It's a testament to how well crafted your reviews are that I just sat through all five of the Zelda reviews back to back. And it's 2 am. And I've seen them before.

There is one mechanic that you didn't mention which I thought was actually quite clever, namely the implementation of how various shields' designs actually make them useful for different scenarios like how the wooden shield will burn in fire but will absorb electricity, and how the iron shield will be immune to flames but will conduct electricity and injure yourself. Likewise, because the shield is wood, it is able to catch arrows being fired at you so that you can then use it. I honestly thought that these small touches were actually really great.

"Controls should be an invisible part of the experience". Now I want to see a Star Fox Zero review in this channel.

"I should have got you last time. I'd love to get you this time. But I'll get you next tiiiiiiime!" I died xD

25:00 "I spent the entire thing waiting for the game to start" Oh my god, this is EXACTLY how I felt.

How... How the blacksmith need such items to do an upgrade if the Skyloft people never knew about the world below, where such items are found?

i'm obsessed with this guy's zelda reviews. After watching it alot, it's basically my background noise while i work... dunno why, it's just nice to have clear sound and not have someone trying to be funny in a loud way, no stupid laughing, moronic conversations, dumb jokes or bad sound effects which jolt me and break my concentration or piss me off. The tone & speed is energizing yet it's also calming to hear his voice. Also love the information all packed in. No breaks so it flows well.

16:13 "I really think Nintendo needs some kind of design document just containing all the tiny improvements they've made to the series over the years so they're not permanently lost." I just had to highlight this because it's such a good idea, and yet it seems like something video game developers would rarely follow.

Even though I don't think it's terrible, it is absolutely hilarious to me that this game got not only great but perfect or near perfect reviews across the board despite the fact that it has so many glaring, game-ruining issues. It's like the reviewers didn't even bother to play the game.

8 years later and your series of reviews still hold up. Thank you for giving us such amazing content.

This review is fantastic. It really helps me articulate exactly why I didn't enjoy playing it.

Thank you for pointing out how incredibly redundant the timeline is. It made sense in Wind Waker because it was really important to the story, and obviously OoT ties into MM and TP has vague references, but there's just not much consistency, and all the "logistics" aside, what's the point even? IMO the timeline limits the newer games more than it makes them benefit.

These are the best reviews of Zelda I have seen. You are not blinded by obvious fanboy bias, but also not overly critical. You clearly state what is wrong with the game, whilst also stating what is great about it. I completely agree about Skyward Sword. It does some things really well, but there are so many issues with it, that makes it one of the worst Zelda games yet.

minish cap was a little short.... heh... heh....

_"The game gets worse as it goes on."_ My sentiments exactly. Halfway through the game, I was playing just for the commitment of finishing. And out of curiosity as to how the story would end...namely, Ganondorf's aforementioned "backstory," which wound up being a wholly disappointing, underwhelming device. By the end of the game, the entire premise of the "prequel" storyline felt like a cheap sales pitch.

This review aged well. Now with botw, Nintendo actually shook things up. Link doesn’t wear a hat!

The sword fighting in Wii Sports Resort was done slightly better than Skyward Sword. Attacks and blocks were only vertical or horizontal. This simplicity allowed for more accuracy and depth.

I gotta say. This game has the best and worst boss fights in Zelda history. Koloktos (Ancient Cistern boss) is the best, and the Imprisoned fights are the worst.

After watching Sequelitis, it's great to see a brutally-honest critique of Skyward Sword that isn't just mindless raging and bashing for the sake of desperately getting a few more laughs. Most of your points are completely justified and backed up by good reasons why you think they are what you think they are and by proposing a solution to rectify the problems you found. Well, most of them I find to be justified. I *strongly* disagree with the statement that story should just "be a nice little thing" to urge the player along in a Zelda game, as the narrative is, I find to be the main reason I love the series so much--which is also why I disagree with your point about the story points not having a great impact (Zelda being the goddess reborn I actually found to completely shake my foundation of what I thought of the entire series' lore in a good way). However, it's fueled by a matter of taste. Regardless of how much I love the game, there's no doubt you hit its faults squarely on the head.

