The Skyward Sword of Disappointment

A lot of it probably has to do with expectations. I think Zelda being exclusive to Nintendo consoles makes me a lot more forgiving of it's style.

That said, much of Twilight Princess was actually quite dark in atmosphere, and that's probably why it's the only Zelda game I've really enjoyed since the SNES days.

I'll be honest though.. I think it's highly unlikely I would have played any of them had I not been introduced at such an early age. People tend to be more willing to try something they liked as a child. Part of me keeps seeking that feeling I had when I played the original Zelda, but truthfully I know I'm kidding myself. My taste have obviously changed greatly since then.

Still, Twilight Princess (imo) is a lot different than the rest of the series in terms of atmosphere. If you do indeed like Zelda, I highly recommend giving that one a try if you haven't already.
 
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I've tried the Nintendo 64 version on an emulator - and I liked it enough to play for a good number of hours. I also tried a version on the Wii I had at one time - but I don't even remember what version it was. But it was pretty good - though very similar to the N64 Zelda.

I do have an extremely hard time getting into the Japanese style games, and especially "cutesy" stuff like Zelda. But there's something about Zelda that makes me not mind it so much. I think it's the "innocent" fairy tale nature of it - which is often appealing to me to an extent.

Which is also why I really liked the first Fable. It had a charm that's hard to put into words - but which made the less-than-serious art style very appropriate.

Very similar to the first HoMM games. They look like something I'd never be able to take seriously - but they're made with such care that you get to appreciate it rather than the opposite reaction.

World of Warcraft did the same thing for me.
 
I tried to like Fable, but the only thing it did was make me wish I was playing Gothic instead. :)

I think that was a case of expectations though..
 
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I love zelda, would've quit gaming if it wasn't for the n64 ones, but Skyward Sword is the worst zelda I've ever played.

I had an easy time with the motion controls but see no point to them, there's no sword swing you do with your wii remote that couldn't have been done more precisely with a thumbstick direction+ button press. The motion controls may be more fun for kids, but they're not used for anything a gamepad couldn't do better.

TL;DR: CURSE YOU… NINTENDO!

Save your curses for future. In time the game controls will evolve to be so simple that even house pets can play them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdEBgZ5Y46U
 
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Save your curses for future. In time the game controls will evolve to be so simple that even house pets can play them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdEBgZ5Y46U

Heck, you don't even have to have a mammal's highly developed brain in order to play the current games

(and here is another non mammal playing a current game).



And I actually played OOT just a few months after its release. My expectations were quite high as well though, the game had scored nothing short of perfect in every review I had seen, but when playing it I could not help but feel disappointed. The controls were not as smooth as you would expect from a 100/100 game (good for a 3d game of its time but then again, reviewers loved to tell us how horrible 3d-game controls were back then), the story was not amazing and the camera was annoying. Had the game received a ~90/100 then I probably would have probably had an easier time accepting those issues though.
 
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JDR said:
That said, much of Twilight Princess was actually quite dark in atmosphere, and that's probably why it's the only Zelda game I've really enjoyed since the SNES days.

I still prefer Majora's Mask for…if not quite "darkness", then a "creepy" or "eerie" atmosphere. The moon glowering down at the world, the discordant music as armageddon edges closer, the doomed inhabitants of Termina making the best of their last day all help make it my favourite Zelda due to the atmosphere. Hell, even Tingle is (perhaps unintentionally) creepy.

Must dig out my GC controller and replay it on the Wii sometime.
 
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Lesson being that if you manage to "get over" the Amalur artstyle - there might be a great game waiting for you.

Yep. I had to get over some things I didn't like about Reckoning. I for one, prefer realism in my RPGs, even if they are high fantasy. I don't like swinging giant hammers with over-the-top, flashy FX happening with every attack I make. But overall, those things are minor. I'm sure I will love the other aspects of the game and overall I will forget about those things I don't like. And I play RPGs for that nerdy RPG stuff, and Amalur looks to have a lot of that in it. Can't wait until February 7th!
 
