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Zelda: The Skyward Sword


spatular
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so i'm not sure i want to say much (so why am i starting a thread? - well i want to say how awesome it is) (not that i've done much to talk about anyway) as if it was me i'd want to go in fresh, i've pretty much ignored all the media about it. it's zelda so i've been looking forward to it but at the same time not sure i'm ready for a 50+ hour game at the moment. anyway the first hour or so has been smashing, the characters are great, it's been funny and charming, the music sounds familiar and it's lovely, the pointing is all done through motion plus so far which i didn't realise till now. it doesn't use the sensor bar, and it works great. obviously i was destroying pots in peoples houses

and surprisingly i was told off!

. was worried about starting it and not finishing but now i'm sure that's not going to be a problem http://www.mfgamers.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wub.gif

edit - oh yeah the gold wiimote looks super tacky but it works fine and the bumper/cover hides some of the tackyness so that's good.

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Should be getting this in the mail later on today. I kind of expected the Wiimote to look horrible, anything painted gold is going to. I'd have been surprised if you'd have said it looked good. If it was just a normal Wiimote I wouldn't have bothered but it's worth it as it's a plus version.

Really looking forward to getting into this, will post up some impressions later this evening.

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Okay, I've played it a bit. I'm at the start of what I think will be the first temple.

I dunno how I missed it in screenshots and videos but the graphical style is better than I thought. I could tell it was kind of cel-shaded but all the texturing looks like it was painted with water colours, in that dabbed/dot style. It looks fucking nice. And when things are far away it has this cool filter where far away structures look like they're just made up of a couple of brush strokes. It's hard to explain, but it's real nice.

So this in my first Motion+ game and it was weird at first as it doesn't seem to use the infra-red pointer at all, it's all done with the M+ and feels a bit slower moving the cursor but I got used to hit quick enough. It works great with the combat which was a relief. When they showed people playing it at events it looked quite awkward at times but that's gormless game journalists for you*; it's actually got quite a finesse to it.

And Zelda is scandelous! She was gonna kiss Link right on the mouth!

*Joke.

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And Zelda is scandelous! She was gonna kiss Link right on the mouth!

Inorite?! Fucking tease! I bet she's pulled that shit on every dude in Skyloft. Finally figured out the reason she's always getting kidnapped!

Also, i'd totally have a unabrow if I could grow it like Zelda's father. It's like an awesome pair of face-horns!

Anyways...

Graphics are lovely, sound is a joy, it's just so goddamn charming through and through. This is my first Motion+ game also and I was pleasantly surprised. Never been a fan of the whole Wiimote + sensor bar setup - I've always felt it was a jittery, inaccurate mess of a control system - but this is excellent. It's still a little on the slow side as a menu cursor, but it does what you want it to do when you want, no more repeating gestures to get them to work, at least in my experience so far anyway.

Aside from that, it's still Zelda. If you're a fan of the series (who isn't, right??), you know what you're getting pretty much.

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i'm making slow progress, kept thinking i was at the first temple but wasn't, now i finally am there i got stuck pretty much instantly :rolleyes: i have an idea though!

Never been a fan of the whole Wiimote + sensor bar setup - I've always felt it was a jittery, inaccurate mess of a control system

i've always thought the pointing with the sensor bar worked really well (especially compared to any motion controls), but it does get jittery if you are too far away - tried turning the sensitivity up?

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Not much love for Zelda! sad times.

I'm 23 hours in now and feel I should say something. It is quite a bit different in terms of pace. There isn't a lot to do outside the main quest; there's a few side-quests that don't take much doing and the overworld doesn't have many areas to explore. I sometimes felt Wind Waker could of done with more things to do on its many islands but Skyward Sword has even less to do.

