Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Catch-All

ClockworkHouse wrote:

After some nudging from mrtomaytohead, I went back to this for a bit tonight. I actually ended up really enjoying the Eldin and Lanayru portions of the Song of the Hero (the Faron bit still sucked but was at least short). They were pretty classic Zelda with fun puzzles, good design, and not a lot of hand-holding. I played for a bit over two hours and loved almost all of it.

And then:

Spoiler:

Another Spirit Trial?

Now I'm back to :|. This game is so inconsistent.

And a month later I came back and wrapped that bit up on the first try. Go figure.

I'm now into the final dungeon, and I actually really like it.

Spoiler:

Being able to rearrange the layout of the temple was a neat effect, I thought, and I like the way each room reflects a temple you've explored earlier in the game.

The only problem I've run into is a problem with, of all things, motion controls. I've been a big supporter of motion controls when others on these forums have slagged on them, but that's because I've never really had that problem where I failed because my motions failed to register. Well, that finally happened, and it made me really frustrated.

Spoiler:

It was the battle against the mecha pirate boss in Sky Keep. You're supposed to do a shield butt right as he attacks to throw him off balance, but no matter how I shook and flailed the nunchuck I absolutely could not get the shield butt to register. Link would either ready his shield and do nothing or, worse, would just stand there and get hit. I died four or five times attempting that fight because I could not get the shield to work consistently.

But when I could? I knocked the crap out of the boss without any problems. It was so frustrating.

I still like motion controls, generally, but if that kind of thing is a more common experience for other people, I can understand some of the hate.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I still like motion controls, generally, but if that kind of thing is a more common experience for other people, I can understand some of the hate.

Wait until you get to the final boss I'm pretty sure I watched Demyx struggling with it and said something along the lines of "it doesn't look that bad. you're probably not getting the controller in the right orientation".

What a fool I was...

shoptroll wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

I still like motion controls, generally, but if that kind of thing is a more common experience for other people, I can understand some of the hate.

Wait until you get to the final boss I'm pretty sure I watched Demyx struggling with it and said something along the lines of "it doesn't look that bad. you're probably not getting the controller in the right orientation".

What a fool I was...

I've had so damn much trouble with Lizalfos not because they're actually that tough, but because the damn motion controls don't quite register right much of the time.

If this game used traditional controls for combat (the sword and shield bits) but still used motion for the other stuff, it would be much more tolerable.

It's a testament to how great the game is that I'm quite enjoying it in spite of the control system (I'm about 8 hours played, just finished the earth temple and about to head to the desert for the first time).

Lizalfos were a source of much frustration for me too :\

I'm actually disappointed they've gone on record saying that motion controls will be in the next installment. I really think they need to give people the option of reverting back to standard controls if you want. There's very little going on in this game that couldn't have been done with a controller.

The controls are very much Wii controls, with all that that implies.

One thing that helped me a lot that might be something you want to try - use full motions. I know you're not supposed to have to do it, but for some reason I had much better luck with both the sword and the shield on my feet, flashbacking to SCA in the late Eighties. I don't know if it's just timing, or what.

The thing with the Lizalfos that I finally learned late in the game was that you don't need to be quick with them. Take your time and line up a swing at their unarmored side. Now while they're ducked down and sticking their tongue out, take your time and line up another swing wherever they're vulnerable. They take long enough sticking out their tongues that you don't need to quickly reorient the Wiimote which is when it triggers as a swing (at their armored side, inevitably).

And like momgamer said, I had better luck generally with full motions. I think flicking your wrist around accelerates the Wiimote faster than they have it calibrated for. (And really, the best solution here would just be sensitivity settings like Red Steel 2 has.) I don't know what was going on with the nunchuck; I've never had problems with it.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

The thing with the Lizalfos that I finally learned late in the game was that you don't need to be quick with them. Take your time and line up a swing at their unarmored side. Now while they're ducked down and sticking their tongue out, take your time and line up another swing wherever they're vulnerable. They take long enough sticking out their tongues that you don't need to quickly reorient the Wiimote which is when it triggers as a swing (at their armored side, inevitably).

Alternatively, play defensively. They stun when they bounce off your shield if you time it right (like most monsters in the game). That's generally what I would do, as long as I wasn't frustrated. Unfortunately, they're annoying to deal with in groups.

I don't know what was going on with the nunchuck; I've never had problems with it.

Nunchuk has always felt flakier to me in most games. I remember having a real hard time shield bashing in Twilight Princess.

momgamer wrote:

I had much better luck with both the sword and the shield on my feet

They was you worded that made me laugh. Couldn't help but visualize something like this.

Still I enjoyed the game more while on my feet. Not sure it made the motion controls any more precise, but I got into the game and enjoyed myself.

