Zero Punctuation: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[Hal10k]

Well, everyone has different opinions and are entitled to them. I'm enjoying it, though it's not the best by far.

However, I'm very interested in how some people want there to be voice acting. I've heard bad things about Other M, where players generally seem to think having Samus speak was a bad move. I can't imagine a game where Mario talks, and I, personally, hope that if they ever DO put voice acting in Legend of Zelda, they make an option to turn it off, and people who don't like the voice acting use it rather than complain that the series has been destroyed because of it.

Yeah. The thing with a lot of these games is that the main characters (Link, Samus) were designed to not have a personality and act as conduits for the player into this alien world. By giving them a voice, you are also giving them feelings and opinions which do not fit with the original intent of the character. So voice acting is clearly not a real option. I think the reason Team Ninja fucked up that aspect was because they are relatively new in the videogame world whereas an old school developer would have known instinctively that it was a recipe for disaster. However, I wouldn't put it past somebody to eventually bring out a Zelda game with voices within the next decade. Even if they managed to make Link mute without it looking retarded, they would still have to give Zelda a voice and I don't think any voice can live up to the fans expectations.

Well, it's different from the Other M situation in that Samus was a recurring character who had already had the basic framework of a personality suggested. Different games, but same Samus. Whereas we've had what, twelve Links by now? Probably more, depending on how you interpret Four Swords. A new Link with more of a personality wouldn't violate consistency all that much. The only thing a new Link has to do to fit in with the rest of the series is be courageous. And wear green pajamas, but that's just because Nintendo had to make recognizable sprites for the NES and refuses to let anything go.

 

[NoeL]

A wild Fanboy appeared!

Ganondorf doesn't seem to have any real motivation besides, "he's evil,"

I guess you never made it to the end of Windwaker. He spells out his motivation clear as day:

Spoiler

The desert sucks ass and he wants himself (and his peeps) some green green grass to call home. He invaded Hyrule because his people were dying.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

A wild Fanboy appeared!

Ganondorf doesn't seem to have any real motivation besides, "he's evil,"

I guess you never made it to the end of Windwaker. He spells out his motivation clear as day:

Spoiler

The desert sucks ass and he wants himself (and his peeps) some green green grass to call home. He invaded Hyrule because his people were dying.

That was also said in OoT. Some of the Gerudo warrior said something about the harsh life and how his is their leader and wants them to have a better life. He then got corrupt with power somewhere in between.

Well, AFAIK. Was a long time ago that I played OoT.

And such small things show how little people know about the game, jet they like to talk about it like they got the knowledge from God Miyamoto him self.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

Whoever is defending this game probably hasn't actually played it. I had to concur with nearly everything Yahtzee said. The motion controls in particular were some of the worst I've had to endure ever. I appreciate it may not take the title for "least original game ever" but it certainly isn't escaping a "pretty unoriginal" stamp. They could have given up making these bloody games. It was forgivable the first few times but now it's just ridiculous.

Skyward Sword, while not flawless, is still a more fresh and original game than, say... Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Saints Row 3, Dead Rising 2/Off the Record, Arkham City, Gears of War 3, Uncharted 3, and even Skyrim. Seriously, Skyrim is great, but it's just a better looking, better playing version of Oblivion/Morrowind/Daggerfall/Arena.[

All you ignorant little shits, look at this post, and tell me you don't feel the weight of your own hypocrisy.

I don't exactly know what you are trying to prove. Pointing out that Skyward Sword is more original than "Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Saints Row 3, Dead Rising 2/Off the Record, Arkham City, Gears of War 3, Uncharted 3, and even Skyrim." is just saying it's the warmest block of ice. All those games have repeatedly been called out on the fact that they are just copies of the last game in the series. That does not redeem this game from being a reskinned version of a game I played 12 years ago.

Wow. They changed ALL of the story. AND they changed 3 whole items from the ORIGINAL 1998 game. Fuck. That is perhaps a bit too much innovation.

I'm not defending the game, but I played it, enjoyed almost every moment too. I can't say that for most of the games I've played this year.

 

[st0pnsw0p]

My only complaint (about the review, that is) is that he spends too much time talkin about other Zelda games or just the franchise in general, rather than the game itself.

Other than that, he makes some points which I agree with so far (I'm slightly past the first battle with the fallen), mainly the mostly empty Sea of Clouds.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

A wild Fanboy appeared!