Seriously though, am I the only one that was bewildered by the Skyward Strike in the fight against Demise? The entire game through, it's made painfully clear that anything with electricity harms you. There are a handful enemies that work with electricity, and any interaction with the electricity definitely harms you. That's fine and understandable, it's a core concept that any player will bring into the game in the first place, since it's a basic law of physics. So why then would the game assume that you'd think to copy Demise's technique in which he holds his sword upward and have it hit by lightning? Who would think "Better charge my sword with some electricity to thow at the dude" when that is the polar opposite of what they've been taught up to that point? I never saw that complaint before anywhere else. It might be nitpicking but I feel SOMEONE must have picked up on it.

My top 5 Zelda games: 1. Wand of Gamelon 2. Wand of Gamelon 3. Wand of Gamelon 4. Wand of Gamelon 5. Skyward Sword

It's pretty bizarre how Nintendo forgets to add improvements from previous games in the series. This analysis is excellent, they should be taking notes from these criticisms, but of course they probably don't know about these videos.

This is the most honest review for this game. Most people just fan boy it.

Tadtones. They really summarize almost everything Skyward Sword got wrong. The rest involves how despite being billed as an explanatory prequel it only piles on more unexplained lore. Hylia, Demise, and the Goddess Sword only dodge the questions the game is supposed to answer. The grand origin of the Master Sword is that it was once some other mysterious sword? Give me a break!

Every time I consider replaying SS thinking maybe the flaws weren't so bad, all I need to do is to watch this review again. I forget about some of the problems but once I remember them, it becomes clear I must have subconsciously blocked them out of my memory. The Lanayru desert sections were fantastic and the San sea is one of my favorite moments in the series, but I still had to trudge through them with imperfect motion controls and Fi's constant interruptions that hampered that whole game. Skyward Sword is a Zelda game I really want to like more, but all the flaws in story, gameplay, and design never stop drawing attention to themselves.

This is why Nintendo shouldn't let their Mario Galaxy dev team design a Zelda game.

Matthew: "Link can roll [bombs] along the ground, which is utilized pretty well." Arin: "Skyward Sword added bomb bowling. It added boooommmbb bowwllingg.... bommmbbb bowwwwllinnngggg.... itt addded.... bbooommmmb *eldritch shrieking*"

It’s interesting to me to see how perception of this game has evolved over time. Even the reviewers who praised it as the best Zelda game ever got over that honeymoon phase fairly quickly, it seems. I’m glad BOTW finally trusted the player enough to explore and experience the world for themselves. I understand that Nintendo probably doesn’t wanna alienate new players, but constant tips from Fi really should have just been optional if the player got stuck. The backtracking needed to be more inspired, letting the player _decide_ to backtrack because they remembered a place they could use their new equipment, rather than a forced part of the main game. I expect BOTW2 to be a more restricted game than the first, but I hope they at least continue to have confidence that players will discover things on their own and only give guidance if the player seeks it out themselves.

This video aged well. After playing SS on the switch, the criticisms still hold true.

Skyward Sword is like a huge tech demo for the wii motion plus where Nintendo tried to use it in as many ways as possible, but turned out that the motion controls weren't accurate enough (the sword and bow) and/or the motion-related mechanics they came up with weren't fun (flying a bird, swimming, rotating a key, etc)

I really disliked the fact that it took 5 years to make Skyward Sword. It really pissed me off how horribly distributed the team was. So apparently as soon as they finished Twilight Princess, they developed Phantom Hourglass, then they started making this game. However, they needed to release Spirit Tracks in 2009, so the whole team was forced to work on Spirit Tracks, and once that game was finished, they finally started working again on Skyward Sword, so it's more of a 2 and a half year development. And don't get me started with the development of A Link Between Worlds, it only shows that Nintendo has no idea how to distribute a team.

