Yeah, I agree with this. The handholding in skyward sword felt especially bad. I think windwaker takes it for best 3D Zelda though.
Skyward Sword is a bad game because of the "handholding" but Wind Waker, which is much easier, has fewer and easier dungeons, and still tells you where to go all the time is the best?
Not to mention you get unsolicited pop ups like this:
Listen up, [player_name]...
There's a monster running the searchlight
up there!
If you can slay the monster, then just
maybe it'll shut the searchlight down.
Oh...but you're unarmed, aren't you?
All you have is a shield...
If I were you, I'd try to use my shield to
deflect the monster's blows and see if I
could make it drop its weapon. If you did
that, you could pick up its weapon with [A].
...But that's just me. What'll you do?
[player_name], have you seen any filthy,
thieving rats around?
I know they are annoying, but keep your
wits about you...they are only rats!
If you spread bait near their nest,
they may share their store of treasure
with you. Why don't you try it?
[player_name], your foe may be fierce
and fearsome, but do not be afraid!
Forged deep within the steel of your Master
Sword is the power to repel evil...
Even as his ball of fell magic bears down
on you, stand your ground and knock it
back with your sword!
...I am sure you will have a shot at victory!
[player_name], your enemy is gigantic,
but do not lose your head!
This creature wears some sort of a mask.
It must be trying to protect its weak spot.
First and foremost, you must do something
about that mask!
[player_name], do not worry about
straying away from Medli in the depths of
the temple.
Just relax and open your Dungeon Map.
As long as you have the compass, you can
easily confirm her whereabouts.
Now, let's take an example from Skyward Sword:
In Ancient Cistern:
- Fi will pop up to tell you that the boss door is a boss door.
- If you read a tablet telling you that you need a boss key for the boss door, Fi will pop out and confirm that you do indeed need a boss key for the boss door.
- Fi will pop up to tell you that the boss key chest contains a boss key.
Annoying yes. But she's not popping out and constantly telling you where to go and how to solve puzzles. She just tells you things you already know.
1. Their is a difference between "being told where to go" and "being led on a path to the final destination". A good linear adventure game will let you know where to go next, but will not show you how exactly how to get their. In Metroid Prime, a question mark will show up on the map, telling you exactly where to go, but you have to find a way to get to that question mark on your own. In SS, as soon as you fall into a new location, Fi pulls up the map and tells you to place a beacon on the exact point that she wants you to go, and then you stroll down a linear pathway towards that point. Then for extra help, you can use your dowsing ability to find the exact location of most of the important stuff in the game.
I'd also like to address the second half of your argument in point 1.
"Moreso than previous Zeldas the areas between the dungeons were like dungeons themselves. Every 3D Zelda was big empty environments that linked linear empty environments that led to a dungeon."- This is one of the reasons that I said that SS did not feel lived in. None of the overworld felt like it had a reason to exist, apart from to be a playground for Link. Now obviously it is a video game, so they do need to include unrealistic stuff to make the game more fun. But SS took this idea to the extreme. Instead of cramming all of the unrealistic stuff into the dungeons (although we could rationalize the existence of dungeons by saying that they are just tests from the gods), SS spread that out to the overworld. As a result, very little feels organic or natural. It all feels like it is totally crafted to Link's move-set. Yes, other Zelda games, particularly WW and TP, may have had large empty areas, but that emptiness added important things like beauty (long distances can be breathtaking in games, just look up pictures of Gaur Plains or Lake Hylia) and realism (things aren't so jam packed in real life).
A lot of Zelda games have had thes issue, and I hope that they are addressed in Zelda U. But SS took these smaller problems and made them serious issues.
2. I'm not talking about puzzles or new mechanics, I'm talking about environmental aesthetics, which I find to be rather dull in SS.