Ganondorf doesn't seem to have any real motivation besides, "he's evil,"

I guess you never made it to the end of Windwaker. He spells out his motivation clear as day:

Spoiler

The desert sucks ass and he wants himself (and his peeps) some green green grass to call home. He invaded Hyrule because his people were dying.

I now respect Ganondorf less. Thank God Windwaker does not fit in the original canon or whatever. And anyway if someone is nitpicking Zelda because Ganondorf has no real motivations missed the point. The point being that Zelda is a fairy tail for children who do not need to carry moral burdens on their frail, infant shoulders. Anyway, whoever thinks evil bad guys need motivations to be evil need to look out their window and get a fresh whiff of reality.

I'm not sure if this is going to make you happy or sad, but take a look at this.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.335473-Official-Zelda-timeline

Wind Waker does fit int he original canon.
(if this is true )

 

[FallenMessiah88]

Well, a lot of the critism towards a new game usually has to do with it being either unrefined or unpolished or both, so I personally don't see anything wrong with each Zelda game essentially being a new iteration of the previous one, just like Mario.

 

[Warforger]

Yahtzee bashing a wii game..........didnt see that coming......at all........pure shock........out of the blue...........good god!........fuck it

But I loved Skyward Sword ultimately, pure fun and challenging. Its the one game I fully enjoyed playing all year, and thats out of quite a big list.

Well have gave Twlight Princess a good review so it's not entirely expected.

 

[CapitalistPig]

I'm with Yahtzee on pretty much all his reviews lately which basically show how much console gaming is becoming a game of pickpocket on the consumer. Make a game with substance, challenge, and innovative new game play? but that would require work and we wouldnt make as much money. QQ some more game developers. Ill stick with Bethesda until game makers learn that console gaming starts with a story, wows you with gameplay/cut scenes and makes you learn new things from gameplay. Side note when did Zelda become a game for 9 year olds? I know we all played the old games when we were young but it was without parental permission and a guarded secret to the terrors we faced in dungeons while our dad's secretly played with us without telling our mom's. Now it seems they make these games for the kiddies. I don't want to play COD as an adult and im stuck with kiddy dungeon crawlers. But im a puzzle player so i like a game i can't beat the first run through or will at least make me work for it. screw it im gonna go find the latest physics flash game .

Yahtzee entertaining the cynic in all of us. keep it up.

 

[Hal10k]

Well, of course he would point out the game's flaws. He's a critic. If you don't point out flaws, you're a salesman, not a critic.

I've said before, I'll say it again. Yahtzee is not a critic, he's an elitist. And this is not simply "pointing out flaws", this is just hatred and bias. It stops being an honest review the moment he starts complaining about trivial bullcrap like it actually changing some things around for once.

And do I have to mention that he cannot work a Wiimote for shit again so he has to complain about non-existent reaction delays instead?

Critic (plural critics), Noun:

1.A person who appraises the works of others.
2.A specialist in judging works of art.
3.One who criticizes; a person who finds fault.
4.An opponent.

Going by all four definitions off of the ol' wiktionary, Yahtzee is a critic. He appraises video games made by other people. This serves as his primary source of income, and he's been doing it for years now, so I would think that he qualifies as a specialist (disregarding the whole "games as art" flamewar). Pretty much all he does is criticize or find faults with things. And lastly, one could make the argument that he serves as an opponent to the developers of games he dislikes, though that one is admittedly a stretch.

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.

And there's no such thing as a trivial complaint in a professional review. If it's there, and you don't like it, it's your duty to complain about it.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Well, a lot of the critism towards a new game usually has to do with it being either unrefined or unpolished or both, so I personally don't see anything wrong with each Zelda game essentially being a new iteration of the previous one, just like Mario.

Take that back. Mario is a very original game and apart of the odd stray in recent years they have all featured vastly diverse mechanics that exploit platforming in clever and unique ways.

...exactly the same way Zelda has, and yet people call that formulaic and boring.

 

[itsmeyouidiot]

Anyway, whoever thinks evil bad guys need motivations to be evil need to look out their window and get a fresh whiff of reality.

Really?

That's kind of the exact opposite of true. Nobody in the real world is born evil, not even Hitler.

Hell, Hitler really was just evil because he had a messed-up life and instead of seeking therapy, became a politician.

 

[itsmeyouidiot]

Well, everyone has different opinions and are entitled to them.

That doesn't mean opinions can't be wrong. Opinion is partially rooted in fact, and people will often base their opinions off of faulty logic or incomplete information.