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[FreedomFighter]

SS is just a little too linear for me. Most Zelda games are, but many times you're given the illusion of choice/sequence breaking. For example, in OoT, when I was stuck in the Forest Temple, I did other things like figure out how to get my Goron Tunic, figured out how to get Epona, and completed Gerudo Fortress. So the game seemed like I could do anything even though I really couldn't. I feel like SS didn't have much of that. Just go here, then there, the back here type of stuff.

But gaddamn was it a great game! I'm gonna replay on hero mode soon. I have to buy a new Wiimote though.

 

[Myriadis]

I still enjoyed this game and rarely had any problems with the controls (we're talking about 2 or three times in 40 hours) but the padding was most of the time really bad, especially at the forest area. The game also assumes that you are a moron and wants to "help" you at any time. And I say that as someone who genuinely enjoyed some of the padding like most missions in the volcano and sand areas, not to forget the spirit realm missions.

It would be nice if they would use that motion control for the sword and most items in future Zeldas at least as an option as I loved it but given the reaction of most people it will be unlikely.

 

[HappyBivouac]

I absolutely loved it. I feel like people miss their big hub area to ride the horsey around in a little too much, but I might be completely off there. I think the overworld areas as levels in and of themselves approach was fantastic, but it seems to be a huge complaint from many people.

Things I liked: the characters, the art, the graphics, the desert area, the upgrades, the jaw dropping final battle, the story and its significant departure from the usual stuff.

Things I mildly to strongly disliked: the motion gimmick being too finicky to be enjoyable. The sky being a massive disappointment with virtually nothing to explore. The making me do the same unfun boss over and over again; perhaps my biggest "wait... really?" moment in gaming... ever. The definitely not enough dungeons, with several of them sorely lacking substance.

So, yeah, I have a lot of complaints, but I still think it's a fantastic game. That's sort of part for the course for Zelda.

 

[smashballTaz]

Skyward Sword is one of my favourite Zelda's. I didn't mind the tutorial, Fi was annoying at times but by the end of the game I appreciated what they were trying to achieve with her personality. Some of the dungeons are truly amazing, the art style is my favourite after Wind Waker, and the Silent Realm challenges were great fun and a chance to show off mastery of the levels. I do however wish there was more to the sky area other than the pumpkin inn and Skyloft and a couple of minigames and inconsequential islands, and they you could fly at night. Girahim was a fantastic villain. I liked the way you could upgrade your items, having the max speed was great, looks like BotW will be doing even more of that.

I didn't even mind the constant battles with the Imprisoned because each time I tried something new.

One thing I was disappointed about was how late in the game you get the box and arrow, and that using it was pretty basic. Was expecting that add the sword combat was lifted from Wii Sports Resort, so would the skill-based archery.

And it was pretty odd that Link's Loftwing was never named, especially as usually you get to renamed Link and his steed.

 

[Haunted]

In terms of complaints...

I didn't like the overworld much, not enough to do or see without making up for it with the feeling of calm and voyage that Wind Waker had. The Imprisoned is shit design. Cumbersome UX and the shop interfaces were bad.


But that's about it - it's a strong Zelda game and well worth experiencing. Looks really good in Dolphin, too.

 

[RoadHazard]

I enjoyed it, and found the controls fun, but the world design was very disappointing to me. It didn't feel like a real, connected world, it felt more like a bunch of separate levels with the sky acting as a glorified level select screen. And the way you go back to these three areas over and over, opening up new parts of them, was meh. I much prefer a flow of new locations. Also, exploration. SS doesn't have it. It's just a linear set of levels, with basically nothing else to do. So overall, I'm very happy with the direction Nintendo is going in with BotW. A Zelda game with a seamless open world to explore is what I've always wanted. WW sort of did that, and I loved the freedom to go wherever you had in that game, but BotW is what I've been dreaming of since OoT.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Weak atmosphere because the world felt artificial and small, plus the art direction was an incoherent mess.
Motion controls were only needed and good for the sword and maybe a handful of other items, but all the rest from swimming to shaking off spiderwebs feels like ideas found in Wii shovelware.

It was okay. But while TP truly felt like a game 5 years in the making, SS felt like a filler title.

