Spoilers GG, spoilers
And you have to hit those yellow gaps it will stun him.
It's too small and too fast damnit.
Also by the time I have beaten all those minions and run all the way down I am hot and bothered from motion controls. 
You don't have to be accurate, just hit them on the same spot. If the weak point is pointing up to a vertical downward slash, if it points down and upward slash. If it is on the side a horizontal slash. It is tricky but you will get it eventually. Also shield parry is your friend.
Done the second area and finished the second dungeon.
For some reason I am having more fun than the first time. Maybe it is because I mastered the controls and it is more fun when you can roll bombs without them exploding in your face all the time. I also noticed in areas where you have to use bombs, there is usually a hut nearby with a chair you can rest on to get your hearts back. Clever design, why did I miss it earlier?
I did the second area and for some reason Fi just interupted me once. Maybe because I am playing on Hero mode, or perhaps because I am ignoring her calls. Whatever she did not bother me. I also payed attention to bombable walls that lead to secrets. I found 4 in Eldin area. The only lead to rupees or treasure chest though.
One criticism I have about the game is that while their is a lot to do and explore in the dense areas below the clouds, I really miss the optional areas like the caves and holes in Twilight Princess. In Skyward Sword blowing up a wall leads you directly to a treasure chest. I really want to blow up a wall, explore some ancient ruins and then find a piece of heart or some other treasure. I do enjoy catcing bugs though. Once you learn how to use the net it becomes an utter joy.
Also I paid attention to enemy variety and so far it is pretty good. Eldin and Faron have different type of enemies besides the Bokoblins. Faron has the plants, birds, spiders and Stalfos. Eldin has those crazy fire seals and Lizardfols.
About the Lizardfols, their animations are amazing. The ways they walk up to you, the way they taunt you, fucking amazing. There is one part where you fight two of them at the same time. In Hero mode they can make short work of you pretty quickly. And it is not like you can attack one and the other will ignore you. There is a drawback however. I killed one and then I died. I was exited to try again, but to do better. But when I reentered the area, the one that I killed did not respawn, so I only had to fight. That was disappointing.
There is a problem with enemy variety later in the game though. They should have phased out the bokoblins and replaced them with Stalfos and Lizardfos. Can you imagine entering a room with 4 Stalfos and 2 Lizardfos?
I also noticed something during the second dungeon. The first time I visited it, there were 'X' on the map to show you where the interesting points like bombable walls were. Not so on Hero mode. Also the visual design on the second dungeon is so much better than anything in other Zelda's. Definitely more an Asian influence than the previous Zelda's that had a more European style.
About the Fi interruption. She pops up without asking and tells me that you can ask her for advice about enemies. Which I found weird she tells you that in the second area. I mean I fought enemies in the first area and Skyloft, could you have not told me then?
Oh wait she popped out another time too, but then it was story related so it was okay.
After beating the boss which had awesome boss music BTW. About the music the music that plays when the Mogma talk to each other is excellent too. The music is growing on me, kinda like Twilight Princess music was also growing on me. But I digress, after beating the boss Fi had here patented Captain Obvious moment.
It goes like this, first she tells me that the next objective is in the desert during a cutscene. Then after the cutscene ends (which is skippable in Hero mode) she pops up and says that there is a high probability that the next objective is in the desert. Well duh, you just told me 10 seconds ago. This cannot be unintentional, someone at Nintendo is trolling us.
I just finished this last night and leave the game completely impressed with the final battle and ending. It's exactly what I was hoping to see, crazy tough final boss and ending that ties everything up nicely. Well, in Nintendo's way of tying up loose knots, implying this is what happened or may happen.
Overrall, it's been great with new gameplay experiences throughout most of the game. The sky overworld was sparse, but the ground areas more than made up for that. There's a ton of cool stuff to see and do. I do kind of miss that sense of discovery when exploring new areas of the map, but it's a great trade off for me. Now instead of empty spaces, there's puzzles and challenges everywhere.
This dungeon within a dungeon concept is genius. Though the dungeons were a little on the short side, but I never really felt that short-changed because of this. The level design just blows my mind. Who comes up with this stuff? I will say, though, that though the dungeons were great, though was never one that was just sublime. Dungeons three and five came closest, but I was still yearning for that one with six or seven floors and puzzles that made my eyes spin. We never really got that one. I want my water dungeon!
Bosses? Now they still continue to amaze. Was there one in here that was not fun to fight? It's the new play control, which is king. We should never, EVER have to play a Zelda game with a gamepad again. It's not natural to do so now. I feel like such a boss with my new fighting skills. It's not always responsive, I sometime had trouble stabbing and my sword didn't want to point upwards at times, but I'll take this any day over pressing 'A' to swing a sword.
