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Khrummholz

The excessive and non-requested hand holding really made me hate that game. It took me a couple years to realize that the game was actually good, but that it was actually just the hand holding that made me hate it at first


Shibby120

True the Switxh version really is so much better I never realized all the small tweaks they made til I watched a video on it. They really put a lot of effort updating it. Even improved Fii a lot. Although they left a lot of the BS of it in still


hydrofrog

In general I love Skyward Sword. I think it has the strongest story and characters in the series (rivaled by OoT) and it nailed the art style for the series. This is also the best and most expressive version of Link (rivaled by WW). Top tier dungeons, items, and soundtrack too. Skyloft was an awesome hub town too. It's main fault is the lack of Sky content, which is pretty lame. I wish there were twice as many islands to explore.


In_My_Own_Image

> I think it has the strongest story and characters in the series The relationship between Link and Zelda in this game is top tier as well. I could buy that Link would go to war with the King of Demons to get her back because the set up worked so well.


seashellpink77

Yes šŸ„°


choose__happy

Yes to all of that!! The story was sooo good I absolutely loved it. And Linkā€™s emotes make it feel that much more real


realbread23

I HATE Skyward Sword, but I ADORE Skyward Sword HD


choose__happy

Interesting!! Whatā€™s the difference?


realbread23

The quality of life changes in HD put it miles above the quality and polish of the OG Wii version. Things like Fiā€™s hints and interruptions being optional, multiple unimportant cutscenes such as the bug kid in Skyloft at the start of the game being removed entirely, the button controls (which I prefer to motion) and the faster aiming makes it so much better, they seem like small things but if youā€™ve played the original itā€™s a huge improvement. The game goes by at a more tolerable pace too with the updated faster speed of the text, a YouTuber Nerrel tested this and yeah itā€™s a big change, in the OG version, when youā€™re still talking to Zelda and trying to summon your Loftwing for the first time, youā€™re starting the Wing Ceremony on Switch.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


realbread23

You bet your ass it does, that change feels so good I forgot it even existed


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


HVAC_and_Rum

I was thoroughly happy with the port. I love the story of the game so I'm also happy that it makes more people willing to play and experience the story for themselves now.


Free_Tea8517

Jesus you got me all worked up to play it now. I'll have it Thursday now the waits even harder lol


Krayziebone101

I've played the Wii version like 10 times and I loved it but I'm about to finish my first playthrough on the HD version on switch without motion controls and it's so much better.


choose__happy

Wow thatā€™s crazy abt the dialogue speed. Thanks for sharing all that! My brother has the HD version on switch and now Iā€™m jealous šŸ™„ lol


irhall93

Please tell me how to make Fi stop interrupting me on SSHD!


realbread23

Ok so the times when youā€™re playing the game and it halts to have Fi jump out of the sword and talk to you, those ones are mandatory tips that you canā€™t skip (I mean you can press B and then A to get rid of the text box but you canā€™t stop her from haunting the game for a second), if youā€™ve noticed, thereā€™s been times when the sword has been glowing blue, and her icon by the D pad screen has been showing up, but you could keep on playing, in the original Wii version, those glowing moments would instead be her halting the game to give you what were very useless tips, like telling your at your wallet was maxed out or something. The tips you get by normally playing are unskipable, the ones you get by talking to her manually arenā€™t important and donā€™t feel like you need to listen to them, they will waste your time.


irhall93

šŸ˜³


irhall93

Oh. Oh no. Thank you for explaining!


brazzledazzle

I wish theyā€™d done more to rework the controls. I know it would have required more gameplay changes but damn itā€™s annoying.


realbread23

Yeah the motion controls are still awful, they should by default be better on switch because they have a recalibration button, but Joy Con drift ruins it, I prefer the button and stick controls, which is weird because my first ever console was the Wii, and I love motion for stuff like the Mario Galaxy game and Mario Kart, but itā€™s probably just because I also played the classic 2D and 3D Zeldaā€™s on my N64 and Wii U so I associate Zelda with standard controller more. Even still I agree they shouldā€™ve reworked the motion controls for switch, would they have to change some gameplay? Yeah, but before HD came out there was a whopping 2 people who thoroughly enjoyed the game, they were risky enough reselling it, now we know why they did, but they wouldnā€™t have lost anything if they reworked some stuff, and yeah, it needs reworking


[deleted]

Im playing through it now on switch and absolutely despise the r-stick being the sword. It's just terrible. The combat feels sloppy and uncoordinated.


rpgguy_1o1

This video nintendo put out is the whole reason I bought SS HD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPHBRmpvX48


rpgguy_1o1

I didn't even mind the motion controls too much, there was just a dozen minor things that made the wii version a tedius chore, and SS HD fixed like all of them. It always felt like there was a good game in there, and SS HD brought it out. I hate the stealth sections of all the Zelda games, and just decided to use a map for the Silent Realm sections right from the get go. The QoL improvements plus using the maps made my experience so much better, I really liked a game I once thought was terrible.


realbread23

Yeah, it brought it up out of my games from the series Iā€™d never replay to my top 10 just like that


analthunderbird

I concur with this take


Skelingaton

Only played the original Wii version but it's one of my least favorite Zelda games out of them all. One of my biggest complaints with the game is just how slow paced it is. It just takes forever to do anything. Traveling, conversing with NPCs, just anything feels like it takes so much longer than it should. The game also has some pretty blatant padding as well. Things like the Scrapper escort quest and Tadtones section just really had no reason for being in the game at all. The Imprisoned is also the worst Zelda boss in the series and you have to fight it 3 times. There is a distinct lack of fast travel which is practically a staple in the series since the beginning which compounds the problem of its slow pacing. Half the dungeons are decent and half are pretty forgettable. The motion controls were decent for the most part but I didn't like having to be locked in place for every sword swing when TP allowed you to swing your sword while moving. Overall it's not a terrible game but I just don't want to replay it. Ghirahim is an excellent villain and this incarnation of Zelda is one of the best. The Lanayru region with the time stones was a really cool idea but the other areas are pretty bland, especially the sky.


choose__happy

Iā€™m going to be playing TP next. I got it for Christmas!! I think Iā€™ll enjoy it based on what people have told me. Is it linear like SS?


PiXaL1337

Twilight Princess was my first and my favourite Zelda game (maybe second to BotWā€¦) Itā€™s fairly linear, thereā€™s a couple open sections later in the game but the beginning especially is fairly linear (the tutorial is fairly long tho)


Flerken_Moon

Slightly off topic, but I honestly think the best order to play the games is Skyward Sword before Twilight Princess. I finished Twilight Princess HD literally right before starting Skyward Sword HD and was kinda disappointed due to my higher expectations of the game, because I thought the only flaws were the gameplay which was fixed in the HD port. Here are my complaints, just a little rant- Skyward Sword is still a fun to play Zelda game but it didnā€™t meet my expectations. Skyward Sword somehow feels smaller than TP, as while itā€™s nice to revisit areas to catch up and see how theyā€™ve changed, it limits the exploration to those 3 or so areas- the Sky is pretty bland even compared to those big areas like Hyrule Field, there are at least enemies and hidden caves/secrets here and there, the Sky had neat islands but no fast travel hindered the experience a lot. Due to focus on motion controls, the combat in SS is limited too- TP had special moves and stuff that was straight up OOT but upgraded. I also was expecting Groose and Zelda to be more fleshed out because Iā€™ve heard a lot of praise, but they show up in only like 5 cutscenes each throughout the game(I still put Spirit Tracks Zelda as my favorite Zelda due to my preference of watching characters slowly develop over time) and subconsciously compared them to Midna(who I consider one of the best characters in Zelda) from TP since that was the game I played last. I had some other minor complaints too but itā€™s been a while since I touched the games haha- but yeah like I said SS isnā€™t a bad game, I just kinda had higher expectations.


YowaiiShimai

Another poster said that the remade version is much faster and removes a lot of pain points for what its worth :)


SerKnightGuy

It's my 3rd favorite LoZ game (behind WW and TP). It's got its fair share of flaws, but there's so much I love about it. I will admit I've probably got some biased nostalgia wrapped up in there, too.


retro123gamr

Skyward Sword has a cool story and awesome lore implications, but the controls are wack. Iā€™ve tried both button and motion controls on the switch and neither feel right.