Mantid wrote:
momgamer wrote:

I had much better luck with both the sword and the shield on my feet

They was you worded that made me laugh. Couldn't help but visualize something like this.

Still I enjoyed the game more while on my feet. Not sure it made the motion controls any more precise, but I got into the game and enjoyed myself.

If only! In my case, it looks more like the Star Wars kid.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

The thing with the Lizalfos that I finally learned late in the game was that you don't need to be quick with them. Take your time and line up a swing at their unarmored side. Now while they're ducked down and sticking their tongue out, take your time and line up another swing wherever they're vulnerable. They take long enough sticking out their tongues that you don't need to quickly reorient the Wiimote which is when it triggers as a swing (at their armored side, inevitably).

And like momgamer said, I had better luck generally with full motions. I think flicking your wrist around accelerates the Wiimote faster than they have it calibrated for. (And really, the best solution here would just be sensitivity settings like Red Steel 2 has.) I don't know what was going on with the nunchuck; I've never had problems with it.

You are my new favorite person for mentioning Red Steel 2. Awesome game, with a truly deep and well implemented swordplay system.

I have Red Steel 2 sitting there unopened. It's my only Wii pile game.

momgamer wrote:

One thing that helped me a lot that might be something you want to try - use full motions. I know you're not supposed to have to do it, but for some reason I had much better luck with both the sword and the shield on my feet, flashbacking to SCA in the late Eighties. I don't know if it's just timing, or what.

I've actually been wondering if that might help, and am thinking of pushing the couch back so I have the space to do this.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

The thing with the Lizalfos that I finally learned late in the game was that you don't need to be quick with them.

Thinking about this more last night leading into the final battle, the key to a lot of the combat is to take your time, ready a strike, and wait for an opening. The Lizalfos, the skeleton knights, the man-eating plants, even most of the bosses work best if you ready a strike and play defensively until you have an opening. I had a lot more success in combat, and had fewer problems with the motion controls, when I played that way.

I honestly couldn't tell you, though, whether this was the way the game was intentionally designed or if it's compensation for the way the Wiimotes freak out if you change their orientation too quickly. In favor of it being deliberate design is how effective it is, the design of some of the encounters, and the way the shield plays into a more deliberate, tactical style of combat. Arguing against it as deliberate design are the design of the moblins (who fall most readily to random flailing), the sheer number of hits it takes to bring most enemies down, and the apparently fast-reflex-based combat against Ghirahim.

All of which reinforces for me that the design of Skyward Sword is all over the place. I feel like they couldn't really decide what they wanted the game to be, so it ended up being all kinds of different games mashed up into one. But I'll wait until I've killed Demise to pass judgement.

But if you're new to the game or struggling with it: slow down; you're moving too fast.

Clock no! Don't tell anyone! I only have 780 points because of Fluidity and if they run out before I get enough I will DIE.

I don't think I'm getting that. I'm only at 450 points

Dammit... I must have it...

Yeah, I was thinking "I probably have enough for that". Nope, 500

I got really excited about that, but then I saw this: "* The gold controller will simply be gold in color and will not contain any actual precious metals."

When will my dream of a fully gold, and not even that gilded garbage, wiimote and nunchuck be realized?

maverickz wrote:

I got really excited about that, but then I saw this: "* The gold controller will simply be gold in color and will not contain any actual precious metals."

When will my dream of a fully gold, and not even that gilded garbage, wiimote and nunchuck be realized?

When you make it for yourself at the cost of about $2,000. That's only like 100x the standard price.

I have no idea where to post this, so I'll try here.

At the prodding of a certain community member, I decided yesterday that my Zelda fanaticism was not proper without having finished one of the most well regarded games in the franchise, a Link to the Past.

I had played LttP numerous times, each time getting a smaller portion of the quest done. But today, maybe 3 hours of play past my stagnant Wii VC save file, I find myself further into this journey than I'd ever been before.

The game still holds up well, it could be released brand new today on the 3DS with sharper graphics and it'd be hailed as a success. Still, playing it makes me appreciate where the series has moved in terms of user-friendliness. Upon dying to the dungeon boss (which has happened five times now) I have to go through the entire dungeon again, though I keep my item progress. I'm limited to five of my eight hearts, plus however many I find, minus however badly the monsters on the way to the boss kick my ass (and they do).

The last thing I mind is a challenge. I often play modern games on the hardest difficulty initially available. Shooters, action games, stealth, RPG, you name it. But I prefer when a game tests my skill, rather than my patience (patience to repeat the same path through this dungeon for the sixth time, specifically).

Loathe as I am to bring Dark Souls into many gaming discussions (because it gets overused, often in the wrong context), LttP shares, or rather inspired, many of the Dark Souls sensibilities. The difference lies in two separate but equally important tweaks.

