Skyward Sword

[HeroKing89]

Look there isn't anything me or anybody else is going to say that won't sound like Fanboyism to you Yahtzee. If i thought it actually mattered i'd send you an e-mail responding to each of your points. Some games aren't for everyone. Doesn't mean that the game isn't good. For instance. I hate PH. The narrative is downright dull, the controls are crap, the temples are practically copy//paste versions of each other, the characters can be summed up with one word. "eh" and returning to the Temple of the Ocean King and having to do the missions again and again and again is almost as tedious as finding and collecting the triforce shard charts then getting the 300 rupees required to decipher them and then finally going to get the shards. This isn't counting getting the wallets which makes it slightly less tedious and the title deed to that one house which was completely pointless. Not counting having to play with the WW every 6.02 seconds if you so much as turn the ship 30 degrees in another direction. In terms of boring annoying monotony Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass are the kings. But eh... different strokes for different folks.

 

[itsmeyouidiot]

Having a different opinion is one thing, but saying nothing but the meanest and cruelest insults imaginable is another.

There's a common saying where I come from, it goes something like: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Constructive criticism is one thing, but spewing hatred and bile is another thing entirely, and it certainly isn't comedy.

Imagine that I verbally ripped everything you hold dear to shreds. How exactly would anyone in their right mind find that funny?

Mother of god, do you even know what a fanboy is and how you might come off as one in every single one of your posts in this thread?

You act like by criticizing your preferred piece of entertainment, let me repeat that, your preferred piece of entertainment, we're kicking your dog and harming a beloved family member.

I mean, did you really miss where the beginning of this article pretty much directly addressed people like you?

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" was something used to keep five year olds from fighting. As far as real world application, it's up there with people saying you can't criticize an athlete because "you couldn't do that". Christ, without critics and criticism, nothing would ever advance.

Or should we always be 100% happy with everything all the time? If he found to be lackluster, he has a column in which he is paid to voice his opinion and name the reasons. All you've done is go "NUH UH THAT WASN'T A FLAW! IT'S A GREAT GAME!"

A masterful defense.

I honestly think that Skyward Sword is the best Zelda game ever made, and Mr. Crosshaw here is basically insulting me for thinking that.

Going "NUH UH THAT WASN'T A FLAW" is as valid an argument as any. A flaw that you fail to notice isn't a flaw. There's a difference between actual flaws that reduce enjoyment and nitpicking "flaws" that you have to actively search for in order to find.

And what exactly is there to miss about the first paragraph, anyway? Of course people are defensive when the best games on the market are attacked instead of the hundreds of thousands of games more deserving of it.

To be honest, I actually pity Yahtzee for being so spoiled that he can't see the game as a masterpiece. It's like he doesn't even know what a bad game is.

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

Why is it that anyone who disagrees with a negative opinion about a Zelda game is a fanboy?

Why is it that anyone who offers a negative opinion of a Zelda game is unfairly biased?

Yahtzee himself mentioned in the article that he is bias against motion controls...but then he covered that up by saying it's just because he was bias against things that weren't fun.

See, he defeated the purpose of admitting bias by then trying to present his personal feelings as absolute facts. After that statement, if you don't think that he in particular is irrationally bias and prone to ignore objectivity, then I don't know what to say. The article also herds together anyone who thinks positively of the game into a big group of fanboys who ignore objective flaws, even though that's logically untrue.

Look, of course he's biased. I'm just going to repost what I wrote on the video thread instead of rewriting my opinion on this:

Whether or not you agree with his criticisms is subjective, of course. But don't disregard him just because he's biased. We're all biased in one way or another; that's one of the downsides of actually possessing a long-term memory in conjunction with the capacity for logical reasoning. Yahtzee's opinion is biased because he dislikes the Wii. The argument you made is biased because you disliked Yahtzee's review. The argument I'm making right now is biased because I'm really uptight about semantics for some reason. If you want a genuinely unbiased review of a game, I'd suggest rolling a ten-sided die.