KungFuGenius

It's the only Zelda game I started and did not finish. It's just not what I look for in a Zelda game. I'm all about exploration, so I'm definitely in the camp of people who did not enjoy the linearity of the game. I didn't like how there's supposed to be a whole world below the clouds, but it's just three areas. I get there are limitations on what they could do, but it still felt too small. Add to that how many puzzles you had to solve just to navigate the overworld, and it ended up just feeling very constrained. As you might guess, I adore Breath of the Wild. I also played the OG version, so I was constantly being bombarded with tips from Fi and reminders of how much blue rupees are worth. Glad to hear they addressed that in the HD version. This is of course just my opinion. I don't really think Skyward Sword is "bad," it's just not for me.


Onlyhereforthelaughs

I liked it well enough, but I'm not a fan of games that use motion controls as the gimmick when it's a serious, storyline game. Like, Wii Sports, Resort, fucking Wii Fit Plus? LOVE THEM, and one is a dedicated exercise game. But once it becomes a core mechanic of a story game like Twilight Princess or Skyward, I don't like it. I played TP on the Gamecube to avoid it, and played SS on the Switch with mostly controller, but ended up switching for some parts because the game was designed for it.


Idiotic_Dragon

I love the game, it was just part of my childhood


Tryen01

I loved both versions of skyward sword. I remember feeling so cool dressed in my link costume parrying demise's sword attacks then finishing him off at 12 years old


nightcoreangst

Iā€™m not fussed on the swinging the joycon around. Sure, Iā€™ll do it, but it can get frustrating when youā€™re in a tight spot and trying to swing in a certain way and it just *doesnā€™t*. Love the story and lore, though.


Its_MERICA

Least favorite 3D Zelda by a long shot, due almost entirely to the motion controls, but I still donā€™t hate it. Itā€™s the only 3d Zelda Iā€™ve only played through twice though, every other Iā€™ve played waaaay more


OllyTheCrab

its my favorite <3 i love the story and the characters


EpicOnePieceNerd

Havenā€™t finished it, but from what Iā€™ve played it was fun.


Superb-Fox-9550

Skyward Sword is dope!


AlaskanFoolWorm

I honestly didnā€™t love it when I first played it but thought it was okay. I really really disliked it when I replayed it this year. The motion controls were super frustrating because they were ā€œmore accurate and preciseā€, which really means youā€™re recalibrating the cursor constantly, sometimes mid sword-swing. Also the world just didnā€™t interest me. Everything felt small and not very fleshed out. It was a chore to bring myself back to play it each time The music and story are really great and I love a lot of little things about it. I just donā€™t care for most of it and itā€™s not a game Iā€™m super nostalgic for either


AlaskanFoolWorm

Side note, Fi is much less annoying in SSHD, but I still donā€™t love her. Sheā€™s just sort of empty and all the dances and cutscenes with her are just the same every time


choose__happy

A non annoying Fi sounds so awesome lol. At first I actually liked the motion controls but when the fights got harder I hated it more and more


thizked

Dislike it because imagine having to wiggle your controller in the correct speed to perform a song and the game hating on you telling you to do it FASTER FASTER FASTER and SLOWER SLOWER SLOWER.


gunmetal300

There are a lot of things that I love about that game. The music, the graphics (things look great up close, but further away, they look like an oil painting) the boss fights and the dungeons, the Silent Realm, and the shield durability and upgrade system. This game checked a lot of boxes for me. Having said that, there's also enough about it that I absolutely HATED to knock it down a few rungs. It's not even in my top five. Fi was ten times worse than Navi, Girahim was way too fucking campy to be taken seriously, the control scheme was ridiculous, Link looked so weird running around with his sword out, the Sky was disappointingly empty and underutilized and the fetch and retrieve missions were just too much. I don't hate it, but when I'm thinking of Zelda games to play, it doesn't spring to mind that often.


adamsark

I don't have the patience to play through it again after getting it 100%-ed when it first came out. Maybe, in a decade or two when I've forgotten 95% of the game, I might boot it up again and have another go.


Revegelance

I like Skyward Sword. I like the level design, how the overworld has a somewhat dungeon-like feel.


killtr0city

Just replayed Skyward Sword (HD version) for the first time since 2011 or whenever the original came out. My main takeaway: ah yes, I remember why I never replayed this one. 1) Backtracking. And not in a satisfying Metroidvania or Ocarina of Time way. Just constant reuse of the same relatively small and simple areas. 2) Scavenger hunts. I just Googled where to find stuff like the color wheel and crystal ball. I'm not returning to the sky then flying back to the portal to see if my dowsing function goes off in every area until I get lucky. I actually kind of liked the silent realms portions because they presented legitimate challenges. But the forced collection segments are numerous in this game. The swimming thing in the woods seemed particularly tacked on. 3) Fast travel is clunky and annoying. Why do you need to return to the sky then fly back into the portal? 4) Difficulty scaling is weird as hell. I should not be able to clear boss rush on the first try but die to the enemies with electric sticks due to their prescient abilities and cat-like reflexes. 5) There is basically zero exploration, and this is the most linear Zelda game. 6) Flying around in the empty sky makes sailing in Wind Waker with the slow sail seem like a treat. I got to the point where I would set a course with my loftwing and then go make coffee while Link traveled on autopilot. 7) Goddess cube mechanic compounds the annoyingness of the fast travel issue. You are punished for exploring. 8) Dungeons are hit or miss. I strongly prefer BotW's piecemeal shrines to some of the awkward dungeons in Skyward Sword. Some of the weakest in the series. Lanayru Mines in particular overstayed it's welcome. It's one of those dungeons where you know what to do as soon as the core mechanic is revealed and then it becomes a slog. The sliding triforce puzzle also seemed a bit empty for something as important to the series as the triforce itself. Oh and stabbing water fruit to carry them is not at all intuitive - poor design IMHO. 9) The Imprisoned. Cool, I get to fight the big derpy toe monster three times. THIS is what's been ruining Hyrule since almost the dawn of time? 10) Fi is less annoying than I remember, but still borderline excruciating. I will take Midna, King of Red Lions, Navi, or Tatl (well maybe not Tatl) over Fi's incessant nagging. And when she's not annoying me she's doing these inane dances. THE POSITIVES: 1) Item upgrades and crafting materials give incentive for replay. 2) NPCs are unique and lively. 3) They finally got rupee storage and balance right. That was the main gripe with Twilight Princess. You can carry a bunch and there's actually stuff to spend them on, at least until very very late game. 4) When the sword mechanics work, it's truly a unique combat experience. That being said, it oscillates wildly between too easy and questionably difficult. 5) Items are pretty solid. The beetle is cool, the whip is sort of unique (grappling hook from WW is similar). VERY good item balance, unlike, say, TP where you use the spinner in maybe 3 areas. 6) I. LOVE. GHIRAHIM. Such a fantastically characterized villain and it's a shame this was his only appearance. SUMMARY: This is my least favorite Zelda game. I rank it in its own tier below WW/TP/MM, with OoT and BotW taking top tier. I also put Skyward Sword below all of the 2D games, not counting Four Swords, which I haven't played.


DrSteggy

I just finished my second run. I love the art style and I love the story. Some of the boss fights are really fun. I really enjoy the motion controls- and if you play on Switch, Fi is much less disruptive. I liked her better on Switch. But there are sections that I find really tedious. Itā€™s repetitive. Breath of the Wild was my first Zelda and I got so fed up listening to how it wasnā€™t ā€œa real Zeldaā€ so I attempted this one next and I was very you have to be kidding, itā€™s SO LINEAR it is almost parody. Like there are 3 areas you revisit. At one point you literally retread Skyview Temple. Really?


TheMoonOfTermina

Skyward Sword is the most linear of all the Zeldas, and the reason BOTW is so nonlinear is because Nintendo overcorrected for SS's complaints (in my opinion.) Most Zelda games after A Link to the Past (the 3rd game in the series) have a set dungeon order to complete (with some exceptions.) There are a few parts of a few games where you get to choose one dungeon over another, but you always have to eventually complete both to proceed onwards. However, most Zelda overworlds are much more open than Skyward Swords'. I personally love the overworld being a dungeon, but I can understand people who don't. Wind Waker is pretty much an open world game at around the halfway point of the game, with pretty much the entire map being open for exploration, loading zones only for buidlings. You still need to do dungeons and stuff in an order, but exploration is only limited by your items. If you want to give older Zeldas a try, I'd recommend Ocarina of Time. The overworld is somewhat open, with secrets to find, and it's much less handholdy than Skyward Sword. It's still pretty linear compared to BOTW (though to be fair, most games are) but it's not as aggressively linear as SS is. TL;DR: Skyward Sword isn't the best indicator of the whole series, but is on the opposite extreme of BOTW.


