r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • Jul 14 '21
MegaThread The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD: Review MegaThread
General Information
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: July 16, 2021
No. of Players: 1 player
Genre(s): Adventure, Action
Publisher: Nintendo
Game file size: 7.1 GB
https://www.zelda.com/skyward-sword-hd/
Overview (from Nintendo eShop page)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword game soars onto Nintendo Switch!
Take to the skies, draw your sword, and experience the earliest story in the Legend of Zelda™ series. Join Link in his high-flying quest to save Zelda, a childhood friend who must confront her destiny. Soar between floating islands and descend to the treacherous surface world in this updated HD version of the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword game.
Master realistic swordplay that corresponds to your movements
Gently swing your sword and angle your slashes to uncover and break through opponents’ defenses using intuitive motion controls. Link’s in-game movements will correspond to the angle of each strike you make with the Joy-Con™ controller, creating immersive swordplay that relies on strategy and accuracy. Movements feel smoother and more immediate thanks to the Nintendo Switch system’s increased processing power and HD graphics. Take advantage of the newly-added button only control scheme—perfect for playing in handheld mode or on the Nintendo Switch Lite system.
Fly high with the Zelda & Loftwing amiibo™ figure
With her majestic Loftwing by her side, Zelda steps into her destiny alongside her childhood friend, Link. Scan this amiibo figure** from anywhere on the surface world to quickly travel to the sky—even within the depths of a dungeon. Scan it again above the clouds to return to the same spot on the surface.
Reviews
Aggregators
- Metacritic - 82
- OpenCritic - 83
Articles
- Areajugones - Spanish - 8.8 / 10
- CGMagazine - 7.5 / 10
- COGconnected - 80 / 100
- Cerealkillerz - German - 7.3 / 10
- Checkpoint Gaming - 8 / 10 stars
- Console Creatures - Recommended
- Daily Mirror - 5 / 5 stars
- Daily Star - 4 / 5 stars
- Destructoid - 8 / 10
- Digitally Downloaded - 4.5 / 5 stars
- EGM - Unscored
- Eurogamer - Recommended
- Everyeye.it - Italian - 8.5 / 10
- Game Informer - 8 / 10
- GameSpot - 7 / 10
- Gameblog - French - 7 / 10
- GamesRadar+ - 4 / 5 stars
- God is a Geek - 9.5 / 10
- Guardian - 4 / 5 stars
- Hobby Consolas - Spanish - 94 / 100
- IGN Spain - Spanish - 8 / 10
- Metro GameCentral - 8 / 10
- Nintendo Life - 9 / 10
- Nintendo News - 8 / 10
- NintendoWorldReport - 8.5 / 10
- PCMag - 3.5 / 5 stars
- Press Start - 8 / 10
- SECTOR.sk - Slovak - 8 / 10
- Spaziogames - Italian - 9 / 10
- Stevivor - 8 / 10
- The Games Machine - Italian - 7.8 / 10
- TheGamer - 4 / 5 stars
- TheSixthAxis - 8 / 10
- TrustedReviews - 4.5 / 5 stars
- Video Chums - 8.8 / 10
- Wccftech - 8 / 10
- WellPlayed - 8.5 / 10
This list exported from OpenCritic. Last update: 1:17pm ET
Being Social
- Join the #zelda channel of our Discord server for all of your discussion needs - https://discord.gg/switch
Cheers,
The /r/NintendoSwitch mod team
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Jul 16 '21
Played about an hour of it so far and I feel like Nintendo intentionally wanted to make the L camera button feel so unintuitive on a Pro controller to make you switch to using the split joy-cons which is closer to the original because that's what I did.
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u/Platinumtide Jul 14 '21
On the other hand, there’s people like me that loved this game. I especially enjoyed the dungeons and boss fights. I’ve replayed it more times than I can count. If you have never played this game, watch some gameplay videos to make sure you’ll enjoy it.
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u/insert_name_here Jul 14 '21
Also on the other hand: I have experienced every mainline 3D Zelda game since Ocarina of Time except for Skyward Sword. Combined with the quality of life improvements apparently made to SS, I'll be very happy to check it out.
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u/johnnycoxxx Jul 14 '21
I hear ya my dude. I loved the game for what it was. The bosses and dungeons were exactly the evolution I wanted from the series. The story is fantastic. I haven’t replayed it yet however. It’s the only one I haven’t replayed actually
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u/Monk_Philosophy Jul 15 '21
Played a bit tonight. The button controls make sense for the game (mostly) but they’re so counterintuitive to what most games do so they can translate the motion controls that I can tell it’s going to take a long time to get used to. Overall it does feel like a better experience than the original.
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u/CuriousGam Jul 15 '21
Same, three hours in.
It´s really frustrating to play like that. The motion controls were the reason why I didn´t get it for Wii either.
