Ok. So according to my game clock, I'm in just over 4 1/2 hours (Just be the first complete dungeon). So far I would call the experience slow and frustrating. I feel like I spend half my time fighting with the controls (I need to recenter my aim after every single use as it seems to totally lose calibration constantly, and I'm just not getting the sort of fidelity I was hoping for with the sword as I can't seem to transition fast enough between moves a lot of times to hit certain enemies). And the other half of the time I spend wondering why my "a" button is no longer allowing me to scroll the text faster (You know, because I read faster than a child).

Yet, based on so much praise for the game, and because I feel like its a game I need to play (I haven't missed a Zelda yet, Zelda II excepted), I really want to keep going. So someone please tell me when this game picks up and delivers on all that positive energy. I want to experience it, but I'm just not seeing it right now.

It picks up after that first forest dungeon since that's basically the tutorial for everything. In the next area you'll still get some new stuff explained but there's far less annoying talky stuff. This is also where the cool puzzles start.(Although there is still too much, the slow text really is annoying).

The calibration thing: make sure your room doesn't have reflecting surfaces (big windows + sunshine, mirrors) that interfere with the Wiimote and make sure you are using it correctly. Try some swings without enemies present, test out every move slowly and pay attention to your hand position and whether or not you twist your wrist.

I've had zero problems.

I'm around the same spot. I just finished the first dungeon. I've clocked about eight hours and I would estimate three of those were spent away from the TV, remote on the floor, crying in the bathroom. I'm finding all of the motion controls extremely frustrating -- combat aside. Flying the beetle, flying in Skyloft, balancing on ropes, swinging on ropes. All of this has been a chore and is really just making me hate this game. I feel like it would be tolerable with a standard controller.

Maybe I have a bum remote. Everyone else seems to love it.

@BrockNRolla said:

Ok. So according to my game clock, I'm in just over 4 1/2 hours (Just be the first complete dungeon). So far I would call the experience slow and frustrating. I feel like I spend half my time fighting with the controls (I need to recenter my aim after every single use as it seems to totally lose calibration constantly, and I'm just not getting the sort of fidelity I was hoping for with the sword as I can't seem to transition fast enough between moves a lot of times to hit certain enemies). And the other half of the time I spend wondering why my "a" button is no longer allowing me to scroll the text faster (You know, because I read faster than a child).

Yet, based on so much praise for the game, and because I feel like its a game I need to play (I haven't missed a Zelda yet, Zelda II excepted), I really want to keep going. So someone please tell me when this game picks up and delivers on all that positive energy. I want to experience it, but I'm just not seeing it right now.

If you move the wii remote while you're transitioning in/out of aiming, the game registers the new location as the "center", whether that center be correct, or directly at the ceiling. That may be why you're having trouble?

Zelda is shit and always have been

@Hoagie said:

I'm around the same spot. I just finished the first dungeon. I've clocked about eight hours and I would estimate three of those were spent away from the TV, remote on the floor, crying in the bathroom. I'm finding all of the motion controls extremely frustrating -- combat aside. Flying the beetle, flying in Skyloft, balancing on ropes, swinging on ropes. All of this has been a chore and is really just making me hate this game. I feel like it would be tolerable with a standard controller.

Maybe I have a bum remote. Everyone else seems to love it.

sounds stupid but maybe you're just doing it wrong?

balancing on ropes is badly explained. you have to constantly move the remote like clockwork instead of trying to correct in the other direction. slowly wave it from left to right, left to right ...basically a tik tok rhythm (1 second intervals). when doing other things, remember that your next movement input doesn't automatically register whenever YOU want it to, if you're doing things to fast before either the previous animation or action has been completed, it won't work.

swinging on ropes works like it should, actually: once you've reached the farthest point of your swing, pull back/push forward to swing in the other direction and don't try to swing in between until you've reached the end of your swing.

I don't know where you're having trouble with flying though, it works basically like a paper plane that you hold in your hand.

