(Three days, three posts. Keep it going, me!)
The concept here is pretty simple. I want to write a bit about every game I’ve completed (or in the case of Zelda, spent a good deal of time on) during Shameless Gaming Month as a sort of reflection on the experience. I guess they could be considered mini-reviews, only without a silly score tacked on at the end. It’s just a fun way to remember the ups and downs of each game.
(No stupid image to go with the article today, I’m sorry.)
It’s been a bit embarrassing to admit, but I’ve never quite properly played a Zelda title before this year. That’s something I (jokingly) got chewed out on Twitter for a few weeks ago, but I’ve since been working to plug this significant hole in my gaming experience. It might be a bit odd to start with the latest instalment over something more notable or respected in the Zelda fan community, but that’s just the way things worked out.
On a mild tangent to start with, it’s been a lot of fun playing a Wii title again. It’s been a neglected console in my house for a very long time so it was nice to brush the dust off and really get into gaming on it once more. There’s no critical reason why it was abandoned, but I guess this year I’ve been looking into Nintendo titles once again. Always good to try something different for a while.
From there I guess I could talk about the motion controls, which are a little picky at times but haven’t been that much of a problem for me. This is the kind of game that punishes remote flailing, which is my go-to reaction, so I’ve had to approach it in a different way, which has been great. The game interface has a pretty handy and easy to access control guide, great for a new player like myself, and it can be customised/removed for an experienced player.
I renamed Link to be called Disco, because for some reason that word amuses me greatly. It’s a minor detail, but it keeps me entertained.
My favourite gameplay moments have probably been in the various dungeons. They’re wildly diverse offerings, each has its own distinct personality and they offer some interesting challenges. I’m willing to overlook the convenience of finding a new item in each dungeon that seems to be my only way to progress, because I’m having so much fun along the way. The extra treasures in each dungeon are a welcome distraction and help avoid too much linearity in my progression.
Side quests have also been great. Originally I was worried that Skyloft was going to be largely abandoned once I headed for the surface world, but each return visit has offered a new side quest that gives personality to the islands in the sky. There’s a good balance there that keeps me eager to return rather than anxious to leave.
So my experience with Zelda titles is very limited and my understanding of the premise of each game is simply that Zelda is kidnapped early on and Link must rescue her. And I was expecting that here in Skyward Sword, but I’m really overjoyed to see that this formula doesn’t really apply to this game. Yes, I’m tasked with finding Zelda, but she has her own agency, a sense of independence. She’s moving freely across the surface world, and I’ve encountered her a few times. Zelda has a purpose beyond being the ultimate goal. She’s her own character, and I find myself really enjoying that. It strengthens that desire to advance the story. I always look forward to seeing her again. I can’t rave enough about how much I enjoy that fact.
I’ve always understood each game to be a sort of alternate dimension, a different take on similar events. And Skyward Sword seems to be breaking that mould a bit, in that it seems quite diverse from previous offerings. Skyloft, which acts as a sort of hub-world, is exciting because it’s a new concept for the series, and it allows an easy explanation for Link’s traversing of some wildly differing geographical locales.
This is yet another game where I can only praise the soundtrack. I only wish the harp sequences were a bit longer. I’ve played at this point, I believe, two different songs, and as cool as they are I want to hear more of them. You follow a simple melody for 20 seconds or so and it’s over. I want a bit more!
Of course, this is an incomplete reflection, but I wanted to write some thoughts down while I’m still feeling the motivation to write. Skyward Sword is a long game, and I’m only about 15 hours in. Unfortunately I think I’ve hit a bit of a wall at the moment. I’m not the biggest fan of backtracking in games, and revisiting Faron Woods has been a low point in the game for me. I spent maybe 90 minutes going back and forth in the area before gaining access to the next dungeon, and it mostly felt like an artificial extension to the game’s completion time. Now that I’ve hit a new dungeon, though, I’m hoping things will pick up again.
Well there’s only really one way to find out, and that’s to charge forward again.
Gaming With Pants 
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