Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Catch-All

It has a metacritic score, 98. 4 reviews are in, but you can't read them yet, though they quote them.

Gameinformer: It's the first 10 that I've ever given out in my two years at Game Informer.

Official Nintendo Magazine UK: It's not something we say lightly, but the Zelda series really has never been this good...[Skyward Sword is the] best Zelda game ever made.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/t...

I really need to stop waffling and decide if I need a 4th WiiMote or if I should just get the regular edition + motionplus dongle. Yay first world problems!

I was not planning to pick this up until later down the road, but the buzz and early reviews are making me strongly reconsider.

Well, I'm certainly looking forward to this.

Minarchist wrote:

Love the new avatar, Duoae.

Thanks!!

From the now-defunct Crashlander (formerly in EDGE)... :/

IUMogg wrote:

It has a metacritic score, 98. 4 reviews are in, but you can't read them yet, though they quote them.

Gameinformer: It's the first 10 that I've ever given out in my two years at Game Informer.

Official Nintendo Magazine UK: It's not something we say lightly, but the Zelda series really has never been this good...[Skyward Sword is the] best Zelda game ever made.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/t...

Oh man... I'm seriously trying hard not to get hyped about this game... I mean, no game can live up to hype, right? I don't want to ruin it!!!

Dyni wrote:

I was not planning to pick this up until later down the road, but the buzz and early reviews are making me strongly reconsider.

Early reviews tend to usually be extremely positive. I'm taking them all with a grain of salt.

gregrampage wrote:
Dyni wrote:

I was not planning to pick this up until later down the road, but the buzz and early reviews are making me strongly reconsider.

Early reviews tend to usually be extremely positive. I'm taking them all with a grain of salt.

True, but the Edge review in particular is the real reason I'm reevaluating. They don't tend to throw out those 10s (or those kind words) very often. Plus, I really like the concept of a hardcore motion-controlled game done right. The early footage and buzz had me thinking this wasn't going to be anything more than a gimmick. I'm willing to dive in headfirst if it does that stuff well.

Dyni:

Red Steel 2 is a hardcore sword-fighting game done right. Edge makes a mistake in implying that Skyward Sword would be the first game that gets it right. Red Steel 2 was able to do it, and it had a wider array of moves than Batman Arkham Asylum. The only real negatives to it are the short length and the monotony of gameplay (it's only ever a shooter or a brawler; very little other game elements), which actually makes the short length something of a blessing in disguise.

Zelda's battle mechanics look to actually be simpler than Red Steel 2's so I suspect they're making up the difference in the motion-controlled puzzles - also things which have been done well before (Zack and Wiki).

LarryC wrote:

Dyni:

Red Steel 2 is a hardcore sword-fighting game done right. Edge makes a mistake in implying that Skyward Sword would be the first game that gets it right. Red Steel 2 was able to do it, and it had a wider array of moves than Batman Arkham Asylum. The only real negatives to it are the short length and the monotony of gameplay (it's only ever a shooter or a brawler; very little other game elements), which actually makes the short length something of a blessing in disguise.

Zelda's battle mechanics look to actually be simpler than Red Steel 2's so I suspect they're making up the difference in the motion-controlled puzzles - also things which have been done well before (Zack and Wiki).

I'd say Red Steel 2's biggest fault is trying to keep shooting elements. Having to point at the screen afer a swipe, even after adjusting and playing for a while could still result in accidental quick turns as you fought to recenter the pointer. Other than that, I was amazed at the level of control and array of moves to do by the time you got to the end. Thankfully, they started small and kept adding at just about the right pace. Not only does Skyward Sword look a bit simpler, but slower / less frantic. But that's only because Red Steel 2 could get really fast when you got into a big fight found a groove and waded into the middle of a mob of enemies.

I'm caving under the pressure here, people! Think I'll have to get a Wii and this baby for xmas!

Then you can also find a cheap copy of Red Steel 2. I love that game.

I also liked both of the No More Heroes games, but that's more for story than the quality of the motion control implementation.

mrtomaytohead:

That problem is generally solved by holding down the "block" button by default. As soon as the sword is pointed dead ahead, it's safe to shoot. This is additionally aided by RS2's deliberate combat pace. It's definitely not Wii Sports Resort. There's about half second or so of move animation immediately after executing a move, so there's that much time to recenter.

If there's a concern I have about Skyward Sword's combat comparatively, it's that it cleaves closer to Wii Sports Resort in that there's no such gap to regain your bearings. Your swing and Link's swings are very closely tied together. Then again, it does look like a much simpler combat system.

Hmmm, maybe I'll try hard and burn through both Alan Wake, and Red Steel 2 this week. Next week's releases and the odd indie title should keep me busy until Christmas. Also, finishing Dark Souls.

LarryC wrote:

mrtomaytohead:

That problem is generally solved by holding down the "block" button by default. As soon as the sword is pointed dead ahead, it's safe to shoot. This is additionally aided by RS2's deliberate combat pace. It's definitely not Wii Sports Resort. There's about half second or so of move animation immediately after executing a move, so there's that much time to recenter.

If there's a concern I have about Skyward Sword's combat comparatively, it's that it cleaves closer to Wii Sports Resort in that there's no such gap to regain your bearings. Your swing and Link's swings are very closely tied together. Then again, it does look like a much simpler combat system.

Yeah the recenter wasn't a constant problem, just every once and a while I'd get lazy while slashing boxes or something. Regardless, I enjoyed RS2 more and more the further into the game I got.

I'm super excited, the trailers look great, good reviews coming in, can't wait for this to come out! My Wii hasn't even been plugged in for almost a year, nice to have a reason to set it up again.