There's no such thing as being "unfairly biased". And as for "ignoring objectivity"- you do realize that whether or not you enjoy a game is the polar opposite of objectivity, right?

It isn't that Yahtzee is bias...it's the fact that he admits his own bias while still insisting that his opinions are objective facts. His entire review came off to me as nothing but a ranting hated for motion controls in general.

The fact that Yahtzee leaves absolutely no room for error and reduces anyone who strongly disagrees with him to gibbering strawmen is what makes him unfairly bias.

I like Yahtzee...I think his entertaining...but that's it. He's an entertainer. As someone who objectively judges the quality of media, I don't think he's good at what he does. And yes, there are ways to objectively judge a videogame.

When did he say that his opinion was an objective fact? The "prove me wrong, fans" line is a bit of a take-that towards the people who think you can prove an opinion piece wrong.

I'm genuinely curious as to how you think a game can be objectively measured outside of simply listing the components of the game. I'm inclined yet again to simply reiterate one of my earlier arguments: you can describe a video game objectively. Describing what music a game has, the layout and nature of the puzzles, the dialogue spoken by the characters- all that is objective. What you can't do is review a game objectively. Describing how the music meshes with the environments, whether or not the puzzles were fun or intuitive, whether or not any of the characters were interesting- i.e., whether or not the game was good- all that depends on personal experience, and is therefore not objective.

Of course he's not good at offering objective views of games. If you describe something in an objective way, it's an encyclopedia entry, not a review.

There are objective ways to determine whether or not characters are dynamic, whether the music compliments the layout and graphical look of the game or not, whether the puzzles or objectives are constructed in a way that gives any player enough information to work with, etc.

Games can have objective flaws.

Also, the context in which 'prove me wrong' is used as well as the suggestion that he's only bias towards things that aren't fun is enough for me to come to the conclusion that Yahtzee is incapable of differentiating between personal opinions and objective facts.

You can objectively ascertain whether a character is dynamic. You cannot objectively ascertain whether that character is interesting, or pleasant to talk to, or even whether or not that character being dynamic is a good thing.

You can ascertain whether or not the rhythm and tone of music fits the stereotypical depiction of a setting. You cannot ascertain whether or not the setting and music is interesting, overplayed, or just pleasant to experience.

You can ascertain whether or not a puzzle gives you the necessary information to complete it. You cannot ascertain whether or not that information makes sense in the context of the puzzle, whether or not the way the information is presented makes it too easy or too difficult, or whether or not the steps you take to complete the puzzle are fun or not.

This is the difference between objectivity and opinion.

When Yahtzee says he's biased against games he doesn't consider fun, it's perfectly obvious that he's referring to games he considers not to be fun. He stated back in the mailbag showdown that his reviews weren't meant to be taken as the end-all, be-all. You're the one who started trying to apply objectivity to an opinion piece, not him.

Yahtzee prompted readers to 'prove him wrong' with this opinion.

He said he was only bias against things that were not fun, implying fun is something that can be objectively measured.

The problem isn't Yahtzee's opinions...it's the fact that he takes those opinions and does present them as facts, regardless of whatever backpedaling he does later. Then, whenever a group of people disagree with his opinions, he dismisses them as 'fanboys' and insults their intelligence for not agreeing with him.

I'm not speaking out of personal attack to Yahtzee...simply acknowledging the fact that he isn't a legitimate reviewer. He's an entertainer. He wants to rile people up. He wants to make negative reviews because negative reviews mean more attention and more pageviews. This is something that's profitable for him.

It just surprises me that there are people who get genuinely anger over him or try to defend him as a legitimate journalist. He's got a way with words and that's about it.

 

[Mangue Surfer]

You guys noticed that some points that he advocates here are not even in the video review (busywork)? I bet he hasn?t even read the comments, that this text should be ready for some time and that the reaction of the fan boys (both sides) is so predictable that not even matter.
As you battle to death he must be on vacation, enjoying the sun, surfing? with hat.

 

[st0pnsw0p]

It's not much more than what was in the video review. Largely the same complaints, with emphasis taken away from a few of them to give it to other ones.