 

[Hot Coldman]

SS is just a little too linear for me. Most Zelda games are, but many times you're given the illusion of choice/sequence breaking. For example, in OoT, when I was stuck in the Forest Temple, I did other things like figure out how to get my Goron Tunic, figured out how to get Epona, and completed Gerudo Fortress. So the game seemed like I could do anything even though I really couldn't. I feel like SS didn't have much of that. Just go here, then there, the back here type of stuff.

This was a gripe for me in terms of "well, shit, I hope they don't make Zeldas like this again". It didn't feel right. SS is honestly more akin to the design of a Mario game than a Zelda game in a lot of ways, with how they feed you ideas non-stop (a design choice afforded by linearity), and personally it's one of my favourite game design motifs, but it's not really what I go to Zelda for. It also really exposes the overworld's blandness, as when you do go looking for distractions, you quickly realise how Skyloft is basically the only living place in the whole game.

Given 3D Land and Skyward Sword launched at more or less the same time, I guess it was just a design phase that they've probably broken out of by now (definitely on the Zelda side, judging by ALBW and BOTW).

 

[mntorankusu]

My real problem with Skyward Sword is that there's nothing good in it. It's so boring. I don't really hate anything about it, there's just nothing to like.

A lot of people try to say things like "if you only fixed these two or three things, it would be a great game!". But no matter how many of those issues you fixed, the game would still be a whole bunch of nothing to me.

 

[Kurt]

i liked this game more than zelda tp.
But the collecting tears again is something i really hate (was also in zelda tp).
Besides that, i like the idea of a zelda game where you can fly, but not how it's done in zelda ss. And yes i hate tutorials...

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

The imprisoned fights and link's face were annoying, but I loved everything else.

 

[BetterWorldz]

Not a bad game by any means, but it's my least favorite Zelda, and I doubt it's the cycle effect as I've loved every one of them at release ever since Ocarina.

To me it was the empty sky overworld of course, the segmented surface that feels more like levels than a cohesive world, the linearity and excessive hand holding. Also for some reason I really hated the design of the Mogma race (the volcanic mole guys), felt like bad Saturday morning cartoon characters.

On the other hand I thought they really nailed the motion controls, the dungeons were the best of the series, and the game has some really great music and atmosphere.

 

[Oddish1]

I'm sure people have covered most of the complaints, but I remember when I first played being driven crazy because of how slow the text speed was. That was the thing that bothered me the most and there was no option to make it go faster.

 

[Piers]

Got up to finishing the second dungeon (Lava cave), haven't returned since.
The lag on swordplay is an annoyance, and maybe I'm just bored of Zelda titles. Hearing how much this game drags later in the story, though, I'm right to have dropped it then and there.

Mentioned it before, but since N64, the 3D Zelda titles have just been sloppy in some form.

 

[Memento]

I loved Skyward Sword. Dont understand the hate at all.

The last parts should have been cut though. Looks like they tried hard to artificially increase the hours of the game with the last segments, literally reusing the same places and the same boss over and over.

 

[BassForever]

Just fighting the giant black boss who's name escapes me 3 times is my only issue with the game.

 

[SoundPulse]

I don't think it's a bad game, I just don't like it. Didn't really care for the motion controls at all and it just felt like it didn't respect my time.

 

[Vortex566]

The motion controls always put me off.

 

[Waji]

My least favourite Zelda 3d.
The "overworld" felt a bit disconnected in its parts and i hated the bossfights, expecially the bosses' aestethic. Story and dungeon design were fine.
Oh, and i've never been a fan of motion controls in general.

This.

 

[Ronok]

I couldn't get play with the motion controls. Really didn't like them so I quit pretty early.

 

[shounenka]

It felt like the opening tutorial was never going to end. None of the other games have that much front loaded handholding.

That's my biggest complaint.

This. Was incredible otherwise. Amazing last boss and gameplay throughout overcame the non-HD factor. Can't wait for the WiiU version of BotW.

 

[Celine]

Too much repetition and I didn't like that the areas outside the dungeons were extension of them (from a gameplay perspective).
Motion controls were actually quite good.