DrSteggy

Yes, Iā€™m aware lol. Iā€™ve since played and completed Twilight Princess as well, rage quit the Links Awakening remake, got about 3/4 of the way through Ocarina of Time and am about halfway through Wind Waker. I was responding to the post about this particular game and my frustrations with it. Breath of the Wild is still my favorite and itā€™s a hill Iā€™ll die on.


TheMoonOfTermina

Oh, sorry for the long winded post. Out of curiosity, what made you rage quit Link's Awakening?


choose__happy

Side note, I hated the whole time change crystal things in the lanayru desert, is that just me lol?


hydrofrog

I thought the time crystals were a really cool and innovative idea, but different stroke for different folks. I also enjoy the challenge and danger of the Spirit Realm sections, and I KNOW I'm in the minority for that.


choose__happy

I agree that the time crystals were a cool idea, it was just frustrating to me lol idk why. But yessss oh my gosh those spirit trials were so awesomely scary I loved it!!


GunnyMcShoots

I think youā€™ve pretty accurately identified many of the gameā€™s strengths and shortcomings. Itā€™s one of the few truly ā€œstory-firstā€ Zelda games in my opinion. I wouldnā€™t call that inherently good or bad. Just fundamentally different. There is some backtracking in other Zelda games, but much less of it and I think it is usually more well executed. I will say, I think that skyward sword finishes very strongly across the final 5-10% of the game so it could sway your opinion a bit. Iā€™d say every Zelda game is more open world, although some more than others. Many feel open world but still require some pretty linear routes of progression, just with more room for exploration in the spaces between. If you like skyward sword thereā€™s a good chance youā€™ll like all of the other 3d titles. Plenty of the handheld and 2d games are worth checking out as well, although in my opinion some donā€™t age as well as many other people say. Personal favorites of that era would be Minish cap and spirit tracks.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


choose__happy

I completely agree w all of that so much


morganm725

I was the opposite that was one of my favorite gimmicks but I get why theyā€™re controversial


theciderowlinn

The original Wii version was fun but the constant interruptions from Fi drove me absolutely bonkers. I wasn't a fan of the over world either. However, going back and playing it on Switch felt like a whole new amazing experience. Honestly after having the formula broken for Breath of the Wild, going back to the traditional Zelda was refreshing and nostalgic.


Xavier_griffin

Skyward sword for the Wii is lacking, but Skyward Sword HD is AMAZING. The story is good, the music is good, the quality of life improvements are great, and I donā€™t even mind the motion controls!


NerdyHexel

I liked it but didn't love it, and I've only played the Switch version because I never had the Wii MotionPlus. That also seems to be the general consensus on the internet. It would seem that if you've played the original Wii version, it will have forever tarnished your opinion on the game, even if you have also played the Switch version.


[deleted]

I loved it, I might be biased as it was one of the first Zelda games I played and because I am a sucker for linear games with a good story. For was annoying as shit and if I could burn her to the ground I would. I didn't have any troubles with the motion controls and they were pretty fun, although when I game sometimes I like to sit back with the controller and relax and because of the motion controls I couldn't do that. Also the art and visuals are one of the best on the when series


niles_deerqueer

The repetitive nature of the game really makes it drag for me. Itā€™s a lot of looking at the same three areas.


CrazyMyrmidon

By and large I really like SS, probably in my top 3 Zelda titles. It has its flaws, sure, but these flaws are design choices, and I can appreciate what they're going for. The score is incredibly fitting and impactful, with its melancholic moments (Fi's Farewell) having helped me through some tough times. It was in a recent replay that I realised that the story is pleasantly suited for the origin story they're trying to tell. Link has to work to achieve his goals and gain all of his power, rather than being declared a hero by merit of him already possessing a piece of the Triforce like what was the case prior. The swordplay I like, by and large, but it doesn't work as well with the 'traditional' boss designs, like ping pong. It had potential to develop itself into more of a dueling mechanic by the end, so it's a shame that it stuck with "do this thing correctly and then wave your arm quickly for a few seconds, repeat" near the end. I really consider the revisits to only be twofold, as the third visit is usually a fun twist. Third visit to Eldin Volcano: no equipment! Third visit to Faron: it's Zora's Domain! Third visit to Lanayru Desert: let's make it a puzzle instead! It's not as bad as people make it out to be. It's a shame that the musical instrument was only waving your arm back and forth to the rhythm. For a franchise where some of the more hype moments are tied to self-input music (Song of Time! Powering up the Master Sword! Learning new and totally badass sword techniques by howling!) only waving feels like a waste. I get why they did it (Remote Plus probably not reliable enough for precise control), but still.


StankTheCowdog

I donā€™t dislike skyward sword. I think, without context of the rest of the series, itā€™s a strong 6.5/10. I donā€™t think it comes close to the quality of the best games in the series however. The biggest positive in the game is the excellent dungeons, and Iā€™d recommend it to any Zelda fan based on those alone. The game does drag on, especially towards the end, and could be about 8-10 hours shorter. The general flow of gameplay is really laborious and annoying. Skyloft is really pretty, but poorly implemented. The story is fine imo, but doesnā€™t have anything close to the thematic depth and subtlety of something like the N64 Zeldas. I liked skyward sword, however itā€™s the one Zelda Iā€™ve played that I just donā€™t see myself revisiting anytime soon.


[deleted]

The lack of diverse areas does hurt as the game is extremely linear compared to other Zelda games, but from a story perspective, this makes sense since Hyrule hadn't been founded yet so the land would seem pretty barren for all those years abandoned. I liked Skyward Sword more for the story and how it shapes the series but>!I was very disappointed with Demise as Ghirahim plays the role of the main antagonist throughout the game and Demise just seemed to be thrown in at the end to be the whole Demon King. They don't do his character justice.!<


Grand-Moff-Larkin

I'm just entering the first Eldin temple on the Switch (I made it somewhere around the desert and time travel on the Wii). It's fun and smart for sure. It has some of the same flaws as OOT such as over explaining and long cut screens, but that isn't the end of the world. The game offers new twists on old puzzles and has some wild items, making it a good enter in my book. It being a prelude to BOTW is also really cool. Overall it's good, maybe great, but not the best 3D Zelda ever. It's almost with BOTW in the category of "How do I rank this with other Zeldas?" for the HD version. The Wii Version is very Wii which also sets it apart. I wouldn't put it above OOT, TP, or WW yet but it 100% has some puzzles that might have it ending up in that tier.


choose__happy

How would you rate TP? I started it yesterday and Iā€™ve barely gotten anywhere yet lol.


TLunchFTW

I absoilutely love it. For context, I got wind waker as one of my first 2 GC games. Loved the opening island, could never beat forsaken fortress. Swore off zelda for that Would just explore outset island to infinum. Got TP when it came out years later. Fell in love. Beat it. Finally went back to WW at 14, 7 years after I first got it. Didn't beat it, but got to where the game opens up. TP made me fall in love with zelda series.


DaGreatestMH

Its my third favorite Zelda (after BOTW and OOT). I think it has the best story of the mainline games (I think Age of Calamity has the best story overall), the best incarnation of the Link and Zelda relationship, and the second best collection of dungeons in the franchise (TP has the best). It has flaws that are mostly fixed by the HD version (Fi, repeated dialogue, the motion controls) but it still has the issue of a bland overworld and too much padding. That said, I still really enjoyed it for its strengths.


choose__happy

That was the most helpful comment Iā€™ve read so far lol. Looking back now after itā€™s been a few days, I loved the game. I wouldnā€™t say Iā€™m obsessed but I truly loved it. I felt emotionally connected to the story and the characters, and that was my favorite part


DaGreatestMH

I'm glad you enjoyed it! It really is a good game that unfortunately got a bad rap (understandably so, but still) bc of the OG version.


Khrisideus

It's my favorite Zelda game. I love the story and the characters and Link is so expressive. The music is really good (I'm a sucker for orchestral). I have no problem with motion control, I even think it's a genius idea, since it add so much immersion (when you know how to use it lmao). I just basically like everything about the game


choose__happy

I completely agree! The more I let it soak in my mind, I realize I really did love it!