As for my own experiences with the game, I can say that the motion controls work fine for me (unless you move the controller too quickly). It took me until I was nearing the end of the first dungeon to get used to them, and until that point I honestly didn't like them much, despite liking them just fine in most other games I've played that have them. Once I did get used to them, however, it was one of the most satisfing experiences I've had in a game yet. If you're having problem with the controls, you're going to have to accept that with motion controls that's oftentimes your fault. It takes some practice to learn to use them correctly. I recommend taking your time with the first boss to get a grasp on some of the finer points of the controls. I will say, however that it was used far too often when another action would have been much easier while providing the same experience. for example, wiggling the Wii Remote and nunchuck to get out of a spiderweb or to get an enemy to let go could have been done just as easily by having to run, roll or spin-attack. The biggest offender, however is swimming. You can controll your movement on a horizontal plane with the control stick, but if you want to swim upwards or downwards, you have to press A and move the remote towards where you want to move, which means that if you point the remote forward while link is facing left, he'll gotowards what would be "forward" to him, which would be left this time around. What's more, while you're doing this you can't use the analog stick for horizontal movement, which would have been a great improvement. Instead you have to twist the remote left or right to do it.

The overworld is pretty boring (the sea of clouds, that is). I personally liked the one in Twilight Princess. I liked discovering a hidden cave or other previously-inaccessible areas after getting a new item, and while Skyward Sword has some of this down at the ground, it's usually just a some rupees or a heartpiece at best. There were dissapointingly few islands other than Skyloft that had anything interesting to do.

The dungeons were much smaller than TP's, although making the paths leading up to them more dungeon-like more than makes up for it. In fact, I almost didn't realize the pirate ship was a dungeon because there was little difference between it's feel and the fell of the place I'd just come from.

Fi is in fact annoying, and this is coming from someone who didn't find Navi annoying (granted, I only played through the first half of Ocarina, but still).

I've yet to reach the part of the game that people say is the most padded one, but so far the padding hasn't been too bad. I enjoyed the Silent Realm and going back to the ground areas has been more enjoyable than I expected with some new enemies, and you don't spend enough much time in the same section to get bored of it.

The game is much harder than TP, which I like. The only part of TP where I lost was the Cave of ordeals, and everything else was dissapointingly easy.

I'm not good for talking about stories and all I can usually say about them is "I liked it" or" I didn't like it. I'm liking this one so far, but not as much as Twilight Princess's. Still, I'm only a bit more than halfway through the game (at the pirate ship, to be exact) and the best off TP's story was at the end, so it can still get better.

I like the characters in general better this time around, with the exception of Fi, although there has yet to be anyone I like as much as Zant or Midna.

Despite the flaws, it's still a great game.

 

[Hal10k]

I'm not speaking out of personal attack to Yahtzee...simply acknowledging the fact that he isn't a legitimate reviewer. He's an entertainer. He wants to rile people up. He wants to make negative reviews because negative reviews mean more attention and more pageviews. This is something that's profitable for him.

It just surprises me that there are people who get genuinely anger over him or try to defend him as a legitimate journalist. He's got a way with words and that's about it.

Yahtzee is a critic. He's a critic with extremely negative views, and he's a critic who happens to disagree with you on this point. Neither of these things revoke his status as a critic. The only things that make a review "legitimate" are having experienced the entirety of a story and a detailed explanation of the reviewer's opinion. If he disagrees with you, he is not an illegitimate reviewer, that's just proof that the two of you do, in fact, operate on a different set of opinions and assumptions. If he's biased in a certain direction, that doesn't mean he's an illegitimate reviewer, that just means he possesses a long-term memory in conjunction with the capacity for logical reasoning.

In short: there is no such thing as a "legitimate reviewer". There are just reviews you agree with, and ones you don't.

Moving on.

He said he was only bias against things that were not fun, implying fun is something that can be objectively measured.