3. I already kind of addressed this above.
4. Yes, you are doing new things each time, but new areas would be far more interesting to explore, and more variety would help the games replayability. I recently restarted SS, and I hated how I remembered everything in the game, solely because I went through these similar areas repeatedly. I can still play through TP today and rediscover a lot some of the overworld because of the less linear design. Sure, TP Hyrule Field might be a bit empty, but Hyrule feels much more like a real place when I am racing through the field on Epona and watching the sun set. It's not very good for an adventure game to stop being adventurous after one playthrough.
Anyway, I have far more issues with the game, but these complaints only scratch the surface of my problems with SS.
1. Boy, it sure would be horrible if Skyward Sword actually did that. Using beacons is optional but helpful in cases like the quicksand pits of Lanayru Desert. For the most part the areas you explore are pretty wide open. You usually
don't know what your end goal is (not marked on the map or told), but you can dowse if you want to.
Faron Woods:
- Fi has you set a beacon to show you how to use them.
- Then you can use dowsing to search for Zelda but you find a Kikwi instead.
- You go find the chief Kikwi who asks you to find 3 Kikwis and you can dowse to find them.
- Once you find all 3 you get the slingshot and can open the way to the next area of the woods.
Eldin Volcano:
- You land and Fi tells you that your stuff can catch on fire. Doesn't tell you where to go. You run around and explore the entire really well-designed volano area and Fi doesn't pop up again until you reach the summit where the Earth Temple is.
- Fi tells you you can dowse to find the keys. That's all!
Lanayru Mine:
- You land and Fi tells you Zelda was here and doesn't tell you where to go. You can dowse if you get lost.
- After navigating the mines completely on your own and reaching Lanayru Desert, Fi pops up again to tell you that quicksand is dangerous and you might want to check your map to see what kind of terrain is what, and the leaves you to figure out where to go. Doesn't tell you where to go.
- Fi pops up again to tell you that timeshift stones create a time bubble in the past. No shit, Fi.
- Once you reach the temple and find the door blocked, a robot tells you that you can enter the temple through the mining facility and shows you on your map where that is. He changes your map to a map of the past and Fi tells you the terrain on this map is different from the terrain in the present.
- Upon stepping on a safe path hidden below the quicksand, Fi pops up to tell you you can place beacons on submerged walkways in the quicksand by checking your map and upgrades your beacons so you can place more.
- Upon finding out you need to activate 3 generators, Fi tells you you can dowse for the generators you need to find.
- Once you find all 3 she tells you to return to the dial. If you fail to figure out the puzzle in your first try she gives you a hint.
So no, you are not "being led on a path to the final destination." You are given updates or hints on objectives and left to your own devices about how to accomplish those objectives. If you get lost you can dowse but it's optional.
As for the unnatural playground argument, having just watched playthroughs of all 3 areas to observe just how "guided" the game is, I'm calling BS on this. Faron Woods is a pretty natural forest; hell, it's the best forest the series has ever seen. Eldin Volcano is extremely well designed with Mogma mines and houses as well as enemy encampments and ancient ruins. Lanayru mines is an ancient mine so it's not very natural by definition. Every area is very well-themed and nothing feels like it doesn't belong there or like it was set up any more than any other Zelda game.
2. Like I said, we haven't really gotten any new environments since really MM so I don't get why you are singling out SS. At least SS did new things with these environments. Aesthetically they look better and are better designed than their past counterparts by a mile.
3. Not really. Mogma mines and houses. Enemy encampments. Ancient mines and ports that were bustling in the past. Parella caves. Seems pretty lively.
4. TP isn't just a bit empty. Replaying anything is going to cause some fatigue. Would a larger variety of areas been great? Of course. Did they use the areas they had here well? Definitely. What areas does Skyward Sword have? Forest, volcano, desert, lake, sky. What areas does Twilight Princess have? Forest, volcano, lake, desert, snow, field. They have the same amount of area types. TP has a lot of stuff that is boring to do on a replay outside of the dungeons like... well... everything except for the snowboard segment. At least with Skyward Sword's segments being like dungeons you might forget the solutions and feel good figuring them out again.
