@gamewizard65
? The potion lady should have given you a bottle...

BTW, I'm rocking the "Pro" option for the on-screen HUD like a boss. Get that crap off my screen!

I'm using Light. I just wish there was SOME option for an on-screen map, at least just to keep my bearings.

@grantimusprime

Pro-ing it also!

I failed miserably at the bamboo mini game.

The best I could pull off was 25 slices before I just gave up for now ;p

@kgtennispro Where IS that by the way?

Started the second dungeon...man, they weren't kidding when they said the trip to each dungeon feels like a dungeon itself!

@PogueSquadron

It's on an island just north of the portal down to the 2nd dungeon area.

Figured it's better safe than sorry when it comes to spoilers in this thread, heh.

Yeah I'd like to do some more flying around.I like the little things that give you a huge burst of speed. Where the hell were those in Wind Waker? That game needed some currents or something haha.

So, right now I'm in the second dungeon. 7 hours in for me (I got stuck a couple times leading up to where I am) I don't think that really requires a spoiler tag, but there you go. What do you guys think of the dowsing mechanic? I don't know what to think of it. I don't hate it, but I'm not necessarily in love with it. I like the puzzles that they've integrated into the world, but I have to wonder if it will wear thin on subsequent playthroughs. Is the entire game going to be filled with large areas where we have to collect 3 of this or 5 of that? I've largely started to just ignore the actual dowsing with the sword for the most part. I've just started getting in the habit of going wherever I can and dowsing in new rooms. If there's nothing there, I just make my way to the next new room. The dowsing is kind of deceiving because it can point, say, down and to the right, but the path might not be "as the crow flies", so you might have to go up before you can go down.

I'm not sure what I think of the overworld just yet. I mean, I don't think it's bad. It's really fucking addicting. It's very linear, but really no more linear than Zelda games have been since Ocarina of Time came out. I started the game thinking that the game was doing a really good job of disguising the fact that all of the areas were isolated...but having put time into it, they feel like isolated 'planets,' not unlike Metroid Prime 3. The overworld is actually reminding me of Metroid Prime 3 quite a bit, though not necessarily in a bad way.

Like or love the overworld, I just know that I'm itching to play more of the game. The story so far is by far the most intriguing of any Zelda game ever to me. I really WANT to know more about what's going on, and how this is going to relate to other Zelda games moving forward. You really get the sense that the world below is basically abandoned. I like the fact that there feels like there's no human influence at all. It kind of brings back that feeling in the original Zelda - that it's dangerous to go alone. I could write a lot more but perhaps I'll save it for the podcast in a couple weeks...

Not sure if this would count as a spoiler or not so I'll just post the link for now...

http://v.cdn.cad-comic.com/comics/cad-20111121-e151c.png

If the mods deem it non-spoilery, feel free to edit the pic directly into the post.

You are all a bunch of jerks. :(

@CPA Wei

I went back up and I figured that out. Thanks anyways.

At least for me, I would have to say this is one of the toughest 3D Zelda games I have ever played. Its making me think all the time, which is good, but bad cause my progress is slow. I am just in the first Dungeon. I know I should go back and get some potions. Ive died twice in the game so far, but its cool that it lets you keep your progress. Yea, it starts you back at the last save point, but its not like you have to do everything all over again.

I am also use the pro. I don't like all the crap on the screen. I think I have it all memorized for the most part. All I gotta say is if the game gets even tougher as it goes along, I may be in for some trouble. I am in the first dungeon. I am at the part where there is a door to the left and one to the right. Ive got both doors opened, but I am having a problem figuring out how to turn the spiders around that are in the webbing . I went ahead and quit there cause I need to be at work in less than 7 hours.

The only thing I really have a problem with, is this whole thing about Skyloft being up in the sky and you have to go down to earth. I mean, thats just so unrealistic. And since this is like the very beginning, why isn;t there a skyloft in future games? I hope that gets explained, cause if it ends with Link saving the day and skyloft stays up above the clouds....well...Sorry, land just can't float above the earth. And really, if thats the case, who gives a shit what happens below.

Don' get me wrong, I know its just a game, but like where does the water come from. And really, the area is so small, everyone would be inbred after awhile.

EDIT: You know what I am really having a tough time mastering!ll This shit!!! Walking on those damn tight ropes. I take a few steps and fall. And no matter if I gently try to rotate the wiimote the opposite way or move it faster, damn link will fall over and over. Sure, I make it to the other side. What is the friggin trick to getting this to work smoothly. I hope there isn't much more of this in the game!

