LogFAQs > #943456277

My impression at launch was that it was a very polarizing game. People either really liked it, or they found it borderline unplayable. I saw the theory bounced around that some of the WMP's that shipped with the bundles might have been defective, since there's really no reason anyone should have found the motion controls THAT hard to make work unless the hardware itself didn't work, and most Wii owners had no other reason to own a WMP before (or since) the game launched. I think there's some merit to that theory, though I've never heard confirmation one way or the other. Since then, I feel like the reception has become less polarized, with people disliking it for various design choices instead of "this is literally unplayable" and the strong positive impressions generally losing steam to the point where the average opinion is pretty meh.

Personally, I generally really liked the game, though there were a number of things it did that weren't good. The dungeon and puzzle designs were some of the best in the series, and the story and worldbuilding were quite solid by Zelda standards. I also liked how they did equipment upgrades. The lack of a proper overworld (and the limited exploration that stemmed from that) was a downer, though, and some of the controls (namely the harp, which was just plain garbage in every way) were really clumsy and caused more frustration than anything else. That impression hasn't changed, but I also haven't played the game since my first playthrough back when it came out, so I don't know how it would hold up now. Maybe I should replay it and see.

Aculo posted...

and wind waker. i remember people hating the style of it so much, and "swearing off" the series. now those people all say the style is brilliant and it's one of their favorites. revisionist history, ok?

I was never among the graphics whoring camp for hating on WW, but it never really clicked with me until I played the HD remake. The changes they made there took it from being an okay game (among the worst 3D Zeldas, though that's not exactly a harsh criticism because I like all of them to some extent) to being a serious contender for best Zelda. The fundamental game relies very heavily on exploration, but in the original, that exploration was so slow and cumbersome that it felt more like a chore than anything else and just dragged the game down. The extent to which the remake sped it up and streamlined it (faster sailing, automatic wind direction adjustment, being able to look at the map on the gamepad without pausing) made it actually fun to explore the world, making for a vastly improved overall experience.