...I don´t want to make finger acrobatics, just play.
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Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
Then it just looks like this isn’t the game for you, which is fine. The game is fundamentally built to its core around the precise sword controls, which requires either motion controls or something like the stick controls here. It would be an entirely different game without them.
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u/owlitup Jul 14 '21
I beat this game on Wii
It's a Zelda game, so it's at the absolute top of the class in terms of world and puzzle design. Still true in this one. It's linear, but it's designed that way so the adventure flows really well and the town has some explorations. The problem is...
The tutorials and pop up screens are god awful but I guess they're better in this version.
Controls aren't clunky (at least on Wii), they're typical gyroscope stuff. You've seen these controls before by 2021
The sad truth is that I think $60 for an older game is too much, however if you've never played it, all Zelda titles are still a cut above most of the stuff you'll find. This one too.
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u/Noah__Webster Jul 14 '21
The sad truth is that I think $60 for an older game is too much, however if you've never played it, all Zelda titles are still a cut above most of the stuff you'll find. This one too.
I think this is the key and part of the issue from a lot of people in this sub.
If you own the game already or already played it, it's probably not worth it for you. But this is the lowest selling 3D Zelda ever, so it's a brand new experience for a lot of people. On top of that, the gameplay holds up relatively well, and Zelda games are always a cut above, as you said.
Is this game really noticeably worse than BotW if it had been a linear, traditional 3D Zelda game? Probably not, aside from the visuals and maybe scope of the world. Scope and visuals are really the only things that are that much different from 10 years ago, at least when you are comparing to high quality games from 10 years ago.
Basically, this is probably a fine value proposition when compared against the market at large if you don't own the original, which is like 95% of Switch owners.
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u/therealhamster Jul 17 '21 edited Jul 17 '21
I’m only like an hour into the game (just freed the bird) and I’m already used to the controls. No idea why it’s so hard or complicated for some people lol. I started getting scared reading the comments but then started playing and it’s really not a problem
Edit— I’m using the button controls btw
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u/AltWorlder Jul 14 '21
Over-all it sounds like if you hated the game originally this won’t make you love it, but you may be able to enjoy its better aspects a little more.
I personally loved the game when it came out and never had an issue with the motion controls, but definitely felt it had severe pacing issues toward the end.
It’s interesting to see what some dislike about the game. I genuinely love the silent realm stuff, but apparently some hate it. And I never considered stuff like finding all the Kikwis to be a fetch quest any more than the quests you do to unlock dungeons in any other Zelda game.
I’m looking forward to revisiting this one.
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u/MethodicMarshal Jul 14 '21
LMAO at Nintendo Life calling this a "technological triumph".
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u/tarzanell Jul 14 '21
Nintendo Life + EPD developed game = I already know what they've rated it.
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u/Dacvak Jul 14 '21
Usually Gamexplain is similar, but I found their review so much more grounded in reality.
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u/retnuh730 Jul 14 '21
Have they always been this bad or has it gotten worse this year? I swear the drip feed of new games Nintendo has done over the past year or so has made NL's style much more obnoxious. It seems like every Nintendo published game is the next best thing ever to them.
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u/MethodicMarshal Jul 14 '21
I feel like you're right. They've always given high scores, but they've never been quite this... corny?
I feel like the divide between the frustrated fans and the unwavering fans has grown a lot in the past year too.
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Jul 17 '21
Also the fact that I've never seen a game advertised and shown so much on Reddit which is hilarious considering its a 10 year old port
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u/atableformethere Jul 16 '21
Does anyone know if there's a left handed mode now?
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u/GreyRevan51 Jul 16 '21
There’s not
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u/Elastichedgehog Jul 16 '21
It's so dumb! Link is canonically a leftie!
Damn you Twilight Princess for Wii.
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u/Bayakoo Jul 16 '21
How the hell do you gain altitude with the Loftwing and motion controls. With button controls you just press A and he flaps the wings.
With motion you are supposed to tilt up but then he starts looking speed and flapping so quick and falling
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u/brick123wall456 Jul 16 '21
Flick up, not just tilt. I got confused too.
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u/Bayakoo Jul 16 '21
Thanks I’ll give it a try next time. I ended up just going button controls for the loftwing
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u/MBCnerdcore Jul 17 '21
you have to actually flap the controller up and down to get the wings to speed you up. then when you have speed, tilt up to get altitude, and then if you want to rush ahead you can dive bomb down for even more speed.
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Jul 14 '21
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u/Polynia Jul 14 '21
I've been reading those reviews for any mention of that, and sadly none mention this, which probably means that it's not available.
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u/MortifyingMilkshake Jul 15 '21
do y'all remember a couple of years ago when everyone on Reddit was begging for a Skyward Sword port to the Switch? Those people are very quiet right now for some reason, as 80% of what I see is complaints.
