Skyward Sword Could Be GOTY

[EzraPound]

Let's put things in context: Metroid Prime 3 was by Retro Studios, Zelda: The Twilight Princess was a belated Gamecube port, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a do-over of its predecessor, and billed as such. So the last time Nintendo gave themselves this few excuses for failing--amongst their "Big Three" IPs--was. . . Super Mario Galaxy, which is by consensus one of the best games of the decade.

Anyway, I'm surprised--amid the suffocating Skyrim hype--that more people haven't earmarked Skyward Sword as a consensus GOTY contender, especially since its first reviews have pegged it as the Zelda series' return to the quality of the twin peaks of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Don't get me wrong--Portal 2 was one of the best games ever, and if Skyrim can innovate upon Oblivion's formula it's sure to be a runaway success. But just because Nintendo's created a casual console doesn't mean you can dismiss their post-millennial C.V.: I mean, Portal and Half-Life 2 are both indelible classics; ditto Bethesda's recent output. But so is SMG, and I have a hankering feeling--given that this is the "other" Wii release with the potential to be monumentally brilliant--that we're all likely to be impressed (except for the Nintendo-haters, of course, but then again to dislike Nintendo is more or less to disown video games altogether--an idea lent particular credence by the fact that most games today would be unimaginable were it not for their influence).

 

[The Pinray]

I think many people are coming to realize that Zelda has run its course. All Nintendo is known for nowadays (mostly) as rehash-a-rama. New Metroid, new Mario, new Zelda, rinse and repeat. It's getting old.

But that's just me. I don't think it'll come close to GOTY. It'll just be another damn Zelda game.

 

[Broken Blade]

Personally, at this point I'd pick Arkham City as my game of the year. It's an improved sequel to an already amazing game, and I've been having a blast playing it.

As for Skyward Sword, I didn't even know it was close to a release date. I thought we had another six months to a year to go before it came out. I'm sure it will be a fine game, it just hasn't interested me at all.

 

[thiosk]

It will be a great game and people who like zelda will probably like it. Nintendo will most likely tighten up on its IP again, after the other M debacle-- the first and only metroid game i do not own.

As for comments related to "another metroid, another mario, another zelda," all I can really say to that is Ugh. I guess we should all play another CoD, another battlefield.

edit: but yeah, skyrim or arkham will get the "title"

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

Irrelevant nit-pick, but a lot of people dislike Nintendo on principle and it's not like they disown gaming. However, I do believe that a large amount of those people are idiots for disliking something on principle regardless of any merits that it carries.

I don't disagree that Skyward Sword will very likely be a very damn good game. I don't disagree that it may be a contender for game of the year. I do believe, however, that it may go under the radar to some degree because of the extremely "casual-friendly" face that Nintendo has made and largely embraced for itself. I know that they're mostly unrelated to each other, but I think that just the idea might end up shooting Zelda in the foot.

As much as I dislike the entire idea of slapping labels like "casual" or "hardcore" on our games and looking down on a game just because of what the fans have labeled it, that's how the people seem to be nowadays. In all honesty, I dislike the extreme "hardcore" faction who are so convinced that their "hardcore" games of guts and blood can overshadow games like Metroid or Zelda just because of the label that Nintendo has made for itself and I think that mindset is rather deluded. But more about labels. I don't care if Zelda misses out on a label like GOTY. I will play it, will very likely love it, I'll praise it for everyone to hear and hope that everyone else who likes it will do the same.

 

[Smeggs]

Personally, at this point I'd pick Arkham City as my game of the year. It's an improved sequel to an already amazing game, and I've been having a blast playing it.

As for Skyward Sword, I didn't even know it was close to a release date. I thought we had another six months to a year to go before it came out. I'm sure it will be a fine game, it just hasn't interested me at all.

I think it comes out in November or early December...pretty sure.

And the GI article I read made it sound pretty damn interesting, so sure, I'll fork out the $50 you're charging for it, Nintendo.

 

[Zhukov]

I have no doubt that it will be saluted as a peerless masterpiece by the people who like Nintendo games.

 

[80Maxwell08]

I think many people are coming to realize that Zelda has run its course. All Nintendo is known for nowadays (mostly) as rehash-a-rama. New Metroid, new Mario, new Zelda, rinse and repeat. It's getting old.

But that's just me. I don't think it'll come close to GOTY. It'll just be another damn Zelda game.

Yeah I'm with you on this one. Granted I won't be buying it so I won't argue how good it is when it comes out but I seriously doubt that it will stray from the formula too much. Also its main reason it won't be my GOTY is it's a Wii game so it has motion controls. I don't care if it's done perfectly I still hate motion controls. Odds are Dark Souls is going to be my GOTY since all the other big names mean nothing to me.

 

[NLS]

I try to ignore console exclusives as GOTY candidates, so Skyward Sword and Uncharted 3 gets no points in my book :\

 

[NerfedFalcon]

A Wii game? As Game of the Year! Travesty! Everyone knows that only 360 exclusives should be eligible, because clearly the Xbox 360 is so much better than everything else on the market! It's even more powerful than any PC will ever be! EVERYTHING ELSE SHOULD GO DIE AND LEAVE THE MS MASTER RACE WITH ALL THE GAMES!!!!!!