Picked it up today and played for about 2 hours. I finished all of the intro stuff and just made it to the surface. So far it seems pretty standard fare for Zelda. The motion controls are a bit iffy in some cases. There was definitely an instance where I made a throwing motion and whatever I was holding rolled. The combat seems responsive enough but I haven't delved in to that too much yet. Overall, it seems like the motion controls are being made good use of but I'm not convinced it makes for a better experience than standard controls. At least now it seems we have a game that is decently exploring their potential uses though. Time will tell I suppose.

dgtliqd said:

Started the second dungeon...man, they weren't kidding when they said the trip to each dungeon feels like a dungeon itself!

Same here, and yeah... I felt very satisfied just getting there.

I'm having a lot of fun with the overworld stuff, but I'm wondering if it will be fun to play through again in the future. There's a lot of collecting and such that may be annoying on subsequent playthroughs.

Pretty much just started first dungeon and here are my honest impressions

Pretty great so far but it's not exactly lighting my pants on fire yet.


Every pro seems to have a con to go along with it.

I loved the introduction and how it took its time before you got your sword, etc, but maybe it took too much time. I believe it was about 2 hours before I got my sword...that feels pretty long. I don't remember how long it was for TP or WW though. Should be noted I'm playing rather slowly, but still not as low as I could be.

The characters are all pretty great, I'm loving Zelda being the star of the show, and her relationship with Link. For once, I feel invested in the world and characters. Even Link does seem to have some personality, I find it odd that reviews said he had even less character than usual.

Art is great but it still doesn't have the same oomph as WW or TP for me personally. It's early on though, so I expect it to get better.

Music is also awesome BUT it has the Other M complex so far. I'll be disappointed if people hated on Other M's music for lacking a soul/memorable jingles yet say nothing about SS. SS seems to suffer the same fate a little bit. Again, it could just be too early to call but it's how I feel at this very moment, with my first day, while I'm probably gonna feel "this is so new and different, it's weird".

Difficulty level is hard, but maybe too hard? It's refreshing to feel a challenge but some things have been very frustrating. I was just stuck in the first temple where you first have to activate those 2 Gem Switches. The game did a poor job because you activate one switch and on a tablet it says activate two or something. I was like, where the fuck am I activating this switch? So I was running around for 20 mins looking between rooms at EVERY possible angle for this switch. I couldn't find the one that was underwater underneath that bridge thing. Fi's clue was terrible too. It was "switch is around the door, and look around". I was like fuck you, what you think I've spent 20 mins doing? And that stupid tablet through me off cuz it says "one switch is low, one is high" so I was looking above me for the switch.



Things I've noticed which are kinda annoying:

Why is Link such a slow swimmer? And slow as shit if he walks in foot deep water? Is there something you unlock later that makes you move through water faster or something? I hope so, cuz it's unbearable traversing through water. I keep avoiding water since it slows you down to such an annoying pace.

Stamina Meter is too low I think

Do Bokoblins even have a strategy or is it random? Seems like you just have to wait for them to attack.

Motion controls can be iffy, and the roll for objects seems like a pain in the ass if you're sitting down, which I'm sure everyone will be. Worse since I'm on a couch though.

Sometimes it's really not clear what motion they want you to do. Those waggle motions like the vine swing and bringing the bird up feel dumb and forced. I'm a little disappointed how everyone claims the motion control is so good and so necessary in this game when it's already obvious that's not the case. Motion control was not needed for a LOT of the stuff I've been doing already.

Control setup is also a tad iffy, but I'm still used to TP. B for item and A to use it feels a bit weird to me. Also, juggling between shield and sword seems pretty unintuitive. It feels like entirely too much work.

Is it just me or is it tough to gauge the distance of your sword? Really annoying trying to cut grass and I'm just moving it with the wind, but not actually cutting it.

Why does Link resist jumping off of some ledges? Either while running or sprinting, he hugs the edge a bit before he falls/jumps off. That's kinda annoying. Why'd they change this? Did it not work in the past 4 3D Zelda games?

Again, I honestly feel the motion controls are a little too much work which I feared all along. I think there's a bit of a problem when I don't feel like cutting grass since I have to gauge distance of sword, slowly walk up to it, swing, do the right swing, etc. Cutting grass is supposed to be the simplest thing you can do in a Zelda game while just lazily running around, and now it's like a puzzle every time you do it. Not a fan of that.