EDIT:
Oh and Skyloft sucked, too sparse for nothing really meanigful.

 

[Skittzo0413]

Absolutely nothing. Best Zelda game I've ever played by a good margin. The motion controls worked perfectly for me and mastering the blocking and swinging to face the end boss was probably the most satisfying experience I've ever had in gaming.

As for the imprisoned, I actually enjoyed facing him multiple times because I kept finding new ways to beat him. You really have a lot of options against him.

 

[keakster]

Only problem I currently have with the game is that I can't find it for a decent price!

Spoiler

(Won't buy digital)

 

[Maneauleau]

My biggest problem with it was the constant backtracking in the same few areas. I enjoy some of the things it did but in the end it was a good game but a bad Zelda game for me.

 

[LordOcidax]

What a coincidence.... Playing the game rigth now for first time, this game is a master piece.

 

[mindsale]

I don't get these threads where the poster concedes glaring faults and still posits a rhetorical "What's wrong though?"

It's extremely linear. There are three zones and you return to them frequently. That toenail boss is repeated way too much. That David Bowie boss is repeated way too much. The overworld is empty. There's a game-breaking bug if you play the dragons out of order. The controls are unresponsive unless seated in perfect posture. Flight is pointless. Oh god those Tad-Tones.

The art style and soundtrack and Ship Dungeon are nice, though, and the stealth sections and mine dungeon and stamina meters are alright I guess. And it's novel that it's essentially an origin story for one third of the Triforce holders. Just a decent Zelda.

 

[dave_d]

I think the motion controls really are the cherry on top of the cake and the game just wouldn't work without them. I'm not a fan of The Bit Block but I love the short rebuttal video Josh made in reply to Gamespot's review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEge_2Vuft0

So I'm guessing Josh might literally be a shill. Anyway my problem was mainly with the controls. Sure, the controls pretty much work correctly 99% of the time. Of course that means the 1% could mean no skyward strike during a boss battle. Plus the fact with just the sword out you couldn't quickly recalibrate. (I think down on the control pad did nothing, or maybe it was up. I didn't get why you couldn't just recalibrate with a quick press. The only way I knew was to select a sub-weapon and then recalibrate from there.)

Well that and those stealth otherworld sections, I hated those things.

 

[Coffee Dog]

-Swinging a sword to swing a sword requires learning and a steady hand, and most people would prefer to hit a button.
-removed all pretense of open world elements in a series that has a lot of open world elements
-the entire game is designed as if it were dungeons, with even the field areas being linear and puzzle based

It's not a suprise why people dislike it, it's design priorities are different than any other zelda. It's entirely puzzle and action focused, and to a lot of people the action itself was a pain in the ass.

 

[Waji]

Ah yes, the world in the sky was ridiculously empty.

 

[oni-link]

It was a 30 hour game followed by 20 hours of filler material; in other words: it was a case of "too much of a good thing".

Also, even after 50 hours of combat, the motion control-based sword play never felt 100% reliable.

This

It's a good game, but the controls only work as intended about 90% of the time, and that is unacceptable

Imagine playing a Mario game where the A button only made Mario jump 9 out of the 10 times it was pressed, or a shooter where the trigger only fired 9 out of the 10 times you wanted to shoot

It would be extremely frustrating, to the point where it would be patched out the game within days

That coupled with the poorly paced start and absurd hand holding is why it divides opinion

 

[Skeletos311]

The collectathon gating was pretty bad. That's probably the worst thing.

The flying controls sucked and made exploring the sky a pain.

The way the main areas only connect to each through the sky made them feel more like other games and not Zelda.

The Imprisoned was not a fun fight and it sucked that you had to do it a bunch of times.

I really didn't have that much of a problem with the sword controls. I don't really want another Zelda game like that, but they were fine most of the time.

 

[Fliesen]

Loved the controls.

The 'overworld' was nothing more than a bland, empty level hub.

 

[TheMoon]

I'd play a Switch remaster, but that's not gonna happen I guess.

That's very likely actually happening. No reason for it not to.

 

[d00d3n]

Victim of the zelda cycle.

Yeah, this.

