Confession

[Apollo the Just]

Skyward Sword has my favorite OST and art direction in the series and if it didn't have such a bad control scheme it would be tied with Twilight Princess for top 3 Zeldas

also yes i know i still need to play botw but botw's existence changes none of the above except potentially the latter

EDIT: ok actually upon further reflection it probably still wouldn't tie TP even with better controls because its plot is bad and it doesn't have wolves BUT it is still hindered hugely by its control scheme and could have been so great

(and BOTW's art direction is better in a more objective sense i just like SS's more because of the sky and waterpainting aesthetic)

EDIT EDIT: okay so i made this post because i was watching a SS speedrun and remembering how much i do genuinely love and enjoy this game but i think it was mostly lies because i like TP's art direction better than SS's and MM3D's is probably actually my favorite excluding the bosses. but listen the OST is actually my favorite that much is true and also groose is fantastic, this concludes my post

[Booyakasha]

but what about the art direction in 'faces of evil' and 'wand of gamelon'?

to say nothing of the zelda cartoon

[Apollo the Just]

you know what boo you're right i should just delete op

[Marilink]

The shame with SS’s control scheme is that, on paper, it’s extremely interesting. On paper, it has some of the most potentially interesting combat in any 3D Zelda game. On paper, the motion controls enhance everything 3D Zelda has to offer.

And then you start playing it, and it’s just. Not that fun in practice.

Overall, I really respect what it was going for. I still think it’s a great game, but still the worst 3D Zelda.

[Apollo the Just]

The shame with SS’s control scheme is that, on paper, it’s extremely interesting. On paper, it has some of the most potentially interesting combat in any 3D Zelda game. On paper, the motion controls enhance everything 3D Zelda has to offer.

And then you start playing it, and it’s just. Not that fun in practice.

Overall, I really respect what it was going for. I still think it’s a great game, but still the worst 3D Zelda.

First of all, yes, completely and fully agree; but also, even if the motion controls were successfully implemented (like IMO wii TP's were), I read some threads on twitter from disabled people who literally physically cannot play SS and it made me realize that it is always better to have motion controls as an option than something mandated.

I think the way TP had traditional controls for GC release and motion controls for Wii was kind of ideal, except it would be cool if in a release both were programmed and you could select a control scheme. I'd never thought of it before but, like, if you have limited arm strength but can press buttons why should a game physically bar you from playing it?

THAT SAID yes I agree SS's concept for controls sounded so great but then it was just kind of a slog

[X-3]

In a way I feel kind of strangely unqualified to critique SS. I haven't replayed it since it first came out so my current impressions are heavily influenced by distant memories and online discourse.

[Marilink]

I was in the same position, so I re-played it three years ago. I found myself still liking it quite a bit, but all the more lamenting what it could have been if it weren't trying for something so specific.

Skyloft is still an excellent hub area that I adore, and the dungeons are still top-notch, some of the best in the series. But the steps in between all of the things I like...

[Apollo the Just]

ancient cistern is peak skyward sword. flooded faron woods fetch quest is whatever the opposite of that is. skyward sword has a lot of both of these things

but, and i cannot stress this enough: groose

[Marilink]

untitled groose game

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

I never played Skyward Sword. I hope it gets a Switch release, I think it will. I can tell I'll probably like it but I don't think anything is ever going to top Wind Waker for me, the series peaked there. It really took the "adventure" part of "action-adventure" seriously.

[I am nobody]

I think SS is the only Zelda game I dropped before even seeing the first dungeon. Dunno where that puts it on my list overall, though, because the 90 minutes I spent with it were just boring rather than remarkably unlikable in any way.

[Apollo the Just]

If SS got a re-release with fixed controls, Fi being significantly less intrusive, and (im dreaming at this point) a like 2x longer lasting stamina gauge - i recognize this would have to involve re-working some puzzles but that runs out way too fast and it just makes the game feel choppy - it would instantly be a top 5 zelda for me, even with all its other faults. i sincerely do love the atmosphere, it's just that the gameplay bogs that down sooo much at times.

ANCIENT CISTERN IS SO **** COOL, LIKE SERIOUSLY. and the timeskip stones? ooh. yes please. and like. the OST is sincerely so good:

[Marilink]

I think an SS remake would be cool, but they would have to re-tool quite a bit of the combat. I'd say probably 60%+ of the enemies in the game have something specifically related to Wii Motion + controls.

The SS Romance theme is one of the best melodies ever composed by humans

[Apollo the Just]

^ if they wanted to directly port as much of the gameplay as possible with traditional controls, you could still do something like have one of the Switch joycons control Link's movement and the other one control the direction his sword is swinging from (instead of awkwardly holding your arm in that direction), so you could still do the awkward directional slash combat but without the motion controls. the combat is awkward with or without motion controls but i think it could be done in a traditional control scheme which would at least be less frustrating and inaccessible

[Marilink]

That would almost necessarily mean removing camera control from one of the joysticks, though, and I don't think that would be workable.

[Apollo the Just]

you know i should probably actually play skyward sword again before making any more smart guy remarks about how its controls could be mapped to a traditional control scheme but i think we can all agree that in a perfect world they just scrap and upgrade the whole thing along with 99% of enemy encounters that depend on it

[Deku Tree]

I actually kinda liked the SS motion control combat, if I'm remembering right. Memory of the game is a bit fuzzy, but I clearly remember liking the last boss fight. I don't think I'd play it again, on account of Fi being the worst.

On the subject; I never got more than a few minutes into Metroid Prime 3 because of the Wii controls. Or my Wii specifically, probably. Just straight up wouldn't aim where I was pointing. Conversely, my favorite use of the Wii motion controls was The Force Unleashed. Just something dumb and satisfying about making force gestures and having them work.

[Marilink]

you know i should probably actually play skyward sword again before making any more smart guy remarks about how its controls could be mapped to a traditional control scheme but i think we can all agree that in a perfect world they just scrap and upgrade the whole thing along with 99% of enemy encounters that depend on it

lol no worries just trying to work through this issue as a team (flex emoji)

[ScottyMcGee]

SS is my favorite Zelda art direction!

I HATE the game

but I love the style!

I also can rant about its story for a million pages, but I will spare you the horror.

SS and Link Between Worlds are the two Zelda games that are kind of mush in my brains. I was clinically braindead when I played those games. I breezed through them and got nothing from them that I cared about.

But I do love that art direction.

[Marilink]

You should play through LBW again because that game is top tier Zelda.