[/sarcastic fanboyism for a console I don't own]

Seriously, though, I agree with one of the guys above. It's really just a rehash, but Nintendo's fans are expecting that and they'll probably enjoy it all the same, myself included. Plus, all the stuff that Nintendo added or changed seems fun, like Link and Zelda actually being childhood friends or the new art style, and I reckon some people will probably still find it epic enough to make their Game of the Year.

If they aren't fanboys of another console/genre entirely.

 

[DustyDrB]

It'll definitely be a contender for my personal game of the year. Game of the Year as an actual title is pretty meaningless, though. Whose do you go with? Great games should be recognized, but saying outright that "X is the best game" is flame-baiting.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

Dammit. I'm looking through all my old comments because someone put up a good demotivational for Nintendo games but I can't find it. It had screenshots from all the games and big sarcastic text saying something along the lines of "Clearly, the differences in style, aesthetic, and gameplay indicate that every Zelda game hasn't changed at all in the last 10 years." He wins 100 internets for that. If you're reading this, may I request that you please post it again if you still have it?

Honestly though. Nintendo games aren't straight rehashes. It's just that they've been around for so long and have so many iterations that people want extreme changes. The common points are comforting, yet the changes that Nintendo adds are pretty damn significant at the same time. Despite this, people bash Nintendo games essentially because any given series doesn't change its genre. Just because Zelda is an action/adventure game doesn't make A Link to the Past the same as Wind Waker, right?
Oh, and Mario. Mario's been jumping genres for a good long while now. He used to be a 2-D side scroller, but he's been in RPGs, Adventure games, party games, sports games, fighting games, etc. Complaints of that nature will not be tolerated.

 

[Gabanuka]

Its going to be up against MW3, BF3, Skyrim, Uncharted 3 and Arkham city. Poor thing doesn't stand a chance

 

[Snotnarok]

I don't see what the new Zelda coming out has that is really doing that qualifies it for GoTY. I'm all over Metroid titles and everything (except other M) and think they're by far the best series Nintendo has ever made. Hell I think ever since after Mario 64 even those games have been just weird and gimmicky. (with maybe the exception of New Super Mario Bros)

Zelda is a fine series but GoTY? It's the same tale over and over with the same characters with usually not a lot of depth. Twilight Princess is by far my favorite and probably better than Skyward sword from what I read.

GoTY? I'd say Mass Effect 2, just for sheer fun that I had, depth of character and what not. And I've not been one for WRPGs.

Like what you like but I just don't see GoTY for Zelda.

 

[Edhellen]

Considering the last good Zelda was Majora's Mask... Yeah, I'm not expecting the trend of the Zelda series going downhill to break anytime soon. Plus, from the trailers it looks like they're giving Link the Samus treatment and we all know how well that went.

 

[Guffe]

You sound like a Nintendo fanboy. And I've yet to see a good game on the wii,

You haven't played a lot of Wii have you?
Glichy controlls? I don't understand people who complain about the Wii:s motion sensor. I never, and I actually mean NEVER have had trouble with the motion controlls of the Wii after I learned how you're supposed to handle it in said game.
Force Unleahsed, I can/could do any combo anytime without failure (only one playtrhough).
Zelda Twilight Princess, according to me a magnificent game and the only thing that it could've had less of was weapons, the arsenal was freakin' huge and that doesn't suit Link. Otherwise the second best Zelda game so far after Majoras Mask.
Metroid Prime Corruption, oh how the aliens die one after another from the smoothnes of the wii motion
These are a few examples, I can give you guys more.

Now I understand how Zelda will have a thought time with "Game of the Year" title (I have never cared about it) since the competition now in the end of the year (and at the beginning) is really huge. But don't come and say that just because you like the BattleField/ModerWarfare games with all their "realism" and "GRAPHICS CREATED BY GOD" are any better than the games for the Nintendo consoles.

For everyone: You can view a game on it's graphics and "realism" on their own and say that any game without this surely sux balls. Then again, one can also say that if the game has no re-play value or that play-experience feels dull then the game is worth zero.

The reason there shouldn't even be a "Game of the Year" title is because all the games belong to
A) Different categories
B) Depending on who choses the games they all look for different things in games and no one can be objective about this.
This leads us to my last point
C) DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU LIKE THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL CHOOSE, IT'S A MATTER OF TASTE WHAT GAME YOU LIKE

So stop saying one game is better than the other unless they are trying to achieve the same thing. Compare Battliefield and ModerWarfare as much as you like. Compare Final Fantasy X and VIII as much as you like. But DON'T compare Final Fantasy with ModernWarfare!! and stop arguing about which console is the best. They all have good sides and they all have downsides and they all have good, respectively, bad games.

And finally to answer the Topic:
No I don't think Zelda Skyward Sword will be "The Game of the Year" but I will buy it, I will play it and I will, most likely, enjoy it!