But what they've added more of is in the actual quest. It's kind of like that transition from old Resident Evil to anything post Resident evil 4; perhaps not that extreme but going in that direction, by being more action orientated. It's not all action, there are plenty of puzzles and the dungeons are the usual Zelda style.

playing the sections outside the dungeons also reminds me a lot of Metroid Prime. They're only open as much as that game's areas and out of reach goodies are clearly obstructed by something that needs an item. I guess that's always been the case but it just feels more tightly knit here like it is in Metroid Prime.

So I think I'm trying to say this is probably the 'game-iest' Zelda game.. a bit how Mario Galaxy was more of a pure obstacle course than Mario Sunshine which kind of established a world. I feel the fat has been trimmed in Skyward Sword.. I mean it was always tasty fat previous Zeldas but it's fair to say SS is leaner, but still muscular.. I think.

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yeah i'm on or at least very close to the

5th

dungeon, so should probably say some stuff too, enjoying it no doubt but it's not quite grabbed me as much as twilight princess (and some other zeldas) although i am starting to get into it now, think it was because i got annoyed with a few early puzzles and had to resort to a guide a few times, i've not used a guide for a while now which i think is helping. some of the puzzles have been cool. some great monster/boss fights too. the characters/dialogue can be great but is a bit sparse imo, more would be good.the controls are mostly brilliant but i have had a few small problems with them, probably because i'd be rubbish as a sword fighter in real life, am getting better at it now mind, the enemies are a bit too good at blocking for me, and targeting is fine most of the time but against multiple strong enemies it can be annoying. the more pronounced swipes you make the better it is at recognising the direction of the swipe which is important and i think it takes a little getting used to after years of using just small flicks of the remote where any random direction will do.

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playing the sections outside the dungeons also reminds me a lot of Metroid Prime. They're only open as much as that game's areas and out of reach goodies are clearly obstructed by something that needs an item. I guess that's always been the case but it just feels more tightly knit here like it is in Metroid Prime.

Yes... Thank you!

I was getting this niggling feeling of recognition for the pre-dungeon areas, but couldn't put my finger on what it was. Just working my way towards the 3rd temple now with

all of the time-shifting shenanigans

and i'm enjoying it more the further I get.

I've just got an upgrade for a item which has introduced a new gameplay element. Love how it seamlessly drip feeds this stuff. Even something like the bombs, which you can now either chuck or roll along the ground, has had me scratching my head at times trying to figure out which item to use and which way to use it to fit the obstacle at hand.

Really enjoying the combat and I tend to treat the wiimote like an actual sword as I find that it gives the best results. As Spatular said, more pronounced movements work better than the quick flicks you would usually use, and once you have it down it's a brilliant and immersive combat system.

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playing the sections outside the dungeons also reminds me a lot of Metroid Prime. They're only open as much as that game's areas and out of reach goodies are clearly obstructed by something that needs an item. I guess that's always been the case but it just feels more tightly knit here like it is in Metroid Prime.

Yes... Thank you!

I was getting this niggling feeling of recognition for the pre-dungeon areas, but couldn't put my finger on what it was.

Yeah, it took a while to see it myself. It was only when I was killing certain a certain enemy its cry reminded me of the same noise an enemy makes from Metroid Prime (seriously, I think some sfx sharing is going on) it came to mind and I started seeing a few similarities in level design.

I've had very little issues with the controls but I suppose that bit you fight three skeletons is tricky. You have to be both accurate and quick which is when the controls can start reading things a bit wrong, and I guess I was panicking myself and not being terribly accurate.

But I thought outside the box a little with those guys and laid a bomb at my feet and lead the group towards it. It stunned them all and I just ran in flailing.

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I agree that there's likely some sfx sharing going on. There's been a few occasions (when fighting those spitting sand creatures in the desert springs to mind immediately) that I swear I've heard a sound effect from one of the Mario games.

I've been forgetting to use the Skyward Strike but I've been trying to get into the habit as it's incredibly useful. Once you charge it up it won't dissipate straight away, you can save it until your next swing. It's so useful because it'll knock down and stun most enemies, especially the Bokoblins, leaving them open for a jumping fatal blow. Other than that it powers up your normal strikes which helps to take stuff down quicker. Also, the shield bash works nicely against enemies that block constantly.