@kingzetta said:

Zelda is shit and always have been

LEVEL UP! You've successfully trolled this thread. +12 idiot points.

@DeF said:

balancing on ropes is badly explained. you have to constantly move the remote like clockwork instead of trying to correct in the other direction. slowly wave it from left to right, left to right ...basically a tik tok rhythm (1 second intervals). when doing other things, remember that your next movement input doesn't automatically register whenever YOU want it to, if you're doing things to fast before either the previous animation or action has been completed, it won't work.

Okay, I was definitely moving in reaction to Link's balance.

@DeF said:

swinging on ropes works like it should, actually: once you've reached the farthest point of your swing, pull back/push forward to swing in the other direction and don't try to swing in between until you've reached the end of your swing.

I got the impression you needed to jerk the Wii remote -- in any direction -- at the peaks of the swing.

@DeF said:

I don't know where you're having trouble with flying though, it works basically like a paper plane that you hold in your hand.

This is the most frustrating mechanic to me. It took me forever to finish the flight tutorial at the beginning of the game and getting back to the main island before the first dungeon was infuriating. I can not keep my bird in the air to save my life. I'm moving the remote like I would imagine a hang-glider doing. Maybe I'm not diving deep enough to get height following.

I read a comment stating you need to "flap" the remote constantly, which I was not. Is this true? Does this help maintain altitude?

You don't dive to gain height. You have to flap your wings.

I'm pretty worried about the swordplay, personally. I haven't gotten to the actual first temple yet (thought I did, but it was a one-roomer with an NPC), but the fights I've been in so far haven't been promising. My swings aren't consistently registering. I also can't seem to learn how to swing, slowly move my arm to another swing position, and then swing again. I wish I could turn down the Wiimote's sensitivity since I'm pretty sure that would at least fix that issue.

Not sure how to fix the mis-registered swings, though. I've recalibrated a half dozen times and I'm now waiting until I'm back in my living room before I play again. That way I can take full swings and try to exaggerate as much as possible incase that helps the game figure out what I'm doing. If not, then yeah I guess the execution of the Wii is a failure. I despise saying that, but if it can't properly handle a mechanic that a first-party game is built around, that's ridiculous.

Edit: I really am enjoying the rest of the game in terms of setting, characters, general Zelda-whimsicalness. The swordplay is my only problem with it so far, but having a problem with the game's primary battle mechanic isn't exactly trivial.

@Hoagie said:

@DeF said:

balancing on ropes is badly explained. you have to constantly move the remote like clockwork instead of trying to correct in the other direction. slowly wave it from left to right, left to right ...basically a tik tok rhythm (1 second intervals). when doing other things, remember that your next movement input doesn't automatically register whenever YOU want it to, if you're doing things to fast before either the previous animation or action has been completed, it won't work.

Okay, I was definitely moving in reaction to Link's balance.

@DeF said:

swinging on ropes works like it should, actually: once you've reached the farthest point of your swing, pull back/push forward to swing in the other direction and don't try to swing in between until you've reached the end of your swing.

I got the impression you needed to jerk the Wii remote -- in any direction -- at the peaks of the swing.

@DeF said:

I don't know where you're having trouble with flying though, it works basically like a paper plane that you hold in your hand.

This is the most frustrating mechanic to me. It took me forever to finish the flight tutorial at the beginning of the game and getting back to the main island before the first dungeon was infuriating. I can not keep my bird in the air to save my life. I'm moving the remote like I would imagine a hang-glider doing. Maybe I'm not diving deep enough to get height following.

I read a comment stating you need to "flap" the remote constantly, which I was not. Is this true? Does this help maintain altitude?

oh dear, you're really doing everything wrong. that's not your fault though since the game doesn't explain itself very well ..those wiimote animations at the bottom can be interpreted various ways.