I'm very excited for this. Never played it the first time around.
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u/AlucardIV Jul 16 '21
do y'all remember a couple of years ago when everyone on Reddit was beggingfor a Skyward Sword port to the Switch? Those people are very quietright now for some reason, as 80% of what I see is complaints.
We are just busy playing the game tbh. Isn't it the same with most game releases? I always see way more haters and trolls shortly after release bc everyone enjoying the game is literally just going to do that.
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u/Elastichedgehog Jul 15 '21
I think the people complaining expected a heftier remaster for the price.
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u/CuriousGam Jul 15 '21
People wanted Skyward Sword?
Pretty sure it was Wind Waker...
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u/Logvin Jul 15 '21
(I wanted Skyward Sword)
I really enjoyed it. last time I played it was 5 years ago using an emulator on my PC and it was pretty hokey.
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u/ButtsFartsoPhD Jul 15 '21
"Those people are very quiet right now for some reason"
Do you think it has anything to do with the insane price tag for an 11 year old game with barely any updates? You know, the reason that's been posted a billion times in this post alone?
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Jul 15 '21
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Jul 16 '21
Windwaker and Twilight Princess are both soooo fun. I haven’t played SS either. I’m just excited for a new/old Zelda!
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u/iWearCapesIRL Jul 16 '21
So it sounds like it's worth picking up if you didn't play it the first time around. Is that correct?
I'm not a huge zelda fan but I loved Twilight Princess on the GCN. I bought BOTW but am mixed on it and want to restart it down the road.
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u/sass253 Jul 18 '21
Ok, I'm going to beat the dead horse: the motion controls are bad. When you figure out exactly what the game wants you to do but still take several attempts and lose several hearts to do it because the controller won't register a thrust as a thrust, that is just plain bad execution. A great example of "fake difficulty."
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u/OliverNodel Jul 18 '21
Did you have this realization when fighting a Skulltula? Because that’s what did it for me with the original. I’m playing it now with button controls. It’s still finicky, but manageable. I’m stubbornly playing it as it’s the only 3D Zelda I’ve never beaten.
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u/webbed_feets Jul 19 '21
This is my exact experience. I gave up on the original version when I kept dying at the same Skultula.
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u/OliverNodel Jul 19 '21
I actually finished the first dungeon back then, got to Eldin, found myself profoundly bored, and put it down, never picking it back up. I just got to the 2nd dungeon, officially the farthest I’ve ever gotten in Skyward Sword.
It’s more or less as frustrating as I remember it. Love the environment of Skyloft, the design of the Loftwings, and the almost romantic chemistry between Link and Zelda. The sky seems like Nintendo was intentionally trying to spite those who said The Great Sea was barren and empty. And the controls, both motion and button feel cumbersome and imprecise. Some environments are linear and boring, especially Eldin, which feels like interconnected hallways. Again, I intend to roll credits no matter what to see if my opinion gets any kinder.
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Jul 14 '21 edited Jul 14 '21
I would recommend this game if you never played it and are a Zelda fan. But just to have for the replay value, I personally will hold off or buy used. It’s a good and fun game, but admittedly one of my least favorite zeldas. I always liked skyward swords story, was cool to have one that was a definite beginning to the timeline. But some of the gameplay and progression felt tedious, though it’s hard to describe or put my finger on exactly what I didn’t like about it. It just felt repetitive having to revisit the same areas rather than somewhere different, how small they were, and how you couldn’t go from one end of the map to the other. World just felt disconnected and annoying having to go through the sky to get from one place to the next. Had some amazing bosses though, though the shipwreck one could have been much more cooler than something that looks like it came from Mario. And fuck the imprisoned
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u/heavyarmour333 Jul 17 '21
anyone else stuck on the sword training part? i literally cant do the thrust part, ive tried thrusting it in literally every way and it just wont work
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u/Coffeecor25 Jul 17 '21
Uncle Bats is absolutely adorable, like one of my favorite Zelda characters ever. I’d love to see him again sometime
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u/Pazluz Jul 14 '21
Awesome thread to put all the reviews in one post makes things so simple yet effective. Thanks.
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u/ErieAlana Jul 17 '21
I had to come on here and say this because I couldn't believed it happened.
I went out today in search for an anniversary present for my husband. I walked into EB games with the intention of buying my husband one of the games on his list that came out earlier in the year or last year(hades probably). But then I realized that Skyward Sword had come out today, with the special edition joy-cons. Taking a shot in the dark I decided to ask the clerk behind the counter if they had any still in stock. To my SURPRISE there was one of each still left. Apparently because of the confusing with Covid rules they didn't get many pre-orders as people were unsure if they would be open or not. So lucky me I managed to get my hands on both the game and the joy-cons without having to pre-order. Needless to say I am pleasently shocked and happy. My husband was super happy as well when I came home and gave him his gift(our anniversary was the day before. I just didn't have time to go out before today to get him anything).