If I'm ranking this, it lands right in that circle with Twilight Princess and A Link to the Past. Not quite reaching gaming nirvana like Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, but how many games can reach their level? A 10 score seems too high, 9.5 too low. I'd rate this about a 9.8. It's those little things that aggravate me in this one. Must we always examine every jelly blob when we restart? Why must I have to drag thrtough incredibly long and boring texts every time? Flying was awesome, but there's nothing to fly to. Why aren't there new cities to visit? Cave of Ordeals? Isn't that custom made for this play control? Where is the enemy variety?
Oh, and Fi...fuck you and your long ass texts, too!
Ok, but there's so much goodness here. The music is just as epic and inspiring to me. Iga, when you get there, listen to dungeon five's theme again. So beautiful. Thye Knight Academy theme was in my head for days, as well as Skyloft's and the sky overworld. The town of Skyloft is so charming, with great NPCs to interact with. Not MM level here, but fun. Skyloft is my second favorite town in the Zelda universe.
So GOTY? You betcha! The final act sealed the deal for me. Funny, just a few days ago, I was sure I'd prefer Batman: Arkham City, but this one won me over in the end. It hit all the right notes for me in the end and watched the credits with a huge smile on my face. For a series that's just turned twenty-five, it still manages to surprise, delight and engage me like no other series. For that, thank-you, Nintendo!
Will do Travo, the music is growing on me. But compare it to Xenoblade and the Galaxies and the difference is clear.
And about the dungeons I really like dungeon 4, the theme, item and the boss are excellent and dungeon 7 is sublime. It is not just room to room puzzles, but also a puzzle that takes place outside a mere room. Also I loved Ghirahim, he was awesome and his personality made sense.
Yeah, I loved how the statue figured in most puzzles in four. I'd say dungeon 3, 4, 5 and 7 were just fantastic. My complaint is basicly me saying "I want more!"
There's no doubt Galaxy's music is tops this gen. As for Xenoblade, I'll just have to settle for checking out it's music on Youtube...for now.
travo said:Yeah, I loved how the statue figured in most puzzles in four. I'd say dungeon 3, 4, 5 and 7 were just fantastic. My complaint is basicly me saying "I want more!"
There's no doubt Galaxy's music is tops this gen. As for Xenoblade, I'll just have to settle for checking out it's music on Youtube...for now.
Don't check Xenoblade on youtube, it might spoil shit. I hear that Nier has excellent music too.
Also a spoiler of dungeon 4.
Spoiler, spoiler, spoiler.
I really like that you need to go to 'heaven' to complete your task. But you need a key that is hidden in 'hell'. You escape hell by climbing a wire while they try to pull you down. It is clearly inspired by "The Spider's Thread". You can read about it here. The similarity is uncanny.
Great impressions guys, good read.
Having gone back to Xenoblade...... I mean Skyward Sword completely outclasses it on design. But the atmosphere, story, music and sheer environments and plot twists make Xenoblade a very special experience. I won't say one is better than the other, they both have their strengths and weaknesses - let's just say that you USA guys will be very happy when the game comes out next year.
One thing Zelda made me realize is how different my gaming habits are these days. I remember bringing OoT home and playing for eight hours straight. Those were more carefree days for me and it was not uncommon for me to pull six to eight hour marathons when playing. Now, those days are long gone. I play in chunks now, an hour and a half here, two hours here. My son is napping? Play time! I just got home from work and have an hour to spare before going over to my mother's or sister's? Play time! Life happens. It's not the most desirable way to play and is why it took nearly three weeks to finish the game.
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Groose to be seen settling near a valley and declare the lands, the Gerudo lands.
Awesome Travo, I feel almost the same way. Dungeons 3 and 5 were the best, I did want a bit more from the others.
I have now finished dungeon 4 in Hero mode. If you have not made it past dungeon 4, please stop reading this unless you want to be spoiled.
Last warning, there will be some spoilers.
Playing through Hero mode does feel different. Not just because enemies do double damage, but mostly because there are no heart pick-ups at all. That really changes the dynamic of the game. If you are hit, you can not start running around and get some hearts. Recovery is much more difficult and that means that any hit you take costs you double, besides the hits already do double damage. But you also look at the environment a bit differently. You try to find places to rest. Dungeon 1 is a good example. Next to the dungeon is a tree stump. Normally you would probably ignore that stump, but in Hero mode that stump is a life saver. You can sit on said stump and recover your health. In normal mode that is not really necessary because you probably find enough heart pick-ups along the way, in Hero it is necessary. The same can be said for the goddess walls, which you can use to draw and receive hearts or fairies.
I also found a way to get Fi to talk less. In Lanaryu desert you need to activate 3 generators before you can enter the 3rd dungeon. To enter said dungeon you need to to solve a central puzzle. Normally you go to the central puzzle and Fi will scan some stuff and you can dowse for the generators. Well I found and activated all the generators before going there and I never got the dowse interruption, where she tells you that she scanned somehing and than the game shows you the new dowsing symbol and finally you hear that annoying beeping sound. Also I did the pre dungeon 4 area out of order. After finishing the Silent Realm trial I immediately went back to dungeon one. Did the stuff that I needed to do and scooped up some sacred water. After that I climbed the giant tree, I found a secret there that I did not know before. Also did you guys ever try using bombs on Stalfos? The results are funny. But I digress after that you usually need to look for a symbol and draw that symbol on a door to proceed. But I already knew the symbol from my previous playthrough and immediately draw in on the door. Again like in the Desert I skipped the dowsing interruption, because I already had that object. The game is not that linear, the are some things you can do out of order.