I like thinking a bit for fighting enemies and using your sword in general, but I think it went too far. Honestly, I hate to say cutting shit feels like a bit of a chore, and it's like 90% of the game! It's been my fear since the game was announced "will I get sick of swinging my arm just to play a game" and so far the answer is......."more yes than no". Sigh...

--
I really hate sounding so negative cuz it's obviously a good game, and I'm rather enjoying it, but these little things are really adding up to annoy me a lot. These things are constant. I can't be the only one who's noticed this stuff/found it annoying.

So as you can tell, I have some mixed feelings. Maybe I'm just focusing on the annoying stuff right now which sucks, but I am enjoying it. It's done several things very right. It does indeed, feel good. Maybe I just need to get accustomed.

I just made it below the clouds and did some dousing (?) for the first time to find a temple. I'm really enjoying this game so far - I think the slow beginning is wonderful and gives me time to invest in all the characters - especially Zelda.

I love the stamina - it adds so much more stratedgy now and I figured out extensive running techniques by running into stamina (green) berries around Skyloft. I've explored maybe only 75% of Skyloft and can't wait to really dig into it later on this week.

Swordplay is different but feels really really good but what I'm liking the most about this game so far is that it feels like Zelda but doesn't play like Zelda - if that makes sense. It's feeling fresh and that is what was most important to me..

stephen08 said:

Overall, it seems like the motion controls are being made good use of but I'm not convinced it makes for a better experience than standard controls.

Well I, for one, am shocked that you landed in the minority here (IE most everyone else, even review sources that are generally not kind to the Wii, are calling them brilliant.) Totally shocked. Still, I'd give it a few more hours before deciding motion controls were a complete dead end path this generation.

Stopped at the entrance to the second dungeon - and that was only because my brain was ready for some sleep!
LOVING it so far. It definitely has my favorite opening of console series since it's not pushy on mundane tasks and tutorials. Plus the characters you meet are all brilliant.
I thought I would only just like the art style judging from screenshots and videos... but it may sneak past Wind Waker as my favorite. There's something so charming about it.
The only thing I had a ton of trouble with so far was the first boss fight... either that was really tough or I'm not as good at the controls yet as I thought.
Anywho, there's so much I could continue to gush about but I need to keep playing

@carlosrox
The combat is difficult, for sure. The more practice I get though, the better and quicker I can dispatch enemies. Try swinging left-right-left quickly to defeat Bokoblins. Sounds to me like you haven't played a Zelda game in a while. No other games have these puzzles that halt your progress like Zelda does. It does sometimes take a while to figure things out, but hey if you're in a rush go check an FAQ. The puzzles in the first dungeon were nice, and I loved how some puzzles were simply enemies themselves (the first time you're blocked by a skultulla in his web...).

The music... is awesome. I don't know where you're coming from, comparing this wonderful music to Other M's ambient sounds.

If you sprint off a ledge you shouldn't hug it, you'll jump right off, or onto the next platform.

I don't think motion controls were necessary for a bunch of stuff, but they do work. Motion Plus is very responsive, and some of these actions are just a quick flick that are fun to pull off, plus they liberate buttons for other stuff. I agree that the bomb roll is hard to do when sitting down... but I probably won't use it much anyways (only when needed).

I agree the stamina meter is a bit low, but I think they capped it so you're just not running around everywhere all the time. Maybe it is upgradeable? I know there is a potion that can extend your stamina meter for a while.

I personally think it's awesome that even simple stuff like cutting grass requires some precision. Nothing in this game is going to come easy, it's like the antithesis to modern video games. If your arm is getting tired, I think you are doing too large motions. With the sword, just a flick of the wrist in any direction is quite responsive and sufficient (it's NOT like Red Steel 2).

___________________________________________________

Has anyone figured out if you can Z target enemies with the slingshot? It seems weird to me that you can't (if you can't). But then again, it would make for the slingshot to require more precision, be less automatic, which is cool.

First dungeon boss is awesome. Felt so good to give that sick fucker a whoopin'. Though he was tough as nails, and I died a couple times.

I really feel like the rupee balance in this game is great. Plenty of rupees but plenty of stuff to buy/upgrade. I already bought the larger wallet just in case, too. No need to unlock it somehow via some arbitrary side quest, which is nice. I think Nintendo took this aspect into large consideration after Twilight Princess which had a horrible economy.

The one thing I can honestly say is that this game is hard to put down. I can't remember the last time I played a game where I was itching to go back and continue playing. There's just something "special" about this game.

I'm liking the new gameplay mechanics; all of them. The difficulty curve is an added plus as I've actually died a few times already.