This is...pretty much the best icon ever xD
I'm back! =D School didn't murder me after all, woo!
While I was on my school-induced LJ semi-hiatus...thing, I played and beat Skyward Sword.
And it was AMAZING. I loved it to absolute pieces. (Obviously, as is evidenced by my like...30 new Zelda icons, and new layout. xD)
I've gushed about this on my tumblr already, but the main thing I really fell in love with was the sheer expressiveness of all the characters, especially Link. Even though he never spoke, I felt like Link showed more emotion in this game than most main characters with speaking roles. You could just see, through his body language and facial expressions, that he cared deeply about Zelda, and he was going to go through hell or high water to find her again, no matter what it took.
Then there was Zelda herself. She was a lot less of an action girl than in TP/WW/OOT, but I didn't mind that too much. Not all the ladies need to be badasses to be good characters. ^^ And she was absolutely adorable. Cute and spunky and not afraid to stand up for her friends...or shove them off cliffs. xD (That's what's happening in my icon. She's shoving Link off a giant statue. Scene was freaking hilarious.) She just felt really genuine to me, not this untouchable paragon of beauty/goodness/wisdom/whatever that she is in some of the other games.
The game's major villain was named Ghirahim, and he was FANTASTIC. I haven't enjoyed a villain that much since Kuja, and that's saying something. xD He starts out really campy, rather ~fabulous~, and he even gives you pointers on your swordplay if you suck enough during your first fight with him, but as the story goes he starts showing more and more of his batshit insanity. It gets to a point towards the end where he starts dancing and HUMMING HIS OWN THEME MUSIC in pure, ridiculous, crazy glee. It's amazing. xD
The two most major side characters were Groose and Impa, who are...very different, lol. Impa is basically the same character as in OoT, from what I gather: badass Shiekah lady who protects Zelda. She's cool, and even gives Link and brutal tongue-lashing for being late and putting Zelda in danger. Groose is...well, he starts off as basically the Gaston of Skyloft, cronies and all, but goes through some really good character development. He's hysterical, and tends to name things after himself. Like the surface (Grooseland), a giant catapult (Groosenator), and the game itself (The Legend of Groose! rofl xD). Also, his hair is ridiculous.
The art style was pure beauty, and very fitting for the tone of the game. The controls were occasionally wonky, but mostly really natural and fun to use. The music was stunningly gorgeous, and dynamic - in the bazaar area, the music would change subtly depending on whose stall you were standing nearest, for instance. Fi's Theme is one of my favorite pieces of VGM, now, it's simply beautiful. The mini-games were fun, the puzzles were challenging but not impossible, the bosses were interesting, and the side quests (mostly helping the Skyloft villagers) really fleshed out the world.
Now, on to my two complaints (one's not really a complaint, though.)
The Silent Realms: These were honestly amazing, and in theory, I loved them. In practice, however... Not so much. >_< What happens is, you're transported to a realm with a bunch of unkillable enemies that can phase through walls, and 15 items to collect. Every time you pick up an item, the Guardians go inactive for 90 seconds. If this was all there was to it, it'd be a cinch. However, there are patrolling detectors that can discover you (one kind patrols on a set route, and one kind will actually CHASE you ;_;) and pools of water that, if you step in them, also alert the Guardians. Time limits stress me out. Being chased stressed me out. Being completely helpless stresses me out. Add all of these things together and add really creepy music when you get discovered? Terrifying. I swear I nearly had an anxiety attack, lol. The designs and everything were flawless, and I really appreciate them from an aesthetic point of view, but they were NOT fun for me to play, lol.
Fi: This is my only real complaint about the game. Fi is the beautifully-designed spirit of the Master Sword, and she functions as this game's Navi. Unfortunately, she's INCREDIBLY annoying. She doesn't yell "hey! listen!" every two seconds, but every time she wants to talk to you, there's this really irritating ringing noise, and she wants to tell you about the STUPIDEST bullshit. Fall below 1/4 health? Fi's gonna tell you about it. Wiimote drop to one bar of battery life? Fi's gonna tell you. Find some information that points you in an obvious direction? Fi's gonna tell you there's an 85% chance that you should do whatever it is you just found out. (She really likes that percentage.) She has NO personality whatsoever, she's essentially an AI, which feels very very strange against the fantasy backdrop. She's a very definite step down from the hilariously fantastic Midna, who remains one of my favorite video game characters.
Really, aside from bitching about Fi, and being scared to death of the Silent Realms, I loved every moment of the game. The story was very well done and tied into the mythos extremely well, and it was a joy to play.
