Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

['Press Start']

Best. Game. Ever.

Well...............

[egparadigm]

The sword controls I found very difficult for the first third of the game. I think it's because this is the first game that's given you such control, so it's probably fair to compare it in that way to Mario 64 and the first time you used analog controls.

Overall I've really enjoyed the game, this last bit of the game does seem a little dragged out. It does seem like quite a compact and carefully considered game – it doesn't have so many noticeable holes like Wind Waker did. I really like the art style – the brighter style really suits the NPCs in particular. However, at this stage I feel it maybe lacks a little charisma. It's all a little bit forgettable perhaps? Still much better than TP, at least.

[noobish hat]

Ok, played through the first dungeon now, and this game continues to frustrate and disappoint me. The sword controls make it nearly unplayable. When it works, it's great, but 90% of the time it just doesn't. It has particular problems understanding the thrust move, which means you get BATTERED by the giant spiders, because you're desperately trying to get the stupid ****ing thing to understand a thrust move so you can hit the weak spot but instead it unilaterally decides to do a side slash instead, causing the spider to spin wildly and hit you! This is really something that should have been ironed out because it's a big problem. Understanding a thrust is surely one of the simplist things to program in motion control? I can see there is an enjoyable Zelda game under this, but the controls make it utterly unenjoyable all the way through, and it's SUCH a struggle. How is the aforementioned mess better/more fun than pressing a button to hit the giant spiders in Ocarina of Time? It isn't, is the answer to that. It's hugely ironic because Twilight Princess was FINE. There were very few control issues with that game at all, but with the advent of Motion Plus, they completely **** everything up.

Also, I had the dramatic first encounter with the villain RUINED by swordbitch popping up to inform me that I can't collect any more rupees because my wallet is full. This, despite my wallet having been full for the past half hour. Was it really worth interrupting this carefully crafted scene in order to tell me that? I ****ing opened a chest with 20 rupees in just before this fight, and you didn't tell me then, when it was more important. Nothing in particular even triggered this message. The fight was about to start, and she decided to tell me this at total random. Did they not playtest this piece of crap? That really seems to me like the kind of thing that would have come up in playtesting, and should have been dealt with.

On a similar note, SS is doing a similar thing that TP did with rupees, which is to randomly interrupt the gameplay in order to tell you **** that you already know. Stuff you'd need to have brain damage to not already know. Whilst TP unforgivably did this with rupee denominations (thanks! After 40 hours of gameplay, I didn't know that a red rupee is worth 20. Thank you for treating me like a 3 year old), SS has started doing it with the little collectables you can find. Look, Link, you've picked up a ****ing blob of crap! I'd better tell you all about this, before I take you to the menu screen and add it to the NINE that you blatantly already have.

Attention to detail and simplicity over needless complexity used to be what made Nintendo the very best. Now they've thrown all that out the window and treat everyone like they've never seen a game controller before, will forget things they've been told after 3 seconds, and will roll Link off a cliff and die if they aren't flat out told where to go and what to do.

[Lyris]

I'm going to try and get back into this this winter, I think. The sword controls never "clicked" with me - after getting used to them, I felt they weren't terrible, but I just don't see what the point was. And frankly I resent being made to buy the Wii Motion Plus for them.

[nakamura]

For the record, the motion control is Twilight Princess was an absolute waste of time and had no place in a game not built around them.

[Brad]

noobish's rant is the best thing I'm gonna read all day. Love it.

[nakamura]

It also makes me wonder if he has the Wii Remote Plus attached to his dick.

[Golgo]

I could take on Zorro with my SS wiimote sword skills, which does what I want flawlessly, so I think everyone else must be just a bit ****.

[egparadigm]

I'd never noticed a problem with thrusting, personally, but I don't think it's fair to say that noobish is "playing it wrong". I think it just takes a bit of getting used to.

[egparadigm]

I'd never noticed a problem with thrusting, personally, but I don't think it's fair to say that noobish is "playing it wrong". I think it just takes a bit of getting used to.

I must agree about Fi, though. The reminders about battery life are particularly annoying, considering there's a symbol on the screen when that happens. I did have her pop up last night to state the blindingly obvious fact that I had to use an orb in the room to get to a piece of

->Open Spoiler<-

the triforce

.

[nakamura]

He is bang on about the constant reminders and over the top hand holding. I didn't get the rupee issue in the boss fight though.

[egparadigm]

I did actually have lots of problems with the Motion Plus early on in the game when I had low battery – I remember now. Unlike other games, where if you can activate the controller it's good to go until it's completely dead, with Motion Plus, if you have a halfway empty battery then it ruins the control and constantly cuts out.

[nakamura]

I remember. Didn't you also have to replace your motion plus add-on?

[egparadigm]

Every time the Wii remote goes off you have to recalibrate. This is particularly annoying when you don't realise it's low battery doing it and think that it's because the batteries are becoming dislodged (as I did for a while!)

[Golgo]

I agree the re-calibration is a pain in the arse, especially as it's a farce. You can hold the wiimote any way you like or even wave it about when it's meant to be 'on a flat surface' and it re-calibrates fine! Also annoying is the need to constantly re-center when going into first person. And yes, Fi is an intrusive, patronizing bitch. I hate it when she goes dancing and skating around when you find a vital piece of something or other, singing in that awful voice that sounds like the Major Morgan toy out of the '80s. She talks like a computer for some reason, so I wish you would switch her off.