I had the exact same problem with flying when I tried the demo at gamescom in August. Yes, you have to flap (which is supposed to be analogous to a bird's wing movement) to gain height! But don't go crazy, do it slowly like a bird with big wings does it. And you only need to do that to get higher up. You're flying forward by default. B slows you down and A gives you a boost.

about the swinging: you have to swing into the direction you wanna go .. at least that makes most sense (I haven't touched the game for a week so I'm a little rusty on the swinging specifics^^)

I think this should solve all your problems basically. If you have trouble with the aiming, be aware that where ever your hand is positioned when you pull out a device that needs to be aimed, the game will consider that the "center" point. either make sure your hand/arm is in the right position or just press down on the d-pad.

@Lavapotamus said:

I'm pretty worried about the swordplay, personally. I haven't gotten to the actual first temple yet (thought I did, but it was a one-roomer with an NPC), but the fights I've been in so far haven't been promising. My swings aren't consistently registering. I also can't seem to learn how to swing, slowly move my arm to another swing position, and then swing again. I wish I could turn down the Wiimote's sensitivity since I'm pretty sure that would at least fix that issue.

Not sure how to fix the mis-registered swings, though. I've recalibrated a half dozen times and I'm now waiting until I'm back in my living room before I play again. That way I can take full swings and try to exaggerate as much as possible incase that helps the game figure out what I'm doing. If not, then yeah I guess the execution of the Wii is a failure. I despise saying that, but if it can't properly handle a mechanic that a first-party game is built around, that's ridiculous.

Edit: I really am enjoying the rest of the game in terms of setting, characters, general Zelda-whimsicalness. The swordplay is my only problem with it so far, but having a problem with the game's primary battle mechanic isn't exactly trivial.

look at the tilt of the remote when you swing. are you holding it straight or is it slightly tilted? the game might think you're doing a diagonal slice if you're twisting the remote while doing vertical/horizontal strike. try some dry combat without enemies. don't be to hasty, wait till link finishes the strike. pay attention what kind of movements you're making. if you transition from a diagonal to a horizontal, see if you're maybe jerking the remote up before you go left or right.

the tech has a certain language that we have to learn how to convey with the motions. that's the problem with motion control, they're not as easily interpreted as button pushed? yes or no. but once you figure it out, it should work as you want it as long as you're aware of what you're doing exactly.

Geez, that's a real slow-burn.

@kingzetta said:

@DeF: Its not trolling if it's what I actually think

it is when you do it just to provoke which you clearly did since that's the obvious consequence after calling a beloved and critically acclaimed franchise "shit".

now please enjoy the rest of Christmas...

Flying, at least, was definitely a case of the doing-it-wrongs. Always be flapping. Thanks @DeF. Much easier now.

@kingzetta said:

@DeF: Its not trolling if it's what I actually think

it is when you do it just to provoke which you clearly did since that's the obvious consequence after calling a beloved and critically acclaimed franchise "shit".

now please enjoy the rest of Christmas...

@Hoagie said:

Flying, at least, was definitely a case of the doing-it-wrongs. Always be flapping. Thanks @DeF. Much easier now.

great to hear! but also give @TentPole some credit :) he called out the flapping problem first

@kingzetta said:

@DeF said:

@kingzetta said:

@DeF: Its not trolling if it's what I actually think

it is when you do it just to provoke which you clearly did since that's the obvious consequence after calling a beloved and critically acclaimed franchise "shit".

now please enjoy the rest of Christmas...

but I'm not calling it shit just to bug you or just because it's popular. I think it's shit because I think it's shit. I've play every Zelda there is and I can't stand any of them. I don't even like Darksiders the zelda rip off game.

how come you forced yourself to play all of them since you should've realized that you can't stand them after one or two games? what bothers you about them?

