Why is Skyrim popular?

[The Funslinger]

I AM a fanboy. If you're trying to use that term as an insult it's not working.
I'm not slandering your opinion, but I'm not adopting it either.
And I get the feeling that partaking in this argument isn't getting me any closer to finding out the answer, so I'm bowing out.

You know a fanboy is an insult.

It's someone who loves a thing regardless of faults and fiercely defends it no matter what and generally insults others who have differing opinions.

You shouldn't wear that tag with pride.

Just look at N4G for a fanboy cesspool.

Indeed. And the same argument could be made of Skyrim fans of a purportedly buggy game. Now, I've owned Skyrim since release, and I'm going to point out a little thing called exaggeration. It's not the messy explosion some make it out to be. At least not the Xbox 360 version. In any case, it's the only game that operates on its scale in this way, and to this quality. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's worth it.

The back tracking in Skyrim doesn't feel forced in, and when backtracking does appear, it's because the cities are huge hubs of activity. If you visit a dungeon on a quest then you'll only be visiting it once (the randomly generated bounty hunting quests being the exception).

By all means, correct me if I'm wrong but the main complaint I've heard about Skyward Sword, though, is that the game makes you backtrack a lot. This isn't so acceptable in a game that's a dungeon crawler with a small somewhat free roam area working as an overlay as it is in a game that allows total freedom to the point where even the main questline is totally optional.

Honestly, I don't get why Skyrim and Skyward Sword keep clashing anyway. Maybe because they're both fantasy games? Maybe because they're both from time tested franchises? Maybe because they both have "sky" in their name. Doesn't matter. But thing is, beyond this, they're not that similar as games. So the war between the two just baffles me. All in all though, Skyrim is definitely the game that had the most effort put in, by volumes.

 

[|Sith|Eldarion]

The reason so many people are drooling/dissing Skyrim, is that it's a fantastic game regardless of your opinion, but there are problems inherent in the Elder Scrolls series that many newcomers won't be willing to accept. The unbalanced combat is one(I'm looking at you, Dremora Lord). The glitches are another. The unfocused world is a big one, because many people like clear objectives and motivations. But the combat is masterfully executed, because there is no other game where I can stealth kill two enemies with a bow, shout others off a cliff, summon two spectral swords and duke it out with the rest of the enemies, only to have the fight interrupted by a dragon, let alone make it fun. The animations are far improved, and the entire world map(16x16 miles)is rendered beautifully, with nary a hitch. And one feature that many people have prayed to god for in the past is here:saving at any time. There are no mandatory save points, no repeated areas, because you can save at any time, and try again from any point as often as you like. The boss battles are excellent, no dungeon repeats itself in anything but art style, and, if there's anything in this masterpiece you don't like, you can mod the PC version to your hearts content.

Skyward Sword, on the other hand, is a game which is good only because it's a Zelda game, and does puzzle dungeons better than any other game series ever. It has its own merits, to be sure, but I played the game through to the end, and I could think of a full ten things that would've made the game markedly better.
1.Having it not rely on motion controls, because they are unintuitive, unresponsive, and make for crummy boss fights.
2.Getting rid of dowsing.
3.Making shields not break, unless the wooden one is lit on fire.
4.Having Z targeting automatically raise your shield against attacks, instead using the nunchuck waggle for shield bashing, a game mechanic that was a welcome addition.
5.Giving Fi a personality, because a mystical spirit should not be an odds calculator.
6.Making bomb throwing down to a button press.
7.Not giving Link the nose of a pig and lips.
8.Not making the boss key insertion a frustrating chore.
9.Not making me try to like a character halfway through the game whom I hate and want to stab with his pointy hair.
10.Bringing back the memorable boss fights, the ones that were massive and epic. Tentalus fails to wow me in the same way as Morpheel, or that giant bird thing from Wind Waker. And do you know why? It's uninteresting. You're not working around floating bits of the boat to get to his eye before he smashes you. It's just shoot him in the eye until he moves, then move slightly higher and do it some more.
Music was nice though.

 

[The Funslinger]

Double post... damn connection.

 

[Vampire cat]

A beautiful and easy-to-access game with a welcoming and enjoyable story and background, great quests and a thousand things to do. A highly anticipated follow-up to a widely loved series.

It's popular because it's good (the more common reason why things are popular).