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I've been forgetting to use the Skyward Strike but I've been trying to get into the habit as it's incredibly useful. Once you charge it up it won't dissipate straight away, you can save it until your next swing. It's so useful because it'll knock down and stun most enemies, especially the Bokoblins, leaving them open for a jumping fatal blow. Other than that it powers up your normal strikes which helps to take stuff down quicker. Also, the shield bash works nicely against enemies that block constantly.

that sounds like a great tip :D i've not been using it at all when fighting :facepalm:

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Im saving this for a few weeks before Christmas. I want to get all doe-eyed over it next to the Christmas Tree. Thats the proper time for Nintendo magic that. Plus, ill get a few half days before Christmas and some precious time off over and after the period itself, i intend to viginalise the woman and lock myself in t'front room. Duh duh duh duuuuuh.

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i've just been fighting the last boss, had to give up for now, i'll be back :fist:

there is a save point before it but no way to get much needed faries/potions/backup shields after i struggled through the previous fight - think i can do it better now i have more of an idea what to do.

really enjoyed it overall (not that i've actually finished it yet), some of the bosses are heavily based on the sword fighting which i was struggling with, and still am a bit but have got used to it now and quite enjoy it most of the time :)

some other great stuff in there too like the

timestone

puzzles and the trials (really tense with the music and whatnot).

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I'm on the last dungeon now

I can't believe it's based entirely around a sliding tile puzzle 'cos I'm terrible at them!

but I'll get it done.

Have any of struggled to get bird feathers? Because I've got all my gear fully upgraded apart from regen shield because even the first upgrade needs a couple of bird feathers and I just can't find them. I've tried whoring all the birds in the game but the cunts won't drop anything so I have a rubbish shield. It's so annoying.

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^ i thought there was going to be another dungeon after that but no, i was expecting an evil lair/mount doom type thing.

the bird feathers, i've not upgraded much so not sure if i've struggled for bird feathers or not but there was one place i particularly remember loads of birds - think it was in the sealed grounds outside the pointy hat ladys place? - you just net a bird and you automatically get bird feathers - is that right? i seem to be missing tumbleweeds mostly, know exactly where they are but can't be bothered as they're annoying to catch.

is there anything else you can do with the insects except sell them?

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the bird feathers, i've not upgraded much so not sure if i've struggled for bird feathers or not but there was one place i particularly remember loads of birds - think it was in the sealed grounds outside the pointy hat ladys place? - you just net a bird and you automatically get bird feathers - is that right?

:facepalm: I was thinking they'd be dropped by bird monsters.. I never thought about catching regular birds.

Time to go birdnapping!

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ah, to be fair i stumbled on that accidentally while wondering if you can catch the birds.

answered my own question about insects, i'd never tried to power up a potion before...took a few powered up health potions and some faries, and 2 shields, to the final battle. about the final battle:

did the first bit that i had practice of pretty well this time, really enjoyed the mass brawls, then saved mid way (think i was wrong before, you can probably go through the time gate to get stuff before the last fight - but i didn't try it) and was doing the first part of the last battle pretty well too, but then when he gets electric i kept trying to shield block which you seem to have to do at least 3 times in a row to get a hit in, but i'm not good enough and my shields were getting smashed easy at this point, it seemed pointless without a shield, so i was on the verge of quitting and doing the boss rush to get the indestructable shield, but had a go with no shield anyway and eventually found a nice tactic, dodge back get a cheeky stab or 2 in, wait, and repeat, seemed a lot easier than with the shield in the end!

really enjoyed it, but not as much as some zelda games, like twilight princess which might just be my favorite. quite different to the usual zelda, which is definitely a good thing.

the timestone puzzles were great, the combat/motion controls were great too - and that makes it stand out from anything with normal controls.

didn't really like the minigames i played but think i missed out on a few.

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