@BrockNRolla said:

Ok. So according to my game clock, I'm in just over 4 1/2 hours (Just be the first complete dungeon). So far I would call the experience slow and frustrating. I feel like I spend half my time fighting with the controls (I need to recenter my aim after every single use as it seems to totally lose calibration constantly, and I'm just not getting the sort of fidelity I was hoping for with the sword as I can't seem to transition fast enough between moves a lot of times to hit certain enemies). And the other half of the time I spend wondering why my "a" button is no longer allowing me to scroll the text faster (You know, because I read faster than a child).

Yet, based on so much praise for the game, and because I feel like its a game I need to play (I haven't missed a Zelda yet, Zelda II excepted), I really want to keep going. So someone please tell me when this game picks up and delivers on all that positive energy. I want to experience it, but I'm just not seeing it right now.

All I can tell you is that if you don't mind quitting the game, you should do it and move on. Skyward Sword is one of the worst Zelda games to me, and it never really picks up in its 40 hours or so of gameplay. Don't believe what many would say to be a fantastic (Zelda) game. The controls are fine for the most part though, it's just that none of the game is all that exciting.

When I was done, I was happy because about five to ten hours in I felt like the rest was just a chore already, and I've beaten a few great games that are that long that can hold my attention. It's overly easy and again, none of it is exciting, story and gameplay alike. I think my favorite thing of it had to be the sounds the little kikwi make, but that's not even that special. I'd personally give it a 3 1/2 stars, it's hardly a good experience.

@kingzetta said:

@DeF said:

@kingzetta said:

@DeF: Its not trolling if it's what I actually think

it is when you do it just to provoke which you clearly did since that's the obvious consequence after calling a beloved and critically acclaimed franchise "shit".

now please enjoy the rest of Christmas...

but I'm not calling it shit just to bug you or just because it's popular. I think it's shit because I think it's shit. I've play every Zelda there is and I can't stand any of them. I don't even like Darksiders the zelda rip off game.

You've played all like, 15 or 16 Zelda games and hated them all... but you keep buying Zelda games... but you're totally "not" trolling...

By the way, the only reason I beat it was for the same reason as you're playing it. I really am baffled as to how anyone can call this a fantastic game, let alone Zelda game. It's OK, and that's it.

@kingzetta: Darksiders is a very good game.

@kingzetta said:

@DeF: Well I did not buy them all, I rented one or two and played a bunch at other people's houses.
The controls in all of them are terrible. All of them have the exact same story, and one that is super uninteresting to begin with. The last couple have no voice acting. It's ok if Link is unvoiced because he has no dialogue, but why can the people that are actually talking have voice. I hate that Link has no dialogue ever. So controls bad, super boring, and my personal hate of silent protagonists. I have no idea what anyone ever sees in any of these games.

so I'm just guessing you did this just recently or haven't played any of the older ones close to when they came out?

I don't know what to say about the controls thing. I can't even accept this as a matter of opinion since the controls in all the 3D games simply work and Link moves smoothly and you got a button for your sword and the buttons around it for items ...what's supposed to be "terrible" about that?! I just don't get it ... (plus, Zelda invented Z-targeting, a mechanic you find in pretty much every 3rd person game with melee combat)

Saying the story is "the exact same" is also simply wrong. Zelda II vs A Link to the Past vs. Link's Awakening vs. Ocarina of Time vs. Wind Waker vs. Minish Cap vs Majora's Mask vs. both Oracle games vs. Four Swords Adventures vs. Twilight Princess vs. Skyward Sword vs Phantom Hourglass vs Spirit Tracks ... it's completely different almost every time.