I haven't finished a Zelda game since Link To The Past and I've played all of them except for the N64 games and the last DS title, yet I keep buying them because I loved those first few games and I like the IDEA of Zelda but when every game is basically the same as the last, it's hard to keep my interest up for long.

Wind Waker's visual style was it's redeeming factor for me - it was gorgeous and will likely hold up better than any of the 3D games for a long time. And I liked the more grown up and serious tone of Twilight Princess... but again, the gameplay was just old and nothing new as far as story.

So I'm not surprised the new one is just ok. But just ok is going to kill the series at some point. Zelda needs a serious re-imagining. I would love a Zelda with really gorgeous 2D artwork and with either really solid RPG elements such as stats/levelling or with a really deep weapons/armor system. Sure, keep the temple/puzzle/boss battle template but give everything else a bit more depth.
 
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I still prefer Majora's Mask for…if not quite "darkness", then a "creepy" or "eerie" atmosphere. The moon glowering down at the world, the discordant music as armageddon edges closer, the doomed inhabitants of Termina making the best of their last day all help make it my favourite Zelda due to the atmosphere. Hell, even Tingle is (perhaps unintentionally) creepy.

Must dig out my GC controller and replay it on the Wii sometime.

Hmm.. come to think of it, I never finished Majora's Mask. I should probably go back and do a full playthrough sometime. I always considered MM more of a side story rather than part of the main series. I have it as part of the LoZ Collector's Edition disc. (I assume you have that as well since you mention playing it on the Wii) :)



The controls were not as smooth as you would expect from a 100/100 game (good for a 3d game of its time but then again, reviewers loved to tell us how horrible 3d-game controls were back then), the story was not amazing and the camera was annoying.

Nintendo 64 controller = Worst gamepad ever.

Not saying that's the only reason OoT's controls weren't smooth, but that horribly designed controller just needs to be mentioned. I never really played OoT until it was released on the Gamecube though, and I never had any control issues. I agree the game was definitely overrated though.
 
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Both N64 Zeldas can be found on the virtual console. And there is quite a lot of debate in regards to where the different games fit together in the zelda timeline, if they fit together at all. All we know is that Zelda 1 & 2 are related, and that there is some form of relation between Ocarina of time & Majoras mask (I can't comment on the DS Zelda games). In general, you can probably consider the series to be quite similar to the final fantasy games, in that they have a few traits in common, but are separate stories & continuities. It feels like the only Nintendo series that has some form of continuity is the Metroid series.


And the Navi substitute in Skyward Sword is really getting on my nerves. Anyone who thought that Navi was bad (I did) will absolutely hate this character. She loves to state the obvious, and won't stop beeping unless you let her (I noticed that you stepped into a volcanic region. Watch out, lava is hot. (not an exact quote) might seem like an annoyingly obvious comment, but when an NPC tells you to do something, and tells me exactly how to do it, I don't want or need to be told the exact same thing again, only in even more detail).
 
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Zelda SS has already sold a million in the US alone. Highly unlikely that it will die because of SS.
 
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Both N64 Zeldas can be found on the virtual console.

Of course.. it's been so long since I've even powered on my Wii that I forgot about the virtual console. Can you believe Metroid: Other M was the last Wii game I played?

As far as the N64 Zeldas fitting in the timeline, the events of Oot are referenced in Wind Waker as distant past.


Zelda SS has already sold a million in the US alone. Highly unlikely that it will die because of SS.

I don't want Zelda to die, I just want a less cartoony style and, more importantly, a choice of control schemes. I'm tired of being forced to use the WiiMote for certain Wii games. Every title should have an alternate scheme that allows you to use the gamepad if you prefer.
 
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As far as I know the virtual console versions have no improvements over the originals, and majora's mask more detailed textures and models (compared to Ocarina) do benefit from the higher res/AA/AF you get from an emulator.
 
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