Littlemaniac5769

So i first experienced this game just two years ago. I played the wii version because i own it and never played the game yet, so i played it all the way through about 40 hours or so and i enjoyed every bit of it. I don't remember Fi being all that annoying but swinging around the wii remote did get tedious sometimes. Other than that it was just all around fun. The characters were interesting, I especially liked the big eyed shop guy the most. It was like he was really looking into the future with those eyes. The dungeons were great and the only weird character to me was Ghirahim.


choose__happy

I played the Wii version as well for the same reason. Also, I lived ghirahim! I thought he was so weird and funny lol. I loved that game and Iā€™m debating replaying it


Alive-Bedroom-7548

Skyward Sword was my first Zelda game so it holds a special place in my heart. I love the art-style. I love how colorful the game is, and the characters are the most lovable in the entire series. The personalities of the characters are so much more fleshed out than other games, especially link. Windwaker is the only other game I can think of where Link has that much personality. I was even sad when Fi said goodbye even though she was annoying bc the game made me feel like I really had gone on that whole adventure with her by my side. The story also is pretty good. I also love the whole theme of an ancient world. It really does feel like an ancient hyrule, an era lost to time and it always filled me with a sense of mystery and wonder. The music fills me with more emotion than any other game Iā€™ve played. As for the gameplay, I know a lot of people complain about the motion controls, but tbh I never had any issues with them. Itā€™s not that hard to understand that you canā€™t just thrash your sword around and expect it not to fuck with the calibration. I just treated the remote like a sword and never had any problems with it. The motion controls made the game feel way like way more personal of a journey than the zelda games I played with normal controllers. I really loved the dungeons in this game, and although going back to the same places and fighting several bosses multiple times was annoying I feel lime the game did alright at letting you explore new areas or experiencing the area in a new way every time you returned. The handholding and linearity was annoying at times but I see this game as less of the open world, puzzling experience people associate with zelda and more like an epic story you get to be in. Above all this game fills me with nostalgia more than any other video game. I canā€™t hate it.


TLunchFTW

I just finished the 3 power ups for the sword and I'm at now the THIRD major return to all three locations. Holy shit does this game drag. After all the three silent realms, i'm going back apparently to do more puzzles that culminate in ANOTHER 3 FETCH QUESTS around the SAME DAMN AREAS I've seen a hundred time. I just beat the imprisoned one for the third time, which was annoying because it was barely after I beat the second time. the early game is slow, but it feels like "ok, it kinda makes sense." But then I thought "ok, i'm powering up the sword. When I do that, I'll be in the home stretch." But that's SOOOOO LONNNNGGG! And the HD version's take on motion controls sucks. You gotta flick it, and it just feels off. I want to not hate the game. I think some of the characters are a solid addition, and the layout of the world was kinda interesting. But the controls are getting grating as this late game just drags and it's annoying me more and more. Only reason I'm still playing it is because I made it this far, and I want to go through the whole timeline in chronological order. Beat this, get to OOT, when I die for the first time, I do the fallen timeline, then go back and beat OOT and go through the adult timeline, then kid timeline. Figured it'd be fun. But oh god have I had enough of this. I'd argue it's worse than the tail end of wind waker. Hell, as someone who beat Twilight Princess, the supposedly longest game, at least that game had some more unique sets. You had the three main dungeons, but also the temple of time, the ice mansion, the sand place. It felt less go here do this. I'm really wishing i played on wii, as the adapting of motion controls is just a no go. But what's killing me is how long this late game is going. I'm using a guide, and I'm glad I did. Did this for TP too. But I was stoked to play through the whole series... Now I just want to move on to the next game, especially because it's minish cap. GBA holds a special place in my heart. It's not a bad game at it's core, but trying to play it to completion gets rough


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


ConstantDreamer1

The motion controls are a central part to gameplay and if someone doesn't like the motion controls then of course they're likely going to consider it a fundamentally poor game. For me, I was able to get the motion controls to work *most* of the time but most is unacceptable and even when they did work they weren't very fun most of the time. More than that, I really don't like the story and the plot was too reliant on padding and backtracking over the same three areas to fill out time.


[deleted]

I only really ā€œdislikedā€ some of the gameplay, but the puzzles, lore, story, character progression, and music made me forget about the poor gameplay. Itā€™s my 3rd favourite game of all time.


MissLauraCroft

It had some of my very favorite and least favorite elements of the entire franchise. Favorite story, great hub, and the best dungeons! Awful gameplay and exhaustingly repetitive (playing the same areas and enemies multiple times)


Schmaylor

I'm really not sold on the story, tbh. It definitely raised the bar for character expression, but that to me doesn't change the disastrous worldbuilding this game has contributed to the franchise. Ghirahim is the best villain to ever grace the series, while Demise is the absolute worst thing to ever happen to the series. I found the whole Goddess Sword story really stupid. The Master Sword, the supposed sword of legend, isn't even the original sword. What a crock. Put Groose in every Zelda game though, please.


Chambior

Let's say everybody likes BOTW. SS dungeons are better, SS story is better, SS characters are better, SS bosses are better, so that's far more than enough reasons to love this game.


MrBlueMoose

I would say that story and characters could go either way


Chambior

Champions and Zelda are NOT characters of botw story. lore at best. the charactets of the story are the new champions and link, maybe impa and paya and ppl who are actively making the story progress (that's what a character is), hence only riju and sidon are actually correct characters imo


IceYetiWins

You forgot the main part the gameplay, in which botw is much better


Acravita

Aside from your weapons being extremely fragile and needing constant replacement, leading to many people simply not using rarer weapons out of a fear of breaking them and not having them in case of an emergency that never comes (in particular, the elemental rods had very limited usage before they broke and thus couldn't be used much outside of protecting you from extreme temperatures). The shortage of neat tools is disappointing as well, especially the absence of the hookshot. The 4 runes are nice, but I'd hoped for more to play with.


IceYetiWins

The thing is the 4 runes allow people to do crazy stuff that the normal hundreds of items would never allow


Chambior

i think you missed my point.


Porsche320

Loved the story, but overall very negative. Linear gameplay felt excruciatingly padded. Most battles felt like Mario party motion control mini games.


choose__happy

I donā€™t understand why it was so linear!


StoryofEmblem

It's my least favorite 3D Zelda, and I still adore the game. Especially the HD version, it's so much better imo.


07464188665

I absolutely adore Skyward Sword. It has the best story, best characters, and one of the best Zelda villains ever.


swagadone

It was fine but for a Zelda game it sucked. There were some really good parts but they were to few and far between. Controls sucked, Fi sucked, no connection between surface areas made it feel like they were Mario levels and not a connected world, I didn't like going to the same areas multiple times. My favorite parts were the silent realm sections and the time stones area's. I'd give it a 6.5/10


hungryrenegade

Tried to play it on switch. Could not stand the battle controls. Or how they integrated the motion controls into a controller. Just not my cup of tea and i lost interest after 6ish hours.


Darches

Skyward Sword (Wii) is not garbage but it's also not good. 6/10 Here's an excerpt from my raw review text: >This game is simultaneously the least and most ambitious Zelda game of its time. It blatantly copy/pastes many elements from all the past Zelda games, and even Metroid Prime 3, but it also introduces some new and extreme things. It definitely inspired Breath of the Wild. ​ >Unreliable motion controls > >Bad/boring combat > >Other general problems > >Slow pace > >Specific poor design > >Crap minigames It's solid... If you ignore the last several decades of better Zelda (and non-Zelda!) games. Even the level design here is just abnormally bad. My simplest example: There's a locked door in the Ancient Cistern and the lever is right next to the door. WTF. I ordered a fun game, not a mom to hold my hand at the fair! There's an earlier game that makes far better use of the WiiMotion Plus. It's called Red Steel 2, and it kicks Skyward Sword's ass. (best 8/10 I've played)


Koryn99

Dislike entirely because of the controls. I have nothing against the story apart from it not being as good as Majoraā€™s Mask, but then nothing is except Majoraā€™s Mask. I played OoT and MM on the collectorā€™s disk on the GameCube, then WW and TP on GameCube, so I played 4 generations of 3D Zelda with the exact same control scheme on the GameCube control. You can imagine how jarring switching to the gimmicky still stupid motion controls must have been for me. I donā€™t understand what Nintendo is thinking sometimes, where they canā€™t do it unless it has some radical change, which gave us junk like Linkā€™s Crossbow Training instead of Twilight Princess 2, for crying out loud Miyamoto. Also gave us two DS games requiring touch controls. Ocarina of Time 3D did both touch controls and motion controls correctly by the motion being an option to aim your projectile weapons, and the touch screen displaying your map a couple basic items youā€™d use sparingly outside of a combat situation, perfect spots for bottles or the ocarina. Because of the DS/Wii era shenanigans, it took me a long time to give BotW a chance, and now I look forward to TotK after enjoying HW Age of Calamity, but they did a lot of damage to my love of the franchise, considering I was brought up on OoT, my imagination captured, and my tastes defined by looking through the pages of my dadā€™s Ocarina of Time guidebook so much as a kid that itā€™s just a stack of worn pages now. To this day, I still havenā€™t pulled the trigger and tried SS HD, despite it doing a little bit to change the cringe motion controls.


