The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

[LaveDisco]

So after finishing dread and reminding myself just how good Nintendo games are, alongside being on holiday, I took a punt on this, despite bouncing off the Wii version - due to how slow the pace seemed. 
 

And boy they’ve really fixed it up. It’s ace. What a game! 

[BitterToad]

28 minutes ago, LaveDisco said:

So after finishing dread and reminding myself just how good Nintendo games are, alongside being on holiday, I took a punt on this, despite bouncing off the Wii version - due to how slow the pace seemed. 
 

And boy they’ve really fixed it up. It’s ace. What a game! 

It’s really really brilliant. I absolutely loved the pace of the thing. Just a nice adventure that slowly revealed more and more brilliant things about itself. 
 

Regular controls all the way though. I absolutely loved the motion controls for the first third but once things got more involved/complicated they really ruined the experience. 

[lankysanchez]

I played this on the Wii back in the day and got quite far (Earth Temple I think) but put it down because reasons. I was really enjoying it at the time and hadn’t really noticed a lot of the criticisms.
 

Playing it again now and again really enjoying it. Mostly handheld rather than motion controls this time. The art style is less charming than WW, but the dungeons are classic Zelda and I really like the linear nature of it - as someone who keeps bouncing off BOTW, Skyward Sword is really what I look for in a Zelda game. 
 

 

[moosegrinder]

https://store.nintendo.co.uk/en_gb/zelda-and-loftwing-amiibo-the-legend-of-zelda-collection-000000000010007278.html?awc=12777_1639484431_0d1b3d672eaedb9ae759ea9ba66a0652&affil=awin&utm_source=AWIN&utm_medium=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2F&utm_campaign=jd-amiibo-zelda-loftwing&utm _content=Editorial+Content

 

 

Loftwing and Zelda Amiibo in stock if anyone's still looking.

[Hanzo the Razor]

22 hours ago, moosegrinder said:

https://store.nintendo.co.uk/en_gb/zelda-and-loftwing-amiibo-the-legend-of-zelda-collection-000000000010007278.html?awc=12777_1639484431_0d1b3d672eaedb9ae759ea9ba66a0652&affil=awin&utm_source=AWIN&utm_medium=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2F&utm_campaign=jd-amiibo-zelda-loftwing&utm _content=Editorial+Content

 

 

Loftwing and Zelda Amiibo in stock if anyone's still looking.

 

22 quid for a quality stoor gatherer.

[Bushtopher]

I’ve started playing this again after not touching it for a few months. The motion controls are really hampering my enjoyment of the game, so interested in thoughts from anyone who shifted to button controls and whether that’s any better?

 

I’ve had a go with them, of course, but it feels so clunky having to hold down the left shoulder button to look around as you’re moving I’m wondering if it’s worth sticking with and getting used to it, or if I just need to put up with the annoying motion stuff. 

[metallicfrodo]

I gave up on the motion controls and completed the game with normal contols. For me they were better, although in the sense that a filling is better than having a root canal. The underlying game is great but for me it was almost completely ruined by the control schemes, both of which I found just did their utmost to get in the way of your enjoyment.

[Paulando]

18 minutes ago, Bushtopher said:

The motion controls are really hampering my enjoyment of the game, so interested in thoughts from anyone who shifted to button controls and whether that’s any better?

The button/stick controls are way better. They’ve done a fantastic job with them, so much so that is definitely miss them when I next play a non-Skyward 3D Zelda.

[Chindie]

The button scheme feels a bit like what it is, a fudge, but when you get your eye in with it it is far better than the motion controls with the constant recalibration and having that feeling of being slightly at arms length from it all.

 

I would say that trying to play it like a true twin analogue game will be frustrating. It's better to approach it in a manner where the camera is an occasional use tool rather than a constant input, with the Z targeting being the main way to align the camera instead.

 

I do find the stick sword controls are a bit... vague? I never feel certain I'm going to get a vertical slice for instance. But they work.