Or perhaps he sat down with the game, played it for the expected length of time, and- get this- did not have fun? "Fun" is something that varies from person to person. Yahtzee knows this, and has acknowledged it several times in the past. I know this. You probably know this. There are several species of sponge that, despite lacking a proper nervous system, are nonetheless familiar with the fact that the idea of "fun" is different for different people. Yahtzee's just saying that he isn't going to give a positive review to a game that heavily emphasizes motion controls being used in a way he doesn't enjoy.

The problem isn't Yahtzee's opinions...it's the fact that he takes those opinions and does present them as facts, regardless of whatever backpedaling he does later.

I ask you again: when has Yahtzee ever presented one of his opinions as a fact, outside of hyperbole or quotes taken out of context like the one above? The very fact that it's listed as a review series should have tipped you off in some way.

Then, whenever a group of people disagree with his opinions, he dismisses them as 'fanboys' and insults their intelligence for not agreeing with him.

I don't seem to recall him ever insulting the Zelda fanbase in this article or his original review. All he acknowledged was that the Zelda fanbase had torn into him for giving a negative review for Skyward Sword, which, if you'll examine the original video thread, they did.

Yahtzee prompted readers to 'prove him wrong' with this opinion.

Which, as I previously pointed out, was an insult towards the sort of people who think you can actually prove an opinion piece wrong.

 

[Sovvolf]

snip

Alright, I bow out, you and I seem to be saying the same things, probably doesn't need double teaming with it and you seem to be able to put it better than my arse can -thumbs up- I'ma make a pizza and play some video games while pushing the refresh button on the page.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

That said, the new Mario which I just started playing is really good and that's coming from someone who was disappointed with the Galaxy games.

That's probably because Nintendo isn't trying to shove its motion controls down your throat with Galaxy and NSMB Wii.

I was talking about Super Mario 3D Land, if I recall those two games did have annoying motion controls. I hated shaking the Wii Remote like an idiot after I died in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and those annoying bird levels in Super Mario Galaxy 2 made me quit realizing I wasn't going to get a 100%.

 

[Madmanonfire]

Full power skyward snip.

Excellent post. I was hoping to find one such as this in this stream of near-mindless hate.

As for the EP, I'll just correct one little point: The whip may not be used for a whole lot, but you can use it to steal the horns from the sides of certain bokoblins which not only adds to your materials an item that was previously not very common to find, but it makes the bokoblin react in anger and become vulnerable for an easy kill. That's something completely optional. It can also be used to reach drops like hearts, but that can be difficult concerning aiming. :/

And I'll just list a few moments I heartily enjoyed in SS:
- Rolling into the walls of certain houses, breaking things, and making the residents get ticked.
- The harp minigame at the pumpkin bar. More fun than it should've been.
- Groose. He had his funny moments.
- Pipit. He's just a great friend.
- Fi singing. It made me laugh.
- The Beetle item. Each zelda game has their just plain fun tools and this is one of them.

Sure, the imprisoned fights were annoying and the clawshots were disappointing (I think they've been used enough by now.), but the game was very enjoyable to play through. Also, new game+ is always a bonus.

 

[him over there]

Prove me wrong, fans.

Sorry Yahtzee, don't have to. I liked the artstyle and thought it had better structure and character development. "Because some people like that sort of stuff."

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

Okay Yatzee I am up to your game and I can prove it. You are unwillingly biased due in part that you hate any/all motion controls for the Wii. You will go in unwillingly to judge the game fairly based on this I don't care if it's Zelda, Madworld or No More Hero's you always ***** about them.

This comment is in no way meant to harass or flame you, but I need a challenge. Also here is fun fact I don't even like the game myself.

 

[Kenkaku]

I honestly think that Skyward Sword is the best Zelda game ever made, and Mr. Crosshaw here is basically insulting me for thinking that.

Going "NUH UH THAT WASN'T A FLAW" is as valid an argument as any. A flaw that you fail to notice isn't a flaw. There's a difference between actual flaws that reduce enjoyment and nitpicking "flaws" that you have to actively search for in order to find.

