I went into Skyward sword the same way I always go into a Zelda game, with expectations set from the game which came before and not so much those set by the reviews. It was hard not to go into this game expecting 'the best Zelda yet' given this was a tag line many reviewers had over used a week prior to its European release on November 18. But at the same time, this isn't something you're going to to be able to make a judgement on during a groggy 1 hour Friday night play through. By the time I'd switched this game on it was 11 o' clock at night. I was tired. I was fed up having had a shitty day at work. So I wasn't in the most joyous of moods to truly take in the opening experience of Nintendo's latest epic tale of green floppy hats, swords, princesses and ginger nut-cases on a hunt for gold triangles.
It might just be me, but the opening to Zelda games are never that great. It's easy to be completely oblivious to how boring the opening to a Zelda game is because you're so excited to be playing a new Zelda game on a console - because they don't come around once a year like those Call of duty and FIFA games. This isn't me throwing a handful of shit at a game Nintendo had spent 6 years lovingly crafting whilst neglecting their own families and having their fragility come close to cracking point under the crippling weight of the fan army's expectations. It's my observation as a long term fan of the series. I find the openings to Zelda games boring, because they all start the same. Link is in a bed. Link has a bad dream. Link wakes up. Link walks around and talks to people. Link meets at least one person who comments on how lazy he is. Link is told somebody wants to see him. Link visits this person. You're taken through a glorified tutorial where not much happens. And when you've played your fair share of Zelda games, it all feels a bit deja vu. You just want that inevitable moment to kick in when somebody tells you you're the chosen one, hands you a green set of pyjamas and a sword and tells you to piss off and go find some sacred artifact that might help...or something. Shit gets good when you are able to start stabbing goblins and spiders. The stuff that comes before may feel like a bit of a slog for some, although it does put a brilliant spin on Link and Zelda.
So my initial impression of Skyward sword wasn't that it was amazing or mind blowing. It was more along the lines of, I just want to get stuck into this game - as not much of the wonderful things you've read in reviews are put forth at the very start of the game. And things never really tend to truly kick off with a Zelda game until the second (even third) dungeon onwards. But the focal point of Skyward sword's opening moments are rather special. And it does one really cool thing which no other Zelda game has done to date, which sets this game apart from the rest and almost defines it for me. And that is to introduce the character of Zelda as a true character.
Thoughts so far? I want my own giant chicken that can fly.
It might just be me, but the opening to Zelda games are never that great. It's easy to be completely oblivious to how boring the opening to a Zelda game is because you're so excited to be playing a new Zelda game on a console - because they don't come around once a year like those Call of duty and FIFA games. This isn't me throwing a handful of shit at a game Nintendo had spent 6 years lovingly crafting whilst neglecting their own families and having their fragility come close to cracking point under the crippling weight of the fan army's expectations. It's my observation as a long term fan of the series. I find the openings to Zelda games boring, because they all start the same. Link is in a bed. Link has a bad dream. Link wakes up. Link walks around and talks to people. Link meets at least one person who comments on how lazy he is. Link is told somebody wants to see him. Link visits this person. You're taken through a glorified tutorial where not much happens. And when you've played your fair share of Zelda games, it all feels a bit deja vu. You just want that inevitable moment to kick in when somebody tells you you're the chosen one, hands you a green set of pyjamas and a sword and tells you to piss off and go find some sacred artifact that might help...or something. Shit gets good when you are able to start stabbing goblins and spiders. The stuff that comes before may feel like a bit of a slog for some, although it does put a brilliant spin on Link and Zelda.
So my initial impression of Skyward sword wasn't that it was amazing or mind blowing. It was more along the lines of, I just want to get stuck into this game - as not much of the wonderful things you've read in reviews are put forth at the very start of the game. And things never really tend to truly kick off with a Zelda game until the second (even third) dungeon onwards. But the focal point of Skyward sword's opening moments are rather special. And it does one really cool thing which no other Zelda game has done to date, which sets this game apart from the rest and almost defines it for me. And that is to introduce the character of Zelda as a true character.
Thoughts so far? I want my own giant chicken that can fly.
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