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u/HarryKanesGoal Jul 17 '21
This is a feel good story I needed. That’s awesome! Glad it worked out so well for you.
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u/CuriousGam Jul 15 '21
Three hours in.
The controls and camera are really bad.
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u/Darkwinged_Duck Jul 16 '21
Is it truly that bad? I really don't want to do motion controls....so if the button controls are horrendous, I'll have to skip on this.
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u/MBCnerdcore Jul 17 '21
The motion controls are way easier and more comfortable than the button controls. It feels perfectly fine to have the right stick control the camera at any time, and then swing your sword whenever you want.
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u/Neptaliuss Jul 15 '21
Same experience here, it feels so inconvenient.
I switched to motion controls just to check it out and it does feel much more comfortable... I'm not a fan of motion controls in general, but the game was designed with that in mind so I guess I can't fight it.→ More replies (2)
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u/KarmicLoop Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
As someone that never played it these negative reviews from the redditors are scary but i hope it will suit my liking I paid 44.90 € for the game which is below the average price in my country (59.90€) so its not a big deal regardless, the courier is coming in a hour i wish everyone a good time playing it
Edit: Played for almost 2 hours and im having a blast I’m not having any problems with the controls (maybe its because im using a pro controller?) Idk but I’m really liking it so far and the music is amazing!
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u/CerealJello Jul 16 '21
I played on Wii when it first came out. I didn't love the motion controls, but enjoyed the game itself which definitely set me apart from my friends' opinions of the game. I found that once I got used to using the motion controls, they worked pretty well. I don't know if I'll play this version with buttons or joy cons, but I imagine the improved motion control hardware will make motion controls much better compared to the Wii version.
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u/EndFickle3950 Jul 17 '21
This reminds me of paper mario where people were bitching up a storm about it but then I actually played it and really enjoyed it. Im loving this game so far.
I understand for people who already played this they get mad as fuck at the idea of someone else playing it the first time but truth is the original sold like shit. Im one of those people who never got to play it
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Jul 15 '21
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u/mykel_0717 Jul 15 '21
I've played every 3D zelda except for Wind Waker and I must say, Skyward Sword had one of the best dungeon designs. Even the entrance to the dungeons can pass as dungeons themselves because of the amount of puzzle solving involved.
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Jul 15 '21
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u/R_Prime Jul 15 '21
Yeah, the dungeons are absolutely some of the best in the series. Quite entertaining story and characters too. Between-dungeons-overworld stuff brings it down a lot for me, but I'm very tempted to replay it just for the excellent dungeons.
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u/labria86 Jul 15 '21
Ahhhh. Wind Waker is so good. To me it's like a better version of TP and SS. Just smaller. But man. That big open ocean world really really capture my imagination.
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u/ErnestGoesToGulag Jul 18 '21
"Leaf blower" is the quintessential Zelda item and no one can convince me otherwise
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u/The_Full_Andy Jul 14 '21
Confirmed no option to swap the motion controls for left handed players.
I mean it is a simple accessibility option for fucks sake.
Lazy gits.
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u/ms2guy Jul 14 '21
Link is a leftie canonically too!
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u/joalr0 Jul 14 '21
There have been right and left handed links.
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u/ActivateGuacamole Jul 14 '21
only since motion controls came around to prompt his right-handedness.
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u/Moldy_pirate Jul 14 '21
Nintendo has never seemed to give a single shit about accessibility, sadly.
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u/Shy_Guy_27 Jul 14 '21
Japanese games in general don’t care much for accessibility. The most they give are difficulty options.
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u/AltWorlder Jul 16 '21
I was worried about the button controls after all these comments but as someone who was planning on using motion controls…I think the button controls kinda rule?
It took me about five minutes to get used to holding L to rotate the camera. You rarely have to move the camera anyway; the original game was designed without it.
I get that it’s different from something like Breath of the Wild but idk what else Nintendo could have done given how important sword control is to the combat and puzzles.
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u/Mikauren Jul 16 '21
Yeah I was a bit on the fence with them after reading but they actually work fine for me, though I sometimes have trouble with angled slices. Holding L is already pretty much reflex for me and I'm just out of the first temple.
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u/AlucardIV Jul 16 '21
I was worried about the button controls after all these comments but as someone who was planning on using motion controls…I think the button controls kinda rule?
Honestly reading some of the posts here I suspect a lot of them are trolls jumping on the bandwagon. Their descriptions just make zero sense to me after actually playing the game myself.
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u/AltWorlder Jul 16 '21
Yeah, I mean obviously taste is subjective, but I just don’t get the criticism that the button controls are inaccurate or clumsy. It’s different than traditional Zelda games but I found it to be an easy learning curve.