I think this is the most fair review of this game I've ever seen. A lot of reviews are either non stop praising of the highs or just straight up bashing all of the low points and not acknowledging anything else. I like how you actually acknowledge both the highs and the low points, and don't over present this game as either the best or worst ever Zelda. And before I say anything else, I actually love this game and I think it's still my favorite game of all time, but that's mostly because I had a very different experience with it. I played it directly after I finished OOT 3d, so the way the story connects to the series was actually very surprising, and a lot of the characters like link, Zelda, groose, and especially ghirahim feel fleshed out and life-like. I love the combat because it made the encounters all feel somewhat unique in how enemies took some time to deal with, and felt like actual sword fighting. And I especially love all the dungeon and puzzle designs, and still feel as though they're the best in the series. That being said, everything wrong with this game listed here is still present, but it really all depends on experience. Most of these don't bother me as much as they do other people, and vice versa. The bottom line is that everyone will have a different experience with this game depending on their viewpoints and expectations, and for that reason I think that it's really hard to review this game: it's not entirely good or entirely bad, and it all depends on your experience with the game.

Skyward Sword vs Skyward Sword HD Long intro | Still long but faster text Motion Control | Better gyro but worse overall Only Motion | Can use button + stick controls Dowsing | Less intrusive Fi is annoying | She talks less and speedier text The Sky | Still pointless and empty The Imprisoned | Still sucks Pacing | Still weak, but slightly faster Linearity | Still linear Repetition | Still repetitive Story | Same as before Combat | Same as before Item screen | Doesn't appear every time you get an item SD Visuals | HD Visuals

Skyward Sword is like The Phantom Menace of Zelda. There was way too much hype built up around it, and much like the CGI in Episode 1, the controls in Skyward Sword date it horribly.

18:47 the goddess Wii remote, I can't stop laughing!

"landing on an island that's just big enough to open a chest on it being absurd" just wait till this guy finds out about rauru's blessing

23:51 Spoiler: they tried and failed again 12 years later.

I never laughed out loud at an advertisement before, thanks nintendo for showing me an ad for Skyward Sword HD on a Skyward Sword review

I'm surprised there is no mention about how even the origin story of the master sword contradicts what has been revealed in the previous titles. In Skyward Sword it is Link himself who crafts the sword with the three flames while in previous installments it was said that the sages crafted the sword. Not only did Skyward Sword attempt to undo the Minish Cap but it tried to undo Ocarina as well.

I kinda changed my opinion on this game with the switch remaster. I hated the wii version and dropped it after 3 or 4 hours. But the switch version I actually enjoyed. Its still the worst of the main 3D console Zelda games (OOT,MM,WW,TP,SS,BOTW) but its not as terrible as I thought it was on the wii.

Fi is quite simply the worst video game character of all time. She provides zero entertainment, zero emotional drive, and actively ruins the game with her incessant interjections that literally spoil the solution to many puzzles. This is already probably the worst Zelda game, with it's disjointed, linear, rehashed world that lacks any dynamism to it's time, weather or enemies, but Fi pounded it into the dirt.

Seeing how this and Breath of the Wild are polar opposites, it’s weird to think both those games are directed by the same person

This the truth. IGN are total liars thinking Skyward Sword is the best Zelda game ever. You are way better than these so called "professional" reviewers. You're speaking the truth.

16:34 is still one of my favorite moments on this entire website. "But I'll get ya NEXT TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME"

To people who think this is a pure hate ride. This is a review on the game. While he may put his opinion on something, it's his opinion. You like it, you like it. This video is not about your opinion. Also, this is meant to observe what works and what doesn't. That's the point of reviewing, to go over the basic and advanced mechanics that go into gameplay, also the strengths and faults of a story. Critical analysis and praises are bound to happen. I don't mean to seem like a prick, but this apparently has to be said on every review video. Just keep in mind that if a reviewer is misinformed or there is some misinterpretation, then it is justified to complain. I love you guys, but please remember what just read.

