, although from the comments above I guess they did to several others).As far as the graphics go, I love them. Sure, there's a few grainy textures here and there, but I only really noticed them when I was crawling in first person mode. I admit that I had my doubts when the game was first announced, but when I actually started to play, my opinion changed. I love the look of the game, how the colors are so vibrant and expressive. I think it gives Zelda a more timeless approach. That being said, I really wouldn't mind if Zelda changed to that realistic style that the WiiU demo gave. I think this style fits this game well, however, sort of like how Wind Waker's cel-shaded style worked for that game.The game does have its flaws, of course. I really disliked the Silent Realms, although I know others liked it. They just were a bother to me and I never enjoyed any of them, save for perhaps Skyloft because by then I was really accustomed to the layout. Also, I never really felt like I was exploring a world. That's not to say that there was no exploration; on the contrary, there's a good amount of it in the levels. But I kept feeling that I was exploring an area, not a world. Wind Waker really nailed that part down, and I wish that this game had done the same. There were also a lot of fetch quests, though admittedly I didn't mind those too much. In my mind, I had given up about $70 for this game, so I wanted it to last as long as it could. Hero Mode was a nice addition, however.So yeah, basically, I love this game because all through playing it I felt more invested in it than I have in any other game in the franchise. The controls and the graphics were excellent and they were certainly factors in my decision, but it was the characters that really made me "go into" the game as a whole. Its why I list it as my favorite Zelda game: while the others were fantastic, they just didn't give me that same feeling. That's my take on it, at least. I can see why others would prefer the other games more, they're still some of the best games out there. I just enjoyed playing through this one better.

[Blessed Blade]

Kazi:

Here's who I believe the Imprisoned really is. =P That being said, I only thought that after the first release, because up 'til then, I thought it was a whale thing. >_>' But I do very much agree with that, all that. =)

[Tilius]

(especially the amount of work taken to eliminate backtracking)

Whaa? The whole game bases itself on backtracking to the same three locations several times. You might not backtrack in dungeons themselves, but in a general sense this game has the MOST backtracking of all the Zelda games.As for characters, I never got the appeal of Groose at all. Even though he ended up helping Link out, he remained the guy he was at the start in most other ways, still only wanting 'alone time' with Zelda. I also don't see how anyone could rate Fi higher than Midna. Fi is a generic 'I AM A ROBOT, BZZZT' character. Midna actually had personality. Fi only exists in the game as an easy way for you to progress the story. She doesn't have much of a role outside of helping along some really lazy storytelling. Zelda in SS wasn't bad, but doesn't really compare to Tetra (though, when she actually became Zelda all that personality went out the window. But before that, she was great).

As far as the graphics go, I love them. Sure, there's a few grainy textures here and there, but I only really noticed them when I was crawling in first person mode. I admit that I had my doubts when the game was first announced, but when I actually started to play, my opinion changed. I love the look of the game, how the colors are so vibrant and expressive. I think it gives Zelda a more timeless approach. That being said, I really wouldn't mind if Zelda changed to that realistic style that the WiiU demo gave. I think this style fits this game well, however, sort of like how Wind Waker's cel-shaded style worked for that game.

Still would've looked better in HD. And more up-to-date, but that's more a problem with the Wii just being shoddy.

That's not to say that there was no exploration; on the contrary, there's a good amount of it in the levels

Well, most of it was just a linear path.... Just to ask the same question I asked someone earlier - do you play 360 or PS3 as well? Just out of interest. From what I gather on this site, and a few others I've asked on, the people who really loved SS are the people who only really play Nintendo games. Obviously not a blanket rule, just a little interesting I thought.To be fair I can't really complain about SS - I managed to get it for a fifth of its price, with the remote and soundtrack with it, too. The soundtrack alone was worth it.- Tilius

[Blessed Blade]

Tilius:

In regards to Groose... You saw the saw ending I did, right? You know, the one where Groose goes back to Skyloft, but Link and Zelda stay on the surface? All of them willingly doing so?Also, as for the backtracking thing... Let's think:OoT: Start off in a forest; leave forest. Head back to forest, go deeper, leave. Head back to forest for multiple side-quests, leave forest. Become adult. Head back to forest again, leave forest. Go back for sidequests, leave again. And that's just one location. Need I remind you how much the Temple of Time is needed? About as much as Skyloft? =PMajora's Mask: ... Do I really have to say anything about this? You visit Clock Town like every two minutes, and in some cases have to back-track to places because you run out of times. Dungeons included. And Stone Tower is one huge backtracking place of a dungeon.Wind Waker: Technically you're backtracking to the ocean every time. =P </jk> But you do have some instances of back-tracking, but for the most part, the MASS amounts of islands solved that problem.Twilight Princess: Let's see here, not too much, but... Let's put it this way. You need to traverse a region at least twice, on each first visit. Maybe not for the later parts, but still. And even then, you have to go back some times to solve problems, or get to other places! I think I went to Zora's Domain like 4 times before the game was up... Story-wise alone. ._.' And sure, you might need to go to the Sealed Temple multiple times, but that's because it and Skyloft are the two main locations. And the place you drop an island on someone.And I need not mention the first few games; whose idea of 'progress' was going somewhere, dying, going back, dying, going back again, dying again, and on and on. Zelda II, I'm looking at you. =P Might have gotten better in LttP, but really... You are technically going to the same places multiple times... They've just been palette swapped so that they look darker and bleaker. =P But I do agree that it's not nearly as bad there, but it was still pretty open-ended there as well, and other things. Hence one reason I want a 3D version of LTTP, so long as it doesn't get messed up.(I might try my hand at it some time, if just rendering the environments and such. But that'd require a very powerful computer, at least in comparison to my current one. =/

[Tilius]

To be fair, I didn't say the other Zelda games had no backtracking. Alright, so maybe SS isn't the MOST backtracking Zelda game, but it's still there, in a gaming generation where that sort of thing has been killed off in most games.And about Groose, I just felt like there was something about him that made him easy to dislike, and made all his 'good guy' aspects seem quite false....- Tilius

Edited January 5, 2012 by Tilius

[Blessed Blade]

1. Touche. But that's true... But it hasn't been totally killed off... And it's prominence can be seen in a series that has as much appeal over in Japan as Pokemon does, if not more... *Glances over at Monster Hunter*2. Probably his epic hairstyle. xD Or his arrogance and general bully-like attitude at the beginning. And he stole a bird! But really, I think you could see a change in his attitude right from when his appearance in the game became more noticeable; when he realized it actually wasn't his destiny to save Zelda. And really, when someone makes a catapult that you use to fling yourself onto a monster that could destroy the world, that person suddenly becomes a little more awesome. =P And this should probably go in spoiler tags, but it's been a year since it released, so sue me. xP(Actually, don't. I would rather not be sued.) </2011/2012 new year joke>

[~kh]