Whew! That took forever. xD
While I was on my school-induced LJ semi-hiatus...thing, I played and beat Skyward Sword.
And it was AMAZING. I loved it to absolute pieces. (Obviously, as is evidenced by my like...30 new Zelda icons, and new layout. xD)
I've gushed about this on my tumblr already, but the main thing I really fell in love with was the sheer expressiveness of all the characters, especially Link. Even though he never spoke, I felt like Link showed more emotion in this game than most main characters with speaking roles. You could just see, through his body language and facial expressions, that he cared deeply about Zelda, and he was going to go through hell or high water to find her again, no matter what it took.
Then there was Zelda herself. She was a lot less of an action girl than in TP/WW/OOT, but I didn't mind that too much. Not all the ladies need to be badasses to be good characters. ^^ And she was absolutely adorable. Cute and spunky and not afraid to stand up for her friends...or shove them off cliffs. xD (That's what's happening in my icon. She's shoving Link off a giant statue. Scene was freaking hilarious.) She just felt really genuine to me, not this untouchable paragon of beauty/goodness/wisdom/whatever that she is in some of the other games.
The game's major villain was named Ghirahim, and he was FANTASTIC. I haven't enjoyed a villain that much since Kuja, and that's saying something. xD He starts out really campy, rather ~fabulous~, and he even gives you pointers on your swordplay if you suck enough during your first fight with him, but as the story goes he starts showing more and more of his batshit insanity. It gets to a point towards the end where he starts dancing and HUMMING HIS OWN THEME MUSIC in pure, ridiculous, crazy glee. It's amazing. xD
The two most major side characters were Groose and Impa, who are...very different, lol. Impa is basically the same character as in OoT, from what I gather: badass Shiekah lady who protects Zelda. She's cool, and even gives Link and brutal tongue-lashing for being late and putting Zelda in danger. Groose is...well, he starts off as basically the Gaston of Skyloft, cronies and all, but goes through some really good character development. He's hysterical, and tends to name things after himself. Like the surface (Grooseland), a giant catapult (Groosenator), and the game itself (The Legend of Groose! rofl xD). Also, his hair is ridiculous.
The art style was pure beauty, and very fitting for the tone of the game. The controls were occasionally wonky, but mostly really natural and fun to use. The music was stunningly gorgeous, and dynamic - in the bazaar area, the music would change subtly depending on whose stall you were standing nearest, for instance. Fi's Theme is one of my favorite pieces of VGM, now, it's simply beautiful. The mini-games were fun, the puzzles were challenging but not impossible, the bosses were interesting, and the side quests (mostly helping the Skyloft villagers) really fleshed out the world.
Now, on to my two complaints (one's not really a complaint, though.)
The Silent Realms: These were honestly amazing, and in theory, I loved them. In practice, however... Not so much. >_< What happens is, you're transported to a realm with a bunch of unkillable enemies that can phase through walls, and 15 items to collect. Every time you pick up an item, the Guardians go inactive for 90 seconds. If this was all there was to it, it'd be a cinch. However, there are patrolling detectors that can discover you (one kind patrols on a set route, and one kind will actually CHASE you ;_;) and pools of water that, if you step in them, also alert the Guardians. Time limits stress me out. Being chased stressed me out. Being completely helpless stresses me out. Add all of these things together and add really creepy music when you get discovered? Terrifying. I swear I nearly had an anxiety attack, lol. The designs and everything were flawless, and I really appreciate them from an aesthetic point of view, but they were NOT fun for me to play, lol.
Fi: This is my only real complaint about the game. Fi is the beautifully-designed spirit of the Master Sword, and she functions as this game's Navi. Unfortunately, she's INCREDIBLY annoying. She doesn't yell "hey! listen!" every two seconds, but every time she wants to talk to you, there's this really irritating ringing noise, and she wants to tell you about the STUPIDEST bullshit. Fall below 1/4 health? Fi's gonna tell you about it. Wiimote drop to one bar of battery life? Fi's gonna tell you. Find some information that points you in an obvious direction? Fi's gonna tell you there's an 85% chance that you should do whatever it is you just found out. (She really likes that percentage.) She has NO personality whatsoever, she's essentially an AI, which feels very very strange against the fantasy backdrop. She's a very definite step down from the hilariously fantastic Midna, who remains one of my favorite video game characters.
Really, aside from bitching about Fi, and being scared to death of the Silent Realms, I loved every moment of the game. The story was very well done and tied into the mythos extremely well, and it was a joy to play.
Whew! That took forever. xD