Regardless if you loved skyward sword, you can't deny that this guy is being completely honest here. I think people who dismiss this review just don't agree that the problems with this game interfere with their enjoyment.

so in Twilight Princess you can move while swinging your Sword but stand still while aiming your Bow, and in Skyward Sword you stand still while swinging your Sword but can move while aiming your Bow. *edit* the Sword/Bow swap is even more baffling in Skyward Sword because with the stamina system, it could've added new running attacks and possibly more to the sword's potential

Totally agree with this review. I have a collection of every Zelda game I've ever played. Skyward Sword is the only one I decided to sell, because I know I'll never play it again. Dull, uninspired, slow, easy... I just didn't like it.

I hated the game on Wii...now I love it on Switch, only buttons controls, free camera, and lots of quality of life improvements.

What did I bingewatch this month: - The Office - Survivor - Matthewmatosis's Zelda Reviews

Here's a summary of my problem with Fi. As a veteran Zelda player, she's insulting. There was a lot I loved about skyward sword, but I can't go back to that game simply because Fi makes me feel like this is the first video game I've ever played. Nintendo obviously wanted to appeal to both veterans and new players with this game, and I don't understand why the ability to reduce Fi's input wasn't included for veteran players. On the flipside, I don't think the idea of marketing to new players justifies Fi either. As a new Zelda player, Fi just shows the lack of respect the developers had for the intelligence of new players and their ability to figure things out on their own. Previous Zelda games never held your hand to the extent that Fi does, and the series was still monstrously popular before skyward sword. That means that all the Zelda fans Nintendo had acquired *before* skyward sword had to have learned to play Zelda *without* such a babysitter of a partner. At some point, every veteran Zelda player had to take the plunge, and just dive into unknown territory and learn how Zelda works. It may have been a bumpy road, but the success of the series shows that it's a rewarding experience nonetheless. Why did the developers think that this time around things would be different? Ocarina of time is extremely obtuse at certain points even with the help of Navi (bombing the baby Goron, for example, is nearly impossible to figure out without guesswork or using a guide), but that didn't stop players from loving the game and calling it a timeless classic. If anything, previous games have demonstrated that the series can accumulate new fans without massive amounts of hand-holding. It simply baffles me that they couldn't see that and just trust new players to take that first plunge into the Zelda universe with skyward sword when they did exactly that many times with great success in previous installments of the series. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. TLDR: Fi treats veteran players like babies and robs new players of the experience of learning how the Zelda universe works by their own means.

I'm constantly baffled by Nintendo's decision to port this game to Switch rather than Wind Waker HD or Twilight Princess HD. It's not a terrible game, but it's not the kind of game you want to go back to after you've already beaten it.

This is maybe my favorite of your reviews. It articulates almost all of the frustrations I had with this game, including my frustrations in talking about these frustrations. A bad Zelda game is still better than most games, so it was strange how much I enjoyed SS while still feeling deeply disappointed about it.

No matter how much this game may be bad I will always love Groose. :P

Game looked good, I liked the story. The game's replayability is TRASHED by the imprisoned boss fight repeating itself, along with the controls that just refused to work for me. Backtracking did get annoying but it never bothered me enough to make me not want to play it again.

The accuracy in Matthews reviews is incredible. It HAD been over a quarter of a decade since the first Zelda! ... it had also been over a quarter of a century but the decade one is so much more impressive!

"The toes on this thing are enough to ruin its design completely and make it look incredibly goofy" - Im actually crying aloud with laughter

Zelda in a nutshell: Even when its bad, its still pretty good.

I've watched this when it first came out, but coming back... I'm still glad you enjoyed Koloktos as much as I did. I was actually up out of my couch and giving full swings of my arm instead of flicks of the wrist while sitting down as per usual during this, i was so excited. It was a really defining moment and I have a very vivid memory of it. One of the only other memories i have of everything around me (time of day, the room I'm in, etc) is when I was in the Forest temple in Ocarina for the first time.