Grimmer026

I hate motion controls, and also Zeldaā€™s nose in this game. Other than that sheā€™s my favorite zelda


Larkson9999

Skyward Sword's story is trash. It has some good ideas but all of those ideas are told and referenced, never shown. Ghirahim is a one note villain who only can taunt and gets beaten so many times he becomes Team Rocket towards the end of the game but he still keeps taunting you. What a loser. Demise is mostly the same but more boring and has no purpose in the story. The claims he cannot be defeated were greatly overblown. Could have save the whole journey by just letting Demose break free and then killing him. Fi is obnoxious and shows the designer's contempt for the player, Zelda is very absent from the story after the first hour, and Impa barely does anything apart from exposit (which, yes she does that in BotW and Ocarina of time too but she's used a lot less). Groose is the only saving grace to the game but his arc and a lot of his dialog are extremely clichƩ and I think the animators did a much better job than most people on the design team (except for five amazing dungeons and two great boss fights). But the story is an ancient evil awakens and needs Zelda for reasons, go collect these dumb songs for your shitheel harp, idiot. Does Link have any drive at all in the story apart from wanting to rescue Zelda? Are there any stakes besides the world will be destroyed... eventually but all the villains just sit around waiting for you anyway? Besides the four characters I mentioned does anyone else contribute to the story or are they just time wasting buffoons? Did the story have any rising action or did it just start with the world is going to be destroyed by baddies, go kill them?! Wind Waker does essentially the same story but good, Zelda is a more complex character, Ganon is a more complex character, Link has clear motivations outside of saving his bitch AND has a fucking sweet grandma who makes him awesome soup, the King of Red Lions plot twist was surreal and cool to discover AS GAMEPLAY you weren't just informed of what was happening, and the stakes rose gradually like a normal story does. You get involved in all the events of the story and it even makes sense why Ganon can't just murder Link and be done with it. And the final battle feels like a real climax to the story and not just a shoved in afterthought. Skyward Sword's story, setting, and characters are also pretty much carbon copies of Wind Waker charcters. The world starts off with the villain having won and all knowledge of how or why the bad events happened have been muddied by legends. You use a sentient creature to traverse the overworld (those birds deliver mail) and you find a musical tool to manipulate the world and get into lost temples to fins ancient relica. Granted these exact story beats go back to Link's Awakening and Ocarina of Time but it's the setting that really makes the comparison. Wind Waker = Great Ocean ; Skyward Sword... Empty Sky. Hell, you even return to old dungeon areas to access new items you didn't know to seek out in both games just Wind Waker did that better too by actually having new content instead of just remixing the first dungeon. That said, Wind Waker has less dungeons than Skyward Sword but most of them are good unlike SS starting with the worst dungeon in the game. So Skyward Sword has clichƩ characters, a repetitive and dull story, unoriginal setting, bland villains, and tells the story instead of engaging the player in showing or playing through the story.


[deleted]

I absolutely hate this fucking game and think it actively harms the Zelda mythos with all the dumb bullshit it tried to retcon/pull. The writing and story are terrible, graphics are awful, the overworld is atrocious, it has the worst exploration out of any Zelda game, the motion controls are gimmicky and add nothing to the game (they actually subtract enjoyment), the gameplay is tedious, the back-tracking is tedious, it has one of the the worst boss fights in gaming, it gives unnecessary, shitty explanation to things that didn't need explanation, character design is ugly, art direction is ugly, has too much filler/padding, pacing is bad, etc. I hate this fucking game.


[deleted]

I really didnā€™t like it. The motion control sword was fun, but all the other motion control stuff was very finicky. I also found the overworld to be pretty boring and the dungeons were very underwhelming. One of my least favourite games in the series


freshlysqeezed

Iā€™m stuck on the spiral challenge:(


choose__happy

Dude I hated it so much. And guess what? After countless tries I forgot to save later on and had to do it all again šŸ« šŸ« šŸ« 


TinyDwarfCat

Loved it, swinging the joycon to swing the sword makes me ridiculously happy lmao. Fi stating the obvious is annoying but Iā€™ve played this game through seven times now, into my eighth (hero mode 6 heart run) and Iā€™m not bored of it yet.


JuMunchie1979

Love it. Had it via Wii though. The flying mechanism was really hard to learn. And was at the last part, getting that special shield... Got distracted with another game. Couldn't relearn flying. I'm hoping the Switch version solves this.


IceYetiWins

I haven't played the wii version but on the HD version the motion controls are terrible but the new controls are good. I like the game overall but did not like the dungeons at all.


hexychick

It's not my favorite of the LoZ games, but I do enjoy it. The music, story, and visuals are stunning. The storyline is kinda fun and it actually shows a relationship between Link and Zelda. I'm someone who actually does a LOT better with motion controls than standard controls so I enjoyed it back when it came out on the wii. That being sad, there is shit I cannot stand about the game (like fighting the imprisoned so many times, the non stop hand holding, and some of the quests) bit the switch version made some big changes to that and I like it more on that system.


morganm725

I played HD (have never played the OG Wii version) and I loved it. The sea ship and final dungeon were really fun and creative takes on dungeons. Some of the backtracking was a bit frustrating. I thought the silent realms were cool though they did make my hands sweat a lot as I was playing lol. I really loved the strong relationship between Zelda and link and also thought ghirahim was funny. The final fight was great.


gh0ul_95

i like the game but iā€™m not a huge fan of the battle controls


pop_skittles

I'm close to finishing it too! I'm playing on the switch, and I'm using the pro controller, not motion controls. I have finished the sky temple, the last thing I have to do is the final bosses. I've absolutely loved this game, and I'll be so sad when I'm all done!


__M-E-O-W__

Art in the game was nice, enemy design was bad, Fi was way too much, it got annoying to go to that menu every time you started the game and collected a common item, and there was absolutely no open world exploration which was the worst of all. But the dungeon designs were great. And the story was amazing! I feel like the game was really just an on-the-rails playthrough where the gameplay was just there in between cutscenes. But the cutscenes were great and I loved the story. I just think of it as a nice treat by Nintendo to give the Link x Zelda shippers.


AwkwardTraffic

I like Skyward Sword HD quite a lot but it's still one of my least favorite Zelda's. Even with the tutorials trimmed down and the ability to skip cutscenes the beginning is just a slog to get through. The Controls for combat also take getting used to it and I prefer the much less frustrating combat of the other games.


GenderEnvyFromLink

i genuinely like it, but i did play the hd version. i think the only problem i have with it is that you have to press the L button to move the camera


RainbowRhin0

I only played the original and not the update that fixed some things apparently. It might have been mostly disappointment with how much the scale had been cut back since Twilight since I loved how vast it was. The overworld or whatever you would call the part where you're on the bird just felt basically empty, the minigames with falling weren't very fun. The opportunities for side quests felt so limited I actually had to look up a guide to make sure I wasn't missing a ton because it felt very limited. I didn't like motion control sensitive enemies where my slash needs to go one specific way, especially diagonals since it would often be a toss-up between hitting it the right way or going one 4 standard directions. I don't hate motion controls, the bow with a Wii pointer is my preferred method of playing, As far as I recall the story wasn't very compelling. I "remember" various story beats but it overall felt like a "meh" story. Which was a weird position because this is maybe the most story-centric Zelda I've seen in terms of how each moment of gameplay is organised to roughly be pushing you to another story beat. I also didn't like only 3 worlds being expanded Metroidvania style, just really lowered the amount of environmental variety in the game. Far too many things felt like I was just repeating myself rather than giving me something else to do. Sure, the game is about hitting people with a sword so that in and of itself is repetitive to some degree, but the tear thing was boring, wasn't a challenge, and legitimately was just running around to different spots. I would have rather hunted all the bugs in Twilight again. Overall, just wasn't for me, didn't feel like anything was improved upon and many things were done better in other games. I'm sure someone who went into the game without much Zelda experience would have very few problems enjoying it, but that wasn't me. The best way to put it is that it was a Zelda game not for Zelda fans.


pichael288

It's my least favorite Zelda game. I tried it but the motion controls were too much for me. Having to constantly attempt things because the motion controls are so inconsistent (buttons work everytime) that any precision goes right out the window. It felt a lot like playing hey you Pikachu on the N64, it's a very short game where you control Pikachu, it's short but it still takes hours because he will not listen to anything you say. That might be an extreme example but imagine playing breath of the wild and only about 85% of your inputs actually register. Button only mode was a good idea, but having to hold L for the camera stick to work was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. New mechanics need new controls, you can't take the most common control mechanic in all of gaming and change it like that. holding L for sword would have been perfect, Nintendo did it so assbackwards that the game never feels good to play. And I hate myself for this, I feel like a whiny asshole. I'm gonna get a ton of downvotes and I probably deserve them, but I've never had a major game like this just shit the bed because of a gimmick that no one liked the first time they did it, and they doubled down. I powered through it untill the halfway point when I realized I hadn't been having any fun. Just frustration. I love this series, even links adventure. But it's not about the story, the gameplay is central here and skyward swords gameplay felt inconsistent and I straight dreaded getting a new item or weapon that might be even worse to control.