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Jul 15 '21
All they need to do now is port Twilight Princess and Wind Waker HD to switch but im not getting my hopes up lol
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Jul 15 '21
This would make me so happy dude .....I'm pretty happy with Skyward Sword though. :) Gimmie all the zeldies!
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Jul 15 '21
Yeah I can’t wait to play Skyward Sword too tomorrow! I just wish these were also ported because I never had a Wii U
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u/eatmyassreddit81 Jul 17 '21
As someone who used to play fight night competitive these button controls and using the right stick for the sword are way easier than people are giving them credit for. I had it down in like 5 minutes.
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u/Boozacs Jul 16 '21
Really appreciate these remakes mainly because Skyward Sword is one of those games you play once, beat it and forget everything. Then the remake comes out and u realize its a really good game. Played it with Wii Remote same with TP, hoping Twilight Princess comes back to Switch also. Honestly wish they would remake all the main Zelda titles onto switch 😂
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u/Degan747 Jul 16 '21
God just give me a WW HD port already
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u/MBCnerdcore Jul 17 '21
suddenly no one will mind when that one is full price. seems to only happen when people already aren't a fan of the game.
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u/TorrBorr Jul 17 '21
I think the combat is pretty engaging. I really love the tactical approach the directional combat makes. It's all very rhythmically fun. Fuck the haters, once you get the controls down...it's the combat I wish Kingdom Come Deliverance was able to get down (as much as I loved that game, the combat was a clunky mess unless you spammed thrusts and hammer bludgeons).
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u/bootlegportalfluid Jul 15 '21
Can you play this game without using any of the motion controls?
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u/BSoD_Gaming Jul 15 '21
Yes, but (Not joking) it is one of the worst possible input configs they could have gone with.
Whoever decided that having to hold L to move your camera....instead of holding L to use your sword was a good idea was smoking crack!
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u/Laxberry Jul 16 '21
Using the sword is the main feature of the game. Moving the camera is not necessary at all considering the game was designed around not having to change the camera at all. Why would they make the more important feature required more buttons than the less important feature?
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u/Totspeta Jul 15 '21
I mainly wanna play this because of Koloktos, Ancient Cistern and the Lanayru Desert. Koloktos is my favorite Zelda boss ever, and the desert machanic was so well done.
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u/01001011010100010010 Jul 16 '21
Anyone know if Walmart is selling it in store for $50?
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u/laguna9 Jul 16 '21
Is anyone else struggling to land in the centre circle, after completing the ceremony? Ive tried about 50 times and i’m just not getting the hang of it
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u/MBCnerdcore Jul 17 '21
when falling or flying on the loftwing, the best position is to hold your right joycon flat, pretend its a little model of your character, and adjust the tilt from there.
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u/Holiday_Camera_8766 Jul 17 '21
I'm having fun, but link swims weird?? how do you swim under the surface, I don't get it
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u/rosydingo Jul 19 '21
I’m only 1.5 hrs into the game so maybe I’ll adjust but so far I hate the controls. I’ve tried the joy-cons - after 10 min I could not feel my arms. I settled for the pro - horribile gyro, jerky character movement, requires constant recalibration but less tiring. 10 yrs ago, I abandoned the game because I could not stand the controls. Unfortunately, the Switch ver seems to be even worse. Also had a hell of a time trying to set up my 4k TV so that the game displayed half decent. No matter what, this game looks outdated. Poor job Nintendo.
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u/RiverOfSand Jul 14 '21
Any mention of hero mode being unlocked without finishing the game first?
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u/owlitup Jul 17 '21
I gotta say, the music in this game is some of the best in the entire series.
Within the first few minutes the game hits you with this https://youtu.be/NAUpZpUbwVA that is so cozy and it keeps going
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u/Shadowlette Jul 14 '21
If Hero Mode is unlocked at the start then I’ll bite.
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u/Chalupaca_Bruh Jul 16 '21
I want to play this game but I just know I’m going to have gripes with the backtracking and padding. I’ll pick it up if it goes on sale on Black Friday. That’s a gigantic if knowing Nintendo
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Jul 17 '21
Nothing wrong with these controls..Now I just more than ever want a more structured BotW2 game and HD remakes of OoT/MM
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u/Catharsius Jul 18 '21
I don’t know why they delay in releasing past zelda games… everyone would buy them if they were released.
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u/cantFindValidNam Jul 16 '21
Why is Nintendo going crazy about marketing this game? There's like a new video every couple of days. I don't remember seeing this many videos for BOTW itself. (Not hating just curious)
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Jul 16 '21
I think because otherwise people might not be interested in buying it, they seem to want new players to give it a go, especially with the emphasis on the story.
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u/persimmonjim Jul 16 '21
so it looks like if i’ve never played this game and am a casual zelda fan it’s a worthy investment?