Y'know. It's funny to know nearly a decade and a whole ass remake of this game later, literally all they did was let u use the 2nd stick and shut fi up lmao. And it's not even like the controls r "fixed" either, the controller format is super unresponsive to ur stick flicks and the gyro mixes ur moves up if u don't constantly reset it lol this game aged better in every way BUT the combat

"Back in the days of Ocarina and Majora, Nintendo clearly didn't care about crafting an overarching timeline for the Zelda series" Not necessarily correct. Zelda II was a direct sequel to the first Zelda. ALttP was clearly stated to be a prequel to Zelda I, as was OoT to ALttP. MM was a direct sequel to OoT, and Link's Awakening was heavily implied to take place directly after ALttP. Up until then, every game was accounted for pretty neatly. It was only with Wind Waker and Twilight Princess that things got complicated and that we were implicitly introduced to the concept of multiple timelines, since the backstory and events of one game negated those of others.

Thank you for taking such a balanced approach to this review. I actually enjoyed Skyward Sword for the most part, mainly because I have a higher tolerance for tutorials and walls of text than most players, and I'm glad you pointed out the well-executed parts of the game, like some of the bosses and story elements, even when you pointed out the obvious (and not-so-obvious) flaws. To me, this feels like the most fair criticism of the game I've seen on the internet, whereas other people seem to just love bashing the game, repeating the same criticisms over and over. Also, you made some surprisingly good predictions, since, four years later, the stamina meter was further refined and Link was not wearing a hat!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Ghirahim was stupid. Everyone seems to love him, or they pretend to. He seems like an idiot pervert to me.

In all honesty, I'd love an Imprisoned plushie.

The only zelda game i skipped. I dont like the wii controls for a game like this

Considering Fi, like Fludd, is a robotic companion whose humour comes from her logic-driven nature, I'd say it's fair to compare the two. The two serve the same basic purpose in-game - a tool that doubles as a support character and tutorial device - but most would say it's clear that Fludd is a great addition to its game, whereas Fi is a passable one at best in hers. Fludd obviously doesn't stop the action to inform Mario of something, but even in terms of character and development more comes from the water pump than from the origin story to the Master Sword. I for one really enjoyed Fi's dialogue (outside of tutorial stuff) for the same reason many Trekkies love Spock. But Fludd offered the same kind of charm (small things like the pet care tips and blunt observations) without ever getting in the way. When the final battle came and went, I was emotionally invested in the malfunctioning device, and there was a satisfying payoff to the care we placed in it throughout Sunshine. Here? I don't feel anything with Fi come the end, and I join Matthew in my sentiments about misfired sword-swings.

Really fantastic series of reviews. You clearly put a lot of effort into your videos, and it shows. There's so much quality in them, I wish all game reviews were as thorough and informative as yours (if I didn't care about spoilers!) Keep up the great work, man.

ive watched all of these and you are so fair, in-depth, insightful and unbias in your criticisms that i want to cry. these reviews are art

I personally think Twilight Princess did the worst job with the opening. Twilight Princess's opening took me THREE f*cking hours to get the green tunic, while Skyward Sword only took me about an hour, which was about as long as Majora's Mask's opening.

The only Zelda game i never finished. I dread this game, and it was mainly because of Fi.

*Falls into volcanic lava* Fi: I am picking up strong signals of heat.

absolutely loved this series, i havent been so engaged with youtube videos in a long time

I was so disappointed that the pirates in the sand sea were no Gerudos, it was heart breaking.

No offence, but I think you were a bit too harsh on this game. The motion controls (while I agree with the fact that it is annoying that they are EVERYWHERE) weren't that bad. I only had troubles with it at the beginning of the game, and that wasn't even that they were broken or anything, it was because I was awful at them. (so 100%) I thought the music was great, and a really nice touch, along with the art design, it seemed to be a medium between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. (to me) But really, you do criticize the game too much, saying things were "great concepts", but were somehow "killed".