Looks like the embargo is over and the reviews have started rolling in. They look pretty positive across the board. Unfortunately, the internet is already being the internet and raging over the fact that Klepek over at Giant Bomb only gave the game an 80 (Gasp). Of course, he actually gave the gave a 4/5, and they don't do half stars. So 4/5 usually denotes that they quite liked a game, but simply weren't in love, and that is how the text of the review reads.

To be honest, since he is a newer member of their staff, I don't have a good read on all of his likes or dislikes, so his review is less useful to me than some other reviews. However, he does at make a few points that definitely resonate with me. Reading the review, it seems like the game continues the tradition of an overly long tutorial period before getting started which is something that I didn't like in Twilight Princess or Ocarina. For some reason, the starting island in Wind Waker held my attention on the initial playthough in 03, but it also has this slow start which was very noticeable on my replay over the summer. It should be noted that based on comments Patrick made on the podcast, the first few hours of his in Skyward Sword may have grated on him a bit because he was stuck playing through the lengthy tutorial bits twice. (once at a preview event awhile back and once with the final product)

Griffin's review at Joystiq is also informative as I know he is a huge fan of Ocarina and replays it almost annually. The fact that he finds some of the sequences in the mid-game to be unneeded and unenjoyable filler to pad length also worries me a bit, but the fact that both Griffin and Patrick seemed to like the combat makes me feel somewhat relieved as that is the part of the game that I was most concerned about.

Yeah, the low end of the reviews showing up on metacritic are knocking it (in their excerpts) for being a bit predictable and one says it's more linear than other installments. I really don't mind linearity as long as it's fun to play. Also, some are saying the intro is still too slow, which is probably quite a fair assessment, but I'm still hopeful it's faster than Twilight Princess.

I need to read more, but it doesn't seem there's any negativity on the motion controls. Too bad it took the last real game of the system to get here.

More linear? Twilight Princess was really linear (also poorly paced), and unless you know how to glitch it, OoT only offers a couple of dungeons at a time. This isn't Elder Scrolls.

Even the most non-linear Zelda (the first one) lets you, at most, play a couple dungeons out of order, although the entirety of the world map is theoretically available to the player from the start.

I think that recently everyone goes out of their way to find reasons to hate on games of Japanese origin. Let's check the reviews for Half-life 2....no, nothing about how linear it is. Gears of War? Nada.

But those weren't RPGs, and Zelda is an RPG!

Spoiler:

I've never understood this. Zelda gets referred to as Nintendo's "RPG franchise," but there's just nothing RPG about it.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

But those weren't RPGs, and Zelda is an RPG!

Spoiler:

I've never understood this. Zelda gets referred to as Nintendo's "RPG franchise," but there's just nothing RPG about it.

Yet RPGs like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon age 2 get knocked for linearity. Zelda games are adventure games that are known for exploration. I'm not really sure that backs up Minarchist's claim.

EvilDead wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

But those weren't RPGs, and Zelda is an RPG!

Spoiler:

I've never understood this. Zelda gets referred to as Nintendo's "RPG franchise," but there's just nothing RPG about it.

Yet RPGs like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon age 2 get knocked for linearity. Zelda games are adventure games that are known for exploration. I'm not really sure that backs up Minarchist's claim.

The exploration is in finding the correct path and sometimes the nooks and crannies the world hides things in. Like I mentioned, as long as the gameplay is fun, I don't mind running down a metaphorical corridor.

I do find it interesting that one of the lowest scored reviews basically said they couldn't be bothered to do any of the side quests.

EvilDead wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

But those weren't RPGs, and Zelda is an RPG!

Spoiler:

I've never understood this. Zelda gets referred to as Nintendo's "RPG franchise," but there's just nothing RPG about it.

Yet RPGs like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon age 2 get knocked for linearity. Zelda games are adventure games that are known for exploration. I'm not really sure that backs up Minarchist's claim.

The point I was trying to make was that Zelda games have, of late, gotten dinged for their linearity as though they were role-playing games rather than adventure games. It would be like dinging a Tomb Raider game or a Metroid game for being linear; it's a fundamental misconception of the game design's goals. There are side paths to explore, yes, but they're not games like Skyrim where you're expected to lose yourself in a vast world and do things in whatever order. You're shepherded from Area A to Area B where you get an item that helps you access Area C and some hidden items back in Area A.

I'm just not sure what reviewers are expecting when they complain that a modern Zelda game is linear. I can't help but wonder if this comes from the idea that Zelda is an RPG, when it clearly isn't.

I guess we will have to play the game to find out. I didn't finish Twilight Princess but it felt much more linear then the previous games to the point where it bothered me. In actually, it may not have been more linear, it may have just had much stronger queues to point me along my path.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

The exploration is in finding the correct path and sometimes the nooks and crannies the world hides things in. Like I mentioned, as long as the gameplay is fun, I don't mind running down a metaphorical corridor.

I'm with you on that.

I didn't find Twilight Princess to be more or less linear than the other 3D Zeldas, but I also spent a lot of time collecting everything and doing everything.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

I do find it interesting that one of the lowest scored reviews basically said they couldn't be bothered to do any of the side quests.

Ummm... why would you play a Zelda game if you're not interested in the sidequest stuff?

I think more reviewers need to judge a game on its actual merit. If a "linear" experience can somehow grant me 60-70 hours of fun, then what the Hell is the problem?

ccesarano wrote:

If a "linear" experience can somehow grant me 60-70 hours of fun, then what the Hell is the problem?

Case in point: every recent popular FPS game

ccesarano wrote:

I think more reviewers need to judge a game on its actual merit. If a "linear" experience can somehow grant me 60-70 hours of fun, then what the Hell is the problem?

I agree except they can't know what will grant you fun, only what grants them fun. So if being linear is a game ruiner for them then that's how it goes..