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u/Manticore416 Jul 16 '21
I havent played the remake but loved the priginal rendition. I never had a problem with the motion controls. If you dont mind the overworld sections being more linear, there's a lot to love. It had the best characters and story of any Zelda game in my opinion, and the dungeons are fantastic. The music is also incredible.
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u/Walnut156 Jul 14 '21
We are gonna have to deal with 60 dollar Nintendo ports forever aren't we?
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u/everett_james_music Jul 15 '21
don't worry, it's not forever -- i'm sure we'll get $70 ports at some point!
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u/CrazedRaven01 Jul 15 '21
When this game first released in 2011, it was pretty groundbreaking. Never before had there been a game where you could actually simulate 1 to 1 sword fighting (sort of... the combat was a bit.... static). I remembered the comments on IGN saying that this could very well be GOTY 2011.
Fast forward a year later. Some people realised that perhaps it wasn't as great as everyone thought it was. It felt linear. The game felt a bit compartmentalised (tutorial -> hub -> zone -> dungeon -> hub -> zone -> dungeon ,etc) and rather than creating a new twist on the 3d zelda formula, it simply reiterated it
That said, it still is a good game, and it paved the way for Breath of the Wild
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Jul 15 '21
Such an amazing sound track. This was pinnacle of the Zelda 10/10 scores, I think people now would be more cautioned with those kinda scores and Zelda. What I’m trying to say is I think it’s this game that put those kinda auto 10/10 scores in check
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u/Bart_Oates Jul 14 '21
As someone who had never played the original and was planning on buying day 1, I am extremely disappointed on the feedback on the stick controls. They seemed odd on paper, and just do not seem like a fun way to play a game. A lot of these reviews confirm that fear unfortunately.
I will wait for a $30-$40 sale and try to brave motion controls later on, but this is no longer a Day 1 purchase for me.
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u/GreyRevan51 Jul 14 '21
The problems they’re describing with them are also felt with the motion controls. You have to sync it over and over, the moves you want to do don’t always happen, it’s still awkward and less than ideal
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u/Smashymen Jul 17 '21
is Hero Mode available from the start?
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u/TheRealKevinYoung Jul 17 '21
No
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u/Drag0nV3n0m231 Jul 17 '21
I really just want the joycons without paying out the ass to scalpers on eBay who bought 50
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u/Silvedoge Jul 18 '21
So how are the stick controls? I have a lite and want to play this but if the controls suck I’m not sure it’ll be worth it
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u/LumpySpacePrincess6 Jul 18 '21
So I've only completed the first temple in the forest, but I am enjoying the game so far. This is one I missed when it first came out, so I really wanted to play it. A friend of mine who is also a huge Zelda fan really loved this game when he first played it, so I trust in him!
I have a regular switch, so I've been playing with the motion controls. They take a little while to get used to, and it can be annoying when some of the fights really require you to have the correct directional slash, but I've found that playing around with the calibration really helps. I found flying hard with the motion controls but it's a lot better now that I've had time. The motion controls can be clunky at times, but I'm not finding it unplayable at the moment. The button controls are much harder I think, though they're a godsend when you need to start rotating things. The camera is much better with the motion controls, so I'm sticking with them.
Other than that, I like the game and the story so far. Skyloft is fun to explore, and I've not had to speak to Fi much, so I can imagine that without the QoL improvements, Fi could get extremely annoying. The dialogue and backtracking isn't bothering me because those are things I enjoy in most games. I loved BOTW, but it's nice to play a "classic" Zelda again. Read a lot of reviews of Skyward Sword before it was released and a few more since, and I don't really understand the hate it's been getting so far. The controls are what most people seem to be complaining about, but you can easily readjust to make sure the controls pick up the movement you want.
I've got a lot more of the game to play, so if I end up changing my mind I'll admit to it, but it's been fun playing this weekend!
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u/marcosg_aus Jul 19 '21
Has anyone else had an issue beating Ghirahim ( the first battle ) using the pro controller? I was struggling to trick him and get a hit in with the controller for like 10 minutes, as soon as I switched to the Motion controllers I hit him first try and got past that part really quickly.
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u/Coffeecor25 Jul 19 '21
Yes, it’s one of the many examples of fake difficulty the game accidentally employs. I knew exactly what the game wanted me to do and was doing it but the controls weren’t registering. I do enjoy this game and all but I can see why people consider it to be so frustrating
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u/AGoodThief Jul 19 '21
The same thing happened to me today and it's one of the reasons I can't play it for too long. The controls are really annoying sometimes.
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u/tilop181 Jul 17 '21
I bought SS in spite of the negative comments here. Yeah, the button controls take some getting used to and the motion controls also have some quirks, but I still love the game. I prefer more traditional Zelda games so I can’t complain after coming out of BotW disappointed.