In one of them, Zelda gets kidnapped, in the other you're stranded on an island and have to get back by waking a giant fish, then you have to time travel to beat Ganondorf while Zelda gets trained to be a super ninja, then you sail across a flooded Hyrule looking for his sister with Zelda being only a minor character you don't even "really" meet until the end of the game, then there is a game where you have to free all the people who have been turned to stone by becoming tiny every now and then. Then you have the 3-day time travel to avert the end of the world 'cause the moon is about to crash into the ground, then there are two evil witches you in one game kidnap one of the Godesses and in the other possess the royal daughter and mess up the land, four swords adventures is quite similar to ALttP but with a different villain and no alternate-world plus multiplayer, then you have to seal the barrier between two realms and help your companion get home, Skyward is the origin story of the Master Sword, Phantom has a twist on the save-the-princess story again but in a completely different context this time, Spirit Tracks puts Zelda as your companion and has you cross the land by train in order to restore her corporeal form.

even if the basic plot of save-princess is similar occasionally, it always has a unique twist. it is never exactly the same and most of the time, it is very different!

@kingzetta: From the sound of it, you play games, solely for their endings... which is kind of odd, but whatever, if that is what is 'fun' for you, then good for you. Also, you analogy is wrong. It would be more like, "Yesterday at work, I was driving a train, but today, I am a captain of this ship" and these things are rather different from each other. However, I guess you would see it as, "I work to make money, so regardless of what I do, I think I am doing the exact same thing, as long as my goal is the same."

This thread turned into just a tedious over-discussed difference of opinion when it comes to Zelda.

@kingzetta: Uncharted is the same every time. You're looking for treasure with a girl and an old man. You find it, and some supernatural shit happens.

God of War is the same every time, you kill a bunch of mythological Greek figures.

Deus Ex is the same every time. You work for a company, and begin realizing a conspiracy that's connects everything that's bigger than you imagined. Then you make a decision at the end on who to side with and change the world.

Ace Attorney is the same every time. You litigate a series of law cases that turn out to be loosely connected, culminating in a large personal law battle at the end.

Gears of War is the same every time. You chainsaw dudes and say shitty cheesy dialogue until you kill one of the locust leaders.

Grand Theft Auto is the same everytime. You're a criminal who does odd jobs for other criminals, gaining power, notoriety, and respect, until he finally achieves his goals or gets revenge.

Monkey Island is the same every time. One way or another, LeChuck is trying to gain power, and you combine silly items to stop him.

Mario is the same every time. You fight enemies to save the princess.

The problem isn't Zelda. The problem is video games. And when games do take risks on their formula, like Zelda did with Majora's Mask, then people bitch about it for 5 years. Then people come around and say it was a "misunderstood classic", and whine that they can't get that anymore, when everyone bitched the first time around.

HEY LISTEN!

@Wrighteous86 said:

@kingzetta: Uncharted is the same every time. You're looking for treasure with a girl and an old man. You find it, and some supernatural shit happens.

God of War is the same every time, you kill a bunch of mythological Greek figures.

Deus Ex is the same every time. You work for a company, and begin realizing a conspiracy that's connects everything that's bigger than you imagined. Then you make a decision at the end on who to side with and change the world.

Ace Attorney is the same every time. You litigate a series of law cases that turn out to be loosely connected, culminating in a large personal law battle at the end.

Gears of War is the same every time. You chainsaw dudes and say shitty cheesy dialogue until you kill one of the locust leaders.

Grand Theft Auto is the same everytime. You're a criminal who does odd jobs for other criminals, gaining power, notoriety, and respect, until he finally achieves his goals or gets revenge.

Monkey Island is the same every time. One way or another, LeChuck is trying to gain power, and you combine silly items to stop him.

Mario is the same every time. You fight enemies to save the princess.

The problem isn't Zelda. The problem is video games. And when games do take risks on their formula, like Zelda did with Majora's Mask, then people bitch about it for 5 years. Then people come around and say it was a "misunderstood classic", and whine that they can't get that anymore, when everyone bitched the first time around.

that's just it, you can distill every franchise into "you're always doing the same thing"

@kingzetta said:

@DeF: you have to save the princess by going to temples and getting the hook shot and boomerang. so what if your a wolf, on a train or in the sky your still doing same exact thing. That's like saying "I'm going to work tomorrow at the same place I've always worked. Except it's totally different, because I'll walk there instead of driving.

you totally missed the point: you DON'T save the princess every time. and you don't get the same items every time. also, that's not "story".

by that definition every video game is the same: you overcome obstacles and reach an end point - every game is the same. you need better arguments if you throw statements like "this sucks" in a place like this.