Oh man I wish everyone watches this before Skyward Sword HD comes out in July.

You're very attentive to detail, insightful, and express your sentiments very well. I love all your content

If Fi wasn't in the game, you wouldn't miss anything at all. It would actually improve the game by A LOT.

38:38 As somebody who loves Zelda: Minish Cap, and thinks it is the best Zelda games and in general one of the best games I have ever played, after having seen this part I just realized how redundant and non-sensical the simple little fact that Link has a hat is. And that's sad, really, because when I played Skyward Sword I thought it got a little bit of inspiration from the Minish Cap, both games have a Gust Jar and say that Zelda had been friends with Link since they've been kids. But if Nintendo ever actually got inspired from the Minish Cap, it seems they've skipped one seemingly small, but actually huge, detail.

Loved your delivery in the remark on the flight mechanics

It's almost like Nintendo watched a bunch of reviews for Skyward Sword while developing BotW. Because the Zelda series did a damn near 180.

Skyward Sword is easily the most divisive 3D Zelda game. I think it has a ton of heart, some great dungeons and bosses, and I think could have been a great Zelda entry if it had NOT come out on the Wii. I think the motion controls and casual audience of the Wii necessitated a ton of awful tutorializing. If this had come out on Wii U, using traditional controls, I think it would have made combat, flying, and aiming more reliable, and killed all the tedious dowsing stuff. And possibly been a much better game. Maybe even saved the Wii U console. I think whether you like Skyward Sword or not really depends on whether you can see past the rubbish Wii controls to the charming core underneath. I sometimes can, and I sometimes can’t. But I definitely understand why some people love it.

35:45 Amen brotha. That's exactly where I did give up, despite playing and finishing every other Zelda.

I genuinely believe you have the best reviews on all of KZfaq that I am aware of, man. your reviews are, though we may sometimes have a difference of opinion, fucking great.

38:37-41:27 is the most well constructed rant I've ever heard

I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw Minish Cap as the origins story for Link's hat and how SS ruined that

I have a problem with the ending, and it is a massive one. He says something like "an incarnation of my hatred shall follow you for eternity", meaning every form of Ganon was just Demise trying to kill Link and Zelda. One problem though. GANON IN WIND WAKER STATED HIS REASONS FOR TAKING THE TRIFORCE! He said that he wanted to help the Gerudo's by aquiring the Triforce, and also bring the land of Hyrule back from under the sea. But Skyward Sword said "hey! Remember Ganon's speech at the end of Wind Waker? That was all bullshit! He just wanted to kill Link and Zelda!" FUCK. THAT. ENDING.

You can actually hear the distaste you have for this game lmao. Like you're full on sassy in places and I love it.

the motion controls worked almost 100% of the time for me and I find navi to be more annoying than fi

Not only did the sword animations stop everything when you need to get to zelda, but when Link stops because of the fucking stamina meter and goes "oh fuck im tired nevermind, fuck zelda, imma sit here and get hit a bunch" then you realize there's a HUGE ISSUE WITH A CORE GAMEPLAY ELEMENT