The game is still surprising me with new thing and the attention to detail is truly awesome. For instance did you know that each NPC has a differen animation when you use the Gust Jar at them? Also there are so many ways to beat enemies. In hero mode I defeated the elecric sword wielding bokoblins by first stunning them with my slingshot. You can kill the gaint Chu Chu's with one hit by using bombs. You can steal the horns from horn blowers with the whip. You can use the beetle to pick up hornet's nests and drop them on your enemies. Could go on and on, but I will stop now.
I also paid attention to the enemy variety. And so far it is good. I don't think the game has problems with enemy variety, I think the problem is that the really cool enemies like Stalfos are underused. What a shame because they are so fun to fight. Also I had some problem so far with the pacing. First after you finish dungeon 3 you need to do a fetch quest. It is very short and very inoffensive, but I believe the pacing would be better if these fetch quest would have not been needed to procede with the story. Also returning to dungeon 1 was kinda meh. That is the word I am looking for meh. Again it was short and the fight at he end is one of he games high point, but it would be better if retuning to the dungeon would open up areas that where previously unexplored. Also retuning to the isle of the goddess each time to learn a song is a bit unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, the pacing so far is still good, but it would be better if they were not there. It is like a minor speed bump.
Finally we can't have a impression without some Fi bitching. I already mentioned that to open dungeon 3 you have to solve a central puzzle. Well if you try the puzzle for the first time and make a mistake, Fi will pop out and practically spoil the puzzle for you. That is unacceptable. Also she keep mentioning that the door with the giant key hole is important. She even did that in dungeon 4. This is classic Fi's Captain Obvious remark. Besides spoiling that particular puzzle Fi is not really that bad. Also there are hint tablets that spoil the puzzles. No problem, because they are optional. But in dungeon 4 you actually need to read one hint tablet to be able to solve a puzzle. Which is annoying if you tried to solve that puzzle for hours only to find out that you needed to read the thing your purposely avoided. Besides these points I am liking the game a lot.
The music keeps growing on me. The harp tunes you learn are excellent. I think like with the enemy variety the music has the same problem. All the good themes are used way too little, leaving the rest of the game with a track that is atmospheric, but unmemorable.
For people that have homebrew some codes are out where you can speed up the text and where you can get rid of the dowsing beeping, low shield and health warnings and so on. Tomorrow I will do the pre dungeon 5 area, one of the best things in a Zelda game ever.
No problem with enemy variety??? So where are the darknuts, Iron Knuckles, wizzrobes, mummies, etc. Again its a game all about sword fighting and they don't include the enemies most used for sword fighting in Zelda which are the darknuts, its such a blatant miss.
Dvader said:No problem with enemy variety??? So where are the darknuts, Iron Knuckles, wizzrobes, mummies, etc. Again its a game all about sword fighting and they don't include the enemies most used for sword fighting in Zelda which are the darknuts, its such a blatant miss.
I am still at Dungeon 4 with my impression and so far the variety has been good. Of course it could have been better, but so far so good. And what difference does it make if the darknuts are replaced by Stalfos? They both have swords, right? Although it would be cool if you had to slice of the armor from the joints. At least they are not dropping motion controls, so we might still get a chance.
Bokoblins are teddy bears, red teddy bears, blue teddy bears. "Get that blue teddy bear, Daddy."
Kikwee's are penguins, big penguin and very tiny penguins.
The best part, whenever Fi would pop out to talk, he would say, "Let's go daddy, hurry!"
Everytime.
travo said:So are we supposed to keep our Wii remotes for Wii U's Zelda. Nintendo is acting strange about motion controls. They act like they're moving back to the regular controller because it's what the game industry wants them to do, but secretly want to keep using Wii remotes to play.
I suspect Wii Remotes will be supported on Wii U about as much as Gamecube controllers were on Wii.
Iga_Bobovic said:I am still at Dungeon 4 with my impression and so far the variety has been good. Of course it could have been better, but so far so good. And what difference does it make if the darknuts are replaced by Stalfos? They both have swords, right? Although it would be cool if you had to slice of the armor from the joints. At least they are not dropping motion controls, so we might still get a chance.
There are like 6 stalfos in the entire game! Its the complete lack of quality opponents that is so troubling. Most of the enemies is sword fodder. Compared to TP it has poor selection and quality of opponents. Also the lack of a enemy gauntlet cave is crazy. Now that you have a game where the combat is awesome you remove the combat areas. Its little things like that which get me upset about the game. The game is still excellent but so many simple choices could have been made to make it better.
GAF's dolphin thread has tons of HD pics up.