@IAmNotBatman said:

This thread turned into just a tedious over-discussed difference of opinion when it comes to Zelda.

yes, sadly it has, in part because I fell for the "zelda sucks" bait. it's just as sad, though that this stereotypical hear-say opinion still gets thrown around every time 'cause it's cool to 'hate' on the franchise now apparently. it's fine when people don't like it but please come up with better arguments, duders!

@kingzetta said:

@Wrighteous86: Did I say I liked those either?

If you don't like any of those games, I'm curious what you do play.

I only like Majora's Mask.

@kingzetta said:

@Wrighteous86: I did like uncharted 3, but it's the only uncharted I've played. I'd probably be tired if I'd played two more. I haven't played a god of war game in like 5 years, they were boring. I played the first Phoenix wright and it was boring Saint's row 1-3 are a million times better than all the GTAs The only Deus Ex I've play is the new one and I didn't like that one very much. Haven't played either monkey island or mario in like 15 years. Never play Gears of War, I don't have a 360 There are tons more games out there I don't have to like those ones

If you hate videogames so much, why are you on a videogame website?

@kingzetta said:

@Wrighteous86: I did like uncharted 3, but it's the only uncharted I've played. I'd probably be tired if I'd played two more. I haven't played a god of war game in like 5 years, they were boring. I played the first Phoenix wright and it was boring Saint's row 1-3 are a million times better than all the GTAs The only Deus Ex I've play is the new one and I didn't like that one very much. Haven't played either monkey island or mario in like 15 years. Never play Gears of War, I don't have a 360 There are tons more games out there I don't have to like those ones

If you hate videogames so much, why are you on a videogame website?

@kingzetta said:

@Matoya said:

@kingzetta said:

@Wrighteous86: I did like uncharted 3, but it's the only uncharted I've played. I'd probably be tired if I'd played two more. I haven't played a god of war game in like 5 years, they were boring. I played the first Phoenix wright and it was boring Saint's row 1-3 are a million times better than all the GTAs The only Deus Ex I've play is the new one and I didn't like that one very much. Haven't played either monkey island or mario in like 15 years. Never play Gears of War, I don't have a 360 There are tons more games out there I don't have to like those ones

If you hate videogames so much, why are you on a videogame website?

I do love games just not those ones

Obviously

@kingzetta: I wasn't attacking you (despite the tone of this thread). Those are just some of the most loved franchises in gaming, so I thought it was odd that you said you didn't like any of them. I was curious what your tastes were.

Oh lookie, lookie, ANOTHER one of these posts. First off I feel like even the thread title could really be interspersed with any game franchise that has over 2 games in it. Topics like these are fairly tiring, and I often wonder why people try to argue against the topic creator or for the topic creator because inevitably you are going to get people either for or against game and you aren't going to convince anyone. For me this game had everything I would want from a Zelda style game, good combat, characters, music, art style, puzzles, and story. Some people may see it differently than I do. But here is the thing, if you are going to let petty problems like "DURR THE TUTORIAL STUFF IS TOO LONG" then maybe you just don't have the patience anymore. These games aren't just for veterans of the series, but for newcomers too. Maybe they should have opted to let you skip some tutorialization, but really isn't long enough to kill the rest of the game and there are still story elements within the initial tutorial.
 
All in all, no one is going to change anyone's mind about anything. Especially not on the internet.

well it does pick up and mixes a lot of cool elements from orhaia of time and wind waker... I think its the best zelda ever by a large margin. but if your not in the mood for a zelda game dont even bother. its a really long game to im over 40 hrs and probally just made it almost to 75% of the main story, so i recomend always using a guide if you dont like fooling around with the puzzles and maps, thats where things get annoying for me.