Oh God, I've already gone on in a tangent of how much I don't like this Zelda game, in fact it's probably my least favorite Zelda game so far and that's saying a lot. Because whereas Zelda games like Spirit Tracks is just commercially designed to appeal to children, Skyward Sword is supposed to be a legit and "Epic" Zelda Game but it feels so phony. It's littered with dated gimmicks with motion controls and puzzles that were 5 years too late. But I could honestly take that if the story was written well or if it added something new and enthralling into the Mythos... sadly it did nothing but ruin it and make it more confusing. Not only did it diminish Ganondorf's goal and purpose into just being some Evil God (Which is a shame because to it felt like he was getting more fleshed out in WW) you have another flamboyant villain that's not written to be a threat, but to be whacky/creepy/goofy. And of course since he's *ATTRACTIVE* people are going to love him regardless and dedicate endless fanart to him. I mean what would they do otherwise? He's just such a marketable-I mean lovable villain. Even though he flat out fails in everything a villain is supposed to do. All he does is threaten you, lie, gets his ass kicked by a kid, promising to defeat him the next time... REPEAT! You know at least Yuga got shit done. Added by the fact that this series adds even more confusion by making Zelda not just the vessel of Nayru but the Incarnation of another Goddess no ones even heard about it until now? Riiiiiight, that's not the least bit unnecessary or confusing in the slightest. Oh and it's just grand that you just had to repeat everything did you Nintendo? 3 fights with Ghirahim? 3 fights with The Imprisoned? 3 times in that Godforsaken Silent Realm! For Fucks sakes Nintendo, I understand that you have to cut corners sometimes but this is freaking ridiculous. It was 2011, games like Skyrim, Dark Souls, and Witcher just came out with a whole bunch of concept in their Fantasy RPG and your content is nothing but squat. Exploration was a Joke, A JOKE. A Sky with nothing but a few scattered rocks and a main island to shop in, wonderful. I'll give it this though, it at least made Twilight Princess more enjoyable to me... slightly which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Anyways rant down. There's probably loads of other shit that I wanted to mention, but barking at all the wrongness the Zelda series has become is pointless. I don't even think I could call this the same Zelda series anymore, it's just dull.

I wouldn't say that the introduction is bad, I'd say that it's long and for some people tedious. I personally loved it the first time I played the game... I mean I don't see why some Zelda fans do not like the introduction.

I applaud you for outlying legitimate and concise points against SS. You have changed my mind on the quality of the game. Although your critique on the story being hugely hampered by using an example of that one time travel inconsistency in the Sealed Temple seems quite pedantic. Even though you have shown me that the story isn't as good as I thought it was (as nothing new happens after you get the 3 "whatevers", only to get 3 more whatevers). Your observation of the Gate of Time not bringing anything new to the game was actually an immediate thought the first time after completing the game. I thought "wow they literally could have expanded a lot more in the past just like in OOT" Overall, even though it had the longest development cycle of any Zelda game, SS could have been SO much better given the setting and concept. It felt rushed (although it wasn't) and is literally, by the Wii's hardcore game reputation, "a Zelda Wii Game" Also I don't agree with you on the music part, but that's just opinion.

I love the bits of humor in these videos.

The controls are finicky yes but what kills this game is the never ending repetition god it's so massively disappointing and boring. Also the lack of any meaningful exploration and rather weak story in my opinion kill this game. I would play Twilight Princess over this any day.

Really great analysis, you pointed out the issues I was aware of, ones I couldn't put my finger on and ones I didn't even realize.

Don't know if you'll read this, but what are your thoughts on the Skyward Sword remaster? It addresses a few of the issues presented in this video, mainly Fi and motion controls are now much more optional. I was wondering how you thought that might effect the overall game.

3:50 They were clearly well aware of this too: for the first and only time in the entire series they start you off with 6 hearts instead of the usual 3, to compensate for the unfair hits they knew you were inevitably going to take because of issues with the motion controls. To me, that alone should have been a strong indicator for the dev team that they absolutely needed to offer players a choice of control scheme. By all means have the motion controls be the default option, but let people turn them off if they’re finding it frustrating to play the game like that, instead of resorting to a band-aid “solution” like lazily giving players extra health. >_>

0:31 I assume it's a quarter of a century?

Man - fantastic review. Very well done, very thorough, and very objective. I personally enjoyed this game, even with its flaws but in all fairness I haven't played it since it came out so I think another play through is in order =) I will say - playing around with this game for a few minutes on the Dolphin Emulator makes the game look absolutely gorgeous! I am definitely subscribing and look forward to watching the rest of your reviews!

Did you mention that in contrast with Twilight Princess, the item wheel in this game shows you how many items you'll get from the get go as you watch each slot be used? In Twilight Princess there still was a sense of wonder since each new item would shift the whole thing around so you'd never know when you got the last thing