And what exactly is there to miss about the first paragraph, anyway? Of course people are defensive when the best games on the market are attacked instead of the hundreds of thousands of games more deserving of it.

To be honest, I actually pity Yahtzee for being so spoiled that he can't see the game as a masterpiece. It's like he doesn't even know what a bad game is.

I want to say that you're trolling, but I'll respond anyway.

A flaw that you fail to notice doesn't make it any less of a flaw. That's like saying a tree that falls with no one around to hear it doesn't make a sound.

Unlike most fans of this game, I'm assuming, I wasn't hyped for Skyward Sword; I was trying not to be. Last time I was, I felt that Twilight Princess didn't live up to the hype, so I tried to keep my expectations modest so I would enjoy the game more.

All that did was prevent me from glossing over its numerous flaws.

That's right: I'm claiming that even though you think the game is a flawless masterpiece, that's because you refuse to acknowledge its flaws because you were too excited for it. You played through this game, ran into several things that you normally wouldn't like, but actively ignored them because you didn't want to think that the game you've been anticipating all this time didn't meet your expectations.

Let's be honest here: any game that incorporates the design philosophy of Skyward Sword would have been panned by critics and gamers alike if it weren't so heavily anticipated.

The game is padded with long, unnecessary, and mandatory fetch quests, there are several gameplay instances that don't advance the plot (including a contrived mine cart sequence ending with a boss you already beat that doesn't amount to anything), the art direction is random to the point that it's almost difficult to look at, we go full circle back to the launch days of the Wii where motion controls are needlessly tacked on in so many aspects of the game, you revisit areas that you already beat (including an entire dungeon), you fight three bosses at least twice, the game is constantly reminding you of things that you already know, there's only one town in the game and three areas to explore, it takes longer to find dungeons than it takes to beat them, and the combat lacks refinement but still punishes you if it doesn't work properly (I want to swing one direction, but it makes me swing in another and I take damage from an enemy).

And that's not even going into comparing this to other Zelda games: there are fewer towns, fewer dungeons, fewer enemy types, fewer bosses, fewer items, the overall game is smaller, and if it weren't for all the padding, the story probably would have lasted us about six to eight hours.

But wait, there's more: let's remember that Nintendo claimed to work on this game for five years, and they had all the funding brought in by their Wii and DS sales, and they were completely unrestrained due to working on a full DVD while incorporating modest production values with no voice acting.

And you're telling me that this is the 'best Zelda game ever made?' I get that people are entitled to their opinions... but yours is awfully flimsy.

 

[Grabbin Keelz]

This might be a good time to say this but I never hated Navi, ever. She always pointed out helpful information to me (I was 8 at the time) she pointed out enemy weak spots, and for fucks sake, at least she gave me the OPTION to listen to her.

Also I remember hearing a lot about the argument with the art style in this game. Here's my opinion, most Nintendo Gamecube games looked better than this.

 

[FinalHeart95]

Honestly, I don't take Yahtzee seriously as a reviewer. A comedian/entertainer sure, but I don't really take his opinions to heart. If I did, I'd never play a goddamn game in existence.

Granted, he could be right about this game. I'm only a few hours into Skyward Sword, and although I've enjoyed it so far, I'm not far enough to form a good opinion about the game. Still, in general, I feel like he's not a person who enjoys gaming, just a person who enjoys the occasional game.

 

[Devin Miller]

I agree with some of the points brought up in the article, but where I disagree is what probably makes this my favorite Zelda game so far. I truly liked Fi. At first she got on my nerves, but as soon as I turned off the overlay I didn't even notice when Fi wanted to tell me anything other than cutscenes and dowsing. Fi never interrupted my fights because she would only say something when you talk to her explicitly. Fi's character actually grew which is something no other Zelda companion managed, even my favorite, Midna. I also real enjoyex the motion controls. I agree with the example given about pointless fetch but throughout most of the game I didn't even notice that it was fetch, with the exception of the example from the article.