 

[Rijo]

Its very easy to see why Skyrim has a strong buzz too it. Most of us have been trapped behind the iron-sights for so long in a grey/brown/whatever dull color that comes next is. That Skyrim was really a refreshing game, like a long island ice tea refreshing after working a tar roof in Florida. Was a great change of pace to behead someone with a Ax or turn them into a meat pop-sickle. Not saying i didn't have fun in MW3/BF3/GW3 but sometimes if all else fails, chop its head off with a Ax will fix it. (That and i don't have to worry about RPG rockets taking out my horse (BF3)

P.S I use to play World of Warcraft till i took a gnome to the knee.

 

[The Funslinger]

A sub-standard if not retarded script, bugs and glitches in every corner of the game, a completely broken and lazy PS3 port and gameplay mechanics that have been outclassed by so many games before it add up to a game that doesn't deserve the memetic status it holds.

1. The story line is relatively good.
2. I've yet to encounter any bugs.
3. PS3 HAS NO GAMES. Play it on Xbox or the computer - This might be a problem, but I don't know. I don't know anyone with a PS3.
4. Again, the mechanics seem pretty good. Though I'm not sure how one improves upon sword swinging.

I think the issue with your opinion is that you've only heard about the game from people who have exaggerated its flaws.
The reason people like Skyrim is because it's a huge, open, beautiful, and generally in-depth world. The story is pretty great, imo, if only for the fact that the world-changing events are actually decided by player actions. It's a great example of where games should be going: More choice, more depth in the game world, more ideas and philosophies built into the story. This is also what I liked so much about Deus Ex HR, and it seems the gaming community, as a whole, agrees with me here.
Besides the glitches (which I've never encountered), I don't see what you don't find appealing about that.

Wait, wait WAIT!

The PS3 is a games console? The ad campaigns had me believe it was a Bluray player with a karaoke and dance simulator tacked on. (In case my above post didn't warn you, I'm joking. Calm down. The adverts are just like that.

Its very easy to see why Skyrim has a strong buzz too it. Most of us have been trapped behind the iron-sights for so long in a grey/brown/whatever dull color that comes next is. That Skyrim was really a refreshing game, like a long island ice tea refreshing after working a tar roof in Florida. Was a great change of pace to behead someone with a Ax or turn them into a meat pop-sickle. Not saying i didn't have fun in MW3/BF3/GW3 but sometimes if all else fails, chop its head off with a Ax will fix it. (That and i don't have to worry about RPG rockets taking out my horse (BF3)

Don't forget using the Wabbajack to turn a huge ravening monster into a sweetroll. Which I then eat. (Except that one time when someone stole it. The guards just laughed at me!)

 

[TheScientificIssole]

I am not going to express my anger at this shit.
This is almost trolling.
EDIT:

And with that, I finally take my leave. Thank you for the inspirations, thanks for caring, and thanks for not yelling at me for thinking that people who do not know me would seriously care about some random dude's eyes. I will always remember the good times I had here, and hopefully during my absence I'll forget some of the stupider things I've done.

Goodbye Escapist Forums.

I don't understand.

 

[teebeeohh]

skyrim runs on the three relevant stationary gaming platforms (and my laptop, YEAAAAAAAAAAH)
skyward sword is on the fucking wii, which by now gathers dust with the Wii-sports disc crusted inside the drive in most homes. If Jesus in game form would descend on the psp people would keep playing skyrim because nobody has a psp.
also, didn't we just have this thread?

 

[dekcahw]

Freedom is the main reason. So much freedom compared to 99.99999% of the games out there.

Also, try turning the difficulty up off scrub mode if the game is too easy. Yes, it is still a cakewalk if you abuse bs/enchanting, so don't? It amazes me when people complain about difficulty but they won't play the hardest difficulty because they know they will get rocked then their ego will take a hit.

 

[OManoghue]

We like it for the same reasons people like any game. Same reason you and millions of others like Zelda, because it's fun. And people talk about it all the time because there's so much to do. In Zelda, you are link, just like all the other Zelda games, you need to save a girl, just like all the other ones, and there's a limited amount of characters. Skyrim reached meme status because of the amount of content.