First: In Dark Souls, you get a second chance. A wrong step off a cliff or poor fight is forgiven if you can get back to that point again. Whereas in LttP you only get the chance to learn the enemy patterns and environmental layout, in Dark Souls you get to learn all that while also building your character statistically.

Second: On a more base level, Dark Souls is a more measured game. Things happen remarkably quick in LttP. The boss in question, I have to get in close, and if I touch him I lose two of my eight hearts. If his main attack hits me, three gone. This is more akin to a shoot-em-up than an adventure game.

The only other observation I've made is how clearly the dungeon composition in the more recent Zelda games is the product of LttP.

Edit: Naturally, after I swallowed my pride and went to spend 300 rupees on potions, I came back and beat the boss without getting hit. The point still stands!

Which boss? At this point I am a bad judge on the difficulty of games like Link to the Past, Super Metroid and Mega Man X to newbies because I've got so much of it to heart that I am not as challenged.

I'd rather not say, I'm embarrassed now.

If it's 8 hearts it sounds like it is still the light world. You can fight the Armos Knights with 5 hearts, and I believe the ..f*ck... Sandworms with 7, which would make the tower guy 8.

If that's the guy, then dude, seriously, you don't know how many f*cking tries that son of a Female Doggo took me as a kid, knocking me off the platform and sh*t.

Sheeeeiiiiiit.

I finished this up last night and wrote up my thoughts in the Finished Games thread.

The only thing I want to add to what I wrote is that the final boss fight against Demise was brilliant. I was very happy that it wasn't a long, multi-part battle like the finales of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker. The ending cinematic itself was sweet if a little too long. I loved the orchestration over the closing credits.

ccesarano wrote:

Which boss?

It's the snake. It's ALWAYS the snake.

I wish I had the patience to continue slogging through this. I started on launch day and just can't seem to push myself forward. It seemed like the game steadily improved up to the third dungeon which I quite liked. Since then it has returned to being a slog. I really didn't enjoy the fourth dungeon or the return of the

Spoiler:

shadow/twilight/dream sphere collection like they had in Twilight.

Between my lukewarm feelings towards both this title and the last couple of Metroid titles, I'm honestly thinking about actually skipping the launch of Wii-U and waiting until they unveil a Mario Galaxy-like experience or something that my kids really want.

This will be the first Nintendo home console launch that I've skipped since the SNES. This honestly makes me feel like a little part of me has died inside as Nintendo used to be the game company I could most rely on. I honestly don't know if I changed or if Nintendo has changed.

I had the same problem with the Spirit Realm junk, but I'd encourage you to press on. The back half of the game was my favorite part of the whole experience.

Jasonofindy wrote:

I wish I had the patience to continue slogging through this. I started on launch day and just can't seem to push myself forward. It seemed like the game steadily improved up to the third dungeon which I quite liked. Since then it has returned to being a slog. I really didn't enjoy the fourth dungeon or the return of the

Spoiler:

shadow/twilight/dream sphere collection like they had in Twilight.

Between my lukewarm feelings towards both this title and the last couple of Metroid titles, I'm honestly thinking about actually skipping the launch of Wii-U and waiting until they unveil a Mario Galaxy-like experience or something that my kids really want.

This will be the first Nintendo home console launch that I've skipped since the SNES. This honestly makes me feel like a little part of me has died inside as Nintendo used to be the game company I could most rely on. I honestly don't know if I changed or if Nintendo has changed.

For what it's worth, there are some bosses that are really really cool. Might be worth playing just for them. Like the mechanical one.

maverickz wrote:
Jasonofindy wrote:

I wish I had the patience to continue slogging through this. I started on launch day and just can't seem to push myself forward. It seemed like the game steadily improved up to the third dungeon which I quite liked. Since then it has returned to being a slog. I really didn't enjoy the fourth dungeon or the return of the

Spoiler:

shadow/twilight/dream sphere collection like they had in Twilight.

Between my lukewarm feelings towards both this title and the last couple of Metroid titles, I'm honestly thinking about actually skipping the launch of Wii-U and waiting until they unveil a Mario Galaxy-like experience or something that my kids really want.

This will be the first Nintendo home console launch that I've skipped since the SNES. This honestly makes me feel like a little part of me has died inside as Nintendo used to be the game company I could most rely on. I honestly don't know if I changed or if Nintendo has changed.

For what it's worth, there are some bosses that are really really cool. Might be worth playing just for them. Like the mechanical one.

Assuming the mechanical one you are referring to is the one that was at the end of dungeon #

Spoiler:

4- the egyptian themed boss with the pins holding on his arms,

I agree that it was a great boss. When I last played I had just finished the

Spoiler:

2nd spectral realm and was sailing around with the captain of the sand ship.