 

[Bushtopher]

Thanks all. Will persevere with button/stick controls then!

[Paulando]

There’s definitely a knack to the stick swiping, but when it clicks it’s super-precise. Until you get the that point it won’t feel quite right.

 

A few tips: to do a sideways swipe, you don’t need to move the stick left and then right (for example), you do it from the prone position. And there’s a slight delay before Link makes a move, which emulates the motion controls iirc. If you don’t know either of these things you can end up swiping all over the place hoping for something to happen.

 

I don’t think the tutorial does a great job of communicating this btw.

[Chindie]

And finished.

 

There's not many games that I can say I'm glad to have played. But this is one.

 

I was working at Gamestation when this came out, and it was a time when I'd moved on from the Wii (never my favourite console, I basically played Twilight Princess at launch and Wii Sport's, and moved on - not helped by being at uni right at this time). I never played it, and the distaste for it in the years since stopped me ever going back to try it. But the odd dissenting voices, and the fact it's a mainline Zelda game, itched at me. So this release I knew I had to play, and was lucky enough to get it for Christmas. And this last couple of weeks I've finally sat down and played it. I'm glad I did.

 

It isn't the best Zelda, but it could have been. It only has 3 (admittedly evolving) dungeons, but they're fantastic. It has fantastic puzzles, made by a great selection of unusual items (no sign of the same bloody boomerang here). It has some good bosses (and one appalling one). It has a good approach to adding depth to the series with some very light upgrade stuff. It looks far better than I remember it looking in magazines back in 2011, the art design is much better. And there's loads of hints towards the game that BotW would become.

 

On the downside, it's a game designed around one fundamental thing - motion control. Everything is motion control. Every enemy is in some way designed as a motion puzzle. You can't escape it. This remaster gives us the controller option and it's perfectly workable, but it's still basically a never ending dexterity crossed with reverse Simon says puzzle and it does feel like you're being slightly held at arms length as a result.

 

It also has way too much revisiting of places (as a result of it basically having 3 dungeons) and the flying stuff is completely superfluous, it may as well have had a fast travel system. And the lack of the classic open/hub world makes it feel less cohesive than other Zelda titles.

 

This game with more true unique dungeons, a proper overworld, losing THAT boss and completely ditching the motion controls (which would obviously mean changing the entire combat system and redesign of a few things) would make this one of the absolute best of the series for me. It would be far less unique, but as a whole, it would be a better playing game IMO. 

 

But even as it is, a flawed diamond, I'm really happy to have played it at last. It's quite good. A good use of 40 hours.

[Bushtopher]

I’ve stuck with the pad controls for a bit and enjoying this sooooo much more now.
 

Managed to beat the boss at the end of the time crystal mines place first time, which I’m sure wouldn’t have been possible with the motion controls. 

[DarhkFox]

Didn't really have an issue with the motion controls on the switch - besides the end boss and the rope sections.

 

Honestly really enjoyed the game - i would put it above Wind Waker and Twilight Princess personally. Don't get me wrong there was some frustrating sections that got me stumped for a while but i never did look at a guide.

[Stanley]

Just finished this having left it last year quite near the end. The last dungeon and final boss are brilliant, I love how quickly you can take him down once you suss it out. 
 

The only thing I would have liked would have been fast travel anywhere, even if they left it until a bit later to give you the ability - it makes going for a 100% completion a bit of a chore having to constantly return to the skies. I think they mitigated that a bit by using an amiibo to return to the skies from anywhere (which really should have been included anyway as standard) but instant fast travel would have made all the improvements overall more complete. 
 

Absolutely hyped for Tears Of The Kingdom now, my word, but I wonder if we’ll see an Ocarina remaster any time soon, next year is the 25th anniversary but I wouldn’t have thought they’d release it the same year as TOTK. As for the fabled Twilight Princess/Wind Waker double pack, 2024?