I wrote a rant about a lot of stuff I didn't like about the latest entry to the Zelda franchise in my last blog post. Now I am about 37 hours into the game, and from the fourth or fifth dungeon forward I must say I am really enjoying the game. For some reason the limited amount of tools you had to your exposal in the early parts of the game really made the levels feel like a chore. Usually the earlier parts and first dungeons of Zelda games make up for this by being really simple in their structure. Not so much in SS. The Desert dungeon (number three?) is a real bitch in how complicated it is. To me it feels more like one of the late dungeons when compared to Twilight Princess or Wind Waker. This was one of the couple of places where I got stuck really badly as well. It's a fine line to balance on when making the game difficult enough so it's challenging, without making it too hard so you get stuck and sick and tired of playing. SS didn't hit on the right side of this line in the first parts I feel.
Another thing which gets better the more you play is that you learn how to use the motion controls. They are not bad or unresponsive by any stretch of the imagination, but the features that use them the most - like flying your bird or using the sword - takes some time getting used to. Once you have mastered them they work like a charm though. This is mostly just a matter of getting used to something that is different from the previous games. Having to slice the enemies from exactly the right angle and with the right timing is mighty different from just jamming the A-button until your foe has been properly disposed of.
People have complained about the excessive amount of backtracking in the game, and I must say I agree that it's less than satisfying. There are only three main areas that you go to in the game that I'm not going to spoil, but you go back to them at least three times each! Also there is a kind of disjointed feel to the way the game and the story progresses that makes you think the story is just there to loosely tie the different gameplay devices that can be found in the game together. Compare this to the story in Wind Waker, where there is an afterthought behind everything, and it ties back all the way to the very first Zelda game! These games are all about nostalgia, so being able to do that in a convincing manner is a real homerun as far as player satisfaction goes.
The goddess cubes which you find and strike to activate chests in the overworld sky are a genious addition, and to me doing this sort of side quest really is the best part of these games as it is relaxed and laid-back, and feels really rewarding and challenging. I haven't finished SS yet obviously, but if I would rank the Zelda games currently it would look like this:
1. Wind Waker
2. The Legend of Zelda
3. Link's Awakening
4. Twilight Princess
5. Majora's Mask
6. Skyward Sword
7. Ocarina of Time
8. A Link to the Past
9. Zelda II (to be fair I haven't played this one much)
Not listed: Various Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance knockoffs, as well as the horrific PCi-games ("Great! I'll grab my STUFF!").
As you can see I'm not a huge fan of OoT, I never played it through until long after its release when I got it along with WW. Link's Awakening I played on a long flight to the US when I was a kid and it was the game that got me hooked on the franchise. SS doesn't get higher than number six on this list which is less than impressive, then again these are some of the best games ever created so the competition is pretty steep. As mentioned I haven't even finished it yet, and most likely it will grow on me with repeated playthroughs.
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