 

[SporeCrawler]

personally i liked it a lot. the motion controls are spot on and the game actually uses the motion controls for challenging bosses. in particular the colossus boss and ghirahim were my favorite.

 

[decoyplatypus]

(1) The intro is too long. It's not TP-intro long, but it's still bad.
(2) There is no pleasure in exploring the three surface regions because they contain almost nothing beyond their obstacle-course elements.
(3) There is no pleasure in exploring the sky because it's practically empty.
(4) In fact, if we exclude Skyloft business, 90% of what you do in the sky is fly (slowly) to one of the three dropzones.
(5) A lot of what you do on the surface is participate in scavenger hunts ("find six key fragments""find missing kikwis""find your equipment"), which is not terribly compelling and leaves an impression that Nintendo didn't really know what to do with these "dungeon-like" overworld segments.
(6) Fi is an awful companion who is too quick to give away puzzle solutions. She is not the first Zelda companion to have this problem (I remember one puzzle in WW where the King of Red Lions basically explains everything to you, with a camera assist, the second you step in the room), but she stands out as the most obnoxious.
(7) Controls are a mixed bag. They work well for bows (as we already knew from the Wii edition of TP) and fine for most items, though they're a bit silly for bombs. But the big selling point is supposed to be the swordplay, and there we get a slight reduction in reliability for repetitive, braindead combat that does not feel like an improvement on previous games.
(8) The imprisoned is a terrible monster design, which makes fighting it three times all the more obnoxious.
(9) The silent realm gameplay is only fun for Skyloft. I see what Nintendo was going for: over a few visits you get to know a region's geography and little traversal tricks pretty well, and then you have a challenge based on that knowledge. But it made a big difference that Skyloft was a place you saw a dozen times (rather than just a few) and actually had reason to search for secrets.

Dungeons and music were good though.

 

[kromeo]

The only Zelda game i've never finished. I had a few problems with it but by far the biggest offender was the repeating areas, i think i was on my third visit to the volcano when i gave up

 

[Scrawnton]

ITS LINEAR.

It's an Uncharted Zelda game.

This is my only issue with the game.

 

[DylanEno]

Just off the top of my head...

-Link looks like a goober
-Characters are unmemorable and boring
-The Forsaken or whatever the fuck that annoying giant black monster you have to fight several times is called
-Awful overworld
-Locations in general are mostly boring
-Boring side quests
-Iffy controls (ymmv)
-Dousing
-Poor pacing
-Having to backtrack
-The silent realm or whatever those sections were called
-Awful villains (David Bowie as a villain is OK but as a primary example of an antagonist that is all over promotional material just degrades that quality significantly he's so eww)
-This is the start of the timeline?? Fuck that.
-Fi

The game did have some decent dungeons, bosses, and Groose, though. Oh, and the orchestral tunes are incredible. Still doesn't make up for SS largely being a piece of crap.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Motion controls.

 

[matrix-cat]

The game feels like it never gets going. You start off and the game tells you you need to go to Eldin, Faron and Lanayru to find three things and bring them back to the temple. So you do it, and you think something cool's going to happen, but Impa just tells you you have to go back to Eldin, Faron and Lanayru to find three more things. OK, you do it, because this time something cool's definitely going to happen, right? Nope. Go back to Eldin, Faron and Lanayru to find three more things, buddy. Then you fight a couple of bosses and the game ends.

You're never set loose to explore, because there is no world to explore. There's a big empty sky with nothing in it, and then the same three levels you get sent to over and over again.

 

[Brushguy Woodthreep]

It's a good game buried in amongst a load of repetitive time-wasting. If you cut down on a lot of the forced dialogue, dowsing, fighting that one boss multiple times, revisiting the same areas in the last ~10 hours long after they've worn out their welcome... Then it would be pretty great.

Also, for the love of god, if you're going to have a crafting/breakable item system and also limited item-holding capacity, don't make it impossible to make any new items except in one specific place in the whole world, and don't make it slow and dialogue-heavy. I basically gave up on shields until I could get a permanent one, it was that much of a chore.

The actual dungeons (and the dungeon-like areas leading up them) are pretty fun and well-designed. The motion controls worked well for me outside of the Ghirahim fights. The sidequests were good fun too - they created quite a nice feeling of life in Skyloft. I just wanted less of everything that wasn't the good parts.