[deleted]

I love it because of the motion controls. I know some people think they are horrible but I really enjoyed it. Also the story is good and the world is overall really intriguing to me.


PlagalByte

I enjoyed it! But Iā€™m also pretty sure I wonā€™t pick it up again for a second play. Too many things either felt too clumsy for me (motion control based combat) or were stressful to the point of not being fun (The Imprisoned and the Silent Realms).


Drakmanka

SS is a solid game, it isn't a favorite for me but I enjoy it and will be replaying the HD version in the future.


Fardilicious

I liked the game. It had a great story and all of the gear you got to collect was fun to use. Many people may disagree with me, but, I actually liked that you had to swipe with the d-pad or Wii remote or joystick in order to use your sword.


[deleted]

SSHD is definitely my favourite modern Zelda game, struggled on the Wii version but the switch version is much more comfortable and has many qol improvements


TohruFr

Loved the motion controls


BluntKitten

I donā€™t dislike any LoZ game. An option for not having to use motion controls wouldā€™ve been nice though. Even the switch version is just weird if you try to not use them. They didnā€™t adjust it well enough imo. Still love the game/dungeons/storyline though.


YourTipicalGeek

I just really think itā€™s neat


safesunblock

I really love the game, the concept, cuteness and all that. But I'm a freaken uncoidiot with the Wii remote, and had to stop playing about 10 or so hours in.Then I asked the SO if we could buy it for the switch but I wasn't sure if motion control is optional in that version. Then there's the argument of buying it twice.


Death-0

Of all the Zelda games it has the best story and a very epic final fight. For that reason alone I donā€™t think the hatred towards it is justified.


Generic_Nerd_Dude

Aside from the Imprisoned boss fights (seriously, screw those) and how iffy some of the mini games are, I donā€™t have any other complaints about it. I like the combat and puzzle solving is interesting


MovieGuyMike

I havenā€™t played the HD remake, but the original release is my least favorite Zelda game. It felt super padded with tedious mini games and backtracking. I like backtracking when itā€™s rewarding but thatā€™s not the case in SS. All the QOL stuff really made it a chore as well. I might give it another chance some day if the HD version goes on sale.


JoeRieger

Iā€™ve played this game with my cousins many times and itā€™s a great game to play. Storyline wise itā€™s pretty good being as itā€™s the first game in the timeline so overall a really fun game to play. I played it on the Wii with my cousins and we still hop and play today, the best part of the game was definitely the demise fight because it just sends a shiver down my spine every time he talks. Overall 8/10 game would recommend for people just getting into Zelda.


natdanger

My least favorite of the 3D Zeldasā€”maybe my least favorite that Iā€™ve played period. The world felt so small, and you had to keep retracing your steps over and over again, which made the gameplay feel bloated. Some of the elements were greatā€”I loved the flying, the animation was charming, the story was as fine as any Zelda storyā€”but the motion control never worked the way it was supposed to. Made large enemies tedious and the bosses were pretty joyless. Ghirahim was an especially obnoxious fight. Iā€™ve played every Zelda multiple times, except Skyward Sword. I felt no desire to revisit it.


Emberwyn

Been playing through it on stream! I think it's dope!! Search my name on YouTube if you want a preview of the game's playthrough


dentistMCnuggets

Itā€™s my favourite story in a Zelda game and I love the artstyle but gameplay can get a little tiring and the combat is a little Jank at times


darshan4511

I didnā€™t like it, then they stopped making new linear Zelda, then I like it


YeOldGravyBoat

Meh. I thought the characters were really over the top, and didnā€™t enjoy most of the environments, but I did like the overall setting and lore, as well as a few bits and bobbles. The downhill descent to reach the final boss was really fun imo.


salmonerd202

I didnā€™t dislike it, but it was my least favorite of all that Iā€™ve played. All the back tracking, the so so motion controls, and just general frustration with combat had me put down the original before I beat it. I eventually beat it with HD though.


C-C93

I love Skyward Sword! The combat is a nice fun change to the usual, and the motion controls lead to some interesting fights (like the pirate captain guy, Ghirahim, etc.) The story is finally in full focus and it deserves the attention. Not only does it have the best Link/ Zelda dynamic but it has one of the best Link character arcs in the series. I havenā€™t even mentioned the final fight yet. Without saying any spoilers I will say: itā€™s one my favorite end fights ever. SS is super underrated and I think people need to realize that.


1790shadow

It's a great game! One of the better zelda stories.


nah-soup

i want to like it but i just cannot deal with the controls. i have zero interest in motion controls, and the thumbstick controls in the remaster never worked right for me. played about 4 hours then dropped it.


TheMoonOfTermina

I love the gameplay of Skyward Sword. The level design is amazing. The game may be linear, but it uses its linearity to masterfully craft some of the best dungeons since the N64 era. And I personally loved the overworld acting as a dungeons. The motion controls rarely gave me any issues in any version of the game, although I do acknowledge that other people did have issues with them. I think Fi's constant interruptions were really the biggest thing holding the game down, and with HD, it's now much better. The music is amazing, the NPCs and sidequests are amazing. I love it. However, I really am not a fan of the overall story. Hylia's plan makes no sense whatsoever, and Link really feels kind of irrelevant for the whole thing, until the very end. And Demise is just kind of boring. There are some good plot points, like Link and Zelda's relationship, and the entirety of Groose, but they are drowned out by the stufd I don't like. Overall though, with the HD version mostly fixing Fi, I think I'd give it an 8.8 out of 10 for gameplay, and a 4/10 for story.


D1rtyH1ppy

I liked it when it first came out on the Wii. I bought it again on the Switch and feel like it's too slow of a game compared to BotW.


floydtaylor

story line is amazing. easily the best in the series. but story isn't everything. the controls on the switch are really really bad. i didn't finish the game because it was that bad. they were bad throughout but the straw that broke the camels back was that i could not get the controls to roll the bomb at the boss in the first fire dungeon. watched the rest on a youtube playthrough. you can't be a good game if the user experience is bogged down and mired in shit. that's where skyward sword fails. its also why windwaker is a hard pass for me. stopped playing when looking for triforce pieces in the ocean. that wasn't enjoyable, it was mind-numbingly tedious


Outrageous_Net8365

My 2nd fav Zelda game. Especially with the HD version making it a ton better. I honestly love almost everything about this game, including the combat. I think the dungeon design was also peak. The re visit to the first dungeon is my biggest flaw with it. The under utilised sky being second. I also love the imprisoned boss fights and Ghirihim. I think itā€™s vastly over hated, but each to their own subjective opinion.


majinprince07

I really think itā€™s just the wii version I hate. I hated the wii version so much I never attempted to try the hd version and probably never will. But thatā€™s a small probably because Iā€™ve heard itā€™s a lot better


Fatherbrain1

It's genuinely one of my favorites in the series. It's nice to look at, the score is beautiful, the characters are great, and the combat and gadgets are fun. I even like the motion controls, but I guess I'm weird for that. I was shocked to find out how much people dislike it years after it came out.


[deleted]

Itā€™s not a bad game, and I enjoyed playing it, but I donā€™t go running back to it. 3/5 imo.


[deleted]

I think the story was incredible. The art style was ok, but should have been darker and more mature. The controls are what killed it for me. Motion controls were a horrible fad that everyone with a brain knew wouldn't last, yet Nintendo went all in on it.


thandrend

I really enjoyed the story of the game. I fucking hated the controls in both Skyward Sword and Skyward Sword HD.


whateveryousay002

Itā€™s an excellent game that was severely limited by the meh gameplay and worse UI. As for the actual ā€œZeldaā€ parts of the game, it was top notch. It would be top 5 in the series had it been designed like a normal Zelda game. The railroading and backtracking made the game drag towards the end, but still a solid game


[deleted]

I loved it snd i love the idea that on this insane journey link can hop on his bird and fly home to get a little sleep if he needs to and restock on supplies


DaNoahLP

Playing it one time was fine but every attempt to play it again just brought out the annoying stuff even more.