 

[Dunkerloop]

Personally, I really did like the game, but in the end, Fi would probably, no, has a GUARANTEED spot as my pick for the worst sidekick ever. I plugged my ears whenever I heard her voice, which was rather often, and got annoyed at how often she repeated stuff we already learned literally 10 seconds before.

Eh, I liked her. The fact that she made her statements with such absolute certainty made her seem so cynical...like she was treating Link as an idiot. I didn't find her to be as intrusive as so many made her out to be.

Before playing the game, I was under the impression that she interrupted you whenever you were low on health. Instead, when you get down to three hearts, a soft chime sounds three times and then doesn't repeat...and you don't even have to talk to her. Probably the least annoying way of making it absolutely clear that you're low on health in any Zelda game. Her Rumors and Monster Analysis also were very helpful.

I thought she served more of a purpose than Midna...who didn't really know much about anything.

She's no Ezlo though.

Ezlo was amazing. The Minish cap is one of my favorite games in the series.

 

[itsmeyouidiot]

That's right: I'm claiming that even though you think the game is a flawless masterpiece, that's because you refuse to acknowledge its flaws because you were too excited for it. You played through this game, ran into several things that you normally wouldn't like, but actively ignored them because you didn't want to think that the game you've been anticipating all this time didn't meet your expectations.

Not really, no. I still wouldn't have disliked it for what it is even if it were different. Many of the things that people are quick to point out as flaws aren't really even flaws in my eyes, and that goes for any game.

And really, I could just as easily accuse you of only hating the game because you were too excited to hop on the "mimic Yahtzee" bandwagon. I could just as easily say you genuinely enjoyed the game, but actively ignored everything that made it good because you wanted to hated it like the cool kids down at The Escapist.

Let's be honest here: any game that incorporates the design philosophy of Skyward Sword would have been panned by critics and gamers alike if it weren't so heavily anticipated.

Correction: it would be panned by some critics and gamers, particularly the ones who like to be overly negative about everything.

The game is padded with long, unnecessary, and mandatory fetch quests

I still don't really understand how fetch quests are so bad. If you spent an equivalent amount of time doing something else that didn't fit the arbitrary label "fetch quest," you'd be happy.

there are several gameplay instances that don't advance the plot (including a contrived mine cart sequence ending with a boss you already beat that doesn't amount to anything)

Again, why is this bad? Having more content in a game is suddenly something people don't want?

the art direction is random to the point that it's almost difficult to look at

It's a half-way meeting between the art styles of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, so what? While I do agree it looks weird at first, it really doesn't do anything to make the game less fun.

we go full circle back to the launch days of the Wii where motion controls are needlessly tacked on in so many aspects of the game

If by "needlessly tacked on," you mean "masterfully executed in a manner that the Wii was supposed to do in the first place," then yes.

you revisit areas that you already beat (including an entire dungeon), you fight three bosses at least twice

I don't see how this could be anything more than an very mild annoyance.

the game is constantly reminding you of things that you already know

People made that same complaint in Ocarina of Time, yet that's widely considered to be the greatest game ever made.

there's only one town in the game and three areas to explore

As opposed to the other games where there are tons of areas to explore but more than half of them are ultimately pointless. Wind Waker was especially bad in this regard, more than 90% of the Great Sea was utterly pointless.

it takes longer to find dungeons than it takes to beat them

Again, you're asking for less content for your money?

and the combat lacks refinement but still punishes you if it doesn't work properly (I want to swing one direction, but it makes me swing in another and I take damage from an enemy).

Okay, let me explain:

Bad controls is not the same as YOU being bad AT the controls.

People who think the motion controls in SS are bad simply don't know how to play. I myself thought the controls were unresponsive, but then, like any sentient creature capable of learning, figured them out.

The mistake most people make is that they try to use the motion controls with their arms, when they are actually done almost entirely with the wrist.

Mistakes are possible, but can almost always be corrected on the second try. What many people mistake for a major flaw is simply a mild inconvenience.

 

[GoldenShadow]

I honestly think that Skyward Sword is the best Zelda game ever made, and Mr. Crosshaw here is basically insulting me for thinking that.