 

[V8 Ninja]

Ignoring that this thread seems to be a prejudice attack against Skyrim for the sake of Skyward Sword, the aspect of the Elder Scrolls series that attracts people is the freedom the game gives to the player. You can do a near infinite amount of things in Skyrim, whether it by throwing pots at children to slaying dragons atop mountains. It's the freedom that makes everybody praise Skyrim to a never-ending amount, not-so-much whether or not the game is good or if the experience is completely bug-free. Also, the game still has its fishhooks in almost everybody who's played it, so if you're looking for criticism you'll have to wait another few months.

 

[Dr Jones]

Looks to me, as if OP started a flamewar, and skipped town.

 

[Snoozer]

It's a solid single player RPG, that leaves you a lot of freedom. Games like that are rare. It reminds me of the old Gothic tiltes (and of course the other Elder scrolls games).

The reason why Zelda didn't get as much attention is the old Nintendo problem, the title is limited to the Wii. I don't think that a very high percentage even owns a Wii. Everyone on the Escapist can play Skyrim though - I assume almost every user has either a Ps3/xbox or a computer, so the audience is much bigger.

Also, I don't think that you can compare Zelda to Skyrim. Skyrim is a Rpg with a serious touch, the new Zelda is a colourful Adventure game. Don't see why they should be compete in any way.

 

[KingOfGreyfell]

Im sorry but I gotta do it.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5148-The-Legend-of-Zelda-Skyward-Sword

That Skyward Sword that will turn naysayers into fans?

Hakumen makes a valid point. As does Yahtzee.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

I just like the Elder Scrolls games...
I love the open worlds and the quests.
And I love the mod support they all get.

As for why I don't have Skyward Sword...
I just don't have a Wii, otherwise I'd have gotten it.
Now if only they'd release it for the Gamecube...

 

[Snotnarok]

Because Skyrim is a vast world with actually fairly decent writing with the ability to take your character in any way you desire and you can chose how to go through the game (missions and such). You can equip your character any way you want, play as a mage, warrior, heavy warrior, spell sword, rouge, archer, or as any species you want the choices are endless as the land it takes place in.

Why isn't Skyward Sword getting the same recognition as Skyrim? Well I'll start by saying that Zelda games are still very popular despite it starring the same bloody game staring the same characters with the same gear with the same plot. Every, single game. And in terms of visuals? Skyward sword is the ugliest Zelda I've seen, Link looks like he's just gotten some botched plastic surgery with those lips and the nose. In terms of Zelda titles Twilight Princess and especially Windwaker look FAR superior to that game and had a FAR better story.

Skyrim is bigger, there's more options, there's more ways to play, equip yourself, it's never the same game twice, it's story is different every game, there's no set path in the game to where to go, and to top it off you can mod the game and put whatever you want in the game.

Is it a better game? No it's all subjective.

 

[Imbechile]

Why is Skyrim popular?

Because it's the RPG equivalent of Call of duty, and the hype was huge.

 

[Broderick]

I think y'all postin in a troll thread. I remember seeing this guy about, and most of the threads he creates are all like this. While I do encourage discussion, im not sure its possible with this guy/girl sometimes, he/she doesnt really take critisism that well or listen to reasons people give relevant to the topic. I do hope this changes in the future but asking "why is game x popular" or "why is game x more popular than game y?" seems kinda...trollish. Frankly, he/she should know by now why a lot of people like it, with the billions of skyrim threads that popped up over the last couple months.

As for why people like elder scrolls games, and skyrim in particular? Well, its an open world game series where you can do anything at anytime. Its non-liniarity is a trademark of the series. You can be who you want to be in that gameworld, whether it be a wizard, rogue, warrior, or any mix of those. Heck, you could even just roleplay a merchant if you wanted to, and just level up speechcraft and merchantile. While there are glitches, not many are gamebreaking and it would be unreasonable to expect the devs to get every single bug out. I love the series, just like I love the zelda series, but when I dont feel like playing our hylian hero, I like the option to play my dark elf assassin with a heart of gold.

In conclusion, please do more research before you go asking such questions. A quick search bar check will give you many many threads answering your questions. Also please be a bit more open minded, not everyone will agree on everything, but a little consideration into another persons point of view can do wonders.

 

[El Presidente]

Because it's fun and it had a huge amount of marketing behind it? It's not complicated.

 

[DarkRyter]

Because people enjoy it, duh.

I know right?

It befuddles me how people can't understand a concept as simple as "popularity".