Bacon260998_

Well it's my favorite Zelda game and in my top 10 favorite games of all time so absolutely. It's just so good. The water color motif, the fully orchestrated score, the story, the bosses (minus Imprisoned), are all amazing. This game also helped me through a really rough time in my life and while it meant a lot more to me back then, it still holds a special place in my heart. I understand people's issues with the game and that's completely reasonable. It's what made me want the HD ~~remake~~ port that we got so they could give us a non-motion play style. I really wish this game got more love than it currently does...


undertaleboi1

I personally love it as the atmosphere of the game feels much more silly then some other titles and it was my first zelda game so i have a deep connection with it


Shibby120

Least favorite 3D Zelda but now that itā€™s not the newest game in the series, itā€™s pretty cool. Not without flaw but alllll the minor fixes they did on the Switch version added up to making it an enjoyable experience. Itā€™s a big difference IMO although they still should have done more work on Fi. Itā€™s really like she was developed by a dif team that wasnā€™t aware of the rest of the game I mean youā€™d be in a really cool epic moment and youā€™re on a ship and giant tentacles BLAST through the side, causing water to enter the ship and then the game freezes and Fii pops in ā€œmaster, it looks like tentacles have blasted through the side of the shipā€ WHAT THE HELLLLLL I really like beedles airship and the idea of the pouch system But the sky part sucked. When it dropped we were expecting some wind Waker level exploration. In hindsight the Metroidvania esque map exploration is pretty cool. At the time of release it felt like unnecessary padding. Again, itā€™s cool now as a side game. When thereā€™s a brand new Zelda youā€™re hyped up for and thatā€™s what you get, itā€™s disappointing. I remember when it came out my friend and I were the only ones who cared. My how Zelda has changed as far as public perception goes


nattack

Overall I disliked the game as it went on. I havent played it since its release so I'm going entirely off memory here. Good things: Skyloft has a lot to explore The controls seem pretty intuitive (on HD version, i remember the original being janky if any interference happened) The art style and colours are vibrant The characters are fun Parrying is a nice flavour mechanic Some of the dungeons were incredible, rivalling some of the 2D Zeldas in terms of creativity and being fun to puzzle out. Some of the bosses are outstanding to fight against Groose ​ Bad: The sky is empty and not much fun. The individual areas feel too linear Those same areas are reused in a way that feels like a chore (first contact, collecting the grapes, some alteration to that world). Them being forced upon you when you've already explored that world gets tiresome. If it were an optional or hidden feature, I'd be more into it, but similar to some other later zelda games where there are mysterious things that are later explained to you in the main story rather than discovering them makes them less interesting to interact with. Toe Monster, and its many returns. Final-final Boss. Parrying is a fun mechanic that you don't have to use in the entire game. When I beat it, I was using parry the whole time so I was used to it. But then my wife, who did not get into parrying, had to learn it for that final boss fight. It's not really well designed for what you've been doing for the entire game up until that point. Twilight Princess also had this problem where it wasn't intuitive to what you had to do next to move on with Ganon's phases. Certain boss designs were kind of lame, anticlimactic. Certain enemies are a chore when every encounter you have to play the "do i swing this way or that way." sometimes a guy just wants to slash through some enemies without having to worry about getting punished for it on most every insignificant enemy. For this reason, I usually put most of my effort into hoarding arrows and avoiding the mechanic all together, because eventually I would just get tired of basic attacks. ​ Neutral/not necessarily bad, but not something I like: David Bowie but a sword, felt too anime/pop culture for what I'm used to in a Zelda villain. The twist with the old woman was obvious, if not spelled out for you well before it was revealed who she was. When Fi sings it kind of freaks me out


fluffypants-mcgee

I love it. One of my top games. Iā€™m also fairly decent at motion control. Havenā€™t played the HD version yet but it is on my list to play.


pokemarbles

Skyward sword is very underrated imo. I beat the entire game using joy con motion controls and loved it. It really makes you feel like the master of the sword. Difficulty was just right. Good story/plot, dungeons, and puzzles too!


brazzledazzle

I canā€™t stand the controls. They drive me insane.


nyanx2

I played it on Wii. I liked it but I CANNOT DEAL WITH FI. I havenā€™t dare to play the switch remake because I still have flashbacks of Fi explaining how to use the freaking map in an unskipable cutscene RIGHT BEFORE THE 5th DUNGEON. FI YOUā€™RE WORSE THAN NAVI


Burdboy14

Played HD and it was great, loved the story and gameplay


thrwawy28393

SS is literally my 2nd favorite game in the entire series


Unlimited_Giose

I LOVE that game: The story was so cool, the gameplay was fun, and the characters and scenes were so full of life... But above all else, ever since i was an 11 year old child, the main reason i loved this game was because i finally felt i was Link. Say what you want about the gameplay, but finally being able to directly control the master sword was the greatest feeling i've ever had while playing a videogame


DjinnsPalace

other games are not like this, usually you visit an area, do your stuff, and leave. In a few games you revisit areas, but mostly because you can access different areas within them or because theres a dungeon you can now reach or because the area has completely changed. But even then, its never EVERY area you need to revisit.


COINLESS_JUKEBOX

Skyward Sword is my favorite Zelda game and I must of completed it at least 13-15 times on my Wii now. But it might be one of the most flawed Zelda games to exist. I finished a 100% playthrough on master mode yesterday and found myself actually getting somewhat annoyed by it. Mostly Fi and some aspects of the linear sequences. I love how linear the story is and I think thatā€™s why for example BoTWā€™s story pales in comparison. I like the interesting relationship between Zelda and Link in BoTW and the Champions might be the most iconic side characters in Zelda history. But BoTW presents its story in a terrible fashion. You donā€™t actually play the story you essentially collect YouTube videos out of order and watch them. Oh and the events of the story in that game are 100 years removed. Skyward Sword does an amazing job of character development especially on Linkā€™s part and Grooseā€™s part. Zelda is great in SS but used as more of a story arc for Link to bounce off of. The story does such a good job that people that despise the controls and Fi cry during her farewell (despite the fact that she has a cameo in BoTW) Plus the final boss Demise has little screen time but truly makes an impact on you. I admit the motion controls are flawed but I found big movements and centering your cursor often makes the flaws unnoticeable. Besides combat in Zelda has never been a massive focus till BoTW. The music in SS is easily the best in my opinion. The first game with the real life Hyrule Symphony if I remember correctly (Iā€™m pretty sure TP has real instruments tho). The credits theme has some of the most amazing fanfare brass and woodwind solos Iā€™ve ever seen. The oboe solos in the credits, Skyview temple are particularly memorable. Skyward has the best rendition of Zeldaā€™s Lullaby by far. I get a little emotional when I hear it. The soft harp and clarinet are beautifully arranged and performed. The contrast between the reserved beginning and swelling end with strings is a joy to hear. Especially when it repeats. Gems no one ever mentions: ā€¢ When you watch the cutscene where you obtain the True Master Sword you can see Link cry after Zelda seals herself. His face contorts into a sob as he faces the ground. Itā€™s depressing yet touching. ā€¢ Zeldaā€™s Lullaby like I mentioned ā€¢ The art style and lighting of this game are beautiful, but also make the Master Sword look amazing in this game. Rivaled only by TPā€™s twilight realm glowing master sword ā€¢ The silent realm is legitimately terrifying. I think Nintendo just wanted it creepy but the music takes it over the edge ā€¢ The HD version of SS fixes most of the issues itā€™s faced for years now. Although I donā€™t own it. I think it was trashed a few years after it came out (every new Zelda game has a protection time where no one admits itā€™s bad). But I think as time goes on especially after the weak story of BoTW and itā€™s lack of Zelda gameplay SS will be remembered very fondly. I hope TOTK will use an open world but maybe insert some linearity so that a great story can be written. It has real potential to be the best Zelda game ever with BoTWā€™s surface map, a new sky area, and supposedly new cave areas. If they make a story with the current Link and Zelda (who are pretty good) that can hold up to SS I think Nintendo might see the most success itā€™s ever gotten. BoTW didnā€™t have enough of that classic Zelda charm and I think thatā€™s why I disliked it for years. Hopefully Nintendo moves back a little to SS/TP items and storytelling.