Going "NUH UH THAT WASN'T A FLAW" is as valid an argument as any. A flaw that you fail to notice isn't a flaw. There's a difference between actual flaws that reduce enjoyment and nitpicking "flaws" that you have to actively search for in order to find.

And what exactly is there to miss about the first paragraph, anyway? Of course people are defensive when the best games on the market are attacked instead of the hundreds of thousands of games more deserving of it.

To be honest, I actually pity Yahtzee for being so spoiled that he can't see the game as a masterpiece. It's like he doesn't even know what a bad game is.

I want to say that you're trolling, but I'll respond anyway.

A flaw that you fail to notice doesn't make it any less of a flaw. That's like saying a tree that falls with no one around to hear it doesn't make a sound.

Unlike most fans of this game, I'm assuming, I wasn't hyped for Skyward Sword; I was trying not to be. Last time I was, I felt that Twilight Princess didn't live up to the hype, so I tried to keep my expectations modest so I would enjoy the game more.

All that did was prevent me from glossing over its numerous flaws.

That's right: I'm claiming that even though you think the game is a flawless masterpiece, that's because you refuse to acknowledge its flaws because you were too excited for it. You played through this game, ran into several things that you normally wouldn't like, but actively ignored them because you didn't want to think that the game you've been anticipating all this time didn't meet your expectations.

Let's be honest here: any game that incorporates the design philosophy of Skyward Sword would have been panned by critics and gamers alike if it weren't so heavily anticipated.

The game is padded with long, unnecessary, and mandatory fetch quests, there are several gameplay instances that don't advance the plot (including a contrived mine cart sequence ending with a boss you already beat that doesn't amount to anything), the art direction is random to the point that it's almost difficult to look at, we go full circle back to the launch days of the Wii where motion controls are needlessly tacked on in so many aspects of the game, you revisit areas that you already beat (including an entire dungeon), you fight three bosses at least twice, the game is constantly reminding you of things that you already know, there's only one town in the game and three areas to explore, it takes longer to find dungeons than it takes to beat them, and the combat lacks refinement but still punishes you if it doesn't work properly (I want to swing one direction, but it makes me swing in another and I take damage from an enemy).

And that's not even going into comparing this to other Zelda games: there are fewer towns, fewer dungeons, fewer enemy types, fewer bosses, fewer items, the overall game is smaller, and if it weren't for all the padding, the story probably would have lasted us about six to eight hours.

But wait, there's more: let's remember that Nintendo claimed to work on this game for five years, and they had all the funding brought in by their Wii and DS sales, and they were completely unrestrained due to working on a full DVD while incorporating modest production values with no voice acting.

And you're telling me that this is the 'best Zelda game ever made?' I get that people are entitled to their opinions... but yours is awfully flimsy.

The only part of the whole game that felt unneeded was the flooded forest section where you have to gather tad-tones. It felt really weird that you had to prove your worth to the water dragon again. In my opinion, the rest of the character's motivations for sending link to do their fetching were completely plausible.

 

[Epona]

Yahtzee doesn't like Skyward Sword and all the fanboys come out of the woodwork to redefine what a review is so they can invalidate his opinion (not review, opinion).

You know, it's no wonder the game industry puts out broken, incomplete games. Skyward Sword was both. There WAS a game breaking bug at release AND if most of the game is padding, I would call that incomplete.

Consider this. The reason Phantom Hourglass had to have small dungeons and you had to return to the Ocean King place multiple time was because of hardware restrictions. Those hardware restrictions aren't present on the Wii and on DVD discs. Why then was this game in development for so long but has LESS content than previous games? Of course, even when they cut corners people defend them.

This game looks bad on a 1080p television. If they didn't fill the DVD with graphics, why not fill it with content?

 

[Howling Din]

Indeed, F*** you, Skyward Sword. I'm a fan of the series, but not a zealot. My love for it is not unconditional. Nor can I love it in slices. The bad of Skyward Sword far outweighed the good.