@Tilius: I was referring to the dungeon layout when referring to the backtracking; this became extremely useful in the final dungeon, where due to the entire dungeon basically being a puzzle and and of itself, you had to backtrack through several rooms at a time, or at least, I remember having to do so.Tetra was another good character in her own right, but I honestly see her and Zelda as two different characters. I know that they canonically are, but Tetra's attitude and personality didn't seem to fit Zelda. And when she actually did become Zelda, like you said, the character and personality that made Tetra was discarded. She even looked different, with the lighter skin and the let down hair and all. And after you defeated Ganon, she "reverts" back to being Tetra. Its not so much that I wouldn't mind if a Zelda had a different character, but once she becomes Zelda, it felt like she becomes a completely different character. I don't know, I've always differentiated the two in my mind.And with Tetra being a better character than SS Zelda...I don't know. I enjoy both characters, and I feel they make for good characters in their own right. For me, however, I really liked how SS Zelda started out as a sort of Genki Girl, but throughout the adventure developed into a much more mature person overall, embodying the "wisdom" aspect of her part in the Triforce. I could see her progression more clearly and logically than Tetra's, who, like I said before, just sort of "became" Zelda and then reverted back in the end.I should probably clarify here: In my opinion, I see the archetypal Zelda most like the Zelda in Twilight Princess. Regal, powerful, but restrained and mature. She really does seem like the embodiment of wisdom and a ruler over her kingdom. Yes, there hardly was any interaction with TP Zelda in the game, and she far from stands from the most interesting Zelda in the series, but I felt she was the best representation of what Zelda was meant to become (again, with the "wisdom" motif), SS Zelda and Tetra both start as different characters, but set out to become that Zelda, because that is (at least, in my opinion) each Zelda's destiny. SS Zelda had the best progression into that, which was partly because she also had her own quest and responsibility to fulfill. You can start to see it when she wants to greet Link in the Fire Temple and stops, but it mostly comes into play in her talk with Link right before she puts herself in the "cocoon". She is more restrained and ready to trust that Link will do what he must and "wake" her, which is in stark contrast to her actions in the beginning, in which she doesn't trust that Link will win the chance to become a Knight and takes it upon herself to wake him up and get to training.tldr; SS Zelda's progression to "Wisdom" Zelda seemed less forced and more logical. With the knowledge of the responsibility she owed to the world, she became more mature as a result of that. Her character and her "end" character were much more similar in retrospect, and you could see how the circumstances changed her into becoming it. In contrast, while Tetra was a great and interesting character, the Zelda she became was more "out of the blue". Instead of natural progression, I always felt that "magic" had bestowed on her the character of Zelda, and when the magic ceased, she returned to being Tetra. Tetra and Zelda were very different in both personality, motive, character and other traits, and that's why I view SS Zelda as the better "Zelda".Like I said, the question of which character is better, Tetra or SS Zelda, is really debatable and I'll admit I'd have to think twice before giving and definite answer. But as to which is the better Zelda, my vote has to go to SS Zelda.As for Midna and Fi, well, I can see why people would prefer Midna over her. But I personally don't. I won't deny that Midna had character, but I honestly disliked that character. I didn't enjoy listening to her, or really cared much about her story. When the end came and she had to go back to the Twilight Realm, I didn't get any emotion or sense of sadness from the scene. This was just my personal opinion, as I know several other people actually enjoyed that character and if they did I can see why they would prefer her. But as for me, I'd much rather take Fi over Midna any day. I don't agree with those people who say Fi can't even compare to Navi, however. I think she at least deserves that position.As for other video games, I actually do play a lot of them, or as many as I can get.Anyhow, I'm sort of waiting a while for people to really get their true opinions on the game, including myself. With Zelda games, there's always a huge backlash against the current game, especially if it was just released. Wind Waker was probably the worst case with that, but Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask had their share too. It usually takes one or two more Zelda games to come out before people start looking at the previous one objectively; there's a lot more people now saying that WW or MM or TP was a great game then there was when it was released. Mind you, I'm not trying to say that everyone is going to "convert" into thinking that Skyward Sword was the best game in the series or even change their opinion at all; heck, even my opinion on the game could change soon in the next few months/years. But that's just usually how the general fanbase's approach to Zelda games usually go.Also, am I the only one that found it sort of disappointing that Link didn't place the Master Sword back down in the Temple of Time? Yes, I know that Faron Woods is where the Temple is in Twilight Princess, and yes, I know that its the most logical place to put it, what with the scenery and how the game ends all that. But it just irked me that they named one of the places the "Temple of TIme" in the game that's supposed to explain the origin of the Master Sword and not have Link place it there. I wished they would have named the Sealed Grounds' Temple (which I forget the name of) the Temple of Time, or just not have another place named the Temple of Time. Ah well.I would have really liked a grand choir-assisted rendition of the Temple of Time theme when Link put the sword into its pedestal, however. Missed moment of awesome there, Nintendo.On a completely unrelated note, that 25th Anniversary CD is boss, but man I wish they had done more songs, including more iconic ones. They didn't even have one devoted track to Zelda's Lullaby; they just spread bits of it here and there throughout the other tracks. Another missed moment of awesome was Nintendo not including that grand variation on the Lullaby at the end of the Twilight Princess suite in Skyward Sword, but that's another story. Still, it was a good inclusion nonetheless.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Kahi