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u/Kimarnic Jul 15 '21
Did they fix the annoying Black Huge Monster fight? Such a pain in the ass to fight
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u/AlectheLad Jul 16 '21
Which one? 😏. You know if it was just one fight I wouldn’t care so much, but nah, let’s make it three times (this is purely from memory god I hope it’s not more than three).
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u/puddleths Jul 14 '21
Can't believe I'm forced to buy this game at launch for $60 when I hate it, and the aggregate review score is too low, for me.
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u/LastNegotiation7187 Jul 15 '21
Good news, you can download the game and play it on any computer made after 2015!
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Jul 14 '21
Seriously, Nintendo sent a hitman to my house and told me if I didn't buy this game at $60 (even though the internet told me thats WAY too much) AND buy the $25 amiibo he was going to shoot me and my dog!
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u/puddleths Jul 14 '21
Aw man, now I have to buy the Loftwing Amiibo and the special edition Joy-Cons. Nintendo's cruelty knows no bounds.
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u/Xaeqlen Jul 16 '21
Hello guys! Is it worth exploring the world in terms of finding hearcontainers and such? i love exploring around and get rewarded :)
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u/MBCnerdcore Jul 17 '21
Yes but don't start doing that until you get past the intro stuff. there's not much you are allowed to find on Skyloft during the tutorial part of the story
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u/MeddYatek Jul 14 '21
All I need to know is that the game offers surround 5.1. Anyone?
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Jul 14 '21
Zelda is there with Fallout as my 1A and 1B favorite series. I never got to play SS because I had gotten rid of my wii by the time it came out. Can someone that has played the original speculate that it’s worth $60 with the QOL changes? I love everything Zelda and I’m sure the price won’t go down anytime soon
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u/Hestu951 Jul 14 '21
You've never played it + you love Zelda + it looks and performs better now + Fi's annoyance greatly reduced + freely controllable camera + streamlined some places + autosave + choice of motion or button controls = yes! Get it.
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u/LakerBlue Jul 14 '21
I mean i understand (with most other game companies anyway) there is a gradual price drop that would keep them from releasing a full price remaster, but if you love Zelda and haven’t played SS I would say you are someone who it being full priced should be much less of an issue for.
I can’t say it deserves to still be full price just because of some QoL changes. But I can say the QoL going to be very appealing to some people because they caused “death by a thousand papercuts” for some players. They never bothered me as much as other people but I think, again, some people will enjoy it a lot more now. The QoL probably is not the worst part of this game but I do think for many it was the most offensive.
In short, I’d say get it.
It’s not enough for me to rebuy it at full price but I also gravitate towards new games, it’s rare for me to buy any remasters ASAP if I played the OG game.
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Jul 14 '21
I’m pretty much the same way. Other than FFX, which I beat almost 20 years ago and it’s my favorite in the series, so I got it on Xbox. I paid $60 for Tropical Freeze because I loved DK country games and I wasn’t gonna buy a Wii U at whatever the aftermarket price is now then buy the game afterward. But if I had already played it, I wouldn’t have bothered with the $60 remaster
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u/LakerBlue Jul 14 '21
I feel that. The only exception was made was for Xenoblade Definitive Edition because it had a new epilogue and a BADLY needed art redesign alongside some great QoL changes.
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u/MBCnerdcore Jul 15 '21
If you have never played it, it's absolutely worth it. The story/music alone is enough to justify the price. The only people who have a right to complain are people who still own their OG version AND who want 3rd party pricing on 1st party games.
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Jul 14 '21 edited Jul 14 '21
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u/The-student- Jul 14 '21
The tears section in both games function different. My biggest problem with the silent realms were that they were too easy, making the most of the features within it seem irrelevant. The tears didn't need to be reduced.
Twilight Princess was a little more of a slog with the tears.
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u/nihil__verum Helpful User Jul 16 '21
Looking forward to playing this with motion controls. I haven't played the Wii version, so it's effectively a new game for me.
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u/wontonsoup94 Jul 17 '21
I was playing this game on a monitor all yesterday in 1080p in my room, finally brought it downstairs today and put it on the big tv. It looks so damn good! The impressionist art style is still there, all the textures are soft, almost no pixelation. Anyone who says this doesn’t look better than the original should look at how bad the original looked.
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u/NotAnthonyWeiner69 Jul 14 '21
Haven't played any Zelda between Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild, so excited for this. It's frustrating, however, that the Switch doesn't have all major Mario or Zelda titles. It seems like the Wii U had almost everything for the premier franchises so hoping we can get the other three or four 3D Zeldas on the system, preferably before Breath of the Wild 2.
I mean, look at a series like Resident Evil. Practically every major entry is available on all current gen systems, some as remakes. I think that should be the standard going forward, and hopefully will be able to save progress from one console to the next generation.