(Except the one where you have to carry the pumpkins. That can die in a fire.)

 

[VDenter]

Mostly the Padding. There is so much of it it makes the Triforce quest in Wind Waker seem like a joyful time. Having to revisit the same areas over and over is so poorly presented in the game its basically one giant fetch quest. The game takes some cues form Metroid but executes them in the worst possible way. This being the Wiis swan song makes it also go a little motion control crazy swimming and flying around in the game offer some of the worst implemented motion controls ever the worst part is how needless it was. Then we have the over world witch is the worst in any Zelda game ever because there simple is nothing to explore the couple of small island that you find could of have been easily part of Skyloft.

Then we have Fi who is without a doubt the single worst companion Nintendo ever came up with She interrupts the game constantly and basically tells you everything the player probably has already figured out. and since the dialog text in the game goes so slowly it basically makes the already poor pacing even worse.

The bosses also suck The imprisoned and Girahim were alright the first time but the game reuses them at least twice and they barely change at all .

The combat people are so split on this but my problem is how it took the fleshed out combat from Wind Waker and TP and watered it down completely. Link can no longer perform and cool combos or sword skills but only swings in eight directions witch losses its novelty fast. It also makes the enemies that you fight a puzzle basically swing when they open up their guard but the problem is that the game tosses you the same enemies over and over and they dont get any more challenging. Making the repetitive combat that much more unbearable and the parts where the motion controls flat out refuse to work makes it that much more annoying.

Plus how much Nintendo was building up this game as being the prequel to all the other Zelda games it added basically nothing to the lore except some worthless nonsense about the origin of the master sword and Ganon but it does not impact the rest of the series at all. The story-line in this game is only slightly above some of the other Zelda games but that is not saying much. It feels like an afterthought

For a game that was in development for four plus years its incredibly underwhelming it feels like there was supposed to be much more to the game but they just ran out of time and made you revisit the same areas over and over. I find it hard to believe as series that has generally been about exploration could have so little of it in this entry.

Its in my opinion the worst 3D Zelda game and it pains me to say this because the game starts off strong but it just spirals into a void of disappointment after the first three dungeons. The dungeons are great the art style is great everything else is honestly bad.

 

[Kraq]

Let's not hide behind the Zelda Cycle excuse. SS will be remembered as a weak game (by Zelda standards) 10 years from now.

The amount of repetition is asinine, whether it be traversing through the same geography over and over, or facing some boring, dumb-looking bosses. The sky overworld is empty and dead, and it takes ages to get anywhere. For me, the motion controls were also a problem and I almost dropped the game early on because it kept messing up. Fi was also annoying and there should have been an option to turn her off.

The desert area with the sandship was great, but that's the only memorable moment of the game to me.

 

[BowieZ]

It's one of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of the most infuriating sidekicks.

 

[Nocturnowl]

My main gripe is that the game does its best to hinder itself with unskippable slow text each time you pick up a trinket upon turning the game back on and a few too many Fii interruptions, it ends up feeling plodding as a result.

Otherwise though I don't have many issues, controls were fine for me though the swimming always felt a bit jarring, while the Imprisoned was a trash boss its made up for by a lot of the rest being some of the series best. Puzzle focus was fine for me, this was the same year Xenoblade released in the UK and Zelda was never gonna come close to its scale of exploration so SS doubling down on puzzles worked well for me as a result.

The blatant padding of content was a bit dubious but even then I felt they mixed the gameplay scenarios up well enough for it to come across a hell of a lot better than stuff like the Triforce fetchquest of WW

 

[UltimaWeapon]

Hate the Silent Realm
Hate 'The Imprisoned' fights
Hate those damn tadpoles

Other than that, I thought it was a really good Zelda game. Definitely enjoyed it better than Windwaker.

 

[muteki]

Some of the bosses were just too frustrating, and I just got tired of swinging my arms around after a while.

The world was pretty nice but could have been connected better.

 

[Yarbskoo]

So much filler. Revisit the same areas over and over. Fight the same boss over and over.

I still liked it, but it's one of my least favorite 3D Zeldas.