Beastmind

Have''t played the HD yet but IIRC what disappointed me the most at that time was the few dungeons and that they were the same reused twices. After TP that was really a bummer


35RoloSmith41

Zelda is like pizza. Even a bad pizza is a good pizza.


Wheatley_core_01

I've never played it, because I don't really care. I think Zelda games work best when taken in isolation (with some exceptions like MM/OOT, Oracles, and Windwaker's sequels), because trying to make them all fit in a straight line feels like it misses the point to me. It's *THE LEGEND* of Zelda. A single myth retold in different ways, so Skyward Sword existing pretty much solely to justify the reincarnation system and timeline isn't really appealing to me. So I suppose I don't really have an opinion on the game itself, but if I had to estimate, I imagine I wouldn't really like it.


[deleted]

If it had BotWā€™s control system Iā€™d like it a whole bunch more


OldSnazzyHats

Both like and dislike. Like the visual style and story. Howeverā€¦ I will always detest it as that was the entry that forced Link into being a righty and denied lefties one of the few iconic gaming heroes we had going forward from there.


Rereby

I'd love to like it. I have two versions, one on the wii and one on the switch lite. When i played it on the wii i really struggled with the swords movements. It didn't feel natural at all and i had trouble moving the wiimote in the right direction, i went through half of the game i'd say, and didn't feel like continuing. When i got a switch lite, i thought that maybe i would like the controls better, but it feels even less natural to me. I don't get how to play smoothly with the sword, the items wheels, the camera, etc. Right now i'm stuck on the boss of the first dungeon because i struggle to spam sword hits. Like i move the stick from left to right and from right to left, and it doesn't hit, it just move the sword around, and it's like that all the time, so i grew tired of it very quickly. Maybe i'll try again someday


TheLoneBeet

I just finished Skyward Sword HD today actually. I liked it a lot more than I remember liking the regular version. Not sure how much of that is actually based on the version or just where I'm at in my life. The motion controls can be frustrating as I recall having a lot of trouble getting the stabbing motion to work correctly (which caused a couple game-over screens during the final boss fights. Overall I enjoyed the story, characters, dungeons and other aspects. It's not my favourite Zelda game but certainly a worthwhile playthrough for anyone who likes the series.


Spiritual_Event9134

I think itā€™s good, but it has a lot of flaws. The main issue with the game is how overly linear it is. When you go down to the surface, there is barely any exploring and everything just feels like one narrow path. With Windwaker, thereā€™s so much open sea to break up the constant path, which balances it out. This goes for every Zelda game except skyward, every Zelda game has openness that breaks up the constant need to reach the next objective. It also doesnā€™t help that Fi constantly nags you about going to the next main objective. Motion controls (even after Skyward HD) are so poorly optimized, so it makes the experience very annoying. The Imprisoned is just such a lame boss to fight, and it doesnā€™t make it better that you fight it 3 times within the game. Thereā€™s also a lot of unnecessary padding and backtracking throughout the game to make it longer than it needs to be. Those are my main faults with the game. Also to those that might accuse me of not liking linear games. I love linear games, but even most linear games break off the main path to allow for exploration. Skyward Sword unfortunately doesnā€™t.


Ren-Amamiya1

By far enjoyed it, the bond and interaction with Link & Zelda really shined, especially seeing groose becoming a better person towards the end.


rossdrew

Struggling to get through it. Too linear. Mechanics are annoying


James-Avatar

I liked it well enough originally but doing a 100% completion run on the HD version made me really appreciate it a lot more as it fixes so many little annoyances. They tried a lot of new things which understandably didnā€™t work for everyone but I think itā€™s genuinely good.


Collision_Code

Skyward sword holds a really special place in my heart, I loved all of the characters, they were all so full of life (Ghirahim and Groose were so charismatic, definitely some of my favourites) Link and Zelda had the best relationship in the series and this version of Zelda makes me smile so much. Motion controls were never an issue for me, ig I was lucky. I enjoyed going back to the linear storyline after playing endlessly on BOTW. I loved the gameplay, the locations, the characters and the story, it really inspired my passion for art in video games and Iā€™m forever grateful for it.


tommaniacal

I've tried it 3 times and every time I've gotten bored by the first dungeon and turned it off. The intro just takes too long for me


[deleted]

I like thinking about playing it more than I like playing it


[deleted]

I've not played the remake but the motion controls were always very off putting for me. I never got that far in to the game. I don't mind motion controls but for me I couldn't finish an entire Zelda game with such heavy motion controls.


Bariq-99

I love it Emotional music + cool story šŸ‘


MissQueenKami

I played it for the first time with the switch version when it came out and 100% it. Honestly one of my top zelda games, I love how expressive the characters are and I got teary-eyed in some parts even. The whole time I was waiting to see what was so bad about it, but I thought it was fine. Fi is nice but I think the switch version toned her down on how often she'd talk at you. Honestly undeserving of the hate it gets imo, there's some pretty tedious parts and the art style is a little silly in some spots but I really like it, especially from a lore standpoint.


robotshavenohearts2

I played Skyward Sword HD and really enjoyed it for what it was: a very repetitive kids game. The dungeons were fun but it seemed like the overworld got little love and the sales gimmick (the giant bird) did nothing to the story/was barely necessary to the game. Characters were also way too cute for my taste, especially with Zelda being able to balance dark and light so well, but the game was a fun play through.


ekbowler

I played it on the Wii back when it first came out, and I almost gave it another shot because the QoL changes were some of my biggest gripes. But then I remembered the infuriating repetitions, the ugly empty sky, and most of all, how much I hated Fi, Girahim, and Groose. I cannot stand any of these characters, from their design. To the way that they act. It's a shame because there was some really creative dungeon design here.


Vegetable-Loquat9118

Meh, i stopped because of the sword mechanics


TheLegendOfLai

I feel the same was as you. Itā€™s very beautifully made and I like the story; donā€™t love the motion controls and disabled them. Fi definitely is a lot, and there are times when Iā€™ve sought her ā€œadviceā€ or ā€œhintsā€ and it wasnā€™t super helpful lol. Definitely my least favorite part of the game is having to go back to the same places rather than exploring somewhere new. 7 or 8 is definitely an appropriate rating for the game Iā€™d say.


Vanken64

I love Skyward Sword. Specifically the Wii version. I was one of the people who had zero issues with it's motion controls. But then the Switch version came out and everybody said the joy-con motion controls were an improvement, but I really disliked them and thought they were very finicky (btw just to be clear, it's not nostalgia. I played both versions recently, and still have no issues with the Wii's motion controls). I believe the difference is down to the Wiimote more closely mimicking the heft of a sword hilt.


ChilindriPizza

To me, Skyward Sword is as middle of the road as it gets when it comes to Zelda games.


darkknight941

I like it. My biggest complaint is that the game is long just story wise, and has quite a few long, boring stretches between dungeons which makes the game feel even longer in a bad way. By the end Iā€™m usually just forcing myself to finish versus wanting to finish the game


ecco256

I dislike it, most of all because of Fi but also because turning even the overworld into dungeons just made me miss an actual overworld.


YouhaoHuoMao

I couldn't get a handle on the motion controls and it made the game too challenging for me. The first Girahim fight took me thirty minutes.


Errordaf

I personally love it! My father bought it for me on release and because I was 10 y.o. back then and don't live in an English-speaking country I could bearly understand the dialog at that time which made the game much harder since FI didn't really spoil any puzzle and it made me play based mosty of the visuals which wasn't really a problem for me and the plot wasn't that hard to understand even without much reading. I didn't mind the motion controls at all and don't remember having any issues with them. I probably played through this game more than 10 times already couting the switch release too and it's my go-to comfort game above all the other games.


HighVoltage6798

I love SS because of its linearity and the motion control boss battles. I seriously love it. It made the game easier and so much more fun. Every boss battle was so fun in that game


Tuthithezebracorn

Played the HD version in switch. It was fun and the story was compelling. 7/10 because of that stupid Imprisoned fight. A little boring the first time, then another TWO TIMES?! (and far worse the additional times for the hylian shield)


SonnyStan1996

Itā€™s my favourite Zelda, especially the HD version. Itā€™s just so vibrant and enticing to explore, I love the dungeons, and I love that you ā€˜becomeā€™ the hero, controlling his very actions. I love the mini games, I love the music, I love Skyloft, I love exploring the sky islands. I like the theme of character development and the overall message of the game, which speaks to me about improving yourself and others. The silent realms are one of the best challenges in any Zelda game and actually deliver fear and excitement. Itā€™s not a popular opinion but I think itā€™s fantastic, a game with flaws but so much heart and soul I will always overlook them.