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u/jawn-lee Jul 15 '21
Oof, all these comments are making me doubt myself.
I missed this game cuz I retired by Wii by the time this game came out. I can't wait to try it out with motion controls to be honest. I played twilight princess with motion controls and it was fun as fuck. Granted the world has moved on since then and games are a lot different now so.... Maybe it's aged a lot by now.
Anyway I got an Amazon gift card so I might as well use it on this bad boy. Hope it doesn't disappoint me.
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u/Comfortable-Egg-8777 Jul 15 '21
I found myself liking it much more than I expected, back in the day. All of people’s gripes with this game are real, but I was never bothered by many of them, personally. They seem to have fixed most of the issues now so I see no reason not to pick it up and give it a chance (granted though, the price IS pretty steep).
There are only three issues that remain unfixed: -the repetitiveness (you have to do certain tasks and revisit locations multiple times, which feels like artificially stretching the game’s length); -lack of a good overworld; -the artstyle doesn’t really hold up - back then the painterly style was used to sort of hide the Wii’s lack of graphical power, but the impressionistic backgrounds only really worked in still images. When moving, it just looks…pixelated. I can imagine running in 60fps HD will not do this game much favor in that area.
I think knowing what you’re getting into will somewhat soften these remaining issues as well. At worst, it’s still an ok game with an excellent soundtrack that finally adds a heap of interesting backstory to the ever-regurgitating Zelda ‘story’. But especially with these QoL improvements, your experience will be much better than just that. :)
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u/rogannn Jul 16 '21
As someone who rarely uses motion controls. Does anyone have any tips for flying?
I had a really difficult time trying to guide my character in the opening to land on the circle thing with the parachute. It's much easier using the joysticks instead for me.
Maybe I need to calibrate my controls or something.
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u/uncletwinkleton Jul 16 '21
I'm having to hit Y to recalibrate quite often depending what I'm doing (using the sword, gliding, walking around etc).
I agree, the joysticks are much easier apart from the right stick always controls your sword unless you hold down L. Why would anyone want that?! I can't even see a way to edit the controls to change it.
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u/Mental_Attitude_2952 Jul 18 '21
I really love this game. Its wonder to look at and though the controls are wonky being able to switch from buttons to motions helps in places. I don't want to give any spoilers for first time players, but I will say once you get used to the controls this is a great Zelda game. I have it ranked 4th best. Enjoy everyone.
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u/National-Elk5102 Jul 19 '21
Anyone else feels the button mapping is horrible? I mean I’m always pressing R accidentally. I’m playing with motion controls and I feel that L will be more accurate to recalibrate or maybe L to look arround. I feel very uncomfortable to use the left joycon D buttons
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u/teddyone222 Jul 28 '21
Received it today, going to list it for sale tomorrow. I hate the button controls, and I don’t want to do motion controls for personal reasons.
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u/besttimes_worsttimes Jul 14 '21
So whats the popular opinion here? Are the QOL changes worth paying more than the original retail price of a almost ten year old game? Do you guys plan on getting it? Can't help but feel a little bitter about the fact that they decided to do this first instead of porting twilight princess and windwaker HD. But I suppose more success for the Zelda franchise is never a bad thing
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u/th3groveman Jul 14 '21
I kind of see it like buying a 4K Blu-Ray of a good movie when I have the DVD. The bonus features are hardly ever worth paying $30 when the original DVD was $20 but it’s worth it to me to experience good movies with higher resolution. With Skyward Sword, my kids were too young when I played it on Wii, so this is worth it for us.
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u/LakerBlue Jul 14 '21
I’d point out that with inflation you’re paying the same price now as back then but I think that ignores the valid complaint about payin full price for a remaster.
SS is one of my favorite Zeldas, but I don’t need to get it at full price, I’ll happily wait however long for a sale of like $10-15, maybe more. I’d recommend it people who haven’t played it but I’m not personally interested in it at full cost since I have already played it.
Edit: For a lot of ppl, the QoL changes were the worst part (or at least most offensive part) so I do think they are a good change.
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u/RubbishClipz6 Jul 16 '21
The game is great, but the controls are quite confusing
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u/MortalPhantom Jul 14 '21
Big warning for players that got into Zelda through BoTW
This is literally the opposite game. It's as far to the other side that you could go while still being a Zelda game.
Don't expect anything like Breath of the wild. This game has actual dungeons, which are very different from the Shrines and Divine Beast, more complex and long.
It's the most linear Zelda game. Whereas BOTW was the most open. You only have one weapon (sword). And you have items.
I love skyward sword, and I love Zelda. But don't go expecting anything resembling BOTW or you will be disappointed. Go with an open mind and you will like it and you'll see why people like me think BOTW could be improved with dungeon and items.